Tempo of live BB song performances throughout the years

[Lonely Summer]

Wow. That "Catch a Wave" was horrendously slow. It almost seemed so slow that maybe it was the tape and not necessarily the arrangement.

But regardless of how heinous that was, I'm pretty sure the group's outfits are about 30 times more embarrassing. I know it's stupid, but the reputation of The Beach Boys was done no favors by what major douches they looked like. Carl and Brian usually managed to not look that bad (with some exceptions) but Mike and Bruce, wow. And Al with that ponytail, awww man.

I don't find anything wrong with the tempo there, doesn't seem much slower than the record. Those clothes, though....where on earth did Al get that hideous hat? And sorry guys, I don't want to see you in shorts...leave that to Taylor Swift...or Taylor Mills! Carl looks cool, though, much slimmer there than he was in the S&S videos.

[bringahorseinhere?]

the Carl in the S&S video's was a very sick Carl Wilson.  We should be lucky and proud of the fact he was even there at that time.

[Pretty Funky]

'Catch A Wave' a few months earlier was much better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bImg2cKkHHg


Got to blame the drummer I'm afraid.

[Cabinessenceking]

When it comes to the Beach Boys one can be advised on forgetting the 80's or 90's ever happened.

CRINGE performance and CRINGE outfits.

[HeyJude]

Wow. That "Catch a Wave" was horrendously slow. It almost seemed so slow that maybe it was the tape and not necessarily the arrangement.

But regardless of how heinous that was, I'm pretty sure the group's outfits are about 30 times more embarrassing. I know it's stupid, but the reputation of The Beach Boys was done no favors by what major douches they looked like. Carl and Brian usually managed to not look that bad (with some exceptions) but Mike and Bruce, wow. And Al with that ponytail, awww man.

I don't find anything wrong with the tempo there, doesn't seem much slower than the record. Those clothes, though....where on earth did Al get that hideous hat? And sorry guys, I don't want to see you in shorts...leave that to Taylor Swift...or Taylor Mills! Carl looks cool, though, much slimmer there than he was in the S&S videos.

The Al hat seems to be an anomaly; while everything else they're wearing seems par for the course for that era (remember, we're not only dealing with 90s fashion, now over 20 years later, we're dealing with what guys in their *fifties* were doing with 90s fashion back then), I think the Al hat must be a gimmick, like someone gave him the hat before the show.

But yeah, overall they looked a trainwreck fashion-wise even back then. Kinda like how in the late 80s about the only thing they were all missing on stage was literally wearing a fannypack and wearing neon shades.

[SMiLE Brian]

Thank God for whoever dressed them on the C50!

[HeyJude]

When it comes to the Beach Boys one can be advised on forgetting the 80's or 90's ever happened.

CRINGE performance and CRINGE outfits.

Little known fact, the BBs of the 80s were actually doppelgangers, so we can't actually blame the BB themselves. Sounds far fetched, but when you go back and look at the photos, it starts to make more sense.....

[HeyJude]

'Catch A Wave' a few months earlier was much better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bImg2cKkHHg


Got to blame the drummer I'm afraid.

Stamos certainly isn't helping. Amateur drummer. You can even hear him fumble the very beginning of the song. 100% the dude who learned just enough drums to show off and pick up women. "I'm a TV star *and* a drummer!"

[HeyJude]

When it comes to the Beach Boys one can be advised on forgetting the 80's or 90's ever happened.

CRINGE performance and CRINGE outfits.

What are you talking about?   



I'm not big on the "Carl was above it all and never looked tacky", but certainly in this era he's dressed very plainly but nicely in black, and with the shades *does* kinda look like he's trying to enter the witness protection program to get away from Mike's pants.....

[metal flake paint]

Give me this live version of "Catch A Wave" over those lame 90's versions anyday:

https://youtu.be/RzOODarjt84?t=18m18s

[CenturyDeprived]

When it comes to the Beach Boys one can be advised on forgetting the 80's or 90's ever happened.

CRINGE performance and CRINGE outfits.

What are you talking about?   



I'm not big on the "Carl was above it all and never looked tacky", but certainly in this era he's dressed very plainly but nicely in black, and with the shades *does* kinda look like he's trying to enter the witness protection program to get away from Mike's pants.....

As bad as Mike and Bruce's outfits are in this '80s pic, some of those clothes (like the pants) might have at least been considered fashionable for a brief moment during the decade... unlike the 1994 concert footage, which has to be BAR NONE the worst those guys (including Al) have ever dressed onstage. It is approximately 1000 miles beyond embarrassing.

[tpesky]

Give me this live version of "Catch A Wave" over those lame 90's versions anyday:

https://youtu.be/RzOODarjt84?t=18m18s

I'm with you 100 %

[bringahorseinhere?]

Give me this live version of "Catch A Wave" over those lame 90's versions anyday:

https://youtu.be/RzOODarjt84?t=18m18s

I'm with you 100 %

I miss this version of 'The Beach Boys'.  They sound great here. Dennis really played his heart out on those songs.  That strong backbeat drum style
that Dennis only had, really drove the energy of their songs. No one has ever replicated that 'thing that he does'

[Lonely Summer]

Give me this live version of "Catch A Wave" over those lame 90's versions anyday:

https://youtu.be/RzOODarjt84?t=18m18s

I'm with you 100 %

I miss this version of 'The Beach Boys'.  They sound great here. Dennis really played his heart out on those songs.  That strong backbeat drum style
that Dennis only had, really drove the energy of their songs. No one has ever replicated that 'thing that he does'

That version is a lot faster than the record, so I guess it's down to whether you prefer a live reproduction of the record, or a performance that stands on its own.

[metal flake paint]

Personally, I prefer a live version of a song to have its own energy and character. Dennis really drives this performance and Carl in particular really feeds off that energy. In contrast, the nineties rendition seems rather lifeless.

[mikeddonn]

When it comes to the Beach Boys one can be advised on forgetting the 80's or 90's ever happened.

CRINGE performance and CRINGE outfits.

What are you talking about?   



I'm not big on the "Carl was above it all and never looked tacky", but certainly in this era he's dressed very plainly but nicely in black, and with the shades *does* kinda look like he's trying to enter the witness protection program to get away from Mike's pants.....

As bad as Mike and Bruce's outfits are in this '80s pic, some of those clothes (like the pants) might have at least been considered fashionable for a brief moment during the decade... unlike the 1994 concert footage, which has to be BAR NONE the worst those guys (including Al) have ever dressed onstage. It is approximately 1000 miles beyond embarrassing.

I always though it a bit strange Carl wearing suits with shirts buttoned right up for outdoor shows in the heat, especially black! Or Brian wearing a designer shirt with tracksuit bottoms and white trainers.  Nothing wrong with it at all, each to their own.  But let's not make it exclusive to Mike and Bruce (although they are the worst!  . I guess over the years Dennis was the coolest.  What would a 90s Dennis have worn?

[CenturyDeprived]

When it comes to the Beach Boys one can be advised on forgetting the 80's or 90's ever happened.

CRINGE performance and CRINGE outfits.

What are you talking about?   



I'm not big on the "Carl was above it all and never looked tacky", but certainly in this era he's dressed very plainly but nicely in black, and with the shades *does* kinda look like he's trying to enter the witness protection program to get away from Mike's pants.....

As bad as Mike and Bruce's outfits are in this '80s pic, some of those clothes (like the pants) might have at least been considered fashionable for a brief moment during the decade... unlike the 1994 concert footage, which has to be BAR NONE the worst those guys (including Al) have ever dressed onstage. It is approximately 1000 miles beyond embarrassing.

I always though it a bit strange Carl wearing suits with shirts buttoned right up for outdoor shows in the heat, especially black! Or Brian wearing a designer shirt with tracksuit bottoms and white trainers.  Nothing wrong with it at all, each to their own.  But let's not make it exclusive to Mike and Bruce (although they are the worst!  . I guess over the years Dennis was the coolest.  What would a 90s Dennis have worn?

Clothes aside, I bet a late 80s-early 90s Denny would have rocked a crazy, hardcore mullet.

[Jukka]

Late 80's Denny, if he'd gotten his act together, would have been Don Johnson lookalike. If he hadn't, he would have been grunge before anyone.

[mikeddonn]

Late 80's Denny, if he'd gotten his act together, would have been Don Johnson lookalike. If he hadn't, he would have been grunge before anyone.

I like the Don Johnson image of Dennis.  Dennis would have invented the look!

[Emily]

As bad as Mike and Bruce's outfits are in this '80s pic, some of those clothes (like the pants) might have at least been considered fashionable for a brief moment during the decade...

No.

[Lonely Summer]

the Carl in the S&S video's was a very sick Carl Wilson.  We should be lucky and proud of the fact he was even there at that time.

Well, most of us did not know at the time he was sick, but yes, I am glad he was there.

[Cabinessenceking]

As bad as Mike and Bruce's outfits are in this '80s pic, some of those clothes (like the pants) might have at least been considered fashionable for a brief moment during the decade...

No.

Bruce and Mike might be the most tacky and cheesiest dressed fellows which made it that far.

[HeyJude]

While I'm far from a fashion maven, I don't know if much of anything I've ever seen the BBs wear has struck me as super cool and fashionable. I think they had moments of "okay, that looks pretty cool", and usually those tend to be random shots as opposed to concert shots.

They looked uniform, obviously, in their live "uniform" era. I think in the late 60s they, or at least Carl, Al, and Dennis, tended to look pretty normal and cool. Once they hit around 1976 or so, it was all downhill. Dennis never struck me as looking well-dressed so much as pulling off the "I don't care and I just grab a t-shirt from the merch stand" vibe. I don't think the ladies terribly cared what he wore.

But Emily is right, the BBs looked ridiculous, even in 1989 and even when that neon/jagged triangles with squiggly bits pattern sort of look was popular with the young'uns. In the late 80s and early 90s they were all in their late 40s and early 50s, and arguably looked even *older* than that, and looked ridiculous when they dressed like MC Hammer's backup dancers.

But I do think even bands that were seen as "cooler" back then (and/or now) had bad fashion moments in that era. I think it's all funny in the end, especially now. Random image: Even their tour crew gear screams that era. Yep, that's pretty much precisely what 1991 looked like in terms of graphic design!

[Emily]

While I'm far from a fashion maven, I don't know if much of anything I've ever seen the BBs wear has struck me as super cool and fashionable. I think they had moments of "okay, that looks pretty cool", and usually those tend to be random shots as opposed to concert shots.

Brian's not been fashionable but he had great style '65 - '73

[The_Beach]

From what I hear it seems like the tempos change from song to song year by year! Interesting hearing the tunes going by each year. Help me Rhonda sounded ALOT  different in the early 70s