Mark Linett & Alan Boyd On The New Beach Boys “Feel Flows” Box Set, Future Beach Boys Releases, Working With UMG & More

Even if you do not regularly listen to a lot of rock radio, you ought to know dozens of songs by The Beach Boys. “California Girls,” “Fun Fun Fun,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “I Get Around,” “God Only Knows,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Sloop John B,” “Kokomo” — those are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to hits by the surf-rock pioneers. Close to 60 years since The Beach Boys formed in Hawthorne, California, the band is still at it in a big way. Mike Love and Brian Wilson both have their own touring shows which playing favorites from the Beach Boys catalog, beyond having new releases in recent years. Meanwhile, Beach Boys reissues have often been released in recent years via Universal Music, as inclusive of rare and previously-unreleased recordings even diehards may not have known about.

Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions 1969-1971 is the latest archival release from the on-going partnership between The Beach Boys and UMG, as due out on August 27, 2021 via Capitol Records. It features 135 tracks, including 108 previously unreleased tracks, live recordings, radio promos, alternate versions, alternate mixes, isolated backing tracks and a cappella versions, as culled from album sessions. Music aside, the set is rounded out with a 48-page book loaded with unreleased and rare photos, lyric sheets, tape box images, recording artifacts, insightful new liner notes by noted radio veteran and Beach Boys afficionado Howie Edelson, and new and archival interviews from Al Jardine, Brian Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, and others. Rolling Stone premiered several tracks from this set prior to its release, including a stunning a cappella version of “Surf’s Up” and a a reimagined mix of “This Whole World.” Altogether, this expansive 5CD box set — also available digitally and in 4LP, 2LP and 2CD editions — chronicles and explores in depth this metamorphic and highly influential 1969-1971 period of the band’s legendary career, as assembled by Mark Linett and Alan Boyd; Linett and Boyd are the team behind 2013’s GRAMMY Award-winning SMiLE Sessions collection, and seem to know more about The Beach Boys than anyone not in the band.

On July 13, 2021, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mark Linett and Alan Boyd via Zoom, as embedded below. Beyond Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions 1969-1971, we spoke about future Beach Boys archival releases, how unreleased Beach Boys material is often found, which members of The Beach Boys are generally most involved with these sorts of releases, and plenty more. Additional information on Feel Flows can be found by clicking here, here and here.

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Tags: Al Jardine, Alan Boyd, Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Howie Edelson, Mark Linett, The Beach Boys, UMG

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."