Couple of questions re: POB and Bambu ("Holy Man", "School Girl", etc.)

[maggie]

Three random questions about late-'70s Denny. My apologies if these really belong in the "random questions" thread, but I thought it might be helpful to concentrate some of the more nitpicky archival issues relating to these sessions in one thread.

1. I have read that the melody of the Taylor Hawkins vocal version of "Holy Man" is based on a scratch scat vocal by Carl. Since Hawkins gets a co-writer credit on the released version (but as far as I know didn't contribute to the lyrics), I wonder how complete that scratch vocal was. Has anyone heard it? How much is Hawkins's vocal melody "inferred"?

2. Apparently the booted/early version of "School Girl" ended with some provocative lyrics that are not included on the released version. I've never heard or seen these. What are they? And why were they erased?

3. "Piano Variations on Thoughts of You": Does this title actually originate with Dennis or is it an archivist's designation? The chord progression doesn't resemble "Thoughts of You" that much -- it is actually more similar to "Cuddle Up" and in the same key of C ("Thoughts of You" is in D flat).

[JK]

2. Apparently the booted/early version of "School Girl" ended with some provocative lyrics that are not included on the released version. I've never heard or seen these. What are they? And why were they erased?

Hi Maggie. Are you sure you don't mean "Wild Situation"?

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

[maggie]

Hi Maggie. Are you sure you don't mean "Wild Situation"?

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

You're almost certainly right, John! I've never heard that before. For some reason I thought I had read it was "School Girl," but I probably arrived at that assumption because of the long stretch at the end of the latter with no lead vocal (giving the impression something has been erased).

[c-man]

Well, the bootlegged rough mix of "School Girl" contains some (wonderful, IMO) scat-singing at the end, which was wiped from the master tape.


As for "Holy Man" - yes, Carl scatted the melody on an old reference mix. What Taylor contributes songwriting-wise was turning Gregg's original lyrics, which were more in prose form, into a singable lyric (according to him).

Incidentally, if your as big a POB/Bambu fan as you seem to be, you'll want to check out my sessionographies and essays for those two albums, if you haven't already:

www.beachboysarchives.com
 

[maggie]

Well, the bootlegged rough mix of "School Girl" contains some (wonderful, IMO) scat-singing at the end, which was wiped from the master tape.


As for "Holy Man" - yes, Carl scatted the melody on an old reference mix. What Taylor contributes songwriting-wise was turning Gregg's original lyrics, which were more in prose form, into a singable lyric (according to him).

Incidentally, if your as big a POB/Bambu fan as you seem to be, you'll want to check out my sessionographies and essays for those two albums, if you haven't already:

www.beachboysarchives.com
 

Thanks for the link, Craig. I've read and enjoyed your essays but it's been a while since I looked at your POB/Bambu entry! Thanks for the clarification regarding the authorship of "Holy Man." Do you know if Carl's scratch vocal has ever leaked? That feels like a pretty significant omission from the Legacy set.

I appear to have confabulated the wiped scat singing on the coda of "School Girl" with the "it's a big erection" lyrics of the alternate "Wild Situation"!

[c-man]

Well, the bootlegged rough mix of "School Girl" contains some (wonderful, IMO) scat-singing at the end, which was wiped from the master tape.


As for "Holy Man" - yes, Carl scatted the melody on an old reference mix. What Taylor contributes songwriting-wise was turning Gregg's original lyrics, which were more in prose form, into a singable lyric (according to him).

Incidentally, if your as big a POB/Bambu fan as you seem to be, you'll want to check out my sessionographies and essays for those two albums, if you haven't already:

www.beachboysarchives.com
 

Thanks for the link, Craig. I've read and enjoyed your essays but it's been a while since I looked at your POB/Bambu entry! Thanks for the clarification regarding the authorship of "Holy Man." Do you know if Carl's scratch vocal has ever leaked? That feels like a pretty significant omission from the Legacy set.

Nope, never leaked. FYI, I've updated my essays for Dennis' solo albums in the past year...more visually appealing, with a few additions/corrections along the way.