Rock n Roll to the Rescue Producer credits

[Juice Brohnston]

Produced by Terry with Brian as an uncredited producer. Why? Was it Landy related? Seems odd that there were so many attempts over the years to get "Produced by Brian Wilson" on tracks, that he would go uncredited on something he had a hand in producing.

Good song IMO

[CenturyDeprived]

Produced by Terry with Brian as an uncredited producer. Why? Was it Landy related? Seems odd that there were so many attempts over the years to get "Produced by Brian Wilson" on tracks, that he would go uncredited on something he had a hand in producing.

Good song IMO

I agree that it's a very solid effort. I've grown to really, really dig the song over the years. Dare I say, I think it might be the best, most enjoyable and fun song the band put out in the entire decade.  It may be silly fun, but it really gets me moving and makes me think of an updated version of the glory years of the band.  Mike sounds great on it, some of his most underrated bass vocals. Brian rocks on it, as do Carl and Al.  Really, really glad that Brian was given the chance to shine on the song, during this difficult era.

Some very interesting vocal melodic changes that are unexpected. As much as I love lots of Brian's first solo album, This is a prime example of how vitally important the entire band's vocals were during the 1980s.  Everyone adds quite all lot.

I agree that it sounds like it's definitely a Brian coproduction.  At the very least, I'm sure that Brian produced the vocal sessions.  I wish we had an entire album that sounded like this, because it's obvious they put a lot of effort into the song and the production. Even if it sounds dated, it still rocks.  I think the production easily trumps the 1985 album.

Considering that they went all out with a bunch of remixes, it really stands out as the ultimate, most distinctly 1980s track that they ever put out. In a way, it's almost the improved, 1980s version of what they intended the Here Comes the Night disco track to be like.  

I do wonder what the logic was behind releasing it with all the different remixes. Were they thinking it might become some sort of a dance club hit?  I should add that the 12 inch version which I just listened to on YouTube for the first time really sucks!  I stand behind the released, single version only!

[bringahorseinhere?]

its a great track, they should have brought it in the the 50th reunion. Strange that neither camps ever do this live.
I like the remixes on the 12".  Recently obtained a sealed copy of it, but I broke the seal dare I say.
I hope others chime in with positive comments about this song.  I believe to this day it only appears on the CD 'made in the USA'.
darn shame.
edit: also note, this came out on Capitol Records, not CBS.  What was the arrangement there?

[c-man]

Supposedly Landy pulled Brian away from the production and flew him to Hawaii for a stress test, and Melcher left Brian's name off the production credit in retaliation.

[CenturyDeprived]

Supposedly Landy pulled Brian away from the production and flew him to Hawaii for a stress test, and Melcher left Brian's name off the production credit in retaliation.

Stress test? I wonder if that was Scientology related. I'm actually serious in posing that question. Landy seems like he was using those type of tactics, with Brian's family in particular being the near-equivalent of "suppressive persons", etc.

But it is a fascinating tidbit of info there, c-man. I wonder how many times Melcher actually worked with Brian in the studio after that incident. It seems Melcher worked with the BBs quite a lot after that song, maybe on 75%+ of their (admittedly small) output for the next half-decade, yet I'm pretty sure Brian only appears on the non-Melcher tracks.

I can only imagine what lengths Melcher would have gone through to avoid dealing with Landy again. I could imagine that Brian's Kokomo non-appearance might have had something to do with the Melcher-Landy relationship.

[Lonely Summer]

Supposedly Landy pulled Brian away from the production and flew him to Hawaii for a stress test, and Melcher left Brian's name off the production credit in retaliation.

Stress test? I wonder if that was Scientology related. I'm actually serious in posing that question. Landy seems like he was using those type of tactics, with Brian's family in particular being the near-equivalent of "suppressive persons", etc.

But it is a fascinating tidbit of info there, c-man. I wonder how many times Melcher actually worked with Brian in the studio after that incident. It seems Melcher worked with the BBs quite a lot after that song, maybe on 75%+ of their (admittedly small) output for the next half-decade, yet I'm pretty sure Brian only appears on the non-Melcher tracks.

I can only imagine what lengths Melcher would have gone through to avoid dealing with Landy again. I could imagine that Brian's Kokomo non-appearance might have had something to do with the Melcher-Landy relationship.

Brian's non-appearance on Kokomo only became an issue after the track became a #1 hit. I don't hear him on California Dreamin', Happy Endings, Still Cruisin', or Somewhere Near Japan, either.

[Custom Machine]

As it has for the past 30 years, Rock n Roll to the Rescue still makes me cringe. It's an embarrassingly lame song with stupid lyrics and an incredibly bad vocal by BW (although not nearly as irritating as She's Got Rhythm).

Despite his vocals and the inexplicable participation in the song (and especially the video), by the rest of the guys, BW should be happy that his name does not appear on the production credits. I will say, though, that Carl and Mike put in good vocal performances on this forgettable BB song.

[c-man]

As it has for the past 30 years, Rock n Roll to the Rescue still makes me cringe. It's an embarrassingly lame song with stupid lyrics and an incredibly bad vocal by BW (although not nearly as irritating as She's Got Rhythm).

Despite his vocals and the inexplicable participation in the song (and especially the video), by the rest of the guys, BW should be happy that his name does not appear on the production credits. I will say, though, that Carl and Mike put in good vocal performances on this forgettable BB song.

I know whatcha mean, Rob. Personally, I've always had mixed feelings about this record. The track itself ROCKS, and I've always dug it because of that. Brian's vocal doesn't really bother me, but the inane lyrics drive me nuts! Not all of the lyrics, mind you - the chorus lyrics are fine. If the verse lyrics weren't so inane, this might have been a hit IMO.

[The_Beach]

its a great track, they should have brought it in the the 50th reunion. Strange that neither camps ever do this live.
I like the remixes on the 12".  Recently obtained a sealed copy of it, but I broke the seal dare I say.
I hope others chime in with positive comments about this song.  I believe to this day it only appears on the CD 'made in the USA'.
darn shame.
edit: also note, this came out on Capitol Records, not CBS.  What was the arrangement there?

They did the song live atleast I think 25 times in 1986. but I agree it should of been done more and in the 50th tour. They did a good job of it live in 86 to!

https://youtu.be/w_Uj1XFge7w

https://youtu.be/95W5kGk8hU0 (supposable Al was sick and that's why it didn't sound very good  live here)

[Smilin Ed H]

As it has for the past 30 years, Rock n Roll to the Rescue still makes me cringe. It's an embarrassingly lame song with stupid lyrics and an incredibly bad vocal by BW (although not nearly as irritating as She's Got Rhythm).

Despite his vocals and the inexplicable participation in the song (and especially the video), by the rest of the guys, BW should be happy that his name does not appear on the production credits. I will say, though, that Carl and Mike put in good vocal performances on this forgettable BB song.

Agree. It's awful.

[Sheriff John Stone]

They did the song live atleast I think 25 times in 1986. but I agree it should of been done more and in the 50th tour. They did a good job of it live in 86 to!

https://youtu.be/w_Uj1XFge7w

https://youtu.be/95W5kGk8hU0 (supposable Al was sick and that's why it didn't sound very good  live here)

I saw The Beach Boys perform "Rock And Roll To The Rescue" at The Allentown Fair in 1986. It was a good enough performance; it sounded pretty much like the studio recording. But, I got the feeling that I was one of about ten people in attendance who actually knew the song.

The Beach Boys must've believed in the song. They made some re-mixes of it. They put it on a compilation with their greatest hits. They did perform it live over a couple of months. And, they made an official video of the song. However, there was only one thing worse than that official video and that was the performance (actually lip-sinching) of the song on that Solid Gold Summer Song Special where a very trim Brian embarrasses himself trying to lip-sinch the song. I was in shock then (1986) and I still can't believe they aired that...performance. They must've really wanted to showcase Brian.

[The_Beach]

They did the song live atleast I think 25 times in 1986. but I agree it should of been done more and in the 50th tour. They did a good job of it live in 86 to!

https://youtu.be/w_Uj1XFge7w

https://youtu.be/95W5kGk8hU0 (supposable Al was sick and that's why it didn't sound very good  live here)

I saw The Beach Boys perform "Rock And Roll To The Rescue" at The Allentown Fair in 1986. It was a good enough performance; it sounded pretty much like the studio recording. But, I got the feeling that I was one of about ten people in attendance who actually knew the song.

The Beach Boys must've believed in the song. They made some re-mixes of it. They put it on a compilation with their greatest hits. They did perform it live over a couple of months. And, they made an official video of the song. However, there was only one thing worse than that official video and that was the performance (actually lip-sinching) of the song on that Solid Gold Summer Song Special where a very trim Brian embarrasses himself trying to lip-sinch the song. I was in shock then (1986) and I still can't believe they aired that...performance. They must've really wanted to showcase Brian.

has brian ever preformed the song live with the beach boys? since he is the lead vocalist.

[Sheriff John Stone]

They did the song live atleast I think 25 times in 1986. but I agree it should of been done more and in the 50th tour. They did a good job of it live in 86 to!

https://youtu.be/w_Uj1XFge7w

https://youtu.be/95W5kGk8hU0 (supposable Al was sick and that's why it didn't sound very good  live here)

I saw The Beach Boys perform "Rock And Roll To The Rescue" at The Allentown Fair in 1986. It was a good enough performance; it sounded pretty much like the studio recording. But, I got the feeling that I was one of about ten people in attendance who actually knew the song.

The Beach Boys must've believed in the song. They made some re-mixes of it. They put it on a compilation with their greatest hits. They did perform it live over a couple of months. And, they made an official video of the song. However, there was only one thing worse than that official video and that was the performance (actually lip-sinching) of the song on that Solid Gold Summer Song Special where a very trim Brian embarrasses himself trying to lip-sinch the song. I was in shock then (1986) and I still can't believe they aired that...performance. They must've really wanted to showcase Brian.

has brian ever preformed the song live with the beach boys? since he is the lead vocalist.

I don't know. He was not present in Allentown in 1986.

[rasmus skotte]

Didn't Gary Usher play a part in the production of it (uncredited though)?

[urbanite]

It's one of those songs like Getcha Back, that would have sounded much better without BW's vocal. His vocal abilities were slim to none back then.

[Smilin Ed H]

It's one of those songs like Getcha Back, that would have sounded much better without BW's vocal. His vocal abilities were slim to none back then.

It's the song. One of their worst nostalgia trips. Might have been better without the godawful production values associated with the era.

[HeyJude]

I don't believe Brian ever did "R&R to the Rescue" live with the band. They only did the song at a few dozen gigs in 1986, and Brian didn't even show for the most high profile gig they did the song at, the "Farm Aid" appearance from that year.

I believe Farm Aid has uploaded high quality videos of a bunch of their shows over the years, so you can get a nice looking and sounding version of the BBs, sans Brian, doing the song live there. I think Al handles most or all of Brian's parts. Ironically, I think that's the show where Al has a really scratchy voice, so what otherwise would have been a good lead performance is a bit marred.

There's some interesting Melcher/Beach Boys/Brian/Gary Usher stuff in "The Wilson Project", which covers Brian's Usher era. It seems Usher and Melcher were both in some ways possibly vying and jockeying in that 1986 time frame to produce the "next" Beach Boys album, which kind of never ended up happening (though SIP eventually did of course). Not sure either Usher or Melcher could have brought the goods to make a good BB album at the time, though to be fair they wouldn't have had a ton of help from the band members either. Melcher wrote some decent catchy songs with Mike, at least two or three on SIP a few years later. Usher seemed like a nice guy, but the songs he wrote with Brian in the 80s were mostly pretty "bleh."

While I've never heard or read Carl or Al say anything bad about Melcher, it's interesting that Al and Carl walked out on the "Spirit of Rock and Roll" session in 1986 (not due to Melcher, but rather as apparently a protest to Landy), and both Al and Carl played limited roles in the one other "Beach Boys" project Melcher had a strong hand in, "Summer in Paradise." Again, I don't think Al and Carl had any problems with Melcher (Al said nice things about him in his 2000 Goldmine interview), but it seems like several times Melcher somehow ended up on the opposite side of Al and Carl, probably more to do with being buds with Mike I guess.

If they could have all finished off "The Spirit of Rock and Roll" in 1986/87 as a "Beach Boys" single, that one might have been more successful than "R&R to the Rescue."

[Steve Latshaw]

I always liked this track.  I saw it live at a couple of shows in 1986.  The first was in Evansville, Indiana, on July 30th. Katrina and the Waves were the opening act.  The Beach Boys opened with Rock & Roll to the Rescue, followed by Rock & Roll Music and then Good Vibrations, in a radically redesigned set list.  Mike sang lead on the live version; I've often thought it would have been a bigger hit had he sung lead on the studio recording in place of Brian.

Here's the set list from the next night, in Dayton, Ohio, thanks to AGD.  This is the same set list I saw:

1. Rock and Roll To The Rescue
 2. Rock and Roll Music
 3. Good Vibrations
 4. Getcha Back
 5. Darlin
 6. Dance Dance Dance
 7. Wouldn't It Be Nice
 8. God Only Knows
 9. Sloop John B
 10. Come Go With Me
 11. Okie From Muskogee (briefly)
 12. Little Deuce Coupe
 13. Little Old Lady From Pasadena
 14. Hey Little Cobra
 15. Shut Down
 16. 409
 17. Little GTO
 18. I Get Around
 19. In My Room
 20. Do It Again
 21. Help Me Rhonda
 22. Surfin Safari
 23. Surf City
 24. Surfin USA
Encore:
 25. California Dreamin'
 26. California Girls
 27. Barbara Ann
 28. Fun Fun Fun

[HeyJude]

You can tell there was a short period of time where the BBs certainly *tried* to get that single to be a bigger hit, going so far as to displace "California Girls" as the show opener, which they had been doing at that stage for around a decade or so.

It's actually not a totally bad idea, thinking back, for them to open shows with new stuff. People would perhaps sometimes groan or take a beer break when they did new stuff in the middle of the show. But people are so amped when a show starts that anything uptempo might have work.

They tried opening with "It's OK" for awhile in 1982, but that was dropped eventually in favor of "California Girls" again.

[HeyJude]

Brian did do a mimed TV appearance with the band for the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxJfuml6ir8

While we're at it, here's the live Farm Aid version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95W5kGk8hU0

And finally, the embarrassing music video made for the song, which probably didn't help it become a hit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKqd_9Xx9IQ

[KDS]

It's one of those songs like Getcha Back, that would have sounded much better without BW's vocal. His vocal abilities were slim to none back then.

I actually think Brian's vocals add a lot to Getcha Back. 

[Juice Brohnston]

I don't believe Brian ever did "R&R to the Rescue" live with the band. They only did the song at a few dozen gigs in 1986, and Brian didn't even show for the most high profile gig they did the song at, the "Farm Aid" appearance from that year.

I believe Farm Aid has uploaded high quality videos of a bunch of their shows over the years, so you can get a nice looking and sounding version of the BBs, sans Brian, doing the song live there. I think Al handles most or all of Brian's parts. Ironically, I think that's the show where Al has a really scratchy voice, so what otherwise would have been a good lead performance is a bit marred.

Al's voice is in rough shape, and if you watch it, it looks like Mike steps up to double his lead a few times. I always thought Carl sounded awesome on this live version.
I mean, there is a bit of a cheesy slant to the song, but hey, it was the mid 80's and this retro nostalgia kick was very big. I'll be honest, the 80's Beach Boys fascinate me, in a way I have trouble articulating. Something about how they were kind of current and retro all at the same time.

[southbay]

It's one of those songs like Getcha Back, that would have sounded much better without BW's vocal. His vocal abilities were slim to none back then.

I actually think Brian's vocals add a lot to Getcha Back. 

Agreed

[southbay]

I don't believe Brian ever did "R&R to the Rescue" live with the band. They only did the song at a few dozen gigs in 1986, and Brian didn't even show for the most high profile gig they did the song at, the "Farm Aid" appearance from that year.

I believe Farm Aid has uploaded high quality videos of a bunch of their shows over the years, so you can get a nice looking and sounding version of the BBs, sans Brian, doing the song live there. I think Al handles most or all of Brian's parts. Ironically, I think that's the show where Al has a really scratchy voice, so what otherwise would have been a good lead performance is a bit marred.

There's some interesting Melcher/Beach Boys/Brian/Gary Usher stuff in "The Wilson Project", which covers Brian's Usher era. It seems Usher and Melcher were both in some ways possibly vying and jockeying in that 1986 time frame to produce the "next" Beach Boys album, which kind of never ended up happening (though SIP eventually did of course). Not sure either Usher or Melcher could have brought the goods to make a good BB album at the time, though to be fair they wouldn't have had a ton of help from the band members either. Melcher wrote some decent catchy songs with Mike, at least two or three on SIP a few years later. Usher seemed like a nice guy, but the songs he wrote with Brian in the 80s were mostly pretty "bleh."

While I've never heard or read Carl or Al say anything bad about Melcher, it's interesting that Al and Carl walked out on the "Spirit of Rock and Roll" session in 1986 (not due to Melcher, but rather as apparently a protest to Landy), and both Al and Carl played limited roles in the one other "Beach Boys" project Melcher had a strong hand in, "Summer in Paradise." Again, I don't think Al and Carl had any problems with Melcher (Al said nice things about him in his 2000 Goldmine interview), but it seems like several times Melcher somehow ended up on the opposite side of Al and Carl, probably more to do with being buds with Mike I guess.

If they could have all finished off "The Spirit of Rock and Roll" in 1986/87 as a "Beach Boys" single, that one might have been more successful than "R&R to the Rescue."

The Spirit of Rock and Roll was an Usher and Brian project, not Melcher

[HeyJude]

I don't believe Brian ever did "R&R to the Rescue" live with the band. They only did the song at a few dozen gigs in 1986, and Brian didn't even show for the most high profile gig they did the song at, the "Farm Aid" appearance from that year.

I believe Farm Aid has uploaded high quality videos of a bunch of their shows over the years, so you can get a nice looking and sounding version of the BBs, sans Brian, doing the song live there. I think Al handles most or all of Brian's parts. Ironically, I think that's the show where Al has a really scratchy voice, so what otherwise would have been a good lead performance is a bit marred.

There's some interesting Melcher/Beach Boys/Brian/Gary Usher stuff in "The Wilson Project", which covers Brian's Usher era. It seems Usher and Melcher were both in some ways possibly vying and jockeying in that 1986 time frame to produce the "next" Beach Boys album, which kind of never ended up happening (though SIP eventually did of course). Not sure either Usher or Melcher could have brought the goods to make a good BB album at the time, though to be fair they wouldn't have had a ton of help from the band members either. Melcher wrote some decent catchy songs with Mike, at least two or three on SIP a few years later. Usher seemed like a nice guy, but the songs he wrote with Brian in the 80s were mostly pretty "bleh."

While I've never heard or read Carl or Al say anything bad about Melcher, it's interesting that Al and Carl walked out on the "Spirit of Rock and Roll" session in 1986 (not due to Melcher, but rather as apparently a protest to Landy), and both Al and Carl played limited roles in the one other "Beach Boys" project Melcher had a strong hand in, "Summer in Paradise." Again, I don't think Al and Carl had any problems with Melcher (Al said nice things about him in his 2000 Goldmine interview), but it seems like several times Melcher somehow ended up on the opposite side of Al and Carl, probably more to do with being buds with Mike I guess.

If they could have all finished off "The Spirit of Rock and Roll" in 1986/87 as a "Beach Boys" single, that one might have been more successful than "R&R to the Rescue."

The Spirit of Rock and Roll was an Usher and Brian project, not Melcher

By "they", I simply meant the Beach Boys. I know the song was a co-write including Usher and Brian, and that they also produced it together.

There really isn't a full BB version per se, the closest being the version done for the 25th Anniversary special, which was the Usher/Brian studio version with an extra layer of backing vocals from Mike, Bruce, and Glen Campbell.

If they could have added Carl and Al to the track, smoothed it out a bit, whether finishing it with Usher or Melcher or someone else, it might have performed a little better than "R&R to the Rescue."

While a bit cloying and a bit of novelty lyrically, I think "Spirit" is relatively solid musically. With better production, it could have sounded good even had it been attempted again a number of years later. Unfortunately, Brian's solo 2006 version just sounds rather limp.