The Smiley Smile Message Board

Do you have examples of good recordings in which Bruce covers for Brian's parts with a prominent falsetto? In most of the recordings I hear (including Live in London, for instance), the falsetto seems far less prominent than recordings in which Brian was with the band. And in a song like "Do It Again" on Live in London, the band literally has a horn cover for Brian's part instead of attempting it (though it does sound pretty awesome).

After Brian left the touring band, it seems the group decided to use more of a general vocal blend on the road. Granted, it's nearly impossible to duplicate Brian's iconic voice, and concert equipment of the era was technologically limited. But as far as I've seen, the group did not try to replicate the more prominent falsetto sound. Do you think that's accurate? And can you reference any good recordings from the 60s in which Bruce is attempting the prominent falsetto in a similar manner to Brian?

I think Al covered it during this period.

From what I've read, Bruce was originally brought on for bass playing duties. I haven't seen anything that says he was the official falsetto voice of the Beach Boys during this time. I know that Glen Campbell was, but I think after that Brian's parts were assigned to whoever's voice sounded best. Then again, I could be wrong.

In fairness, tho, Bruce could sing higher than any of the other guys, and still comes close to that nowadays.

I can't remember seeing him doing a specific Brian falsetto part (mostly Al and Carl in the early days), but he might have sung some of them.

Is it Bruce singing the falsetto part during the "Good, good, good... Good Vibrations" chorus on GV during the Michigan concerts in 1966?

I know Brian is thought only to have stepped out on stage at the end of these two shows, but lately I swear it sounds like Brian to me on "Good Vibrations."

Al did a lot of the falsettos but Bruce had some too. It's him on "I get around" for example. The '69 concert in France has him doubling the lead with Al on "Don't worry baby" and singing the high part of the intro to "Warmth of the sun". So you can say, they shared the high voice but mostly it was Al.

Al, Bruce & Carl alternated - mostly the former two, the latter rarely. F'instance, the 1972 Concert album has Carl on the chorus of DWB, and the climatic wordless coda of You Still Believe In Me, the two most notable examples.

Al took most, if not all, of Brian's lead vocals whilst Bruce was more likely to replace Brian in group harmony stacks? Would that be a fair distinction?