New Brian Wilson song just premiered on radio

[Amy B.]

Thanks for the link. I enjoyed it-- it sounds very 70s to me, which makes sense, as Brian has stated that he mostly listens to 60s and 70s music. I liked the harmonies but would have preferred a more natural sound for Al's voice. Maybe it's because I listened with earbuds, but I found the processing (or whatever it was) distracting. That's Brian and Joe's choice, but we as listeners have a right to our opinions. That said, I'm so glad Brian is making music.

[Emdeeh]

I vote for Matt on the high parts as well. I can definitely hear him in the mix.

It's a nice, catchy song -- and it would have sounded so very, very much better if Joe Thomas had ditched the Autotune. [Rant on] Autotune and its ilk have thoroughly ruined listening to current music for me, by removing all the character and nuance out of vocals. IMHO, it's a crime to Autotune singers like Al and Matt Jardine -- their voices don't need help, Joe! [/Rant off]

I'll buy NPP, but if a version of it sans-Autotune was released, that would be the one I'd play.

Many thanks for the link!

[Wirestone]

A lovely, low-key tune. Between this and "Our Special Love," you can definitely see an approach that BW is taking to at least some of the NPP songs -- simple verse-chorus structures (common in his recent work), with a lot of cool vocal arranging ideas. The backing track is far more organic sounding than Imagination, too, even if some of Joe's touches remain.

I'm beginning to suspect that we're going to get an album of meticulously arranged, carefully sung pop miniatures. I would be excited by that! But it's definitely not Carl and the Passions, which Joe referred to at one point in the sessions.

[The 4th Wilson Bro.]

I was planning to wait 'til after I'd reviewed the entire thread before I clicked on the link and listened.  But after all of this, I'm no longer sure I want to hear the song at all.  Perhaps I'll wait until these horrible images have faded from my consciousness.

[Lowbacca]

People who hear autotune on "The Right Time" don't know what they are talking about.

On the song itself: pleasant track which will sneakily gather momentum in catchiness every time you hear it. Like many of BW's songs. There much more 'buried' here than meets the ear on first listen.

[Amy B.]

I was planning to wait 'til after I'd reviewed the entire thread before I clicked on the link and listened.  But after all of this, I'm no longer sure I want to hear the song at all.  Perhaps I'll wait until these horrible images have faded from my consciousness.

It's probably better to do the opposite-- listen, see what you think, then read the thread.

[timbnash68]

A lovely, low-key tune. Between this and "Our Special Love," you can definitely see an approach that BW is taking to at least some of the NPP songs -- simple verse-chorus structures (common in his recent work), with a lot of cool vocal arranging ideas. The backing track is far more organic sounding than Imagination, too, even if some of Joe's touches remain.

I'm beginning to suspect that we're going to get an album of meticulously arranged, carefully sung pop miniatures. I would be excited by that! But it's definitely not Carl and the Passions, which Joe referred to at one point in the sessions.

I wouldn't jump to conclusions. We haven't heard the Blondie material yet. I was in Vegas and the Blondie song with Al and Brian sounded more like Carl and the Passions. In fact they even did Hold On Dear Brother with the guy from fun. Maybe we should wait to hear more. I agree that this track sounds more organic, although why does everyone assume that less organic is always Thomas idea? They just played  the Dave Matthews Weekend On The Rocks  Soundstage on TV. That was a Thomas Production also. No auto tune no overdubs. Very organic. Can you Imagine trying to auto tune Dave Matthews? Or Umphrey's Mcgee? Or Tom Petty? All very organic shows that Thomas has produced. I checked after seeing that the Vegas show was  going to be a Soundstage. This auto tune thread  sounds like old news to me. Im agreeing with some of the others that maybe they are just double or triple tracking the vocals. or maybe more. Its a sound. These days with pro tools you can line up the timings of each track so sometimes what you perceive as auto tune is just three perfectly aligned tracks that blend together. How do we know that MR. Perfectionist Brian doesn't Love Pro Tools? And why is it that if its a good idea it must be Brian's and if its a bad idea it must be Thomas forcing Brian against his will to screw things up. As for the chords , I hear The Night was so Young and Lady Lindas altro also. so isn't that just Brian and whomever his co writer is at the time picking a great 1 3 4 5 or 1 6 3 4 5 chord progression and saying HEY LETS TRY THIS AGAIN!

[zachrwolfe]

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[Mikie]

The song is an average album cut. Nice harmonies, but nothing special. Very much looking forward to the C&TP - sounding material.

[Sam_BFC]

Enjoyable.

Only gonna listen that once till the release cos I don't want to have heard half the album when it has its first complete sitting (slight exaggeration.  But I've played Our Special Love to death, not realising it was going to be on this release, although I'm hopeful we might get an alternative non-vocals only version).

For me the autotune (if it's there) was nothing like any of the more 'offending' lines in From There To Back Again.  I hear some modulation (chorus/flange), perhaps in addition to the natural double tracking.  What I noticed most was heavy compression, but I suspect this was more to do with the stream than the mix itself...

Looking forward to hearing the track again and the rest of the album on release day.

[The 4th Wilson Bro.]

Okay, I finally got the courage to listen.  Liked the song; thought Al did a great job, and Marks' (I assume it was David) guitar licks added to the music, not otherwise, as some suggested.  Don't know squat about autotune (frankly, I think anyone who claims to know for certain that it was used is just guessing), but I'd guess it's used more often than not, so no big deal to me.  It's still the Beach Boys, or at least it's Brian, Al, David, and possibly Matt.

Thought the sound/production were very similar to TWGMTR.

Like I stated above: I liked it.

[Debbie Keil-Leavitt]

Brian is one hell of a vocal coach if he can get people to sing a completely straight note with no pitch variation at all

I'd suggest listening to the Pet Sounds Sessions for one, then some of the comments from Carl, Dennis, Bruce, Mike, etc regarding how Brian would have them sing parts in the studio over and over again until it was just right. Listen to some of the longer sustained notes sung by various Beach Boys on those 60's records, like Mike on "That's Not Me", the various voices that "answer" Brian's falsetto on the vocal break of "You Still Believe In Me", and some of the vocals-only remixes that have appeared. On a majority of those 60's vintage tracks, if you applied Autotune or other software it wouldn't even trigger in noticeably on the notes because it wouldn't detect anything as being "out", enough to trigger the digital process to correct it. The only way you could have an audible Autotuned effect on most of Pet Sounds, for example, would be to deliberately program it to trigger in another key. The notes as is are/were right on the money for the most part. And that includes taking the correct breath before sustaining one of the longer-held notes to avoid flatting that note before the next phrase.

Unless someone had access to a time machine, hopped in that time machine carrying some version of Antares AutoTune software or rackmount effects unit or other effects, hopped into Western's control room, hooked it up for mixdown, then hopped back in the time machine and came back...

...how would they be able to get those completely straight notes on an album like Pet Sounds 40 years before Autotune was developed? Maybe the Beach Boys in those interviews and comments have the ultimate answer when they say they would sing these notes and phrases until it was just right.

And based on what at least one of the artists who sang on the upcoming album has said about the recording process for the new tracks in a television interview, Brian Wilson still does the same thing regarding singing on pitch in the studio. Take after take until it's right. Calling out flat or off-pitch notes from the control room. Just like the 60's.  

This !

What else is there to add to these gentlemen's comments?  Agreed.  Brian likes perfect vocals and pretty music.  So do I, so I love this...now, back to listening and enjoying.

[wantsomecorn]

I can see there's a great song here, but I'm not entirely sold on the production yet. Hopefully it will grow on me, like TWGMTR did. I do love the track though, especially Dave's guitar licks. There's a lot of great BW touches in there - the flutes, Matt's falsetto.

I can't wait to hear this one live this summer!

[elnombre]

Just got in from honestly the worst day of my entire life, so new BW/Al/David was most welcome. I really love it. An extremely pretty song.

[Shady]

I love when these threads come out of nowhere  

A really nice song, as usual Al sounds great.

If this is one of the lesser songs on the album it means we're in for something good.

[Shady]

Anyone with the chops to make an mp3 out of the song is more than welcome to shoot me a PM 

[elnombre]

How lucky are we to still have 3 of the Beach Boys putting out music of this quality in 2015.

[Shady]

Very lucky.

It's always great to hear Al and Brian singing together, having Dave on the song is the cherry on top.

[SMiLE-addict]

Decent catchy pop tune. Doesn't really jump out at me, though.

[baseball95]

Anyone with the chops to make an mp3 out of the song is more than welcome to shoot me a PM 

Yes wouldn't that be nice 

Haha

[clack]

The organ is more upfront than I'm used to in a BW arrangement. Almost has a Procol Harum-like sound.

It's a bit MOR, but still I like the song and the production.

[ForHerCryingSoul]

Anyone with the chops to make an mp3 out of the song is more than welcome to shoot me a PM 

Yes wouldn't that be nice 

Haha

I've got one.   

[Jim Rockford]

I like it a lot. Don't understand the criticism it's getting. Doesn't sound robotic at all. It amazes me how people always find something wrong with everything.   

[lee]

Nice song. The chorus is reminiscent of Lay Down Burden but that doesn't bother me. Al sounds great and I love David's guitar playing in the last 20 seconds or so.

[bossaroo]

I think it's a great tune. really fits with the mood and theme of TWGMTR, and Al sounds fantastic. this is the sound of the Beach Boys in 2015, and it's a shame Mike and Bruce opted out of further collaboration. but as evidenced, Mike cares not about making new music and art, or returning the legacy of the band to its rightful founding members. he only cares about the bottom line, the safe and predictable setlist, the John Stamos, and of course himself at the center of it all.


and so it is. we've got more great music coming from Brian along with Al, Dave, Blondie, Matt and more. these are the modern-day Beach Boys as far as I'm concerned. we may have traded Mike for a mullet, but we definitely came out on top folks. No Pier Pressure... get it??!!!

and while the chorus is reminiscent of Lay Down Burden, this is very much its own song. and Brian has never been afraid to borrow from himself. he uses the same I-IIm-V progression in Don't Worry Baby, CA Girls, and Good Vibrations, among others