The Millennium: Begin (180g) [MUSIC ON VINYL]

Why you'll love it

A 180g pressing made in the Netherlands. Begin was the most expensive album anyone had recorded by 1968, and only the second to use 16-track recording after Simon & Garfunkel's Bookends. It didn't chart at the time; AllMusic now calls it a bona fide lost classic.

This edition

• 180g vinyl
• Pressed in the Netherlands
• The original 14-song running order

About the album

The Millennium came together in 1968 when Curt Boettcher and Keith Olsen pulled in players from the Ballroom, Sagittarius and the Music Machine for one ambitious studio project. Boettcher had already arranged and produced for the Association, and the New York Times later wrote that with things going a bit differently he might have been another Brian Wilson. Here he had the time and the tracks to chase the sound in his head: stacked harmonies, lush orchestrations and a gentle psychedelic shimmer.

Columbia put it out in August 1968 to warm reviews and few sales, and a planned second album was shelved. The reissues of the 1990s found it a new audience, and 'To Claudia on Thursday,' 'I Just Want to Be Your Friend' and 'It's You' have been passed between record hunters ever since. It took the world about thirty years to catch up, which is roughly how long it takes us to alphabetise the sunshine pop section.

Probably the single greatest 60s pop record produced in L.A. outside of the Beach Boys.
Pitchfork

Tracklist

Listen

Out September 18, 2026 on Music On Vinyl (cat# MOVLP439), a reissue of the 1968 album.