Brian Wilson v Curt Becher according to Gary Usher

[Autotune]

Let GU rest in peace. But I always felt uncomfotable with his off-the-mark dismissal of BW's songs and capabilities while praising only his collaborations with him (Heavenly bodies!?). Regarding Boettcher's music, as low as his profile could be, the world's lived with his songs for 45+ years and we're still to find something more than a very talented musician. Heck, Jan Berry was a genius too.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Took me a bit, but I recalled where I'd seen the bit about Brian's "little surfer music": this from the booklet of the Sundazed Present Tense reissue:

"I'm over at Studio Three West with Brian Wilson. We Were with Chuck Britz doing something. I think it was a movie soundtrack. The (tape) machine stopped. All of a sudden I heard a sound and the instant I heard it I froze just like someone had thrown a bowling ball at me. My ears perked right up. And Brian looked at me, I looked at Brian and we both said simultaneously, "what is that ?"... and here's this little kid with an earring. That was the first time I met Curt, and it was while he was producing Lee Mallory's record "That's The Way It's Gonna Be"... That record stunned Brian. He's doing little surfer music and here comes this kid who is light years ahead of him."

According to the liner notes, this was spring 1966, which fits nicely with what Curt was doing then and is of course completely at odds with what Brian was doing, and with the last time he worked with Usher on a soundtrack project, Muscle Beach Party, which would have been late 1963/early 1964. I think the kindest thing to say is that Usher's memory is at fault here.

[Mike's Beard]

Let GU rest in peace. But I always felt uncomfotable with his off-the-mark dismissal of BW's songs and capabilities while praising only his collaborations with him (Heavenly bodies!?). Regarding Boettcher's music, as low as his profile could be, the world's lived with his songs for 45+ years and we're still to find something more than a very talented musician. Heck, Jan Berry was a genius too.

Before it all went rapidly downhill for him I'd say that about '65 Jan Berry was pretty much neck and neck with Brian in terms of producing and arranging.