The Smiley Smile Message Board

Hey all,

I'm a huge beach boys fan.  Pet Sounds is my favorite album of all time, and SMiLE is up there as well.  Brian Wilson's music strikes my soul like no other music I've ever heard.  It's very spiritual and beautiful.  Anyway that's enough about me.

At first I was trying not to get too excited for this new album.  It's been a looong time since BW wrote something that really affected me like his earlier work.  Til I Die is probably the last of his compositions that really struck a chord with me (no pun intended).  So when I heard about the new album, I was ready to blow it off.  Not to say I thought it would be bad, but I didn't think it would be sensational.

But then I read about how he and the others say it has a very 60s feel to it, and the fact that the end of the album is a suite is leading me to think that this might be something special. 

Now, BW hyped up That Lucky Old Sun as well, and while I did enjoy that album I don't consider it a classic. 

So my question is, do you think this album could possibly be BW's epic return to form?  Is that even remotely possible?  It would be so cool if he ended his career with one last masterpiece.  But I'm afraid to get my hopes up. 

What are you all expecting from this album? 

Also I probably should have posted this in the other forum  :3d

It will probably sound like a very good BB cover band trying to imitate the 60's BB sound.
I think the new songs will sound exactly like 'That Lucky Old Sun' and the other recent BW solo albums.
Will it be a classic?
I highly doubt it, but that doesn't mean a thing.

I'll take care of that.

I doubt it, especially if its padded out with half-baked remakes of old songs like Do It Again or even Waves of Love (I don't care if it has yet to be officially released). It would be so much more interesting and inspiring to hear a batch of freshly written material.

I want to hear another Brian written album.  He's the only member of the band with legitimate songwriting ability and I don't think that I, or the public, want to hear any of Al or Mike's nostalgic corn.

I know what you are saying , however just a thought 'ALL of Brians solo albums has either a cover of an old BB song or a retread of something from the vaults' 

If you're expecting another Pet Sounds, you're probably going to be disappoint.

It'll probably sound somewhere between BB 85 and Summer In Paradise but with less sterile 80s production and more sterile 2012 Protools production. And less Carl.  :-\

I don't doubt Brian's songwriting ability, but the vocal blend and the production has me wondering.

I don't think that's the direction they're taking. It'll sound more like That Lucky Old Sun than like Summer in Paradise.

I always thought TLOS would have made a great BB album.  That is, if they just could have come in and not screwed it up. So, I am cautiously optimistic.

I feel the same way. I loved the instrumentals on TLOS, loved the arrangements, the idea of it. The abstract quality of the album really makes it something to go back to.
_____

I think if Brian writes some songs where Al can really let his voice shine it will be a great album. And for the love of God don't auto-tune Mike's voice.

Brian has a lot of great tunes left in him. If he can write some songs like 'Good kind of Love' this album will be a knockout. Heck, they should re-record 'Good Kind Of Love' and put it on this album - it is THAT good.

eff yes it will be great

On recent form, if it is no good it wont be Brian's fault.

I would be more than happy if it was on a par with TLOS in terms of songwriting and arrangements. The slightly blockbuster production diminishes the off-the-cuff nature of the songs, which call to mind a Friends vibe for me. We know Brian's in good voice, and sometimes I get to thinking the problems of the Do It Again re-record are down to the 'casual' nature in which it was recorded in - it was a test run for getting the guys in the studio again, before the album was being floated as a serious proposition. If they do the album in a methodical and hard-working state of mind, like Brian's solo albums, there will be less auto-tuning, I think.

Also, welcome aboard!  ;D

Can't say I've been all that hyped about the new album.  My heart wants to believe it will be good, but my head thinks otherwise.  I'm going into it with zero expectations.  I'll be content should there be anything salvageable from it.

I'm looking forward to the album. I'm not expecting a masterpiece but I am expecting a really good album. My biggest concern is I hope that the production isn't too slick.

Summer In Paradise was recorded using Pro Tools. Pro Tools doesn't impart any kind of sound on recordings, it's simply a suite that enables recording and editing functions, it's no different to using other packages like Cubase, Reason or Logic. If you wanted you could even record something to tape and then transfer that to Protools for editing although I doubt they'll be doing that for this album. It would give the sound a lovely warmth though!  :)

The Magic Eight Ball says.....

DEFINITELY

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~ssanty/cgi-bin/eightball.cgi

Thanks  8)

And to everyone else who replied, I agree that cautious optimism is the best way to approach it.  I don't understand why the production sounds so cheesy though on BWs recent albums (Gershwin, BWPS).  The technology should be better, so why doesn't it sound better?  Doesn't make sense that Pet Sounds sound quality is superior.

First off, BWPS is hardly recent. It's eight years old at this point, and Brian has released four albums since then.

Secondly, recent recording tech is much more about making recording easier and more convenient, not necessarily about making the audio sound more realistic. Heck, some of the best-sounding recordings ever come from the direct-to-tape "Living Stereo" classical LPs from the 1950s.

"Cheesy" production would seem to be a matter of taste, although I'm not sure precisely what you mean by that. The albums you mention do have a generally slicker, cleaner sound than what BW recorded in the 1960s. So do most records.

i'm expecting some good Brian songs.  crapshoot on the other tunes.

I think the criticism of sound quality comes partially from listeners' expectations. People want Brian Wilson albums to sound like the 1960's, not the 2000's.

I heard BWPS before I really delved into any BB-related albums (Pet Sounds excepted), and I thought it sounded fantastic. It's only been on repeated listenings of TSS that I've started to find BWPS too slick for my taste.

Also, on the topic of sterile production: although tape can add some pleasant imperfections, don't forget that a huge bulk of that sound comes from the console and preamps. A really colorful analog console, even if it's going to Pro Tools, is still going to impart that warm sound. Heck, an album like Nirvana's Nevermind was recorded to tape, and that's one of the slickest-sounding rock records of the early-90's.

Andy Paley got the closest sound to the 60s records, IMO. The problem is, it seemed sometimes like he was trying to manipulate Brian in his very own, retro way.

There's no way to really make a Brian Wilson record that everyone likes, sad to say, because the Brian Wilson who makes records everyone likes only lived in the 1960s.

Let's be honest, if it sounds anything like TLOS, that will make it better than any LP this band has done post-Holland (ignoring Love You).

I honestly don't think they will be likely to screw this record up. If this album is any less than good, I will be very surprised. I don't think we'll get another complete dud like SIP.

they asked the boys in an interview will it sound like pet sounds/smile and they were puzzled...I'm hoping they at least come up with some beautiful melodies otherwise it'll be a flop that some will praise later and make seem like it's more amazing than it actually is.

I predict it's going to sound like a cross between Imagination and TLOS, with lots of lead vocals by Alan and Mike and Foskett's voice prominent in the mix. In terms of lyrics we're probably going to get mostly inoffensive love-song material as well as some mildly embarrassing retro stuff (not as bad as the worst stuff on SIP, however). Pretty sure there are going to be a few nods to the classic Pet Sounds instrumentation but of course nothing experimental.

I really think everything you said will come true. That's exactly what I have pictured in my mind.

Let's say we have a 12 track album. Obviously, a lot of songs will feature multiple guys. This is how I'd guess it breaks down --

5 leads from Mike
3 leads from Brian
3 leads from Al
1 from Bruce

And Brian will probably sing some bridge parts on the Mike-lead songs, and vice versa. Given how badly Al has ticked most of them off over the years, I can't see them handing him too many leads.

At the same time, IMO Brian will have at least three highlights, if not more. Just because they're his songs, and his people will be very keen to show that he's a big presence in the reunion.

In terms of what the album sounds like, I think that's a pretty good guess. I would add that I hope we hear some legitimate group vocals from the remaining guys. That would be very nice to hear. Maybe something a capella, if only for a few seconds.

I think Al will be all over the album, his voice is the strongest of all the remaining members and I can see him having some big solo spots. (Think along the lines of his lines in Where I Belong, Somewhere Near Japan and Strange Things Happen)

I think Brian will handle all the ballad type vocals (imagine his voice on Colors of the Wind) and I wouldn't count Bruce out too much either. As I stated elsewhere, although Bruce's voice is somewhat weaker than it was he still has a relatively youthful quality to his voice so I can see him featuring like he does on Somewhere Near Japan. David will likely get a single lead vocal, I can see them including a sort of bluesy Sail On Sailor type track with him on lead.

Sure, we'll hear Al. But I don't know if he'll be spotlighted in quite the way you mention. Again, the personal issues. He was closest in to Carl in the later years, who is no longer around to smooth things out. But we'll see.

Good call on Bruce. He's also cool on that live version of "Summer in Paradise."

I'd love to hear from Dave. But I think it will come down to the number of tracks, and if he has a writing credit on there.

Hopefully the guys have ironed all these things out and decisions on who sings what are taken purely on merit although it is the Beach Boys I guess so you never know! Summer In Paradise...Yes! Bruce's voice makes the chorus of that song I think. I do think Mike will feature on the most leads, as others have stated he is the voice of the Beach Boys in the minds (ears?) of the general public so I think the number of leads he has will reflect that.

At the very least, the best thing that can come out of this new record is that "Summer in Paradise" will no longer have to be remembered in the annals of history as the final Beach Boys album.

I would restate it this way:

At the very least, the best thing that can come out of this new record is that "Stars & Stripes Vol. 1" will no longer have to be remembered in the annals of history as the final Beach Boys album.

you didnt like  caroline no on that album?

The problem was that it should not have been the last Beach Boys album.

And that!

oh dear lord yes.  The idea that either of those albums was the last one ... man.  seriously, if we get something close to M.I.U. in quality, I will be ecstatic !

Mike has gone out of his way to mention how great Al's voice is these days.  I've forgotten which interview that was, but it's out there.  I suspect Al will get some leads.  We'll see soon enough.

The personal issues were obviously much worse during the Summer in Paradise era but Al still featured heavily on Strange Things Happen, Under the Boardwalk, Island Fever etc.

One nice song does not a good album make. I never, ever want to listen to Stars & Stripes ever again, Sawyer Brown should be tried for crimes against music for what he did to I Get Around, same goes for virtually everyone else on that album.

I'd like it to be like you say, with one  ML-led beach stomper, a good rocker, an Add Some Music-type anthem. However, in a recent interview Mike underplayed his role as a lead singer for the album and praised Al's vocals. So who knows.