The Smiley Smile Message Board

Ya, I've tried billion pluss times trying to sing it exactly at the same key Carl did on the original, i made my backing track and backing vocals without too much hassle and all and that lead is freaking impossible. Has anyone here dared try it exactly like he did? My vocal chords break down and die like with no other song. and holy sh*t that last 'sweet' in the bridge section. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD HOW CAN MORTAL MAN REACH THAT?
respect for Carl vocal abilities went up considerably, despite it already being at God/JESUSBUDHHA lvl
Rant over. :thud

ps. by singing it, I mean like in a real groovy soulful way, not just hitting the notes vocally.

I actually love singing this song, I actually do really well with "yelling songs" I have a few on my next album!

I'll add Darlin' to the list, too.  I never even attempt to sing that or Wild Honey, they're ridiculous.  Nobody will ever be able to do them as well as Carl.

even Carl couldn't top himself later.

Too be honest, I think the song was a little bit too hard to sing for Carl as well. You can clearly hear that he struggles to reach the high notes. And even though he makes it, that does make it a somewhat uncomfortable listen.

It is hard to sing. I tried it when my band covered "Wild honey" for the project of this forum. Carl did a great job but part of why it sounds so great (apart from his very strong singing) is that he was still very young and his voice high pitched. His delivery at the mid 70s Madison Square Garden shows wasn't as good imo

hey would you mind uploading your backing track somewhere if it's cool? :3

I have a hard time even singing along to it. The whole album is full of Carl straining his voice but that's what makes it so awesome.

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don't kid.

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Same here. Doesn't stop me singing along though if i'm on my own.

Agree with thread title and that's probably why Carl and Blondie both sounded like crap singing it. It's a cool little rocker, but the lead vocals on the studio and live versions I've heard are horrendous.  Easily Carl's worst vocal. Strained, nasally yelling. 

He did nail the live versions of those 1967 concerts, as far as I recall. Maybe not as great as the studio cut, but definitely worth listening to.

I'm sure Carl loved recording that song, getting to rock out on such a funky song

I don't have the backing track at hand. But you can listen to the finished version on our old myspace site:

http://www.myspace.com/orangewhipband

Blondie's version is unbearable to listen to in my opinion.

I wonder why Carl didn't sing it in those days. To spare his voice maybe? ;)

The London 1972 version is a bit shabby, but I heard another version which was pretty good.

It's easy for me but then I am a woman! I disagree with the comments that WH is Carl's worst vocal and that it's strained. I love it for the fact that you can tell he's singing his heart out! The parts that might sound strained to others just sound full of emotion for me. Carl's voice at this time was amazing, full of soul. The breaking of his voice at the end doesn't sound poor, it just adds magic to the song for me.

You're right, CTV, for disagreeing with the post that called WH "Carl's worst vocal."  Carl Wilson did a great job on that record, and I say 'so what' if he had to strain somewhat to reach the highest notes.  There might be one (guy) in 1,000 who could pull off that song, but Carl did it and sounded great.  Among his "rocking" leads, it's one of my favorites.

I've worked with musicians that wanna put all the songs in different keys, but I have a bit of a hangup about that, being strictly an ear musician, I have to do them in the original keys. Wild Honey is, as ML would say, a muthaf***er to sing in the original key. Darlin' is challenging, but on a good day i can do it decently.

Could this have been why Wild Honey wasn't included on the 50th Reunion Tour?

Because it would have required a mad bastard like Carl Wilson, 1967, coke in his veins, or Blondie Chaplin, 1972 coke in his veins to sing? I think it's too soulful for the current group.



Charitably, Darian could have done. He lacks those white hot high notes now, I think, but he sings a fine Darlin'.

You know what? I don't like it either. It's too 'screechy' and IMHO is his worst vocal that I've heard.

Agree, that's a tough one!

I love WH and Carl's vocal on it. I never got the chance to see CW himself sing the lead live (Blondie, yes), but I have seen Matt Jardine do it righteous justice on several occasions.

any boot out there of Carl singing it live? would be a good reference for comparrison.

I remember thinking when disco "Here Comes the Night" came out that I would've much rather had a 10-minute four-to-the-floor remake of "Wild Honey" than it. Drop it a step, let Carl loose with his mature R&B voice (which was underutilized IMHO), slap on some background vocals. I love to listen to the instrumental track on Stack O', but I've always wished for a more polished final vocals version of "WH." Sacrilegious, I know.

I don't mind the strained sounding vocals. Stylistically they fit the song and I wouldn't be at all surprised in the very least if Carl could have done a much cleaner angelic sounding lead but decided to add a little flavour by stylising his voice this way.

Possibly the most depressing thread in the history of the boards.

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He writes that on all the threads, leave him to it  :'(

What about Surfs Up? I can't even sing but that doesn't stop me attempting singing.. columnated ruins DOHIMAYNO!;D

that's a true thumper as well, but the vocals on SU are not as shouty or soulful as those on WH which imo makes this one a little easier to attempt. Simply due to the vocal style ^^

IMO, you're right. SU goes waay up there, but it's easier to get up there two or three times in a song rather than continuously shout a song in a high key.

It's a different beast though, because Brian transitions into his falsetto there. Carl sings/shouts/screams Wild Honey at what sounds like the limit of his normal vocal register, without shifting into falsetto. I don't mind the shouty style, though; it suits mood of the song. But yeah it's a bitch to sing.

I like Blondie's rendition of WH!!

I do too but it seemed hard for him to sing as well. When singers of that quality have a hard time with it, you know it's a tough vocal.

The basic assertion that Blondie sounds like sh*t singing it or Carl sounds like sh*t singing it because he was "straining". Carl could've sung the song more "proper" in his head voice by cleanly hitting the notes. I know I can and thus know Carl could because he's worlds better than I am. However, ge knew what he was doing stylistically and knew to loosen up with it because he was one of the best vocalists of all time. He understood that, I think it's odd that others can't. Not everything has to be "OMG IT MADE ME CRY ITS TECHNICALLY PERFECT PAUL MCCARTNEY SAID IT WAS AMAZING" ala "God Only Knows" or whatever.

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Regarding the '76 version at Madison Square Garden, I wonder if this cover had any influence on the decision to play it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaS8l2Wcf-o

I had to go and listen to UM19 where there's a isolation track of the lead voc. OD  with Carl's vocal in the left channel.
Mostly the "strained" sounding vocals are in the verses before the organ solo in the bridge.

Sounds like in a few places he is out of his range. Very soulful though!

Makes my throat hurt just listening to this!

+1.  Brian not only soars, but he doesn't strain - he's at his peak.  Wild Honey is amazing in it's own right, but it is technically out of Carl's range.

I notice this dichotomy quite often, especially with the die-hards (I consider myself a die-hard, but one who has apparently not listened to WH enough to appreciate its genius).  Any time I read a description of a Carl vocal being "emotional" or "full of soul," I know to expect strained, breaking, or out of his range.  I read/hear this all the time about Carl's performance of "Don't Worry Baby" on The BB In Concert as full of soul, dripping with emotion.  I'm sure it was these things, but to me it seems like he's just struggling to hit the notes.

I'm not knocking Carl or the obvious passion he had for the music.  He sings the lead on 3 of my top 5 favorite BB tracks.  Sometimes, though, it sounds like he's trying to hit notes that are just beyond his range.

I agree that Don't Worry Baby sounds strained but not Wild Honey. Carl was known for his soft, flawless voice on other songs like GOK but this had an edginess that showed he had soul. You have got to show some emotion in songs and I'd say that made Carl sound like he meant every word. So many artists don't care about what they sing about anymore - but the breaks, strains in this song are right for the music!

Are you talking about the chorus on DWB on the live '73 album?  It's Al on the lead for the verses

That's what I thought - for a moment, there, I thought my ears had decieved me!

Must have been another track from that album, but DWB was the first song that popped into my head when I thought about straining (albeit it's Al).  Love Al's voice but dang.  There was nobody else in the lineup who could have hit those notes?  I'm no musician, but wouldn't a slight transposition to a lower key make songs like DWB and WH easier to sing?  I seriously wonder that every time I hear WH.  Not magical at all for me.  Of course the flat, thin sound of that entire album doesn't help.

personally I find that Al vocal enchanting. The strained vocal is perfect for a song with such lyrics and imo the version Al delivered on In Concert where as good as vocals for this song could ever be, and trumphs Brian's original studio vocal. Well done Al!

I agree, I love Blondie singing it. Probably better then Carl. But I like them both. I must say I kinda dig that 76 version posted by rocker. Gives it a unique twist.