The Smiley Smile Message Board

Spinning off of a bad incident, this thread is all for Carl. Let's have at it, folks.

The fact that the group splintered after he died pretty much says it all.  Long Promised Road.  The Trader.  Feel Flows.  God Only Knows.  Where I Belong.  It's Gettin' Late. 

I'll admit it: I have a gay crush on Carl.

I was sorry I never got to meet him. He had a excellent voice and he was cute when Brian quit touring. Him, Bruce and Dennis kept the cutiness from dying.  8)

You think Bruce is cute?!

Why not?  ;D

Linguistically, I have to object to that phrase.  A crush is not a sexual being, therefore cannot be hetero or homo sexual.  A crush is simply a crush, man.

Semantics, semantics, semantics.

The term "gay crush" is oft-used by those are otherwise heterosexual.

I'm not sure the Beach Boys would have survived into 1970 without Carl. He held the group together after Brian stopped caring (around Friends), and after Mike almost went crazy around 1969-70. Sunflower through Holland are primarily produced by him. Carl is the man. And "Feel Flows" is still one of the best songs written by anybody.

It says a lot that Brian often used Carl as a guitar player, along with all the LA session hotshots.  And, he did a great job on Surf's Up.




Dan

I think in a way there's nothing else left to say...l

Except that I have a straight crush on Carl's second Rickenbacker 360/12.  That guitar is male, by the way.

Similar to this one?

(http://www.thebeatwichita.com/gear/PICTURES/websize/003_3%20(Medium).JPG)

That is a beauty, but I actually like the more rounded look of the "modern" 360/12.  Carl had at least one of each.  What a great recorded sound he got with 'em, too.

I can’t say enough good things about Carl.  He was able to do it all – sing, write, produce, play and he had something very few people have – style and grace.  I met Carl and he was just as wonderful as everyone who has met him says.  I have yet to hear or read an unkind word about him.  He was a “giver” and thought of others before he thought of himself.  And his soft-spoken speaking voice translated into one of the most beautiful singing voices ever. 

How’s that for appreciation??!!

Well Brian was still in charge for Friends. He also got much more involved again for Sunflower. Even his role on Surf's Up is larger then what was once assumed. Still it could be said that the Beach Boys as a road band wouldn't have survived without Carl into 1964. Brian was skipping many shows as early as 1963 and from all accounts it seems as though Carl stepped in then. For the concerts Brian was involved with (1966 Michigan, 1967 Hawaii) he still had a lot of say so, but they certainly needed a leader when he wasn't there.

In the studio from late 1968-72 I see it as a real collective thing with Brian and Carl having the most technical know how. Certainly Brian wasn't on some recordings as early as 1968 but he once said he felt the Beach Boys couldn't completely make records without him until around 1971. While I look at Holland, So Tough, In Concert, and Surf's Up as albums that Carl called the shots on more then anyone else, every member did have a lot to do with the final results.
None of this takes away from how great Carl was. If Brian was the brains, and Dennis the body, he was the soul of the group.

Excellent singer and bandleader, good producer, average guitar player and songwriter.

I have a crush on the Gibson he played at Knebworth. And his gold Fender Stratocaster. And his green jacket.  ;D