The Smiley Smile Message Board

So since Made In California came out, I've been addicted to it, and I've listened two songs from it more than any others, those being "Where Is She?" and the demo version of "California Feelin'."

Well anyways, I remember seeing stuff about "Where Is She?" being some kinda thing with a Rhythm King machine and Brian on piano singing up high. Now I have to wonder if what we are hearing on this set is actually different from what was originally in the vaults. For instance, was there originally a piano on the track? Likely Brian pounded out the chords as he usually does? It seems like people such as AGD and Peter Reum both spoke of "Where Is She?" as a piano-based thing if I recall correctly. Or maybe it was really just recorded with Brian on organ? As this is basically how the song sounds now on the set?

Now another thing I noticed is that Brian's voice on this cut is quite different from the guy who sang "Don't Worry Baby" a few years earlier. Shoot, it's even different from the guy who did "Don't Talk". It's much more shrill and there just seemed to be something different about his voice even at this early point. I feel that his voice worked much better in the context he did end up using it in on Sunflower, which was quick little lead lines here and there, but nothing prolonged really. His lead vocal parts of "This Whole World", "Add Some Music" and "Cool, Cool Water" really enhanced those songs. However I feel like his leads on stuff like "Where Is She?" (as great as it is) and "Awake" can kinda grate after awhile. It seems that even before the big vocal change in 1975, he really did relinquish his role as a main vocalist in the group to Carl. Just compare Carl's vocal on the original "This Whole World" to the previously unreleased a cappella version featuring Brian singing an additional part.

I don't think there is a doubt to any of us that Carl sounded much more professional, assured, and just plain better than Brian did. It seemed that by the late '60s or early '70s Brian just wasn't developing his "instrument" in the way that Carl was which is why Carl's voice seemed to get richer over time (discounting most of '75 to '77) whereas Brian was really hit or miss from then 'til even today (which isn't to say that Brian hasn't had some great vocal performances in the past 40 years). And now don't get me wrong, I loved hearing previously unreleased Brian vocals from the Sunflower era, especially those previously unreleased "This Whole World" verse vocals, but it did help me to figure out why it was Carl singing stuff like this, "Marcella" and others, rather than Brian taking a shot at singing lead on his own songs.

I don't hear him changing much for the worse  in 1969. Maybe older, but through 1971 at very least I think he sounded great. I actually like Brian at this point a lot as a singer. Carl had a different sort of voice, stronger in some ways, but I love the tone of Brian in his twenties.

Re: Where Is She: I think those piano chords we're hearing at the beginning is clearly from a different recording, likely the one you're referring to. Perhaps there is a demo (or a rougher demo if the MiC version is to be considered a demo) with piano and Rhythm King. Maybe that'll be on the Love and Mercy soundtrack!

I am really fascinated by Brian's Sunflower voice. The Awake demo and Where Is She, i think, are the clearest examples we have. It's such a particular sound, and it seems to have sounded like that for only that brief period. It's incredibly, incredibly reedy. I have a friend who is a huge fan of This Whole World and she always thought that the a cappella ending featured a harmonica. She couldn't believe it when i told her that was Brian's voice. I wonder, did this tone come to him naturally or was he affecting his voice? Also, did Desper do anything in particular (mic selection, EQ) to emphasize that vocal character? Did it maybe sound less severe in person and more pronounced on record? Or did he really sound like that if you were standing in a room with him listening to him sing? Sunflower as a whole is EQed in a way that even some of the instruments have this same kind of reediness so it's an interesting thing to consider.   

Really Mike? I think he basically sounds like "classic Brian" through 20/20 at least. But listen to the alternate "Break Away." He just doesn't sound as powerful, crisp, clear or plainly good as Carl did. As I said, I think that despite his lack of extended leads on Sunflower, I think he was used in key situations as far as leads go and they worked out well. Same thing with "'Til I Die."

But anyways, my point is I feel like his upper-register vocals from things like "Awake" are definitely pointing the way towards towards a vocal like "She's Got Rhythm," which to me, just isn't very enjoyable because of the shrillness of the vocal. I really do think that his vocal changes really do start in the late '60s and culminates in 1975 where he develops of a voice that one might not have recognized as Brian Wilson. However, at the same time, I do hear some of the "younger Brian" in his lead vocal on the opening of the 1978 "California Feelin'." I almost feel like if he woulda watched it he might have made it into the '80s with a voice that was more like what people thought Brian's voice should sound like.

But at the same time, while it used to bum me out that he sounded so different on a lot of the post-1975 material, I've actually come to enjoy quite a lot of the stuff. I really his vocals from stuff like "Stevie" from the early '80s to "Summer's Gone" from last year.

I don't sense much of a change in his voice at this point, besides his slightly reedy falsetto. I think he may have been using his "head voice" even more than he was in the early 60s in the Sunflower era, but his voice is virtually unchanged.  His "tired eye" vocal on Add Some Music sounds exactly like the same Brian of Pet Sounds, for example.

It's anyway amazing how much his voice changed in only half a decade. Maybe more tragic than amazing...  :-\

Cool, Cool, Water shows Brian matching his 1967 parts perfect in 1970. Break Away is hard to judge. I always felt he was trying to teach Carl certain lines and singing them a little bit different in pitch. Brian's voice sometimes showed signs of cracking or strain early on too, like the live Don't Worry Baby from 1964 (first released in 1990), California Girls live on Jack Benny, even the Surf's Up Inside Pop is raw. When I heard things like Awake, or Where Is She I was impressed by how good he sounded really.

I've always felt Brian sounded the way he did pre Pet Sounds because he was really young. Carl's voice changed a lot around 1970 when he was around 24 too, not for the worse, but there were some higher parts he was doing in 1966-69 that I never heard much later. I think Brian would have filled out, sung lower, but still had a special voice.

Or...his vocals for the Soulful Old Man Sunshine demo and Games Two Can Play -- recorded only 2-4 weeks, respectively, before Where Is She. That is, not really all that removed from anything on Wild Honey or Friends.



I also think in the case of those two tracks -- Where Is She and Awake -- *some* of the shrillness/reediness comes down to simple double-tracking and the recording methods (maybe even the gear), as well as the way he's singing it.

I think it is interesting how soft he sounds on the Wild Honey era Surf's Up.  I know this is pre the era being discussed here, but I don't know of any recording before or after where he sounded so sweet and soft.  Even something like Caroline, No (1966) sounds more like those reedy vocals that were to come at the end of the 60s.

I had another thread a while back about each member's voice in different eras. Brian had such a youthful sound in the early days. I think it matured and reached its peak in the Pet Sounds/Smile era. From maybe 1969 and beyond you start to hear the subtle differences, at least in his falsetto. The falsetto and high range no longer had the sweetness of his earlier years. The song "Good Time" is a nice example of this. I like the song but there are some points during the song that are a little difficult to listen to. Obviously it's not a crazy dramatic change (like his mid-70s voice was) but there is definitely a subtle difference.

After the premiere of his "raspy" voice on 15BO, Brian said that his old-falsetto voice made him sound like (his words) "a fairy". That Sunflower-era vocals (Where is she, Awake, his bits on Slip on through and Forever) are his "most fairy" vocals. Love 'em, though

This is all very interesting. Because so much of the classic Brian sound is a falsetto (with a lot of head voice, admittedly), his basic sound is something unnatural. He made it sound easy and flowing, of course, but it wasn't. I think that as Brian's voice changed due to age, illness and abuse (and he was doing all of those things very young), the willpower and dedication needed to make his voice do those unnatural things decreased. And when he simply had to sing in his "normal voice," perhaps he didn't quite have an innate sense of what that was.

You also have the engineering and double tracking issues. No question, in my mind, that Desper's approach has a lot to do with how Brian sounds on Sunflower. I mean, listen to how Brian sounds on projects he does with Joe Thomas as opposed to Mark L. Both use Autotune, but the quality of Brian's voice sounds quite different on each.

There's studio versus live, too. Some folks here were talking about how Brian sounded so different in his studio vocals starting in 98 or so (a more relaxed approach) as opposed to his 80s and early 90s sound (strained and shouty). Yet, if you see Brian live, he'll often sing in a voice that's much closer to the Paley sessions than his most recent studio discs. So which one is the real voice?

Obviously I've talked a lot about recent Brian here in a post that's about historic Brian. But I think it's unavoidable when you consider how different he sounds on various albums (and live appearances) recorded over relatively brief spans of time. No one factor explains what's going on. It's a complex nexus of issues, not the least of which are simply self-confidence and a willingness to expend effort in the studio.

I can give two general examples of singers who were known for their high register and then it came down.

Robert Plant.  If you listen to anything pre-1972, especially on bootlegs he not only had the high range if he wanted to (without falsetto), but it had power as well.  In late 1971 into 1972 he started to lose that a bit and by their June 72 tour he was singing a lot of high parts with a falsetto - still high, but more shrill like Brian in 1969.  In October 1972 he completely was losing it on stage, and you can hear him constantly cracking when trying to reach the high notes.  By January 1973, it was over for his original high range.  Like Brian, Robert smoked and didn't take care of his voice.  He also developed nodes on his vocal chords while on tour in Texas 1971 (hot outside, cold A/C inside over and over).

Geddy Lee.  A lot of people will assume he never lost his high range, but he certainly did.  He sang with his original range/voice until late 1976, then sang with the falsetto thing still high until about 1982 (again, like Brian during Sunflower), then he too lost it a bit.  He also smoked back then.

So it seems like Brian was following that typical pattern which seems to occur to these type of singers who smoke and don't take care of their voice.

I can hardly stand Brian's vocals from the mid-70's until the early 2000's.  It makes me sad because his young voice, in many people's minds, is the embodies the signature sound of the Beach Boys.  Sure, you've got Mike's leads, but that omnipresent, omnipotent falsetto to many IS the BB sound.

What's really interesting is how distinctive Brian's voice is still, despite the radical change.  I played a track from In the Key of Disney for some family members the other day, in the background, on my phone, without telling them who they were listening to.  These are casual BB fans who only know them from movie soundtracks and oldies stations.  I'd be surprised if any of them have even heard any post Pet Sounds tracks.  Yet not 3 bars into "We Belong Together" and 3 of my sisters simultaneously ask, "Is this Beach Boys?"

Interesting topic.

I think Brian must have had identity issues with his own style as a singer. The singing style of the other guys did not change much over the years, other than what age and experience do to you. But it's hard to tell that the guy that sings Barbie is the same guy that sings Baker Man, or You're so Good to me, or I'd Love just once to see you, or Keep an eye on Summer. These were recorded during a span of like 5-6 years... age seems very relative an issue here, but the search for a sincere expression of one's own sound seems not. My impression is that Brian always felt insecure or uncomfortable with his voice and kept searching for a style of his own-- he succeeded, of course, but the results probably never pleased him. And the fact that, as Wirestone puts it, his most distinctive style is an "unnatural" one like falsetto, or an imitation of Bob Flanigan, or the guy from the Modern Folk Quartet or whoh knows... is very telling.

I just think that he grew uncomfortable with his voice into his thirties (Where is she being an example) and kept changing his style even to this day.

I've never been fond of his "Sunflower voice."  It sounds thin and a little gimmicky.  Maybe even insincere.  Like he's singing more from the throat -- and pushing it hard, and getting nasal.  Someone said "reedy."  Perhaps it was all he could do to reach those notes... because his voice had maybe changed.  Sitting in bed, smoking 6 packs a day will reed your voice up.  Just ask Lucille Ball.

I notice it on Friends, too.  Two years earlier.

I agree. I think we had a recent thread about when Brian's voice peaked/started to go downhill. I also agree that by "Awake" and "Where Is She", it had regressed a full "grade". You can feel the push or the strain he was putting into those high notes. I think Brian felt that, too. I mean, there has to be some good reason why Brian hardly has any lead vocals from 20/20 thru Holland. Maybe Brian didn't like the sound of his own voice!

This topic and the wonderful Dennis Wilson lead vocals we've been hearing on MIC really have me thinking a lot about the deterioration in Brian and Dennis' voice, ESPECIALLY in Dennis. For years I have obsessed over Brian ruining his voice in that short period - arguably 1974-75. It is a tragedy, such a loss of greatness. But now - now - I have to INCLUDE Dennis in that category, too. Thankfully, Dennis found a way for his voice/vocals to work after his voice was ruined. I CAN find much enjoyment in Dennis' vocals on Pacific Ocean Blue, unlike a lot of Brian's post-1975 vocal work. But, when you listen to WIBNTLA, you can't help but feel, like Brian, what was truly lost. So sad...

I might be in the minority on this, but I actually prefer Dennis' post 74 vocals. To imagine him singing something like "Farewell My Friend" or "Moonshine" with his pre-74 vocals is impossible. Aside from the timbre, he achieved something truly soulful in his vocals in the mid to late 70's that is lacking in his earlier vocals.

While I don't prefer Dennis' post-1974 vocals, I do agree with you about "Farewell My Friend", Moonshine" - and "Thoughts Of You". And "Time". And "End Of The Show". You can feel his pain, his loss. But, while Dennis could still excel in those types of songs, he started to struggle in some of the other songs. It's a matter of opinion, but I'm not overly fond of "In The Still Of The Night", Mona", and partly "I Wanna Pick You Up". Some of those Bambu tracks are rough, too.

Where is she is incredible.

Just got my copy of MIC today and was shocked to see Brian wrote it all by himself

True but then I think Dennis, as an artist, had progressed beyond songs like that. They were not a good fit for him. It would be a bit like hearing John Lennon singing "Mrs. Brown You Have A Lovely Daughter" in 1970.

The late 60's/early 70's voice is very recognizable as Brian, although it has changed. You can hear this even earlier, for instance on the Lei'd in Hawaii stuff. I think around '66 he started singing that way stylistically, not because of any change his voice was going through. That's just my opinion, but I think it was part of being more hip, and creative.

One way to track this is his speaking voice- up to that time, his speaking voice hadn't changed much. It was a touch lower, but not much. By '74, though, it was much burlier and raspy, and his singing followed suit. By the mid 80's his speaking voice had gotten a higher, but more nasal quality and... also  his singing voice.

Also, based on his speaking voice, his early 60s voice seemed to fit quite well. I don't think it was a put on, although it was derivative. His speaking voice had a lilting, supple alto quality to it and so did his singing. His range was exceptional, even without falsetto. And his falsetto transitioned beautifually to and from his full voice, something that many many singers never can do.

Aric

 Where Is She sure reminds me of Sailplane Song and somewhat of My Solution -check em  out

I have always wondered if the relative decline of Brian's singing voice, especially compared to say, Carl, had to do with the fact that he rarely performed live. I mean, Carl and the boys were out there every other night or whatever, giving their voices a thorough workout, while Brian only occasionally sang in the studio. There was no way he'd be able to keep up, right? Use it or lose it

Aric, good point about Brian's speaking voice. What really blew my mind while listening to CF74 was his speaking voice at the very end of the track. He sounds EXACTLY like he would 3 years later in the opening of 'That Special Feeling' ('cassette rolling?').  

I think there's a very good reason for why he sounded so different on 15 BO and (to a lesser extent) Love You...


Good points, Clay, but I think there's something that many are missing. He recorded very few vocals in 1972-1975. In 1972, he tried out several different singing styles with Spring, and his few vocals on So Tough sounded like MIU Brian minus the rasp (notable exception being his 1976 sound on his vocals for He Come Down)/ 1973 still sounds like Brian of 1969-1971, but is singing a bit differently (the opening of 'California' is him using his 15BO style minus the rasp). 1974 was the change. Although he seemingly sounded okay on 'Rollin' Up To Heaven', on closer inspection the falsetto sounded like his MIU voice. We've heard CF now, so we know how he sounded there. We've heard almost nothing from 1975, but his backups for the Johnny Rivers 'Help Me Rhonda' and the other song he did (can't remember the artist's name, but I remember it was a female singer) were real bad. His voice was already changed by that point. The question is, to what extent? There's a very good reason why Brian's 1978 voice is almost the same as it was in 1974. Why did he sound so rough on 15 BO? I've stated before that some of it was a put on...you can hear Brian experimenting with his vocal style starting in 1972, like he wanted to be a different singer. Hell, he even disguised his voice on MT Vernon & Fairway and Child Of Winter the following year. But, there's also something else.

Muscle memory. Or, the loss of.

I mentioned above that Brian rarely sang as the years went on. The coke and smokes, combined with snorting heroin (...), definitely damaged his voice. Nobody is disputing that. You take a singer and shred the sh*t out of his voice for a couple of years, well, that doesn't lead to anything good. However, if that same singer goes from, say, 12 Nov 1974 thru 29 May 1975 (and then for 3 1/2 months later) without laying down vocals while continuing to abuse their voice ...15 Big Ones is the result. Vocally, he was rustier than a hobo's botulism-laden can of pork &  beans. He basically had to relearn to sing. Not only was his voice damaged, he was out of practice. That's why he sounded a bit better on LY, and a hell of a lot better on MIU (and other things recorded in 1978). The funny part is, by the time MIU rolled around Brian had been off the wagon for quite a while. So, it's the combination of him not trying to sound like Randy Newman and having sung more often recently that made him sound like he did 4 years previously.

With that in mind, by 1979 the damage was permanent, and this time the worsening voice was no put-on. I think his divorce from Marilyn caused a further downward spiral equivalent to when Murry passed in 1973. As bad as he sounded most of the time in 1976, they were worlds away from 1980. Difference between trying to f*** up your voice on purpose while also trying to sound worse than you actually were, and having already ruined it. Best analogy I can come up with? In 1974, Brian's voice sounded like the vocal equivalent of  hurting yourself while zipping your fly. From 1978-1981*, it was the equivalent of putting your dick in a wood chipper.


*I'm sure 1982 was worse, but it's not like was singing either.

edit

MarcellaHasDirtyFeet (great user name) and i had the same idea :lol

Your voice definitely gets weaker when you don't use it enough, but it won't lead to actual tonal change. On the other hand, people who over use their voices, especially outside their actual "normal" range (Robert Plant was mentioned, he'd be a perfect example), can develop substantial vocal changes over the years. In other words, over use would be more detrimental than under use.

Aric

I feel like no one has mentioned that a lot of what we have of Brian's vocals from around this period are either demos or went unused. "Break Away" is a scratch vocal meant only as a placeholder, "Awake" is a demo, "Where Is She?" is very likely a demo, the bit of Brian vocal on the new acapella "This Whole World" could easily be a scratch vocal (it sure doesn't sound like a full on attempt given that it's single-tracked).

I feel this is relevant, y'know? You're demoing something for someone else to sing, you're probably not gonna put your heart and soul into the performance and try to do your best.

Speaking of, I've been meaning to upload this.

Here's what Brian sounded like in 1982:

https://soundcloud.com/smile-a-d/gok-82-brian-lead

I think I see where you're going with the "under use" idea now, and that makes sense. Basically his voice was changing due to damage, but he was "behind the curve" because he wasn't singing much. That makes sense, too, when you consider that by the mid/late 80's his voice was actually quite strong. Despite the weirdness of the Landy years and the first solo album, he was actually in really good shape, vocally. For example:

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

Vocally, this is a good performance.
Aric

Brian sounds a lot like Burl Ives there.

Thank you very much for the link; I enjoyed that very much. I saw Brian with the Beach Boys in 1982. He was huge (especially his gut) and he was acting a little strange on stage, but... I've posted it a few times recently but I really liked Brian's voice in 1981-82. I can't explain it but it was different, or unique. I guess I was just so happy to hear that it was still intact and strong. Keep in mind that Brian went two albums - L.A.(Light Album) and Keepin' The Summer Alive - WITHOUT A LEAD VOCAL!!!

Boat To Sail - Jackie DeShannon

Besides Back Home, Rhonda and BTS, the other released '75 vocal performances were (the barely audible) "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" (California Music), as well as "Just 14" (Tim Curry - released in Jan. of '76). Any others that I'm missing?

I've never heard that version of WDFFIL!

I was thinking this as well. I'm sure that's why Carl's voice stayed stronger.


Great points, runnerz. These weren't finished things. Maybe "Where Is She?" was more than a demo, maybe it wasn't , but regardless, all the rest were likely not for public consumption at the time, and Brian likely wasn't interested in getting a "releasable" vocal.


I actually agree with you Sheriff. I might even stretch back to 1980. His voice, '80 through '82 was pretty enjoyable. Sometimes live, he did sound a bit "lounge singerish," but overall I've enjoyed what I've heard as long as it was in his range (obviously he shouldn't have been doing "Don't Worry Baby" in the original key). I also like his vocal on "Stevie" quite a bit. He obviously didn't sound a bit like he did in the '60s, but his vocal had character and I feel it was well sung. Just a different kinda vocal then Brian used to do. Actually, I think "Stevie" is a song that should be considered if they ever do another vault project.


Really? I'm kinda surprised! You know he produced it right?

Billy's heard it.

Or is about to...8)

I still think Where Is She is terrific. Plus yes Brian's vocals on demos are less polished than a normal studio take. So what?

He had a terrific voice until he hit his thirties and slightly beyond. Man what a special voice I hear on this track, sorry for those who miss it because it's not coming from the 180 pound 19 year old who cut Lonely Sea.

I love this version. Brian's delivery is so passionate, like he really means it. He must have been in a good mood or something that night. Listen to him hit those high notes! ;D He even continues until the very end of the song, in almost a whisper. World's beyond the Long Beach version.

Sounds like you're kinda taking this a bit personal Mike. It's just a topic of discussion. I for one really like "Where Is She?" and I feel extremely lucky that we are able to hear it. I think it's a really great song and it should've been released back in the day, it's that good.

However, I just brought this topic up because the man does sound different then he did early in his career. He just does. Is it less enjoyable? In the case of this song, no, but in the case of "Awake," kinda, just because it's a bit too shrill for my tastes.

And for the most part I do agree with you that most of The Beach Boys work after 1974 isn't as good as the stuff from '62 to '74. However, I don't chalk this up to Brian's vocal changes like some do. I just think a lot of the material that he and the others wrote just wasn't up to par from the mid '70s and on. However, I do think Brian came up with the goods for his material for L.A., his first solo album, and TWGMTR. I think when he brought the goods, single wise, the material did well. Which is why "It's OK", "Almost Summer" and "Good Timin'" did well on the charts. I don't think the vocals really ruined or hampered any of the the group or Brian's stuff. I don't think that Keepin' The Summer Alive or Sweet Insanity would've been much better at all with '60s style vocals from Brian. And I think his vocals on stuff like "She Says That She Needs Me", "Listen to Me", "From There To Back Again", "That's Why God Made The Radio" and "Summer's Gone" among others are great, worthy of the name Brian Wilson. I guess my point is I see Brian as a great artist and singer still, whereas some see him as a museum piece who was great from '62 to '73ish but mostly an embarrassment since.

Heck, for the most part I LIKE his 'rough' vocals!

I guess my 1962 crack was a little harsher than I meant it to sound. Not meant to be close to personal, I myself simply don't get what others are hearing here. Only thing I am trying to say is that I don't expect anyone at 19-21 or so to sound exactly the same as 28-30. Brian has done some great work since 1973-74, but he was a special singer before. A good singer at times since, very emotional at moments, but man I miss how the sound of his voice could really get me. In 1969-71 he still has that undefinable "it" to his voice. A very unique quality.

Notice how Brian's voice voice in 1982 on GOK, at his absolute nadir physically... wasn't nearly as raspy as in 1976!

I half agree with both of you. I prefer the rougher Dennis voice but only like the Sherrif said, on his own songs. His vocals for Love You and 15 Big Ones sound bad, bad, bad. He was no longer a versatile singer. And by Bambu the game was pretty much up.

Yeah this is how he sounded on the cocaine tapes. For what it's worth an "on" Brian vocal from 1975-82 has a lot of heart to it, emotion in his style I don't always hear later. That said when he was off during the same period, well it's just sad.

I will say I don't hear MIU Brian on Rollin Up To Heaven, but weirdly do on California Feeling 1974. Just seems like a big change in a matter of days.

I hear that. That said, there's no way he could've sounded that good in the falsetto range in '77. There are a few moments where he sings soft and sounds exactly like Sunflower Brian. But yeah, Rollin Up To Heaven is pretty rock solid. Sounds like he's giving it a pretty serious go on the falsetto part. For the hell of it, since it's the same part over and over, I synced up a few moments to see what a double tracked '74 Brian would sound like. There's a fullness there that almost harkens back to mid 60's Brian, as opposed to Sunflower era.

This guy and all his voices.   8)

Notice how good his falsetto was on for the MIC version of RNR Music. Or the boxed set version of the 1978 CF!

I think by now we can safely draw the line with Rollin being the last old school BW vocal. 1974 seems to be a harbinger in other ways as well...the start of him being more of an oldies guy rather than the adventurer he had been previously (although one can say that process began in 1972 with Spring).

I wonder if Brian had She's Leaving Home on his mind when he was writing Where is She?  Same tempo, 3/4 time, similar subject matter.  Just a thought...

The only Brian vocals I find difficult to listen to are on songs like I'm So Lonely, from '84-'85.

I have been wanting to make a thread on this topic for a while now. For a long time I thought the same thing about Brian's "shrill" falsetto on the Sunflower tracks. But over time I've come to believe that what I'm hearing is actually just the way that they recorded Brian's voice on certain tracks, an aesthetic decision, combined with different equipment at the home studio. I think it's something that should be asked in the Desper thread. The warm reverb of the past is replaced with a drier sound, and it almost seems as if they were letting those higher (probably louder) notes go to tape "hot". Possibly also EQed so that they would sit in the mix in a new way.

I agree with you to an extent, superunison, but you also have to admit that there is no doubt that by 1969/1970 Brian's voice had changed a little bit.

No doubt his voice had already changed by 1969, but not that drastically. It's just that by then the tracks he sang lead on were much more sparse and intimate, not pop symphonies of the past. Take "I'm Bugged at My Old Man" for example. I know he sings that one in a jokey way, but the highest notes are just as shrill as they would be in 1969/70. Single tracked vocal with sparse accompanient plays a much greater role than any actual voice change.

The only change I can hear is that his voice became even more brassy - which I liked!

I think Brian sounds fantastic on Sunflower..  his vocals on Cool cool water, Forever, and Our Sweet love (MIC vocals only show them off) are really something special.

I think Al once described it as a "cutting" sound..  so pure and beautiful. 

I also think he sounds very "Brian-esque" on the California Feelin demo as well.  It seems he still had it as late as '74.

He sounds a little self-conscious.

At times, during these garden years (which I'm calling it today) or the "post-SMiLE/sometime before Brian's Back" period, I think he sounds a little more self-conscious than he ever had before.  Being self-conscious while singing may cause an alteration in technique, endanger the emotional connection and level of conviction.

Whether it was mental illness-related or SMiLE-breakdown-related I don't know.  He could have been unsure about himself because of age or the Beach Boys predicament or unsure about his falsetto voice.  I don't know.

At least on "This Whole World" in the bridge, Brian's falsetto sounds as if he sang with a beard on.

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