opinion of "Brian is Back" song?

[dwtherealbb]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFQu9tR6KRo. I like the song itself and especially the vocals Carl puts in, but does anyone detect some condescension here?

[Jason Penick]

does anyone detect some condescension here?

Not at all. I think it's a really sincere tribute.

As for my opinion, I don't rate it in my Top 100 or anything, but it's nice enough.

[Rocky Raccoon]

I think it's a nice enough song though the unsubtle personal nature of the lyrics makes it a little awkward in my opinion.  But it's listenable and Carl does sound very nice on the choruses.  I love the end too when Carl sings the beginning of You Still Believe In Me.

[Rocker]

Nice melody. Typical Mike Love-junk. I can listen to it and appreciate it on the EH soundtrack but I'm glad it never made it onto a Beach Boys album

[Jason]

Excellent song. A lost classic.

[Seaside Woman]

If ever a song showcased what Carl's vocals brought to the Beach Boys this is it.

A banal song and production that suddenly takes off and becomes very listenable.

[oldsurferdude]

Pure crap with a wasted Carl part. As was said  in the above post-Myke Luhv junk.

[Matt H]

Apparently Bruce didn't like it either, from PetSite in this thread:

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,6054.0.html

A Voice From The Past Helps With Tomorrow: An Interview with Bruce Johnston on November 9, 1978:

BJ: Again, I don’t know. There’s a song called “Brian’s Back” which is dreadful I think. The intent of it is really nice. I’m saying it’s dreadful as a record. The idea is really nice … it’s something I’d play for Brian at his house.

[phirnis]

Always liked it. Sappy, yes, but also quite touching.

[Aegir]

Somewhere on this board one of Mike Love's daughters posted that when Mike played for her, he started crying.

[willy]

Apparently Bruce didn't like it either, from PetSite in this thread:

BJ: I’m saying it’s dreadful as a record.

Hang on a moment... is that Bruce "Endless Harmony" Johnson who said that???

[Matt H]

Apparently Bruce didn't like it either, from PetSite in this thread:

BJ: I’m saying it’s dreadful as a record.

Hang on a moment... is that Bruce "Endless Harmony" Johnson who said that???

Go to the thread I quoted, he says the same thing about 10 years harmony, which is then on the next record:

The same with “Ten Years Harmony” … Carl and I talked about that, and he said he’d feel really funny singing about himself. We decided to sing the verses in the second person, and when the chorus comes into the song, it would go to Carl singing in the first person. I’m not really trying to zoom any of my songs in.

[EgoHanger1966]

I find it a little strange that Mike's the one singing it and that it was also intended (later) to go on one of his solo albums. Might find it touching if Carl or Dennis were singing it. Also, the lyric might just be the shlockiest thing ever written. "Teenage gamblers sittin' in a Rambler..." Really? It is a nice idea I guess, but not anywhere near "good". (IMO

[Gertie J.]

Mike at his worst. give me sumahama or eilwy any day of the week.

[musicismylife101]

Somewhere on this board one of Mike Love's daughters posted that when Mike played for her, he started crying.

Is it this one?: http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,1680.msg37000.html#msg37000

Although it is a bit sappy I thought the song was decent and yes, Carl's "You Still Believe in Me" part at the end is the highlight of the song.

[Aegir]

Yeah, that's it. I guess in the six and a half years since I read that my memory went from "choked up" to "crying", but still.

[Myk Luhv]

Didn't Brian find the song hurtful and insulting or something too?

[SufferingFools]

I'm sure the intent of "I never knew that he was gone" was probably to emphasize Brian's ongoing influence on music, but coming from Mike it comes across as "We don't really need him, we've been doing just fine."

[runnersdialzero]

Never listened to it.

[Eireannach]

I love everything about the song if I ignore Mike's lyric - it's just a bit too cheesy for my taste.  The backing track is good and Carl's vocals are wonderful, especially the last minute or so.

[Sheriff John Stone]

I always liked the song; probably one of the best songs that Mike ever wrote. Nice melody and great vocal from Carl. The lyrics can be wince-worthy but that's typical of a tribute song like this.

"Brian Is Back", for obvious reasons, and rightfully so, never appeared on a Beach Boys' album other than a comp. But, if you ever compiled a Mike Love solo comp from all of his projects through the years, I'd definitely put it on there.

[runnersdialzero]

When did Carl do his vocal for the Endless Harmony version? Says '78, but holy sh*t does Carl's vocal sound like it was done in the 90s.

Just listened to it from start to finish for the first time. I enjoy how Mike himself admits to being a "sap" in the song. The story about Mike actually getting choked up when playing it for his daughter is pretty cool. The "You Still Believe In Me" reference at the end was also a cool touch - you'd expect teh Lovester to namedrop something a little more well known, but hay, there it is, and it makes things feel a little more authentic. Feels sincere. Derpeaoko9g9

[I. Spaceman]

Loved it (hated it) since I first heard it on the California Feeling bootleg, back in 89.

[Awesoman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFQu9tR6KRo. I like the song itself and especially the vocals Carl puts in, but does anyone detect some condescension here?

Real nice melody, great Carl backing vocal, f*cking terrible lyrics.  "You fell in love with a pretty cheerleader / I even married one".  Could lyrics ever be more clunky??  (Oh wait, this is the Beach Boys I'm talking about.  Of course they could.  )

[Smilin Ed H]

Never liked it. Couldn't get past the terrible lyrics.