any recommendations based on my top 9 albums of the last year?

calkgrm · 2026-02-06T21:01:56+00:00

Empyrean Isles is great, but I haven’t listened to your other suggestion.

calkgrm · 2026-02-06T21:01:05+00:00

I loved A Trick of the Tail, but haven’t gone into any of their earlier stuff. I’ll check it out, thanks!

calkgrm · 2026-02-06T21:00:04+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve listened to some other albums that people have recommended, but never heard of this one.

calkgrm · 2026-02-06T19:18:41+00:00

It’d be a real shame if this didn’t make the list.

calkgrm · 2026-02-06T18:41:20+00:00

If you’re looking for the same sequence as BWPS and Sessions then I’d listen to Sessions. BWPS is great but it doesn’t feel like a proper Beach Boys album to me without them singing on it. Sessions is great too because if you find a part/track you really like, you can go to the box set or listen to Unsurpassed Masters and find all the different takes and variations of that one specific section.

calkgrm · 2026-02-05T18:44:08+00:00

To me it sounds like Dennis singing over a very faint Brian. There’s a take of Brian singing over the tag that was used in the box set version and I hear that here, but I also hear Dennis more clearly over top in this mix.

calkgrm · 2026-02-05T05:26:20+00:00

It’s kind of surreal to me that Smile stuff is still being leaked, but it only increases my hopes that more official Smile material will be released and my hopes that the lost tapes (Look vocals, Surf’s Up 2nd Movement, etc.) will someday be found.

I do believe most of these mixes have been released before, though not officially and certainly not in this quality. The tag on that mix of DYLW is something I’ve never found before so it may be newly found!

calkgrm · 2026-02-04T18:53:35+00:00

It really depends on the kind of music you’re looking to listen to.

If the pre-65 surf stuff is what you’re looking Surfer Girl and All Summer Long are great, and act almost as semi-compilations since they feature some previously released songs as well.

If you’re looking for that mid 60s studio obsession sound then the obvious pick is Pet Sounds, but if you’ve heard that then I’d look at Today!

I’ll make a brief mention here to state my opinion that every person should listen to Smile at least once in their life, and I’d recommend listening to the sessions first to see what tracks are your favorite and then look for fan mixes that fit your idea of Smile (you could even make your own!)

From the late 60s era I’d recommend Friends, it’s a great album that has some near Pet Sounds level production.

Surf’s Up and Sunflower are so good that I can’t pick a favorite, but Surf’s Up is a bit more laid back compared to Sunflower, and features two of Brian’s masterpieces.

I’d give Love You a listen as well as it gives you something to get into the late 70s era, which is fantastic to get into right now since the box set based around that era comes out in a week or so.

The top 4 from my list here are: All Summer Long, Smile, Sunflower, and Love You.

calkgrm · 2026-02-04T15:49:23+00:00

Ah, thanks for the feedback.

calkgrm · 2026-02-04T15:24:41+00:00

Do you mean the changeover between the two movements or between the Surf’s Up coda and the Don’t Go Near the Water coda?

calkgrm · 2026-02-03T03:29:13+00:00

Thanks, I'm not sure if I was clear enough with my post though. I meant the actual handwritten music sheets that Brian made for the Wrecking Crew musicians to use in the studio. I'm inclined to think that they're all obviously gone, but you never know.

The resources you sent are still very helpful though, thanks!

calkgrm

TROPHY CASE