Compared to
Wake the World: The Friends Sessions -- a simultaneously released clearinghouse of outtakes designed to extend Capitol's copyright on this
Beach Boys material --
I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions is something of an easy listen. Like its digital-only cousins,
I Can Hear Music is comprised of alternate takes, backing tracks, a cappella mixes, demos, and excerpts from recording sessions, this time chronicling the band's 1969 album
20/20. A fair chunk of these 40 tracks are finished -- either as full alternate mixes or demos -- so it's relatively easy to play for pleasure; despite a fair number of repetitions, it flows easily. Still, the selling point of
I Can Hear Music is the fact that it boasts rarities, unheard tunes, and works in progress -- the kind of music that's of interest to historians and fanatics. For that audience,
I Can Hear Music has a number of worthy discoveries: a majestic early version of "All I Wanna Do" that's rivaled by a rocking version with
Dennis Wilson on vocals; a gorgeous, shimmering track mix of "Be with Me"; the bluesy, fuzz-speckled stomp "Walkin'"; a mesmerizing eight minutes of sections from the unfinished "Been Way Too Long," and
Dennis Wilson's stoned, rambling nonsense on "The Gong." These are the highlights in an unusually satisfying copyright extension collection. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine