Brian's vocals (or lack thereof) on All Dressed Up For School

[CenturyDeprived]

Fascinating revelation about how Brian isn't singing the falsetto on the choruses of this song, but instead Al is.

A few questions come to mind:

Are there any other songs from the pre Pet Sounds era on which falsetto vocals are handled by someone other than Brian, or is this the only one?

Is Brian audible on this song vocally? I'd swear that I hear him on the group vocal stack, but then again, finding out that Al is in fact doing the falsetto on the choruses makes me think that possibly Brian isn't vocally on it. Am I nuts?

And the unusual configuration (giving Carl a significant lead for his first song - the dual-lead vocal on Summertime Blues excepted) and Al singing falsetto instead of Brian (when Brian is clearly present in the studio on the session tape, and could have handled that vocal if he wanted to) makes me wonder if this was some sort of test for trying out the vocal configuration of only the touring members of the band, with Brian intentionally taking a back seat - perhaps to see if the band could better replicate a given song in a live setting compared to the studio version, if the same guys were singing the same parts on both live + studio. Maybe an attempt to lessen any disparity in perceived quality between live + studio, since post '63 it rarely (if ever) was the same exact people heard on songs in those two settings. Just a theory. Curious what everyone else thinks.

I also think this song is so killer that it could have been released as a single. I wonder if that thought ever crossed Brian's mind during the song's formation/recording, and I also wonder who planted the seed of doubt about releasing it. Was it Brian himself, Murry, Mike, the record company? Was this the first example of Brian getting cold feet about his strongest material? I personally think this is a top-tier BB tune, one of their very best pre-66 songs.

And would it really have been a problem for a lyric to say "ooh what a turn-on" in this era? Would this lyric have actually made the record bannable in some record stores, or unplayable over radio?

[Jukka]

Hear hear! This one was one of the first BB's songs that I really got into, to the point of obsession. That amazing "whirlpool of harmony" -part, recycled so many times after this one, never found a better place than this one. Great lyrics, and the bass section really booms!

[SMiLE Brian]

Great discovery about the track CD! Really shows the lessor tracks were just as important in BW's songwriting development

[Andrew G. Doe]

And the unusual configuration (giving Carl a significant lead for his first song - the dual-lead vocal on Summertime Blues excepted...

"ADUFS" was recorded 9/16/64: Shut Down, Volume 2, with Carl's first solo lead, "Pom Pom Playgirl", was released 3/2/64.

Never ceases to amaze me how much Alan can sound like Brian...

[CenturyDeprived]

And the unusual configuration (giving Carl a significant lead for his first song - the dual-lead vocal on Summertime Blues excepted...

"ADUFS" was recorded 9/16/64: Shut Down, Volume 2, with Carl's first solo lead, "Pom Pom Playgirl", was released 3/2/64.

Never ceases to amaze me how much Alan can sound like Brian...

Thanks, AGD. As I typed it, I admittedly was not quite sure if I was getting my facts correct there! Although, I'd *almost* consider Pom Pom Playgirl a co-lead between Carl + Mike, considering Mike finishes off each verse; maybe an 80/20 split. ADUFS seems to be more fully Carl's baby vocally by comparison, in my eyes.

[Micha]

I also wonder who planted the seed of doubt about releasing it. Was it Brian himself, Murry, Mike, the record company?

I can't answer this, but Brian claims "Girl Don't Tell Me" was the first song Carl "dug" singing lead, so ADUFS seems not to have been one of Carl's favorite tunes either.

Personally, I feel that something in the song's arrangement is off - in a structural way rather than in instrumentation - which I can't really pinpoint. I can't see this as a single at all. My favorite incarnation of this melody is "I Just Got My Pay", but I like ADUFS better than "Marcella".

I must lend an ear to the vocals now.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Evolved from the "Honda 55" jingle recorded 15 days earlier, btw... 

[Micha]

Listened to it. I'm pretty sure Brian is in the mix, from the first "dit" on. I wouldn't have noticed it's not Brian on falsetto if it hadn't been pointed out to me. Is it Brian on falsetto again on the word "school" at the end of the chorus?

I don't think this was an experiment for touring without Brian - this was recorded before that famous breakdown on the plane.

[CenturyDeprived]

Evolved from the "Honda 55" jingle recorded 15 days earlier, btw... 

Another cool fact I never previously knew. Thanks.

[Jukka]

Evolved from the "Honda 55" jingle recorded 15 days earlier, btw... 

What was this for? Honda commercial?

[Andrew G. Doe]

If so, never used.

[CenturyDeprived]

Listened to it. I'm pretty sure Brian is in the mix, from the first "dit" on. I wouldn't have noticed it's not Brian on falsetto if it hadn't been pointed out to me. Is it Brian on falsetto again on the word "school" at the end of the chorus?

I don't think this was an experiment for touring without Brian - this was recorded before that famous breakdown on the plane.

I think you're right, that Brian is most likely heard on the "dit" parts... yet I would also have sworn it was Brian on the chorus until I heard the vocals-only version. Brian was clearly trying to switch things up vocally on this song in terms of who sang what. Maybe there was no real reason for it other than trying something new, though I'm not completely convinced that's the case.

Another nagging question... for the life of me, I can't place the connection between this song and Marcella. I totally hear it with I Just Got My Pay, of course, as that is a near clone in terms of much of the arrangement, yet Marcella I can't hear what parts were borrowed from ADUFS. Anyone want to clue me in? It's probably obvious and right under my nose.

[Andrew G. Doe]

There isn't a straight line, but the verse of "ADUFS" and "IJGMP" are all but identical (as you've noted), while the intro to "Pay" is clearly recycled as the verse of "Marcella". So, no direct line of descent, more like second cousins once removed but only when there's an R in the month.

[AndrewHickey]

Another nagging question... for the life of me, I can't place the connection between this song and Marcella. I totally hear it with I Just Got My Pay, of course, as that is a near clone in terms of much of the arrangement, yet Marcella I can't hear what parts were borrowed from ADUFS. Anyone want to clue me in? It's probably obvious and right under my nose.

The "Well she first caught my eyes running round in shorts" becomes "well I could take and cycle 'way my dough..." which in turn becomes "Brave new woman standing proud and dazzling". There's not much connection between All Dressed Up For School and Marcella separately, but when you listen to all three back to back you can definitely hear that Marcella's a rewrite of I Just Got My Pay is a rewrite of All Dressed Up For School.

[Andrew G. Doe]

(koff) "sock away my dough" (koff)

[AndrewHickey]

(koff) "sock away my dough" (koff)

Indeed. Not that that actually makes any more sense

[Andrew G. Doe]

Sock, as in put in a sock and hide away. 

[drbeachboy]

Sock, as in put in a sock and hide away. 

I just wish I could still make me 6% a year. Ain't seen that kind of interest in decades.

[CenturyDeprived]

There isn't a straight line, but the verse of "ADUFS" and "IJGMP" are all but identical (as you've noted), while the intro to "Pay" is clearly recycled as the verse of "Marcella". So, no direct line of descent, more like second cousins once removed but only when there's an R in the month.

Ahh, got it. I never made that connection, since I was just focusing on locating non-existent similarities between ADUFS and Marcella. But I do hear the IJGMP -> Marcella connection for sure.

I'm really glad that IJGMP wasn't released as an album track. Those lyrics stink! Nobody would want to hear a rich rock star pretending to be a working class guy, and the specific money/saving references are way too on the nose. It worked when some other bands of the era sang from a different class perspective, but it doesn't work at all in IJGMP, IMO.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

And would it really have been a problem for a lyric to say "ooh what a turn-on" in this era? Would this lyric have actually made the record bannable in some record stores, or unplayable over radio?

I think it's not just the 'what a turn-on' by itself, but in conjunction with the fact it's someone getting 'dressed for school'. Now, we'd assume it was a high school student and not younger, but it's still a bit 'hinky' considering the band members (save Carl) were adult age by this point.

[wantsomecorn]

And would it really have been a problem for a lyric to say "ooh what a turn-on" in this era? Would this lyric have actually made the record bannable in some record stores, or unplayable over radio?

I think it's not just the 'what a turn-on' by itself, but in conjunction with the fact it's someone getting 'dressed for school'. Now, we'd assume it was a high school student and not younger, but it's still a bit 'hinky' considering the band members (save Carl) were adult age by this point.

Maybe it's about a teacher with Lolita-style fantasies... Just like that song by The Police!