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Thought these were too nice to just put in the Jeff replaces Christian Love thread, some pro-shot footage from the recent Abbey Road On The River.

Here's "Don't Worry Baby": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2Z1naIH7S4&feature=youtu.be

And here's "Pisces Brothers" with a little interview clip at the beginning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0aN1-bxCow

The band sounds good!

gee!! Jeffrey and the guys sound Great!!! very cool new 'Beach Boys'.......

though the new Mike tune "Pisces brothers' sounds very pitchy and doesn't sound rehearsed or simply not a great song live...

great sound and video thou......

much promise here...

RickB

I really am starting to like Pisces Brothers. Mike has a lot more talent than I think even he realizes. He should just write about what he really cares about and not try for the nostalgia stuff.

The band sounds lovely. With Jeff augmenting what they already had and with Cowsill driving them, they really are very good.

Jeff really does still sound great on DWB! The entire band really nailed the tune beautifully.

While "Pisces Brothers" is a beautiful sentiment from Mike, the song just lacks something musically special. He should have collaborated with another writer with a broader musical palette. However, Scott's guitar solo was very tasteful and expertly executed.

The song itself is not all that great but you can hear in Mike's singing that he cares about it. He should just sing what he really cares about and not worry about any sort of commercial success, that's pretty much dead in today's music anyway.

It's a catchy tune!

Still am not a fan of Pisces Brothers, didn't watch that one...

Don't Worry Baby sound solid, but Foskett's vocals sound weak and wavering on this, by comparison to the performance I heard by him in 2012 AND to every time I've heard Randell Kirsch sing it with Mike and Bruce. I'm not sure why ALL falsetto was handed to Jeff, Randell is still there and in my opinion, has the better falsetto today. And yeah it's been said before but watching this clip leaves me with one thought protruding from the rest: Bruce is just so useless sometimes.

The band sounds better without Christian Love.  Of what I've heard, he didn't fit into the band. Probably a little influenced by the 30-40 year age gap and he never seemed really into it. Good he moved on to do something more exciting I think.

I`ve knocked Jeff Foskett but he does sound good on Don`t Worry Baby.

Pisces Brothers sounds fine but John Cowsill`s drumming (or just how loud the drums are in the mix) is a little intrusive.

Am I the only one here who thinks that Pisces Brothers is a great song?  ;D The chorus with it's overt India/meditation references is a little much, but other than that I think it's an awesome song. It would have been a nice little treat if it had been played at a few 2012 shows. I think it would have sounded nice with some vocals from Al and Brian.

First I've seen of Jeff back with Mike.  I get it.  Now; bring back Alan Jardine, and you would essentially have the band I saw so many times in the 80's (minus , of course, Carl Wilson).  Throw in Scotty and Randall and you don't miss Carl quite so much.  Cowsill channeling DW.  I see in this a chance for a semi permanently reunited BeachBoys.

However, given the band's propensity for making wrong turns, I would not place any bets.

 He's gone from "nails on a blackboard" to sounding good.  The change must be doing him wonders! ;)

Randell is great, but I love Jeff on DWB.  It was one of the highlight's at Brian's show in Bethlehem last October.  No video does it justice.  Jeff sings his tail off.

Musically I really really like Pisces Brother, but the religious lyrics put me off.

I don't think "Pisces Brother" fits on a Beach Boys setlist.

 Where exactly did these videos originate?  Are there any more?

So, a song written and sung by the guy who's name is on some of The Beach Boys biggest hits, and who's been the band's frontman since 1961, and played by the current Beach Boys incarnation ........... doesn't belong in a Beach Boys set list?

I really don't understand us fans sometimes.....

Does "Wrinkles" belong in a Beach Boys set?

Why would it not, if they wanted to play it? ..... The Beach Boys get to decide what's in a Beach Boys set ..... Period.

Pisces Brother, I don't like the song itself,  but Mike's voice sounds great. Slightly off pitch, but he's what, 74 now. Other than that his 'gentle' voice doesnt seem to have changed much since the 60s. It's when he does the nasal thing now I find it unconvincing.

Still, I'll be getting the chance to see this band soon. First time I'll have seen the M&B show. Having watched those two vids, I have to say I'm really looking forward to it.

Because I think both (crappy) songs are a poor representation of the name "The Beach Boys."

Fair enough, but this has been going on for many a decade now: what constitutes a crappy representation of The Beach Boys name .... For many, this seems to mean MUCH of what they've recorded.

I just feel like "Pisces Brother" would probably really stand out in a setlist full of brilliant songs, and I'd rather not hear it if I'm going to see The Beach Boys, no matter who's in the band at this point. I know solo songs have been performed during Beach Boys sets in the past (Carl's Heaven comes to mind), and I suppose this could have been a one-off performance because they were performing at Abbey Road on the River, but I don't like the idea of the group that's allowed to call themselves The Beach Boys performing crappy Mike Love solo songs.

I probably made too big of a deal out of it than I should have by even commenting, but I'd just rather not hear it when I go to see the band.

But it's not a Mike solo song if it's being played by "The Beach Boys" ..... I'm not saying you have to like the song, but it just perpetuates the same old bullshit to knock it out of hand as being a "crappy Mike Love solo song" .... I mean, like it or not, it SOUNDS like The Beach Boys! Mike is a Beach Boy! He's been there since day one! Let him play his damn song.

I guess that's where we disagree. It doesn't sound like The Beach Boys to me.

And I wouldn't call it a Beach Boys song just because it's being performed by the current iteration of The Beach Boys. Is "Summer Means Fun" a Beach Boys song too? (This is where I'm biased -- "Summer Means Fun" is a good song, so I don't mind them performing it.)

I know what you're saying. Some people get pissed off because The Eagles play Boys Of Summer and stuff at their shows, but that song was on a Henley solo album, so the argument against it has some merit..... I don't think any Beach Boys fans would care though if they'd played Love And Mercy at the C50 shows. But that's a great song, however ..... Mike's song in question isn't on any solo album or Beach Boys album, and for all we know, it might BE on a future Beach Boys album, so why not just let it slide? ..... Anything Mike sings is going to sound like The Beach Boys basically .... The song isn't THAT different from Everyone's In Love With you, so yeah, sounds like The Beach Boys to me .... The guy's 74 and has been busting his ass for longer  than any of us, aside from OSD, have been alive ..... I say let the man do his little thing for a couple minutes without the pop boiling over.

Here's pro-shot California Girls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J9LlYODUm0

How did you snag these videos? IS there a DVD?

I'm not the one posting them, I think whoever was in charge of video for this event is.

Oh, okay. I was wondering if they aired these on TV in Louisville where the concert was.

Ouch....the only thing that clip has going for it is Cowsill.

Does anyone know if Randell has any leads anymore? It would be a shame to not use him for any leads at all. To my ears, Randell's lead on Good Vibrations was much better than Christian's lead.

 :)

Different songs and this is obviously a good quality recording.

And although Jeff sounds fine here, I still think that Randell would be a better choice for many of the falsetto parts.

Bit of a coincidence but this comparison compilation just showed up on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLOOmfTeDF4

Not sure where all the praise for "Don't Worry Baby" is coming from. Jeff is pitchy as heck and it sounds as "nails on a blackboard" as ever.

IMO Jeff's live rendition of Don't Worry Baby tops Brian's live vocals I've heard for this song. Nobody can match the original recording, which is tough as hell to sing, but Jeffrey has a certain noble and efortless quality to his falsetto, specially in the lower range (F to B), that is lacking in most falsettists they've had. I am fond of Randell's tone also, who can sound thick in a BW fashion in the higher end of the falsetto register. And let us not forget Scott Totten, who can sing very good falsetto-- his double lead with Jeff on Why Do Fools Fall in Love during the C50 tour was really beautiful.

He sounds fine when he's using his full voice but once he gets to falsetto it sounds piercing and he's consistently flat and sharp.

(Brianista content warning)-Funny how the praise for Jeff goes up when he joins M&B.

I think people resented the fact that he was covering Brian's voice a lot of the time. And how dominant his vocals tended to be.

Yeah...like when Jeff takes over vocals in Caroline No instead of having Brian sing the "break my heart" bit. I don't really care if Brian can't sing they high anymore, it sounds awful when Jeff comes in halfway through and Brian just sits there.

Is there some kind of Brian Wilson loyalty test that requires people not to note the obvious? Because Jeff does sound better in these videos than he did in recent years with Brian, or during C50 for that matter, when he was singing with both Mike and Brian. It could be that he's trying harder now that he has a new gig. Give him some more dates and more fatigue and he'll sound more like he has in the recent past. Jeff's voice has declined with age like most singers do. I never minded his voice in his early touring years with Brian.

About Don't Worry Baby - Jeff sings it about as good as anybody really can... but I have the same minor complaint I always have.  It's too polished, too pretty.  The original had a passion and a kind of wildness in it, even though Brian sang it so smoothly.

The difference between Brian Wilson's voice and Jeff Foskett's voice is the difference between Chocolate Milk and Skim Milk.

 I saw the first show with Jeff replacing Christian on May 32, 2014.  The only lead Randell had was "Then I kissed Her".  Jeff also took the lead on "Darlin".  I'm not sure if this was a mistake or not.  They started the song and nobody took the lead.  Jeff picked it up after a few seconds and finished the song.  Several of the guys were laughing.  I'm not quite sure what happened.  Either Jeff of John missed their spot at the begining of the song.  But, Jeff actually sounded good on "Darlin".

I hope that Cowsill got it back, he sounds absolutely phenomenal on that song.

Still plenty of criticism heading Jeff`s way it seems to me with people saying he should be singing fewer leads.

Was it as good as the show on February 30?

Cool vids.

Now just give us Scotty T doing Ol' Betsy and colour me thrilled.

OSD comment on the youtube page-
"More boring, horrible mahacrappi horsepoop from myKe luHv."

"MAHACRAPPI"

 ;D


Pure, unadulterated OSD  :hat

But, we have to be careful not to shoot the messenger. Jeff is...er...was just doing his job. That is what Brian and his wifeandmanagers hired him to do. And think of the alternative. It would've been very uncomfortable if Brian just sat there not singing with the song continuing along sans vocal.

yeah, that must be it.  :wall

It is illegal to quote banned for lifetime members on this board.

Or should be, anyway. Well, in OSD's case.

Even if I agree with him about "mahacrappy". The song in itself is beautiful and deserves unreligious lyrics.

 I'm sure that anyone who knows they'll be playing that many shows this year, and is getting more lead vocals. is going to train for it. Lots of practice,  maybe some coaching. With Brian, he was only doing a couple of lead vocals, fill-ins for Brian, and harmony work, with less gigs per year overall. It seems as though he has taken over leads from Mike's band members and is getting more work this time.

Please stop.
It wasn't long ago people were complaining he was doing ALL the singing for Brian, and we had threads about how awful it was. Now Jeff is with Mike & Bruce and it's all good because he has had some practice, a bit of coaching and is trying a bit harder!

Jeff has always been great singer, great support to Brian, and most of the time (  ;)) fantastic to the fans.

Well, he deserted Brian. So there's that . . .Listen to the videos. He sounds better than he did during C50 or his later years with Brian. He's a man renewed, for the time being. Maybe he feels appreciated.

Why do you think he deserted Brian?  That's a curious way to put it. 

Just for clarity's sake, i'm going to remind everybody or inform those that may not know: When Mike tours as "The Beach Boys" Brian receives money from that.  Jeff playing for Mike makes Brian money while he sits at home. 

The whole idea that Brian and Mike hate each other and never talk and everything's really bad completely ignores that they have a pretty healthy, although mostly hands off, business arrangement that each benefits from (and the other members of the corporation)

A bit harsh. Brian has a handful of gigs booked this year and who knows what his future holds. Rightly or wrongly, his own daughter said he was scaling back touring so of course working musicians are going to look for other employment.

Nah, Jeff has never been a great singer and isn`t now. Matt Jardine has a better falsetto voice imo and should fit in well in Brian`s band. Jeff certainly did give great support to Brian though.

Well, both Brian and Mike obviously disagree. (Have you and Kitty ever been seen in the same room? ;) )

Actually, the group is a textbook example of how a business/corporate relationship can exist and sometimes even flourish even while interpersonal relationships can be strained or even nearly nonexistent at times.

Going by that reasoning, Mike and Bruce thought Adrian Baker was a great singer...

I don`t subscribe to Kitty`s views that Foskett is suddenly singing better. He sounds quite good on some songs and moderately painful (to my ears) on others which is the way it has always been.

Jeff is mostly maintaining, but his voice is continuing to lose it's appeal as time goes on, just as most voices do. I think it would be wise for Jeff's health, Randall's musicianship, and the band's sound if Randall took a few of his leads back, and maybe even gave Scott Totten a few more.

I like Jeff's falsetto, but I'd be curious to hear him singing Carl's or Al's parts in the stacks instead, given the current BBs have a wealth of good falsettos.  I think Jeff's full voice in the traditional Al range would really cut through a mix in the same way Al's does.  Here's a cool video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH08wcE4Z60

Edit: Sorry, I posted in the wrong thread.  :lol

Brian can probably still hit the high note.  Like he "accidentally" did in one of the C50 shows for Good Vibrations.  It seemed to me like someone didn't trust that Brian would put in an effort all of the time, so they had Jeff singing everything just in case.

That's a good point but it'd be nice if someone shook Brian a bit and reminded him that he's still capable of hitting the notes. :)