For me, Drive In had hit written all over it, especially as it was recorded in that 1964 boom period. The ‘dead air’ is always highlighted as a negative factor, but it would have been interesting to see how this would have impacted the charts, along with Little Honda. Two great rocking numbers from their early days.

It has often been noted - quite rightly - how well Al’s voice has held up over the years, but it has to be said that Bruce sounds in fine fettle on this recording. Just a shame his vocals seem a bit too buried into the mix to really hear them clearly. He’s always had a kind of reassuring voice, like his original vocals on God Only Knows, California Girls, At My Window, Tears In The Morning and Disney Girls, and I am liking his 2020/21 sound very much.

Impossible to single out anyone from the 'original five' of Brian, Mike, Carl, Dennis & Al. They all played their part in contributing to the overall vocal blend – Mike with bis nasal lead and sublime bass, Brian with his soaring falsetto, Carl with his ethereal leads, plus Al and Dennis (and Carl) providing the background chops and even their own classic vocal leads. Without the great background vocals, there would be no classic sound. And then there's Bruce, whose significant voice greatly added to tunes like California Girls and Add Some Music To Your Day, while Blondie provided the classic lead for Sail On Sailor. But would you describe that tune as the 'classic Beach Boys sound'? Probably not.

So in conclusion, Bruce, Blondie, Ricky and Dave had less significant roles, but there's no separating Brian, Mike, Carl, Dennis & Al, in my humble opinion.

There's an excellent website produced here in the UK called The Strange Brew, which features podcasts and articles from a wide and eclectic range of musicians and bands from the 60s onwards (some well known, some not so well known, mostly British, but occasionally venturing further afield) – the podcasts in particular are excellent and the latest one features David Marks, talking about his musical life, with various tracks played throughout the chat. The interviewer really knows his stuff as he delves deep into the Marks well, playing a couple of songs by The Moon, as well as by David Marks & The Marksmen, and early Beach Boys tracks on which David played.

Anyway, here is the link. Enjoy
https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/david-marks/

Is this track one of the most perfect in The Beach Boys' arsenal? Always loved this one as it's got the full package. Great lead vocal, great background vocals, Mike's excellent bass vocal, great production and an instrumental track that chugs along at a great lick, with Carl's guitar flicks  and Hal's instinctive drum fills. Just a shame the song lasts for less than two minutes. A real gem.

Wonderful. Loved watching that. Great how they all seemed at one with each other.

It is not a song, but when you plug in an iPad to the mains to charge it and switch on the plug, it makes like a notification sound. That tonal beep sounds like the first note of Wouldn’t It Be Nice.

This has been an intriguing thread as I am a big fan of Melcher’s surf/hot rod work (as well as that with The Byrds) and I have to take umbrage with some peoples’ views that he had a mediocre voice. Just listen to stellar Rip Chords and Bruce & Terry tracks like Don’t Be Scared (RC), My Big Gun Board (RC), Hey Little Cobra (RC), Three Window Coupe (RC), Halfway (BT), Summer Means Fun (BT), Girl It’s Alright Now (BT), Custom Machine (BT – a rare track that eclipses a Beach Boys original) and Four Strong Winds (BT) and there’s proof that here is a lead vocalist who not only can hold a tune, but belt out some stunning songs.

He helped turn The Rip Chords from a mediocre doo-wop group into a pop-busting chart-making group, not only due to his production abilities and contacts in the business, but because of his prowess as a gutsy singer, who could belt out some classic tunes.

Obviously Bruce played a part as well, but as seems to be the case with him, he was relegated to a secondary role behind Terry himself and even behind the other Rip Chords, although his stunning falsetto was well used – just see how many lead vocals Bruce took during The Rip Chords and Bruce & Terry careers… just a handful. I always thought they should have been called Terry & Bruce, which would have been a fairer reflection on the that duo’s dynamics.

One final point, why did Bruce & Terry cover Here Comes Summer and sing it from a girl’s perspective (although I believe it was only a demo)? It’s a nice song, but sounds weird when Terry sings the lines “and then he’ll kiss me’, etc…

I acquired all the Ronny & The Daytonas stuff – surf/hot rod album, plus the more mellow tracks side – quite a few years ago and I remember being very impressed at the time. John Wilson also released one single under the Buzz & Bucky moniker – Tiger A-Go-Go/Bay City. Tiger A-Go-Go was very much a Beach Boys-style pastiche number, just like the Ronny stuff, while Bay City was a mellow instrumental. An interesting fact here is that the Buzz was Buzz Cason, chiefly remembered for being the co-songwriter off the huge 60s hit Everlasting Love, by Love Affair. (Love Affair also have an interesting history, given they were an accomplished R&B outfit, who were then replaced by session musicians for their biggest-ever hit, but that's another story).

John Wilkin was, in a way, a type of Gary Usher figure, who produced and recorded tracks in the studio, but who then had to recruit a band (including the likes of Lynn Williams, Lee Kraft, etc... when they became in-demand as a touring band. Not sure how much of their touring 'group' actually played on the records, a bit like The Hondells really.

The only connection really is the style of music, as they - they, meaning John Wilkin as it was his ‘group’ - were most definitely inspired by The Beach Boys’ early surf/hot rod hits as they released several Beach Boy-type tunes. My Little Scrambler, Little GTO, California Bound, Little Rail Job, Beach Boy all had that ‘feel’ to them while their later introspective songs such as Sandy and I’ll Think Of Summer moved away from the surf genre but still had a Brian influence.

I have four questions, which have been bugging me:
1) Was Bruce ever miffed with Dean Torrence grabbing co-lead vocal duties on Barbara Ann, considering the quality of his own falsetto at the time? He can barely be heard on the album, even including the extra Sessions takes - I think you can make him out talking on one of the tracks - which is surprising given his major role on God Only Knows in a few months' time.
2) I am pretty sure that on one of the 'chatter' tracks on the Sessions release, someone makes reference to LSD? Is that Brian?
3) Was Mike absent for some of the sessions? There's a run of tracks within the Sessions, where you cannot hear him and one of those songs is Hully Gully, on which he would take the lead vocal.
4) Who played the harmonica parts?

Thanks!

I always thought Drive-In would have been a huge hit despite the dead air.

Very sad news. Such a phenomenal guitarist and inspiration to many. 2019 is already a very bad year for our musical heroes. Peter Tork, Hal Blaine, Daryl Dragon and now Dick gone in a matter of weeks.

Very sad news, news which looks to have been overlooked here in the UK in the national media.

As this is a Dennis song, did he ever lay down lead vocals for the track or was it always going to be Carl out front? One of Carl’s finest vocal performances.

1) Pet Sounds
2) Sunflower
3) Today
4) 20/20
5) Wild Honey
6) All Summer Long
7) Little Deuce Coupe
Friends
9) Surf’s Up
10) Carl and The Passions: So Tough

The Surfin’ Lungs from the UK. Heavily influenced by The Beach Boys and The Ramones in equal measure.

The Barbecuties -   The life of Brian (and many other songs)
Honeyrider - You made me hate The Beach Boys (and many other songs)
Beatnik Termites - Mary Lou (and many other songs)
Radio Birdman - More fun
The Kung Fu Monkeys - Office surfer (and many other songs)

 a ton of songs by The Queers, Travoltas, The Demonics, Surfin' Lungs, Psychotic Youth, Hawaii Mud Bombers, Ruth's Hat, Mach Pelican, Ramones, The Richies, The Barracudas, The Riptides

I could go on with this list forever.

Love the Surfin’ Lungs mention. One of my all time favourite bands. They covered Drive-In a few years back. Loads of their stuff is inspired by The Beach Boys.

I went to a scouts jamboree in Norway in 1989 (Skaugum 89) and there was an album produced just for the occasion, with various Norwegian artists including Morten Harket of A-Ha fame and Bjorn Eidsvag. Well, one of the tracks was Hjelp Meg Ragna which was a re-working of Help Me Rhonda, recorded by Vazelina Billophoggers, sung in Norwegian,

In its heyday, surf music must have numbered scores of bands, maybe even more. Do any of you know of any other all star bands than the two we have discussed here? I don't mean tribute bands, but ones with ex-members from back in  the 60s. Challengers? Lively Ones? Rivieras? Anybody?

They are not an all-star band, but The Rip Chords are still on the go although how many of the originals remain I am not so sure. And aren’t a version of The Surfaris still going? As a huge surf music fan, the modern day lineups do not do it for me as nothing could possibly top the originals they recorded in the early 60s and anything done now is just a pale imitation and it doesn’t have the same vibe or feel from 50 years ago.

There used to be a thread on here about a Secret Falsetto on the Little Deuce Coupe album besides Brian, it's Chuck! We now know! You can hear him on the fadeout of No Go Showboat. 

Chuck sang on No Go Showboat by The Timers, which featured co lead vocals by Brian and Gary Usher. Chuck has only featured on one Beach Boys track and that was Why Do Fools Fall In Love, on which he provided hand claps. On the other side of No Go, though, was the superb Competition Coupe.

There could well be a feature on Chuck in the next edition of The Ugly Things magazine.

It would have been fascinating to hear Chuck sing lead on a Beach Boys song given his nasal-sounding singing. His vocals on tracks like Little Honda, My Buddy Seat, My Little Bike and the above tracks are definitely some of the best of the surf/hot rod genre.

Plug an Ipad into a charger and turn it on. The sound emitted always reminds me of the first note of Wouldn't It Be Nice. Sounds exactly the same.

Livin With A Heartache is truly one of the worst Beach Boys songs of all time. Such a dirge of a song.

That said, I love the title track, Some Of Your Love, Santa Ana Winds and Goin On.

I always thought Be With Me had the perfect eerie sound for a possible Lord Of The Rings film before that movie was made. Obviously Peter Jackson did not share my view.

Of course he doesn't have a lisp.  He would put 'it' on though.  'Live in London' captures 'that'.  If memory serves there's also some of 'that' on the first 'In Concert' album as well.  I found it to be tasteless.

I noticed in interviews that Brian and Mike say "You Know" alot. and they did a good job in Love & Mercy having them both say You Know in the movie quite a few times especially for Brian. Have anyone else notice Brian and Mike both say You Know alot?

Paul McCartney always says 'you know' when speaking. Listen to old clips of him, he constantly says it.