Adult/Child's demise

[buddhahat]

No love for Lines here? Maybe my favourite off that album. Just a big slice-o'life Brian.

Yes Lines is beautiful - my favourite too from the album and one of my favourite late 70s Brian tracks.

[Niko]

Frank Sinatra covered I Write The Songs

CLOSE ENOUGH right?

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Controversial opinion time...i much prefer the Adult Child and New Album songs to Love You...

[Alan Smith]

No love for Lines here? Maybe my favourite off that album. Just a big slice-o'life Brian.

Yes Lines is beautiful - my favourite too from the album and one of my favourite late 70s Brian tracks.

Plenty of Love for Lines here too - yeah, good call on the slice of life vein that stems back to I'd Love Just Once to See You (or earlier?) that pops up again in BDN, IWTS, to name a couple - I think Still I Dream of It is also not too that far removed

[phirnis]

Frankly, I can't believed they released Love You.  Which is sort of the point and much of its charm.

I can absolutely see why Love You was released at the time. Did you hear that demo version of I'll Bet He's Nice where Mike Love is clearly in awe of how brilliant that song is? The vocal performances may sound a little rough by BB standards (to put it mildly) but most of the songs were just incredibly catchy, much more so than pretty much any of the stuff the group had issued since Sunflower.

[Smilin Ed H]

I like the ambition of the big band numbers. in fact, I wish the album had been all big band stuff. Presumably, Brian lost interest. The stuff from 69/70 sticks out like a sore thumb. I do, however, love Lines.

[Nicko1234]

Releasing the big band songs as an EP would have been an interesting move but, again, not of much commercial interest I guess.

[Please delete my account]

1.  Life is For The Living - awesome
2.  Hey Little Tomboy - appalling
3.  Deep Purple - awful
4.  H.E.L.P. Is On The Way - ace
5.  It’s Over Now - awesome
6.  Everybody Wants To Live - awesome

7.  Shortenin’ Bread - average
8.  Lines - unfinished
9.  On Broadway - appalling
10.  Games Two Can Play - average
11.  It’s Trying To Say - unfinished
12.  Still I Dream of It -awesome

I couldn't think of a word for unfinished that begins with "A".

[Dudd]

"Abandoned"? 

I love the big band tracks to pieces, even "Deep Purple". "It's Over Now" is up with the best of Love You, in my opinion. And as baffling as some of the material they put in is, it's a pleasant listening experience... "Life" is a great opener, "Everybody Wants To Live" you can imagine kicking off side 2, and "Still I Dream Of It" is at least a better way to close an album than "Love Is A Woman", right?

Still, a lot of the other tracks really do sound like demos - I don't know what they were expecting throwing in those versions of "Shortenin' Bread" and "Lines" in the final master. And I can't deny that "H.E.L.P", "On Broadway", and "Hey Little Tomboy" drag the album down quite a bit. (seriously, what were they thinking putting the latter on M.I.U.?)

Flawed as it is, I still love it. A big shame Brian lost interest in the big band tracks; I really do think the four put the album are special.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Life Is For The Living is a terrific opener (has everyone heard the isolated backing track? Also great!). My favourite moment on the entire album however is the 'Gonna tell her' fade to Lines - great stuff! Also, I much prefer the version of Shortenin' Bread here to that on L.A. - that repetitive farty synth is utterly splendid. Not much else grabs my attention on A/C though... (besides the 'old' tracks: HELP and Games...)

[Joel Goldenberg]

As far as the big band tracks are concerned, It's Over Now sounds pretty 1977-contemporary to me.

[Bean Bag]

Frankly, I can't believed they released Love You.  Which is sort of the point and much of its charm.

I can absolutely see why Love You was released at the time. Did you hear that demo version of I'll Bet He's Nice where Mike Love is clearly in awe of how brilliant that song is? The vocal performances may sound a little rough by BB standards (to put it mildly) but most of the songs were just incredibly catchy, much more so than pretty much any of the stuff the group had issued since Sunflower.

I agree.  I think I actually like the Love You demo versions more.

When I first heard Love You, I couldn't believe they agreed to release it.  Especially Johnny Carson.  I felt the same way for Smiley Smile.  Two of my favorite Beach Boy albums.

Still can't believe they got released.  They're nuts!   

Adult/Child would have been just as "shocking."  Maybe a little more so.  It's a favorite as well.  Baseball's on!!

[Bean Bag]

As far as the big band tracks are concerned, It's Over Now sounds pretty 1977-contemporary to me.

Yep.  I love the cheesy, schmaltzy big band tracks.  This album is so crazy!

[CenturyDeprived]

Frankly, I can't believed they released Love You.  Which is sort of the point and much of its charm.

I can absolutely see why Love You was released at the time. Did you hear that demo version of I'll Bet He's Nice where Mike Love is clearly in awe of how brilliant that song is? The vocal performances may sound a little rough by BB standards (to put it mildly) but most of the songs were just incredibly catchy, much more so than pretty much any of the stuff the group had issued since Sunflower.

I agree.  I think I actually like the Love You demo versions more.

When I first heard Love You, I couldn't believe they agreed to release it.  Especially Johnny Carson.  I felt the same way for Smiley Smile.  Two of my favorite Beach Boy albums.

Still can't believe they got released.  They're nuts!  

Adult/Child would have been just as "shocking."  Maybe a little more so.  It's a favorite as well.  Baseball's on!!

Agreed on all counts. Shocking and whacked-out Adult/Child with flashes of true brilliance beats the bland + formulaic M.I.U. Album any day. (And mind you, I still dig M.I.U. Album and think it's underrated compared to its harshest critics, but relatively speaking it's so much more forgettable.) I guess the ultimate head-scratcher for me is why the whacked-out Love You made the release cut, and A/C didn't.

[Doo Dah]

Leave out the covers and concentrate upon the big band numbers and cool gems such as Lines, and you've got a great, quirky Brian solo album. The necessity of another Warner album probably meant that it was Beach Boys or nothing at all. And nothing at all turned into MIU.

Wonder if he was so disposed to try a solo LP back then - Mike was active with Celebration at the time after all.  

[The Cincinnati Kid]

I would have liked to have seen Frank Sinatra's face when "Life Is For the Living" was played for him, if Brian got his wish for Frank to hear it as a possible song to cover.

Wrong song: "Still I Dream Of It".

That would have been a great song for Frank to sing (assuming he never did).

[Mr. Cohen]

That reminds me of a funny Randy Newman story. He wrote "Lonely At the Top" for Sinatra and even played it for Sinatra in person, to audition the song. If I remember  the story correctly, Sinatra left the room without really saying much. And so it ended up on Sail Away, lol.

[Bean Bag]

Sinatra was a cool cat.  For him to be in his 50s/60s and being out auditioning new "young" artists' material is alright!

He was interested in exploring new directions in the late 60s and 70s.  Some Brian-stuff would have been great -- lyrically and musically -- Love is a Woman, Airplane -- stuff from this era.  Man... that'da been awesome!

[Bean Bag]

Frankly, I can't believed they released Love You.  Which is sort of the point and much of its charm.

I can absolutely see why Love You was released at the time. Did you hear that demo version of I'll Bet He's Nice where Mike Love is clearly in awe of how brilliant that song is? The vocal performances may sound a little rough by BB standards (to put it mildly) but most of the songs were just incredibly catchy, much more so than pretty much any of the stuff the group had issued since Sunflower.

I agree.  I think I actually like the Love You demo versions more.

When I first heard Love You, I couldn't believe they agreed to release it.  Especially Johnny Carson.  I felt the same way for Smiley Smile.  Two of my favorite Beach Boy albums.

Still can't believe they got released.  They're nuts!  

Adult/Child would have been just as "shocking."  Maybe a little more so.  It's a favorite as well.  Baseball's on!!

Agreed on all counts. Shocking and whacked-out Adult/Child with flashes of true brilliance beats the bland + formulaic M.I.U. Album any day. (And mind you, I still dig M.I.U. Album and think it's underrated compared to its harshest critics, but relatively speaking it's so much more forgettable.) I guess the ultimate head-scratcher for me is why the whacked-out Love You made the release cut, and A/C didn't.

Oh yeah -- big MIU fan here too.  But, absolutely, MIU is like saltine crackers compared to the gin and tonic of A/C and L/Y.  

[Bean Bag]

Any idea on what the cover woulda/coulda have been for Adult Child???

Sit ups and puuuush ups!

I can see Bri out jogging with a big shi-t eatin' grin.  Sweat bands.  With Denny running behind him, hair blowing, smiling, squinting.  Carl jogging and grinning.  Mike and Al in them running shorts!

[Niko]

"Abandoned"? 

I love the big band tracks to pieces, even "Deep Purple". "It's Over Now" is up with the best of Love You, in my opinion. And as baffling as some of the material they put in is, it's a pleasant listening experience... "Life" is a great opener, "Everybody Wants To Live" you can imagine kicking off side 2, and "Still I Dream Of It" is at least a better way to close an album than "Love Is A Woman", right?

Still, a lot of the other tracks really do sound like demos - I don't know what they were expecting throwing in those versions of "Shortenin' Bread" and "Lines" in the final master. And I can't deny that "H.E.L.P", "On Broadway", and "Hey Little Tomboy" drag the album down quite a bit. (seriously, what were they thinking putting the latter on M.I.U.?)

Flawed as it is, I still love it. A big shame Brian lost interest in the big band tracks; I really do think the four put the album are special.

I love Adult Child too. It's like Love You but with all strange/wonderful aspects that make it Love You AMPED UP. It's a weird album and it comes across as insane in the places that Love You was childish and endearing. The only track I dislike is Tomboy. The music itself is of average quality, but the lyrics make it, to me, unlistenable. I leave it out of all my mixes.

But I love it for those reasons - it's a truly unique piece of work.

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

"Abandoned"? 

I love the big band tracks to pieces, even "Deep Purple". "It's Over Now" is up with the best of Love You, in my opinion. And as baffling as some of the material they put in is, it's a pleasant listening experience... "Life" is a great opener, "Everybody Wants To Live" you can imagine kicking off side 2, and "Still I Dream Of It" is at least a better way to close an album than "Love Is A Woman", right?

Still, a lot of the other tracks really do sound like demos - I don't know what they were expecting throwing in those versions of "Shortenin' Bread" and "Lines" in the final master. And I can't deny that "H.E.L.P", "On Broadway", and "Hey Little Tomboy" drag the album down quite a bit. (seriously, what were they thinking putting the latter on M.I.U.?)

Flawed as it is, I still love it. A big shame Brian lost interest in the big band tracks; I really do think the four put the album are special.

I love Adult Child too. It's like Love You but with all strange/wonderful aspects that make it Love You AMPED UP. It's a weird album and it comes across as insane in the places that Love You was childish and endearing. The only track I dislike is Tomboy. The music itself is of average quality, but the lyrics make it, to me, unlistenable. I leave it out of all my mixes.

But I love it for those reasons - it's a truly unique piece of work.

To me the album seems much more all over the place than Love You, both in sentiment and production.  Some songs sound like Love You Part II, some are in the big band style, "Life is for the Living" is Love You in the big band style, and some are, I think, quite a bit closer to Friends than Love You.  And on top of all that, the two older tracks stick out quite a bit more than "Good Time" did on Love You.  Even though it has more songs I'm indifferent to than Love You does, I still think it's a pretty strong album, though, partly because I like how all over the place it is and partly because it has some fine Brian songs with lyrics that are either charmingly eccentric or charmingly homespun depending on the song.  It probably wouldn't have sold terribly well, but then again, neither did M.I.U.

[Julia]

It's interesting how much less info there is to go on for Adult/Child and Paley compared to SMiLE. We should probably thank the lucky stars that Derek Taylor and David Anderle encouraged so many writers and hip outsiders to hang around the sessions in 1966 or else we wouldn't have gotten the myth, the intrigue and tantalizing details we have with that album. We'd just have the same one-paragraph basic summary of "someone in the band didn't like it."

There's an alternate timeline where Jack Reilly or someone with media savvy is still the band's manager during the Brian is Back era and decides to host journalists at the studio to show them the byline is true and not empty hype. And those publications keep a man there either to chronicle the amazing comeback or the fascinating trainwreck, going into the followup that never comes to pass. And then forever more we obsess over the Tom Nolan or Nick Kent article "Goodbye Summer, Hello Broadway" and Brian sings a throwaway line in an interview "oh how I love me some tomboys" and we debate whether it's a secret vintage lyric to Hey Little Tomboy, or we hear a new buried recording of Brian singing Shortenin' Bread in a different key with oboe overdubs and declare "this is the true second movement to SB!"

Eh, maybe A/C doesn't have that kind of pathos and lore to carry such interest. But I think the Paley sessions might've had Brian been of more sound mind to present the songs in a polished solo form (enough to show their brilliance but where we'd wonder how the BB harmonies could carry them to the next level) and talk to the press. By the 90s, between the Landy and Melinda periods, there just wasn't enough interest in the band nor any outside observers to carry on the tale for a proper Paley mythos to develop...

[BJL]

It's interesting how much less info there is to go on for Adult/Child and Paley compared to SMiLE. We should probably thank the lucky stars that Derek Taylor and David Anderle encouraged so many writers and hip outsiders to hang around the sessions in 1966 or else we wouldn't have gotten the myth, the intrigue and tantalizing details we have with that album. We'd just have the same one-paragraph basic summary of "someone in the band didn't like it."

There's an alternate timeline where Jack Reilly or someone with media savvy is still the band's manager during the Brian is Back era and decides to host journalists at the studio to show them the byline is true and not empty hype. And those publications keep a man there either to chronicle the amazing comeback or the fascinating trainwreck, going into the followup that never comes to pass. And then forever more we obsess over the Tom Nolan or Nick Kent article "Goodbye Summer, Hello Broadway" and Brian sings a throwaway line in an interview "oh how I love me some tomboys" and we debate whether it's a secret vintage lyric to Hey Little Tomboy, or we hear a new buried recording of Brian singing Shortenin' Bread in a different key with oboe overdubs and declare "this is the true second movement to SB!"

Eh, maybe A/C doesn't have that kind of pathos and lore to carry such interest. But I think the Paley sessions might've had Brian been of more sound mind to present the songs in a polished solo form (enough to show their brilliance but where we'd wonder how the BB harmonies could carry them to the next level) and talk to the press. By the 90s, between the Landy and Melinda periods, there just wasn't enough interest in the band nor any outside observers to carry on the tale for a proper Paley mythos to develop...

I dunno, when I was a kid I had Back to the Beach and How Deep is the Ocean (what can I say, I was a weird kid), and one of those two (or both? - once again I'm away from my books) had descriptions of the Paley sessions that made them sound absolutely epic. At some point I actually heard them (Napster, maybe? Were they out then? Maybe it was later...) and I was like, okay. The best stuff is as good as the best stuff on the first solo record. I think in the end it was the mundanity of the story and the mediocrity of a big chunk of the music, not all mind you, but too much of it, that undercut any potential legend in the offing...

[Julia]

I dunno, when I was a kid I had Back to the Beach and How Deep is the Ocean (what can I say, I was a weird kid), and one of those two (or both? - once again I'm away from my books) had descriptions of the Paley sessions that made them sound absolutely epic. At some point I actually heard them (Napster, maybe? Were they out then? Maybe it was later...) and I was like, okay. The best stuff is as good as the best stuff on the first solo record. I think in the end it was the mundanity of the story and the mediocrity of a big chunk of the music, not all mind you, but too much of it, that undercut any potential legend in the offing...

Haha, well to each their own. I first heard the Paley stuff after marathoning BW's solo output over a few days and in that context it absolutely blew me away. It was like pure, raw, analog Brian again after hours of over-produced Landy and digital-autotuned Thomas schlock.

Getting in Over My Head is on the shortlist for my favorite post-SMiLE Brian song. Might even be #1 in that category.