The Smiley Smile Message Board

I love Brian & have seen him play RFH in 2004.
But sometimes I feel that it can't be easy for him to play live.
Saying that he has done a great job & has exceeded the dreams of us all.
Maybe he could go on. but after this year he deserves to go out on a high.
Brian keeps on getting better & better so naybe I'm totally wrong.
Does anyone else feel this way about Brian too?, to call it a day & rest easy.

I'm thinking he'll go when he fancies going, not when we decide he needs a rest.

He should stop when he wants to. I do see his touring slowing down a bit after this, but still. Never got the whole "If you can't keep getting better, you should quit" thing.

I'm sure he will & I hope he carries on too. But I just want Brian to go out well & good.

There's a lot to be said for your legacy by going out on a high note.

He seems to have been pretty consistent (for better or worse) since he started touring in '99...

Writing wise, if he really wrote "From There To Back Again"... well, he's as good as he ever was and would never want him to stop writing.

Maybe he just needs a career change at this point in his life. Like a tap dance instructor or a gay hair dresser. There are all kinds of possibilities.

Totally agree here 100%.......Carry On Brian ;D

No. He should make a few more ORIGINAL albums, Beach Boys or not, actually, I feel like his solo albums are consistently very good.

The tours have been good, but lets face it, he's a 70 year old bloke who gets bad stage fright, hates travelling and is well known to be a fan of staying in bed and eating ice cream.

If I were him I'd plant some pot in the backyard, stock the fridge up, and spend my dotage getting stoned in a hammock!

Yes......apart from the last bit about growing pot of course!! ;D

Right, he doesn't need to grow his own. That's what Jeff is for!  ;D  ;D  ;D

:lol

I wish they would find those video tapes Brian made in the 1960s of rolling joints. 8)

The man just wants to rock out, let him rock out

sh*t yeah...I could use some pointers

He loves traveling, actually.

Did he actually make videos of him rolling or teaching how to roll joints? I'd love to see that (especially since I can't roll at all, haha)! Someone should just ask him how he does used to do it -- would've made a great Twitter question: "Who rolled the best joints of the five? How did the styles differ?"

Yes, apparently he bought a very early home video recorder and had a capitol records employee video tape him rolling. The tapes are now thought lost.

I think the point will come in the next few years where Brian won't really be up for going on the road on a consistent basis anymore - he might do the odd one-off type show here and there, but I can't see any more solo tours in his future.  If anything, I think maybe one or two more tours with the "real" Beach Boys and he'll call it quits on the road.

As far as recording goes though, I really don't think he'll ever completely stop.  Brian will always have a need to express himself musically, even if it's just for himself and his family to hear.  That being said, I'd love to see him go "BW-circa-1965" and spearhead a few new Beach Boys albums over the next couple years, staying home and cutting tracks while the Mike and Bruce show keeps plugging along.

It's easier for someone like an athlete to retire because you can see the skills eroding or health issues make it impossible to play for example.
Perhaps for performers it is different - hardly any actors/actresses retire - most seem to perform until they physically cannot do so. Often performing well past their prime work.
Composing and recording is what Brian does. He apparently enjoys presenting something to the public periodically; whether in a recording or (to a lesser extent) an occassional tour.
So, I can't see him walking away from composing and recording anytime soon and he can and should remain active in the industry for the time being so long as he can put out works that are of an enjoyable quality and he enjoys doing so.
 

No.

I can definitely see him cutting back on the touring...but he'll make music until he's physically unable.  It's what he does.  This is a man who lives, eats and breathes music.  He's still composing and producing at a high level.  His voice sounds better than it has in many years.  I'd love to see him live once more (obviously)...but as long as he keeps recording new music I'll be happy!  God bless you, Brian!  You are a great example of the resilience of the human soul.

Touring is rigorous...but I can see him wfriting and recording indefinitely, as artists work into their 80s.

Bit of a silly post really. Brians a musician, they don't stop, it's what they do, it is pretty much what they live for.

By most accounts, Brian seems to be in one of the best moods/states of mind in his entire life. While he's always been "psychedelicate," we should simply wish and hope and pray that where's he at right now is something that he (and the band) can sustain indefinitely. The result just might be some of the better songs in the band's history. We should not cheat ourselves (or BW and the band) out of such a tantalizing opportunity!

I also think songwriting and music is one of the main things keeping him sane and happy, so of course he should do want ever he wants. It's also very comforting to live in 2012 and know that three of my favourite music icons of the 60's, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson and Bob Dylan are still out there touring and making new music! ;D

he could do more of the Love You sort of thing for his own enjoyment and share it with fans over the web for fun and/or profit.

ya know?   just to get his art out there  :)

are you listening melinda????