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During the "Brian's Back" era did Brian sing falsetto? I haven't been able to tell if that's Jardine on the records, or Wilson attempting it himself. I've assumed it is actually Brian. Obviously it was not used nearly as much as in the mid-60s, nor was it done as effectively. Somehow I haven't found the answer elsewhere so I may as well ask you folks. Was Brian back on falsetto?

(A few song examples include "It's OK" and "The Night Was So Young.")

I know it's an 80s song, but is Brian on falsetto on "Getcha Back"?

The beginning and ending of "In The Still Of The Night" and a portion of "Airplane". I don't know if it's technically falsetto, but he sings pretty high on "Solar System", too. And, while it's after the "Brian's Back" campaign, Brian's vocal on "She's Got Rhythm" is about as high as it gets. Finally, he hits it pretty good at the end of "Winds Of Change" with the "won't last forever" part.

Yes, that is Brian on falsetto on his comeback sides from the mid- to late 70s.

He's also on falsetto on Getcha Back.

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AGD pretty much made the record that it is J. Foskett on Getcha Back and not BW. 

Dunno about that but Brian definitely was on Where I belong.

What's the truth behind this? Doesn't sound like Foskett at all.

Don't think so ...

I'm sure he'll correct me if that's not the case. Foskett is, IIRC, on BB85, but everyone was quite insistent at the time that BW was doing falsetto on Getcha Back. He's looped or possibly sped up or pitch corrected in some way, and definitely sounding strained, but it's him.

For that matter, BW sings falsettos all over Orange Crate Art and Imagination (not as high, but still up there).

Is it Brian doing the high parts in R&R music? I mean the parts that were lifted up from the mix in the made in california version.

Not just me, but that's what I've been hearing for quite a while now.

Ric, As the high parts sound the same tone-wise as the high part on Johnny Rivers's Help Me Rhonda from 1975, I'd say most likely yes.

Really? I'm surprised as if you slow it down half a step it *really* sounds like BW.  Not out of the realm of possibility though as Brian can definitely be heard elsewhere in the vocal blend on the same part.

Yeah, I've always thought it sounded like a strained 80s Brian on that 'Getcha Back' falsetto. If it was Jeff in '85, wouldn't it be a little cleaner?

Is it possible it's Brian on the "ahh ahhhh ahhh ahhh ahh ahhh" and Jeff on the "ooooooo oohhh"? Because I could see that.

The 'whaaa oooh' is definitely Brian. The real high part is 'manipulated' a bit...maybe BW and Foskett were blended...?

Contemporary and later (2012) live versions of Getcha Back sung by Foskett sound nothing like the studio version. Where did I read that Brian worked real hard on it, "did it for his good friend Terry Melcher" and not only doubletracked it, but eighttimestracked it?

I remember that same discussion.

It's Brian on "Getcha Back", no doubt in my mind. Even though I remember hearing it on the radio back in '85, on some national countdown show where the host said it was not Brian Wilson but rather Bruce Johnston on the high part!  Of course it's not Bruce. Contemporary reports from producer Steve Levine and others detail how Brian didn't wanna do it, but Terry virtually "forced" him to. Evidence from the actual track sheets also points to Brian...the track sheets for other songs from this album list "Jeff" vocal tracks, but "Getcha Back" does not...that song has numerous tracks marked as "Brian" vocals, including one labeled as "Brian", another labeled as "Brian hi part in solo" and two labeled as "B/vox Brian key change end chorus hi", and none labeled as Jeff. A few are labeled "Mike", and two each are labeled "Carl", "Al", and "Bruce and Terry", with a handful labeled generically as "chorus", "block oohs", etc., but none are labeled as "Jeff". Perhaps Jeff is present with the others on the generically labeled tracks, but if he were soloing or doubling Brian on the high falsetto line, I think he would be doing so on a track or tracks designated as such.

Don'tcha love it when documentation casts severe doubt on what someone told you was a fact ?  ;D

I also hear Marilyn Wilson on a few 15 Big Ones tracks helping out with some high parts.

For what it is worth, Foskett's website lists Getcha Back as him on it:

http://www.new-surf.com/foskett/vocals_jf.html

Kind of interesting that it is the only song from Beach Boys 85 that he lists.

This is why I love this board. Thank you.

Brian also hits a nice falsetto on Sherry She Needs Me from this time period.


Definitely Brian on Getcha back..  Jeff doesn't have the patented whine that Brian has.

Didn't somebody once say Jeff was shadowing BW's falsetto on Getcha Back?

 :wave

Maybe someone told Jeff as a fact that it was him on "Getcha Back" and he believed it? :-D

Getcha Back has got to be Brian. It sounds like him and even has his "wavering" 80s singing voice.

I recall reading that Brian's vocals were so poor during the recording of BB 1985 that Steve Levine told Brian as much, and that he needed to find a vocal coach.  Levine supposedly thought he would be fired, but was surprised when he got a call the next day asking for the name of a coach.

Who told you that it was Jeff? Bruce? Or Jeff himself?

This subject has come up so often it's unbelievable.  The very first time I heard "Getcha Back" in '85, I knew it was Brian. There was no doubt in my mind that it was him then and now. The one that always gets me is not the Love You or Getcha Back Brian falsettos, but the one song; "Matchpoint Of Our Love" from '78. I've never read or heard how he sang so clear on that - it sounds like his late 60's/early 70's voice. From another era. I've read that his voice was processed, then I read that it wasn't. And no, Autotune wasn't around back then, but some recording 'gimmicks' were. Still a mystery with no definitive answer after all these years.

As absurd a thought as this is: there isn't any possible way that the "Matchpoint" vocal was actually recorded several years earlier, and then flown on top of a M.I.U.-era backing track, is there? Obviously the backing track is very late 70s sounding though. While I think this idea is highly unlikely, I too am trying to figure out how Brian's vocal chords hopped into a time machine in 1978.

Other than thinking this is due to his short-lived vocal "recovery", there seems to be no answer. The only possible thought that makes any sense to me is that his late 70s "gruff" voice of the era was, at times, a put-on, and something psychological that he was able to control sometimes.

Are there perhaps any late 70s live recordings of other songs that BW sang around this time, where his vocals even come within the ballpark of approximating the tone/delivery that he nailed on "Matchpoint"?

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It's a subject that I'd like to get to the bottom of.  And a subject which I have dibs on starting a new thread on soon.

I have been mystified and obsessed with Brian's vocal on "Matchpoint" since the day I heard it - the day the album was released. You have to realize how a fan would be caught off guard - and elated - after coming off of 15 Big Ones and Love You. The bigger mystery is not how Brian pulled it off at M.I.U., but WHY DIDN'T HE CONTINUE IT?

I think Brian came close to the "Matchpoint" vocal on "Winter Symphony" and "Wontcha Come Out Tonight". Hell, I even love(d) the falsetto on "She's Got Rhythm". But, no, he rarely matched the clarity and relaxed vocal of "Matchpoint", though I do think his live vocals in 1980 and 1981 are of higher quality than some fans think.

I never considered the falsetto vocal on "Getcha Back" to be anybody but Brian until it was questioned on a thread on this board. Sometimes your ears are the best judges and it just feels like Brian.

I can't imagine how bizarre it must've been to have heard "Matchpoint" when it came out. Not quite sure what fans made of it at the time... did fans at the time know that "Good Time" was vintage? That must've been puzzling to hear on an album in '77.

I gotta say that I *love* "Matchpoint". It just has a really cool melody, and I can get over the lyrics, even if they are cheesy (this band has done way worse). It seems like the BBs were in a sports phase lyrically in the late 70s, with "Matchpoint", "I'm Trying to Say", and "Our Team". But I suppose we dodged a bullet - if they'd kept it up for a few more songs, maybe a late 70s sports concept album would've been their oddball sequel to the Little Deuce Couple car "concept" album.

1977- early 1978 was a very optimistic time for Beach Boys' fans. Coming off of Love You and POB, new recording contract on the horizon, "Almost Summer" was an AM radio hit. You didn't want to take the 1977 Labor Day incident seriously. Everytime you saw a picture of Brian he was losing more weight and his hair was shorter and you really thought he WAS coming all the way back. You have to remember that this was pre-internet, so you would go months between pictures and articles and TV appearances. That was also why the concerts were so exciting. You had no idea what The Beach Boys were gonna look like, much less sound like. I was ectstatic over M.I.U. Yes, I knew the material wasn't up to the level of Love You, but I thought it was good then and I still think it's good. That's why I was so looking forward to the next album, and also why L.A. (Light Album) is, for me, The Beach Boys' most disappointing album. But that's for another thread...

I love everything about "Matchpoint", including the lyrics. This has nothing to do with Mike Love....I thought the lyrics were clever, like CenturyDeprived said "sports phase", and for a breezy B.Wilson/M.Love album cut - perfectly fine. The song should've preceded "My Diane" on the album. And, I'll raise the question for the zillionth time, why didn't Brian continue to sing/record in that vocal style. He went shouty. M.I.U. was the last album, Beach Boys or solo - where I actually enjoyed Brian's lead vocals. Imagination and TWGMTR come close; there are highlights on both of them.

i don't know about Getcha Back, but Wipe Out with the Fat Boys is all Brian on bgv's

i wouldn't call Brian's gruff 70s voice a put-on as much as a calculated and intentional attempt to sound more manly or macho. he was trying his best to get away from his falsetto and squeaky clean vocals of the 60s. but songs like Matchpoint, Winter Symphony, and Wontcha Come Out Tonight are proof that he could still deliver the vocal goods at least into the late 70s.

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I saw a BB documentary on YouTube which shows a 70s era Surfer Girl performance where Brian displays a very strong falsetto at the end.. it was pretty shocking to hear.

I'm a believer of the put-on theory.

Foskett's website also list Wipe Out as a song he is on as well.

http://www.new-surf.com/foskett/vocals_jf.html

I enjoyed Brian's vocals on TLOS by far the most post-MIU. There's some good ones on TWGMTR as well, I don't have Brian's Disney/Gershwin vox in my mind to compare though.

Why didn't he continue singing that way? I'd rather ask: Why didn't he keep singing leads at all?

IMO, Brian Wilson simply could not have sung the falsetto to Getcha Back as his voice was too rough, he was not capable of it at that time.

He got pretty high on "I'm So Lonely".

link?

I'm also nearly sure that's him hitting the high notes on "It's Gettin' Late" right at the beginning. He also gets way up there on stuff like "Walkin' the Line", "Melt Away" and "Let It Shine". And he sounds pretty freakin' great on those, especially "Let It Shine".

Brian Wilson, 1985/86:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls31FT-gvLo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls31FT-gvLo)

Brian also got his voice up very high (for substantial portions of the song) on "Heavenly Bodies". I love this track, even though the cheesy sax riff and the very last notes of the song sound just like the end of the Growing Pains theme song.

I'm thinking this is the last example of Brian attempting a falsetto for a substantial chunk of lyrics in a song. And I'm also guessing that since falsetto (to that degree) seems to be out of his range now, that is why this song hasn't been remade/reworked for GIOMH or for any subsequent release.

I Sleep Alone.

Just to be clear, on "Getcha Back", is the "ahhhh" that starts at :09 in question, or the "oooh" that starts at :15? Because I can't imagine anyone not hearing Brian Wilson at :09 with the "ahhhh." I could see the "oooh" at :15 being a different person (Jeff).

I agree that other songs on MIU sound damn good vocally for the time.. Winter Symphony, Wontcha Come Out Tonight, and Matchpoint all being recorded around the same time period.

Other examples of the similar good quality Brian vocal leads I've heard are this alternate mix "It's Like Heaven" where Brian sings the bridge/middle 8 part at the end (not sure where it came from but I have it on mp3) and he sounds similar to on MIU. Also the new "California Feelin'" mix on Made In California that has that Brian intro "...like most days" was a HUGE revelation. He sounded just like his '74 self on the demo version! That really confused me at first.. I wasn't sure if he did another version that they tagged on to the intro of the '78 Beach Boys version, until I read later that that was actually from 1978 too, I suppose the brief Miami sessions Brian did.

Also "You've Lost That Lovin Feeling" cover is amazing! His vocal on there gets to late 60's/early 70's quality easily on that track. The falsettos are amazingly good. Aside from Matchpoint, that one is also a big shocker for me how amazing his falsettos are on that.

Um... how to put this... that's not Brian: it's Rocky Pamplin.

Wow I didn't know that.. Strange. Sounds just like Brian on that part. Makes sense as Rocky was a Spring member at the time I guess. Glad you corrected me.

The song he did on Ringo Starr's 1998 album was ace.
'Without Understanding'.

Wow, I have to go back and listen to Winter Symphony again. I always thought he sounded like a muppet on that one. A muppet who could sing, but still.

Uhh yeah, I agree with your assessment. There are some rough vocal moments on "Winter Symphony".

There are nice moments on Winter Symphony.. At least the first few lines remind me of that "smooth" sound of Matchpoint Of Our Love. It's not perfect, but similar.

Pumkinhead.

When Brian calls you on Christmas eve could you just god@mn ask him about 'Getcha Back' for the sake of this board please? :-D

yay ! !

Well BW did a lot of nice vocals 77//78 just not in the style that we are used to.. Its over now.. Still I dream of it...Winter Symphony .. Match point..  Nite was so young.. But there are  a lot of rough vocals 76//77 .. Sure has improved hasn't he.. Im enjoying his XMAS cd lately ..

Speaking of falsetto, is this Brian doing the high parts at about 3:10 of this version of Carl's "Heaven"? Doesn't sound like Foskett.

https://soundcloud.com/#brianwilsonlive/heaven-with-intro-from-brian

I'm at work so I can't play it but if its the one from BrianWilson.com. then yes it's BW

I don't know about anybody else, but I think they shoulda used some of Brian's vocals on L.A. (Light Album). I played The Beach Boys version of "California Feelin'" right after "Winter Symphony" on iTunes, and I gotta say he sounds pretty much the same, if maybe a bit more high pitched. I know that if "California Feelin'" had been released in '79 it woulda likely had a full Carl lead, but I really think the way the officially released version sounds is great. And Brian sounds pretty pleasing to the ear.

However, it seems that he may have even shredded his vocal cords during the course of the L.A. sessions, since that's when "Drip Drop" comes from. And he sounds pretty growly there. And by KTSA he almost sounded like totally hoarse, especially on "Goin' On", where, although he sounds cool to me, sounds like his throat hurts. The only other relatively new leads from him were kinda falsetto-ish things like "Sunshine", where he definitely once again sounds like his "She's Got Rhythm" self, which to me ain't that great. But who knows. Maybe he was still capable of doing a clean, commercial vocal. Because even during eras where you wouldn't think he could, he does. For instance, the 1988(?) performance of "God Only Knows" he sounds absolutely amazing. Now, I didn't hear anything like that again for a while, at least until his live stuff '99, where he sounds utterly perfect on stuff like "Please Let Me Wonder". I think what's happened over the years is that he lost his ability to just throw a great vocal performance out there just by being there. Probably around '72 or so. But since then, he's still capable, and he just has to work a bit at it. And when he does, we get the live "Please Let Me Wonder", the '88 "God Only Knows", and "Summer's Gone", amongst others.

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Doesn't Carl sing "The Night Was So Young"?

Brian is quite audible on the "Is somebody gonna tell me..." lines. I think he also does the high part in the background of those parts of the song.

I think you're right about Brian shredding his voice, Jim.  Once a while back I got a chance to hear a number of unreleased Brian vocals around this era (including the "California Feelin'" one) and they almost all were pretty bad...my impression was that Brian just didn't seem to be able to get through a whole vocal in this period.  The little bit of Brian's opening vocal that made it on MIC is a good example -- yes, it's pleasant enough for what it is, but his pitch is all over the place.  I got the sense from what I heard that they were trying to get Brian vocals that worked, and that they just gave up on it as undoable.  That, and of course Brian being instutionalized for a good deal of the L.A. sessions.

Heaven only knows what was going on during that time.  I don't imagine mental hospital stays are helpful to your voice!

I think Brian's capable of more than what he's willing to do.

I totally agree with you ..!

Spent a lot of time watching the full Wembley video from last year's tour. Brian's ON in that, both physically animated and vocally there. I think that on a good day, he's still capable of a lot.

I kinda like Brian's vocals on Stevie. Not totally smooth, but not too growly either. Isn't that from '80 or so?

I'm pretty sure that "Stevie" is from early '81. And yeah, I think it's a pretty nice vocal, all things considered. The song is also probably one of the best unreleased Beach Boys songs still in the vault. I definitely think it deserves release.

I love Brian's Love You rasp. It adds a lot of character to the recordings.

Me too! :)

Matchpoint sounds like Love You Brian trying to sound smooth. He sounds different there than he did in the 60s.

While I'll agree that his Love You/15 Big Jobs voice is indeed probably put on a bit, I think there was something that happened there that was starting to "heal" by the time he did his "Matchpoint"/"Wontcha Come Out Tonight" etc. vocals. Once he got back into drugs and started putting weight back on, the permanent damage began to set in.

My bet is on that Brian quit smoking for a brief period around recording those songs.

Nope...he didn't stop smoking until 1994, save for a good portion of the second Landy era. Even then, he was still smoking, just not cigarettes.

You know, after listening to the MADE IN CALIFORNIA box set I think I may have some insight as to Brian's miraculous vocal recovery on M.I.U.

After having listened to that era's tracks with fresh ears, I think the main reason Brian's vocals on MIU sound so much better than on LOVE YOU and 15 BIG ONES is not that Brian sang substantially better in 1978 than the previous years...it's that Brian didn't produce MIU.  Brian, as producer, made choices that highlighted the flaws in his singing.  Not only does he seem to have been less disciplined on himself than an outside producer would have been (which makes sense when you think about it), but his vocals are much more front and center and with less reverb on his own productions than on MIU.  So Brian producing Brian basically let his freak flag fly, but with someone else behind the board there was a much more concerted effort to make him blend.  Bruce did an even better job with this on KTSA, where Brian is very much in the vocal blend but Bruce gets it to work.

If you listen to some of the early mixes to the Christmas album (which became MIU), you can hear that Brian's vocals weren't THAT great -- they were just mixed in a way where they smoothed out -- further back in the mix, double-tracked and in many cases lots of nice reverb.  LOVE YOU and to a lesser extent 15 BIG ONES -- he's just right there in your face.  Brian as producer let Brian as vocalist slide on a lot of stuff another producer wouldn't have.

I know you might not be at liberty to say, but can you tell us what other unreleased songs had a Brian vocal from around the L.A. era? I know there is a "Drip Drop" and then maybe "I'm Begging You Please"? I also remember something about Carl and maybe Guercio wanting Brian to do the lead for "Good Timin'" but I know that never happened. Are there any other Brian vocals besides those and "California Feelin'"? I think I hear him on "Calendar Girl" as well, sounding pretty rough, along with the high part on "Brian's Back". Anything else?

And how about KTSA? Were there any decent Brian vocals outta those sessions that you heard? The version of "Oh Darlin'" with Brian on lead is actually a lot more enjoyable than Carl's. Seems to have some life to it. But it's a classic rough sounding Brian vocal, not really technically great. I don't know of any other unreleased Brian vocals from that period, besides supposedly "Smokey Places". However, I have no idea if that one is any good. Although I think you may have mentioned it was good before.

Through what period was Brian known to still be toking on the peace pipe? I remember hearing that Landy would give Brian joints as occasional "rewards" from time to time.

Yeah, well unfortunately "Smokey Places" and "California' Feelin'" are the only ones I remember, and part of the latter vocal has been released -- and been pretty overrated in my opinion.  It's a good example of what I'm talking about...Brian sounds like he's sort of trying to do a good vocal, but he's pitchy, blows out certain phrases, etc.  "Smokey Places" wasn't bad, and I remember it because it was the only one of the tracks that Brian sang on that I thought was a releasable vocal.  It was years ago and my exposure to this stuff was pretty short.  So I can just give you my overall impression that I came away with at the time.

One track I do remember hearing that was terrific -- and I don't think it's a huge deal that I've heard it since it's been played publicly before -- is a Carl vocal from the KTSA sessions of a song called "I Will Always Love You."  Had they released that I think they would have had a hit...it's very commercial in an early '80s MOR kind of way.  Which is probably why they didn't release it, as it didn't fit so well with KTSA, but I think it would have worked out well for them if they had.

At least as late as 1989, perhaps later.  There's a video clip for the making of the 'In My Car' video where Brian has Landy go score him some weed and some Xanax, although why Brian was asking for a dime and a nickle is beyond me...just get a bigger sack  rather than two small ones :lol

That's hilarious. Maybe that's why the last time I looked, that video had all the sound removed :( The audio on that video of Brian at the keyboard playing the chords of "In My Car" made me realize just how rad a song it actually was... stripped of the 80s production (which I don't mind anyway), it's clear that much of the composition is damn near classic BW.

Man it's a shame that "Smokey Places" and "I Will Always Love You" were never released.. They sound really interesting. I'd really like to hear a cover of "Smokey Places" sometime especially. It's one of those great classic doo-wop songs that I think they would have done pretty well with.

Well who knows.  A lot of stuff came out on MADE IN CALIFORNIA that I never thought would see the light of day.  The longer time goes on and the more prejudices and trends of the moment fade, the more of the Beach Boys' later stuff gets re-evaluated and appreciated.  Critically, the cut off point of the Beach Boys' quality has been moved up from 1967 to 1970 to 1973 to 1977 (and I'd say 15 BIG ONES, with a tip of the hat to Alan Boyd for getting the backing track to "Had To Phone Ya" heard, is pretty close to being put into the "critically accepted" pile at this point).  There was an awful lot of stuff recorded from '78 to '81 apparently.  I could imagine if the Beach Boys' star continues to shine brightly for another decade that that might get a look-see, particularly if there was some late period Dennis stuff (which a few different people have assured me does exist, though I'm still a little incredulous) mixed in there.  I'm waiting for the LIGHT ALBUM to come off the sh*t list, because the disco tune aside (which I happen to enjoy a lot), it's a pretty terrific record.

Who knows, grasshopper!  Perhaps one day.