The Smiley Smile Message Board

I just posted the first third or so of my essay on Bambu, complete with track credits.  More to follow.

www.beachboysarchives.com

As always, great work, c-man! But please help out a poor fellow who hasn't English as his mother tongue:

"In the meantime, Carl produced Dennis' vocal for 'Angel Come Home' (while Geoffrey was banished to the hallway outside the studio due to Dennis' overbearing self-conciousness), but upon hearing the results of that song, Dennis became more accepting of Geoffrey and his vision for 'Love Surrounds Me'."

Does this mean that Dennis had doubts about his singing and/or ability to perform ACH as (he thought that) Murray intended?

Again, thanks for your detailed essays. They are a real thrill to read.

That's one of the greatest things I ever read. I don't know what else to say.

Yes, I think Dennis was self-counsious about singing a new song in front of a stranger, at least in the studio, so that's why for "Angel Come Home" he wouldn't let Geoffrey watch.  After that song turned out so well, he was willing to accept Geoffrey's ideas for "Love Surrounds Me", which he had originally been unsure of. 

Well, I don't know about THAT...apparently you've never read "War And Peace", "The Grapes Of Wrath", or the latest issue of MOJO.

Anyways, thanks for the compliment.  The second third is up now.

Thank you so much once again c-man!! You truly are amazing... don't know how you do it, but I'm glad you do :) Seriously I really appreciate all of your hard work

Thanks, glad you like it.  The entire thing is up now.  I expect some minor revisions to be made in the near future, so stay tuned. 

I was surprised to read that Dennis had some surgeries, including laser surgery, to repair his damaged voice. I really don't mean this in a derogatory way, but I didn't think he cared enough to go through with that. I assumed he was just worn down/out and wasn't really trying to rehabilitate himself, any of himself.

I also found it interesting that Brian was "smuggled" into some sessions. I wonder specifically what he contributed.

I love C-Man's essays.

It's a great piece and I wish I had writen it. ;D. Honestly it really does a great job of documenting the rise and fall of Dennis as an artist.

Was Dennis often that self-conscious, or was it just when singing other people's songs? I mean, if he could pick up people from the street to sing on his records it couldn't have been that bad all the time, right?

Brilliant. I've been waiting for this essay for a while. Thanks so much.

king of anglia, your avatar looks like a photo of Brian Wilson - 5 years from now. ;D

Thanks C-man.

Your writing is wonderful, and your efforts are appreciated.  I started reading the first paragraph, stopped, cracked a bottle of wine and read it twice.

Great stuff!

Fantastic. Incredible. Write a book. Merry Christmas.

It's actually a man called Bill Oddie - famous in Britain for being a bird watcher, 70s comedian and a grumpy wierdo with mental problems.

So - 'Bill Oddie' is an alter ego of Brian Wilson? I always thought that.

Outstanding.

A question - Ive heard it said that the James Jamerson on POB and Bambu was Jr, not Sr, covering for him as he became less able - thoughts ?

The bass playing certainly sounds like the James Jamerson who played on all the motown hits. Same high action tone and syncopated playing. Mind you, his son has probably inherited the same style.

Well... I've also heard it said that some of the later MoTown recordings were also Jr covering for Sr. Go figure...

Ecky thump!

I don't really care, as long as we can agree that it's not Carol Kaye :P But I think it's probably Sr. on Pob/Bambu, I trust c-man.

Could you provide an actual link to the essay please?

Ta.

Here ya go: http://www.towerwebsites.com/custommusic/today!outtakes.pdf

EDIT: You're going to have to cut & paste the link into your browser as it's not fully working.

Well, all I can say is that the name on the AFM contracts just read "James Jamerson", with no Sr. or Jr. attached.   And it's hard to tell from the session photos exactly how old the gentleman is, since he has a cap on...could be 40s, could be 20s.  I will put in an inquiry to Mssr. Roach & Mankey...I figure they could tell us for sure. 

Once again Craig, Incredible job...thanks for putting in all the time and effort to do this so meticulously.

It's my pleasure...or obsession...

Don't visit a shrink, please, don't. Not good for you.

Bill's a BW fan, too. Sat in front of him at the Kenwood UK show. He left early though - a bit sick of BW fans asking about the Goodies, I think!

In the "Dennis" issue of ESQ a few of the musicians mention meeting "THE James Jamerson."

Yep.

Thirded.