The Alan Boyd Thread

[aeijtzsche]

Alan, on another thread you mention:

On the track sheets for the 2" masters for Til I Die and Fallin' In Love, there's a listing for "RHYTHM KING"

And in doing so opened up a small can of worms, because I'd like to know the entire contents of the track sheet for "'Til I Die" if you have extra time that you're not sure how to spend.  I promise I won't ask you the contents of every track sheet in the Beach Boys catalog.

I think the Til I Die one would be an interesting companion to the Desper Mix on the soundtrack to your fantastic film, since there's so much exposed in that mix.

[Alan Boyd]

Here ya go:

TIL I DIE:
1 - Rythm King
2 - Lo vox
3 - bass
4 - RMI
5 - Organ
6 - Organ
7 - Gtr/drm
8 - Vox (different lyrics)
9 - Hi vox/vibes
10 - vibes
11 - bkg vox
12 - bkg vox
13 - more vox
14 - ore vox
15 - org/vox
16 - org/vox

Looks like this one had some dubdowns on the way to the final 16 track master.

[Andrew G. Doe]

RMI ?

Wot dat ?

Really marvellous instrumental ?

[aeijtzsche]

You're the best.  That also clears up a question I've had in the back of my mind about the electric harpsichord used in some songs of that era.  RMI electra-piano, it was!

Interesting how many shared tracks there are.  Must have been a tricky mixdown.

[aeijtzsche]

[LaurieBiagini]

Cool! (love lookin' at vintage keyboards) 

[Alan Boyd]

On SUNFLOWER the 16 track masters had so much shared information - snatches of vocals on a track that's mostly guitar, for instance - that Steve placed swatches of colored adhesive tape on the back of the 2" tape, in order to provide visual cues for the mixdown.  Mixdown automation was still years away, so all eyes would be on the 2" machine, and they'd see a red rectangle coming off the reel and heading towards the machine heads, and this would be a cue for a particular fader adjustment or a level change, etc.... Pretty resourceful, eh? 

The only drawback is the fact that after 30 years, the adhesive from the masking tape has "bled out" and caused massive dropouts, big clear sections on the tape where the oxide has come in contact with the adhesive tape and peeled right off.  Thankfully, these huge, rather scary-looking droupouts aren't as noticeable as one might imagine.  The A capella mix of "Add Some Music" came out OK despite this problem.

Those songs are so very rich sonically that some of them might have filled 48 tracks if not for all of the dubdowns and shared tracks.  Steve and The Beach Boys were way ahead of their time.  Honestly, I noticed this when I got the "Sunflower" LP when it was released in 1970 - and I was only 8 at the time!  I listened to that album with headphones the day I got it, and even then I could tell it was something very new and special.  I'd never experienced an audio "landscape" like that.  I suppose, in a way, I've spent a good portion of my life since then trying to figure out how they did it...

Alan

[aeijtzsche]

I don't know if anybody has caught up with what was done on Sunflower and Surf's Up.  I can't think of any modern record that has the depth of those recordings and mixes.  I'm trying to catch up, and Steve has been so helpful in explaining how to make recordings better.  But it's still a battle (particularly with my undesirable recording set-up which limits me to somewhere between 4-12 tracks, depending on how my hard drive is feeling that day) and always an inspiration.

[guitarfool2002]

RMI ?

Wot dat ?

Really marvellous instrumental ?

Rocky Mount Instruments, Inc.

They did other instruments besides the one shown in that photo - I have a somewhat rare demonstration LP record from RMI where they play  through the sounds and features of their "Harmonic Synthesizer" and "Keyboard Computer". The unusual feature on these was they were controlled by a punch card system, like banks and offices everywhere used for years on those primitive computers. To program the sounds into the "computer", you had a series of punch cards to insert into this keyboard, with each card hloding different instruments and sounds which you'd use to build your own. And there was a bank of pedals for pitch bends, and other modulation effects and controls.

RMI had offices in Pennsylvania, sales offices in Macungie to be exact. "Chris D" for one should be familiar with Macungie, PA. So I'm happy to have found this album in Pennsylvania, with some very interesting (and useable) sounds that are pretty desirable today in some music circles. I seriously doubt you'd find a working example of the RMI "Keyboard Computer" with enough of those punch cards to have it work 100% with access to all the sounds, so albums like these are a great resource for samplers and sound designers.

I'm going to check if any famous albums or tunes used one of these punch card synths...

As far as the RMI rig shown in the photo - I'm more of a Wurlitzer, Clavinet, and Pianet kind of guy.  Cool sound, though!

[Bean Bag]

I'd never experienced an audio "landscape" like that.

Perfect.  Well said.

Yeah, its dense...I always get the feeling it's a juggling act with so many overdubs like that.  I mean sonically you're really treading water when things start to pile on like that....which makes me think they HAD to have had that all planned from the get go.  Otherwise it would have been a pile.  You know?

All I Wanna Do, especially...it teeters on the edge of that big time...which lends it it's otherworldly vib.  It's soooo frickin' amazing...

[Alan Boyd]

What's even more remarkable about that song is the fact that ALL I WANNA DO, unlike much of the album, was done entirely 8 track (it had been produced for the unreleased "Last Capitol Album" in 1969).  Interesting note:  for that song, the documentation from the original recording session at Gold Star on 3/19 1969 states the song was produced by Carl Wilson....

Alan

[c-man]

<< I'm going to check if any famous albums or tunes used one of these punch card synths... >>

Seems to me there was a Todd Rundgren album...can't remember which one, but it was from either 1974 or 1975...that had a credit on the inner sleeve for "keyboard computer".  I think.  Maybe it was "Intuition" or something like that?

Here's a very cool website...Simon's Hall of Electric Pianos...

http://www.alphabeck.co.uk/hoep/epianos2.html

[aeijtzsche]

What's even more remarkable about that song is the fact that ALL I WANNA DO, unlike much of the album, was done entirely 8 track (it had been produced for the unreleased "Last Capitol Album" in 1969).  Interesting note:  for that song, the documentation from the original recording session at Gold Star on 3/19 1969 states the song was produced by Carl Wilson....

Oh wow...so is there any documentation as to what was done at Gold Star on All I Wanna Do and what was done at the house?  Or did any of the Gold Star session make it to the final release at all?  It certainly sounds pretty "housey" to me.

Such a fascinating period, the post 20/20 sessions.  It's really hard to keep track of what was happening when and where.  Like Dennis cutting the Slip on Through version 1 at Gold Star, then again, anew at the house.  Until I found out that was a seperate session, I thought that had been started at Gold Star and finished off at the house.

[Irwin M. Fletcher]

Alan, what is the status of demos in the Beach Boys' tape vault? Are there a lot?

[Bicyclerider]

I'm not surprized that Carl produced All  I Want to Do - it's my understanding that Carl and Dennis produced ALL of the tracks on Sunflower with the exception of Add Some Music, which was the sole track Brian produced from start to finish.  Does this jibe with what you've uncovered, Alan?

[king of anglia]

Whoa whoa whoa. Are we talking about the rockin' "All I Want To Do" or the gorgeous peaceful "All I Wanna Do"?

[aeijtzsche]

Wanna.  Shame on the Beach Boys for calling two songs virtually the same thing.

[Reverend Joshua Sloane]

I remember Steve Desper talking about he and Brian working on All I Wanna Do and trying to achieve what Brian had in mind.

[c-man]

I'm not surprized that Carl produced All  I Want to Do - it's my understanding that Carl and Dennis produced ALL of the tracks on Sunflower with the exception of Add Some Music, which was the sole track Brian produced from start to finish.  Does this jibe with what you've uncovered, Alan?

I believe Bruce produced "Deirdre" and "Tears In The Morning".

C-Man

[Andrew G. Doe]

You really need to get a hold of Steve Desper's book - yes, it's short, yes, in parts it's fearsomely technical... and yes, it's an invaluable additon to the bookshelf of anyone who consideres themselves a BB fan. Do not pass Go... do not collect $200... buy this book.