The Definitive Vocal Credits Thread...

[MBE]

I don't think Drip Drop is from 1974. First of all it's an oldie and Brian wasn't into oldies nearly as much at that stage.  Secondly The production is pure 15 Big Ones Love You, nothing at all like anything he cut before that. He also sounds VERY rough he does some semi speaking on it and you could tell he didn't even sound close to that on Child Of Winter or Hard Times which were cut during the last few months of '74. Thirdly Jimmie Seiter (engineer at the California Music sessions) told me that Brian did not sound hoarse to him during the time they worked together in the early part of 1975. Even discounting what Jimmie told me as heresay, unless Brian totally destroyed his voice between November (when Child Of Winter was finished) and December of 1974, and recorded Drip Drop right at the end of the year I just don't think it dates from there. One last thing hearing Brian on Johnny Rivers Help Me Rhonda  tells me that it wasn't until the summer of 1975 that, as pixletwin so aptly put it,  Brian went to war with his voice.

[adamghost]

I don't think Drip Drop is from 1974. First of all it's an oldie and Brian wasn't into oldies nearly as much at that stage.  Secondly The production is pure 15 Big Ones Love You, nothing at all like anything he cut before that. He also sounds VERY rough he does some semi speaking on it and you could tell he didn't even sound close to that on Child Of Winter or Hard Times which were cut during the last few months of '74. Thirdly Jimmie Seiter (engineer at the California Music sessions) told me that Brian did not sound hoarse to him during the time they worked together in the early part of 1975. Even discounting what Jimmie told me as heresay, unless Brian totally destroyed his voice between November (when Child Of Winter was finished) and December of 1974, and recorded Drip Drop right at the end of the year I just don't think it dates from there. One last thing hearing Brian on Johnny Rivers Help Me Rhonda  tells me that it wasn't until the summer of 1975 that, as pixletwin so aptly put it,  Brian went to war with his voice.

Wow!  All good stuff.  It doesn't, of course, prove that Brian was incapable of singing that way prior to '75, but it's suggestive that he didn't, anyhow.  But if it's not him (and I agree, there's considerable evidence to weigh against it), who is it?  I don't buy Jack Reiley.  It doesn't sound like the same guy singing at the end of "Marcella," plus it's a more demanding vocal part.

Alan Boyd and I had dinner together Saturday and this was one of the topics of conversation (yes, we're geeks).  He did mention the "Country Air" track where Brian sounded very much like he would sound 10 years later.  He also emailed me the next day with the following observation (he's on vacation now and can't post, but I assume he wouldn't have a problem with me quoting him):

"I haven't had time to really go through the thread so I don't know if anyone mentioned this or not, but you where I REALLY hear a voice that sounds like Brian in 1976?
 
Left channel. 3:39. The lingering voice at the end of that long hold on the word "be-lieeeeeeve." (I remember thinking that back in the late 1970s, too.) "

I went and listened and he's right...although if you listen to the cadence on the vocal line that precedes that final note, it sounds very Dennis.

One other note from our conversation re this thread:  according to Alan, Al Jardine has said that he sang on "Auld Lang Syne."  Al's memory is not always reliable (he was dead certain when he played "Honkin'" with us that it was the first time he'd performed it until Boyd corrected him) and I still don't hear a part for him, but he was there and I wasn't, so take that for what it's worth.  As for "And Your Dream Comes True" he states categorically that Dennis was not on the session tapes. 

[John]

One other note from our conversation re this thread:  according to Alan, Al Jardine has said that he sang on "Auld Lang Syne."  Al's memory is not always reliable (he was dead certain when he played "Honkin'" with us that it was the first time he'd performed it until Boyd corrected him) and I still don't hear a part for him, but he was there and I wasn't, so take that for what it's worth.  As for "And Your Dream Comes True" he states categorically that Dennis was not on the session tapes. 

I dunno, I'd rather trust your ears than Al's memory. Al could have rehearsed it, but never made vinyl. How would he know which take Brian used when Al went home. With all due respect to Al, I think we should keep the listing like it is.

[adamghost]

One other note from our conversation re this thread:  according to Alan, Al Jardine has said that he sang on "Auld Lang Syne."  Al's memory is not always reliable (he was dead certain when he played "Honkin'" with us that it was the first time he'd performed it until Boyd corrected him) and I still don't hear a part for him, but he was there and I wasn't, so take that for what it's worth.  As for "And Your Dream Comes True" he states categorically that Dennis was not on the session tapes. 

I dunno, I'd rather trust your ears than Al's memory. Al could have rehearsed it, but never made vinyl. How would he know which take Brian used when Al went home. With all due respect to Al, I think we should keep the listing like it is.

At some future point I'll sit down with a piano and map out the parts just to make sure...

[MBE]

I don't think Drip Drop is from 1974. First of all it's an oldie and Brian wasn't into oldies nearly as much at that stage.  Secondly The production is pure 15 Big Ones Love You, nothing at all like anything he cut before that. He also sounds VERY rough he does some semi speaking on it and you could tell he didn't even sound close to that on Child Of Winter or Hard Times which were cut during the last few months of '74. Thirdly Jimmie Seiter (engineer at the California Music sessions) told me that Brian did not sound hoarse to him during the time they worked together in the early part of 1975. Even discounting what Jimmie told me as heresay, unless Brian totally destroyed his voice between November (when Child Of Winter was finished) and December of 1974, and recorded Drip Drop right at the end of the year I just don't think it dates from there. One last thing hearing Brian on Johnny Rivers Help Me Rhonda  tells me that it wasn't until the summer of 1975 that, as pixletwin so aptly put it,  Brian went to war with his voice.

Wow!  All good stuff.  It doesn't, of course, prove that Brian was incapable of singing that way prior to '75, but it's suggestive that he didn't, anyhow.  But if it's not him (and I agree, there's considerable evidence to weigh against it), who is it?  I don't buy Jack Reiley.  It doesn't sound like the same guy singing at the end of "Marcella," plus it's a more demanding vocal part.

Alan Boyd and I had dinner together Saturday and this was one of the topics of conversation (yes, we're geeks).  He did mention the "Country Air" track where Brian sounded very much like he would sound 10 years later.  He also emailed me the next day with the following observation (he's on vacation now and can't post, but I assume he wouldn't have a problem with me quoting him):

"I haven't had time to really go through the thread so I don't know if anyone mentioned this or not, but you where I REALLY hear a voice that sounds like Brian in 1976?
 
Left channel. 3:39. The lingering voice at the end of that long hold on the word "be-lieeeeeeve." (I remember thinking that back in the late 1970s, too.) "

I went and listened and he's right...although if you listen to the cadence on the vocal line that precedes that final note, it sounds very Dennis.

One other note from our conversation re this thread:  according to Alan, Al Jardine has said that he sang on "Auld Lang Syne."  Al's memory is not always reliable (he was dead certain when he played "Honkin'" with us that it was the first time he'd performed it until Boyd corrected him) and I still don't hear a part for him, but he was there and I wasn't, so take that for what it's worth.  As for "And Your Dream Comes True" he states categorically that Dennis was not on the session tapes. 

What song where you refearing to that I should listen at 3:39? Anyhow glad you liked the post. Personally I always liked Brian a lot on Country Air.

[Smilin Ed H]

When 15 BO came out a lot was made of the fact that Brian was singing in his 'manly' voice.  Now, okay, we know that he'd ruined it through cigarettes and substance abuse, but suppose he was making a deliberate attempt to sing in that style as well.  On MIU, his voice sounds nowhere near as bad (unless it turns out to be Al...).  We can't put this down purely to Al's production and it's only three years later.  I don't mean to suggest that he hadn't ruined his voice, just to hold out the possibility that it hadn't deteriorated quite as far as we think.  I mean, if it was that bad, could he get it back to what it was on MIU?

[matt-zeus]

He did mean to sound like that apparently, he was embarassed of his falsetto and wanted to sing more manly, he also apparently wanted to sing like Frank Sinatra, and you can really hear that if you listen to the ballady stuff around that time, particularly Adult child (which he apparently sent some tracks to Frank to see if he was interested).
Brians pronunciation becomes more hard edged too, with to my ears a more 'New York' style accent employed (if I may be so bold), so too on Dennis' singing around this time as well (Perhaps Brian was trying to sing like Dennis as well?).

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I don't think Drip Drop is from 1974. First of all it's an oldie and Brian wasn't into oldies nearly as much at that stage.  Secondly The production is pure 15 Big Ones Love You, nothing at all like anything he cut before that. He also sounds VERY rough he does some semi speaking on it and you could tell he didn't even sound close to that on Child Of Winter or Hard Times which were cut during the last few months of '74. Thirdly Jimmie Seiter (engineer at the California Music sessions) told me that Brian did not sound hoarse to him during the time they worked together in the early part of 1975. Even discounting what Jimmie told me as heresay, unless Brian totally destroyed his voice between November (when Child Of Winter was finished) and December of 1974, and recorded Drip Drop right at the end of the year I just don't think it dates from there. One last thing hearing Brian on Johnny Rivers Help Me Rhonda  tells me that it wasn't until the summer of 1975 that, as pixletwin so aptly put it,  Brian went to war with his voice.

Wow!  All good stuff.  It doesn't, of course, prove that Brian was incapable of singing that way prior to '75, but it's suggestive that he didn't, anyhow.  But if it's not him (and I agree, there's considerable evidence to weigh against it), who is it?  I don't buy Jack Reiley.  It doesn't sound like the same guy singing at the end of "Marcella," plus it's a more demanding vocal part.

Alan Boyd and I had dinner together Saturday and this was one of the topics of conversation (yes, we're geeks).  He did mention the "Country Air" track where Brian sounded very much like he would sound 10 years later.  He also emailed me the next day with the following observation (he's on vacation now and can't post, but I assume he wouldn't have a problem with me quoting him):

"I haven't had time to really go through the thread so I don't know if anyone mentioned this or not, but you where I REALLY hear a voice that sounds like Brian in 1976?
 
Left channel. 3:39. The lingering voice at the end of that long hold on the word "be-lieeeeeeve." (I remember thinking that back in the late 1970s, too.) "

I went and listened and he's right...although if you listen to the cadence on the vocal line that precedes that final note, it sounds very Dennis.

One other note from our conversation re this thread:  according to Alan, Al Jardine has said that he sang on "Auld Lang Syne."  Al's memory is not always reliable (he was dead certain when he played "Honkin'" with us that it was the first time he'd performed it until Boyd corrected him) and I still don't hear a part for him, but he was there and I wasn't, so take that for what it's worth.  As for "And Your Dream Comes True" he states categorically that Dennis was not on the session tapes. 

What song where you refearing to that I should listen at 3:39? Anyhow glad you liked the post. Personally I always liked Brian a lot on Country Air.

Mike, I think he's referring to He Came Down from So Tough. I always thought that was Brian myself. As he was one of the writers on  it, I'd imagine it was him. Doesn't really sound like Dennis to me.

There's a tape floating around somewhere featuring Brian playing the piano and singing parts of what would become the Fairy Tale music off of  Holland. Brian still has his early 70s voice, at least in pitch, but it is rather gravelly in places. Picture the Brian of 1972 singing the same way he did "Airplane" from the Love You piano demos. An earlier(?) tape which more people might have heard features Brian playing the same song and singing, only with what sounds like Diane present. Brian sounds not quite as rapsy,but his voice is lower pitched.  Of course, that might have been later rather than earlier, but with Brian its hard to tell. Point is his voice was changing around this time, and depending on how much he snorted & smoked in a particular day, his voice might sound a bit rougher. Of course, after a certain point, there was no going back...

As for the production of "Drip Drop"....that wasn't that unusual for 1974. Actually, "Walkin" also sounded like a Love You track in parts, but that was from 1968!

[MBE]

Billy first let me say I always respect what you have to say, but I would like to offer a different view on a couple of things.

It's probably Brian on He Come Down and Sweet Mountain, but the thing is is that he's not off pitch or off key. It's a controlled low voice to my ears. The late 1975-82 vocals could sometimes sound on pitch but Brian overall didn't seem to be trying.

The Fairy Tale "Demo" is hard to hear because the quality is crummy. I believe it dates from 1973 or 1974 as Brian was playing it for a reporter who liked it on Holland. From what I can make out, his speaking voice sounds like the young Brian, and his singing on it to my ears sounds pretty letter perfect. Truthfully it is of such lousy quality that I don't think his voice can be completely measured. I guess we are hearing different things.

Walkin' to me has that Susie Cincinnati harmonica sound and a real musical feel. It's quirky like Love You, but not really close to my ears in production style.

The demos for Love You were done around September of 1976, Brian sounds more laid back but those are pretty rough even on the quiet notes.

Drip Drop is harder to say, but it does seem a little more plastic sounding then the 1974 stuff if you know what I mean. I hope I don't sound arrogant but nothing could convince me that Drip Drop is 1974 because he doesn't sound like a man in transition his voice is wrecked there. The 9-74 interview I have heard with Brian sounds like his old voice. Hard Times, and Child Of Winter sound like the old Brian, and according to those that have heard it California Feelin is a classic Brian vocal. Jimmi Seiter told me that Brian sounded OK in early 1975, plus more then one of Brian's friends told me that he set out to destroy it at a very specific time. It seems that he did it in short order to me possible in the fall of 1975. Now some site MIU as proof that his voice came back.While the rough edges are gone, he never sounds like the old Brian. It's kind of like his vocals since the late nineties to me, most are on pitch, but none sound really like the young Brian Wilson .

No doubt Brian's smoking and drug use didn't help his voice but the change is so radical and quick that My belief is that he put it through deliberate trauma by smoking obsessively, and perhaps upping his drug intake.

[Aegir]

Child of Winter sounds like old Brian? You mean the crazy Grinch voice?

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

The Fairy Tale "Demo" is hard to hear because the quality is crummy. I believe it dates from 1973 or 1974 as Brian was playing it for a reporter who liked it on Holland. From what I can make out, his speaking voice sounds like the young Brian, and his singing on it to my ears sounds pretty letter perfect. Truthfully it is of such lousy quality that I don't think his voice can be completely measured. I guess we are hearing different things.

There are actually two Fairy tale demos out there. The one where Diane is present (at least I THINK it's Diane), which runs about 5 or 6 minutes and is in pretty steady circulation,so to speak. The other, which admittedly I have only heard two or three times and not for several months, runs about a minute and a half, and features Brian pratically screaming the "Pied Piper...better get back in bed" part over and over again. Real crappy sound quality like it was recorded on a handheld (and probably was).Of course, for all I know it might have been recorded much later, and I'm just assuming it was recorded in 1973. One thing I never thought of though is it might actually be a Lazy Lizzie demo, since they do share the same melody. Maybe Brian was just playing around with it and decided to sing the Pied Piper lyrics on top. Obviously that would make it some time later.

I think the only way we'll ever know when Drip Drop was made is if one of us asks someone who played on the session! Sadly, I don't know who did!

[adamghost]

<<those that have heard it California Feelin is a classic Brian vocal>>

I've heard it.  What I would say is that 70-80% of this old voice is there, if that makes any sense.  It's got most of his classic voice but is rough around the edges in spots.

The interesting thing about M.I.U. is you really have to listen closely to see how they gave the illusion that Brian's voice was back.  Make no mistake, he was singing with a softer tone and had made some recovery on songs like "Match Point" -- which is evidence that there's a good deal of conscious placement choices with Brian's singing, but there's a good bit of clever mixing going on as well...the backing vocals were set back in the track and nicely reverbed and balanced, but if you brought 'em up front, some of 'em are pretty rough.  You can tell this most easily by comparing some of the CHRISTMAS ALBUM mixes to the M.l.U. ones.

[the captain]

The interesting thing about M.I.U. is you really have to listen closely to see how they gave the illusion that Brian's voice was back.  Make no mistake, he was singing with a softer tone and had made some recovery on songs like "Match Point" -- which is evidence that there's a good deal of conscious placement choices with Brian's singing, but there's a good bit of clever mixing going on as well...the backing vocals were set back in the track and nicely reverbed and balanced, but if you brought 'em up front, some of 'em are pretty rough.

It's nice to see someone finally say this.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I think it sounds good regardless.

hose that have heard it California Feelin is a classic Brian vocal>>

I've heard it.  What I would say is that 70-80% of this old voice is there, if that makes any sense.  It's got most of his classic voice but is rough around the edges in spots.

I would kill to hear that...

[pixletwin]

I think it sounds good regardless.

hose that have heard it California Feelin is a classic Brian vocal>>

I've heard it.  What I would say is that 70-80% of this old voice is there, if that makes any sense.  It's got most of his classic voice but is rough around the edges in spots.

I would kill to hear that...

My Gawd. The 74 demo of California Feeling has been my "Holy Grail" of recordings for a while now. I just wish someone would release that puppy.

[adamghost]

I'm pretty certain there are those that have pushed pretty hard to have it released!  I don't have a copy of it or much else myself.  From time to time I've gotten to hear this or that from being in the right place at the right time, but I don't have anything in my possession (and I like it that way!).

[John]

One roughly sketched out personnel listing. It was about time I got back into gear...correct and discuss away!

[pixletwin]

Looks about right to me. 

[signum]

I think Ricky sings lead too on "Funky Pretty". I'm not sure about this, but it seems like Alan, Ricky, Blondie and Mike rotate the lead vocal on the chorus. The order of the singers is different each time but to me sounds like:

1st: Alan, Ricky, Blondie, Mike.
2nd: Ricky, Alan, Blondie, Mike.
3rd: Blondie, Alan, Ricky, Mike.

All in all, making things very confusing.

[Uncomfortable Seat]

I have never heard the studio version of We Got Love.  Is it anything like the live version, on which Blondie sings the bridges?

[adamghost]

Dennis sings lead on part of "Steamboat"?  Where? 

Jack Rieley should get a mention for the fairly tale narration.

[pixletwin]

Dennis sings lead on part of "Steamboat"?  Where? 

Jack Rieley should get a mention for the fairly tale narration.

No way thats Dennis on Steamboat. Carl. Hands down. No doubt abut it. 

[Jonas]

I always thought Funky Pretty was just Carl and Blondie interchanging with a bit of Mike thrown in.

The tag of that song is so fucking epic, it's ridiculous. It's possibly one of my top 5 favorite Beach Boys songs of all time.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Dennis sings lead on part of "Steamboat"?  Where? 

Jack Rieley should get a mention for the fairly tale narration.

No way thats Dennis on Steamboat. Carl. Hands down. No doubt abut it. 

Dennis might be the bass vocal, but I wouldn't bet the college fund on it.

[MBE]

Dennis is doing the na na na na part on Steamboat