Alternate History

[grillo]

I know this may be too close to 'fan fiction', but I've always fantasized that:
       The BB actually broke up that day in '78 ('79?) on the tarmac in front of the Rolling Stone reporter
       Somehow the three wilson bros. got it together enough to (1) not die and (2) form a new musical entity.
 This accomplishes several things, including giving the BB a nice, natural death instead of the painfully long one we are still watching, and maybe giving us some great Denny/Carl/Brian tunes. Anyone else have any alternate history ideas? Hope this isn't too stupid a question....

[Sheriff John Stone]

That big blow up you were referring to was September 3, 1977.

I have an alternate history that I don't think very many people speculate on, and even less people think could ever happen, but...

I truly wish that The Beach Boys would reunite - Brian, Mike, Al, Bruce, and David - and not just do a special concert, or record just a single, or release just an album. I wish that the Beach Boys would get back together and do it again for 7-8 more years, record 3-4 more NEW albums, with Summer tours and Christmas tours, and have a 50th Anniversary TV Special.

The Beach Boys - and Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Simon & Garfunkel, Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton et al - are making history right now. They are rocking and rolling THROUGH their 60's and probably into their 70's. If they are blessed with continued good health, I see no reason why they couldn't continue for another 8-10 years. The five "Beach Boys" that I mentioned above appear to be in good health, they are all still active musically, I see no hints of retirement.

What I don't want to see are more solo albums - from The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, The Stones, The Kinks, etc. Maybe I'm just too sentimental but I prefer to see these musicians working together, not apart. Anyway, that's how I would write/re-write the (alternate) history of The Beach Boys. I'd hate to see it end/fade away the way it appears to be going...

[Amy B.]

Am I missing something?

Isn't it true that:
1. The Beach Boys haven't made a decent album since the 70s.
2. Two of the more talented Beach Boys are dead.
3. The Beach Boys' voices aren't what they used to be.
4. By and large, the Beach Boys haven't been comfortable in a room together in a long time.
5. The most talented Beach Boy, while still alive, is arguably not functioning to full capacity.

So given all of this (and especially number 4), why hope for a reunion? I don't understand.
 
The other thing, about the Beach Boys breaking up and the Wilson brothers doing their thing, is interesting. Vocally, it would have sounded different than the Beach Boys, but it would have been great to hear what they would come up with.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Am I missing something?

Isn't it true that:
1. The Beach Boys haven't made a decent album since the 70s.
2. Two of the more talented Beach Boys are dead.
3. The Beach Boys' voices aren't what they used to be.
4. By and large, the Beach Boys haven't been comfortable in a room together in a long time.
5. The most talented Beach Boy, while still alive, is arguably not functioning to full capacity.

So given all of this (and especially number 4), why hope for a reunion? I don't understand.

1. Yes, it's true.
2. Yes, it's true
3. Yes, it's true
4. Yes, it's true
5. Yes, it's true

But...

1. A lot has changed since the 70's. I'd like to think they're healthier and wiser since then. Is it possible they learned from their mistakes?

2. However, two of the more talented ones (Brian & Mike) are still with us.

3. Yes, but isn't technology great.

4. They're getting there. That rooftop thing was a success. Mike & Bruce are together. Brian & Al are together. Dave gets along with everyone! They need a mediator. I'm available!

5. True, which is why he would benefit from the talents of the other guys.

Amy, I know I'm dreaming and maybe not being totally realistic. But I can't take these solo projects - or proposed solo projects - anymore.  They tried that route, and Pacific Ocean Blue, IMO, is the only one to possess greatness.  I think they're at the point in their careers where they could come together and produce something worthwhile. At the very least, they should have a lot of material stockpiled. Sometimes, it seems so clear to me that I can't believe anybody, including the Beach Boys, can see it. Or hear it...

[Andrew G. Doe]

I know this may be too close to 'fan fiction', but I've always fantasized that:
       The BB actually broke up that day in '78 ('79?) on the tarmac in front of the Rolling Stone reporter

September 3rd, 1977.

And it scares me that I know this without missing a beat 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Am I missing something?

Isn't it true that:
1. The Beach Boys haven't made a decent album since the 70s.
2. Two of the more talented Beach Boys are dead.
3. The Beach Boys' voices aren't what they used to be.
4. By and large, the Beach Boys haven't been comfortable in a room together in a long time.
5. The most talented Beach Boy, while still alive, is arguably not functioning to full capacity.

So given all of this (and especially number 4), why hope for a reunion? I don't understand.
 
The other thing, about the Beach Boys breaking up and the Wilson brothers doing their thing, is interesting. Vocally, it would have sounded different than the Beach Boys, but it would have been great to hear what they would come up with.

1 - true.
2 - true.
3 - with one exception, very true.
4 - in the past, yes, but of late, the meetings (the Tower, Brian's house) have been at worst cordial.
5 - I'd say Brian is firing on maybe one cylinder. Tops.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

5 - I'd say Brian is firing on maybe one cylinder. Tops.

Has it really gotten that bad?

[Chris Brown]

5 - I'd say Brian is firing on maybe one cylinder. Tops.

Has it really gotten that bad?

It's all relative I think.  When you put Brian today next to Brian the 23 year old musical visionary, it does seem like "firing on one cylinder" is an appropriate assessment.  Of course at the same time, he is probably better now than he has been in a long time (arguably in about 30 years).  None of us really know what goes on behind the scenes nowadays, but it's certainly possible that Andrew is right on.  We'd all like to think otherwise, but its clear than he is not anywhere near the same guy he once was. 

Anyways, I really don't see how a reunion could work.  Just the logistics of it (what songs to play, whose musicians to use, how much control they all have, etc) are enough to question whether or not it could work.  It would be nice to see it happen as maybe a one time thing, before all of their voices are completely shot, but I really don't think anything beyond that is feasable.  If Carl were still alive, I think it would be a lot more likely to happen.

[Zander]

Anyways, I really don't see how a reunion could work.  Just the logistics of it (what songs to play, whose musicians to use, how much control they all have, etc) are enough to question whether or not it could work. 

I think it's all a question of whether Brian / his management WANTS it to happen. The "Beach Boys" (Mike & Bruce) tour every year so the music is there if you wanna see it, but it's Brian who holds all the aces. A Beach Boys reunion WITH Brian Wilson, that's how it would have to happen. It would be Brian's terms. Al Jardine has found that out, he's performing with Brian as (A) Brian is his friend but more importantly (B) Brian's management allowed it to happen...

Let's face it, IF Brian is "firing on one cylinder" he hasn't been making all the business and musical decisions over the past few years . 

[mikee]

I truly wish that The Beach Boys would reunite - Brian, Mike, Al, Bruce, and David - and not just do a special concert, or record just a single, or release just an album. I wish that the Beach Boys would get back together and do it again 

-----record,--- tours ---- 50th Anniversary.

I concur.  I would like to see that also.  Al joining Brian has proven to be a highly successful for the artists, the music, and for the fans.  When I say "the artists" I  include Brian.  Having Al there takes some of the weight and pressure off of Brian's shoulders and allows him to enjoy performing a little more.  I think that ti would next make a lot of sense to bring David into the group. He brings a load of talent and, just like that, you would then have 3 of the original South Bay kids!  That would be fantastic to me. 
 If later on they can add Mike and Bruce without a lot of nonsense ( I guess realistically there probably would be some)  all the better.
I think it would be great and I don't care what they want to call themselves -  I know who they are.
 

[Rocker]

4 - in the past, yes, but of late, the meetings (the Tower, Brian's house) have been at worst cordial.

Do you a little more about the meeting at Brian's house? I always wondered how that went on. Were they all there?

[shelter]

Anyways, I really don't see how a reunion could work.  Just the logistics of it (what songs to play, whose musicians to use, how much control they all have, etc) are enough to question whether or not it could work.  It would be nice to see it happen as maybe a one time thing, before all of their voices are completely shot, but I really don't think anything beyond that is feasable. 

Obviously the best way to do a BB reunion would be to simply let Mike, Bruce and Al join Brian and his band.

[Smilin Ed H]

"If later on they can add Mike and Bruce without a lot of nonsense ( I guess realistically there probably would be some)  all the better."

Later on? How many years have they got left?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Let's face it, IF Brian is "firing on one cylinder" he hasn't been making all the business and musical decisions over the past few years . 

And I say unto you... Gettin' In Over My Head.

Q, E, and very decidedly D. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

4 - in the past, yes, but of late, the meetings (the Tower, Brian's house) have been at worst cordial.

Do you a little more about the meeting at Brian's house? I always wondered how that went on. Were they all there?

All there (excepting David, of course), no blood on the walls.

[Zander]

Let's face it, IF Brian is "firing on one cylinder" he hasn't been making all the business and musical decisions over the past few years . 

And I say unto you... Gettin' In Over My Head.

Q, E, and very decidedly D. 

100 % Correct!

[Amy B.]

Wait a minute-- is it that Brian is firing on one cylinder or that he's actually more "with it" than people think but just doesn't really have the energy and passion that he used to.

What about all those stories that Brian is shockingly "all there" when the interviewers leave and he becomes comfortable?

The question is, would he be "all there" in a room full of BBs or would he clam up and shut down, which he seemed to do fairly often, starting in the early 70s?

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

What about all those stories that Brian is shockingly "all there" when the interviewers leave and he becomes comfortable?

That's a good point Amy. I think Brian feels he's done and just doesn't care. I think he likes touring, but couldn't give a donkey piss about recording anymore. Interviews? Forget it...I think Brian's tired of the game and has been for a long time. I also question just what is the truth about Brian's "condition". I'm really starting to question everything that comes out of Brian's "camp".

[grillo]

Wow. It's cool to see how these threads develop. I kinda like the 'don't trust Brian's camp' camp's angle. Soon it will be proven that Mike was the only guy who knew what was going on!! Talk about alternate histoy

[Andrew G. Doe]

Brian's attention span has always been somewhat transient, and of late (i.e. over the last couple of decades), it's not got any better. Or in other words, he gets bored of something very rapidly... and when he's bored, he plain doesn't give it his whole-, or even half-, hearted attention. I've been with him in a setting where he's totally comfortable, and marvelled at what i saw: a completely relaxed, cogent, coherent and above all, hugely funny BW. The man is a natural comedian. I've also experienced him bored (too many timers onstage), and sadly, been there when he just wasn't connecting with the known universe in any way whatsoever (scary and utterly depressing, the moreso because no-one else there seemed to think it was anything out of the ordinary...). I think he likes some aspects of touring, but as for recording, if Darian's not (metaphorically) standing behind him with a sharp stick and poking him every time he sings a bum note, he'll try to get away with the very least he can do. As for any sustained creative drive, well, just how many completely new songs has he released since Imagination in 1998 ?

A Friend Like You
Walking Down The Path Of Life (though part sounds awfully like "He Come Down" to me)
Christmassy
What I Really Want For Christmas.

It's been said to me that GIOMH was an exercise in showing the finger to the bootleggers, but it's also been whispered in my shell-like, and from an interesting quarter, that those tracks were released because there wasn't anything else in the pot. I used to think that the "writer's block" quote in so many interviews was just an avoidance tactic, but maybe not.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

That ties into what I was saying...Brian doesn't give a f*ck anymore. And really, why should he? I too want a new BW album to purchase, but not if he's pushed into it against his will. What left is there for him to accomplish?

As for any sustained creative drive, well, just how many completely new songs has he released since Imagination in 1998 ?

A Friend Like You
Walking Down The Path Of Life (though part sounds awfully like "He Come Down" to me)
Christmassy
What I Really Want For Christmas.

True, true. That may also be why there have been no BW studio bootlegs with material recorded since then. We don't have any indication on whether the new songs he's allegedly recorded lately are indeed all new songs, or remakes/remodels like on GIOMH. Here's something, though...there are  songs written/recorded still unbootlegged during the past, oh I dunno, 40 years, correct?  Why not take a song from the vaults that hasn]t been bootlegged and pass it off as a newly written song? Or, maybe that's what happened with those songs mentioned above...

[Andrew G. Doe]

We don't have any indication on whether the new songs he's allegedly recorded lately are indeed all new songs, or remakes/remodels like on GIOMH. Here's something, though...there are  songs written/recorded still unbootlegged during the past, oh I dunno, 40 years, correct?  Why not take a song from the vaults that hasn]t been bootlegged and pass it off as a newly written song? Or, maybe that's what happened with those songs mentioned above...

If the titles I've seen quoted for the 'new' songs are even mildly accurate, at least two of them are at least ten, fifteen years old, and a third rings definite bells.

[Rocker]

Well, the song he wrote with Bacharach sounded pretty new, but the others like "Goin home" are probably (at least in part) older songs. I don't see what is so wrong about that. He wrote them once and maybe thought about releasing them. That didn't turn out, so he (hopefully) releases them now. The only thing that would be wrong is if they would claim these were all newly written tunes.

[the captain]

I don't like the reunion idea...I wish we'd let our musical heroes age and fade away gracefully, but we insist on more, and then complain when it isn't up to par.

As far as I'm concerned, it hasn't been up to par in the studio since 1977, or exceptional since 1973. But we beg 60-somethings to come tour the hits again--and on boards like this for full albums of new material--and then bitch about the results.

I am not claiming innocence here, by the way. It's natural to want more. But it would be more reasonable to accept that the best is long past, and there may not be much left that's even good. If we were really left only with the surviving Beach Boys and no outside help, even the live shows would be pretty atrocious.

[SG7]

In an alternate version...

I would have been Marilyn
I would have been in The Honeys
There would have been no American Spring (sorry guys I am not dragging my sister into this)
Smile would have been released April Fool's Day 1967
There would've been no Dr. Landy
I would have set fire to Mike's turban collection 
The sandbox wouldn't have existed or painting the house purple (you got to draw the line somewhere with all this psychadelic stuff)
People like Loren Schwartz would not have been allowed in my house
Brian would have met Serge Gainsbourg

Thats all I have so far