The Smiley Smile Message Board

What would happen if Brian took a month or two, with just him in a room with a keyboard and a Tascam Portastudio or something simmilar. No Co Producers, No Co-writers. No Thomas or Bennett.

Would we get something closer to NPP and TLOS, or would we get stuff akin to Love You or Friends?

Probably something cool and quirky, like Love You.

What if........ You identified your subject matter in the subject line

That would be really neat! I wish he would do something like that.

What if......
This was all a dream, and dreams were reality?

Why, well then... we'd have world peace.

I think if you left him on his own, he'd probably just work on a few more variations of Shortenin' Bread. Honestly, I think the guy would just like to retire, but he's got people pushing him to keep working. He's certainly earned a long vacation if he wants it. But vacations don't pay the bills.

How many tracks on NPP or TLOS had Brian-only credits? How many Brian-only credits has he had throught his career? I think it'd be better if Brian entered that room with a hotline to his favourite collaborator(s).

What if Brian released an EP of all his versions of "Proud Mary". The synth heavy version I just love!

Yup, we'd get an extremely mellow version of Shortenin' Bread. :-D

Listen to "Message Man."
That's the pure Brian you get when his muse and ambition meet.

That's the real thing.

  What if Mike had finished ATLANTIS RISING?

Retire?  Does Brian consider music to be work?  I think it's more like breathing for him - it's been his passion since he was a teenager.  What's he going to do - stop making music so he'll have more time for golf?

I think the more likely scenario would be Brian retiring from touring.  But, who know if he'll ever stop creating. 

Honestly, I think the same percentages of people would complain about the results of any such "seclusion project" as do about everything else he does. Factions of fans would question his motivations, his "handlers," the effort, the quality.

The music itself? Assuming he was into it at all, we'd probably get sometimes inspired and sometimes half-assed performances of ... what material, exactly? That's the key question, to me. Does he have good material, or is he just tossing off unremarkable songs? He can produce mediocre songs into really cool productions--as I think was the case with NPP, which was middle-of-the-road, material-wise but sounded great anyway (my opinion, obviously). Brian likes arranging and producing. He keeps saying he likes working with other people, so I'll take him at his word on that, too. So sure, it would be interesting. But good? I don't know.

it's interesting when you say 'what material exactly?' That is part of what makes me wonder what we would get, just him on his own. In that Rolling Stone article of last(?) year, Brian seemed pretty content heading to the Deli and walking in the park, which was great to hear. So if he came home in the afternoon and knocked off tunes about dog walkers and sandwiches, would we get another Love You?

Maybe. Or maybe we'd get crap. The man isn't anything but a man; some of his material isn't very good. (Some is the best of its kind. Most is in between.) He might have ideas, he might not. He might feel inspired, he might not. He might have old, half-baked tunes that he feels like finishing (either brilliantly or half-heartedly). There isn't a way to get there. You just get where you get. But while you would inevitably get more of the "naked Brian" by removing collaborators, that might not be for the best. Interesting, sure. Quality? You can't say until it's done.

Music is in his blood, I don't imagine he would stop creating, but there must be a part of him that is worn down from having to do things the way other people want him to. For years, it was the Beach Boys demanding that he create commercial, fun in the sun material to keep them on the charts. In recent years, there have been any number of collaborators trying to steer him in one direction or another.
I can easily imagine him giving up touring - Brian never was a road dog like his former bandmates, and it must get wearying for him, going out, year after year, singing the greatest hits, and trying to promote whatever new thing he's got out, knowing that it will never enter the lexicon the way Surfin' USA, California Girls and God Only Knows have. Mike Love, on the other hand, is a born entertainer, there's nothing he loves better than being in front of a crowd, singing those songs from 50 years ago. The audience reaction is what he lives for. I don't think Brian needs that.

Just my opinion, I don't think Brian tours to pay the bills.  I don't think his tours make any money.  He's not moving huge numbers of tickets, and he has a very large band he tours with... They're probably not operating in the red but I doubt he's getting rich off of touring. 

I think he tours because he enjoys it (some nights) and because it's therapeutic for his illness.  I know people think he wants to just lay in bed still, but Brian is very serious about his mental health; look how long he's been sober, that takes a lot of work and commitment.  The way he tours is evidence of that same commitment to living a reasonably structured life that keeps him positive and productive. 

Melinda encourages that, and is a huge part of it, but Brian would do it on his own even if she didn't prod him. 

Personally I think he's worked very hard to make himself a better person for over 20 years now and it's very inspiring.

truthfully, it would sound like his first solo album. He loved working with synths & midi, having that control and speed of working.

Some fans compare Love You and BW88, but IMHO BW88 is a much better record, mainly because it sounds finished. LY always sounds to me like a demo for the real record. Needed a few more good songs, and definitely needed better vocals! Brian sounds so much healthier on BW88. And it has "Rio Grande"!