The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've been a bit obsessive with the '71 versions of "Caroline, No" with Carl on vocals, and sparse instrumentation courtesy of an acoustic guitar and what I'm guessing is a Rhodes keyboard (but am probably wrong). The 1971 Princeton show performance gets me every time.

I'm sure people have their favorites. What ya got?

I Get Around, Fun Fun Fun, Don't Back Down, and Be true to your school are awesome with any other song done live in 1964 because the Beach Boys rocked like no other that year. The lineage to the Ramones is clear after listening to the TAMI show and live in Sacramento.

'Fun, Fun, Fun,' Live at Knebworth.

That songs rocks like no other.

Heroes and Villains. No contest.

Any particular performances?

I haven't seen any incarnation of The Beach Boys live, but Salt Lake City is surprisingly one of my favourites at Brian's shows.

2/24/71 Carnegie Hall - they had not played it live in almost four years, and with the benefit of the expanded backing band and Al's perfect delivery, it became a staple for good reason.

9/24/71 Carnegie Hall - it only gets better.

2/25/72 Grand Gala du Disque TV show - an amazing performance on Dutch TV and probably the only (if it's ever found) video evidence of the band in their heyday playing the song in concert.

11/23/72 Carnegie Hall - this was on Endless Harmony.

Marcella & God Only Knows - Carnegie Hall '72.

I can tell you what I didn't like.

I saw them in 89' and they did Wipeout with one of the Fatty Boys joining them on stage.

I didn't care for that, and nor did the majority of the audience judging by the smattering of half-hearted applause afterwards.

I was too far away to see Carl's smug smile, but it was there, I know it was......

GOK, H&V, Gettin' Hungry, Surfer Girl, GV, You're So Good to Me and Surfin' (with the Do it Again BW/vocal/riff) on Lei'd In Hawaii---Brian's organ makes these performances awesome!
Aren't You Glad and Wake the World on live in London
Do it Again (Live in London and Knebworth)
Aren't You Glad, Country Air (live in Big Sur 70)
It's About Time (as an encore)
All I Want to Do (live in London/Rarities)
Sail On Sailor, Darlin, Marcella, Funky Pretty, Leaving This Town, Fun Fun Fun (In Concert)
Lady Lynda, Good Timin', Santa Ana Winds, Cotton Fields, KTSA (Knebworth)
In the Back of My Mind (74 or 75?)
Melt Away, Night was So Young, Meant For You/Friends, Marcella, Good Timin', Wonderful/Cabinessence, Your Imagination (BW in RFH, mid 2000s, I think...what makes a lot of those songs is Jeff Foskett's voice!)
I Know there's an Answer, Here Today, Pet Sounds, That's Not Me, I'm Waiting for the Day (PS Live) (especially with Taylor dancing...only she can dance to any song from Pet Sounds)
Don't Worry Baby, Please Let Me Wonder, Brian Wilson/Til I Die, Back Home, Be My Baby, All Summer Long (Live at the Roxy)
Wendy, Time to Get Alone, Keep an Eye on Summer, Soul Searchin, Marcella, You're So Good To Me, Hawaii, City Blues, Darlin, The whole Smile album (from the first 6 Smile Concerts in Feb of 2004)
WonderBill (Wonderful/Don't Worry Bill)
Feel Flows and All This is That in Nassau, NY, 74 and in 78 with those fantastic flute/sax solos.
Your Song (oh wait, Bruce ruins it by trying to hush up the crowd) FAIL!
Long Promised Road (live in New York in 72 from EH soundtrack)
Merry Minet (Washington DC--1980)
Airplane (London in 77)
Jumpin' Jack Flash (that needs to be released from the original In Concert album!)
It's Just a Matter of Time (Brian with the guys)
Happy Birthday America
Sister Golden Hair
Girl Don't Tell Me, Breakaway, I Can Hear Music, Do you Wanna Dance (from Al's live album)
Wild Honey (with Blondie on vocals)

From our many conversations about this, I thought you were very partial to the In Concert version? That song, just about every live version of Darlin' and any 1971-1980 version of Fun Fun Fun.

I do love the In Concert version (should have put it on there). It's about as perfect a recording as can be had of that song.

Caroline, No and You Still Believe in Me from the 93 Box Set shows

Dont Worry Baby from the 73 double live lp.. Gives me chills..!!

Surf`s Up at the Grand Gala du Disque, Vega-tables on the 1993 tour, Tree in `71, Roller Skating Child in `77 when Brian was doing his spastic hip gyrations.

Any version of Help me Rhonda from 1971-74 is always fun, especially if Dennis is singing. Marcella from the early to mid 70's. Did they ever play it again live after Blondie and Ricky left? Lady Lynda from 1980-82 is good, especially the acapella part at the end. They did a surprisingly good version of Be My Baby at the Westbury show in 1982. Any version of Roller Skating Child in concert rocked.

Apart from the one recorded in my hometown of Perth, Australia during the legendary 1978 tour, I have never heard a bad live version of Darlin'.

Does anybody know of a soundboard recording of Tears In The Morning? Really wish the whole Big Sur concert was in high quality.  :-[

Don't Worry Baby - In Concert album

Rhonda - Knebworth 1980

These two are my favorites.

For some reason their early-days concert footage does next to nothing for me. I know they were pretty good by that point so it's clearly just a personal preference for the stage presence they'd develop later on in their career.

How could I forget one of my favorite live recordings?

Darlin'- Live in Knebworth 80


BTW, about Tears in the Morning (live), the only one I could think of was Big Sur and you're right, it's a pretty pisspoor recording.

De Doelen, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1970. Radio broadcast.

I think God Only Knows, London 1968 soundcheck.

So much good live material.

I too really like the H&V on EH.  Ricky on Drums, right?    Really rocks and moves.

The Paramount 93 recordings have a lot of good material and I would love to see it released.  Believe it or not, I really like Disney Girls live on that recording.    And for that matter, Bruce still does a very nice job with that song at current concerts.

I like Wonder/Bill a lot.

The horns section on Live in London really make the sound great on that album.
As that reminds me how awesome a Beachago album coulda been...at which I would be putting that "album/song(s)" on here as favorite live songs...but once again, we don't get the goods.

But that was actually only BJ on piano, with the other boys taking a short break.

Good Vibrations from Central park - July 2nd 1971: H&V was performed as well, and that TV broadcast has been preserved.  :)


And I hope as well that one day the Grand Gala Du Disque will once resurface on video.

And how could I forget that amazing live version of Forever that is floating around on YouTube... Central Park I believe? That version needs to be released on CD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hyp9b72jSE

That's the one. I might even prefer that version over the original.

Marcella from the "Concert" LP with Funky Pretty and Caroline No coming in right behind.  That LP is one of the best live albums ever released IMO.

When and/or where did they do Sister Golden Hair? I'd love to hear that.  8)

Difficult.... an early 70's H&V, off the top of my head. Maybe the '72 Carnegie Hall one, because of the full 'woos' during the second verse and the entire thing being just propulsive as hell.

Either that, or the GOK from that same show cos of Dennis' vocals on the fade.... should have done that in '66, really.

I love the live versions of Don't Worry Baby and Heroes and Villains that were bonus tracks on the Concert/Live in London 2fer.

Brian's live rendition of Little Girl I Once Knew>This Whole World was a real one-two punch to start the show with.

Busy Doin Nothin at the Roxy was a dream come true. and The Night Was So Young.


I like Wonder/Bill a lot too... kind of a guilty pleasure.

It was part of the setlist briefly in 1990, when Mike Love was absent. Gerry Beckley (America) played a few gigs with the Boys, and for doing that (I guess) he played his group's Sister Golden Hair.

YEAH MAYBE IF JETHRO TULL WASN'T IN IT

Came on to post this! Both sound awesome, and in the case of 'Aren't You Glad' one of the rare instances where I favor the live take over the studio version.

I love Wild Honey with Blondie Chaplin. I also think the tv performance of Do It Again in the late 60s rocked better then the record. Cool Cool Water performance is also great. Feel Flows in Australia in 77  too.

Listen to Aren't You Glad on Live in Big Sur (1970), it's a tad different with a louder organ part, which I love!

Also need to add Sail On Sailor with Carl singing lead

I'd like to add Denny singing lead on Good Timin', which I think is on the Bamboo/Dumb Angel Vol. __?

Leaving This Town from In Concert always knocks me me out.

To add to the list of Brian performing rare and not so rare tunes (in the past five years or so) such as:
-Breakaway
-Salt Lake City (great sax part by Paul)
-Marcella (I know I mentioned it but I wanna point out how much I love the piano intro with Taylor's vocals and Jeff's vocals "Marcella HEEEEEYYYYYY")
-She's Leaving Home (FANTASTIC! I wish this was recorded professionally...I love the Penny Lane-like vibe)
-Then I Kissed Her
-Roll Around Heaven
-When I Grow Up To Be a Man
-She Knows Me Too Well (great Jeff lead vocal)
-I'd Love Just Once to See You (more than welcome to add more rarities)
-Heroes and Villains (In the Cantina version & added intro with Gee)
-Morning Beat
-California Role
-Going Home
-California Girls (Live @ Roxy, love the added ending vocals only)
-Do it Again (BW On Tour dvd, I love his interaction with the crowd on clapping "That's it, you got it!")

Then I forgot to add a great version of 409 that's on the U.S. Singles boxed set (live in Chicago 3-27-1965)

and while I'm mentioning that concert, I'm not sure if it's the same concert, but I feel it is...the cut of Shut Down that appears on the Hawthorne CA

Yeah, it is really good....besides when the crowd thinks it's over and starts clapping  ;)

Pretty sure they didn't play Feel Flows or in Australia in '77.

He probably meant Largo, January 21st 1977

The performance i saw next to brian's sandbox  :lol but seriously god only knows 1967.

God only knows: Carnegie Hall 1972, Dennis singing the tag line is amazing.
Keepin' the summer alive: Knebworth, really rocked and should have been in the set much longer
Marcella: Much better live than on the album
Funky Pretty: Really wins with the live drumming
Don't worry baby: 1987 version with Carl & Jeff Foskett
The trader: Shine on Carl
It's ok: Good song for Mike
This whole world & forever from 1988 are stellar performances aswell.

Anything Carl sings live in particular works pretty well for me.

except drunkenly in 78?  ;)

Hell, even that's good over the likes of any other BB singing under the influence.

Or Adrian Baker period.

Sail On Sailor, and Surf's Up (shame that it wasn't released on the In Concert album)

I Guess I'll Say Brian Wilson Performing "Please Let Me Wonder" He Evens Says "I Love You" Towards The End Just Like In The Original Song. ;D