The Smiley Smile Message Board

Brian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXiYd2e2m4Q

Dennis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhwvKWQCwyU

Carl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvjpS4dpOng

Bonus! Carnie & Wendy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVhx9I-eKxU

I like the version with Dennis singing. I can't find the video on YouTube anymore.  ???

There never was a video of Dennis singing it.

Maybe not but I thought there was at least one on YouTube where the guy who made it didn't have video clips with talking over it.

There used to be one with pictures being shown with the audio.

Carl`s is the best by some distance.

Al does a good job singing with Brian though and Carnie and Wendy sound pretty good too. Dennis` voice was gone by that point.

Damn this board! Keeps freezing up on my replies!

Brian was awesome singing this at the VA beach show.

oh my god Dennis's version! the best by a country mile. (whatever that means) the atmosphere created by his late 70s voice is perfect for this song.

Chris Farmer's lead isn't that bad. http://youtu.be/upXFug4PW5w?t=21m10s

didn't Mike sing it once too?

Very nice video for Dennis' version !

I think Brian would've sung the hell out of that song around 1970. His recent performance (I just saw that short clip) sounds very nice but not as smooth as Carl's. Dennis sings it with much emotion but Carl's voice and Brian's fit better imo. So as it is, my vote goes to Carl.

Dennis for me, dig his late 70's voice. He conveys the emotion more, Carl didn't do that, but he sang it cleaner.

Wow, where did the version with Dennis come from? Sounds like he's double tracked, yet it's not the original backing track. Hmm..

Gotta say I love Brian singing it these days, especially since he wrote it and I think this is the first time we've heard him sing it.

But all of 'em are incredible of course.

Wendy

I was listening with my eyes

Possibly Carl's best falsetto put to tape (maybe behind his vocal at the end of "All This Is That") = Carl Wilson is the answer.

Dennis' take is tolerable, but his voice doesn't suit the song especially well, to me. His altered chorus of "YOU NEED GOOD TIMIN'. YOU NEED GOOD TIMIN'. YOU NEED GOOD TIMIN'" etc. doesn't make much sense to me either, but hay, what the hell do I knowt9wegjrei.

It may have been that Dennis tuned the chorus into an ode to coitus interuptus and he was just stressing the point.  ::)

I thought it was Bruce's falsetto  :-[
But to be honest, "Good timin'" is a recording that I have difficulties with to hear whose voice is singing what in the backgrounds. Something about that recording makes it hard. That goes for much of L.A. (Light Album)

There's also a version they did on the Easter Seals telethon in 1979 where Mike sang the lead. You can tell why it may have been the only time they tried it with Mike singing it. I couldn't find it on Youtube, but it's an interesting one to see and hear. With Al singing part of the song with Brian on this new tour, I think the only BB (apart from Marks) that we haven't heard a version from is Bruce.

Pretty sure it's a live performance from November 16, 1979, on a program called Midnight Special. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

http://esquarterly.com/bellagio/gigs79.html

I prefer the original version, with Carl singing and Brian doing his "Hey , I'm Brian Wilson, I'm a little bit Crazy and you can even hear it in my voice" lines over the chorus.  "You kneedddd good Timin!!!.... You kkneeed good tiime!!! Yeahhhhhhhaaaahhhhh"

Love it.  I don't care either, I think songs like that are awesome because it captures the natural relationship between them, it shows that cliche of Carl as an angel, soulful, etc... and Brian a slight bit off but f*** he wrote it! 

When you hear a single like that, it's like you get thumped with a wall of Wilson family Love. 

Carls version.

I vote for Carl.

Maybe there's some sort of Brian demo in 1974 where he sings a little. It would sound great. I suppose Carl but Dennis' is very heartfelt if burnt.

It's hard as Dennis is heart felt and always amazing; but I think Carl smashes this one

Don't think that is on the original version

Brian's echoed "You neeeed good timin'!" thing from live versions is indeed great. I always sing it if I'm listening to the song, as it's really missed once you hear it there. I tried to insert a good soundboard version of him doing it into the studio version, but the two sources clashed big time, sonically. Wouldn't surprise me if it was something Brian wrote for the song that didn't make it onto the studio version given it was an old song/recording that was kind of taken out of his hands.

Carl