Rare live version of “Soul Searchin'” from 2004

[Rocky Raccoon]

This was posted today on Brian’s official YouTube page. Man, he was in great voice on that tour!
https://youtu.be/nsFgdQjlmfM

[Awesoman]

This was posted today on Brian’s official YouTube page. Man, he was in great voice on that tour!
https://youtu.be/nsFgdQjlmfM

Sounds like it was professionally mixed...

[“Big Daddy”]

Great recording, what a nice surprise! Hope BW’s team puts up more stuff like this.

[Pablo.]

Wow! A very spirited vocal, and a smart coda for the live performance. This is a board mix, to say the least.

[NateRuvin]

Mannnn---- I'd kill to get a package (of at least this quality and better) of BW live over the last 20 years. Same for M&B too!! The evolution of the various members in each group, the different songs of each era, give VonMertens/Totten/Sahanaja/Farmer/ etc... their due.

My dream is that they'd be a paired package, (hell through Al and Davids tours too)  with more C50 stuff, but that'll never happen.

But say a package like each came out... I'd be just as excited to hear a CD with BW band playing stuff from Be My Baby to Night Was So Young , as a CD with M&B band playing Sherry to All This Is That. (Im that much of a fan, proud to admit it )

Show off the great vocals of Darian, Cowsill, Ike, Baker (on a good night) etc. Great guitar work of Bardowell, Foskett,  Totten, NICKY WONDER, ... Great Fender Bass from Lizik, Kirsch, Farmer, Hubacher.... the keys from Darian, Gary G, Timmy B, Bruce(!!!!! ) , and what great drummers Mikey and Johnny C are!

The bands had gotten so great over the last 20 years, ups and downs yes, but what a treat its been that the music has continued in the live capacity for all these years. 

[Tony S]

Brian sounded great back then.

[Matt Bielewicz]

This does sound really great. I wonder how much has been done to it before release, but it doesn't sound TOO futzed with after the fact. Maybe the vocal is comped from a few different live performances of the song from around that time? It's either that, or BW really was on fire that night. I saw him a few times that year, and he certainly was really good some of the time. But he is unusually consistent even for that year in this recording, which is what gives me pause. I love the guy, and always will, but that's how I see it based on my recollections from that time.

On the OTHER hand... 2004 was, to say the least, a very good year for Brian... Maybe he did just knock this one out of the park. I wonder when and where in 2004 it's from?

I also wonder why it's being put on-line. It does sound like an official recording and mix. Is there a career retrospective in the works or something? Or is it just a one-off to commemorate Carl?

[TonyW]

... rip ... that's going straight to the pool room ...

[Pretty Funky]

I can’t do a comparison at the moment, but is it this from London?

https://youtu.be/JUM0uCRFtfI

[Tony S]

Sorry, but this should have been released as a single, with Carl's lead vocal...it's a great tune! Love it.

[Shane]

I've always loved this tune in all its incarnations.  Really nice to hear Brian singing this all the way through, and doing a great job of it.

[Tony S]

Agree that this should have been released a s a BB single, with Carl's lead. Loved Brian's version too w/o Carl, but Car's version is far superior IMHO. A miss by the band not to have released it.

[Rocker]

Is this from the NPR broadcasted Smile show? https://www.npr.org/2005/08/23/4182988/brian-wilsons-smile-live-in-concert

Brian's live vocal for "Souls searchin'" never really worked for me. I find this version just the same.
But it's a great song and I agree that a Beach Boys version would've been an awesome single for an album of new material in the 90s.