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

[Chris Brown]

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.

I'm with you on the multitrack wiping, but the overdubs done during mixdown were generally necessary to avoid the fidelity problems that come with bouncing onto a new generation of tape. Unfortunately the technology of the day sometimes necessitated these types of decisions.

[GuyOnTheBeach]

the overdubs done during mixdown were generally necessary to avoid the fidelity problems that come with bouncing onto a new generation of tape. Unfortunately the technology of the day sometimes necessitated these types of decisions.

That is a good point, I often wonder what Brian would have achieved back then if he had the technology available now ?.. I'm not sure (actually somewhat doubtful) that it would have been better, but it would have been interesting.

[Musketeer]

Record "That Same Song" with gospel choir  that they used on their TV special. And that Dennis used on River Song.

[MBE]

I could pick things apart. Yes I wish Dennis sang more before 1974. I wish Smile, Leid In Hawaii, The 1965 and 1966 live albums, and almost all of their unreleased pre 1975 stuff came out.  I wish Brian sang more from the 20/20 to Holland era too. I wish both of them would have taken better care of their voices. I wish they had never done a surf or car song after 1964. I wish they never wore their post 1974 stage wear (outside of Carl). I wish they didn't go the nostalgia or oldies route (including solo Brian). I could go on and on however...What they did do from 1961-74 is one of the finest bodies of work in music history. Even 1975 on there have been (all too brief not counting Dennis' great mid- late seventies worlk) glimpses of greatness that few can match. What happened happened and I don't really regret any of it because they have all truly enriched my life.

[Runaways]

bring the french horn a lil up, lower the organ thing on god only knows intro. MUAHAHAHA

[Chris Brown]

the overdubs done during mixdown were generally necessary to avoid the fidelity problems that come with bouncing onto a new generation of tape. Unfortunately the technology of the day sometimes necessitated these types of decisions.

That is a good point, I often wonder what Brian would have achieved back then if he had the technology available now ?.. I'm not sure (actually somewhat doubtful) that it would have been better, but it would have been interesting.

Better technology has its trade offs - I think a lot of Brian's work was better off with more primitive technology if only because it allowed him (forced him, actually) to capture sounds that computers just can't reproduce, i.e. the sound of 5 guys singing live around a mic, 10 musicians all playing in a room together, etc.

He did amazing things given what he had to work with, but when you look at a project like Smile, it's quite likely that modern technology would have made the album easier to complete, since he would've had the ability to instantly test out any sequence he desired - that's assuming, of course, that having that much freedom didn't add to his already palpable indecisiveness.

[hypehat]

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

Both of those are easily avoidable, as there's the version of Auld Lang Syne without the spoken bit ruining it, and Solar System is amazing and you're just wrong 

Some more...

5) Teach Brian to play drums
6) Pat Carl on the shoulder in 1971 and say "Write more songs"
7) Pat Mike on the shoulder in 1975 and say "No-one cares that you're bald"
While you have his attention, break his heart and give him something to write about that isn't Hawaii, school, 'chicks' or bad puns.

[sockittome]

Encourage Brian to finish "Can't Wait Too Long" and slap it on the end of WILD HONEY, and you've got a perfect album, my friend! 

[homeontherange]

Mix the bass higher in "I'm Waiting For The Day". Especially in the chorus, since there's a crazy but wonderful bass note there, that's almost impossible to hear even in the instrumental version. It changes the whole chorus, once you hear it though.

[Jay]

1. Let Dennis sing "Meant For You"

2. Let Dennis sing "Friends"

3. Lose Mike's "Good Nnnnnight *oh ho* baby, sleep tight *oh ho* baby*

4. Have the group record "Kokomo" with a sparse backing of actual instruments, and put in a nice acoustic guitar solo instead of the saxophone

5. Release "When Girls Get Together" in 1969 as an instrumental. Possibly as an obscure b-side. Lose that damn marxophone! 

6. Lose the plodding saxophone intro of "Some Of Your Love"  in favor of a Mike Meros synthesizer intro like they did it in concert.

7. Record the song "Keepin' The Summer Alive" "live in the studio", instead of the half baked overprocessed version.

8. Take the best of Still Crusin' and Summer In Paradise, and release it as one album. Only with real instruments. 

[MaxL]

The Marxophone was the best darn part of "When Girls Get Together"!

• I know it's not one song, but still: Do SOMETHING about tracks 8-10 on "Still Cruisin'" (i.e. replace them)

That's all for now.

[smokeythebear]

1. Little girl i once knew - ReRecord verse vocals, sounds forced.
2. California girls - Get Brian to redo fallsetto part in pitch.
3. Good Vibrations - Get Brian to redo fallsetto part in pitch, use Tonys lyrics.
4. Do you wanna dance - Do guitar live no overdubs so we can get this in stereo.
5. Sloop John B - Lower the sound of the glasses, also do it in a different key, sounds strained.
6. Still belive in me - Multitrack lead overdub, want it in stereo.

[John Manning]

1. SMiLE – release it
2. Carnegie gig – release it
3. Adult Child – release it
4. Aloha From Hawaii - release it
5. In Concert source recordings – release 'em all
6. You Get The Idea – release the lot
7. Credit "John Manning" as a writer in publishing for all releases – so he can buy all releases and simultaneously feed his family 

[Zach95]

I could pick things apart. Yes I wish Dennis sang more before 1974. I wish Smile, Leid In Hawaii, The 1965 and 1966 live albums, and almost all of their unreleased pre 1975 stuff came out.  I wish Brian sang more from the 20/20 to Holland era too. I wish both of them would have taken better care of their voices. I wish they had never done a surf or car song after 1964. I wish they never wore their post 1974 stage wear (outside of Carl). I wish they didn't go the nostalgia or oldies route (including solo Brian). I could go on and on however...What they did do from 1961-74 is one of the finest bodies of work in music history. Even 1975 on there have been (all too brief not counting Dennis' great mid- late seventies worlk) glimpses of greatness that few can match. What happened happened and I don't really regret any of it because they have all truly enriched my life.

+1 Seriously, some of these suggestions have made my jaw drop.

[southbay]

Have Carl (or Dennis) sing lead on Sail On, Sailor

[Kirk]

Maybe a controversial one: release the PSS version of "God Only Knows" on PS with the a capella tag (some find it overdone, but I love it)
Make side two of Smiley Smile an entire Good Vibrations symphonic suite with every scrap ever put on tape
Add more backgrounds and harmonies to the entire Wild Honey album except "Darlin'"---get some call and response going on "Wild Honey" itself
Resequence Surf's Up LP to get some Dennis on there (cut "Take a Load")
Release "Is Jack Reiley Really Superman?" just so we can know what that sounded like---how wild to have a song about a manager on a major LP?
Record the studio version of "Marcella" at the same tempo (and with the same energy) as on IN CONCERT
Include a live version of "Girl Don't Tell Me" done 70s style on IN CONCERT
Release a definitive version of "California Feeling" in 1976
Make the Caribou sessions productive so the post-Endless Summer BBs comeback is contemporary sounding instead of 15BO retro
Put "Lazy Lizzie" on LOVE YOU bc, despite the uncomfortable lyrics, it's got an interesting groove
Write another verse or add another minute to "Let Us Go on This Way" so it feels like a complete song (bc it's cool but too short for me)
Have Dennis sing lead on "Good Timin'" bc I love the live version where he does it
Release a studio version of "Keepin the Summer Alive" that rocks as much as the song did live
Actually finish "Oh Lord" in 85 so Brian has a good song on BB
Get rid of any cheesy sax solo on any 80s release EXCEPT "Kokomo"
Have Brian and Andy Paley bring in Sweet Honey in the Rock and re-do "Goodnight Irene" (I've always daydreamed of a BB/Sweet Honey or BB/Blind Boys of Alabama collaboration... why not? Would have to be better than "East Meets West")
In 95/96 produce a Carl Wilson solo album of songs by other writers that would showcase his vocal versatility (always wanted to hear him do Springsteen's "Happy" or "I Wish I Were Blind")
Have Brian join the Traveling Wilburys after Roy Orbison's death bc I think the Brian/Bob Dylan version of "The Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll" and some other Sweet Insanity-era cuts would make that lame TW Vol. 3 (1990) album bearable
Add the a capella stop the BBs are doing live in "Do It Again" to the 2011 studio remake
Tinker with the verses of "That's Why God Made the Radio" a bit more---tone down the keyboard triplets---write a more memorable bridge... The choruses are so powerful I just want that song to aspire a bit more to "This Whole World" awesomeness

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Include WIBNTLA on Surf's Up

Agreed. That song is just amazing, the lead is just OOOHHHHHH...

[J.G. Dev]

I would have the writing credits and publishing rights to Good Vibrations changed to my name. When I got back to present day I would be rich.

[Aegir]

I can't say I like these suggestions.

[Al Jardine: Pick Up Artist]

On I'm Waiting For The Day, when the vox drops out and the flutes kick in, instead of just doing that intro drum beat, do snare rolls.

Bum-diddly-bum-diddly-bum-tikki-tikki-tikki (repeat)

Continue that over the wordless singing until the lead vox start again.

[Sound of Free]

Have an "unmedicated" Carl redo his vocal on "The Night Was So Young."

If Dennis truly was supposed to sing the lead on "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times," I wish it had been recorded. Even if Brian eventually decided to take the lead vocal himself, the Dennis version would have come out as an alternate track by now.

Have Al sing one of the three verses on "Sloop John B" since doing the song was his idea.

Disco "Here Comes the Night" - NO, just NO.

Have Mike write a different lyric for "Little Saint Nick," changing "Christmas comes this time each year." I LOVE the song otherwise, and the rest of the lyrics are fun, but that one inspires me to thing, "No s--t, Sherlock!" You can keep the same melody with a simple change,  like "Christmastime is here again" or "How I love this time of year" or "It's my favorite time of year."

Give Dennis a solo part on "Add Some Music." It seems strange to have the other five guys doing solos but not Dennis.

All those songs that Desper erased as Brian's behest? Could he have just PRETENDED to erase them?

[Sheriff John Stone]

Disco "Here Comes the Night" - NO, just NO.

I would've settled for a four minute edit (like the single) on L.A. Light Album. That would've freed up two more songs, possibly two more Brian songs. They still had enough time/space for two more songs anyway.

[Cabinessenceking]

Burn KTSA and MIU
Release Adult Child without Hey Tomboy and the 70's outtakes then Dennis and Carl stuff.

[Mendota Heights]

Burn KTSA and MIU
Release Adult Child without Hey Tomboy and the 70's outtakes then Dennis and Carl stuff.

I would have ditched these two albums and made Pacific Ocean Blues the follow up to Love You.

[Eric Aniversario]

I'd make Do It Again have a louder intro.