Can't Wait Too Long single 1968

[Ian]

Just curious.  While on tour in Kansas in July 1968 the BBs gave an interview in which they (specifically Bruce) stated that they expected "Can't Wait Too Long" to be their next single.  Obviously-this was contingent on Brian finishing it to his satisfaction-which obviously didn't happen.  But a fascinating what if.  There is no question in my mind-that the song was one of the last examples of that "super-dynamism" Mike has often mentioned that they had come to expect from Brian-and had real commercial potential.  But would it have been a big hit in the summer of 1968 if finished and released?  I guess it depends on how much promotion Capitol and the group did. Incredible track though.

[Lowbacca]

Just curious.  While on tour in Kansas in July 1968 the BBs gave an interview in which they (specifically Bruce) stated that they expected "Can't Wait Too Long" to be their next single.  Obviously-this was contingent on Brian finishing it to his satisfaction-which obviously didn't happen.  But a fascinating what if.  There is no question in my mind-that the song was one of the last examples of that "super-dynamism" Mike has often mentioned that they had come to expect from Brian-and had real commercial potential.  But would it have been a big hit in the summer of 1968 if finished and released?  I guess it depends on how much promotion Capitol and the group did. Incredible track though.

Incredible track - yes. But summer hit potential? I doubt it (even in 1968). I might have done fairly well but I don't see "Can't Wait Too Long" being a 'hit' or more than moderately successful.
(I didn't even know they had plans to release it as a single - thanks for the info.)

[sockittome]

This is news to me too.  I think it would have been an incredible single, based on what we've heard of it, but like the equally incredible Friends single, I don't see it being a smash hit. 

[Nicko1234]

Not a very commercial song imo. Would have been a moderate hit in the U.K. perhaps though.

[TonyW]

If it had been released as a single it would have been used as the closing music to the Mad Men Bobby Kennedy assassination episode recently aired ...  (what ifs)

[EgoHanger1966]

Has fantastic harmonies but it doesn't seem like the type of thing that would have worked on an A-Side. There aren't enough lyrics!

[Jim V.]

Has fantastic harmonies but it doesn't seem like the type of thing that would have worked on an A-Side. There aren't enough lyrics!

Well, had it been completed and released, I'm sure it would have had more lyrics. Keep in mind that the released version(s) are not completed in any way, as beautiful as they are.

[SenorPotatoHead]

I'd never thought of this as fodder for a 45 rpm single, but had they brushed it up a bit, perhaps, perhaps.... 

The potential singles they had, but never released is food for thought/speculation.  I wonder how, say, San Miguel would have fared - that's another song that (to my ears) sounds like a hit.  I'm usually wrong about these things though.   

[sockittome]

Has fantastic harmonies but it doesn't seem like the type of thing that would have worked on an A-Side. There aren't enough lyrics!

In the GV boxed set version Brian is calling out lyrics in the middle section.  To me, that indicates that Brian must have had a lead part rolling around his head at some point!

It would be interesting to know where the lead vocals in the last section were to go.  Was that to be a verse or a chorus?  We may never know.....

[runnersdialzero]

I'm thinking there were plans for something different than the very unfinished versions we have right now. Hard to say/judge, and I don't think people listening to the mix on the box set etc. saying "It's a mess! It would never work!" are realizin' that. REALIZE. REAL EYES.

[guitarfool2002]

Here are the top-40 singles from the summer of 1968. Note that tonight's "Mad Men" used "Words Of Love" over the end credits, last week it was "Reach Out Of The Darkness"...so if you watch Mad Men, you'll probably find next week's on this list too, provided the usage fees aren't too high. 

Think about "Can't Wait Too Long", imagine what else Brian would have or could have added to "polish" the overall sonic footprint of the song, and as much as I love the tune I can't see it on this list, at least from a sonic/production standpoint.

Their biggest singles from this immediate era - Darlin and Do It Again - had not only a great sonic sheen (Darlin's horn section hook, Do It Again's killer drum intro sizzle and singalong choruses), but also had those qualities which made them sound like a hit - that undefinable quality that you can pick out within 5 seconds of listening.

Can't Wait Too Long is the musical equivalent of a "think piece", it's appeal can be found several different places yet it still takes time to develop and digest what's going on. It's a terrific album cut as it stands unfinished, what else could have been added to push it up into hit single territory?

Lack of words does not matter in summer 1968 standards - at least five on this chart are instrumentals, one of which won a Grammy and each of them now beloved classics that have been used dozens of times in various media, at least two of those are considered among the greatest pop instrumental records ever made (Classical Gas, Grazing In The Grass).

The Horse by Cliff Nobles and Co is strangely similar to Can't Wait To Long by design - it was recorded as a backing track where a lead vocal with lyrics was to have been added on top, but that didn't need to happen, it came out without a vocal, and DJ's had no problem playing an instrumental with a killer groove...so this "unfinished" vocal-less track sits at number 6 in the summer of '68, while Can't Wait Too Long sits in the vaults.

Look at this chart...the music is simply amazing and most of it timeless. Incredible.

Removing our BB's bias for a minute, is Can't Wait Too Long as strong of a radio/jukebox/45 song as those on this list that it could have been here had it been released?

It's a better single than D.W. Washburn, I'll say that much...

 1. THIS GUY'S IN LOVE WITH YOU - Herb Alpert (A&M)
 2. LADY WILLPOWER - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (Columbia)
 3. JUMPIN' JACK FLASH - The Rolling Stones (London)
 4. STONED SOUL PICNIC - The 5th Dimension (Soul City)
 5. GRAZING IN THE GRASS - Hugh Masekela (Uni)
 6. THE HORSE - Cliff Nobles & Co. (Phil-L.A. Of Soul)
 7. ANGEL OF THE MORNING - Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts (Bell)
 8. MacARTHUR PARK - Richard Harris (Dunhill)
 9. HELLO, I LOVE YOU - The Doors (Elektra)
10. MRS. ROBINSON - Simon & Garfunkel (Columbia)
11. YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY - The Ohio Express (Buddah)
12. HURDY GURDY MAN - Donovan (Epic)
13. REACH OUT OF THE DARKNESS - Friend & Lover (Verve Forecast)
14. THE LOOK OF LOVE - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M)
15. TURN AROUND, LOOK AT ME - The Vogues (Reprise)
16. CLASSICAL GAS - Mason Williams (Warner Bros.-7 Arts)
17. INDIAN LAKE - The Cowsills (MGM)
18. MONY MONY - Tommy James & The Shondells (Roulette)
19. PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE - The Rascals (Atlantic)
20. SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE - Cream (Atco)
21. BORN TO BE WILD - Steppenwolf (Dunhill)
22. THINK - Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)
23. HERE COMES THE JUDGE - Shorty Long (Soul)
24. DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME - Mama Cass (Dunhill)
25. SKY PILOT (pt. 1) - Eric Burdon & The Animals (MGM)
26. PICTURES OF MATCHSTICK MEN - The Status Quo (Cadet Concept)
27. TIGHTEN UP - Archie Bell & The Drells (Atlantic)
28. I LOVE YOU - People (Capitol)
29. A BEAUTIFUL MORNING - The Rascals (Atlantic)
30. LIGHT MY FIRE - Jose Feliciano (RCA Victor)
31. THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY - Hugo Montenegro (RCA Victor)
32. STAY IN MY CORNER - The Dells (Cadet)
33. SHE'S A HEARTBREAKER - Gene Pitney (Musicor)
34. AUTUMN OF MY LIFE - Bobby Goldsboro (United Artists)
35. LICKING STICK -- LICKING STICK (pt. 1) - James Brown
     & The Famous Flames (King)
36. I COULD NEVER LOVE ANOTHER (After Loving You) -
     The Temptations (Gordy)
37. NEVER GIVE YOU UP - Jerry Butler (Mercury)
38. D.W. WASHBURN - The Monkees (Colgems)
39. SEALED WITH A KISS - Gary Lewis & The Playboys (Liberty)
40. JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE MIND - The Amboy Dukes
     (Mainstream)
41. AIN'T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING -
     Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell  (Tamla)
42. HOW'D WE EVER GET THIS WAY - Andy Kim (Steed)
43. YOU KEEP ME HANGIN' ON - Vanilla Fudge (Atco)
44. I CAN'T STOP DANCING - Archie Bell & The Drells (Atlantic)
45. SOUL-LIMBO - Booker T. & The MG's (Stax)
46. HALFWAY TO PARADISE - Bobby Vinton (Epic)
47. MASTER JACK - Four Jacks And A Jill (RCA Victor)
48. A MAN WITHOUT LOVE (Quando M'Innamora) -
     Engelbert Humperdinck  (Parrot)
49. DON'T TAKE IT SO HARD - Paul Revere & The Raiders (Columbia)
50. LOVE MAKES A WOMAN - Barbara Acklin (Brunswick)

[Mikie]

Seems more like an album cut to me, Ian. An unfinished one. For years thought to be a Smile relic (Been Way Too Long) I think it's still considered to be a Wild Honey outtake, isn't it? I think they revisited it a few times until the Friends sessions in '68. If finished, it could have been a good non-album B side track to one of the singles like Do It Again or Friends. I think the whole thing was something around 5 or 6 minutes so it would have had to have been edited. That's another unfinished song that was still great but coulda been even greater if they stuck with it. Enjoy the Hawthorne version!

[DonnyL]

I think it would have done marginally better than 'Cool Cool Water' !

[joshferrell]

here's an interesting debate, which one is better "Can't wait too long" or "You know my name look up the number", they are both repetitive and kind of similar in some aspects...

[Ebb and Flow]

here's an interesting debate, which one is better "Can't wait too long" or "You know my name look up the number", they are both repetitive and kind of similar in some aspects...

Yes, the released snippets are repetitive, but CWTL, like Smile, was shelved and left unfinished and we basically have no idea of its intended structure or what lyrics Brian had written.  I'm not even sure if all of the sessions for it have been released/booted.

[Rocker]

CWTL is a cool song and I like it very much. But first I wouldn't call it "super-dynamic" and second it feels like Brian was going the GV-H&V-route which is ok, but I don't know if that would've gone over well with the public (if they cared at all).

It's a better single than D.W. Washburn, I'll say that much...

One of my favorite Leiber & Stoller songs...

[guitarfool2002]

It's a better single than D.W. Washburn, I'll say that much...

One of my favorite Leiber & Stoller songs...

The song itself I don't have a problem with. For The Monkees to release it as a single in the summer of 1968 is one of the better examples of the material not being appropriate for the artist, it was a misguided release that the band members thought wasn't the best move. It dented the top 40 charts, in a lukewarm way, but it just wasn't right for the band or for a single. Lester Sill, who pushed the song as a single after hearing the demo, said about the release "I realized I made an awful mistake".

Months later the band released "Porpoise Song/As We Go Along", both of which are centerpieces of the film Head and terrific songs in their own right, perfect for the band and their singers.

I just think it sounds thousands of miles away from what I'd think of as a Monkees song, just like any number of sub-par Beach Boys releases didn't seem right for the band.

[AndrewHickey]

It's a better single than D.W. Washburn, I'll say that much...

One of my favorite Leiber & Stoller songs...

The song itself I don't have a problem with. For The Monkees to release it as a single in the summer of 1968 is one of the better examples of the material not being appropriate for the artist, it was a misguided release that the band members thought wasn't the best move. It dented the top 40 charts, in a lukewarm way, but it just wasn't right for the band or for a single. Lester Sill, who pushed the song as a single after hearing the demo, said about the release "I realized I made an awful mistake".

Yeah. Biggest career-killer ever. But then at that time they had nothing that would have done any better as a single in the can, other than *maybe* Can You Dig It...

[Don Malcolm]

Has fantastic harmonies but it doesn't seem like the type of thing that would have worked on an A-Side. There aren't enough lyrics!

In the GV boxed set version Brian is calling out lyrics in the middle section.  To me, that indicates that Brian must have had a lead part rolling around his head at some point!

It would be interesting to know where the lead vocals in the last section were to go.  Was that to be a verse or a chorus?  We may never know.....

It always seemed to me that it was supposed to be a verse, to follow some version of the "Been Too Long" intro, which would have led to the "Can't Wait Too Long" chorus, but YMMV...

[sockittome]

Seems more like an album cut to me, Ian. An unfinished one. For years thought to be a Smile relic (Been Way Too Long) I think it's still considered to be a Wild Honey outtake, isn't it? I think they revisited it a few times until the Friends sessions in '68. If finished, it could have been a good non-album B side track to one of the singles like Do It Again or Friends. I think the whole thing was something around 5 or 6 minutes so it would have had to have been edited. That's another unfinished song that was still great but coulda been even greater if they stuck with it. Enjoy the Hawthorne version!

There is no way we can even begin to guess how the song might have ended up.  For a single, that working track would need at least two minutes shaved.....unless Brian was looking to stretch the radio play timing boundaries again (you never know!).  I'm gonna assume it was not all meant to be used; look at some of the outtake pieces that have surfaced from some of the WH tracks.  And we don't even know if what we've heard is even close to the sequencing that Brian had in mind.  Is what we refer to as the intro, actually the intro?  

I think folks tend to dismiss this track as an album track, partly because it lacks a strong beat.  Well, the sparingly used percussion could very well have been just a scratch track.  Here again, we'll probably never know.

[petzounds29]

 The song may have stood a chance - remember the first time YOU heard it there was no doubt those harmonies were the beach boys it kinda sounded like their earlier classic"s
  I think Brian could have finished this song quickly if he had wanted to.

[runnersdialzero]

I think the whole thing was something around 5 or 6 minutes so it would have had to have been edited.

What we have is an edit featuring multiple unfinished versions, so it's not really that long.

[Jason Penick]

It's a better single than D.W. Washburn, I'll say that much...

One of my favorite Leiber & Stoller songs...

The song itself I don't have a problem with. For The Monkees to release it as a single in the summer of 1968 is one of the better examples of the material not being appropriate for the artist, it was a misguided release that the band members thought wasn't the best move. It dented the top 40 charts, in a lukewarm way, but it just wasn't right for the band or for a single. Lester Sill, who pushed the song as a single after hearing the demo, said about the release "I realized I made an awful mistake".

Yeah. Biggest career-killer ever. But then at that time they had nothing that would have done any better as a single in the can, other than *maybe* Can You Dig It...

Not to de-rail this thread, but wouldn't "Zor and Zam" been the best choice? It's not that dissimilar to "White Rabbit" which was a huge hit, and had been previously featured on the TV show. I think it may have warmed people up to "Porpoise Song" as well.

As for "Can't Wait Too Long", I agree with nearly everyone else-- it's unfinished, so you can't judge it!