The actual sound of The Beach Boys WITHOUT their engineer correcting vocals

[Stephen W. Desper]

COMMENT ?

The actual sound of The Beach Boys WITHOUT their recording engineer correcting vocal errors. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYc4DT18EJg

[Rob Dean]

Yep Stephen already seen it and it's damn funny HOWEVER i must add what a talented engineer you must be to get such a great vocal sound on tape from a bunch of untalented guys like this 

[Jesse Reiswig]

I agree that there were a few bum notes in the second stanza.

[SenorPotatoHead]

This gave me a helluva laugh    
Funny stuff - thank you!  

[halblaineisgood]

.

[Steve Latshaw]

This is hilarious!  Thanks for posting this, Mr. Desper!

[Steve Latshaw]

<<I don't mean to be super reverent.  'cause I love me some endless syncopations (which, I hope kittykat hasn't alerted the authorities to yet. ILLEGAL YOU TUBES and all...)  but *this video is unfunny.  the truth. Simple as that. If you have contempt for the thing that you are making fun of it's not going to be funny. It's going to be smug.  >>

I suspect the Beach Boys themselves would probably get a huge kick out of this video (especially Dennis). It's classic comedy and they've always been able to laugh at themselves... from the Party Album and all those goofy joke bits on the early Capitol albums to Brian holding his nose to imitate Mike in the 90s.  I'm also reminded of a Jan & Dean bit from the original Filet of Soul album
Jan: We have to do this song again because we accidentally pressed erase on the last one---
Dean: Which is actually better on some of our stuff.

All of these guys were into self-deprecating humor.  Enjoy it.  They did.

[halblaineisgood]

.

[Steve Latshaw]

<< It's just the idea of outsiders commenting on them that I find upsetting and/or irrelevant to me, personally .   Thanks for your lighthearted goodwill. >>

I get it.  I still remember getting dissed by record store employees for buying new Beach Boys albums in the 70s.

[c-man]

This is too painful to even be funny. OK, maybe about 3 seconds of it is endurable enough to be funny. But anyone who can sit through the entire thing should be given some kind of award!

[Steve Latshaw]

But anyone who can sit through the entire thing should be given some kind of award!>>

What do I get?  Still laughing at the handclaps from Dennis.

[adamghost]

1.  I love this clip because to me it's not a diss at the Beach Boys but at how ridiculous lip syncing is.  The point to me is not that the Beach Boys can't sing, the point is that if you took away the audio, that's the sound they're making on the soundstage while they're pretending to play.  Which I find hilarious.

2.  The whole "engineer correction" thing requires a different parody, I think.  One reason people can't capture the Beach Boys sound today -- besides all the obvious genetic ones -- is the obsession with correcting pitch.  The Beach Boys sound comes precisely because it's singers with a great blend singing every so slightly out of tune and the width the double makes.  It doesn't mean they're bad singers; it means they're intuitive, going for feel, balancing and adjusting to each other in the moment, and the little imperfections are the seasoning that makes the bread rise.  It's very hard to do this today in an environment where everything is under the microscope and corrected, because you have to have the courage to let those little imperfections stand.  Hell, you have to have the courage to have three or four singers sing simultaneously around one mic.  Back in the '60s and even the '70s, with more limited technology and tracks, it was much easier, because you had to.

3.  Steve Desper is a god, there, I said it.

[ontor pertawst]

Why they don't have A GOD himself doing mixes and working on boxed set releases or expanded editions of the albums he worked on is fucking NUTS and beyond me. It seems like a no brainer of a decision. No offense to the good folks involved, but geeze... invoke the Desper!

[CenturyDeprived]

Why they don't have A GOD himself doing mixes and working on boxed set releases or expanded editions of the albums he worked on is fucking NUTS and beyond me. It seems like a no brainer of a decision. No offense to the good folks involved, but geeze... invoke the Desper!

+1 (!!)

[Stephen W. Desper]

2.  The whole "engineer correction" thing requires a different parody, I think.  One reason people can't capture the Beach Boys sound today -- besides all the obvious genetic ones -- is the obsession with correcting pitch.  The Beach Boys sound comes precisely because it's singers with a great blend singing every so slightly out of tune and the width the double makes.  It doesn't mean they're bad singers; it means they're intuitive, going for feel, balancing and adjusting to each other in the moment, and the little imperfections are the seasoning that makes the bread rise.  It's very hard to do this today in an environment where everything is under the microscope and corrected, because you have to have the courage to let those little imperfections stand.  Hell, you have to have the courage to have three or four singers sing simultaneously around one mic.  Back in the '60s and even the '70s, with more limited technology and tracks, it was much easier, because you had to.

COMMENT:

You are so right.  Technology can get in the way of the music. Just because you can do some engineering trick doesn't mean you must.  Listen to Frank Sinatra ... he didn't always hit the notes as written, but his phrasing made up for it. However, sometimes you must intervene as elucidated in the following satirical video. 

Life as a Recording Engineer >>> http://www.wimp.com/recordingengineer/

~swd

[metal flake paint]

Sounds like Red Skelton booked the wrong act

[Don Malcolm]

Very well put, Adam. The road to sterility is paved with the stones of over-perfectionism. There are so many genius moments in the BBs vocals that come from letting the chips (and the blend) fall where they may, and they are unique to the BBs because of that. I think at their best they knew how to recognize a "happy accident" when it happened and incorporate it into the track. And much of that occurs (to my ears, at least) during the time that Steve is involved in production/mixing. It was a time when the music went in many directions at once, but the constant factor was an organic attempt to add depth, presence and "life" in the vocal blend.

[Debbie Keil-Leavitt]

2.  The whole "engineer correction" thing requires a different parody, I think.  One reason people can't capture the Beach Boys sound today -- besides all the obvious genetic ones -- is the obsession with correcting pitch.  The Beach Boys sound comes precisely because it's singers with a great blend singing every so slightly out of tune and the width the double makes.  It doesn't mean they're bad singers; it means they're intuitive, going for feel, balancing and adjusting to each other in the moment, and the little imperfections are the seasoning that makes the bread rise.  It's very hard to do this today in an environment where everything is under the microscope and corrected, because you have to have the courage to let those little imperfections stand.  Hell, you have to have the courage to have three or four singers sing simultaneously around one mic.  Back in the '60s and even the '70s, with more limited technology and tracks, it was much easier, because you had to.

COMMENT:

You are so right.  Technology can get in the way of the music. Just because you can do some engineering trick doesn't mean you must.  Listen to Frank Sinatra ... he didn't always hit the notes as written, but his phrasing made up for it. However, sometimes you must intervene as elucidated in the following satirical video.  

Life as a Recording Engineer >>> http://www.wimp.com/recordingengineer/

~swd

And the poor bastard will have to go out on the road and do it again, night after night.  Now THAT was a Holiday treat, Stephen! 

[Lee Marshall]

Really funny.

This guy...http://www.wimp.com/recordingengineer/...was hilarious.  No doubt, not unlike 'John', he had blisters on his fingers.
 
Loved 'I  Get Around'.  MAN those guys could SING...although the guitar playing needed a little improvement.  Heck.  I can play exactly like THAT.  [and I'm a drummer]

[Andrew G. Doe]

This is too painful to even be funny. OK, maybe about 3 seconds of it is endurable enough to be funny. But anyone who can sit through the entire thing should be given some kind of award!

I'm with Craig - I find all these "shred" things (not just the BB) about as amusing as hemorrhoid surgery without anesthetic.

[the captain]

This is too painful to even be funny. OK, maybe about 3 seconds of it is endurable enough to be funny. But anyone who can sit through the entire thing should be given some kind of award!

I'm with Craig - I find all these "shred" things (not just the BB) about as amusing as hemorrhoid surgery without anesthetic.

On whom is the surgery in question? It could be more or less funny depending on that answer.

Seriously, as for the video, I thought it was somewhat funny. It's very funny to me as a shorter clip, but the joke doesn't hold up for the full running time.

[Lee Marshall]

First one I've EVER heard Andrew.  I was never much of a You Tube kinda guy.  Anyway...the first time I EVER heard anyone attempt to MOCK the BBs...was on the Shut Down Vol 2 lp...when they did it to themselves.  Cassius/Sonny.  Anyway I'll bet THEY would have found this funny.

The thought of such a great vocal group sounding so gawd-awful ... THAT'S where the humour is.  Hard to get a contrast anywhere near that wide with too many other groups.  After all...there's the Beach Boys...and then there's everybody else.

[Mr. Wilson]

Well I REALLY don't think that is BB singin.. Must be a joke.. IMHO

[The Shift]

I'm with Craig - I find all these "shred" things (not just the BB) about as amusing as hemorrhoid surgery without anesthetic.

I can truthfully state that the I Get Around shred is funnier. I speak from experience that I hope you never have to share.

[runnersdialzero]

Jeez, what a humorless lot.

P.S. Kiss shreds or Creed Shreds 3. NOW.