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This is pretty cool. Had this in my collection for a while, but never realized that Brian was doing the falsetto part. He sounds pretty good!

https://soundcloud.com/smile-a-d/their-hearts-were-full-of

Wow. I can't believe this exists, but it makes me very happy. I'm going to be playing this on repeat for days on end. THANK YOU!

Haha, I agree - I've had it on loop over here for an hour or so!


You're welcome! Props to Rocker for posting the picture that led to Jay asking where the photo was from, which led to Rob Dean pointing out that it was "Hearts" from the CBS Convention show. I'm sure a bunch of people already know about it, but still, it's definitely an awesome, rare moment worth noting.

Wow, never heard this before, amazing stuff. 

It's weird, it sounds like the young Brian, then it doesn't, then it does, then it doesn't again.

You guys are music professors for sure!!  I hope they sing this again when Mrs Reagan passes away and is laid to rest next to her husband.

Especially on "grow there the whole year *round*". Very odd indeed. On that one word, it sounds almost like the Brian of 1964-ish.  ???

It does sound like Brian, but not the 1977 Brian. Not even like the 1978 Brian. How come?!?!?!?

On what thread is the picture to this?

Remember when I said Brian's voice was not as damaged as he let on at this point, and that he could still sing like the 'old' Brian when he wanted to? Told ya ;) 

Sadly, within a year the real damage occurred, and this time it was permanent.

Wow that is a truly incredible find. Never heard it before and Brian really does sound at times like his former self in 1966 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLfhvSvBTX8)

https://soundcloud.com/smile-a-d/thats-why-god-made-the-radio-1
also this backing track you made shows how intact Brian's pop smarts are intact (yes I know he didn't do it alone..) but still once more it shows that recurringly the music of this band is often far better than lyrics. When I sing over this with the TWGMTR lyrics it really does sound like the lyrics were made in a haste. I guess the lyrics were a tribute to what the radio did for them back in the early-mid 60's.
However I like to imagine the track had more potential than most would like to confer ^^
(per now I consider the track decent but nothing special)

I always knew Brian's "gruff" voice was a put on.

Right before MIU. I think Brian could have saved more of his voice at this point. 1978-82 was such a period of abuse though that we are lucky he is alive. Never mind what Landy would do.

Even more perplexing is that 1991 party/outdoor show. I know, his voice is MUCH more shrill sounding than in the 1970's, but it's still quite amazing. He sings Surfer Girl in a falsetto-ish voice for the entire song. It seems that it was quite a bit better than his voice today. I sometimes think that his return to smoking for a few years in the 1990's is what did the most damage. Or possibly it was the numerous starting and stoping throughout the years. I think that Brian would have been able to save even more of his voice had he not started smoking that last time.

tbh I don't think Brian's voice is enjoyable anymore. He was still decent doing BWPS up to BWRG but now he sounds fatigued, off key, shrilled and with increased slurring. Not enjoyable at all to me. He still may have some moments vocally but they are few and far between as far as I'm concerned having sifted through more or less all there is of new live footage from the 50th tour. I think it's great that he goes out there and does what he does considering the road he got here and he is still my music God so to speak and I would take every opportunity to hear him. Still, doesnt mean he is remotely good at singing anymore.

(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcmbnht3Jf1r7lgl7o1_500.jpg)

(Thread (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,1990.1950.html))

This is really cool stuff, guys, thanks a lot  8)

WOW!  I had no idea that Brian had that in him in that time period.  Thanks for sharing.

Brian's true vocal abilities are on display here. 8)

Thanks a lot, Lowie! :) Awesome.

the whole convention show sounds pretty good also.

Wow. Pretty amazing stuff. Just to echo what others  have said, it is really strange to hear Brian phasing in and out of his younger-sounding voice and his more raspy voice. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

I've been looking for this video for a while now. It used to be on YouTube but it was taken down and never re-uploaded. Brian did a great job on Surfer Girl that night!

WOW, Incredible..

Thanks so much for posting

Do you think that Brian gave his all on this because of the esteem which he holds the song in?, by this I mean maybe he put the extra effort into it because he didn't want to do it an injustice.

I think so...in fact, I'm almost certain.

Definitely. This is one of the first songs that he learned + taught to the Beach Boys, if not THE first (?). It must've been embedded in his brain and vocal chords. Even today, if given the opportunity, I bet he could still pull it off to some degree.


No prob. I agree, the tone sounds like MIU Brian, but it's pretty amazing how spot-on his pitch is. And he does a great, classic BW full voice-to-falsetto switch on that last "FULL". I agree with Mike Eder that THIS would've been the time to try to rebuild the voice again. He even looks like his '62 - '63 self here.

Are there any interviews from this time period? I'd like to see how he improved from the previous year.

Makes me wonder what happened between this and the sessions where he freaked out because he couldn't get that tone back.. what sessions were those? MIU or LA?

Nothing that I can recall. But this is from January '77 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXcHx2J3NkI

Seems like he was on an upswing up until the CBS show.

Was he clean throughout '77?

Pixletwin, I think that was LA. The MIU sessions were late 1977 and early 1978 and voice was still improved.  By late August, his voice was in worse shape then ever before. Considering what we know happened on that Australian tour, I think we know what happened. I know he started/resumed doing heroin at that point in addition to cocaine; what I've always wondered was if he was snorting it or freebasing rather than injecting.If he was indeed chasin' the dragon, that would certainly explain the rapid decline vocally and otherwise.

That was a perfect example of a 'put on' voice! He never sang like that before or since; comparing his voice to his SNL performance, he suddenly has more power and doesn't sound out of breath, but sounds like he's taking the piss out of the song.

I agree. I guess my point is, we have a BW in January '77 that doesn't give a f*ck, possibly coked up based on the footage. Yet, by July we have a professional, less croaky, much slimmer BW. Seems like he was really on a good path there for a minute.

Then again, this could've been a one-off incident. I'm pretty sure there's other shows from '77 where he's not into it & intentionally singing bad.

a few.....from late 76 and 77 with brian....some of the ones i like...
 rock on with john tobler
 crawdaddy interview lp
 king bisquit flower hour
 krth interview

Al during that January 1977 show: "Here's Brian coming in for a landing!"

Works on so many levels.

He seems to get really annoyed with Mike and has a weird (seemingly) facial tick just before he sings Back Home.

Pretty sure he gets a (slight?) electrical shock from a 'live' mic right before he has to sing the vocal. To be fair, though, it seems that Mike warned him about it.

That sure is a keeper--thanks for posting this gem!

WOW is all I can say

Imagine the surprise of the people who liked the full horns and flutes arrangement of Airplane they heard at that concert and then went and bought Love You! ;D

Wow - what a find!  I had no idea he still had that young voice in him at that point in time.  Especially that last verse on "round" and "fu-llll".  You listen to Love You and it doesn't even sound like the same guy, then to hear something like this...pretty unreal.  Thanks so much for sharing this!

Just found this on youtube.  A sort of history of the BB version of the song, musically speaking:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtKpdLGMKQ8

Great find! I had no clue that the BW band performed it semi-recently.

Love how Brian blames Mike for being the "sentimental" one in the '89 clip.

My mind has been blown! I guess this really shows that, at least up until this point, he still had the potential to recall a good deal of his angelic tone, when he really wanted it. I suppose this just adds more credibility to the theory that he was more or less playing up the croaky voice and out of tune live singing during tv appearances. I mean, sure he'd obviously done a lot of damage from smoking, but for whatever reason he seems to have just embraced the gruff vocal side effects that go with it.

Even today, though obviously time has brought with it more wear and damage, I reckon he could surprise a few people if he really wanted. You can see glimpses of it in live shows, where he momentarily seems to get a bit more into whats going on and you almost feel like he's going to soar into a high part (then Jeff takes over and the moment passes).

Obviously it ties into addiction and his unstable mental health, but I'll still never be able to grasp how he allowed himself to damage such an amazing voice. I don't think I've ever heard a male vocalist as amazing as the 60's Brian. Such a shame.

Anyway. This was amazing. Thanks for sharing!

Listening to Al's part in the harmonies--wow, that is really hard to sing!

Man, I'd LOVE to hear and see that 1980-ish version, where they are being interviewed. If you look and listen close, Brian seems to be really trying for the high notes. His voice is louder than God, though.  ;D

Holy cow  :o

He misses at the start

I just remembered something I read about this 1977 CBS Convention show. Wasn't this the show where Brian was so unfocused and spaced out that Mike supposedly shoved Brian's piano across the stage? If that story can be believed, it's interesting to note that Brian's condition could seemingly change in the middle of a concert, never mind a few weeks or months. It's kind of hard to believe though, that Brian could be out of it for most of the show, suddenly perk up for one song, then zone out again.  ;D

Click on the picture with the link for a larger view. In front of Mike and Brian is both a ashtray and a t-cup. Maybe Brian was just tripping on Earl Grey?

You know, the more I listen to this the more I think that this just might be Brian's final truly GREAT performance. i mean, listen to when he sings "And they say violins grow there the whole year round". That last note could make your hair stand up. He never again sang a note quite like that. He came close in "Sherry She Needs Me". But even with al those really high notes, it's still fairly obvious in his voice that it's not the same Brian.

'Sherry' was recorded the year previous.

There were times towards the end of the C50 tour where Brian had moments where he sounded like an older version of this Brian, a few times even going into falsetto.  When he's feelin' it, he can still surprise...

Man, we think we have Brian figured out(more or less...), then somebody tells us to pay extra attention to a recordingg like this, and "the plot thickens". I mean, watch the Maryland footage from January of '77. It's full speed ahead, train off the tracks mania.  :brow

They call Brian the "crazy" one. But some of us aren't to far behind.  :ahh  :lol

Makes me wanna go and listen to the full show on my "Live at CBS '77 convention" vinyl bootleg!


(http://www.popsike.eu/pix/20100309/160411856971.jpg)

I would too. If I had a copy.  ::)   :police:

Never heard of that incident!

The rest of the show is 'OK', not as bad as Largo, but "Hearts" is by far the highlight, vocally, for BW.


Agree with everything you said here.

I think it's in the Steven Gaines book.

Violins?

He means "violence".

What is the line, then? Did I hear it wrong?

"Violets", Jay.

I get a little emotional when he hits "On a hill when robins sing"

It's like.. he hits the note dead on. It sounds great for what it is. But, the way the 2nd syllable falls apart rhythmically, u can't help but be reminded that this is a note where he REALLY would've shined prior to the vocal damage.

In some ways, I feel like this is what BW should've sounded like at around 50 or so.

No, no, it is "violins". You know, the best violins ever grew in Stradivari's garden. Then the violin bug ate the weeds, and since then they have to be engrafted and have never been the same since.

Wtf ha ha ha

Also check this out from late 1977.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmDUAvCl87g

That is pretty bad ass.

I love how Brian sings it there.  It's just full of soul.

You can tell we're the hardcore fans, here... because we're so amazed at how good Brian sounded live in 77 on one song compared to Love You, we make it sound like this convention recording is the second coming or something. But the thing is... this isn't anything *like* as good a performance (or as good a recording, for that matter) as the 1967 Hawaii Concert Rehearsal recording of this song. We're cutting him major slack, here.

In other words, he might sound OK for '77... but he had already fallen a long way. And he had a lot further down to go, unfortunately, before he bottomed out. I rate the bottom of the U-bend in two places on record: 'My Janine' on OCA and the intro harmonies on 'You've Touched Me'. No wait, scratch the latter, because I quite like the rest of the song after the intro. No... 'Fairy Tale'. That's the nadir. "All the flowers DIIIIIIIEEEEEEEDDDD". Yes Brian. And so did all the hair cells in my inner ear, right on that note...

Thanks to whoever started this thread; I had forgotten I had a cassette tape of the London convention show. Haven't listened to it in, literally, years. Not even sure it will still play and not just splice; I may try it and see on an old cassette player.

You know what? I kind of like this arrangement better than the studio version. I wish Brian had done this more often.  The rest of the guys seem rather amused. Or should I say bemused?  ;D At one point you can hear Al say "Hey, I like that".

I actually like that approach!, sort of soul/doo-wop feel to it.

It would probably be considered heresy to some people, but I wouldn't be adverse to Brian singing it like this more often.





There, I said it.  :lol

That's a little rough.......

That's not Brian doing the high part, he's doing the second-to-highest part. You can hear him at the 2:00 mark with the expected raspy voice.

You guys are insane if you're so willing to believe he made himself sound like a chalkboard screech on purpose

No, he made himself get a manly voice on purpose. This destroyed his falsetto in the process, so conventional wisdom goes.

Yes, it is.

Most certainly is Brian. Obviously so, if you ask me.

If Brian's doing the high part, who is the guy doing a Love You-era Brian impression at 2:00?

Brian. ;D

Its just with this song that BW is giving 150% with no put- on gruffness to the point where his old voice comes back briefly.

It doesn't though, his falsetto sounds exactly the same as it had since 1975 throughout the whole recording

Listen closer, he's singing third in harmony

Another cool version (and much more besides):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so7lsV6i4V4&NR=1&feature=endscreen

That was a really fun watch. But I just wanted that voice over translation to shut up! :D Thanks for sharing, though!

For some reason, I can't get it to work for me. Please May I have some one email it to me ? I'd really appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Ted

I think I was talking about the file from the 1977 show. Sorry for the confusion.

Ted