The Smiley Smile Message Board

It could be Beach Boys or any solo member DVD and also if you could explain why its your favorite.


Thanks

Toby

Hi Toby

Its hard to pick one, but I would probably say Endless Harmony really helped me to understand the BBs story better.

After that I would say Live At Knebworth, very interesting dvd. And I actually like Stars and Stripes too!

Endless Harmony for the band.

Although the American Family / IJMFTT twofer is an excellent deal too -- and all on one disc!

The best of all of Brian's DVDs is the Smile one -- just terrific, for the live version alone.

Thirding Endless Harmony.

Word to the wise, though: don't trust a word that comes out of Mike Love's mouth in that.

Yeah, Endless Harmony is really good up until the last half hour, which is really depressing for not only the sad footage of Dennis and Carl, but the horrible live footage and the new dawn of.... the Stars And Stripes sessions  ::)

Seconding BWPS too, that documentary was one of the first things i saw about the group when it was shown on UK telly. The show is also fantastic, and some of the bonus features are really good - the Brian/Van Dyke interview is so cute!

However, BWPS is the only DVD i actually own because both Endless Harmony and other things (Pet Sounds Live, for example) keep on being shown on telly every so often here, so less incentive to buy.

No doubt I'd recommend Endless Harmony. My biggest complaint with it is that there are so many years, so many albums, so many people to discuss, not everything gets the time and attention I wish it did. (Specifically, my favorite era, the 1967-1973 era, feels hurried.) I've always said and will again, a Beatles Anthology-style DVD set would be heaven. That or a series of "Classic Albums"-style DVDs, one per album. Wishful thinking, I know.

Really, the ideal Beach Boys documentary would probably be something like 1 six-hour disk for one fortnight of the timeline.

Endless Harmony!!

I think the consensus is "Endless Harmony". Followed by "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "American Band", "It's OK", and the "20th Anniversary Special".

One not to waste your $$ on is "Beach Boys and The Satan".

Endless Harmony or Beautiful Dreamer


.........

or whenever that darn Dennis Wilson doc comes out.  ;D

I Just Wasn't Made For These Times is one of my favorites.

I think the A&B Biography of Brian is essential.

You mean A&E?  ;D

That was the first doc I ever bought...it was a special on the A&E site; BW Bio plus PS Sessions Boxed set...can't remember how much it was back in the day

Endless Harmony, American Band/IJWMFTT, and the A&E Bio on Brian are all great...

I'm also a big fan of Brian Wilson On Tour

Essential in this order:

1. Endless harmony
2. SMiLE
3. An American band
4. Knebworth

True. I actually rented it and watched it, and I can't remember a thing about it ...

I really like An American Band and Endless Harmony, but would love to see them both superceded by something more extended and complete. Beautiful Dreamer is fantastic too and I also like the A&E Brian bio, which contains certain footage I've never seen anywhere else.

To continue in the road taken:

who should direct that all-encompassing, fictitious, and highly coveted definitive Beach Boys documentary?

Martin Scorcese?

Your votes please. And throw in a potential title too.

It should be a director who's a bit in the BB thing. Martin Scorcese in IMHO a great movie expert, but what does he know about the Beach Boys life & music? We can only presume.


"Endless Harmony" is a fine piece of work, I really love it, because that was the initial spark, that brought me into the music of the BB. Maybe an Extended Directors Cut is a solution. Add much more music, more bios and extend to today.

+1

Not that I know too much about Scorcese and his history with Bob Dylan, but 'No Direction Home' is the best movie bio I've seen...I don't think you need to be a super fan to make a great documentary...In fact, it'd be refreshing to have a look at the Beach Boys from an outsider's perspective...

I'd call the movie 'The Beach Boys' - that's it....if it's going to be an epic documentary why screw it up with some cheesy name?

Agreed. Well, I like the idea of an updated and extended EH very much. This plan ranks with that one IMHO; Scorcese is known for his quick intelligence and grasp of topics that he wasn't too familiar beforehand. I think he wouldn't make it very glossy, and it'd be interesting to hear offhand remarks and pauses from the surviving members (well, hearing pauses is an odd concept, but I'm not talking John Cage here). Ideally, I'd like to see both projects realised in 2011, but...

Speaking of John Cage, don't forget John & Yoko's "Two Minutes Silence". I actually have Two Virgins on vinyl and the first 3 on cd with bonus tracks. Yes, I paid for such rubbish. I love clearing a house full of unwanted guests by blasting "Cambridge 1969". "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" indeed!

I do that with 'Metal Machine Music'. I got it for free, and it is truly priceless for obtaining a bit of rest and quietness. Strongly recommended, five stars, for unintended reasons.

I've heard of it but don't yet have a copy. Lou Reed, right? Must find. On vinyl.

Yep. It's a blast. If you can wait a few weeks, I could burn it for you.

I find the way Reed made that record much more fascinating than listening to the record itself - apparently, the amps he used were so powerful that they ended up 'playing' the guitars with the soundwaves they were kicking out. This makes little sense to me, but would be fascinating to try and compose with the guitars playing themselves....

Endless Harmony is the best but too short.  The A&E bio was good as I recall but I don't have it and don't know where to get it.....maybe on the A&E website?  I'll have to look.   

I'm in for a comprehensive updated career spanning bio that doesn't have scenes of individual members taking shots at one another sprinkled throughout.  A brief segment of sonny love versus cassius wilson... ??? would be ok.

The American Band/IGIJWMFTT twofer is good for the money.