The Smiley Smile Message Board

A simple question for the fans, what would you want in a new album from the BBs?

More TWGMTR outtakes, finished unreleased stuff from the past 50 years, or a freshly recorded album that takes all the flaws that the 70 year BBs have?

I'd personally like a mix of all three, as long as they would make a coherent album.  And in all honesty, if they do make a new album, I'd expect more outtakes and the like than 100% new stuff.

What I'd really like is for the lead vocal duties to be distributed a little more evenly.  Yeah, everybody loves Brian, but I thought he took a few too many leads on TWGMTR.  Al should have had at least one or two more, Mike should have had a couple more, and hell, even Bruce should have had something.  Maybe not an entire song, but at least something.

Some balance would be good to hear, maybe building a song around an old Dennis or Carl vocal. I would love a producer to push the members out of their comfort zone and do unique songs.

I would also want to hear a finished version for one of the greatest lost BBs songs "Sherry She Needs Me".

Brian already did that on Imagination...

I know, I just want to hear a BBs version with a less AC sound and BBs harmonies. Plus hear some classic ML bass vocals.

She Says That She Needs Me is a classic example of how piss-poor production can ruin a great song.

- No autotune.

- I'd love to see a themed album...an album that tells a story.

- I want cover-art that would make people want to buy the album....nothing drab. Also, ditch the 80s Beach Boys font - make it something hip.

- One single that would mindblow the whole world - sheen production, beautiful harmonies, stunning chords....something that would set the world alight with Beach Boys pandemonium again.

- No autotune.

- Do whatever you have to do to make it sound vintage 60s Wall-Of-Sound....that would be the tops.

The thread title should be changed. I got too excited when I opened it up!

I don't mind autotune (or a variant) if it used skillfully. However they recorded, processed, and mixed Brian's vocals for Gershwin and Disney was perfect - they should do that again!

Speaking of Mike Love bass vocals, I think they are mixed perfectly in "Strange World". Loud enough to hear in headphones, not obnoxious on big speaks.

I'd want it to be released. If it's anything like TWGMTR I'd be happy enough.

It could be great fun if someone convinced Brian to write a few tunes using classing rock/surfing/shuffle beats. That was one of the keys of the early BBs appeal. Those primal beats just work great with Brian's harmonic approach, but for a long time he's preferred a more nuanced approach. And yet, and yet - how many times does he want to cover "Do It Again" and "Proud Mary"?

Less Jeff, not no Jeff, just less Jeff.

No autotune.

I'd love more Mike Love but if his work on TWGMTR is anything to go then I guess not.

More Al leads.

Actual Brian Wilson production.

More Dave guitar solo's.

Nice artwork.

Rick Rubin as executive producer

New sessions musicians, not a big fan of the sound on TWGMTR or most BW solo albums.

I'll have a few more wishes later.

I want to hear some brand new, non corny, Wilson/Love songs.

BBs will a need a strong producer to get good lyrics out of Mike.

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Joe Thomas should wrestle some good lyrics out of Mike.

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I would love to see Brian do a song with Tony Asher or Van Dyke Parks, both push Brian make great music. (except the waltz)

I suspect that if we take the average "want" here regarding any new album - 60s style production, great album cover,  more classic-style Mike lyrics, Dave's guitar a little more prominent, no auto-tune, maybe more Al leads, and of course a great producer (how can the Beach Boys expect to succeed at anything unless they find themselves a great producer?)  - you're probably looking at something very much like Endless Summer.


Boom-tish!

Actually Bruce did have a bit of a presence on the album. He did the lead for the chorus of "Isn't It Time" and he had a part during the verses of "Spring Vacation". 

I think Al maybe coulda had a bit more presence, but let's also be honest...how many leads does Al usually get per album? Probably one or two right? If anything I feel like TWGMTR kinda went for the Pet Sounds formula, vocals wise: mostly Brian fronted, with Mike getting a few prominent lead vocals and Al getting one. I mean, in Al's defense, it could be said that Brian gave Al the the lead vocal for the most important song on TWGMTR.

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That is true, but I was thinking something along the lines of She Believes In Love Again.  He could at least get a verse or two of a song, rather than just a couple of lines.

And I have to agree about Al.  I know he's never had many leads, but I was just hoping this time around he would, considering he has (arguably) the best-aged voice in the group.  But who am I kidding, I really couldn't care less who is singing lead.  If we got a new album, I'd be happy with just about anything.

In a way Wilson/Love have never collaborated on something that wasn't at least halfway corny. In most cases it was good-corny, though.

Craziest thing I've ever heard

I'd like to see the My Life Suite in it's complete form. And I'd like to hear some of the more rock and roll stuff like Brian mentioned. A side of rockers and a side of the My Life Suite would be like Beach Boys Today! part 2.

Amen.  I was listening to TWGMTR today a bit and was thinking that it's just so unfortunate that we may never get another record from this group again.  It's just a horrible tease to know that there is still a great deal of potential in this great collection of musicians but due to a bunch of petty BS, they may never again collaborate on anything.  I don't want to turn this into a conversation on how modern music sucks (or doesn't suck) but TWGMTR was one of the most significant albums I've listened to easily in the past decade.  It really hit home with me and just felt extremely genuine.  I hold out hope that one day we'll hear from our boys again.

I'd like to hear more Al leads, two Bruce leads (I think his voice is still good), a David lead, fewer Brian leads and the same amount of Mike.

Yes, more leads from Al.

Brian is a weird dude. I want more weird songs from Brian.     

It seems a new BB album is unlikely so I'm interested in what this Brian studio work is and could Al and Dave be included. The quality of Al's voice has been mentioned. Dave's guitar work could be a highlight.' Brian Wilson and Old Friends' as a title perhaps and could utilize Jeff plus any other band members from his group.

 

Agreed.

If another BB album occurs, great. But I'd actually prefer a Brian solo album with contributions from Al and Dave. And I really have nothing against Mike or Bruce - I love their voices, 'Daybreak' is one of my favorite songs from the new album, but I guess I'd rather have another TLOS than another TWGMTR....I don't think that that's possible if Mike is apart of the project.

Does a Mike guest lead vocal on a Brian solo track = Beach Boys?

Com'on Mike. Com'on and answer the phone, com'on com'on.

Beach Boys 7 x 7 x 7

7 updated tracks from THE BEACH BOYS LOVE YOU.
7 songs from the vaults, re-recorded.
7 new tracks. (Hopefully BW rocks out, with help from Al and Dave et al.)

Actually that would be super cool. Brian has said he wanted to re-record some of the stuff from Love You, so why not oblige him?

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JohnMill is right. The Professor listened to Radio today,driving back from San Diego, with the sea and the sun and. . . . . .ah everything. . . .the Beach Boys.

Maybe Mike could write a song called "Groupie."

"Hey groupie, won't you tell me your name / we both know it's only a game / I pick you up, I'm in the mood / and God only knows, the vibrations are good."

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- no re-recordings
- 2 BW-produced cover songs in the style of "I'm Into Something Good" or "Proud Mary"
- no forced attempts at the 1965 sound formula
- more lyrics penned by BW and not revised by anyone
- more Al leads

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Striped shirts. They should wear striped shirts. They never sounded as good as they did when they wore striped shirts.

Autotune ain't the problem. It's the bad implementation of autotune.

Maybe they could do a kinda Pet Sounds-y thing. With some Pet Sounds-y harmonies. But they'll need a good producer.

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No auto-tune is my #1 wish.

Even at their peak, vocally, they could show the occasional waver in pitch, very tiny mishaps, as the PSS box proves.

It is the terrible misunderstanding of the digital age that tiny imperfections are unacceptable. Actually, they add to the human magic in the best music. In classical stuff, it's no different. Pianists that strive primarily for total perfection are plain boring. At best the become the idols for those that think perfection is possible in conveying emotion. Blatantly untrue, this. The boring yuppies of our time.

Brian knew this. That's why he worked so fast and put creativity and emotion way above perfection. It's part of his genius.

Most of today's artists and producers alike suffer from the perfection syndrome. And modern production techniques and tricks (and that includes 'brickwalling', do you hear me, all you producer-fools?) actually ruin recordings instead of improving them.

More guitars, please.

Guitars are on the way out.

Someone better tell Dick Rowe

 :-D

Hear-hear…   I realised this while watching Lindisfarne at Knebworth in 1980. No-one's going to claim those guys were pitch-perfect but their harmonies were stunning, precisely because of those wavers and imperfections. The blend was overwhelming. If you get chance have a listen to their early albums. Folk rock harmony at its best!

Thanks, John! I will investigate Lindisfarne for sure!

Lindisfarne are great, but they're mostly remembered for this. A legacy destroying move of mykeluvian proportions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1urq4Vb0XM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1urq4Vb0XM)

I don't even need to click on that… that's post-Hull era.

The Christmas concerts are back btw…

Sorry John, I just think Don needed to know.

Okay, fair-dos  - just don't let on about Father Christmas okay?

:lol

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Somebody should have Brian review dubstep videos on youtube like Van Dyke did... :lol :lol :lol :lol

That reminds me: Whatever happened with that Skrillex & Van Dyke Parks collaboration? I was looking forward to hearing that but nothing has been released :-\

For me, Lang Lang counts in here, as does Andras Schiff in places. He can be very good, but his Goldbergs are plain boring and mechanical.

What about Bobby Crush?

+1.

Benny Andersson should produce it.

I agree with a lot of the ideas posed already.  I would be strongly against quantifying how many leads each member gets, and I also say screw the democracy notion.  I want a coherent, solid album that balances commerciality with creativity, and that doesn't require the casual fan to understand the nuances of BB history to appreciate.  If achieving such an album means people get screwed out of leads, so be it.  A few other points:

-I'm totally cool with archival fly-ins.  Loved Al's finished version of "Waves of Love" with Carl.  If it can be seamlessly done, do it.

-I'm also cool with autotune as long as it's properly implemented.

-Lose the 90's echo-ey, Kokomo-ey sound.

-If they can get Brian's voice to sound like it does on TWGMTR, I'd give deference to him on most leads.  If Brian's voice sounds like it does on TLOS, I'd be okay hearing less of him.

-More Al all around.  His voice is still amazing.

Outside this list and on a general note, I'm okay with remaking songs that were never finished, could have been done better, or that sound like crap.  I really like the remake of "Do It Again" for example.  The original released track sounds horribly produced/mastered.  Like a copy of a copy of a copy of somebody's worn out cassette tape.  I wish the production value of songs like "This Whole World" were higher.  I'd love the Boys to re-record everything but Carl's lead, then extend that a capella outtro.  For those tracks whose album incarnations are perfect (GOK, etc.) remaking/tweaking would be blasphemous.  But for the stuff that would be epic were it not crappily mastered, I'm all for it.

Agreed!

bonnevillemariner, in which way do you feel "This Whole World" doesn't satisfy? For me it's easily one of the group's most accomplished productions ever and I wouldn't want to change a single thing about it. I respect your opinion and it intrigues me, so please feel free to elaborate! :)

At last, a post with which I can agree.  Mostly.

If a song was badly mastered in the past, remaster it for a compilation/boxset/re-issue, don't re-record it.

What's in the past is in the past – leave it there.

Well I'm not a musician, nor do I have any expertise whatsoever in production or mastering, so please forgive any naivety in my explanation.  TWW is one of my favorite BB tracks.  But to my ears the production is very....(searching for the word)... thin.  The bg vocals seem like an afterthought and pale in comparison to the lush stacks of Pet Sounds and Smile.  In fact, the bg vocals seem almost like a parody of classic BB harmonies.  They're almost anti-lush (again, to my ears).

Also there's something with the tapes that when certain vocals come in, there's a high-pitched hissing sound.  Was this sloppy recording/production?  Not a big deal, but I find myself thinking 'did somebody not notice this?'  That hissing sound is prominent in my favorite part of the track-- the outtro.  

And speaking of the outtro, it fades out way, way too prematurely.  What a beautiful blend!

So being that I don't care for the quality of the background harmonies, the hiss bugs me, and the overall quality of the recording is sub-par, I'd jump for joy at a remake.  With one condition: that Carl's lead remain intact.  I wouldn't like a remake with a different lead.  If that lead is isolated somewhere and could be laid over a new backing track and bg vocals, I'd be in heaven.   I don't care much for Brian's current voice in the lower ranges (and I wish he'd just stop singing words with the letter 's' altogether), but in the upper ranges and wordless vocals he's still outstanding.  I think he, Al, Mike, Bruce and Jeff could hit the bg harmonies for TWW out of the park! And of course while you're at it, you'd have to extend that outtro.  

BTW, Do it Again is probably the only song I can think of so far that the remake is far superior to the released track.  But I'm open to the possibility that remakes of others could surpass the originals.

where can one see this?

Really? I listened to TLOS recently, and think he sang better there than on TWGMTR.

I'm with you though on "More Al all around".

Re: Lindisfarne.  Let's not forget that it was Hull's idea for the party songs album and to team up with Gazza.  A talent on the way out a while before his death, unfortunately.

Definitely no autotune. If the guys should like shite these days, let it all hang out, ala Love You. And no more Joe Thomas. That guy thinks Brian/Beach Boys are A/C; I want Brian to get into his SMiLe zone again, burning wood in the studio, falling into his French horn, and just general chaos. Maybe slip some LSD into his coffee, because we all know when Brian is off his rocker is when he makes his best music. Mike and Bruce don't even have to be there if it bothers them to much, they can take a vacation in Kokomo.

Brian's not that guy anymore, though. Hasn't been in years. His vibe is more like 'Message Man' 'Just like me and you', that kind of trip.

I want M&B to do acid at a casino show. Just to see Bruce have a handclap and mic adjust freakout.

I've never done acid but I'd imagine the slot machine sounds would drive them batty

Mike wouldn't be fazed because he has sang those songs for so long, while Bruce will go all "Hendrix at Monterrey" on his keyboard.

Yeah, set that damn thing on fire, Bruce, then smash it to pieces!

Striped shirts - if only they'd wear striped shirts, they'd rediscover themselves and their true mojo.

Wouldn't it be great if the building opposite the studio burned down and the president was assasinated the following day?

I would pay serious money to see an 80 year old in yellow shorts drop acid and light his keyboard on fire while Surfer Girl plays in the background.

You will. Just wait ten years. A moving hologram of Denny, photoshopped up to 80 years, will sniff coke from that keyboard.

Even on this board, there would only be a small group of people who would welcome a warts and all, solely Brian produced album complete with terribly out of tune voices and songs about listening to the 60's oldies station and eating steaks.

I'm amongst that group.

The truth of the matter is though "Love You II" ain't ever gonna happen. Brian wanted to work with JT. They wanted a modern sounding record which would sell. This is the real world after all

I count myself lucky we even got "Love You"

Me too. I'd buy a thousand copies and give one to everyone I know.

Yeah, that would send Brian on a real serious trip! Instead of Still SMiLiNG, we'd get Smiley Smile, Volume 2.  I could live with that. Brian, Mike, Al and David recording stoned vocals in a swimming pool....and Bruce adjusting the mic stand.

I want some "skits" like the early album. Nothing better than grumpy old men going at each other.

I'd want a vacuum where Beach Boys fans, rather than air, were absent. Or the blindness, so I wouldn't be tempted to read what people had to say the band had done wrong, or how Brian had been misled away from his true muse (which suspiciously aligns with the complainer's favorite Brian-period or style).

Nicely put.

I'd just want a vacuum. Mine broke.

Even with the huge list of things I posted about wanting on a follow up, I'd still be happy with another TWGMTR . It's a great album, full stop.

  :lol

.....with Jackie and Melinda subbing for Murry offering advice, but not to their own spouse! ;D

Hehe. Reminds me of the students' restaurant I used to dine. There were three elderly guys every day. They started out eating peacefully. Then small disagreements, that turned into rows in turn. Total indignation, fuming with anger. Then two left the table in opposite directions to finish their meals alone. You'd think that they'd never see each other again.

But the next day they came in together amiably, sat at one table with their dinner plates, and started eating.

I think you can guess what happened during the course of the meal...

I must be careful in wishing things. For TWGMTR I wished for a silly song like Vegetables or I'm Bugged At My Old Man. And what I got was TPLOBAS (cringes)....

For MIC I wish for finished versions of DYLW, CIFOTM, and Holidays (Mike on lead, Dave on rap). Using the old tracks, of course!

While I don't care for autotune, they definitely shouldn't just let it all hang out. Al can still sing but the other guys...

You never know, Micha. After Bill & Sue everything is possible. Even a BW ode to Die Lindenstraße.

He should have recorded that instead of TPLOBAS! :-D

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Bill and Sue showcases some of the best harmonies on the album.

Put some finger poppin' on there and it'll be a million and two seller.

If you like it, that's certainly ok with me! :) It's just that I don't...

Agreed. If they do enough takes and use the studio then there's no reason why Mike couldn't sound like he did on Unleash the Love and Brian couldn't sound like he did on Postcards From California.

What in the Christ is TPLOBAS. SHIT CHRIST, WHAT THE HELL. PUSHING DRUGS. DRUGS. DRUGS. DRUGS. DRUGS. DRUGS. DRUGS. PUSHING DRUGS.

he next album should be called REAL TRAP sh*t and deliver the goods. i wanna hear some slammin' brian wilson raps about drinking lean and smoking blunts

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This made me laugh so hard.  Screw the follow up to TWGMTR...this is the long awaited follow-up to LOVE YOU!

I've got an idea. 

They're all old, and don't have sh*t else to do, except for Mike, who thinks he's busy.  And I guess Bruce, since he's Mike's henchman.  So...

Why doesn't Brian, and Al who would be happy to do it, and Dave go in the studio, and get creative.  Start recording the songs with Brian's band (like they basically did before), and then just overdub Mike on a few songs later.  and Bruce. 

That way, Brian could get his creative stuff the exact way he wants it... also, this is exactly, basically, the way he used to record in the FIRST FUCKING PLACE! 

I just don't understand why this stuff is so hard.  Mike doesn't really like the time commitment but doesn't mind working with Brian, let Brian record the album and have Mike come in and redo some of the vocals, and voila! Beach Boys album. 

I'll agree to that.  It's hardly a good song but it does have some catchy harmony tags.  

I'm 34.  I just figured out recently, that if you use your vacuum cleaner to vacuum up things like bolts and broken glass and dead insects and pieces of carpet, it seriously makes the vacuum cleaner stop working right.  Then, if you lay it down on the ground and look everywhere on it, you'll find what they refer to as a 'filter' that's supposed to be 'cleaned'.  so if you clean that, it makes the vacuum cleaner work again. 

I missed that for 34 years. 

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It could be, definately.  I'm just saying, that they don't all have to be sleeping with each other to record an album.  Mike and Brian are kind of standoffish right now, but hell they could still record an album fairly easy.  It also could be damn good if they let Brian work his magic a little while. 


Mike must be an idiot, how he hasn't started doing this yet I dont' even know, but DUH, MIKE, you'll make more money if you're touring, AND have a cd out at the same time.  Let Brian record the cd, it's what he wants to do, you keep touring, it's what you want to do, and you get a piece of all of it. 

"Hey Brian, why don't you do one of those smiley thingies again, and i'll sing whatever you want me to, as long as it's on wednesdays after I get back from the Mohecan Sun casino, then, we'll put it out, and I keep 1/4th of the money, whaddyasay?"

No, no, I think you've been doing it right Ron, it's more likely that you've just recently replaced your old upright vacuum cleaner with a more modern version, that's done away with bags and belts, am I right? There's a fresh breed if vacuum out there, bring the love and sunshine to a whole new generation. That's why Dyson made the DC36 Animal.

Does anyone have news? Anyone?

Let's have a new thread about vacuum cleaners. :-D

Threads about vacuum cleaners suck.

Hmmmmmmm. What if I use it exclusively to vacuum up chocolate milk? I like drinking a lot of chocolate milk, but I always spill it. Every time I try to vacuum it up though my vacuum stops working, and I end up in the hospital. Strangest thing.

(http://themetapicture.com/media/funny-mowing-lawn-vacuum-cleaner.jpg)

And a killer refrain with great sax.

I really like in 'bill and sue' the way Brian turns into Jeff Foskett, over and over again.  Brian starts singing, and then through the magic of studio trickery turns into Jeff.  They did it really well, the average listener wouldn't be able to tell.  The "hummm... bodddy bodddy humm... boddyy bodddy ayeee!" is really great too. 

rumour has it brian is helping bruce with a re-recording bruce offered up for TWGMTR... "she believes in lean again" will be the lead single, supposedly featuring juicy j and wiz khalifa!

I wondered about that too. But Mike has stated more than once that he wants to write songs with Brian. So I guess that's a point he wouldn't give up again.






"The private life of Bill and Sue" to me is a very cool song. Great harmonies and singing all around and very catchy. And the production sounds very Brian-like to me (especially the vibes played by Darian and Scott B.) I don't get why this song gets so much bad mouthing.
What you mention above brings me to a question I had since the first time I heard "Think about the days". In that song there's a moment when Brian starts to go into falsetto and you can tell it's Brian but as it gets higher it becomes very bright and clear and I asked myself if that was Foskett (what I guess) or if this is a prime example of the often heard "Brian still can".

Just... teh acronyms, dawg. They're confusing and occasionally abused.

Foskett's falsetto voice is unfairly compared to prime-era Brian Wilson, which is impossible to beat, of course. I've thought for a while now that his high range is rather similar to what you would get out of Brian if such a thing were still possible-- or on one of Brian's "good days."  It's smoother than Brian's voice would be, and IMHO he sings badly off key live a lot, but I'm not surprised that the two can be interwoven and even confused in a studio setting. To some degree (I'm still not really a fan) Foskett just makes sense... But better that his voice is BEHIND Brian.

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Facebook:

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(http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/73158_10151550129697241_1666669348_n.jpg)

Brian recording at Oceanway Recording, Hollywood CA on April 11 2013

Yeah but what is he recording? Unless it's a new BB album, I can't get excited.

I can't imagine it possibly being anything other than a new solo album, unless it's overdubs for the live CD or finishing tracks for the box set.

Brother Andrew, I have to agree, as you and I often do, though we both, in our heart of hearts, hope for a new BB album, now or when the Tao permits.

Off to work (school). (It's not June yet).

How about just being somewhat pleased that he's even in the studio doing something that eventually you'll be excited about? ::)

I can't believe you aren't interested in the leastbit if Bruce, Al, Mike, and Dave aren't involved. I'd be willing to give up a kidney to just hear a 10 second piano snippet of a chord progression from Brian. To each his own I guess.

Because, as good as Brian is, he is still better as a Beach Boy. Those voices make his music all that much better.

Whatever it is, he's got some interesting people working with him.  Including Don Was and the GREAT Jim Keltner:

(https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/733962_10151551792732241_1809182243_n.jpg)

(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/554767_10151551792717241_12488545_n.jpg)

(https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/20881_10151551792772241_1536029669_n.jpg)

Uh...don't you mean JIM Keltner?

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Let's not get too excited yet

Brian apparently has been mixing the concert CD with Joe, according to Wikipedia.

Obviously,  Steve Keltner is recutting Bill Cowsill's drum parts.   :lol  :lol

No doubt. I still am failing to see why one would be at all disinterested in hearing any solo offerings Brian has to offer.

Yeah, something's up and I don't think it's gonna be Beach Boys related. More power to him. We could be getting a new solo next year, which is good news.


Say what you want about Brian, but his peers don't seem half as prolific at this point. Even if it is going to be Love You songs with Keltner on drums...

I don't think that's really true. When you look at the last fifteen years, Brian's done four albums of new material (Imagination, Getting In Over My Head, That Lucky Old Sun, That's Why God Made The Radio). McCartney's done three albums of new songs, three classical pieces and four electronica albums in the same time period (again ignoring covers albums, live albums and so on). Dylan's done four, Neil Young ten, Randy Newman two studio albums and fourteen film soundtracks...
Most of Brian's peers are actually still fairly productive, at least among those who are still alive.

Upon more coffee, yeah. I am buying the line his PR are selling, it would seem

Not disinterested, but I will say that given the option, I'd rather have a new Beach Boys than a new Brian solo album. Just having different lead singers, not to mention the background vocals make this a very easy choice.

I would tend to agree but if it were a solo album it would be a massive plus if Al were called in to contribute some guest lead vocals.

I would love a new Beach Boys project, but I'll take what I can get. Another Disney album? OK, not really what I want, but I'd take it over nothing. You know?

And, a simple look back on this board would bear this out. When Brian released his Gershwin album, there was a lukewarm response. Yeah, it was nice, but it also elicited a ho-hum, Beach Boys-by-number kind of feel. The Disney album was almost ignored after a couple of weeks. I can't remember the last time it was discussed. These were NEW BRIAN WILSON RELEASES for crissakes. Then, That's Why God Made The Radio came out and things exploded. People were ecstatic; the album was dissected for months. I'm just saying.

The Professor has guts, and I applaud him for his honesty. He is saying what a lot of people are feeling but don't want to say because it comes across as anti-Brian, which it isn't exactly - it's pro-Beach Boys. Hey, if that's what what you really want, if that's what you really feel...

True.

The difference is that those first two albums were cover versions, rather than new songs. For me, at least, I'm not hugely interested in hearing Brian do perfectly competent versions of It Ain't Necessarily So or The Bare Necessities. I'm very, very interested in hearing new Brian Wilson songs, whether performed by the Beach Boys or by Brian as a solo artist. I didn't even bother picking up the Disney album on its release, and waited for someone to get it me for Xmas. A new studio album of previously-unreleased Brian compositions, though, is something I'll pre-order the second it becomes possible.

I want a new BBs album, but I am more than glad to have Brian doing another solo album. I just want it to be original material that lets Brian follow his muse in any direction. Something that would never happen on a BBs album with Mike Love at this point.

A new studio album of previously-unreleased Brian compositions isn't exactly a slam dunk in Brian's solo career. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times (re-recordings), Live At The Roxy, Pet Sounds Live, Imagination (1/3 is old material), BWPS (re-recordings of SMiLE), What I Really Want For Christmas (only 2 original tunes), Getting In Over My Head (Sweet Insanity material), Gershwin & Disney (covers), etc. TLOS is an exception.

I guess we'll see. An album of NEW Brian songs would be a surprise based on past history. Some of the songs on TWGMTR date from sessions with Joe Thomas from years ago; we tend to gloss over that fact. I think the best scenario would be for Brian to produce the album with Don Was, and then call in Mike, Al, Bruce, David, and Jeff to lay down the vocals. That would please everybody. Even you. Right?

It happened last year though.

Brian told Mike to write lyrics for a song called 'Spring Vacation'. What else could he have been expecting?

But the songs on Imagination and Getting In Over My Head were previously (legally) unreleased, as were the songs from That's Why God Made The Radio. I don't care if they're new so much as I care that they're Brian songs that haven't been on an album before.

And yes, I'd be pleased to hear it whether it has Beach Boys vocals or Brian solo vocals on it. In fact my ideal album would be Jardine Sings Wilson. I suspect it wouldn't please the professor, though, because he's made it very clear that he wants a fully collaborative album, not the Beach Boys as Brian's hired vocalists.

Personally, I'd slightly prefer a Brian album to a Beach Boys one, because a Brian album seems less likely to have stuff like Beaches In Mind or Spring Vacation on, but I'll take what I can get.

If I have never heard it, then it is new to me. I never heard any of the TWGMTR music from 99, so it being old made no difference to me.

I'd want Al to sing lead on some tracks and background vocals on ALL tracks.

Well said.

‍

May all depend on the interpretation of the word "producing" … might have been nothing more than Was dropping by the studio and Brian saying "hey Don, show me that riff you played 20 years ago…".

Or it might be an application of artistic licence – ie, whoever wrote it using the word "producing" as an option for "bumping in to…", "dropping in on…", being visited by…".

I think we should hold-off read anything into it until something comes out of it.

‍

Brian could be using Don as a guitarist on whatever he's working on? Seems the most likely explanation.

Scott Bennett posted on FB he played some keys and vibes for "Mr. Wilson" in the studio yesterday....

I am with you Andrew, in spirit. We know each other's aesthetics well. I have to say that despite their perceived banality, Spring Vacation and BIM are enduring LA rockers; those are the ones I turn up in the car as I am cruising the scene, either driving over the BB /Dave's house or on PCH or anywhere in the mythologized landscape of LA.  BIM needs to be re-produced, however, as one can barely hear Dave's guitar on the fills. In fact Dave's "Anytime, Anywhere USA" song from his solo album is a better song and much more rockin'. It should have been on the BB album as the retro-rocker.

To hear BW solo songs would reach the heart no doubt and bring some emotional pleasure, in the Romantic sense of pleasure (Wordsworth,Shelley), but to hear a BB collaborative album (even to the extent of Pet Sounds collaboration) is my only hope and dream. I believe they have it in them to be, as Mike said (though his credibility is shot) a whole greater than the sum of its parts.  "Radio," in toto, repays study. Another BB album would as well. That is the aesthetic and emotional telos, the fulfillment of the mythic archetype of "puttin the band back together" the crown and glory of redemption, the ascendancy to, in Dante's phrase "primal love" from the Gates of Hell.

Well, maybe as bassist, since that's Don's main instrument...but the fact that Jim Keltner is playing drums makes it all to likely that Was is co-producing, since Keltner is Was' studio drummer of choice (reference the "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" soundtrack and the late '95 sessions for "Soul Searchin'" and "You're Still A Mystery"...both times Was co-produced and Keltner played the drums, and those are the only times I'm aware of where Keltner played a Brian session...although he IS on "Kokomo" and "Somewhere Near Japan").

Let me just say either Don Was and Brian are co-producing something or the photo caption is a bit off...because Don Was has been known almost exclusively as a producer for the past 25 years or so, and the only time he did anything that could be considered a successful project as a featured artist was when he and his brother had a one-off novelty MTV hit with the song "Walk The Dinosaur" as the studio group "Was (Not Was)"...featuring those same studio pros like Sir Harry Bowens and Sweet Pea Atkinson who backed Brian when Was produced the I Just Wasn't Made...film.

Meaning...I don't think there are folks clamoring for a Was (Not Was) reunion album anytime soon, unless Don may be doing something like T-Bone Burnett or Pete Anderson and doing a solo project for kicks.

And whatever anyone wants to spin about the mid-90's output from Brian, I always give HUGE credit to Don Was for doing what he did, and getting Brian and his music back in the fold. Remember too that Was had been one of the catalysts behind working on some kind of a Smile compilation which had been announced for a mid-90's release only to fall into oblivion, and Was had also been at the helm when Brian, Mike, and Carl seriously began working together again to get new material up and running.

Maybe it's hard for those who were too young or simply not fans at the time to realize how big of a deal it was around 1994-96 to pick up magazines like Mix or Pulse or any others and read articles describing Brian, Don Was, Carl, etc. working on "new" material and "new" projects in the studio, with Mike no less...this was so positive and so hopeful it can't be explained in terms of 2013, especially since there were really no substantial internet fan outlets to spread and celebrate this news as there soon would be. And the thought of these guys actually touring together - or Brian touring as a solo act - was all but a pipe dream. How times have changed...to a point. :-D

So seeing Don Was and Brian working in the studio in 2013 may carry more weight with me, for one, because I thought he did great work just getting Brian and the others working again and cutting tracks in the 90's. If Brian is in fact on some forthcoming Don Was solo project, I'm in.  :)

But I hope someone soon clarifies the photo.

Clarification on a couple of things, guitarfool...Don Was and David Was are not really brothers, they use "Was" just as their "stage name".  Also, Don Was wasn't part of the early '95 Brian-Carl-Mike project that I believe you're referencing here...he had been working a little here and there with Brian since late '91 or so ("Proud Mary" for instance), but the early '95 Brian-Carl-Mike recording sessions (for the Baywatch Nights submission "Dancin' The Night Away" and possibly something called "Grace Of My Heart", intended for the movie of the same name) involved just the three BBs, Andy Paley, his brother Jonathan Paley, sax player Michael Andreas, and Linett as engineer, and these sessions were held at Your Place Or Mine, Linett's studio.  Now, it's possible Was was the catalyst for bringing Brian and Carl back together, since Carl appears in the Was-directed BW docu "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times", but Was was not present in the studio with them for those sessions (at least there was no mention of him having been there in all the press reports of the time).  Was WAS with them, co-producing with Brian and Andy, when Brian, Carl, Mike, Al, Bruce, and Matt got together at Ocean Way and added vocals to the Was-coproduced versions of Brian and Andy's songs "Soul Searchin'" and "You're Still A Mystery" later that same year.

One good thing about Brian possibly co-produing with Was again:  at least there is no specific Don Was "sound" that might intrude upon Brian's vision, unlike with some of Brian's past coproducers (Jeff Lynne and Joe Thomas, for instance).  

I should have used a smiley face about the Was brothers - it was tongue-in-cheek as I would with a reference to Jack and Meg White as siblings... :)

The clarification of Don Was' involvement suggests a different scenario in a way than was described by Brian and in Mix magazine (March 1996 issue). I could post scans of the article itself, but it suggests Don Was had generally been more involved overall than your post suggests. In fact, for that specific Mix article the author "Bonzai" was invited by Was to photograph the new BB's sessions at Ocean Way, and one photo is of Paley, Was, Rik Pekkonen, Brian, and session players in the studio. It isn't specific on which of their supposed "38 new songs" (according to Brian) they were doing. And throughout the interview and article it seems to suggest Don Was as a driving force in the studio, with Brian calling him one of his best friends.

On the surface it read like you may be downplaying Don Was' involvement, at least as reported/suggest in Mix. Again, I'd be happy to repost the article for reference, if I haven't done so on this board already.

There is also another piece - perhaps in Pulse - where Was himself talks about these activities, if I can find that it could add to the dialogue a bit more.

I have the Mix article you're referring to, so no need to post unless for the benefit of others.  Basically, here's the situation as I've always understood it...Don more-or-less "invited" himself to work with Brian, when Brian was already deep into a project with Andy.  As one well-known fan put it to me at the time, "Don Was is into collecting veteran pop stars like some people collect baseball cards".  No disrespect to Don Was, 'cause I like the work he's done with the Stones, Bonnie Raitt, Ringo, etc., but Brian and Andy were working on what they assumed were "masters", while you'll notice in interviews from the time, Don refers to their work as "demos".  The Was-produced "master" backing track to "Soul Searchin'" was deemed "unreleasable" by Carl, which is why those sessions from late '95 ended when they did.  The "Soul Searchin'" that's made the rounds on bootlegs utilizes the original Wilson/Paley "demo" with the BW/AP/DW-produced Beach Boys vocals "flown in".  Nothing against Don, like I said, and I'm hoping whatever he and Brian are currently working on turns out to be great, but the above sceanario is how I understood it to be in the '90s...which is why not much aside from the soundtrack ever came from Brian's work with him at the time.

I'm posting the Don Was-relevant parts of two articles for those who have not seen them: Mix 3/96 and the Was sidebar in Pulse 11/95.

Perhaps they were caught up in the heat of the moment and the excitement, perhaps they're over-stating things, but my impressions of that scene came mostly from reading these articles when they were new. And these selections/excerpts do give a slightly different take on what was happening at that time than what Paley suggests.

I'm editorializing here...but Paley seems to be spreading a little sour grapes onto the story, which would be natural, but he has and had an agenda just as everyone does. And he has some cause to be bitter about certain things too, which might come out in his comments every now and then.

For those who are not familiar with these articles, remember this was published as all this stuff was actually happening and being reported. Little things like Brian saying "38 new songs" and Don Was saying "about 40" new songs are part of the history now which can be fact-checked, but read into these quotes, note references to Don Was recording "live" as they did back in the day (obviously instrumental tracks...), Brian describing Don Was getting the musicians together as Paley and Brian finished the writing of a song, Don Was approaching the Beach Boys to record with Brian, Don Was working with Mike and Brian on songwriting...judge for yourself, albeit through the lens of time and contrasted with a former collaborator of Brian's who may have something of an axe to grind.

Mix 3/96:
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/guitarfool2002/was2_zps72847089.jpg)
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/guitarfool2002/was3_zpsab93cd00.jpg)

Pulse 11/95:
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/guitarfool2002/was1_zps1de50521.jpg)

This is all fascinating stuff (would have been good to read the entire articles if I'm being picky) and the last comment about Baywatch Nights is classic.

That whole period is a really interesting time to look back on and although things didn't work out with Don Was, I think he was right that the recordings that Brian and Andy Paley did together do sound like (albeit good) demos.

I suppose it's unlikely, but couldn't the return of Don Was mean that maybe he has a backlog of Brian Wilson material just as Joe Thomas did. And just as the Joe Thomas material was, it was/is intended for The Beach Boys. Ya know, stuff like "You're Still a Mystery" and "Dancing the Night Away"? Maybe we'll get a new Beach Boys album via this material? It's possible.

Interesting, but for the fact that Brian never, ever mentioned writing with Was in the past. Either they're dusting off Paley material (kind of sh*t for Paley, tbh) or they're working on new sh*t and Brian is getting nostalgic for the mid 90's, as are we all.

That could very well be! If you read into the article(s) from 95-96, it suggests and specifically mentions "Beach Boys" songs, right? Plus, the ballpark figure was around 40 songs written, and of those Brian said when interviewed at that time about 20 had demos. Someone could do the process of elimination and deduct which ones have already come out in some way...what's left could indeed be a backlog of potential songs for any future project, Brian or Beach Boys. If Was had his studio players cutting certain tracks as they were being written/finished as described in Mix, who knows, they may try to resurrect some of those better songs.

Or not...and there lies the mystery of Don Was in the studio with Brian in 2013.  :-D

He wouldn't have mentioned writing with Was because Was acted as producer rather than saying anywhere that he was actually co-writing the songs, a role which would still make him more intimately familiar with the songs and what went into them in the studio, or any decisions musical or otherwise that were or could be made to finish them. Again, if we take what's in that Mix article, Was had been taking what Paley and Brian had been writing (and what apparently Brian and Mike had been writing, excepting 'Baywatch Nights'), and bringing it to life in the studio with his session guys in perhaps a way Brian and Paley could not do with just the two of them building up demos track by track.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I doubt Was has 80 hours of Brian Wilson demos on a hard drive, like Joe Thomas does.

He would definitely know those multitrack reels, though. Whoever has them now.

And...Was and Todd Rundgren may still be sitting on an archive of 36-odd hours of Smile which according to the one article they were trying to persuade Brian into releasing as an interactive user-controlled CD-ROM during this same era. Eerily reminiscent of "Project Smile", I'd say.  :)

Knowing Todd, he'd probably have finished Smile by now.  :lol

If Don Was was producing "Still a Mystery.." way back when, and they are gonna put it on MIC, only makes sense to bring Don in to finish it off.  Don did the same thing, finishing old tracks with Mick for some of the Stones recent re-releases (Some Girls).

But, that last thing you mention DIDN'T really make sense, since Don Was was not around for the original Some Girls (or Exile On Main Street) sessions!  Still, I kinda like those lately-finished Stones tracks, even if Mick's lyrical perspective is much more mature now than in the '70s, which kinda kills the authenticity.  But, one could look at it the way we look at the new melodies and lyrics on BWPS, and enjoy it for what it is.

True, not a perfect analogy. Just doing hypothetical guessing as to what Brian and Don are up to.

Sounds plausible.

What I'd like to have though is the original backing track for "Desert Drive" with Mike on lead and the boys on bg... :)

WHAT WE NEED IS A VIABLE LEAK OF INFORMATION OR A PROPER PRESS RELEASE.

Brian is making an album, and we need to know if it will be a BB album. I can't imagine that Capital would not want exactly that, considering Radio, the Live album, the boxed set, etc. I can't imagine Mike saying no when asked.
So what good are the things I can and cannot imagine? Time to wait.

But I believe that is exactly what happened. IIRC Jon Stebbins said they had offers for more concerts, TV appearances and another studio album.

This is how things should be, but aren't. The BBs don't get along anymore and just keep their distance from each other. Brian and Mike are just separate elements at the end of the day.

We don't NEED anything other than the ability to differentiate between a desire for information about a recreational pursuit/artistic product and genuine necessity.

(http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/603907_10151557618492241_109141170_n.jpg)

Brian and Jeff Beck working together at Ocean Way.


Source: Facebook

Unreal. I hope they clue us in at some point as to what he's working on, maybe even throw us a sample or FB/BW.com exclusive? If there's only even one song that matches the caliber of "Summer's Gone" from these sessions, I'd be over the moon.

Brian must like that North Face jacket....  ;D

I'm pretty confident this is a solo project BW is working on. Have you not been reading the recent interviews with the band members?  They're not together anymore. Time to let it go.

Glad to see Brian is cooking up something good!

BW sure knows his clothing.... ;D

Well, members are together. But in two groups, not one.

According to Stebbins, a second studio album was part of the reunion continuation package. Mike rejected it.

That is a shame, to pass up a followup to a billboard number three album. I guess Mike only wanted another album if he could force Brian to write all the songs with him.

I hope Brian's project turns out to be great.

Who made the offer for the second studio album?

I'm really hoping this isn't GIOMH 2. There's a lot of different people stopping by the studio and I'm just hoping this isn't a Brian & Friends album. I want a album of new Brian Wilson songs performed by Brian Wilson. He's a great artist and doesn't need other famous people propping him up.

One difference, Brian is way more motivated and successful than he was ten years ago. I hope the guests are kept to a minimum though.

Do we actually know he's working on a project for himself, or could he just be guesting for someone else here? It seems unusual from him to be using session guys and other name musicians for a solo project, since we know there have been issues in the past with wanting to pay musicians for playing on BW solo albums. It wouldn't surprise me if he was guest producing or something on a few tracks as part of a Don Was project.

"if he could force Brian...". C'mon! It's a guess; and an unfair one. Mike is entitled to his agenda, if it includes co-writing with Brian, just as Brian is entitled to his own agenda (like giving Foskett a stellar vocal role, for instance).

I believe they are both doing the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp together this week so they might just be rehearsing.

http://www.rockcamp.com/jeff_beck.php

What...is there a bus outside the studio unloading them into the studio?  :lol

(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/11942_10151557913312241_361723019_n.jpg)

L.A. drummer Vinnie Colauita and Australian bass guitarist Tal Winkenfeld in the studio for Brian's project.

Pretty sure they are in Jeff Beck's band for the fantasy camp. Probably a rehearsal.
But it does say project. Pleasure Island?

Yes John, I will continue to focus on food , water, and shelter in the meantime. Though I was speaking of need in the "recreational pursuit/artistic" sense of course. Did you think, brother John, that I was planning a hunger strike like an Irish rebel?
But now I will double down, however, and I say we need another BB album to defeat any last vestiges of mortality that 50 years of mythic combat may have left un-vanquished.  

No idea. I'm referring to this post by Mr. Stebbins:


http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,15487.msg363125.html#msg363125

Ya know professor (and anybody else who will listen), I was laying on the beach today with my fiance and as usual my mind was on The Beach Boys. Whether or not they'd get back together. How much longer Brian has on this earth. Whatever else. And it hit me....

These guys have given us years of great music. They have done lots of great work together and separately. And ultimately I'm glad that they are still here and still very active. And that's all I wish for them for the foreseeable future. If Mike and Bruce wanna tour without the other guys, then that's what the should do. If Brian wants to record when he feels like it, and play shows when he feels like it, he should do that too. But they shouldn't waste their time with squabbles. I hope they are all happy. And if they want to get back together, then they should.

Ultimately, I think we should be happy with what they've given us, and look forward to Made in California, studio and live work from Brian, and live work from Mike. Anything else will be a cherry on top in my book.

Thank you, SDJ.  We have been given 50 years of music and were given a very nice and unexpected present in 2012 in the form of a first-class tour and a respectable album with some stellar tracks (not to mention TSS, a live CD, DVD, MiC to come, etc).   I, at least, didn't expect a reunion, certainly not one with such quality and care given to it.  I am grateful for the gift.  I agree, let them do what they wish.  If Brian -- in his 70s -- gives us more music, with or without the Beach Boys, it will be frosting on the cake and I'll be eager to taste it.

Dude, you gettin' married? Wow. Congrats, especially since she seems to love the BB too. An all BB music wedding?  The ol Professor follows the Roman poet Juvenal when it comes to marriage, but I am happy to congratulate the Dude, a great and generous SSmile-board member and always a gentleman.

Thank you professor. Yeah, my fiance is a Beach Boys fan. I got her into the guys. She knows who Brian, Carl, Dennis, Mike, Al, and Bruce are. And she knows Dave as "the guy who always wears the sunglasses". She went to see them last year with me. Loves "Heroes And Villains", "Surf's Up" and "This Whole World" amongst others. However, I don't think an all Beach Boys wedding would please her, so I don't think I'm gonna get that.

Anyways, It would be great if Brian's new recordings are for The Beach Boys. They are usually his best vehicle for his work. But if they aren't, it's okay, and I'll happily accept whatever new material he or they give to us.

Some info has leaked out about Brian's new project.
According to a (formerly) reliable source Brian he's indeed working on his new album, tentatively named "Getting' In Under My Bed".
It will feature several collaborations with other famous artists.
An early track list seems to be:

"I Can't Believe We Are Still Playing Piano", featuring Billy Joel on lead vocals and piano
"You're Still A Mistery", recorded by The Beach Boys in 1996, but discarded. This version removes the BB voices
"I Touch Myself", Divinyls cover
"Getting' In Under My Bed"
"Beach Blues",  features Jeff Beck on electric guitar
"Dessert Dive"
"Acquaintances Like Us" , featuring Ringo Starr on co-lead vocal
"Hotter", originally from "Sweet Insanity" but with milder lyrics
"Someone To Love", originally from "Sweet Insanity"
"Saturday Night The City", from the mid-90's Paley sessions
"Do You Have Any Regrets?", originally from "Sweet Insanity", featuring Dave Marks on inaudible vocals
"Not This Again",  mid-80's song, featuring newly written lyrics by Steve Kalinich about letting Steve Kalinich write lyrics
"The Tango", written with Tony Asher


Really looking forward to this one!!

Where is Brian's usual backing band (The Wondermints...*waits for post explaining why they're no longer 'The Wondermints'*)??

Their absence in these pictures doesn't make it easy to guess what this project is.

Scott Bennett said on facebook a few days ago he recorded with Brian recently for this new project.

That said, I'm pretty glad the Wondermints are being used less this time around. They are a great Beach Boys cover band but I don't really like the sound they bring to Brian's original material (bar a few tracks).

Way too polished and not very interesting.

Unlike the raw garageband sound of That's Why God Made The Radio?

But Mike always seems to pull this strange power trip about him being the only real collaborator for Brian. Brian and Mike did work well together in the early days but things have changed. Brian moved on from that era, Mike didn't and stunted his musical growth.

Yeah, wow, love the idea of "Dessert Drive" -  that one really has the cream AND the cherry on the cake.

And "Acquaintances Like Us"… such honesty… Peace and love and mercy man!

:lol

Didn't the Wondermints play on that

I struggle to hear a human voice on it, let alone musicians.  :lol

i dont believe this  :-D :-D

  :rock:drum  :serenade  :spin :serenade :thewilsons :dennis :violin :drumroll :rock

:o :o :o :o Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp's four-day event is favorably priced at our Early Bird Rate for only $6499  :o :o :o :o

 :thud

 :pirate Rrrr Thats just the base price, mateys.  :pirate

Id go in a heartbeat if I could...