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Just saw this on Facebook:

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/03/23/brian-wilson-sail-away-no-pier-pressure/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Speakeasy

Sorry for the duplication; I see it's posted in the new album thread already.

well there we have it.

doesn't get much more Beach Boys than THAT, folks.

 
:tm
NPP is turning out to be real grand slam

For Beach Boys fans hoping that they’ll get back together for a new record, he says the group doesn't have anything in the works. “I think solo is my game,” he says.

Well, that is nothing absolute, but it does not provide any sign of hope for those hoping, as I ever am.

I think this is a good song, and I make no apology for wishing it were a BB song. I can hear Bruce and Mike all over it. it's funny how Mike name-checks old songs and Brian does sonic/musical checks.

I'm surprised he mentioned writing a new song for the movie...cuz I don't remember a new song at all.

Perhaps it's just coincidence, but the bridge that goes "Oh let me take you there / to another land / don't expect the world / to understand" is very reminiscent of the Kirsty MacColl/Tracey Ullman song "They Don't Know".

https://youtu.be/_BilUu5Ip7s (https://youtu.be/_BilUu5Ip7s)

I really enjoy the song. There are a lot of false stops at the end. Each part is nice, but some feel kind of tacked on.

Like I said...NPP will be the best Beach Boys album since Love You.

To me that's like a mom telling her kids that tonight's dinner will be the best dinner since that can of Alpo they had last week...

No apology necessary for me.  Once a thread gets that long and into the weeds, I stop reading it.  A fresh announcement of a useful tidbit is called for.

It's actually good to see these "bulletin" topics when something new comes out, because I think quite a few people might check out of the mega-threads and miss the news like this. Once these bulletins run their course, we can merge the threads into one, no problem, to keep it all together for reference.

I was all ashamed about starting the separate Wild Honey video clip thread, but it ended up drawing some real interest and comments, so I think there's space for both. I know that I sometimes only check the thread titles, and I bet others do so as well.

How great is the little "Sloop John B." riff?!  ;D

Hearing this song made me feel 15 again... especially when that chorus hits.  The best Beach Boys songs have that power... a major adrenalin hit.  The comparison to This Whole World is apt.  PCH. sea breeze, top down, wonderful!

what an homage to Al's and Blondie's work on Sloop and SOS respectively. A sea shanty indeed. What must Mike and Bruce be feeling now.  I know they had their reasons, but how could they not be mired now in regret that they are not part of this. Surely they hear where their own voices would go in the arrangement and mix.

May I say again that the absence of JF is the key component of the success of all thee NPP songs (or rather an important factor in their beauty and success)?

So far this album is far better than any BW solo album. You all now I like an Avengers movie with all the heroes in it, but I am facing the reality that this is not a BB album per se, while understanding that it has art within in that is as close as we may ever get to a BB album, in various guises.

Loving it all so far--including RD by that way.

This could very well turn out to be Brian's best solo LP.. So far I love all of it. :'(

From everything I've heard, it may just be not just be Brian's best, but even better than the last Beach Boys lp, and I liked  everything on that, well...almost everything. I have absolutey no regrets about myKe , br00th, or the Jeffster not being on NPP. Slam dunk for team Brian-never look back, man. :wave

Just like I did with TWGMTR, I haven't heard any previews or samples from this new album...and it's killing me.  I think I heard about 30 seconds of the Soundstage clip they released last week but nothing else.  Cannot wait for this album already.

GF - that's great news!  It's so easy to miss something when a thread runs over 100 pages!

Seconded.

I'm sorry but this doesn't make sense to me.  It presumes that Mike Love is ignorant to the fact that Brian Wilson can compose great music.  He's been closer to the flame than most of us will ever be.  He's been a part of Brian's music for fifty years.  He's not ignorant, it's not important to him or at least not important enough to make him want to be a part of it going forward.  Heck I don't understand it but I can sure see it for what it is.  Bottom line: It's what you value you in life that makes those things important and as an aside the choices we make in our lives are often times defined by what we have to give up in making them.

I think that Mike is, actually, blind to the quality of the work that Brian does without participation from him (Mike). He has constructed a narrative in which the only worthwhile BB music is that which he (Mike) has a hand in. Anything else isn't worth it.

As for the rest of it, I note that you pretty frequently imply in your posts that Mike has some sort of first hand knowledge that justifies his decision to not work with the full group. But you never quite come out and state what it is. So what does Mike know that we don't? I'm genuinely curious as to your answer.

That has been my impression for a long time as well. Certainly seems that way, judging by any interview.. ever.. with him, basically. It's so weird, and astronomically far from reality. You better hold on to that license, Mike. (But we know you will. ;))

wow this song reminds me of Sloop John B...

Improves on second listen… more akin to Somewhere Near Japan to my ears but perhaps that's partly down to Al's voice. Not keen on the "Sloop" references… thought this album was about contemporary Brian, after all. Maybe I need more time with this…

I dig this one. Nice, non-contrived sounding trade-off on the lead vocals. That is, they are all suited to the parts they're singing. It's not just a "take turns" approach.

The mix sounds a bit muddy and cluttered in that Al's voice is a tiny bit more buried than I'd like in certain spots. Much like Brian, Blondie has a nice lower register voice that works well on this one.

Probably the best of the hand full of tracks we've heard in full. The little live snippet of this one in the "trailer" for the PBS show sounds like it, too, might sounds a bit more clear and crisp in terms of lead vocals.

I'd prefer minor and in some cases major mix changes in a number of the tracks, but I know this is how Brian likes to mix stuff.

And, for the millionth time, WTF is up with Al's voice sounding so good? Someone needs to get him on more stuff. Coerce him into cutting another solo album. See if Brian can lend him a few songs he's been noodling around with. Something. Seriously.

I took it as a wink-and-a-nod reference for the fans, since there is no mistaking what the reference is or would be for those who know the music. Maybe even more obvious of a choice and platform to do it since the guy who suggested to Brian that they record "John B Sails/Sloop John B" back in the 60's is singing on this one, and also the guy who sang "Sail On Sailor" in the 70's and all but owns the lead vocal identity of that song up to the present day is also singing on this new track about sailing. A total nautical theme, sailing and all that, with two of the musicians associated with the classic sailing themed hits of the past. Perfect fit for the instrumental reference as well, I think.  ;D

Or another way to consider it could be this, borrowed from the other discussion:

This makes 4 really great tunes so far IMO.  Plus, from what I have heard of Saturday Night, I am certain that I will love that tune as well (the damn song has been stuck in my head just from that Soundstage snippet!).

My guess would be lot.  It's sort of like being a soldier in the trenches.  Unless you have been in there, you really can't speak to the experience.  I look at two quotes in particular one from Mike Love and the other from Al Jardine which justify to me at least that Mike's decision in not working with the full group.  In speaking of the C50, specifically his experiences working with Brian Wilson, Mike Love stated:

"The chemistry I had with Brian was back last year. It was just like it was when we were kids growing up together. I’m just pleased that we had the opportunity to work with each other last year, because it’s never easy with Brian. There are always obstacles."

You take what you can from a statement like this because quite frankly you get a little bit of everything.  Mike Love obviously gets very nostalgic and emotional when speaking of Brian Wilson but then you get the second part where he pulls backs.  Which is essentially what he did in terms of working with the full group.  It was fun, it was nostalgic, in the end it was enough for me.  He pulls back.  So take from that what you want and leave the rest but I personally respect his honesty.

Al Jardine mentioned on the onset of the demise of the C50: "We would love to have Mike and Bruce with us, but they don't want to work with us. So we can't force them to work with us."

My question is why would someone need to be forced if it was something they wanted to do in the first place.  My take on this is that people more times than not act in their own self interest and if there is not enough of an incentive to do something or if there are drawbacks to doing it then more times than not it's not going to happen.  

In another place and time, "Saturday Night" would be as about radio friendly as it gets.  It would've gotten some airplay if released under the "Brian Wilson" name and I wouldn't be surprised if it wouldn't have been a massive hit for the boys if released under the group's name.

This song is very boring. I can't be alone in thinking that, can I? Also, I don't like Blondie Chaplin's voice at all.

Conversely, it's never easy with the luhvster. There are always obstacles.  :smokin :smokin

Guys I could cry this song is so good.

Thanks Brian, Al and Blondie, this song is incredible.

I think the "Sloop" reference really works.  My taste must be much different than yours.  I'm celebrating the fact that we FINALLY get something from Brian that hearkens back to the day.  This one, contrary to the songs from NPP that have already been released, actually is blowing me away.  Thank freaking goodness we got (at least) one of those!  Not keen on Blondie's voice here (he sounds like a young Peter Cetera before the falsetto), but I can live with it.

Nice song! ;D

+1

It seems like Brian really enjoyed recording this album, I've always liked his kind of light hearted stuff a lot... I really enjoyed the Disney album because it was very childlike (different than Childish, mind you) and this song has a little bit of that careless magic to it too. 

Again I have to comment that the instrumentation is completely different than anything he's ever done, he's got some new players involved somewhere that have changed everything about how his sound, sounds.  Which I like. 

BTW, anybody else get a McCartney vibe?

Hey prof, I really like your post here. However, as far as how Mike and Bruce are feeling? I really don't know. I'm sure Bruce wouldn't have minded to be on this material. He seemed to dig being on the last Beach Boys album. However with Mike, I really don't know. I feel like he doesn't really care. And probably won't care unless somehow Brian got a number one single (which obviously does not have a great chance of happening). Shoot, even if Brian gets something like a top 10 or top 20 album, Mike will just pull the same stunt his did with TWGMTR and once again say something like, "yeah it's great Brian did that well....but you see, this material has no staying power like something like "Kokomo" which, mind you, still gets requested at every one of our shows! But anyways, the door is open to cousin Brian and I hope we can reunite once again and turn some of our legendary writing chemistry into something truly fun, fun, fun!"

Now as far as the lack of Foskett being a major plus to this material? I'm in 100 percent agreement with you there professor! I mean, I love pretty much everything on TWGMTR, but I do have to say, it might have been even better if it had Matt Jardine, Bruce or (dare I say it) Brian on the high parts instead. Regardless, "The Right Time" and "Sail Away" are both beautiful, and I really like "Our Special Love" as well. "Runaway Dancer" I'm liking too.

And lastly, even though I too wish we could have a new Beach Boys album, maybe this is better in a way. I'd rather have the four Beach Boys on it who really wanna be on it (Brian, Al, Blondie and Dave) rather than forcing somebody who's only interested in getting his way on song credits, rather than thinking about the art (guess who??).

Maybe it will take more listens. Personally, I would have preferred Brian to sing it himself, but he obviously made a lot of people happy by giving the lead to Blondie.

I love the fact music can have different feelings to different listeners.

I hate that fact and would love to have the ability to get enthusiastic about that crap that is broadcast on the radio every day.

Wow.

A kind of strange one for me - I actually quite like the "new" song, including the opening notes, which sound like they've been swiped from the Viacom corporate theme found on VHS tapes of old.

Great vox all round, with Al lifting it again - man, that guy just keeps delivering - that last brace of whoa-a-whoa whoa-ohhs in the last 30 seconds, just love it.  Fat Bass harmonica, great drumming. Feels a lot shorter than the 3:38 (or whatever) running time

What I'm not that fussed with the Sloop John B intro riff - and that song's up there in my BB top 5.  Perhaps I feel this new song was good enough to stand on it's own merits.

The intro is great, the flute is my favorite instrument.

Amen to that.

Al sounds superb. Brian sounds good. Blondie doesn`t to my ears.

I wish I liked Joe Thomas`s production style more but nothing new there.

I feel I'd really like the song a whole lot better if the production was different.

I would be happier if there weren't any hi-hats on the song-- sleigh bells forever, baby!  8)

Upon repeated listens, I again find myself wishing the falsetto was more prominent.  It seems like ever since Brian could no longer sing a sweeping, prominent falsetto, the falsetto parts in his songs have been purposely de-emphasized and buried in the vocal stack, despite the presence of really capable voices (Matt J. in particular). 

I maintain that if Brian really wants that sacred airplay, he'll get it by bringing the falsetto out of the shadows.  I've been conducting a little experiment over the last couple years.  I teach high school and college classes, and I play Beach Boys/Brian as the students walk in the room every day.  Interestingly, it doesn't take long for a few of them to start singing along.  Do you know what part they sing?  Almost every kid, regardless of course, year, or semester?  The falsetto parts.  Noticeable favorites are "Don't Back Down," "Hushabye," the last few seconds of "Kiss the Girl," "Surf's Up," the tag on "God Only Knows."

In case you're curious, none of my classes have seemed too impressed by "Runaway Dancer," the song ostensibly crafted just for the kids.  (Those looping electronica songs are a dime a dozen; nothin' special about RD.)

Sadly, it seems like so far NPP is shoving that signature falsetto aside, and I have no idea why.  Ray, you lurking?  Tell Brian to bring back the falsetto.  If he can't do it, Matt can.

"sail away to a land without time, drink my water from a shell that i find"

who thinks Brian wrote this line?  ;D

(ps OMG love this song.  Love all the songs so far.  Guess I'm easy.  Lucky that way)

My favorite line of the song!

...

It's just so bombastic and exuberant. Makes me smile with every listen

Sail Away Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUSHyKhpSis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUSHyKhpSis)

Fantastic! wow. gentle, strong, meaningful, urgent, exuberant, familial, poignant, nostalgic but not contrived. Amazing--an instant classic.

Al and his hypnotic hand gestures... "You are under my power"....  :lol

I wish this track were the second single released instead of Runaway Dancer.  I'm taking a California road trip next week and would love to integrate it into my playlist!  I get home the day before the album drops.  Bad, bad timin'.

Reminds me of the original renditions of Santa Ana Winds and Lookin' Down the Coast - which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

I don't really get into Runaway Dancer but this is very nice indeed!

Light Album was the best BB album since Love You. :P

Everyone here knows that I love LA...almost annoyingly so to everyone here.  This will be better.

I've been avoiding links to advance listens of NPP; I want my first listen to be on my stereo, but today on FB I caved in and played Sail Away from the Vegas soundstage, man, it's an instant classic! No other artist from his generation can come up with something as beautiful and fresh like that, after more than 50 years! Brian Wilson is peerless in that respect.

I quite enjoyed the tune.  Very 'Beach Boys-y.'  Oh, and... Irish?  Did it sound Irish-y to anyone else?

Most of the lyrics were pretty neat, too.  I've shared before that I invariably dig Brian writing on the nautical theme, so no surprise there.

Including Blondie like this is awesome.  Al continues to knock it out of the park.

I guess my only constructive (and relatively minor) criticism is that the drums on the album version don't quite do it for me.  Generic, sort of rock 'n' roll, drums still usually feel out of place to me in a Brian Wilson production.  Even just a less prominent, less boom-y, less in-your-face snare would have helped a whole lot, I think (though it likely wouldn't have rocked in quite the same way).

Incidentally, I'd love a remix of the studio version which features a little less prominent :drum.  Like, I think I would adore it.


But in a live setting?  It's much easier for me to see past those big ol' drums in that atmosphere.  To embrace them, even.

I think that's why I kind of prefer the Soundstage version.


And I know I've said this before, too, but just as an aside, every new thing I hear only serves to increase my anticipation for NPP.  BW is really killing it.

DP.

Sweet Jesus, I did it again.

no your not. 'Runaway Dancer' was terrible. This is just 'meh'. Its not bad, but its nothing great either

I dont understand all the love these songs are getting to be honest. I guess i was expecting a whole lot more based on people's opinions here.

The surfing clip playing behind the band during this song has what relevance?

I like it, I just think the intro is sorta hard to listen to.

It's a Boy.  On a Beach. 


(duh)

I have noticed that too. I think that singing the soaring falsetto is something of an emotional release. A chance to really let go and scream, but in a musical fashion. People like singing the falsetto because it makes them feel good. In Brian's case, he had such a great, inimitatable falsetto. That is the part that people sing out when they are alone in the car because you cannot sing those parts quietly.

You're right, nobody can match Brian's 60's falsetto, but I've heard some people get close-- at least in tone and delivery.  I've heard Jeff get *really* close both live and in album tracks (especially on his own solo work).  Matt Jardine gets it almost dead on "...be the right, could it be THE RIGHT TIME..." of "Right Time", though not so much on the vocal interlude near the end.  Truth be told, whoever sings falsetto in the Explorers Club is on the right track, particularly on songs like "Forever" and "Last Kiss."

Though it would be much preferred, I don't necessarily need Brian's 60's falsetto in his modern work.  The part itself is always there, just buried.  I just wish he'd bring it further to the surface, let it be overpowering and sweeping like it was.  Give Matt (or whoever) a chance to shine.

Much like "Shelter" from Thats Why God Made the Radio, I was slightly underwhelmed at first, but have quickly come to regard "Sail Away" as a classic Brian Wilson track.

First listen: "Not terrible."
Third listen: "Pretty decent."
Seventh listen: "Great song."
Twentieth listen: "Modern classic."

"Sail Away" references the past, but constitutes an evolution of Brian's style. (I wish I could say the same about "Runaway Dancer.")

The combination of synthesizers, horns, melodica, flutes, accordions, bass harmonica, et. Al. sets the perfect musical backdrop for "Sail Away." The melodic references to "Sloop John B." are tasteful and just subtle enough to work.

"Sail Away's" strengths are its unique structure and an embarrassment of melodic riches. The first half of the song is fairly conventional structurally - verse/chorus/verse/chorus - but soon, it spreads out, rapidly chucking out new melodic and harmonic ideas, while repeating the "Sail Away" hook just often enough to keep things grounded.

VERSE / CHORUS / BRIDGE / VERSE / CHORUS / FALSE ENDING A / MODULATED CHORUS / MODULATED BRIDGE / FALSE ENDING B / BUILD-UP / ENDING

The song is made extra special by having Blondie on the first verse, a sterling vocal performance from Al on the hook, and Brian filling in the rest of the leads.

As with some other tracks on NPP, the harmony blend here sounds more like The Beach Boys than many of the songs on Thats Why God Made the Radio. This could be due to the addition of Matt Jardine and Blondie. If Foskett is singing harmony here, he doesn't stand out like he did on TWGMTR.

Lyrically, the song clearly calls back to "Sail on Sailor." However, more broadly, it is a song about escape. The narrator wants to sail away... There's a million places he has in mind (although he doesn't actually name a single one - this isn't "Kokomo").

This song could be seen as a companion piece to "Shelter" from TWGMTR.  In "Sail Away," the narrator sings about all the places he wants to go, whereas "Shelter" is about how his home protects him from the outside world.

"Sail Away" is quintessentially Brian - a new pocket symphony.

I think Brian kind of has an issue with the Falsetto... to be honest, I don't think he really likes that sound much anymore.  Of course he uses it in all the harmony pads but the way he used to be front and center with the falsetto, I just don't think he appreciates that much anymore (don't we have him way back saying that he wanted his voice in the 70's to sound more husky?). 

I'll put it like this.  I've seen lots of older singers in their 70's that were in doo wop bands, that can still sing their falsetto just fine.  It's my personal opinion that Brian could still sing in falsetto pretty strongly if he wanted to, and he does do it in the harmony parts still. 

I don't think he leaves that out because he can't do it, or he doesn't think Matt can competently do it, I think he just doesn't like that sound anymore so he mixes it back into the background more.

Sadly, Ron, I think you may be right.  I wonder what would have happened had Brian abandoned the front-and-center falsetto earlier on.  Would the Boys have skyrocketed to fame so quickly and had such staying power?  I've touched on this in several different threads the last few days, but I maintain that while several factors contributed to the Boys' success, Brian's falsetto was the gateway drug for many-- if not most-- fans.   So for me it's not such a big leap to posture that if Brian wonders why he isn't getting #1 hits anymore, he shouldn't be so quick to bury the falsetto.  My HS/college students don't sing along so much to modern BB or Brian songs.  But put on some early 60's BB and I've got a chorus of falsettos.

That's really my point.  Listening to Brian-produced/arranged songs is cool, I guess.  I appreciate them as a fanboy.  And I'll listen to Brian sing bass "bom-bom's" all day.  But give me that pure, up-front falsetto and I melt.  Food for thought, Brian.

Brian's issues with the falsetto go back to 15 Big Ones. He couldn't do it smoothly anymore, so he didn't like to feature it as much, IMO.

He did feature it relatively prominently on Imagination, but he also did all the vocals there, so ...

So which is it?  Does he have a problem with it because he can't do it as perfectly any more (per Wirestone), or because he doesn't like the sound of it generally anymore (per Ron)?

all the above, and more

I think it also comes down to a simple choice of wanting or not wanting to feature that falsetto style on any given song or performance. Perhaps as much if not more of a factor than being able to do it. Consider the notion of setting up expectations as well, where doing something that was such a solid "trademark" of sorts, sonically, would become something fans would expect and perhaps be let down by if they didn't get it versus making a choice not to do it for reasons as simple as aesthetics (i.e. it wouldn't fit a particular song) or simply choosing not to do it.

Consider many examples from Brian's peers in the 60's and 70's who established a similar trademark sonic stamp and became identified by it, then later simply didn't want to go back to those sounds. A lot of those fanbases too were saying for years why didn't he/she sing it or play it again like they did before, and some of these artists did actually return to those sounds later in life, but there were long periods of time where these artists just chose not to do certain things which fans had come to expect.

Jimi Hendrix - spur of the moment at Woodstock, totally unrehearsed and leaving his backing band wondering what to do (wisely they eventually chose to sit it out), starts playing The Star Spangled Banner. It became an icon, a legendary performance enhanced by the Woodstock film, and one of the best guitar performances I've personally ever seen. But he would not play it again, he did not want to feature what was a transcendent and impromptu performance at every show even though fans perhaps wanted him to play it live when they saw him.

Same with Hendrix at Monterey, the film clip that helped put him on the map - Did he ever again burn and destroy one of his guitars on stage? I believe there are interviews where he mentions the expectations of fans that they'd pay to see him live and expect him to repeat the Monterey Pop guitar sacrifice, and it completely missed the point. He simply didn't do it again, despite expectations of fans wanting to see another guitar sacrifice ritual on stage. Good for him.

Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are doing another Who reunion stint this year, do fans really expect Pete to go on a gear-bashing rampage and start smashing his guitar on stage in 2015? How often has he done that routine at all since perhaps the early 70's, yet that act of destruction was (I'd argue) a key element of the Who's live performances for a number of years to the point where fans would expect it to happen as they paid to see a Who show.

Another falsetto voice from the 60's, Frankie Valli, started making records and having hits where he wasn't doing anything close to the type of high falsetto that was perhaps the main sonic hook of his biggest hits with the 4 Seasons. Late 60's, into the 70's, he used it on some very successful hits but nowhere near as much as he had done when that voice was his calling card.

Barry Gibb, perhaps the most successful and identifiable male falsetto after Brian and Valli in the 60's, his falsetto defined that incredible run of Bee Gees hits in the 70's. I'd say that sound gets parodied as of 2015 more than Gibb himself had used it regularly in the past 35+ years, but I could be wrong.

Eric Clapton in the 70's turned his back on the tone, style, and approach he used on the guitar to make him the guy who being touted on graffitti as "Clapton Is God" in the 60's. All of the fiery, heavily overdriven, aggressive, and loud guitar playing he used with Cream and other 60's projects was replaced by clean tones, lower volumes, and a totally laid-back approach in general compared to what he became famous and idolized for as a guitarist. It was like a total 180 degree reversal in many ways. He, though, was one who eventually did revisit what fans had been expecting for years, and not only got back together with Cream, but got back into the blues in general after many years of his fans wondering when he'd start playing blues again. So his choice was to throw out all of the 60's and Cream styles and sounds for several decades, then return to it many years later.

With Brian, keep in mind that video I posted a link to in the "Brian's Best Vocals" thread or whatever it was called, of him doing "Please Let Me Wonder" at one of the final C50 shows in the UK. There is that one note at the end which you see him preparing for, and there is that pure Brian falsetto we all know and love coming out. I genuinely believe he did that for reasons beyond just singing a note - I think he wanted to make it special for that time and place and everything going on. He sang that note, it was the tone and timbre everyone was asking for years "what happened to his falsetto voice?", and he gave just a tantalizing glimpse of it...which in turn made it special, and made it for me at least an almost crushing moment. One which I have replayed many, many times and which never ceases to blow me away.

Listen to the track he did with Peter Hollens for the new album, "Our Special Love", and you'll hear Brian hitting some of "those notes" in the vocal blend. In that case, it was perhaps a sound he wanted to add to a track like that and one which would fit that sound and style, so he sang in that high register.

I think a lot of it could be up to the artist simply deciding what to do or what not to do in bringing out some of the sounds the fans know and might expect to hear based on the choice of what would work for the songs they're doing.

Great post, GF!

I was simply wondering if he'd changed the style of his songwriting to accentuate the main melody as the hook, rather than the soaring falsetto hooks that were independent of the rest of the vocal stack-- almost a counterpoint, although I know it's not the strict definition of the term. I would guess (after a very cursory review of a few albums' tracklists) that "Getcha Back" is one of the last examples of that use of falsetto in a BW song. For whatever reason, he just stopped writing that way.

He said, in a 1992 radio interview, that if he could change one thing about his recordings it would be his high girly vocals. I'm sure Brian's feelings are ambivalent regarding his own falsetto.

Brian didn't write Getcha Back.

I would say the last huge play of BW's falsetto -- or near-falsetto -- is the "runnin' runnin' runnin'" hook on "Your Imagination." One of the reasons (to me) the song is so satisfying.

What about Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl?

Interesting take, and you captured exactly what I mean when I talk about Brian's falsetto.  Yes, I mean it in the general sense, but I mostly mean the parts you describe as soaring hooks (often wordless) that are independent of the rest of the stack.  Those kill me every time I hear them.  So yeah, he gets into the high registers in "Our Special Love"-- which is great-- but my larger lament is the notable lack of those sweeping falsetto hooks in Brian's recent work.  There's a really decent one in "Kiss the Girl," but that's about it.  I was hoping to hear some on this album.  So far we're striking out.

Haha thanks Wirestone. Should've double checked the credits