The Smiley Smile Message Board

First things that come to mind:

- Get rid of the fuzz bass in the final section of Cabinessence. I think it sounds ugly and doesn't fit the mood of the music at all.
- Ask Brian to give the lead on Let Him Run Wild another try some other time.
- Ask Brian/Mike to slightly rewrite the lyrics to In The Back Of My Mind, so that all the words actually fit. And maybe let Brian or Carl have a go at the lead (sorry Dennis). And if it still doesn't work out, just release it as an instrumental.
- Drag Dennis back into the studio to let him sing Sail On Sailor.

He did  -  in 1998!

Can't say I agree with all of those - the fuzz bass in Cabinessence is amazing, even if it doesn't totally fit. It's used tastefully which is rare in itself.

I think Dennis was the perfect voice for "In The Back Of My Mind," but Brian should have spent a little more time with him to get the double tracking right. I don't mind the lyrics, although some tweaks to help it sing a little better wouldn't have been so bad.

My nomination would be for Brian letting Dennis do some of Mike's early leads - he sounds awesome on stuff like "Surfers Rule" and his bit part in "Girls On The Beach," and his voice in this era was unpolished but incredibly cool. No disrespect towards Mike, who sang really well in this era too, but it's a shame that Dennis didn't get to do many leads until later on.

Shelter, I disagree with ALL of them!  ;D

1. Get Dennis to take the lead on Don't Talk
2. Don't fade out Good Vibrations so quickly
3. Mix the honkytonk piano in the chorus of I Just Wasn't... higher.
4. Put the acapella Ol' Man River at the start of 20/20

Good. Discussion forums would be incredibly boring if everyone would agree on everything.  ;)

Get rid of the spoken "I love you" on "Please Let Me Wonder".

Record a less goofy "You're under arrest" for H&V.

Get people to shut up during the instrumental break of "Here Today".

Take more time with the a capella intro to "School Days", the timing seems off and the live version sounds better.

Do something about the "tearing" that the organ produces on "Country Air" - I don't mind it now, the whole underproduction of WH has grown on me and I find the organ thing "charming" (for want of a better word).

These two are spot on!

Agree with 3 whole heartedly. If that part could be isolated… it's like a tune within a tune, a miniature framed within a much larger painting… utterly different in character but entirely complementary.

As for Ol' Man River… bliss!

Wouldn't change Good Vibes though – no point fixing what ain't broke.

The "I love you" on Please Let Me Wonder and the "You're under arrest!" on Heroes & Villains are perfect! And the talking in the background on "Here Today" is a fortunate accident, I think it sounds really cool and gives it a bit of an eerie touch.

Have 15 big ones rerecorded or remixed so everything is mixed properly and the songs doesn't sound like they were made in one take.

Have Brian or Dennis take the lead on A Day in the Life of a Tree.

Off the top.....just for starters:

1. Bring the "Truck Drivin' Man" section up in the mix of Cabinessence so it's more audible.
2. Release the "hot mix" of Rock & Roll Music instead of the released version.
3. Re-mix and re-master the Carl & The Passions album.
4. Re-mix the Pacific Ocean Blue album.
5. Loose the long spoken word disertation on "Beaks Of Eagles" on Holland.
6. Release the studio version of We Got Love on U.S. copies of Holland.

I do quite like it for the reason you say, but it is nice that it's absent from the stereo mix.

Agree 100% with this one!

1) Re-record the faltering spoken interlude on Auld Lang Syne
2) Re-write the melody, lyrics ... and everything else on "Solar System"  ::)

Burn the entire Keepin' the Summer Alive album.

Include WIBNTLA on Surf's Up

Agree with Malcolm's thoughts and I'll raise him a couple:

1. Re-write the lyrics to "Hey Little Tomboy", Honkin' Down The Highway, and "Johnny Carson"
2. Drop a couple of total losers on 15 Big Ones and include "Sea Cruise" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" instead. Hell, Even "On Broadway" is better than some of those dirges on 15 Big Ones. Can't remember if a couple of thiose were recorded during the Love You era though..........poo, I woulda re-done the entire 15 Big Ones album, INCLUDING the effing album cover! MIU too. I never woulda released that thing the way it came out.

Oh yeah. They shoulda released the 4/4 (slower) version of Big Sur. I really like that thing. And while we're at it.........."Carry Me Home".  And Dennis shoulda finished "I've Got A Friend"!

On the Holland album, there is a track called "On Beaks of Eagles."  Half of it is spoken poetry and the other half is a song with an Al Jardine lead.   The Jardine tune is quite good and I would have loved for it to be one continuous song, as opposed to it being broken up with dialogue.

Someone must have smoked too much weed to have placed the version of "Big Sur" that's on Holland.  The alternate version which can be heard on YouTube is a great song, one of the better ones the Beach Boys ever recorded.   

the incessant cymbal on Don't Talk has always driven me crazy. I love that song, but i think it could truly achieve lift off without that cymbal

Brian and the Boy's sure f**ked up a lot of tunes, didn't they? I really never realized the extent of it until this thread. ;)

Yeah, how does the cough in the middle of "Wendy" and the talking about cameras in the middle of "Here Today" get through Brian's and Britz's quality control?

I'd just loose the speaking on "Beaks of Eagles".. the instrumental part underneath that is brilliant.

Mix the synthesizers higher, and the lead guitar lower on "Long Promised Road"

And not really changing a song, but I would tell 1965 Brian that someday people may want to remix this music, so don't record anything while mixing down, and for goodness sake look after, and under no circumstances wipe the multi tracks.

I'm with you on the multitrack wiping, but the overdubs done during mixdown were generally necessary to avoid the fidelity problems that come with bouncing onto a new generation of tape. Unfortunately the technology of the day sometimes necessitated these types of decisions.

That is a good point, I often wonder what Brian would have achieved back then if he had the technology available now ?.. I'm not sure (actually somewhat doubtful) that it would have been better, but it would have been interesting.

Record "That Same Song" with gospel choir  that they used on their TV special. And that Dennis used on River Song.

I could pick things apart. Yes I wish Dennis sang more before 1974. I wish Smile, Leid In Hawaii, The 1965 and 1966 live albums, and almost all of their unreleased pre 1975 stuff came out.  I wish Brian sang more from the 20/20 to Holland era too. I wish both of them would have taken better care of their voices. I wish they had never done a surf or car song after 1964. I wish they never wore their post 1974 stage wear (outside of Carl). I wish they didn't go the nostalgia or oldies route (including solo Brian). I could go on and on however...What they did do from 1961-74 is one of the finest bodies of work in music history. Even 1975 on there have been (all too brief not counting Dennis' great mid- late seventies worlk) glimpses of greatness that few can match. What happened happened and I don't really regret any of it because they have all truly enriched my life.

bring the french horn a lil up, lower the organ thing on god only knows intro. MUAHAHAHA

Better technology has its trade offs - I think a lot of Brian's work was better off with more primitive technology if only because it allowed him (forced him, actually) to capture sounds that computers just can't reproduce, i.e. the sound of 5 guys singing live around a mic, 10 musicians all playing in a room together, etc.

He did amazing things given what he had to work with, but when you look at a project like Smile, it's quite likely that modern technology would have made the album easier to complete, since he would've had the ability to instantly test out any sequence he desired - that's assuming, of course, that having that much freedom didn't add to his already palpable indecisiveness.

Both of those are easily avoidable, as there's the version of Auld Lang Syne without the spoken bit ruining it, and Solar System is amazing and you're just wrong  :P

Some more...

5) Teach Brian to play drums
6) Pat Carl on the shoulder in 1971 and say "Write more songs"
7) Pat Mike on the shoulder in 1975 and say "No-one cares that you're bald"
8) While you have his attention, break his heart and give him something to write about that isn't Hawaii, school, 'chicks' or bad puns.

Encourage Brian to finish "Can't Wait Too Long" and slap it on the end of WILD HONEY, and you've got a perfect album, my friend!  8)

Mix the bass higher in "I'm Waiting For The Day". Especially in the chorus, since there's a crazy but wonderful bass note there, that's almost impossible to hear even in the instrumental version. It changes the whole chorus, once you hear it though.

1. Let Dennis sing "Meant For You"

2. Let Dennis sing "Friends"

3. Lose Mike's "Good Nnnnnight *oh ho* baby, sleep tight *oh ho* baby*

4. Have the group record "Kokomo" with a sparse backing of actual instruments, and put in a nice acoustic guitar solo instead of the saxophone

5. Release "When Girls Get Together" in 1969 as an instrumental. Possibly as an obscure b-side. Lose that damn marxophone!  ;D

6. Lose the plodding saxophone intro of "Some Of Your Love"  in favor of a Mike Meros synthesizer intro like they did it in concert.

7. Record the song "Keepin' The Summer Alive" "live in the studio", instead of the half baked overprocessed version.

8. Take the best of Still Crusin' and Summer In Paradise, and release it as one album. Only with real instruments.  ::)

The Marxophone was the best darn part of "When Girls Get Together"!

• I know it's not one song, but still: Do SOMETHING about tracks 8-10 on "Still Cruisin'" (i.e. replace them)

That's all for now.

1. Little girl i once knew - ReRecord verse vocals, sounds forced.
2. California girls - Get Brian to redo fallsetto part in pitch.
3. Good Vibrations - Get Brian to redo fallsetto part in pitch, use Tonys lyrics.
4. Do you wanna dance - Do guitar live no overdubs so we can get this in stereo.
5. Sloop John B - Lower the sound of the glasses, also do it in a different key, sounds strained.
6. Still belive in me - Multitrack lead overdub, want it in stereo.

1. SMiLE – release it
2. Carnegie gig – release it
3. Adult Child – release it
4. Aloha From Hawaii - release it
5. In Concert source recordings – release 'em all
6. You Get The Idea – release the lot
7. Credit "John Manning" as a writer in publishing for all releases – so he can buy all releases and simultaneously feed his family  ;D

+1 Seriously, some of these suggestions have made my jaw drop.

Have Carl (or Dennis) sing lead on Sail On, Sailor

Maybe a controversial one: release the PSS version of "God Only Knows" on PS with the a capella tag (some find it overdone, but I love it)
Make side two of Smiley Smile an entire Good Vibrations symphonic suite with every scrap ever put on tape
Add more backgrounds and harmonies to the entire Wild Honey album except "Darlin'"---get some call and response going on "Wild Honey" itself
Resequence Surf's Up LP to get some Dennis on there (cut "Take a Load")
Release "Is Jack Reiley Really Superman?" just so we can know what that sounded like---how wild to have a song about a manager on a major LP?
Record the studio version of "Marcella" at the same tempo (and with the same energy) as on IN CONCERT
Include a live version of "Girl Don't Tell Me" done 70s style on IN CONCERT
Release a definitive version of "California Feeling" in 1976
Make the Caribou sessions productive so the post-Endless Summer BBs comeback is contemporary sounding instead of 15BO retro
Put "Lazy Lizzie" on LOVE YOU bc, despite the uncomfortable lyrics, it's got an interesting groove
Write another verse or add another minute to "Let Us Go on This Way" so it feels like a complete song (bc it's cool but too short for me)
Have Dennis sing lead on "Good Timin'" bc I love the live version where he does it
Release a studio version of "Keepin the Summer Alive" that rocks as much as the song did live
Actually finish "Oh Lord" in 85 so Brian has a good song on BB
Get rid of any cheesy sax solo on any 80s release EXCEPT "Kokomo"
Have Brian and Andy Paley bring in Sweet Honey in the Rock and re-do "Goodnight Irene" (I've always daydreamed of a BB/Sweet Honey or BB/Blind Boys of Alabama collaboration... why not? Would have to be better than "East Meets West")
In 95/96 produce a Carl Wilson solo album of songs by other writers that would showcase his vocal versatility (always wanted to hear him do Springsteen's "Happy" or "I Wish I Were Blind")
Have Brian join the Traveling Wilburys after Roy Orbison's death bc I think the Brian/Bob Dylan version of "The Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll" and some other Sweet Insanity-era cuts would make that lame TW Vol. 3 (1990) album bearable
Add the a capella stop the BBs are doing live in "Do It Again" to the 2011 studio remake
Tinker with the verses of "That's Why God Made the Radio" a bit more---tone down the keyboard triplets---write a more memorable bridge... The choruses are so powerful I just want that song to aspire a bit more to "This Whole World" awesomeness

Agreed. That song is just amazing, the lead is just OOOHHHHHH...

I would have the writing credits and publishing rights to Good Vibrations changed to my name. When I got back to present day I would be rich.

I can't say I like these suggestions.

On I'm Waiting For The Day, when the vox drops out and the flutes kick in, instead of just doing that intro drum beat, do snare rolls.

Bum-diddly-bum-diddly-bum-tikki-tikki-tikki (repeat)

Continue that over the wordless singing until the lead vox start again.

Have an "unmedicated" Carl redo his vocal on "The Night Was So Young."

If Dennis truly was supposed to sing the lead on "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times," I wish it had been recorded. Even if Brian eventually decided to take the lead vocal himself, the Dennis version would have come out as an alternate track by now.

Have Al sing one of the three verses on "Sloop John B" since doing the song was his idea.

Disco "Here Comes the Night" - NO, just NO.

Have Mike write a different lyric for "Little Saint Nick," changing "Christmas comes this time each year." I LOVE the song otherwise, and the rest of the lyrics are fun, but that one inspires me to thing, "No s--t, Sherlock!" You can keep the same melody with a simple change,  like "Christmastime is here again" or "How I love this time of year" or "It's my favorite time of year."

Give Dennis a solo part on "Add Some Music." It seems strange to have the other five guys doing solos but not Dennis.

All those songs that Desper erased as Brian's behest? Could he have just PRETENDED to erase them?

I would've settled for a four minute edit (like the single) on L.A. Light Album. That would've freed up two more songs, possibly two more Brian songs. They still had enough time/space for two more songs anyway.

Burn KTSA and MIU
Release Adult Child without Hey Tomboy and the 70's outtakes then Dennis and Carl stuff.

I would have ditched these two albums and made Pacific Ocean Blues the follow up to Love You.

I'd make Do It Again have a louder intro.

Do something different with the end of Breakaway - the ending has always seemed inconclusive to me.

Put 'I Went To Sleep' at the end of Friends and move 'Transendental Meditiation' onto 20/20, it would make Friends perfect!

Also I agree they need to remix CATP properly, i.e make Blondie audible on Here She Comes!

Surf's Up would have been so much better if they rerecorded it from scratch in 1971. I hate the fact that they used the original piano demo to provide the backing for over half of the song. It was laziness on their part, and it makes the song feel underproduced.

Laziness? It was done out of necessity. "Surf's Up" '71 sounds just as good or better than the rest of the album, to me.

And, from what I recall, they DID try re-recording it from scratch in 1971, but the results (however far along they were) were deemed inferior to the original tracks.

I feel the opposite. I wish they would have used MORE of the original demo/'66 recording - i.e Brian's voice on the first part instead of Carl's. And no bygones.

Which songs are these? From what sessions? Please tell me all about this, I am blank in this field!  :o

He would have lost his fuckin' mind.

Let Dennis Wilson sing on Sail On Sailor, i mean i love Blondie Chaplin but this is an outstanding Beach Boys song and it would have been great to hear one of the Wilson on it, Carl would have seem to clean, but i could be wrong, he was outstanding on I Was Made To Love Her.

Put Carl Wilson voice on A Day In The Life Of A Tree, i like Jack Rieley voice but once again, great song and would rather hear a Wilson on it, would really fit Carl's voice.

Smiley Smile's version of Vegetable : why ? sounds so.. empty, i mean of course in best case scenario, Smiley Smile would'nt have happened and SMiLE would have came out instead, but if we stick to the real scenario, then why did they do such changes to such a great song ? the SMiLE version is perfect.

Put some Dennis songs more often on the albums! jesus christ, that guy was talented as f*, A Time To Live In Dreams, anyone ?
this was made in 68 and never made it on any albums, AT ALL ? what.the.hell.

Record Your Imagination and That Lucky Old Sun with The Beach Boys, and Love & Mercy with them, Carl doing the lead with Brian.


I like the album's version, but that's very true. would have been much better.

Desper said he recorded a lot of Brian songs in the early 70s with the Boys on the road that Brian would make him erase, meaning Brian and Steve would be the only ones who ever heard them.

Actually, I was listening to that album last night and was struck by how similar it is to That's Why God Made The Radio. "Goin On" is that album's "That's Why God Made The Radio".  "Some Of Your Love" would definitely fit on the new album, as would "Santa Ana Winds", and you've got the obligatory Joe Thomas tropical arrangement with "Sunshine". I think the songs on the new album are on the whole stronger, but comparing the two is not out of the question.

Now, if I could go back and change anything, I'd have the BBs give "Kokomo" the Smiley Smile treatment!

I wonder how would that be possible... (by that, i mean i can't picture Kokomo having a more experimental/weird vibe or structure to it) interesting thought tho.

Added an extra verse to, oh hell, "The Baker Man" or "Barbie" or something that warned the band of all horrible things in their future so they could be avoided. And then none of those things would happen and all the potential lessons learned from those experiences happened anyway, somehow.

Hands down, if I had to choose only one, my answer would always be the one I thought of the second I read the title of this thread:
Level the volumes on the instrumental break/piano and guitar solo in "Help Me Rhonda"!

If I could choose two, the second would be to leave ALL the actual Smile tracks in the can.  Smiley Smile is what it is but no digging in the vaults for 20/20, Surf's Up, "Do It Again", etc.

And my third wish from the genie would be to release something similar to Holland instead of 15 Big Ones and flat out LIE and tell everyone Brian produced it.  And if that wasn't an option, make the Endless Summer Revival tours FAREWELL tours and call it a day.  Then, once Brian doesn't feel under the gun to make a "come back album", take things as they come and come back strong, for real.  And if that's STILL too much to ask, just have the band throw in the towel after the breakup on Al's birthday and come back after taking several years off.

That said, several people have listed some other great examples.  Ones I particularly agree with include

According to Desper, they did indeed try flying in Brian's voice for the first movement, but given the technology of the time, the speeds couldn't be matched well enough.  Thus the next best option was to record a new lead vocal over Brian's existing instrumental track.

I'd agree with keeping Smile in the vaults only if they had finished it from 67 (after Smiley Smile) to 73 or 74.

I gotta wonder, though - why Dennis on "Don't Talk"?

'Our Sweet Love'
should have a different title and lyrics to match the good music (was listening to the bootlegged backing track, so good!). Woulda made Sunflower a stronger album imo.

I'm really glad Brian Wilson and the rest of the group wrote and produced their material. All I can say after checking out this thread.

Our Sweet Love is perfect in every aspect, IMO.

Oh yeah, change the whole lyrics of Endless Harmony, cute melody and all, but jeez those lyrics are EMBARRASSING.

...Which Brian tried in '71....

I never in a million years would have thought of it myself but damn.  Brian does an unbelievable job and to be honest I probably have it no other in the end but I'd at least tell Brian to TRY it with Dennis on lead.  That would be one Hell of a bonus track! 

Another reason is tho I'm not the biggest Dennis fan out there, he was sorely under represented on Pet Sounds.  He has no stand out parts and the only part he contributed that I can even think of is the cupped mouth vocals on "Wouldn't It Be Nice".

Easy, make the Hawthorne CA version of Little Girl I Once Knew what was released. So much better.

As cool as it'd indeed be to have a Dennis vocal for the song lying around for release on the 97 box set or something, he would've had to have sung it an octave lower or something for it to sound okay. Still, interesting though.

And yeah, shame he appears so little on that album. Has it ever been stated why?

True. He probably didn't practice falsetto as much as Brian...

....HOWEVER, in this video he does the BEST Brian whine I've ever heard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I0v2bVX8j4 1:49

Holy sh*t - nice! Dennis definitely had a pretty good (if rarely used) upper range, I only said the "octave lower" thing because I don't know how well he would have pulled it off so consistently as that song requires.

As for Sail On, Sailor, i know that Dennis first tried to sing it and then Carl before they gave it to Blondie, so the recordings of Dennis and Carl takes DOES exists right ? why isn't this out already ?
it's not like A Day In The Life Of A Tree where no one even tried (far as i know), correct ?

Oh and also, one major thing i would change in the Beach Boys history/recording :

DO NOT REJECT SEASONS IN THE SUN, KEEP IT AND RELEASE IT , MY GOD !

Not specifically that I know of but it got even worse later.  No solo lines on "Add Some Music..."  or "Funky Pretty".  No leads on Wild Honey, Surf's Up,  In Concert, or 15 Big Ones, and vocally, he's barely on Holland either.  Live In London is kind of excusable but the others are really weird, especially when you look at the amount given to Blondie and Ricky during their time with the band.  I'm actually a big fan of Blondie (more so than Dennis) but he got three leads (plus "Funky Pretty") on In Concert, compared to Dennis's zero AND he was out of the band before the album was even finished!

I honestly think Dennis would have been better served leaving the band after his injury and going solo.  It's a shame Pacific Ocean Blue wasn't a commercial success.  I think it did better than most of the band's output at the time but I guess its sales didn't give Dennis the confidence necessary to go out on his own.

Dennis has "In the Still of the Night" on 15 Big Ones, but I agree otherwise ... I wish "Carry Me Home" had made it to Holland. That's such an amazing song.

Oops.  I was going by memory and barely listen to 15 Big Ones.
Thanks for the correction.

Lyrics to Forever

What about them?  That's what you'd change?

Yes.

It's pompous, cheesy, hypocritical.

....

But he sounds awful on that song! Listen to it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXvTFSwjNts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXvTFSwjNts)

Hypocritical? In what way?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuCz8JeMhuQ

He means this ;)

I'd blocked this from my memory and I hate you I hate you I hate you and :'(

I thought he meant this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTPlBypDk4c

 :lol :lol :lol

I think this thread would be more interesting if we kept specifically and strictly to the premise--not about including things on albums, or whether a song should have even been recorded or not, but about intra-song changes.  It still has to be recognizable at the end of the day.

And in order to suggest a change, you should have to supply what's necessary if possible.  So if you think lyrics should be changed, you have to write new ones.

Mixing decisions are an interesting discussion.

By the way, I think there's pretty convincing evidence that Dennis DID record the lead for IJWMFTT and it was recorded over.

Serious stuff bro.

some wacky answers up in here...


I wish Brian had sang more leads back in the day.

Carl is amazing on everything from God Only Knows to Wind Chimes to This Whole World to... well, everything he ever sang. But I'd still like to hear Brian sing those songs back then... at least in demo form.

and Dennis was way under-utilized. his voice added so much color and character.

I'm still hoping to hear Dennis's take on Sail On, Sailor someday soon or late.

Hrm? Do tell.

Also, if we're talking mixes, the one that never sat right with me was "Do It Again". The amount of reverb going on with Mike's vocal is totally ridiculous, for instance. The mix feels a bit out of whack, too. Has this ever been explained? I feel like the theory of Brian attempting to destroy the master and a new mix quickly being assembled from a safety master was debunked some time ago.

I think the reverb on Mike's voice is cool! And how about the way those insanely reverbed horns (I think?) during the first verse gradually transitioning into the Beach Boys harmonizing? Brilliant! The chorus does seem like it was a mixed sloppily, though - I wanna hear that sax. But I think it's a very psychedelic production...

I guess it's a lot less the reverb (which is cool, when I think about it) and more how the vocal is absolutely buried in the mix and also just sounds a bit muddy - no mid-range etc. Just me, though.

If we are gonna talk alternative mixing decisions, then I can suggest this for TLOS (does BW solo count?  8)):

I wish there was more reverb, the mix is a bit dry for me...case in point; compare the MAD demo with the released version...it would have been nice if the vibe from the early RFH live shows was more present in the record.

Speaking of reverb on Mike's vocal..."All I Wanna Do" from Sunflower is such a great song, but I wish Brian would've played it straight and not added the vocal effects.

I kinda wish they would have done songs where it's just someone and a guitar or a piano.

I can't stand their quick fadeouts on so many songs in the 60's.  They should have allowed those songs to go a good 10-20 seconds longer.  Probably had some AM radio BS behind that move.  For example - the Fun Fun Fun stereo mix fades out right away right when they get into the coda where Brian is doing his thing.  At least we have the longer mono version. 

Yeah, why not add a Bob Dylan feat on it adding a verse with his creepy voice man!

hahahahaha

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind...

MOAR LIKE BLOWIN' GUYS

creepy voice man.

wat

I feel like a bunch of these were about talking parts in the songs. I feel like Santa Ana Winds could be a great song if it didn't have that stupid tidbit of information at the top of the track.

Hey, piss off. The world didn't have Wikipedia back then to look this sh*t up. Honestly, I wish more songs opened with a speech stating exactly what the song was about.

wtf why? when i hear "i love you" at the end it gives me goosebumps

1. Take that stupid sounding synthesizer out of "I'll bet he's nice".
2. On that's why god made the radio I'd use more of the first half of the chorus and change the versus.
3. On solar system I'd keep the chorus and change the topic and the versus.
3. Make ding dang longer.
4. Make child is the father of the man longer as well and towards the end I'd bring back the intro but let it fade away.
5. Take that annoying space sound out of funky pretty that's far in the background!

>: (


Hey, little tomboy, sit here on my lap
I got things that I gotta tell you
No more skateboards, put away your baseball mitt.
Your rough livin' days are through
You could find places to go
You could see that boys love you so
They're doin' it all over the world

Solar system
Brings us wisdom

Hey, little tomboy, I've had my eyes on you
Thinkin' what a girl you could be
Mmm, I smell perfume, let's try some cut-off jeans
Look at all the changes I see
I'm gonna teach you to kiss
You're gonna feel just like this
They're doin' it all over the world

Solar system
Brings us wisdom

you like the synthesizer on i'll bet he's nice? it's creepy :/
and ha ha ha...matter of fact i wish he changed the whole top but used the melody of the chorus on solar system and made a not so cheesy song from it.

it still hard for me to get used to them :/

I totally agree, especially with "Santa Ana Winds". Which reminds me of another one, even though it is just one word, and I know it's gonna get me in trouble....But, I wish Carl would've left out that "Hi" at the beginning of "Trader". I always considered the song, while not overly serious, kind of arty. And the "Hi" is too gimicky and out of place, IMO.

Id go back to the 'love you' sessions and try to convince brian not to include the lyrics "we do it holding hands its so cold i go brrrr" in roller skating child.

Write less cheesy lyrics (or bring in a lyrical collaborator) for the songs Friends and When a Man Needs a Woman. Record better vocal for the verses on Be Here in the Mornin'. Friends is a brilliant album at times musically, but the lyrics on a couple of the tracks are downright embarrassing.

most of the lyrics they did post smile was so cheesy :/ f*ck in their lyrics they say sh*t so embarassing it just makes you cringe..

I kinda wish slip on through didn't have that metronome on it

i kinda wish that song didnt exist..

It's not a metronome it's cowbell given the Desper treatment ala Do It Again. Unless you're thinking about something. And that song is the SEXIEST the Beach Boys ever got, IMO.

I don't know about songs but in terms of albums I'd add WIBNTLA and 4th of July to Surf's Up, Out in the Country to CATP, Hard Times and We Got Love; for LA, I'd add Santa Ana Winds, Lookin' Down the Coast, (finish and add) Don't Fight the Sea, California Feelin', (record a band version of and add) Country Pie and add the Lovester's I Don't Wanna Know (which I would have rather had on the new album instead of Daybreak...). I'd take off Sumahama, HCTN, Shortenin' Bread, Goin' South.

Yes. I absolutely agree.

i absolutely LOVE all the lyrics on Friends (and Love You)

"Anna Lee" are easily the worst lyrics on Friends. what is embarrassing about "Friends" or "When A Man Needs A Woman"?!!

if you don't dig those lyrics, you don't quite "get" Brian.

if you don't like "Solar System" fine, but don't pretend that you can do it better.

:|

I kinda wish you got banned for saying this

This thread is STUPID! Why would you wanna change anything about their songs??? They are the way they are and that's  that! It's  history, you can't change it.
They did whatever  they did for whatever reason so who cares about what could've been?


S T U P I D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


The Beach Boys were/are the greatest, most important, memorable, popular band in the history of contemporary music; every and any other band is pale in comparison! Especially the Beatles!

I agree with you wholeheartedly. However it's nice (or aggravating, take your pick) to imagine what might've been when it comes to certain questionable decisions.

Pretty harmless thread imo. Cheer up, d00d ^_^

Yeah, I see our fantasy changes as sorta like fan fiction. It's us jumping into the story, imagining things differently, participating in the songs. There's a lot of critical listening as opposed to carping and complaining going on in these suggestions, which I think is fun to read. The ideas show  just how much studying and analyzing goes on, just how much attention to detail we pay.

So what you're saying is that you have a problem with people giving their personal opinions on a discussion forum?