The Smiley Smile Message Board

When was the singing voice of each individual Beach Boy at its absolute best? Did each guy have a particular era in which his vocals shined? Obviously, this is nitpicking a little bit, as many (Carl, for instance) sounded great for a long time. But here’s what I would consider each guy’s “prime” era:

Brian—1966-1967 (Pet Sounds/Smile)
Mike—1966-1967 (Pet Sounds/Smile)
Carl—late 60s through early 70s
Dennis—early 70s
Al—late 70s?
Bruce--? early 70s?

Best years harmonizing collectively as a group: 1966-1967

I didn’t want to bog down the initial post, so I’m providing further analysis here. I have the strongest opinions about Brian’s voice and Mike’s voice.

Mike’s voice worked very well from the early 60s through the early 70s. You could say it was just as good in the early days as in the Pet Sounds era. But it seemed to reach a level of greater maturity in that mid-60s time frame. For example, his voice sounds perfect accompanied by the amazing harmonies in “Sloop John B” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” I think he had definitely declined (though of course not incredibly) by the mid-70s. His voice sounded much whinier and more nasally in the band’s mid-70s work.

Of course, Brian’s voice was still good through the early 70s. But when he stepped away from music into recluse during the late 60s, his voice on recordings was not as “sweet” as it had been. It seemed a bit more grating at times and his high notes didn’t have the same sweet spots, even if they were technically  sound. Of course, by the mid-70s he had damaged his voice and it was never the same again. So the mid-60s seems to clearly be (in my mind) his zenith. Not just as songwriter, producer, and arranger, but as a vocalist too.

Dennis seemed to be a late bloomer. Even though some damage may have been done to his voice in the early 70s (or maybe not), I think he sounds by far the best in this era. I don’t think he’s an enjoyable lead singer in the mid-60s. But in the 70s he was. He had that crazy voice-damage which generated a soul sound in the late-70s. Unlike Brian’s mid-70s vocal changes, Dennis’s really worked well for him. But I’d say early 70s—like Sunflower—was his best vocal era.

Carl really nailed it with “God Only Knows,” which is perhaps still his best sung material. He exhibited a soulish side later and had an incredibly versatile voice. I put late 60s through early 70s as his best era. But that’s basically a guess. He sounded incredible for many years, several decades in fact.

Al seemed to be pretty consistent over many years, so it’s hard to rank him. 60s and 70s were definitely good eras. So maybe late 70s was actually his best? Not sure. His voice probably holds up today the best of all the Beach Boys. And I feel like I don’t have enough hard evidence for Bruce. Maybe sometime in the early 70s?

Right around '68 through '70 they sounded their besteses.

Brian 66-67
Carl 68-73
Dennis 1970/1976
Mike 67-70
Al 65-80
Bruce.... Pretty consistently vanilla his entire career

Brian 65-67 - His singing on Today; aw man
Mike - 66-73.  I think Mike reigned in a lot of the extra nasal and settled in to a pretty good run until he started to imitate his early self post Endless Summer.
Having said that, I do dig It's OK and Roller Skatin C

Carl from 66 onwards

Al - well, I think Al has finally hit his stride on Postcards, and great stuff on TWGMTR (despite the jiggery pokery)

Dennis - all

Bruce - all good except for BB85, go figure

Blondie - 72-73

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Brian    -   1963 - 1967   Surfin' USA thru SMiLE
Mike     -   1963 - 1971   Surfin' USA thru Surf's Up
Carl      -   1979 - 1992   L.A. (Light Album) thru Summer In Paradise
Al         -    1965 - 1971  Today thru Surf's Up
Dennis -    1968 - 1972   Friends thru Carl & The Passions
Bruce   -    1965 - 1971   Summer Days (And Summer Nights thru Surf's Up

  Brian sounded great 66-67 but do any of his leads from that era surpass his 1964 vocal on "The Warmth of the Sun"?  He was a great vocalist 1963-67 and a very good one through the early 70's. Few leads on SUNFLOWER but some wonderful background parts BTW. 

  Carl hit his stride with "God Only Knows" and sustained that level for most of the rest of his career except for a stumble during the 15 BIG ONES/LOVE YOU era.

  Dennis' best singing was easily 68-72.

  Mike 's singing was consistently fine from "Surfin'' Safari"/"409" through HOLLAND.  That is a good run.

  Al? Still cruisin' near peak form. Along with Carl, he is the band's most consistent singer.

Carl: I think from the mid-60s he just got better and better. It might have gone in peaks and troughs but overall I think his voice improved throughout his life. It's the amazing saving grace of Kokomo and the only real good thing about SiP.

For whatever reason, I really like that vocal on She Believes In Love Again. It sounds like he'd smoked a couple packs before hitting the studio  :lol

Huh?  Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Everybody sounds like they had a cold on that album.

:lol

 Well, we know Carl was having some problems during that time - I thought it carried over into his singing, just a bit.

Nah, they were just all holding their noses while singing - making fun of Mike behind his back!!!!!

Carl sounds great on Love You. As for 15 Big Ones, I think that was more a style choice than voice deterioration.

  Carl sounds drunk on LOVE YOU.  His singing was way better on LPs like SURF'S UP and HOLLAND. Not to mention BEACH BOYS' 85. He was the ONLY member of the band who did not have a cold on that album.

  Since technical precision isn't the point of LOVE YOU maybe it doesn't matter.

  Do you really think he did "Just Once In MY Life" justice on 15 BIG ONES?

Yeah I completely agree. And agree with almost all of the comments on this thread.

As for Brian, yes his voice was amazing from 63-67 and a lot of good stuff in the late 60s and 70s too. I was just trying to determine when everyone's voice was at the absolute best. I think Brian's vocals were a little bit better on Pet Sounds and Smile than other times in his career. But I do mean "a little bit." It's hardly discernible from his voice on earlier stuff, which was incredible. But I say it's a bit better. So I guess my intention was to be nitpicky, not to assert that there is a huge different between 66 and 64, for example.

Steve, Carl sounds fine on 15 Big Ones and Love You. Listen to him belt out that, "To get you babe I went through the wringah. Ain't gonna let you slip through my fingah's. Listen to him rock Palisades Park. And Talk To Me and Night Was So Young.

I don't think Carl really hit the skids until '78. He had some back issues around there but I'm not sure that and the brief bouts with alcohol or smack contributed to any voice issues......

Can`t really add much to this.

Brian 1962-71
Through Sunflower I love Brian's voice. Maybe he sounds a bit older but I love his vocals from Smiley to Spring as much as before.

Dennis 1968-72
Just a really interesting voice and a lot of heart. The later stuff is cool but I miss the innocence (if you can use that word with Dennis) you hear in this era.

Carl 1966-70
I like his airy 1966-70 vocals a touch more than from his edgier 1971-75 period.

Bruce 1965-72
Just didn't have the same quality later.

Al 1968-72
He always sounds good, but his material between Friends and Holland is a peak in all ways.

Mike 1962-72
Really fit with the times the entire first decade. Seriously underrated in his prime.

Carl kicked ass on 'Girl Don't Tell Me". Brian should have given him more leads before this. Such an incredible voice deserved more attention in the years 62-65. Instead we get mYke Luhv. ::)

Brian - 1964/65: I consider Don't Worry Baby, Hushabye, Warmth of the Syn, and other 1964 era ballads to be the peak of Brian's voice, with the streak extending into Please Let Me Wonder and Let Him Run Wild. Already by Pet Sounds, I think that Brian's voice has started to subtly change, becoming a little bit less youthful. Obviously it stay's spectacular well into the 70s, but I'm trying to pin point more specific highlights.

Carl - Obviously his voice was incredible his entire life, but I think it was at it's best in the early 90s. Carl's voice aged in an incredible way, becoming more mature and ever so slightly older, without losing any of it's raw beauty or expressiveness. Tragically, Carl was literally not given *any* good material to sing in this period, with the possible exception of his own "I Wish for You."

Mike - 68/70: Meant for You. Big Sur. All I Wanna Do. Weirdly enough, Mike did the least singing of his entire career with the beach boys during the time when his voice was best. And I do think the two facts are related: when he wasn't in "lead singer" mode, he sang more subtly, and thoughtfully.

Dennis - 1968-70: Without a doubt this was the period when Dennis's skill as a singer lined up most clearly with his voice not being a hoarse croak! I love Dennis's late 70s voice, but A Time to Live in Dreams is definitive evidence for me that this period is the winner.

Al - it's hard to make a distinction, since his voice basically hasn't changed for their entire career. I'm trying to judge the voice, and not the material, still, it's hard not to think that Al never again reached his iconic Help Me Ronda peak, so 1965.

Mike: 1961-1967...those early lead vocals are part of the beach boys signature sound, you can't ignore them. BUT, as has been said, his voice matured a bit on Pet Sounds and SMiLE...after that, I think he just tried too hard to re-create his old nasaly self and it didn't come out nice in the 70's or 80's or even the 90's really...he seems to have found a happy medium this century though.

Brian: 1963-1967...Again, can't ignore his ballad tracks and that falsetto, the other half of the signature sound...it only got better until the drugs got bigger. He never really had it again after this, in my opinion.

Carl: 1966-1979...Easily the greatest vocalist to ever grace the band. The range I placed was really just to represent his vocals on NEW material at the times, but there's no doubt his voice held up in a live setting until the final months. Just listen to "God Only Knows" and "Wild Honey" back to back...hard to believe it's the same person!!!

Dennis: 1968-1976...with Dennis' raspy voice, it took a little while to reach a mature sounding grit but eventually, it sort of "ran out"...listen to Knebworth...

Al: 1965-Present...has this man's voice after stopped? While I do believe Carl had the best voice, Al has definitely maintained his the best AND kept it entertaining to the point that he can take on lead's that other band members used to sing (Wouldn't it Be Nice, Little Deuce Coupe, etc...)

Bruce: 1965- Present...My thoughts are similar to Al's except Bruce's voice isn't as exciting BUT, I still love it!

I wish Bruce sang it on the C50 tour.... ;D

You think he was "easily" the greatest vocalist? I can understand and respect your opinion. And Carl was definitely the most versatile vocalist. I still like Brian at his prime the best.

Carl was talentless compared to Brian "Genius" Wilson. Carl was such a NITWIT.

that's cool, and I can see your point...one of many things here that just boils down to taste  :)

carl is a rocker, not a mod or a mocker.

I'll pick an album for each member, the one that I think they sound the best on (if even just for a single song):

Brian Wilson - "Pet Sounds"
Dennis Wilson - "Sunflower"
Carl Wilson - "Smiley Smile"
Mike Love - "Carl & the Passions 'So Tough'"
Al Jardine - "M.I.U."

Brian -> 1964-1968
Mike -> 1965-1970
Carl -> 1968-1973
Dennis -> 1968-1972
Al -> 1965-1977
Bruce -> 1969-1971

To me Friends is the album where everyone's voice is near their peak.  It is admittedly tough in some respects because other than the Wilson brothers, I think some of my sentiments are based on the types of songs they were singing.

Brian: Friends album, hands-down
Carl: GOK, early 70s, Light Album
Mike: 1963-1973
Dennis: Sunflower, mid-to-late 70s
Al: Help Me Rhonda
Bruce: mid-60s perhaps

I don't really care for Carl's album vocals on "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations", they're way too breathy, he did a thousand times better on later live versions of the songs and I wanna fight about it.

:lol

Brian- up to '73
Mike, up to '76
Carl, up to '75
Dennis- all good
Al- all good
Bruce- all good

Carl hit the booze years and lost the lightness of touch he'd previously had, Brian went hoarse/shouty, Mike went nasal in '76.

As far as these ears can tell, Al and Bruce have never really changed, and re: Dennis, whilst his voice definitely CHANGED in tone, it didn't get worse. If anything I appreciate the richness of tone in something like 'baby blue' more than I do, say, little bird.

Carl's voice on "God Only Knows" sounds better on the Knebworth concert than it does on Pet Sounds.

Great thing about the Beach Boys as singers is: each guy could do something that the other guy really couldn't .... No one could or can do aching vulnerability like Brian at his peak (people try but usually just resort to cliched vocal technique), no one in the Beach Boys could either, or at least not on his level. No one could do the soulful/spiritual Carl thing, No one had the vocal strength, clarity, and richness of Al, No one could quite do that innocent, Disney, AM radio sweetness of Bruce. No one could do the bass thing quite as well as Mike and no one could put forward that punkish "tude" thing like him.

 Dennis?....... no explanation necessary.

I have 3,000 words to say.

Trolled by the title -_-

I agree that Al sounds excellent on this album. His vocals on Somewhere Near Japan are also some of the best later Beach Boys vocals.

Yeah. These rankings seem to be exactly like my assessment. Like.

Brian's and Mike's lead vocals are all strong through the early seventies.  To narrow it down a bit, though, I'd say Brian's voice is strongest between The Beach Boys Today! and Sunflower and that Mike's is strongest between Little Deuce Coupe and Friends.

None of Carl's lead vocals prior to God Only Knows gives a good indication of how strong a vocalist he was, but starting with "God Only Knows" through his lead vocals on Surf's Up are all excellent.  He especially shines on Wild Honey, though.

Dennis is difficult to say for the simple reason that his voice changed quite a bit in the seventies, and while it got much more hoarse than Brian's ever did, the hoarse Dennis voice also developed an expressive quality in a way that I don't think Brian's hoarse voice did.  I have difficulty deciding whether I prefer pre-hoarse Dennis (in which case it would be Sunflower and Carl and the Passions-So Tough, when his lead vocals are much stronger than they had been in the 1960s) or hoarse Dennis (The Beach Boys Love You through L.A.).

I'm inclined to say that Alan's voice is strongest in the late 1970s, around the time of The Beach Boys Love You.  On the other hand, I'm not sure that his voice got stronger so much as Brian's, Mike's, and Carl's voices got weaker.

It's difficult to say with Bruce, whose has gotten relatively few lead vocals over the years.  I would be inclined to say Sunflower, but that would seem to be by default as I think it's the only album where he gets more than one lead vocal.

I got your back on this one.

Brian: 1963-1971
Dennis: 1968-1973
Carl: 1966-into the 80's
Mike: 1965-into the 70's
Al: 1965-into the 80's and beyond
Bruce: unsure

For me Brian peaked vocally very early on, around the time of Warmth of The Sun and Hushabye, so I'd say 63-64 for him. By the Friends era his voice had taken on that Mickey Mouse tone - I'm not very keen on it for lead vocals but it was fantastic for backing vocals.

Mike hit his prime from 68 to 73, which as others have pointed out was ironically the time when he was singing lead the least. His only stinker from this time was Bluebirds Over The Mountain which is a pretty crappy song anyway.

Al has been consistently fantastic throughout his career.

Carl's voice was far too weak and childlike (maybe because he was still a child!) for the first few years, then seemingly overnight he morphed into one of the greatest singers of all time from Pet Sounds onwards. I'm not a fan of some of his mid to late 70's vocal work (he sounds bored or sleepy) but then he came back better than ever for the 80's. I'd say the 1980's holds his best ever vocal performances even if it was often on sub-par material.

I'd say Dennis was the weakest singer out of them all until his voice became husky in the mid 70's. From a technical standpoint it had gone drastically downhill but as an upshot it gained much needed character.

Bruce is just Bruce. Outstanding for Disney Girls but elsewhere his voice is rather twee. It's held up well throughout the years if nothing else.

Hmm. This is tough. Started to do it a few days ago. But I guess I'll try again:

Brian: 1965 through 1967. His vocals on Pet Sounds are just so perfect. Especially stuff like "Don't Talk".
Mike: 1963 through 1968
Carl: 1979 through 1998. His vocals were so soulful and classy  from '79 on. I think if the guys woulda emphasized his voice more in the '80s they made have had some more hits.
Al: Right now. His vocals on "From There To Back Again" are the best of his career.
Dennis: Probably 1968 through 1972. Kinda rough, but still sweet.
Bruce: I don't know. I suppose '70 or so. Don't really care for his voice.

Totally. He may sound a bit sleepy at first, but it's all about the climax, and oh boy, does he deliver it. A very, very emotional moment for me.

‍

Yeah I feel Carl did peak in his twenties as a singer-like his brothers.

I think many could agree with that. The GV and GOK vocals are very suitable to the production though. Not sure if a 'live' vocal would suit the backing track on either song, but I enjoy these songs just as much live as the studio versions.

I think Mike's vocals were best between Friends and Holland. His lead vocals in the earlier years work extremely well in their context and he was always a great front man for the live shows, but his studio vocals improved significantly in the late 60's and early 70's. 'Meant For You' and 'Big Sur' demonstrate this particularly well, but 'Aren't You Glad' might be a slightly earlier example (and Pet Sounds has some great Mike vocals too). The change between Holland and 15 Big Ones isn't a good one in my opinion and he suddenly seems very nasal and harsh. I don't know why this is but I do wonder if part of it was down to how much time and effort was put into vocal work and engineering up to Holland, that might not have been so rigorous afterwards. I find Mike hard to listen to at times after Holland, but absolutely love his work up to that point.

Carl is simply outstanding from Pet Sounds through to Holland. His vocals were always excellent, but I do think he peaked up to Holland and didn't quite hit the same magnificent heights afterwards. That said, his vocals after that point are still better than anyone else in the band and he remained one of the best in the business right to the end. There are some strange moments in the late 70's, particularly where his vocal appears to be slowed down slightly, but I still enjoy his voice. He's still sounds wonderful on '85, Kokomo, Somewhere Near Japan, Soul Searchin', I Wish For You etc etc. He even manages to prevent the Stamos/SIP version of Forever from being a complete and utter disaster. Irreplaceable.

Brian was the best singer in the group until Pet Sounds/Smile. After that we hear far less in the way of lead vocals, but I think he peaked in 66/67, with some good moments afterwards. I enjoy his 15BO and Love You Vocals despite the obvious the change in tone. There are some great moments later on after he'd lost the 'gruff' thing. I don't know exactly when it was recorded, but his 'Don't Let Her Know' demo vocal is beautiful and shows the he could still sing well, but some of the studio vocals don't sound quite so pure in the late 80's. He still had great delivery  and I think his vocals on things like 'Spirit of Rock and Roll' or 'Let's go to Heaven in My Car' are excellent, along with some of '88 (where he often sounds quite mechanical). Who knows what changed later, but at some point in the 90's he seemed to develop the slur and lost some of the power in his delivery. The OCA vocals are still strong and powerful, but by the time of Imagination his voice seems weaker, despite those vocals being pretty good. Comparing the 'Don't Let Her Know' demo with his some of his later solo work, he seems unable to sustain notes at the end of lines for any reasonable length. It's very obvious in live settings, but seems covered up somewhat in some of the studio work (although there are example that show he can still do it). It's almost as though he doesn't have the breath to do it like he used to (which is perfectly reasonable now, given his age).

His studio vocals have improved significantly in recent years and I think he's found a great style to fit his range and tone with the Gershwin/Disney albums. The only thing that bothers me slightly now is the slurring, which is often less obvious in the studio. He's definitely back in form with his recent run of work and I think he's reached a level of quality he hadn't shown since OCA. I wonder if he's able to devote more time to his lead vocals now that his band help so much with the backgrounds. I'd all but lost interest in solo Brian with GIOMH because the vocals were so poor (and they weren't the only problem). I wouldn't have bothered listening to any other artist putting out an album that shoddy and I honestly though he should give up as a singer, because almost anyone else could do better. It almost extinguished my interest in him as a solo artist, but I'm glad I didn't give up completely because his run from TLOS has been excellent and I think he's back to being a really good singer. There's always been a beautiful tone to his voice, and his technique seems to have improved enormously in recent years.

I think Al's voice might be at it's best now. The only time I'm not so keen on it is when he covered higher background parts in the late 70's (at least I think it's Al's voice in the blend that bothers me). His leads were always great and I think he sounds as good as ever on Postcards, with an added level of maturity that really suits his style. Given his work on TWGMTR I think these later years might be his peak.

Dennis was great between 20/20 and POB/Love You. After that it get's harder to ignore the obvious decline which seems to mirror his own personal decline, which makes it harder to listen to. He's seems to start to struggle at certain pitches which almost sound whispered. I don't know about vocal recording dates for POB material but 'Rainbows' is probably my favourite Dennis vocals, so I'll pick that as a peak.

Bruce - no idea. I don't personally think he's well suited to lead vocals, but he was incredible in the studio blend when Brian withdrew. A good singer, but I don't particularly enjoy any of his leads.
He sounds very good on TWGMTR, so all credit to him for his background work throughout the ages. His falsetto in the 60's and 70's was excellent.

Yup.  I'ts completely possible that Bruce's vocals have peaked on TWGMTR.  Check out the end of the song, i'm pretty sure that's him doing the "FOR FALLIN' IN LOVE!" line.  Sweet as hell, he's an inspiration for all of us who are slowly growing old as hell. 

I'll agree with Mr. Smith. Bruce's voice is terrifying on "She Believes...", would be better if he stuck to his mellow voice, however sappy it can be at times. In short, the toughness didn't work.

My choices:

Brian - 1966 (shining example - "Sloop John B", though technically it's 1965)
Carl - the 80s (shining example - "It's Gettin' Late". Such a terrific vocal!)
Al - the 70s (shining moment - alternate take of "Lady Lynda". Very impressive!)
Mike - the 70s (say whatever, but I'm really fond of his singing on "He Come Down", esp. the end of each verse. "Airplane" is another example, very beautiful performance)
Dennis - the 60s (bright example - "Do You Wanna Dance?" Believe it or not, but when I played this song for the 1st time, I thought it sounds very modern & recorded by some youngsters of current generation. Still think that way.)
Bruce - the 80s (I liked his vocs in "Endless Harmony" (though not a fan of the song itself). Dig those jazz flavors)

El Mole, you believe Al did falsetto on the mid-70s Beach Boys work? Is he singing falsetto on "It's Ok" for example? I always thought that was Brian attempting to bring back his falsetto, but I could certainly be wrong.

Also, I agree that Mike's vocals in the mid-70s certainly seemed to sound harsher. Almost like he was trying to exaggerate his early 60s style. Why did this happen? Was he literally trying to exaggerate his voice? Did he experience some sort of vocal degradation? What was going on?

Carl - Up to 1973
Dennis - Ditto
Mike - Ditto
Brian - Ditto
Bruce - Up to 1980 or so
Al - In perpetuity

I honestly believe that, unlike Brian and Mike whose peaks were obviously much earlier, both Carl and Al got better with age. I would say that both peaked from 1985 onward; both had standout moments on the otherwise dreadful SIP album (Carl's harmonies on "Forever", and his leads on Lahaina, etc.; Al' vocals on Strange Things Happen and the Euro version of Boardwalk and Island Fever). In addition, Carl's live vocals from this era are stellar to my ear (GOK, Darlin, SOS), all stronger and grittier than in earlier years.  Jardine just keeps getting better. All subjective, of course...

Brian's peak was 1966-1967 vocally, he sounded the best then. The best example in my opinion would be "Surf's Up". After 67', he still sounded great, but sung fewer and fewer vocals. He went downhill after Holland. But even in his best, while he was undisputably the best falsetto singer of the band, he was always the overall 2nd best singer of the BB's. That honor of best singer goes to:

Carl. His voice never truely went downhill, but "God Only Knows" established him as the future main singer of the band, and rightly so. I'd say his vocal height would be the 70's. It's hard to give one example, there's far too many. As for 80's onwards, his voice got slightly deeper and rougher, but other than that, he still had his great voice. His death created a irreplacable hole in the band.

Dennis was never one of the best singers of the band. That being said, he was never one of the worst (even in his later years, mainly because he used his deterioating voice appropriatly, and to good effect). His stand out  vocally would be WIBNTLA. His height would be 1970 to 1973. Like Brian, his voice changed badly between 1974-1976, but unlike Brian, his voice just kept slowly deterioating, getting worse and worse until his death.

Mike's best vocally is hard to say, mainly because he sounds very similar for over 30 years. I'd say early 60's for him would be his vocal height. That being said, I can live without Mike, had he not been in the band, Al, Carl and Dennis could easily replace him vocally. Al and Bruce have the distinction of having the vocals that aged the best. Especially Al, whose vocals sound almost the same as he did 40 or so years ago. His vocal height would probably be the 70's, same with Bruce.

David, Blondie and Ricky i can't judge, as I haven't heard nearly enough vocals from them, past and present.

Dennis' peak for me was 1969-1972 - typified by the very cool sound he gets on  Help Me Rhonda (1972), I mean, what a sweet sound he's getting. Or the way his voice cracks just so on WIBNTLA, or Forever. He always had a gift for making very intimate vocals. Of course that didn't change, but I prefer his voice less ravaged by coke and booze I guess.

I really love Carl's voice in the 80's-90's. His voice saved so many songs like -cough-cough-KOKOMO