The Smiley Smile Message Board

I don't mean for this to be a divisive thread, prefer focus on just being informative. But I was looking to make a playlist of Beach Boys songs that don't include Mike in the vocal blend, and wondered what fit the bill. I would love to have another list that was just recordings that had the three Wilsons, but I think this is a good start. Obviously, it can be hard to pick out voices in the blend sometimes, especially since Brian would occasionally just overdub himself.

Here's what I think so far, but PLEASE feel free to add or correct! I'm probably VERY wrong on a number of these! (I will update the original post to reflect new information)

Surfin' Safari
Cuckoo Clock

Surfin' USA
Misirlou (Instrumental)
Honky Tonk (Instrumental)
Let's Go Trippin'

Surfer Girl
The Surfer Moon
The Rocking Surfer (Instrumental)
Your Summer Dream
Boogie Woodie (Instrumental)

Shut Down, Volume II
Denny's Drums

All Summer Long
We'll Run Away (All Brian?)

Christmas Album
Blue Christmas
White Christmas

Today!
Do You Wanna Dance?
In The Back Of My Mind

Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!!)
Girl Don't Tell Me
Summer Mean New Love
I'm Bugged At My Old Man

Pet Sounds
Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
Let's Go Away For A While
God Only Knows
Pet Sounds
Caroline, No

Friends
Passing By
Little Bird
Be Still
Busy Doin' Nothin'
Diamond Head

20/20
Be With Me
The Nearest Far Away Place [Bruce Instrumental]
I Went To Sleep

Sunflower
Our Sweet Love

Surf's Up
Long Promised Road
Feel Flows
Lookin' At Tomorrow (A Welfare Song) [Al Solo]
A Day In The Life Of A Tree

Carl & The Passions - Hang Tough
Here She Comes [Ricky & Blondie]
Make It Good
Cuddle Up

Holland
The Trader

15 Big Ones
Palisades Park
Just Once in My Life

Love You
Good Time
Honkin' Down The Highway
The Night Was So Young
Let's Put Our Hearts Together
I Wanna Pick You Up

M.I.U.
Come Go With Me

L.A. (Light Album)
Love Surrounds Me
Baby Blue
Goin' South
Full Sail

Keepin' The Summer Alive
Livin' With a Heartache

Still Cruisin'
In My Car
Wipeout

If people want to add later albums that's awesome. I might try to round up official outtakes at some point too, but feel free to contribute those as well.

I believe there are several songs on LA and KTSA missing the Lovester - Livin' With a Heartache, Love Surrounds Me, Goin' South, Baby Blue, possibly Full Sail.

I think there might be some more on Friends. Wake the World?  Be Here in The Morning?

I think you're right about Be Here In The Morning. Is that low part Murry Wilson maybe?

Wake the World I feel like I hear Mike's nasal twang prominently on the chorus, but I could definitely be wrong. What do others think on that one?

Same here, especially on the words morning and running water.

And actually, I'm pretty sure I hear Mike on Be Here In The Morning as well. 

I feel like on the "ooo-wah-ah-ah-ah" pre-chorus I hear Murry. It kind of sounds like if Dennis did a deep bass.

Does anyone hear Mike on the song "Friends"? I don't think I do.

Yeah I would agree with that.  I think I hear Mike on "full" and "No calls from Korthoff, Parks, or Grillo".  I also hear him on the harmonizing at the end of the song.  

First of all, that "full" is beautiful. What cool moment to focus on for a bit. "Deep & Wide" TTGA style.

Second, I feel like I hear him best in the harmonizing at the end. Certainly possible!

Isn't "Come Go With Me" just a stack of Al Jardines?

Also, "In My Car" off the "Still Cruisin'" album is a stack of Brians with Carl and Al adding chorus lead vocals. I'm pretty sure only Brian, Carl, and Al are on that one.

If there are any other BB's on CGWM, I sure don't hear them.

Was "We'll Run Away" really all Brian?

So "You never give me a chance" is Al as well?

I was iffy on that one, but I didn't really hear Mike in the harmonies at the end. And the bass seemed a little light in the main backing blends, so I thought I'd put it in to see if anyone else had thoughts.

Also does anyone hear him on My Diane from M.I.U.? I don't

Isn't "Wipeout" a pure stack of Brians?

From TWGMTR, is Mike on Shelter or Strange World at all?

There is a YouTube video of one of the sessions from "Shelter" (it was part of the TWGMTR promo blitz) and Mike is there. Bruce sings a part that was used on the album so I don't think it's staged.

I think so. I think power of suggestion (and Mike singing on live versions) made it easy to hear it as Mike. But when you dig into that recording, it certainly sounds like all Al, which makes sense in light of the few times he has told the story of recording the song (using the mobile recording unit because they rented it and nobody else was using it, etc.).

I'll have to seek that out.  While I like the song, the harmonies in Shelter sound more like BW's band than the BBs IMO.  Especially when compared to the harmonies in Think About the Days, From There to Back Again, and PCH.

There is a low voice in the end section of the song ("I love you Diane, I miss you Diane") that could be Mike.

If you compare the original circa late 1976, presumably Brian-helmed, mix of the song to the eventual "MIU" mix, there were additional background vocals added for "MIU." I don't know if Mike is on those background vocals (I don't particularly hear him on the "MIU" era backing vocals singing along to Dennis's lead on lines on lines like "everything is wrong and nothing is right"), but he could be on that ending coda (which I believe, though, is heard on the earlier mix).

A lot of those kind of higher-pitched, whiny MIU Album backing vocals are difficult to pinpoint. I think Rocky Pamplin is in the mix on some of those songs. There are some cases where the only plausible BB present on backing vocals *sounds* like it could be maybe Brian or Al, but you never know.

Mike is on that "Shelter" little video bit, though it's impossible to know how "staged" those little bits are. But it's certainly plausible he's buried in the mix somewhere.

I always assumed it was Mike and Foskett singing those little interludes (e.g. "do you ever still think of me?), but I think it was Joe Thomas in an interview who suggested that even though Foskett is obviously singing the first part of those choruses solo ("I'll give you shelter..."), it was actually *Brian* doing the falsetto bits along Mike in the second "do you ever still think of me?" sections. Either way, I think it was suggested the low part on those bits is Mike.

But I think Brian is *still* more of a vocal chameleon than we sometimes think he can still be, and that coupled with Foskett doing a butt load of temp vocals on that album makes me question how often I can *for sure* hear the other guys on a given song. Sometimes it's very obvious of course, with Al in particular peaking his voice through.