The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick (Rare Alternate Version)

On November 16, 1964, The Beach Boys released their popular and timeless Christmas Album. Arguably the most popular song on it is “Little Saint Nick,” which was written by the Boys’ Brian Wilson and Mike Love and is still to this day played frequently on the radio during the holiday season. When Christmas Album was first released onto CD some years ago, a rare version of “Little Saint Nick” was included as a bonus. But that CD has long been out of print, and the alternate spin on the holiday classic was forgotten. Since Capitol Records recently released a newly remastered version of Christmas Album and The Beach Boys officially announced last week that they will be getting back together for a very special 50th anniversary tour, Wilson himself felt it was only right to give fans an exclusive listen into the band’s history. Via his blog, the aforementioned rare version of “Little Saint Nick” has been made available just in time for Christmas. In early recording sessions for the song, Wilson and his comrades toyed with a different idea for its musical production before getting it to sound the way we know it today. If you’re familiar with a lot of the renowned surf-pop group’s work, you might notice that the musical foundation in this version of “Little Saint Nick” went on to be used for the song “Drive-In” off of the band’s other 1964 album, All Summer Long. Take a listen into the past here.

Source: Consequence of Sound