Brian Wilson's Secret Bedroom Tapes - LA Weekly 1-30-14

[The Shift]

I can't believe everybody seems to believe this material is probably going to be released. I would love to see it released, but we gotta be very realistic. A boxset full of demos in the vein of Still I Dream Of It and California Feeling '74 is just not going to happen. The material is so rough. It's just interesting for the diehard fans like us. But I don't think it's ever going to get a full blown major label release...

Even Beach Boys said the same about the Smile sessions material… if what's happening here is an attempt to fire up enthusiasm for the tracks, and to give them a reputation as the rough workings of our greatest musical genius, the hope might be that they develop such a strong cult following that demand starts to grow and grow…  

The guys over on the Rollin Up Top Heaven* message board have been debating, analysing and clamouring for this stuff for years, just as the folks here and on predecessors like MaleEgo and the Smile Shop demanded the release of Smile, with eventual success.














* I made this bit up, there's no such board.**










** Yet…

[CenturyDeprived]

I can't believe everybody seems to believe this material is probably going to be released. I would love to see it released, but we gotta be very realistic. A boxset full of demos in the vein of Still I Dream Of It and California Feeling '74 is just not going to happen. The material is so rough. It's just interesting for the diehard fans like us. But I don't think it's ever going to get a full blown major label release...

Even Beach Boys said the same about the Smile sessions material… if what's happening here is an attempt to fire up enthusiasm for the tracks, and to give them a reputation as the rough workings of our greatest musical genius, the hope might be that they develop such a strong cult following that demand starts to grow and grow…  

+1 (!!!)

[Sheriff John Stone]

I'd have to think he's had it up to here with the crazy Brian Wilson thing. If Brian doesn't mind, I think Melinda Wilson would.

I assumed MELINDA was behind this whole thing. No past/unreleased material is sacred with Brian's wifeandmanagers, especially if you can make an album out of it. And, if the title fits, er....can help sell records, that'll be used, too.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I'd have to think he's had it up to here with the crazy Brian Wilson thing. If Brian doesn't mind, I think Melinda Wilson would.

I assumed MELINDA was behind this whole thing. No past/unreleased material is sacred with Brian's wifeandmanagers, especially if you can make an album out of it. And, if the title fits, er....can help sell records, that'll be used, too.

Your assumption is roughly 100% wrong.  Possibly more.

[Menace Wilson]

I'd have to think he's had it up to here with the crazy Brian Wilson thing. If Brian doesn't mind, I think Melinda Wilson would.

I assumed MELINDA was behind this whole thing. No past/unreleased material is sacred with Brian's wifeandmanagers, especially if you can make an album out of it. And, if the title fits, er....can help sell records, that'll be used, too.

Your assumption is roughly 100% wrong.  Possibly more.

Yeah, seems like WifeandManagers has always been reluctant to call attention to B-Dub's.......eccentricity (which, as we all know, is one of the things that makes him so spectacularly interesting).

[KittyKat]

If Melinda were that keen to see all of Brian's material released, she would have released the original Paley tapes by now, as well as Sweet Insanity, if they could find the master for that one.  Since BRI has the rights to material from the bedroom/living room tapes, there's even less incentive for her to feel much enthusiasm for this set of material. So, I doubt she's the one behind the article, though I could be wrong.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Oddly, the one behind the article is the guy who wrote it.

[Ed Roach]

Brian Wilson's Genius: Readers Discuss a New Discovery

by L.A. Weekly readers   Thursday, Feb 6 2014

What if everything you thought you knew about Brian Wilson was wrong? What if he wasn't just a bubble-gum pop star who spiraled into crippling depression but a musical genius who, in addition to recording the long-delayed Smile, has a wealth of other tracks just waiting for an audience? The revelations in Brian Chidester's cover story last week, "The Secret Brian Wilson Bedroom Tapes," excited longtime fans and more casual listeners alike.

Dbpcservice writes, "Fantastic article."

Sean Broderick agrees: "I enjoyed reading this well-written article. As a person who very much appreciates music, I love to learn new information about truly great artists, such as Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. If and when Brian Wilson's Secret Bedroom (Music) gets released, I'll be buying it the first day it's available. When the 2011 Beach Boys Smile album was finally released, it was a thrill to hear the whimsical lyrics and music with all of the Beach Boys participating and singing. One of the big reasons the Beach Boys have been so successful is that they have six excellent lead singers, not just one or two. Thank you!"

Drmiguel.deleon writes, "Good article, except that the writer alluded twice to Brian Wilson's diminishing songwriting and experimentation, ostensibly ending in the mid-'70s. This, however, doesn't account for his ongoing work as a solo artist — just as there are many demos from that period, so also are there many unreleased songs Wilson has either composed or recorded since the late 1980s. The Beach Boys' reunion album, That's Why God Made the Radio, is a case in point. The story is that most of the music for that album was written and demo'd by Brian back in 1996, and the plan was a Beach Boys album at that time, but that Carl Wilson's losing battle with cancer sidelined the project.

"Would that Brother Records — and Brian himself — would release the demos, or else Brian could complete the recordings and send them out to a world that now appreciates his gift and the journey he's taken."

Finally, Killabagger reminds us of one factor affecting Wilson in the late '60s: "You all have to remember 1964-66 was the heyday of LSD use in L.A. It was legal, and pure, and it was everywhere. Brian and others were eating LSD like Tic-Tacs. As enlightening LSD is, too much makes you mental. I was there as a kid, and saw it big-time in Laurel Canyon."

http://www.laweekly.com/los-angeles/brian-wilsons-genius-readers-discuss-a-new-discovery/Content?oid=4416308

[bgas]

Brian Wilson's Genius: Readers Discuss a New Discovery

by L.A. Weekly readers   Thursday, Feb 6 2014

What if everything you thought you knew about Brian Wilson was wrong? What if he wasn't just a bubble-gum pop star who spiraled into crippling depression but a musical genius who, in addition to recording the long-delayed Smile, has a wealth of other tracks just waiting for an audience? The revelations in Brian Chidester's cover story last week, "The Secret Brian Wilson Bedroom Tapes," excited longtime fans and more casual listeners alike.

Dbpcservice writes, "Fantastic article."

Sean Broderick agrees: "I enjoyed reading this well-written article. As a person who very much appreciates music, I love to learn new information about truly great artists, such as Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. If and when Brian Wilson's Secret Bedroom (Music) gets released, I'll be buying it the first day it's available. When the 2011 Beach Boys Smile album was finally released, it was a thrill to hear the whimsical lyrics and music with all of the Beach Boys participating and singing. One of the big reasons the Beach Boys have been so successful is that they have six excellent lead singers, not just one or two. Thank you!"

Drmiguel.deleon writes, "Good article, except that the writer alluded twice to Brian Wilson's diminishing songwriting and experimentation, ostensibly ending in the mid-'70s. This, however, doesn't account for his ongoing work as a solo artist — just as there are many demos from that period, so also are there many unreleased songs Wilson has either composed or recorded since the late 1980s. The Beach Boys' reunion album, That's Why God Made the Radio, is a case in point. The story is that most of the music for that album was written and demo'd by Brian back in 1996, and the plan was a Beach Boys album at that time, but that Carl Wilson's losing battle with cancer sidelined the project.

"Would that Brother Records — and Brian himself — would release the demos, or else Brian could complete the recordings and send them out to a world that now appreciates his gift and the journey he's taken."

Finally, Killabagger reminds us of one factor affecting Wilson in the late '60s: "You all have to remember 1964-66 was the heyday of LSD use in L.A. It was legal, and pure, and it was everywhere. Brian and others were eating LSD like Tic-Tacs. As enlightening LSD is, too much makes you mental. I was there as a kid, and saw it big-time in Laurel Canyon."

http://www.laweekly.com/los-angeles/brian-wilsons-genius-readers-discuss-a-new-discovery/Content?oid=4416308

Thanxx Ed! 

But I thought there was to be some new thought-provoking artcle on the "Bedroom Tapes" in this issue? 

[alf wiedersehen]

I have the new LA Weekly and there ain't no thing 'bout the Bedroom Tapes in it.

[Ed Roach]

Thanxx Ed! 

But I thought there was to be some new thought-provoking article on the "Bedroom Tapes" in this issue? 

Part 2 was supposed to be in this weeks issue.  I know I wasn't the only one Brian interviewed for it; think AGD had mentioned he'd done another, too.  Next week maybe; I do know the Weekly was really excited about the response.

https://www.facebook.com/roachclips68

[Ron]

So he started the whole thing saying that everybody thinks Brian is a bubblegum pop star and nobody realizes he's a musical genius.... except the guy writing the article.

'guess I can stop reading about right there.

[buddhahat]

I can't believe everybody seems to believe this material is probably going to be released. I would love to see it released, but we gotta be very realistic. A boxset full of demos in the vein of Still I Dream Of It and California Feeling '74 is just not going to happen. The material is so rough. It's just interesting for the diehard fans like us. But I don't think it's ever going to get a full blown major label release...

I'm imagining the movie is going to strengthen the mythology around Brian Wilson and that team BW will want to captitalise with a suitably Brian-Wilson-troubled-genius 'on brand' release. Smile's been done so what's left? Well a collection of odds and sods under the suitably evocative title 'bedroom tapes' totally fits the bill doesn't it? It's a catch-all title that gives the compilers a lot of room to manoeuvre.

 I wouldn't be surprised if this is released in line with the movie. I can dream anyway ...

[KittyKat]

So, half a dozen fans or so wrote that they're excited. This article is Astroturf at its finest. None of it is revealing anything new, either. I'm not saying there aren't fans who wouldn't buy it, but it will never be Smile, Part II.

[Shady]

What are the odds of The Bedroom Tapes being released

[Jeff]

What are the odds of The Bedroom Tapes being released

What are the odds that you take down the annoying and disrespectful image of BW masturbating?

[Amazing Larry]

What are the odds of The Bedroom Tapes being released

What are the odds that you take down the annoying and disrespectful image of BW masturbating?

wat

[Jim V.]

None of it is revealing anything new, either.

Supposedly the author of the piece is doing a track-by-track analysis in an upcoming LA Weekly article. So I say we wait 'til after that's out to see whether it's all just a bunch of stuff we already know, or whether it's gonna be a super revelatory article that makes us all salivate to hear some unreleased late '60s/early '70s B-Dub.

Honestly, for the most of the posters here I suspect this comes down to whether there really is a decently sized chunk of cool unreleased Brian Wilson material from this period or not. I'm still skeptical, just because we haven't ever heard a lot about this era besides the most of the few titles in the original article ("Rooftop Harry", etc.)

[Andrew G. Doe]

What are the odds of The Bedroom Tapes being released

As a bookmaker, I can say with absolute authority, 50/50 - they will, or they won't.

[Jay]

Of course, as a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson nutcase I want anything and everything ever recorded to be released, but realistically a simple 10-12 track "highlights disc" would do me just fine. 

[The Shift]

None of it is revealing anything new, either.

Supposedly the author of the piece is doing a track-by-track analysis in an upcoming LA Weekly article. So I say we wait 'til after that's out to see whether it's all just a bunch of stuff we already know, or whether it's gonna be a super revelatory article that makes us all salivate to hear some unreleased late '60s/early '70s B-Dub.

Honestly, for the most of the posters here I suspect this comes down to whether there really is a decently sized chunk of cool unreleased Brian Wilson material from this period or not. I'm still skeptical, just because we haven't ever heard a lot about this era besides the most of the few titles in the original article ("Rooftop Harry", etc.)

Same here sweetdudejim, I can't quite figure out why there was no track-by-track or listing (and very little evidence that the author had heard much if anything of the tracks) in the first piece and why the second piece which we're told will do something along those lines is only being written, going by AGD's comment, as an after thought.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

What are the odds of The Bedroom Tapes being released

What are the odds that you take down the annoying and disrespectful image of BW masturbating?

wat

It was a joke.

[sockittome]

Paging Dr. Cohen

[Andrew G. Doe]

Article is in the works.

[The Shift]

.