Summer Days (Mono & Stereo Remasters) [Original recording remastered]

The Beach Boys | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 9, 2012)
• Original Release Date: 1965
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B008LA7REI
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,468 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2012 digital remaster of this classic 1965 studio album from the beloved '60s Pop band featuring both the mono and stereo mix of the album. Digitally remastered by Mark Linett.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars This is the FIRST REVIEW of someone who's actually HEARD this reissue! October 12, 2012

By Sean C. Courtney

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

That's right, there are two others before mine: one from 2009, which is not only three years before this reissue existed but also for a VINYL issue, which this clearly is not; and the other review is from someone who made it clear that s/he hasn't heard it yet, so it boggles the mind that a product review would be from someone who hasn't yet experienced the actual product!

Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) is absolutely among Brian Wilson's strongest productions and clearly, production-wise, points the way to the masterpiece Pet Sounds. The album is full of great tunes, with a lead vocal from every Beach Boy except Bruce Johnston and Dennis Wilson.

Now, for the 2012 mono/stereo review...first off, it appears that Capitol is doing with The Beach Boys what Apple/EMI did with The Beatles -- small digi-paks with the white band on the spine. There are no liner notes other than track listings and notations of which tracks are new stereo mixes. If you own the 1990 or 2001 "twofer" CD with The Beach Boys Today!, this and the 2012 reissue of Today! won't REPLACE the twofer, as you don't have the David Leaf liner notes or the bonus tracks.

The sound, however? Absolutely great -- at least, on the mono tracks. This is, by far, the best-sounding mono release of the album I've ever heard. The clarity and EQ are so clear that there's an edit in "And Your Dream Comes True" that I've never heard before in decades of listening to this music!

As for the stereo tracks? Well, it's kind of hit and miss. First of all, most of the stereo mixes have extra reverb, sometimes to a fault.

But here's a track-by-track analysis of the stereo mixes:

"The Girl From New York City" -- GREAT!!

"Amusement Parks U.S....A" -- very little, if any, stereo separation in backing track, and in fact the backing track just might be mono! The EQ is weird -- just lows and middles on the backing track with hardly any highs, and the vocals are all MIDDLE. Brian's hysterical laughing is hard to hear. Seems like a LOT of reverb may have been added to the vocals.

"Then I Kissed Her" - good EQ that could use a bit more bass, but vocal sounds a lot wetter than on the mono. Is that added reverb, or reverb that was always there but subtle in the mono mix? Hard to tell.

"Salt Lake City" -- very nice mix, but there's a ton of reverb EVERYWHERE.

"Girl, Don't Tell Me" -- This is one of the best-sounding of the bunch. Backing track seems to have slightly more reverb than before, but vocals don't sound any more reverbed than before. Vocals sound mono but the mixing and mastering make the "when I came up to stay with my gran" lyrics noticeably clearer.

"Help Me, Rhonda" -- VERY faithful to the mono. Very bright, very energetic mix. Actually improves the song while being very faithful to the original mix! I used to hate this version of the song, preferring the Today! version...now I love it! Crunch sound after "Help me, Rhonda, yeah" is gone.

"California Girls" -- We've had, what, two or three of these mixes so far? Can't tell which one this is. Sounds good, but much wetter than it should be. Sometimes the volume of the vocals is at war with the volume of the backing track. Still good, though, and worthy of playing loud.

"Let Him Run Wild" -- I know this mix was released before, but...this wasn't the mind-blowing stereo mix I was hoping for for years. Again, there's a ton of reverb that sounds too unnatural to be a remnant of the original mix, and there's way too much middle in the EQ and not enough bass. Still would be interesting to hear a vocals-only on this.

"You're So Good To Me" -- too much middle on the EQ. Vocals are slightly too loud, and the lead guitar is WAY too loud while the other non-drum instruments are barely audible.

"Summer Means New Love" -- very nice mix. Some piano parts at the end that you don't hear in the mono mix come out.

"I'm Bugged At My Ol' Man" -- again with the reverb! Might have been original reverb that wasn't as noticeable in mono, though.

"And Your Dream Comes True" -- another one that I know was out in stereo before. Wow...the guys sound like they're right there in front of you! Very nice.

Overall...if you're dying to hear this stuff in true stereo for the first time, it's not the end-all, be-all, but there are some gems in stereo. The REAL star of this CD (and the Today! CD, I might add) is the mono mix, sounding better than ever!

Definitely worth the purchase! Read more ›

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic Sound - a must-have! December 21, 2009

By Cory Geurts

Format:Vinyl|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is one of several recent Beach Boys vinyl reissues from Capitol. Some of the albums (Sunflower, Surf's Up) have the "newly remastered for vinyl" sticker, while others (Today!, Summer Days, Pet Sounds) boast a sticker that simply says "faithfully restored." The sound on this one is clean and clear, all the original artwork has been preserved (including the photos on the inner sleeve), and the 180 gram vinyl has a nice, substantial feel.

An interesting note about this one - the front cover claims this is "Duophonic Stereo" and the catalog number is listed as DT 2354 (the D is for duophonic). The bottom of the back cover says "Duophonic is an exclusive Capitol electronic development designed to enrich irreplaceable monophonic high-fidelity recordings that have proven their lasting popularity. It brings to these great performances a brilliant new two-channel sound that takes full advantage of the reproduction characteristics of today's finest stereo phonographs."

I remember the original 1960's vintage Capitol duophonic vinyl records that had the "fake stereo" - i.e. a mono recording separated out into predominately bass tones in one channel and treble tones in the other channel to simulate stereophonic sound, usually with stereo reverb added. It was horrid! Thankfully this vinyl release is NOT fake stereo - it is presented here in the original mono format. Which makes me wonder why they even bothered putting the "Duophonic Stereo" banner on this release - it should have just been released as mono catalog number T 2354.

At any rate, these Capitol reissues are a must-have - perfect for vinyl enthusiasts, collectors, and anyone who wants the album artwork in something larger than the tiny CD liner note size.... The sound is beautiful - every bit as good as on the Beach Boys double-album CDs, if not better. Plus the packaging and original artwork. I own them all. There's nothing like opening a brand new LP and enjoying the sound of virgin vinyl. You can't go wrong with the albums in this series. Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Mono versions a step backwards, Stereo versions a big step forward October 14, 2012

By Profanius

Format:Audio CD

I've purchased Smiley Smile, Summer Days/Summer Nights and All Summer Long in this new reissue series, and across the board I can say the mono remastering is noticeably worse than on the 2001 versions of these discs. I believe the tapes have lost their integrity, as there's no punch or presence on them anymore. Same engineer remastered both versions, yet the newer one is poor. I must disagree with the previous reviewer about how these mono tracks sound.

That said, the new stereo versions of the songs on this album are really great. Most are truly mixed from scratch (not 'digitally extracted', as some 'stereo' songs on All Summer Long and Smiley Smile are), and sound impressive, which is another reason why I think it's the mono masters that are to blame for the poor mono presentation here (even listening back with HDCD decoded). Nice Japanese-style mini-LP artwork, too. At this point I'd say go with the reissues of albums that were originally presented in mono and are in stereo for the first time, as only buying these for the remastered mono will be very disappointing. "All Summer Long" is a disappointing reissue in particular, please feel free to read about this here if you're interested. Hope this helps!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Summer days and Summer nights October 16, 2012

By LaurenMudrock

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am surprised that so few Beach Boys fans have come forward to review these newly remastered stereo versions of Beach Boys albums "Summer Days and Summer Nights", "Today", Smiley Smile", and "Party" therefore I will give it a try. First, though, I want to comment on the 2001 Beach Boys remasters. I must say without a doubt that the Beach Boys catalogue from 1963 -1966 is as fine an "audiophile" collection of music that exists, it is that good. It rivals the catalogues of The Who and The Doors both "remixed". The vocals on all the albums are breathtaking, tremendous dynamic range, and absolutely no background noise. I have to say I am not surprised. I remember listening to the vinyl version of "Endless Summer" back in the early 1970's and noting how good the sound quality was even then. Mark Linnett was already working with excellent master tapes. Maybe some Beach Boys fans could tell me if the master tapes were "remixed" they are that good? Some would nitpik that they lack bass, but that seems to be a problem of the 1960's since many from that era lack bass.

Now regarding the mono releases of "Party" and "Summer Days and Summer Days". I am not a fan of mono. Any audiophile that claims mono is better than stereo is kidding themselves. There are some cases where mono sounds better but they are very few. Instruments are often buried in the mix and don't reveal themselves until you actually hear a well mastered stereo version of the same. That said, "Party" and "Summer Days" are some of the finest mono recordings that I have ever heard. To listen to "Then I kissed her" is to be amazed. "Devoted to you" live is as good as it gets. I do agree with other reviewers in that the remastered mono versions of the catalogue are not as good as the 2001 remasters.... Perhaps the master tapes have indeed lost their integrity though 2nd attemps at remastering don't always bear fruit.

Regarding the "stereo" version of "Summer Days" I have to disagree with the reviewer that said there was to much "reverb". I think having listened to the same music in mono for over 40 years and then hearing it in stereo for the very first time tends to color your perspective. I listen to music in both regular stereo and 4.1 stereo and just don't hear it.

I'd like to hear someone else's opinion on "Good Vibrations" from the "Smiley Smile" album. Was this song "digitally extracted" from the mono master or was it "remixed" into stereo by the engineer? The song lacks the clarity of the "instrumental" version. Perhaps the engineer could have dubbed a digitally abstacted vocal over the remixed instrumental track? I know there's alot of assumptions made in that last statement but I just don't know? Either way the song still has very good sound quality.

Lastly, the 1995 stereo "remix" of "Pet Sounds" is as good as it gets in audiophile recordings. I remember listening to this album in the early 1970's and dismissed it as "AM radio" sound quality. Now to listen to it is to be amazed. There is instrumentation buried in the original mix that I never new existed in the music. For the future I am looking forward to the song, "Do it again" and the "Smile Sessions" to get the stereo treatment.

In summation I must say that I am very pleased with Mark Linnett's remastering of the entire Beach Boys catalogue. It compares favorably to the finest recordings out there.

Craig Mudrock Read more ›