If you could go back in time and change anything about any Beach Boys song...

[shelter]

First things that come to mind:

- Get rid of the fuzz bass in the final section of Cabinessence. I think it sounds ugly and doesn't fit the mood of the music at all.
- Ask Brian to give the lead on Let Him Run Wild another try some other time.
- Ask Brian/Mike to slightly rewrite the lyrics to In The Back Of My Mind, so that all the words actually fit. And maybe let Brian or Carl have a go at the lead (sorry Dennis). And if it still doesn't work out, just release it as an instrumental.
- Drag Dennis back into the studio to let him sing Sail On Sailor.

[John Manning]

- Ask Brian to give the lead on Let Him Run Wild another try some other time.

He did  -  in 1998!

[Chris Brown]

Can't say I agree with all of those - the fuzz bass in Cabinessence is amazing, even if it doesn't totally fit. It's used tastefully which is rare in itself.

I think Dennis was the perfect voice for "In The Back Of My Mind," but Brian should have spent a little more time with him to get the double tracking right. I don't mind the lyrics, although some tweaks to help it sing a little better wouldn't have been so bad.

My nomination would be for Brian letting Dennis do some of Mike's early leads - he sounds awesome on stuff like "Surfers Rule" and his bit part in "Girls On The Beach," and his voice in this era was unpolished but incredibly cool. No disrespect towards Mike, who sang really well in this era too, but it's a shame that Dennis didn't get to do many leads until later on.

[hypehat]

Shelter, I disagree with ALL of them! 

1. Get Dennis to take the lead on Don't Talk
2. Don't fade out Good Vibrations so quickly
3. Mix the honkytonk piano in the chorus of I Just Wasn't... higher.
4. Put the acapella Ol' Man River at the start of 20/20

[shelter]

Shelter, I disagree with ALL of them! 

Good. Discussion forums would be incredibly boring if everyone would agree on everything. 

[onkster]

Get rid of the spoken "I love you" on "Please Let Me Wonder".

Record a less goofy "You're under arrest" for H&V.

[MaxL]

Get people to shut up during the instrumental break of "Here Today".

Take more time with the a capella intro to "School Days", the timing seems off and the live version sounds better.

Do something about the "tearing" that the organ produces on "Country Air" - I don't mind it now, the whole underproduction of WH has grown on me and I find the organ thing "charming" (for want of a better word).

[buddhahat]

3. Mix the honkytonk piano in the chorus of I Just Wasn't... higher.
4. Put the acapella Ol' Man River at the start of 20/20

These two are spot on!

[John Manning]

3. Mix the honkytonk piano in the chorus of I Just Wasn't... higher.
4. Put the acapella Ol' Man River at the start of 20/20

These two are spot on!

Agree with 3 whole heartedly. If that part could be isolated… it's like a tune within a tune, a miniature framed within a much larger painting… utterly different in character but entirely complementary.

As for Ol' Man River… bliss!

Wouldn't change Good Vibes though – no point fixing what ain't broke.

[shelter]

The "I love you" on Please Let Me Wonder and the "You're under arrest!" on Heroes & Villains are perfect! And the talking in the background on "Here Today" is a fortunate accident, I think it sounds really cool and gives it a bit of an eerie touch.

[SMiLE Brian]

Have 15 big ones rerecorded or remixed so everything is mixed properly and the songs doesn't sound like they were made in one take.

[Mike's Beard]

Have Brian or Dennis take the lead on A Day in the Life of a Tree.

[Mikie]

Off the top.....just for starters:

1. Bring the "Truck Drivin' Man" section up in the mix of Cabinessence so it's more audible.
2. Release the "hot mix" of Rock & Roll Music instead of the released version.
3. Re-mix and re-master the Carl & The Passions album.
4. Re-mix the Pacific Ocean Blue album.
5. Loose the long spoken word disertation on "Beaks Of Eagles" on Holland.
6. Release the studio version of We Got Love on U.S. copies of Holland.

[MaxL]

The "I love you" on Please Let Me Wonder and the "You're under arrest!" on Heroes & Villains are perfect! And the talking in the background on "Here Today" is a fortunate accident, I think it sounds really cool and gives it a bit of an eerie touch.

I do quite like it for the reason you say, but it is nice that it's absent from the stereo mix.

[Chris Brown]

Have Brian or Dennis take the lead on A Day in the Life of a Tree.

Agree 100% with this one!

[Malc]

1) Re-record the faltering spoken interlude on Auld Lang Syne
2) Re-write the melody, lyrics ... and everything else on "Solar System" 

[Jason]

Burn the entire Keepin' the Summer Alive album.

[bgas]

Include WIBNTLA on Surf's Up

[Mikie]

Agree with Malcolm's thoughts and I'll raise him a couple:

1. Re-write the lyrics to "Hey Little Tomboy", Honkin' Down The Highway, and "Johnny Carson"
2. Drop a couple of total losers on 15 Big Ones and include "Sea Cruise" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" instead. Hell, Even "On Broadway" is better than some of those dirges on 15 Big Ones. Can't remember if a couple of thiose were recorded during the Love You era though..........poo, I woulda re-done the entire 15 Big Ones album, INCLUDING the effing album cover! MIU too. I never woulda released that thing the way it came out.

[Mikie]

Oh yeah. They shoulda released the 4/4 (slower) version of Big Sur. I really like that thing. And while we're at it.........."Carry Me Home".  And Dennis shoulda finished "I've Got A Friend"!

[urbanite]

On the Holland album, there is a track called "On Beaks of Eagles."  Half of it is spoken poetry and the other half is a song with an Al Jardine lead.   The Jardine tune is quite good and I would have loved for it to be one continuous song, as opposed to it being broken up with dialogue.

Someone must have smoked too much weed to have placed the version of "Big Sur" that's on Holland.  The alternate version which can be heard on YouTube is a great song, one of the better ones the Beach Boys ever recorded.   

[exposedbrain]

the incessant cymbal on Don't Talk has always driven me crazy. I love that song, but i think it could truly achieve lift off without that cymbal

[drbeachboy]

Brian and the Boy's sure f**ked up a lot of tunes, didn't they? I really never realized the extent of it until this thread.

[Mikie]

Yeah, how does the cough in the middle of "Wendy" and the talking about cameras in the middle of "Here Today" get through Brian's and Britz's quality control?

[GuyOnTheBeach]

I'd just loose the speaking on "Beaks of Eagles".. the instrumental part underneath that is brilliant.

Mix the synthesizers higher, and the lead guitar lower on "Long Promised Road"

And not really changing a song, but I would tell 1965 Brian that someday people may want to remix this music, so don't record anything while mixing down, and for goodness sake look after, and under no circumstances wipe the multi tracks.