How well would a Beach Boys album with/by Brian sell?

[Runaways]

Just sort of curious on everyone's opinion.  I highly doubt Mike/Al would let Brian have the freedom he'd want, but whatever.  If a one in a million chance happens, and A beach boys album comes out with mostly songs by Brian, and Brian's production, how do you think it'd sell?  I feel like it would get a lot of attention.  

[The Heartical Don]

I am pretty skeptical. The BBs may be a great touring band still... but more one of the revival circuit. Brian is a niche artist, competing with Michael Love Buble. If he graced the BBs with his presence in the studio and on tour, would it be a commercial success? I doubt it.

[bgas]

Brian at the top of his game, some co-writes with Mike, a recording by all that remains of the "collective" Beach Boys? ( I'm going to specify Brian, Mike, Al, David and Bruce for argument's sake)
I think  that has the potential to be a million and two seller.
A tour falls into "reunion" speculation, and that's a dead horse.

[rab2591]

It will sell but I doubt it would be a great album.

Brian is at his best when making what HE wants to make - compare Oxygen to the Brain and MAD to 'Desert Drive'...which would you prefer? And how much you want to bet that the album would be riddled with songs like 'Desert Drive'?

First, they would have to come to agreements on who does the backing instrumentals - Wondermints or Stamos? I can almost see a Braveheart-style fight between Darian's band and Mike's band.

I can see the production being AMAZING. But I can't imagine too much creative power being given to Brian. My best guess is that it will be an album with mostly covers and a few originals (and as stated before, the originals would probably sound like 'Desert Drive').

With the hype of a 50th anniversary. The movie 'The Drummer'. Remastered Beach Boy albums. The media hype surrounding the comeback of the Beach Boys, the album would sell (especially if it had a pathetic commercial copy of 'Kokomo' with it).

I doubt we'd be getting Brian, Mike, Al, David, and Bruce at their creative best: If this album ever happens: Please prove me wrong Beach Boys!

[GoogaMooga]

Instead of doing covers, they could use songs by Mike, Bruce, and Al. Make it a collective BB album like Sunflower or Surf's Up.

[hypehat]

We must remember, however, that the Beach Boys in their modern incarnation are insane.

Mike and Bruce would be more than happy to do the dreaded re-recordings, which would sell peanuts and be beyond horrible to listen to. At least Brian has handlers who push him to do respectable product, but I imagine if left in a studio with Mike, Bruce and Al he would end up doing the path of least resistance. I think Brian wouldn't respond well to the pressure. A re-recording should be either of an unreleased song, or a REALLY obscure cut. Not bloody Barbara - Ann.

Other things to consider

• The Beach Boys have never really 'gone away' thanks to Mike and Bruce
• The general public have no idea who Brian is so an announcement regarding his return would be met with indifference from the great unwashed and scorn from the misinformed indie crowd who think Myke Luv is a BUTTHoLE!!1!1
• Brian holds all the cards here.
• Which means wife&managers hold some of the cards here
• I think Mike is too proud to compromise on things like setlist and band members. He's not asking Brian to reunite, he's claiming it's already happening, and i think in an ideal world Brian would come to him, not the other way round (Which seeing as Brian has a pretty steady stream of major label attention throughout his career, and Mike hasn't, is a bit rich)

Out of curiousity, and put rather bluntly, was Foskett seen as a 'political' choice for Brian's bandleader back in '99? What with his ex-beach boy history....

[bgas]

Just sort of curious on everyone's opinion.  I highly doubt Mike/Al would let Brian have the freedom he'd want, but whatever.  If a one in a million chance happens, and A beach boys album comes out with mostly songs by Brian, and Brian's production, how do you think it'd sell?  I feel like it would get a lot of attention.  

Brian at the top of his game, some co-writes with Mike, a recording by all that remains of the "collective" Beach Boys? ( I'm going to specify Brian, Mike, Al, David and Bruce for argument's sake)
I think  that has the potential to be a million and two seller.
A tour falls into "reunion" speculation, and that's a dead horse.

Gee, I don't think you're reading for comprehension! 
 the "rules"( as I read them of course) as set forth with the "one in a million chance" :
1; Beach Boys Album.
2; Songs by Brian( mostly).
3; Brian producing
My take( given the rules): the first presumption HAS to be that Brian wants to write the songs, has free rein to produce as he wants( or as much as Melinda lets him), and uses the musicians he wants. Since it's a "Beach Boys" album, the vocals will be done by the BBs under Brian's direction.

[Emdeeh]

compare Oxygen to the Brain and MAD to 'Desert Drive'...which would you prefer?

I'm sure it makes me the exception, but I prefer "Desert Drive" -- really! I'm not a fan of MAD (it's just not my kind of music).

[hypehat]

I just read the thread title! Give me a break!

I think your conditions are slightly too idealistic, but OK.
The Beach Boys reunion record still doesn't hold much water commercially speaking because, like I said, they never really went away. The record wouldn't be commercial, because Brian's music simply isn't 'fashionable' right now - 1996 was a bloody great time for them to release one because the scene was rediscovering them. Not so much now. Everyone has a Pet Sounds and thinks Brian Wilson is god. I also still stand by my of course hugely speculative guess that the news Brian was recording with the group would baffle regular folk and agitate the 'Brian WIlson is god' crowd.

Then again, if the song is right... I would comfortably say that Brian shouldn't be self-consciously writing the kind of music that would get him a hit nowadays, as that's the kind of philosophy that got us 'Imagination', 'Smart Girls', and 'Summer In Paradise' (I know he had piss-all to do with that, but you know what I mean).

[drbeachboy]

I'm with you Emdeeh. I quite like Desert Drive. Though I like Midnight's Another Day as a song, it is not sung well, at all. I skip Oxygen To The Brain whenever I play TLOS. It is my least favorite tune on the album.

[Cam Mott]

I'm not sure but I agree that it probably wouldn't be a great album but it might sell a bunch. I mean the old BB stuff is still knockin' it out of the park every summer.

And I have a feeling that The Boys would do as they always have done which is do whatever Brian tells them to do because they still consider him their musical genius.

[Mike's Beard]

A new Brian Wilson featuring Beach Boys record would sell more copies than Brian's latest solo work and would sell more than if the line up was just Mike, Bruce, Al and David but I still doubt that it would be a top 10 seller anywhere. The market for new BB material just doesn't exist to that extent. The group has built such an iconic image based on those 60's hits that very few people want to hear anything new by them. They would only be competing against their younger, more groundbreaking selves. They have essentially been stuck at this juncture for 40 odd years now.

[Mikie]

Out of curiousity, and put rather bluntly, was Foskett seen as a 'political' choice for Brian's bandleader back in '99? What with his ex-beach boy history....

Before Foskett was a Beach Boy, he sang and played Beach Boys and Jan & Dean songs with a Beach Boys cover band from Silicon Valley California named "Papa Do Run Run". So he knew all the notes, chords, and harmony parts to much of the Beach Boys catalog before he even became a Beach Boy. And he learned well from Carl Wilson. Before that he was with a couple of bands, including "The Pranks", who also did cover songs and originals. So Jeff's very credible, and a long-time Brian Wilson athletic supporter.

And on his first day on the job as a Beach Boy, Dennis Wilson fired him.   

[Wirestone]

Out of curiousity, and put rather bluntly, was Foskett seen as a 'political' choice for Brian's bandleader back in '99? What with his ex-beach boy history....

Foskett wasn't the bandleader in '99. Joe Thomas was.

After Thomas was kicked out, the leadership kinda split, more or less, between Jeff and Darian.

[Rocker]

And on his first day on the job as a Beach Boy, Dennis Wilson fired him.   

Please tell more....


A Beach Boys-album by Brian would sell. Not talking about the quality or whatever, but in fact Brian's name is the only thing that would make a BBs-album sell nowadays. I wouldn't bet on a no.1-album though

[carl r]

Somewhat gloomy thought. I may be wrong, but surely for Brian to produce truly great work, he maybe needs the sort of levels of discomfort which would take him out of his comfort zone. To produce more challenging music he needs the sort of challenge that Lenny Waronker allegedly provided, by rejecting his original work. Back then, with the help of Andy Paley, he eventually sweated out Rio Grande, surely his last work which could be described as experimental in some way. Not saying anything for certain, but if any Beach Boys project had a 'firm-but-fair' leader, prepared to jolt Brian, he might extract some great work. But with someone who's over 70, is it really fair to jolt them, or drag them out of their safety zone? I would say, it probably isn't. So on this basis TLOS or BWRG is very cool, but what would really be gained by adding the Beach Boys, without the kind of regime which would heavily tax an old guy, who could just walk away, and get on with his everyday stuff.

[Mikie]

And on his first day on the job as a Beach Boy, Dennis Wilson fired him.   

Please tell more....

If this isn't completely accurate, maybe AGD or Stebbins will correct me. Foskett was hired by the Beach Boys - I think it was around Christmas time, 1981. He was at the airport to get to his first gig with the group. At the gate, he saw Dennis Wilson sleeping off the previous night's activities. He introduced himself to Dennis and told him that he was listening to some Beach Boys stuff the night before. He said to Dennis, "How about this old gem?", and he played a tape of "Auld Lang Syne" from the Beach Boys Christmas album. Dennis responded with, "How about this old gem? 'You're fired!'"

[kwan_dk]

A Beach Boys-album by Brian would sell. Not talking about the quality or whatever, but in fact Brian's name is the only thing that would make a BBs-album sell nowadays.

I agree to a certain extent - but I don't think it could only sell if it was widely known that it was a Brian production. I think the Beach Boys brand could do it alone - if the album had a lot of promotion centered on the anniversary and how truly incredible it is that the group is still issuing new music this many decades down the line, sales could be pretty good imho. Perhaps not top 10 material, but with the right collection of songs I think it could do very well. There's no doubt in my mind that there would be extensive coverage in the music press and cultural sections of newspapers.

By 'the right collection of songs' I mean that in theory it should be possible to cover both fields of the fanbase - those who like the early 60s, rockin' surf & hot rod type sound as well as the hardcore connoiseurs who go for the more adventurous sounds. To my ears TLOS pulled this act of fine balancing off very well with both some harmony-heavy rockers for the casual fans and more complex ballads and production for the 'Brian is God' worshippers.

Honestly, imagine 'Southern California' or 'Forever She'll Be my Surfer Girl' as lead-off singles off a new Beach Boys reunion album. If the guys shared the leads on similar catchy & well-produced songs and issued those under the BB moniker I think a minor hit could be achieved, consequently spawning some interest for an album...

Man, I'd love to see them settle their differences and give it one last shot with a new album.  .

[gsmile]

Just slap a sticker on the shrink-wrap that reads in big bold letters "PRODUCED BY BRIAN WILSON", and there you have it.  I think a new Beach Boys album produced by Brian would sell rather modestly, certainly it would make a good profit for which ever label was backing them.  It all depends on how championed the album is by all the right hipster blogs and review sites (Pitchfork, Popmatters, Stereogum).  It always surprises me how many parties I've been to at friends places or even friends of friends (we're talking mid to late 20s age group) and I can always spot the thick CD slipcase of Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE poking out of their CD collection.  Whether or not the album is in regular rotation with these people is in question, but the fact is the hype was in full force on teh internets, and the result...people bought the record.  Brian returning to the fold as a member, writer and producer would send massive shock waves through the blog community.  Even Mike's recent casual remarks caused a friend of mine to ask me the other day "Hey Geoff, did you hear that Brian is joining the Beach Boys again?"  Yes, a Beach Boys album with Brian producing would sell.  Especially to hipsters expecting the second coming of Pet Sounds or SMiLE.  And this is not a dig against hipsters, it's just that generally they're on top of things in the music blog-o-sphere, and are generally the kind of people that would actually go out and buy a physical copy of said album, especially if it was released as a nice vinyl pressing.

[Mikie]

A Beach Boys record wouldn't sound the same without Carl Wilson's vocals. Unless they finish a demo of a song with his voice on it like Lennon's on the Beatles' "Free As A Bird/Real Love". And without Al in there, all bets are off. And no Dennis? Nah, it's either the ORIGINAL Beach Boys or nothin' at all for me.

[?]

It would sell exactly the same as BWRG or TLOS.  Same audience.  Nobody else cares.  This isn't 1966 or even 1976.  Music barely sells these days as it is and the people that are buying certainly don't give a f*** about the Beach Boys or Brian Wilson producing them.

[TdHabib]

A Beach Boys record wouldn't sound the same without Carl Wilson's vocals. Unless they finish a demo of a song with his voice like Lennon's on the Beatles' Free As A Bird/Real Love". And without Al in there, all bets are off. And no Dennis? Nah, it's either the ORIGINAL Beach Boys or nothin' at all for me.

I feel exactly the same, preach it brother!

[GoogaMooga]

Well, the Beach Boys have already made a reunion record with Carl's vocals, "Don't Fight the Sea", and I am sure they will find other vocal takes by Carl that they could use. It doesn't have to be all new songs. Imagine a BB record with contributions by all surviving members and archival takes by Dennis and Carl.

[gsmile]

How about "Wouldn't It Be Nice to Live Again" as a bonus track? 

[adamghost]

It actually could work if publicized right, because Brian's rejoining the group provides an angle that you can write about, and from then things sometimes take on a life of their own, so there is a scenario where the thing could sell.  I don't consider it a likely one, but it's certainly possible.  The circumstances, other than Brian's being healthy, are so similar to right before 15 BIG ONES however that it's hard to imagine it coming out well artistically.  I realize Brian being in better shape is a big factor, but one of the reasons 15BO was what it was was the band, essentially, ran out of time to execute their marketing plan and had to put out what they had.  That's why Carl and Dennis were so angry, IIRC.