Are Brian's vocals actually Billy's? (Funky Pretty)

[SloopJohnB]

I'm not talking about the "funky pretty gone" backgrounds that can be heard in the verses, which are almost certainly sung by Brian, I'm talking about "his" part in the tag. Some people (myself included - I had been convinced it was him after reading about it in a previous thread) thought the "yeah, funky girl why, funky girl why" vocals in the tag were Brian's.

...Well, I stumbled upon this a few minutes ago:

http://www.mysteryisland.net/billyhinsche


[Billy Hinsche:] While in Holland, Brian gave me another outstanding vocal part on "Funky Pretty" during the "tag" section. It goes, "yea, Funky come back, Funky come back" over and over again.


I've listened to the tag over and over again and came to this conclusion: if Billy's right (and I can't see why he wouldn't be), HE was the one singing the part we thought was Brian's. This goes to show that we can't know for sure whether Brian actually sung on such-and-such song. Let's face it: we don't really know what his singing voice sounded like in 1972-1973. 

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Aren't those 2 different parts?

[SloopJohnB]

I can't really see what other part it could be 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Let's face it: we don't really know what his singing voice sounded like in 1972-1973. 

Of course we do. He sings on "California".

[SloopJohnB]

Well, yes - but if that's the way he was singing in 1972, then there's no way it can be him on the FP tag anyway.

What I meant to say is that we can't know for sure how he sounded, because his voice seemed to change a lot during these two years. If he indeed is the one singing "what's in her heaaaad" in Marcella, then it's safe to say that he could sound very different...

[Andrew G. Doe]

Well, yes - but if that's the way he was singing in 1972,

Sorry, but I seem to be being a little dim here. It's Brian Wilson. It was recorded in summer 1972... so how can there be any possible question as to it being "the way he was singing in 1972" ?

[Rocker]

Just wanted to say thank you for the link. Very interesting interview !

[SloopJohnB]

Just wanted to say thank you for the link. Very interesting interview !

You're welcome!

Well, yes - but if that's the way he was singing in 1972,

Sorry, but I seem to be being a little dim here. It's Brian Wilson. It was recorded in summer 1972... so how can there be any possible question as to it being "the way he was singing in 1972" ?

A poor choice of words is to blame, I'll grant you that. Let me explain: IF he's the one singing "what's in her head" in Marcella, then we know how he sounded on THAT particular day, and obviously we also know how he sounded on the day they recorded "California", but take a random 1972 song and you can't be sure whether Brian is on it or not, because his voice tended to vary a lot.

I don't know if I'm being very clear (apparently not), but consider the following: take any 1963 song and you can immediately tell if Brian's on it or not. Doing the same thing with a 1972 song? Nuh-uh.

Anyway, any other opinions about that "Funky Pretty" part?

[Sam_BFC]

Wasn't Brian's part on California tape-speed/pitch manipulated anyway, thus altering the character of the vocal part in question?

Think I read that once <?>

[Mikie]

Brian only sang the intro (two lines) on "California". Though it does sound a little weak.........was his voice really messed with for the record?

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

He also sand another part on that song ..."on my way"....although it is nearly inaudible on the album version (as opposed to the single cut).

[Ed Roach]

I'm going to sneak this in here, bevause it's the interview from Mystery Island that led me to it:

http://www.emusic.com/album/Nick-Sanelli-Nunc-Pro-Tunc-MP3-Download/12101203.html

Nunc Pro Tunc by Nick Sanelli
 
Today on Mystery Island we listened to NUNC PRO TUNC by NICK SANELLI.

Sanelli is working with an interesting team of music vets (including our pal BILLY HINSCHE on guitar, keyboards, harmonica, and vocals) to bring together an eclectic mix of blues and ballads with a personal, philosophical, and dogmatic theme.

The most interesting lyric from this set comes from the first song “God Talkin’”:

God told Adam
Go tell Eve
Go pack your sh*t
Get dressed and leave

Another stand out track is “Einstein’s Barber,” produced by Dean Martin’s son, RICCI MARTIN.

You’ll probably dig this music if you’re into: Billy Hinsche, Bruce Springsteen, Jeffrey Foskett, Jesus Christ, Jimmy Buffett, Neil Young, The Osmonds, Taylor Mills, or Tom Russell.

For more information check out the following websites:

http://billyhinsche.com
http://georgetemerson.com
http://tindrummusic.com

[JaredLekites]

Brian only sang the intro (two lines) on "California". Though it does sound a little weak.........was his voice really messed with for the record?

I doubt it was manipulated. Sounds right to me for that period.

[grillo]

Brian only sang the intro (two lines) on "California". Though it does sound a little weak.........was his voice really messed with for the record?

I doubt it was manipulated. Sounds right to me for that period.

Pretty sure the first 'On my way' is sped up, but the other two are not. Bri's voice does sound pretty bad here though, bad enough to have the group cover for him singing 'spend'. It's like he's wheezing his way through those two sentences, though he still has most of his old tone. Sound like his voice is really deteriorating at this point, which is the likely reason he felt uncomfortable with leads during these years (but he must've grown to like it enough by the time of 15BO). BW's voice deal-e-o is for sure one of the most fascinating aspects of the BB universe.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Brian only sang the intro (two lines) on "California". Though it does sound a little weak.........was his voice really messed with for the record?

I doubt it was manipulated. Sounds right to me for that period.

Pretty sure the first 'On my way' is sped up, but the other two are not. Bri's voice does sound pretty bad here though, bad enough to have the group cover for him singing 'spend'. It's like he's wheezing his way through those two sentences, though he still has most of his old tone. Sound like his voice is really deteriorating at this point, which is the likely reason he felt uncomfortable with leads during these years (but he must've grown to like it enough by the time of 15BO). BW's voice deal-e-o is for sure one of the most fascinating aspects of the BB universe.

Bear in mind that for this little contribution, Brian turned up unannounced, did his bit and split, all in about 20 minutes.

[Jonas]

Wow, this cannot be unheard! Now I'm thinking its Billy...

Really wish we had access to the multi-track of this (if it even exists, who knows with this crazy bunch!)

[Curtis Leon]

I'm not talking about the "funky pretty gone" backgrounds that can be heard in the verses, which are almost certainly sung by Brian, I'm talking about "his" part in the tag. Some people (myself included - I had been convinced it was him after reading about it in a previous thread) thought the "yeah, funky girl why, funky girl why" vocals in the tag were Brian's.

...Well, I stumbled upon this a few minutes ago:

http://www.mysteryisland.net/billyhinsche


[Billy Hinsche:] While in Holland, Brian gave me another outstanding vocal part on "Funky Pretty" during the "tag" section. It goes, "yea, Funky come back, Funky come back" over and over again.


I've listened to the tag over and over again and came to this conclusion: if Billy's right (and I can't see why he wouldn't be), HE was the one singing the part we thought was Brian's. This goes to show that we can't know for sure whether Brian actually sung on such-and-such song. Let's face it: we don't really know what his singing voice sounded like in 1972-1973. 

Well, I for one had no doubts about that part not being Brian. It just doesn't sound enough like his voice. The sped up falsetto in the background is definitely him, though.

Also, just because we don't know exactly, down to a tee, what Brian's voice sounded like in this or any other period, doesn't mean we can't make guesses, or be reasonably assured that the vocal bit in question is actually him.

And we can also build a sort of vocal archive of the time period. The Awake demo was recorded in 1971, Don't You Just Know It was recorded SOMETIME around this time period, Rollin' Up to Heaven gives an example of his voice two years after the period in question, and it sounds reasonably like him. The Pied Piper vocals also don't have any rasp to them. Dunno for sure if he did the "Glowing magic transistor, radio" bit.

All this proves is that Brian's voice is a fickle beast, though. It seems he was trying out more and more ways to innotate it, using vibrato and singing in bass, speeding up his falsetto. Probably the only clear vocal he did in this era was the aforementioned Awake demo.

On that note, however, I would like to post some snippets of Steamboat and Funky Pretty with Brian's voice I edited. I'm convinced that he's singing background harmonies in the latter, as well, as a very noticeable falsetto seems to break off from the rest of the vocals at two parts in the song.

Steamboat - Brian's background vocals in contrast to Carl's lead.

http://www.mediafire.com/?fw7szl0r8lknb3i

Funky Pretty - The background "break off" I mentioned earlier.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ngd43b392cn975r

Funky Pretty - Funky Pretty gone, centered and much clearer.

http://www.mediafire.com/?5ch5qarqspjkxpy

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Arrgh...FLACS...my computer doesn't like them!


In any case, didn't a certain bald moderator do something like this recently? I wonder what happened to that guy....

[Curtis Leon]

Arrgh...FLACS...my computer doesn't like them!


In any case, didn't a certain bald moderator do something like this recently? I wonder what happened to that guy....

Oh yes... I would never steal an idea or anything... At all...

[SloopJohnB]

Also, just because we don't know exactly, down to a tee, what Brian's voice sounded like in this or any other period, doesn't mean we can't make guesses, or be reasonably assured that the vocal bit in question is actually him.

And we can also build a sort of vocal archive of the time period. The Awake demo was recorded in 1971, Don't You Just Know It was recorded SOMETIME around this time period, Rollin' Up to Heaven gives an example of his voice two years after the period in question, and it sounds reasonably like him. The Pied Piper vocals also don't have any rasp to them. Dunno for sure if he did the "Glowing magic transistor, radio" bit.

All this proves is that Brian's voice is a fickle beast, though. It seems he was trying out more and more ways to innotate it, using vibrato and singing in bass, speeding up his falsetto. Probably the only clear vocal he did in this era was the aforementioned Awake demo.

I agree with everything you've just said - perhaps what makes his voice harder to isolate is not that it was changing, but that he was trying to make it change by trying different things. We can make guesses, of course, but will we ever know for sure whether he his on a given track? Probably not.

On that note, however, I would like to post some snippets of Steamboat and Funky Pretty with Brian's voice I edited. I'm convinced that he's singing background harmonies in the latter, as well, as a very noticeable falsetto seems to break off from the rest of the vocals at two parts in the song.

Steamboat - Brian's background vocals in contrast to Carl's lead.

http://www.mediafire.com/?fw7szl0r8lknb3i

Funky Pretty - The background "break off" I mentioned earlier.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ngd43b392cn975r

Funky Pretty - Funky Pretty gone, centered and much clearer.

http://www.mediafire.com/?5ch5qarqspjkxpy

Both "Funky Pretty" snippets sound like Brian, but I have doubts about "Steamboat" - actually it reminds me of Marilyn's voice. But then again, that's just a wild guess!

[Andrew G. Doe]

I'm not talking about the "funky pretty gone" backgrounds that can be heard in the verses, which are almost certainly sung by Brian, I'm talking about "his" part in the tag. Some people (myself included - I had been convinced it was him after reading about it in a previous thread) thought the "yeah, funky girl why, funky girl why" vocals in the tag were Brian's.

...Well, I stumbled upon this a few minutes ago:

http://www.mysteryisland.net/billyhinsche


[Billy Hinsche:] While in Holland, Brian gave me another outstanding vocal part on "Funky Pretty" during the "tag" section. It goes, "yea, Funky come back, Funky come back" over and over again.


I've listened to the tag over and over again and came to this conclusion: if Billy's right (and I can't see why he wouldn't be), HE was the one singing the part we thought was Brian's. This goes to show that we can't know for sure whether Brian actually sung on such-and-such song. Let's face it: we don't really know what his singing voice sounded like in 1972-1973.  

Well, I for one had no doubts about that part not being Brian. It just doesn't sound enough like his voice. The sped up falsetto in the background is definitely him, though.

Also, just because we don't know exactly, down to a tee, what Brian's voice sounded like in this or any other period, doesn't mean we can't make guesses, or be reasonably assured that the vocal bit in question is actually him.

And we can also build a sort of vocal archive of the time period. The Awake demo was recorded in 1971, Don't You Just Know It was recorded SOMETIME around this time period, Rollin' Up to Heaven gives an example of his voice two years after the period in question, and it sounds reasonably like him. The Pied Piper vocals also don't have any rasp to them. Dunno for sure if he did the "Glowing magic transistor, radio" bit.

All this proves is that Brian's voice is a fickle beast, though. It seems he was trying out more and more ways to innotate it, using vibrato and singing in bass, speeding up his falsetto. Probably the only clear vocal he did in this era was the aforementioned Awake demo.

On that note, however, I would like to post some snippets of Steamboat and Funky Pretty with Brian's voice I edited. I'm convinced that he's singing background harmonies in the latter, as well, as a very noticeable falsetto seems to break off from the rest of the vocals at two parts in the song.

Steamboat - Brian's background vocals in contrast to Carl's lead.

http://www.mediafire.com/?fw7szl0r8lknb3i

Funky Pretty - The background "break off" I mentioned earlier.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ngd43b392cn975r

Funky Pretty - Funky Pretty gone, centered and much clearer.

http://www.mediafire.com/?5ch5qarqspjkxpy

Brilliant idea - posting clips in a format that my laptop can't open. Now I have to download some dubious program, and all to probably say "not Brian". You got something personal against mp3s ?

OK, I've heard it. And I was right, it's not Brian. Know who it is ?  Carl. Not Brian, not Marilyn - Carl.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Which part is Carl? I can't play the files.

[SloopJohnB]

Brilliant idea - posting clips in a format that my laptop can't open. Now I have to download some dubious program, and all to probably say "not Brian". You got something personal against mp3s ?

OK, I've heard it. And I was right, it's not Brian. Know who it is ?  Carl. Not Brian, not Marilyn - Carl.

Well, if you're talking about the Steamboat snippet, it definitely COULD be Carl, but you seem to know it's him - I'm going to need a source for this. "My ears" is not a valid answer. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Brilliant idea - posting clips in a format that my laptop can't open. Now I have to download some dubious program, and all to probably say "not Brian". You got something personal against mp3s ?

OK, I've heard it. And I was right, it's not Brian. Know who it is ?  Carl. Not Brian, not Marilyn - Carl.

Well, if you're talking about the Steamboat snippet, it definitely COULD be Carl, but you seem to know it's him - I'm going to need a source for this. "My ears" is not a valid answer. 

How about "it sounds incredibly like the guy singing the lead vocal, especially the last few notes" ?  It's not Brian for sure because he wasn't on that song at all.

[SloopJohnB]

Well, if you're talking about the Steamboat snippet, it definitely COULD be Carl, but you seem to know it's him - I'm going to need a source for this. "My ears" is not a valid answer. 

How about "it sounds incredibly like the guy singing the lead vocal, especially the last few notes" ?  It's not Brian for sure because he wasn't on that song at all.

Just to clarify things a bit, I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing; I'm talking about the wordless harmony: "oooooooooh-aaaaaaaaah" (two different notes only). This could be either Marilyn or Carl in my opinion.

Obviously, the "roll, roll on, forever" and "river roll, forever" parts are 100% Carl.