How was Pet Sounds redone in stereo?

[junkstar]

There are those who question any current or recent BB remix work based on the fact that Brian Wilson simply cannot work very effectively in stereo (nor ever could). I think that the BB community generally embraces Mark Linnett and his work, but takes all of it with a grin of salt. These are not meant to be replacements of Brian's work, but simply new and interesting alternatives.

Some of my favorite BB's remix work can be found on the compilation called 'Endless Harmony.' The remix of 'Kiss Me Baby' is stunning.

If you want to talk to a batch of BB cynics and insiders, visit the Male Ego board (link below). Linnett stops in, as do other insiders such as Peter Reum, Andrew G. Doe, and Beach Boy Bruce Johnston. Tons of knowledgeable folks there.

[Girl Toes]

From www.acousticsounds.com

For the first time ever, the stereo version of The Beach Boys' landmark 1966 Pet Sounds album , one of the most acclaimed and influential albums in pop music history, is being made available on an individual CD and on vinyl. These stereo mixes enable a listener to experience, in an entirely new way, a classic album continually being rediscovered by music fans.
Released by Capitol Records, the CD includes the original monaural versions of the album's 13 selections (newly remastered), the stereo versions (remixed from the original three-, four- and eight-track master tapes) and a mono bonus track. In addition, the limited edition, audiophile quality, vinyl Pet Sounds marks the first time these 13 stereo mixes have ever appeared in the vinyl format. It was in early 1996, 30 years after he produced the original album, that Brian Wilson remixed Pet Sounds in stereo. Until then available only in its original mono version, Capitol highlighted the new mixes in the Pet Sounds Sessions Boxed Set, released in November 1997. But until now they were never available on vinyl or on a more conventional single disc.

Back in 1966, Wilson recorded his instrumental tracks to three tracks of a four-track tape. The fourth track usually contained a rough reference mix of the track in mono. That mix would be used for playback at the session, then be erased and reused for additional overdubs.

Once Wilson completed the intrumentals, he would mix the three or four tracks down to mono on a single track of a four- or eight-track tape, leaving the remaining tracks for vocals. When the vocals were finsished, the end results for any given song would be a four-track tape with the instrumental track and either a four- or an eight-track tape with the mono instrumental track and the vocals spread over the remaining three of seven tracks. The only way to create a true stereo mix, with a stereo instrumental track and stereo vocals, was to sync the vocal overdubs to the original instrumental master tracks. In 1996, engineer Mark Linett did just that for the Pet Sounds album.

"The original instrumental multi-track was transferred onto a digital multi-track," he explained, "and then after carefully matching the tape speeds of the track and vocal tapes, the vocals were manually syncronized to the track using the (1966) dubbed track on the vocal tape as a guide. The result was a single multi-track master tape of each song with all the discrete tracks that Brian recorded in 1966 in sync." Pet Sounds could then be mixed into stereo.

The original Pet Sounds entered the Billboard chart in May 1966, and remained 39 weeks, peaking at No. 10. It spawned four top 40 hits: Wouldn't It Be Nice (No. , Sloop John B. (No. 3), God Only Knows (No. 39) and Caroline, No (No. 32). As Linett wrote in the notes for The Pet Sounds Sessions "every attempt was made to duplicate the feel and sound of the original mono mixes." Beach Boys aficionados, however, will discover instances where the stereo mix of a song differs significantly from the mono mix. From 1962-1969, Capitol released 20 albums from Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, Alan Jardine and Bruce Johnston as The Beach Boys became the most popular group in America and ultimately one of the most popular in the world. The Beach Boys were inducted into The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

[New Orleans Steve]

HAY All this about Wilsons hearing making him UN able to mix in stereo is Bull. Sure it is a limitation, but you can still hear and even mix in Stereo with one ear. He dicusses it in several interviews, I don't think it is as big a deal as some people make it out to be. Has anyone herd him, Brian say otherwise? Also, if there is some kind of study or article that states otherwise, I am not aware of it and would like to se it.

Steve

www.frenchmenstreetrecords.com

[trash180]

HAY All this about Wilsons hearing making him UN able to mix in stereo is Bull. Sure it is a limitation, but you can still hear and even mix in Stereo with one ear. He dicusses it in several interviews, I don't think it is as big a deal as some people make it out to be. Has anyone herd him, Brian say otherwise? Also, if there is some kind of study or article that states otherwise, I am not aware of it and would like to se it.

Steve

www.frenchmenstreetrecords.com

I think I was the first to mention it. It certainly wasn't meant as a slight. I just said it required a certain amount of trust. They didn't really do a whole lot of stereo-ized stuff for those remixes anyway.

One thing that Brian can hear better than anyone is the entire arrangement...in his head! before it's recorded!

[Roman Sokal]

http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_pet_soun ... index.html

[Seej]

The multi's for Good Vibrations are missing. Damn, I guess we'll never hear it in stereo. (unless Brian has them himself)

[bentonevolution]

I have the DVDa....amazing...It sounds like the Beach Boys are right in front of you. It's one of the better 5.1 mixes I've heard. Mark Linnett mixed it in nuendo and Joe Gastwirt( I think that's his name) mastered it.

I definitly recommend the DVDa. To hear the french horn in God Only Knows enter in the back right and move to the middle is beautiful.