The Smiley Smile Message Board

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK6dQTS8VwM

Better than Jeff's?
I vote yes.

Also, Brian getting real emotional.
 :)

It sounds like a band out of Atlanta... ladies and gentleman, a warm hand for Matt Jardine's Falsetto.

Great video, the high point of that project for sure. His falsetto sure blends well with them.

 Foskett was pretty good at the shows I saw and mixed much better than the awful early TV appearances, tho. Plus his double act with Brian is kinda amusing to observe.

I love Jeff, and I think he's a saint for what he's done, and does for Brian. I really think there was too much of him on the record though. Bruce can hit those notes still. I heard way more Jeff, than Bruce and David combined. Shame.

I don't know, i hear more natural vibes and more innocent in Matt's falsetto, it's beautiful..
why isn't he in the band anymore ? plus he's Jardine's son, he has the rights to be in the band (imo)
if not on the road, at least on the record you know? could do an amazing job

Matt doesn't sound like that anymore. That video was 15 years ago. His falsetto is much thinner these days. Not that pleasant.

Really? is there any video where i can hear that

March 20, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gxFlH61L3A

I sure don't find Matt not "pleasant", but, to each his/her own. Wish they had found a part for him on the tour.

He still sounds good to me. His hairstyle has definitely improved.  :lol

I shall kiss you on the cheeks to thank you, my friend.

Maybe he has on and off days. I saw him in my home town of DeLand playing with David Marks, and he sounded pretty good. I was probably the only person in that small town who knew who he was and how awesome the guy is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_yoEEN0tBQ

this is pretty bad.

Well, he's certainly done much better; you're right.

Matt used to do an amazing "Hushabye" but, as Wirestone said, that was a long time ago. Still think he's sounded fine the two times I've seen him in the last 20 months.

Aw yeah.. guess studio work helps a lot.

I actually don't want to pick on Matt. He's a good guy, and in his prime I think his falsetto was one of the best replacements the band ever had.

But falsettos are tricky things -- as Brian's own history has shown. Part of Brian's sound from those classic records is simply youth. Guys in their 40s and 50s can hit the notes (and this includes Foskett), but they're never going to sound like a 21-year-old just wailing away.

It's tricky. You can't simply say that replacing Foskett with X singer would make things sound better. Frankly, I wish Brian was interested in trying more. His falsetto, in a studio environment, is still remarkably close to the classic sound.

"it's a force of nature.... when he does it, it will nail you to the wall" being the operative phrase.

He clearly doesn't think he can do it anymore. And besides, GIOMH. do we need more of that?

He needs to do surf's up with the falsetto one last time. :hat

Anyone have any footage of Brian trying falsetto recently?

Well, he sings it on the Rhapsody in Blue intro. And he does it throughout the backing vocals of the TLOS demos. He also does a tiny bit on the TWGMTR album.

0:19
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ORPi7T-uPQ

I hear Brian's falsetto quite clearly and strongly on Think About The Days.

Wow, that was pretty impressive! Too bad he stopped when Jeff came in.

Agreed, I didn't think he had the confidence to bust that out on stage anymore.  That begs the question though - if he can still do it live, there's no reason he couldn't do it in the studio.  I'm sure it would have taken some time, but it would have been nice to hear Brian singing on top of the stack where he belongs on a few cuts from TWGMTR.  I don't hear his falsetto on anything - "Think About the Days" is all Jeff and Bruce on the high parts to my ears.

He gets up there on the choruses in Bill and Sue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3aNcqHv3EE

Check out around 0:43 seconds. He's mixed low, but he's there doubling the lower falsetto part. It sounds like him by himself on the final "ahh".

He also does a nice lower falsetto on Pacific Coast Highway on the line "On my own" - sounds like it might be Imagination-era though.

I prefer Jeff to Adam.  Plus the way Adam cluelessly hit the congas always got on my nerves.  His falsetto wasn't bad, I just prefer Foskett personally.

Matt, you mean.

Matt and Jeff sounded pretty darn good singing together at the end of "All This Is That" at the Hollywood Bowl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGABwDaPt5o

Yes, I meant Matt Jardine, not Adam Jardine.

Watching that video of California Saga made me feel sade for the two guys who's dads weren't on the stage.  :'(

Wow, you're right - I hadn't caught that before!

Same - was quite nice and unexpected to hear him doing it.

Gotta agree that when Brian tries it, in the studio, he approaches the original sound a lot. Specially in its thickness/emotion. But, alas, he won't try enough. That's ok. Falsetto is the first range you lose with age.
Matt sounds fine, Jeff sounds fine (although he tends to sing head voice too much for my taste, like the chorus to I Get Around), and so does Randell-- a forgotten fine falsettist.

I love Jeff but his voice just isn't right for IGA. I dunno why they can't have two falsetto vocalists doing different parts on different songs, I know another singer would need to be paid but still. Also with Brett not going on the tour they could have used Randell and killed two birds with one stone.

never much cared for Kirsch's falsetto. While better than Adrian Baker, he was always light years behind Foskett and Jardine to my ears

no, they need D'amico to play drums on the songs that Cowsill doesn't know how to play.

Yeah i'd heard he was playing drums on some songs actually. How many exactly is it?

Really? I always found Kirsch thick-sounding and unaffected. Two most remarkable traits in a falsettist.

Maybe like a third. he plays mainly on the "deep cuts".

I like this one, not for Matt's falsetto, but just his pure passion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H81tILMF-N0

Can't imagine anyone not named Carl Wilson doing it any better.

Somehing like this makes me wonder what would happen if Brian didn't have Jeff there. It seems that Jeff is there not only to handle high notes, but to give Brian confidence and support. If Jeff weren't there on the tour, could Brian do it if he forced himself? It looks like Brian doesn't try that much because he doesn't believe he can do it. But if he willed himself to do it, would it sound better than expected?

Jeff sings falsetto, yes, but he's arguably most important because Brian will often forget to sing the first lines of songs. It's a tough job, but it's a simple necessity for a touring BW. Brian has the voice necessary to sing a lot of things -- and could probably do limited falsetto on some tunes, too -- but the decision has been made for this tour to keep him singing only parts on which he sounds his best. And it's worked out pretty well.