Dennis in the vocal blend

[Wylson]

I was reading the wiki article on Dennis, and it says he was a "key part of the vocal blend in the studio". I have to say I have never realised this. I suppose because the vocals blend so well together - I have great difficulty picking out Dennis, and also often Carl. The most prominent voices to me are Brian (obviously on top), Mike, and Al seems to dominate the mid-range.

I'd like to understand more about what range of parts Dennis sings in the harmonies, and if anyone can point me to any examples?

Thanks.

[Jon Stebbins]

I was reading the wiki article on Dennis, and it says he was a "key part of the vocal blend in the studio". I have to say I have never realised this. I suppose because the vocals blend so well together - I have great difficulty picking out Dennis, and also often Carl. The most prominent voices to me are Brian (obviously on top), Mike, and Al seems to dominate the mid-range.

I'd like to understand more about what range of parts Dennis sings in the harmonies, and if anyone can point me to any examples?

Thanks.

Dennis is usually one step above or one step below Carl, but if you can't hear Carl either than that's not gonna help. He's somewhere in the vocal blend on the vast majority of Beach Boys songs until Summer Days at which time he cuts down to about half of them or so. To me Dennis is the easiest to pick out because he adds that sand paper texture to everything he sings on, (see Surfer Girl, Our Car Club, In My Room, I Get Around, Hushabye, All Summer Long, Don't Worry Baby, Girls On The Beach, Kiss Me Baby, I'm So Young, When I Grow Up To Be A Man, Sloop John B, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Heroes and Villains, Add Some Music etc... etc...) when he's not there that texture isn't there.

[Wylson]

Thanks Jon. Yes I know the texture you mean - and I can hear Dennis quite clearly on Surfer Girl. So is the typical order:
Brian
Al
Carl
Dennis
Mike

Just found this amazing performance of 'Their Hearts': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jttr7zDfndw&feature=related

[Wylson]

Would also be interested to know whether Dennis is in the vocal blend on the Friends album. To me the blend on Friends is sweeter than at any other point, and points towards some multi-tracked Brian vocals?

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Yeah, until Summer Days, Dennis was usually third in line blend-wise, and with many little featured parts. He was indeed and integral part of the vocal blend.

[adamghost]

I think those may have been my words in the Dennis wiki article, actually.  

I've often argued that Dennis' voice was in many way the key to the BBs' classic vocal texture, because he was the rougher edge the other voices rubbed against (Al also had a key role in giving the band an edge, as Carl had said, "his voice really cuts" -- a lot of the BBs' classic blend we remember are when both Dennis and Al were singing).  Double tracking that kind of voice gives the vocals weight and heft.  A lot of the great harmony bands had a tougher singer in the midrange that gave their vocals texture -- Chris Squire in Yes, Huey Lewis in the News to name two examples.  Much as I love the Bee Gees this is the one problem with their harmony blend that sometimes grates.  No grainy singer in the blend (Maurice came closest, but they were all basically pure tone guys).

BTW, to amplify what Erik said, Dennis was usually the third one up in the harmony chain, with Carl below him.  This seems to have been reversed occasionally, particularly when there was a tricky vocal part.  When Bruce came in, there doesn't seem to be a set pattern to it, but Dennis did seem to sing somewhat less after that in the backgrounds.  He's all over FRIENDS though...I believe he's doing the bass voice in place of an absent Mike on a number of the songs.  Hence (partly) the smoother sound.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Here's a good example of Dennis being the second most prominent voice on a track:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH3X9AWzTXY&feature=related

I wonder if he was used more vocally on this material because Al wasn't around?

Damn, the rhythm guitar really kicks on this song!!!

[adamghost]

Dennis is really prominent in the early stuff before Al.  He's on nearly everything that I'm aware of.

I've always found Dennis the easiest guy in the blend to pick out.  It once got me through a concert where I had to wing all of the harmonies to FRIENDS pretty much unrehearsed.  I figured no one would grab Dennis' part, and I was right!

[lance]

He's the easiest for me to pick out, along with Brian at the top and Mike at the bottom, Al and Carl tend to be harder for me.

[adamghost]

Yeah, Carl's the hardest.  He's low and he blends.  Later, it gets really hard to know who's even on there.

[Autotune]

Dennis is usually one step above or one step below Carl, but if you can't hear Carl either than that's not gonna help. He's somewhere in the vocal blend on the vast majority of Beach Boys songs until Summer Days at which time he cuts down to about half of them or so. To me Dennis is the easiest to pick out because he adds that sand paper texture to everything he sings on, (see Surfer Girl, Our Car Club, In My Room, I Get Around, Hushabye, All Summer Long, Don't Worry Baby, Girls On The Beach, Kiss Me Baby, I'm So Young, When I Grow Up To Be A Man, Sloop John B, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Heroes and Villains, Add Some Music etc... etc...) when he's not there that texture isn't there.

Interesting. Surfer Girl being four-part, I suppose Dennis sang on the recording and then Al sang Dennis' part live, right? That would make sense given the "edgy" quality of their voices you just mentioned.

[Autotune]

I was reading the wiki article on Dennis, and it says he was a "key part of the vocal blend in the studio".

Btw, all parts were key in the BBs' blend.

[Rocker]

He's somewhere in the vocal blend on the vast majority of Beach Boys songs until Summer Days at which time he cuts down to about half of them or so.

Any idea why?

[Sound of Free]

I also always wondered why Dennis became less prominent on "Summer Days." "Today" was such a great album and he was all over it vocally. He sang lead on the opening track that was a hit single, sang lead on a ballad, dominated the end of "I'm So Young" and had places where he was moved up front in the harmony for a word, very effectively - "love to hold you TIGHT" "when I grow to to BE a man."

Then after that it seemed like you heard less and less of Dennis. It seems strange after he did such a good job on "Today."

[adamghost]

I also always wondered why Dennis became less prominent on "Summer Days." "Today" was such a great album and he was all over it vocally. He sang lead on the opening track that was a hit single, sang lead on a ballad, dominated the end of "I'm So Young" and had places where he was moved up front in the harmony for a word, very effectively - "love to hold you TIGHT" "when I grow to to BE a man."

Then after that it seemed like you heard less and less of Dennis. It seems strange after he did such a good job on "Today."

I don't know it for a fact, but I would say the answer is pretty obvious:  Bruce.

Dennis was probably the least vocally facile member of the band.  That's not dissing his singing, but I don't think based on aural and other evidence that it was as easy for him to negotiate tricky parts as the other guys, particularly Carl.  Brian was definitely frustrated with his precision on songs like "In the Back Of My Mind," and when there's a flaw in the vocals somewhere it's Dennis more often than not (which adds to the charm, but it probably drove Brian nuts).  Bruce, on the other hand, was an extremely quick study and a session vocalist of long standing.  As Brian started to pull into PET SOUNDS' dizzying arrangements, he made more and more use of Bruce's abilities, and it probably was simply if he didn't have a part for Dennis, he didn't use him.  Al has said that around this time Dennis was mostly making vocal "cameos" on record.  That may be a bit exaggerated but there's probably some basis in truth for it.

Now, they lost something in the blend without Dennis there, but they were probably able to reach further vocally without having to have him on every single session.  It's also around this time that Dennis starts to stretch out in the studio (playing organ on "Good Vibrations" for example), so he may not have cared.  Also, there's plenty of evidence that Dennis would miss sessions to go do something more fun, like surfing.  It may also be that with Bruce there, Dennis took a few days off.

Having said all that, it's worth remembering that we're talking Beach Boys standards here.  By the standards of a normal rock band Dennis was an expert harmony vocalist.  Witness his frustration with Dean at the "Barbara Ann" session:  "Dean, SING IN TUNE!!!!"  Four years later he was still griping about Dean's pitchiness.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Yeah, that's the funny thing about Dennis (and all the Beach Boys really) .... He's looked at as the dumb blond drummer who never played on anything, when in reality he was a professional session and live drummer and a professional harmony/lead singer trained by none other than Brian Wilson!!!!!!

And people are always shocked beyond belief when I force them to listen to POB or Sunflower!!!!!

[Jon Stebbins]

Its not like when Bruce and Summer Days came along Dennis' days of being in the blend were over. He's just there a bit less. But still he's on Sloop John B, Wouldn't It Be Nice, he's on Good Vibrations, he's on TONS of Smile stuff including Heroes and Villains, Our Prayer, Child is Father To The Man, he's on most of Friends, Add Some Music. Anyway, he's in the blend quite a bit post Today!...just not as high a percentage as he was from Surfin Safari through Today. Same with his drumming, he drums on the majority of things  '62 through '65, and only some things after that, but still quite a few.

[TdHabib]

Once I picked out Dennis' part on "Don't Worry Baby," I realized that HE was what made the chorus work (in addition to Brian's sterling work). It's his voice that gives the song the "bollocks" so to speak, the extra notch that brings it to heaven. Listen to the snippett of that song that's acapella on the Summer Love Songs compilation. It's spine-tingling.

The other song I jumped up at when I heard the Dennis harmony was "You Still Believe in Me." No coincidence that those are two of my favorite songs period.

[Jay]

Once I picked out Dennis' part on "Don't Worry Baby," I realized that HE was what made the chorus work (in addition to Brian's sterling work).

You know what? You're absolutely right, and I just now realised it until I read your post just a minute ago. I have heard that song millions of times, too. I can hear the song so clearly in my head, and I can hear his voice. It's his voice that makes the song. It adds that final touch. Very subtle, but very essential. 

[adamghost]

Its not like when Bruce and Summer Days came along Dennis' days of being in the blend were over. He's just there a bit less. But still he's on Sloop John B, Wouldn't It Be Nice, he's on Good Vibrations, he's on TONS of Smile stuff including Heroes and Villains, Our Prayer, Child is Father To The Man, he's on most of Friends, Add Some Music. Anyway, he's in the blend quite a bit post Today!...just not as high a percentage as he was from Surfin Safari through Today. Same with his drumming, he drums on the majority of things  '62 through '65, and only some things after that, but still quite a few.

Didn't mean to suggest that, just answering the question why Dennis' vocal participation declined a little from SUMMER DAYS on.  Certainly, he's still singing a lot...just not every single time.  He's definitely on SMILE a lot more than PET SOUNDS, isn't he?  That's kind of interesting.  And then you get SMILEY SMILE where there's lots of Dennis, and virtually no Bruce. 

[linusoli]

Let's try to track him some more
Is that him harmonizing with Brian on the "dit, dit, dit, heroes and villains" variations?
I've always wondered

[Jon Stebbins]

Let's try to track him some more
Is that him harmonizing with Brian on the "dit, dit, dit, heroes and villains" variations?
I've always wondered

Could be. I hear him all over the released H&V. Its very clearly Dennis at 2:30 - 2:31 in this version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lkk8Cku4p8