The Smiley Smile Message Board

This popped up on my Facebook page, a great little article and the full "Help Me Rhonda" from New Jersey 1972.

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/08/14/listen-to-an-unreleased-track-of-help-me-rhonda-by-the-beach-boys/

I rather like this version of the song too!

:) Mark

Great perfromance! Now we just need this in context with the rest of that NJ concert!  ;D

S**t that's good!!

Thanks for sharing.

Is the rest of the show in circulation and can anyone comment on how it compares to this one track because they sound like they were on it that night?

Excellent quality! Performance itself is quite similar to the Carnegie Hall 1972 version, naturally. That's how they performed it with Dennis on lead in those days.

"Rhonda" is one of my very favourite BBs tunes and although I like almost any version of it, I've never quite warmed to the laid-back approach since I feel it sacrifices much of what the melody can do.


It needs to be performed like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUxMupNEno4

or like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOFbIfOYXaE  ;D

Wow, that sounds pretty amazing. It does indeed sound a lot like Carnegie Hall '72, but this seems to sport a better recording and mix than that concert... Can't wait to hear "Wild Honey" from this show on the box!

Wow! That is so cool! Rhonda is such a great song, no matter who does lead! Whether it is Dennis, Al, Carl, Brian or John Cowsill! Everyone gets that song! Thanks so much for the link. 

Great to wake up to new BB stuff! Love this forum!  :love

This is an interesting recording and a sensible inclusion for the box set.

I think that this arrangement loses a lot of energy though and Dennis doesn't suit the song as much as Al did (and he screws up some of the words).

love it

Sorry, Al, i love you, but this is hands down the best live version i've heard in my life of this song, wow Dennis! and that rock'n'roll instrumental, yes! pure joy

Nothing beats the original studio arrangement (single version) but this rendition is great in its own right, mostly due to DW's fabulous lead vocal. The instrumental backing is very much "of its time" but in this case it works really well.

Didn't want to listen to all of it but damn that's a cool version.

Damn, I can't get it with Soundcloud downloader.

I always felt it was gracious of Al to 'let' Dennis sing one of the few hit leads he sang on.  Good team player.  It was after all, and still is, one of Al's signature lead vocals.  Wembley bouncing last year to this one was one of the many highlights of a great show.

I agree it's a cool rendition, and very much in sync with the time period it was being performed, but as has been said, the 45 arrangement is the arrangement.  The song is perfectly suited for Al's voice and the more up-tempo, rock 'n' roll renditions get the most out of the tune.

But again, this country rock/roots rock version is definitely a cool take on the number and I'm awfully glad to have heard it.  Now let's hear the rest of the show!

You can download the MP3 here:

http://www.wikiupload.com/ZGH8353V8NHC28I (http://www.wikiupload.com/ZGH8353V8NHC28I)

Do we know that's how it happened? Maybe Al wasn't happy about it(?)

Quite possibly!  He probably didn't have much choice!  Would Carl, as live band leader, make that decision? I prefer Al's versions but it was good that the band were trying new ideas to keep the shows fresh.  Also good to have Dennis more prominent during this era.

How great does Dennis sound here, I seriously love this version.

I'm so excited for MIC, what a treat this is going to be.

I doubt that. I've always assumed Al was maybe bored of singing it so they decided to change. For the same reason presumably Al later stopped singing Wouldn't it be Nice both pre and post 1998.

Is "Rhonda" possibly the only Beach Boys song in which we've heard every single "core" member sing lead on? I don't know if there's a Mike lead out there, but I'm certain Al, Dennis, Brian and Carl all have sang it.

Someone should make a list of all this crap some time, just fer fun. Obviously the list would have a lot of redundant Brians listed given his solo shows, but then there are neat things like this to be found, or Bruce singing "Wendy" etc.

Chances are he couldn't remember the words that night ;D

Don't forget that Dennis was a true leader at that point. Well, together with Carl. He didn't play drums. Instead he sang and played piano. He was quite talkative, too. I think it was quite fair to give him a lead vocal now and then. Al already had quite a few leads, songs like You Still Believe In Me, Heroes and Villains, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Funky Pretty (shared lead), Don't Worry Baby.

 

good timin'?

Neither could Dennis it seems.  ;)

Thanks for this. I love this version-the different arrangement really suits Dennis' voice and delivery. I can't wait for Wild Honey

I always assumed it was because Al had taken over as lead vocalist on several other hits. Carl and Al probably had the biggest ranges and so fitted in where Brian's voice might have been on the studio tracks. So it probably made a lot of sense to give Al's voice a partial rest and in doing so give something else to Dennis. Dennis' voice still seems underused in both live and studio setting.

I really like this version but I probably prefer the version from Nassau Coliseum in '74, just. It'll be great to have a Dennis live lead in such good quality and it seems like a great performance. It's also interesting to hear that his voice is still pretty much intact at this point.

Thanks!

Youtube version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdYWCOxwDO0

Sounds to me like the part of the second verse with Dennis "forgot" part of the words he actually was distracted by a mental X-rated lyrical substitution.  Can't think of too many words that end with "-nis" as he gets back on the mic to explain what shattered their plan. 

This version makes the subsequent decline of DW's singing voice seem downright tragic, even depressing. For some reason I never saw it that way before, even though I'm a huge fan of his CATP material where his voice sounds very similar in tone. I love the soulful expressive singing he did on albums like POB and especially L.A., but this is really something else. He sounds like a natural lead vocalist here.

Yup - we have live versions of Good Timin by Dennis, Mike, Carl, Brian/Al. Oh and John Stamos. :-)

Amen.



The Beach Boys were some rock & roll band, weren't they.... 5 (/6) guys blessed with so distinctively different voices, yet each of them capable of prominently carrying lead vocal duties. And fused together, their voices' sound was even more unique. In that regard alone: best band ever.


(http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/70374668/The+Beach+Boys+the+boys+around+the+piano+PNG.png)

Mike on the "Good Timin'" lead? When?

This is from memory, but I think Mike sang the lead on a telethon that I videotaped back in the day, maybe an Easter Seals Telethon in 1979. I'm getting visions of Jack Klugman and Don Kirschner....

For sure! Amazing to think that after Bruce and Dave singing leads on the C50 we now have 7...yes seven, official Beach Boys on live albums plus Blondie. I'll also have to do a shout-out to Jeff I guess!

Otherwise known as eight.

Well that subject has been done to death but I go by Bruce who should know the ins and outs of the legalities of the topic. When discussing Blondie and Ricky he has said "..they were never royalty members as such.."

Your definition can be different, which is fine by me.

Since Blondie does make it eight, that means we have nine.   ::)  Check your math, check your ears, or check your facts.  :lol

And Jeff (whom I'm a big fan of but is NOT a Beach Boy) would make ten!

Oh its 9 BB lead vocalists now? :lol What song did Ricky sing live and I can find on one of my official concert release albums? :p

Didn't he sing Leaving This Town?

I suggest you look or listen harder.  He does the verses and choruses on "We Got Love".  Blondie only does the bridge sections ("I made my home out in the city...").

You got me!

To be fair I have only listened to that album for 34 years, and thought it was Blondie all along.

To get those leads is pretty good  for a couple of hired hands. ;)

No problem.  Just some good natured ribbing on my part. :) 

And I don't care what Bruce says.  I think there's a big difference between Blondie & Ricky and the guys in the backing bands.  I think Bruce looks down on their contributions because they inadvertantly squeezed him out of the group back them.   ;D

Totally. They were on the record covers, had songs on the records...the Beach Boys pissy legal definitions are utterly irrelevent. For those couple of years they were Beach Boys

Seem to remember from LLVS that AL wasn't a 'proper' member, legally speaking til '66 or something.

Right.  But that doesn't make him any less of a founding member.  Also, the liner notes for The Best Of The Brother Years (or whatever it was called) lists them as members.  For those years, yes.  But as members, not hired guns.

I don't think Dennis' voice works for this song at all. The official 73 Concert version is still where it's at.

Though I love Sunflower Ricky and Blondie do a lot more for me musically than Bruce ever did.

Amen. Blondie and Ricky were a welcome breath of fresh air on the CATP and Holland albums. Could you imagine Bruce on Holland?  :P  If Bruce had never left the group, the 1972-74 concert era probably wouldn't have been nearly as great. Or were Blondie and Rickey already members before Bruce left?

Yes.

The early 1972 concerts feature Blondie, Ricky and Bruce. And Ricky joined the band in 1971 at some point, if my mind serves me well.

According to AGD's site, Blondie and Ricky joined the band in June 1971 and Bruce left in April 1972.

Ricky played a few 1971 dates but they were not made Beach Boys until early 1972.

A nice pic from the short time there were eight active Beach Boys (including Brian):

http://www.chuckpulin.com/photos.php?photo=3540&origin=%2Fphotos.php%3Fview%3Dsheet%26start%3D144

This is probably the era where they looked the coolest. Love the hairstyles and clothing from that period.

I think that is Al not Brian... ;D

L to R I believe is:
Al
Dennis
Carl
Bruce
Ricky
Blonde
Mike

And is that a beer in Bruce's hand?!?!?!?!?!

Budweiser

But he didn't inhale.

Thanks for the link, PongHit! That was a very generous gesture. I certainly like getting the songs for free.

About the song: interesting to hear Help Me, Rhonda from different angle. Sounds very stylish, I'm actually quite impressed by Dennis's singing. It has slight hints of bluesy style, to my ears. I would never have thought that HMR - Al's staple - can live on its own without him on leads. However, I still think that Al is the best choice for the song; its joyful mood fits exactly to his type of voice. Plus, I agree with some posters that the arrangements on the studio v-n can't be outdone.

Sorry for the confusion but there are only seven people in that picture.  What I said is that picture came from the small window of time when trere were EIGHT active Beach Boys.  The seven people in that picture PLUS Brian.  ::)

I wonder if a photo of all 8 together exists?

Exactly my sentiments, RR (though, of course, I would have stated them more eloquently, LOL).  Dennis' vocals – and the bluesy arrangement of HMR – was great and a nice change of pace from the original.  But the version that reached #1 with Al singing lead could never be outdone, IMO.

Probably not.  In fact, I don't think there's any contemporary ones of Blondie, Ricky, and Brian together.  Aside from that one where Brian was added.  Still, it would be an awesome picture!

Yeah all the 1972 shots of Brian with the group, that I know of, come from before they joined. No individual shots with Brian either. When he came around they probably just didn't whip out a camera and make him nervous. That said they may own private photos with Brian from the period.

Good point!

Do we know if Brian even interacted with the "new ones", like in actual face-to-face conversation? Did he care?

If I recall, I once heard an interview with Blondie Chaplin where he said that he did work with Brian on the Holland album but that he never felt particularly friendly with any of the band aside from Carl, which is one of the reasons why it was easy for him to quit in the first place.  I have heard Brian praise Blondie as a vocalist though.

It's understandable, seeing as Brian was hardly in the greatest state of mind during that time.

The relations of the band at the time are interesting. Carl really was the knot tying everything together. He had good relations with everybody in the band and also was the guy who had solid friendships with the members of their backing band. Blondie and Ricky were surely friends during this period but I'm surprised Blondie didn't have a closer friendship with Dennis, given that they were all more 'rock&roll' than Al and Mike, who were probably becoming closer during this period. Brian was doing his wildcard Brian thing. Wouldn't surprise me if he had very little interaction with Blondie and Ricky.

I think there is a bit of error in the above evaluation if its somehow alluding that Dennis was not close to the backing musicians, because he definitely was. He certainly was not as traditionally gracious and consistent a guy as Carl, but Dennis was truly equally close to the guys his own way. He was as close as Carl if not the closest of the Beach Boys to the second level hired hands (backing band guys). He spent the most time with them and was incredibly loyal to them, and would often threaten to quit himself when Mike lobbied to let someone go because they didn't meditate, or because he found someone who'd do the job for less money. I've interviewed most all of these guys, and have become very good friends with many of them. I've spent a lot of personal time with Blondie too. Of course Carl is his #1 because Carl  was the Flame's champion and bought him his first good guitar (a telecaster), and did so much for he and Ricky. But at the same time he has nothing but great things to say about Dennis. It was Dennis who pushed for Blondie to sing more leads, and he asked Blondie to sing River Song, Carry Me Home, Its A New Day, and had no issue with Sail On Sailor transitioning from a planned Dennis lead to a Blondie lead. Blondie told me Dennis was completely mellow about sharing the spotlight, unlike some of the others. The backing band guys are unanimous in their assessment that the principals treated them well professionally, but personally the majority of the principals treated them like second tier employees, which they were I guess. They describe some of the Beach Boys as elitist in their attitude towards them. But time and time again they pointed out that Dennis was the exception. That year after year he treated them as equals, and that he "hung out" with them doing the small stuff...playing cards, going out to eat, touring the latest city, exploring, partying etc...and often on Dennis' dime. So yes, for sure, Carl was a generous leader, and treated everyone like family...but i think Dennis treated them like friends and war buddies, and part of a club of hardworking, blue collar dudes, that he was not the leader of, just a part of.

The Bruce Johnston way of drinking:  Take a sip and then spit it in the face of the person next to you.

Good post, Jon, as usual.

Just speculation, but it seems like Dennis and Blondie would also have been good drinking buddies. Both hit the sauce pretty good in those days.

 :lol

Another thanks for that post, Jon.  It's always great to hear about the stuff you mention, and any new details of Blondie & Ricky's time with the band.

I always enjoy your posts Jon, keep up the great details!

I was listening to the In Concert album recently and was looking at the writing credits…now correct me if I'm wrong, but Blondie/Ricky's songs on So Tough were written only by themselves, correct? The songs on the In Concert album We Got Love and Leaving this Town both have credits by Blondie, Ricky, and Mike…and Leaving this Town has a C Wilson credit…whenever I saw Mike's credit with those guys, I got the feeling Mike would have been good buddies with the guys. But then that got me thinking, what if after the fiasco of letting Blondie and Ricky write by themselves was something the record label did not approve of? That gave me the idea that perhaps they encouraged the rest of the band or just Mike to start writing with them.

Just a theory.

thanx for laughs