1968 gigs & sessions

[Andrew G. Doe]

For them as find this sort of thing interesting, the 1968 page is up and running at 10452 - http://www.btinternet.com/~bellagio/gigs68.html.

Comments, additions and corrections welcomed, as always.

[Jonas]

Now it's getting interesting! Thanks.

[Black Tiger]

AGD, do you know why the BB played those five shows in WA/OR/BC on Feb 1 - Feb 4, and then 2 weeks later flew across the country to Rhode Island for a one off gig? That seems very strange, unless it was a makeup date for a cancelled show? 

[Andrew G. Doe]

No idea. I'm guessing money did the talking.

[Ian]

Hi- you are assuming that we know every show.  I have been at this awhile- the fact is that new shows pop up all the time- it is very possible that the BBs played at least two other gigs that week besides the Cranston show.  For example- the Feb 65 tour- Badman listed a Philly gig on Feb 12 65 and a NY show on Feb 13, than a gap til Feb 17 (Cranston) than a gap til Feb 19. Then the tour ends Feb 21.   I found (and they are now on the gigs/sessions site) articles and ads for shows in Newark (Feb 14), Worcester (Feb 18) and a show in Buufalo (Feb 22) and I am sure that they played shows on Feb 15 and 16 as well.  I don't fault Badman- it is hard to find these shows.  The Newark show had only one ad for it in the local paper about a week before. There were no reviews and no mentions in that days paper. Shows were no always advertised. Example: July 4 65 San Francisco show- I have seen proof that it happened- but you wouldn't know it from the Chronicle- they didn't even mention the show in any July papers.  So maybe some more New England 68 shows occurred

[Mahalo]

Why were there so many cancellations??

[smile-holland]

Why were there so many cancellations??

in 1968 the Boys weren't what you'd call a 'top-of-the-bill' act anymore (in the States that is). I read something about desastrous ticket-sales during the Maharishi-tour which after a couple of appearances made the group decide to cancel the rest of the tour. Nearly made them bankrupt I think.

[Mahalo]

Looking at the cancellations list I was reminded of Spinal Tap.....!

[Ian]

The cancellations were caused by two things. On the April tour-it was to begin on Apr 5 1968. Martin Luther King was killed on Apr 4 and riots broke out all over the South. Most of the conservative Southern cities and colleges didn't want to take chances- put a curfew on and canceled alot of events that might attract trouble. Their then manager Grillo stated in the Gaines book that they ended up sitting around in a Holiday Inn for days.  Badman suggests that Dennis flew back and met the Manson girls that week- but I have seen not a scrap of evidence that he met the girls that particular day or week.  The second set of cancelations relate to the Maharishi tour- he canceled out after a bunch of poorly attended shows.  So the BBs had to cancel the tour. In those days you didn't tour alone and they needed time to hire other acts, etc- so they couldn't or wouldn't play without him. 

[shelter]

Andrew, thanks so much for doing this! I've been waiting for the 1968 page for weeks... Are you planning on, eventually, also doing the years that the Badman book didn't cover (late 70s & 80s)?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Andrew, thanks so much for doing this! I've been waiting for the 1968 page for weeks... Are you planning on, eventually, also doing the years that the Badman book didn't cover (late 70s & 80s)?

I'm just doing the sessions and providing the platform - the gigs are 99.999% Ian's research.

The gameplan is to do the gigs as far as possible, certainly up to 1998 and the end of the 'recording' Beach Boys. As noted in the 1968 page, the detail and accuracy of the session info starts to drop off in 1969 (as an aside to this, back when I was doing the liners for the KTSA/BB 2fer, someone asked for the session details I had - well, having lost them in one of those wonderful PC failiures, could you send me a copy, please ? Thanks). Ideally I'd do a few weeks solid research on the post-1967 sessions in situ, but financial considerations aside, I'm led to believe that someone may have made things difficult for me at Local 47.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Why were there so many cancellations??

Read the footnotes !   

[matt-zeus]

back when I was doing the liners for the KTSA/BB 2fer,

Did you do those? Mind you, I haven't read the booklet for a while. Will you be doing the notes for the forthcoming reissue of 'Gettin' in over my head'? 

[Andrew G. Doe]

back when I was doing the liners for the KTSA/BB 2fer,

Did you do those? Mind you, I haven't read the booklet for a while. Will you be doing the notes for the forthcoming reissue of 'Gettin' in over my head'? 

They couldn't pay me enough to listen to that again. 

[matt-zeus]

back when I was doing the liners for the KTSA/BB 2fer,

Did you do those? Mind you, I haven't read the booklet for a while. Will you be doing the notes for the forthcoming reissue of 'Gettin' in over my head'? 

They couldn't pay me enough to listen to that again. 

 

[mikeyj]

back when I was doing the liners for the KTSA/BB 2fer,

Did you do those? Mind you, I haven't read the booklet for a while. Will you be doing the notes for the forthcoming reissue of 'Gettin' in over my head'? 

They couldn't pay me enough to listen to that again. 

By the way Andrew, not sure if you've mentioned this before, but what is your favourite song off that album (if you HAD to choose one) and what is your MOST hated song on that album?

[the captain]

I'd actually like to add to that question by saying specifically what are your favorite RECORDINGS off that album, not just songs. (In other words, versions of those songs that appear elsewhere aren't eligible.)

[Andrew G. Doe]

Iffn I had to choose one - say, if someone was holding a gun to my head, and that's really the only situation that could make me express a chioce that means anything - it would probably be the title track (possibly because the basic track was cut back in 1998 and thus sounds less clunky than the others).  Most hated ? "The Waltz", "Fairy Tale", "Soul Searchin'" (for turning a semi-great BB track into a 4th-rate BW shoutalong)... most of them, actually.

[Funky_Pretty]

Hmm, so a gig with Friends and Little Bird been played live is recorded, that's interesting. There isn't any show of that tour available so far. I would love to hear a show from that era.

[c-man]

Iffn I had to choose one - say, if someone was holding a gun to my head, and that's really the only situation that could make me express a chioce that means anything - it would probably be the title track (possibly because the basic track was cut back in 1998 and thus sounds less clunky than the others).  Most hated ? "The Waltz", "Fairy Tale", "Soul Searchin'" (for turning a semi-great BB track into a 4th-rate BW shoutalong)... most of them, actually.

I pretty much feel the same as Andrew about those specific songs...but on the other hand...I actually like "City Blues", "Desert Drive", "A Friend Like You", "You've Touched Me" (except the off-key intro), and believe it or not "Saturday Morning In The City" (hard to believe, because I've always hated the earlier versions).  To me, it's about half of a decent album. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

... and believe it or not "Saturday Morning In The City" (hard to believe, because I've always hated the earlier versions).

You're not going to like this... but the GIOMH version of "Saturday Morning..." is the original Wilson/Paley recording tarted up with a few 2003 overbubs. According to a band member or three. And my ears. 

[c-man]

... and believe it or not "Saturday Morning In The City" (hard to believe, because I've always hated the earlier versions).

You're not going to like this... but the GIOMH version of "Saturday Morning..." is the original Wilson/Paley recording tarted up with a few 2003 overbubs. According to a band member or three. And my ears. :-)

Amazing what a difference a few 2003 overdubs can do!    The main thing I always hated about it was Brian's strained, forced vocal.  His new 2003 vocals on this song are much more pleasing, and now I actually enjoy it!  The lyrics (whether they be Brian's, Paley's, or a collobaration) are brilliant in their "Friends"-like examination of the mundane.  "Except for the kid with the paper route"!  Fantastic!

[the captain]

You're not going to like this... but the GIOMH version of "Saturday Morning..." is the original Wilson/Paley recording tarted up with a few 2003 overbubs. According to a band member or three. And my ears. 

Andrew, I recall reading around the release of GIOMH that SMITC, GIOMH and Soul Searchin all used original recordings to some extent or another. I also remember the denials at the Blueboard and, if I'm not mistaken, posts and threads being deleted over the issue. Considering you've obviously spoken to someone (or some ones) about it, do you have any insight you'd be willing to share about:

1) whether any other old tracks were used,
2) why they were used, considering the obvious ability of the band to re-record those parts with little to no trouble, and
3) why, if old tracks were used, the Wilson camp bothered denying it? After all, wouldn't they own the rights to all those old recordings anyway, and thus be perfectly authorized to use them as they pleased?

Thanks

[Andrew G. Doe]

Well, "SS" is clearly the original recording with a new BW shouty vocal and a few frills (listen on headphones - it's essentially mono), and I've been told that a large part of "SMITC" dates from 1995 by more than one person who would know. As for "GIOMH", the overall prod. values of the basic track, plus some odd musician credits on a 2004 BW album are a strong indication that the 1998 recording was used as the foundation for the 'new' version.

So:

1 - not that I'm aware...

2 - to save time and money, and to keep Brian focussed on the sessions. I've got to be a bit circumspect here, but I'd say it's fairly evident to anyone listening with an open ear and mind that he wasn't overly applying himself to the project. Plus, someone was away touring for most of the sessions.

3 - Got to keep the facade shored up. Mind you, in subsequent interviews Brian did some nifty, if totally inadvertant, sabotage on that front when he admitted that he had no hand in chosing the tracks. I gather he didn't contribute much to the mixing sessions, either.

[the captain]

3 - Got to keep the facade shored up. Mind you, in subsequent interviews Brian did some nifty, if totally inadvertant, sabotage on that front when he admitted that he had no hand in chosing the tracks. I gather he didn't contribute much to the mixing sessions, either.

Thanks for those answers.

On the lattermost, it just doesn't make sense to me. (To clarify, I don't mean your answer doesn'tmake sense. I mean that point of view from the Wilson camp doesn't make sense.)

The entire history of the Beach Boys has included examples of using older tracks and doing some touch-ups or later work before releasing them. I don't think it is anything to be ashamed of. And frankly, denying it just seems silly. Beach Boys fans being as dedicated/fanatic as they are, it ends up seeming like a conspiracy theory or something. I'd think a lot of trouble could be avoided--with no negative repercussions I can think of toward BW or his band--by just saying, "yeah, on these songs, we used some existing tracks we liked."

As to the final couple of sentences you wrote, you're absolutely right. And while I don't agree with you that it's his worst album, I do think it sounds like the one he's least personally invested in. The vocals are very telling that he either lost the ability to sing (and hear himself, and judge his own work)--which has been proved wrong by better subsequent releases--or that he just wasn't all that interested in. Out of time, out of tune, mumbled and badly enunciated Brian Wilson vocals? I wonder what 1965 Brian Wilson would think of that.