The Smiley Smile Message Board

I can’t help but to get chills when I listen to the song Island Girl, because it always strikes me as the absolute last time when a real, truly unmistakable and magical “old style” Beach Boys vocal blend was heard in a recorded original Beach Boys song.

I can’t get the same kind of emotional impact from a BB group vocal from a date later than this (unless there’s some post-Island Girl track I’m not thinking of or I’m not aware of). Not that there aren’t a small handful of magical moments in a few post Island Girl tracks (mostly due to Carl or Al singing a killer vocal on a solo vocal line or 2), but none that have that real vocal blend that we all know and love.

While I recall there were some good vocal moments on the Stars & Stripes record, I can barely listen to it (and I haven’t past 1 or 2 listens ever), since it amounts to a lame covers album.   
It’s just something about:

- the a capella intro (with Brian’s vocal so clearly present, mirroring the old days... was this recorded with all the BB’s present or was Brian overdubbed later?)

- the way the word “Girrrrl” is sung throughout the song, really just gets to the absolute heart of the best of the magical vocal formula from the early days. In fact it’s hard to think of a BB song in the entire decade prior to Island Girl that has quite this effect of a tip of the hat to the old sound and old lyric/vocal type of singing,that works as well. 

I'd have to say that "Soul Searchin'" and "You're Still A Mystery" are the last examples of the classic Beach Boys vocal blend.  The harmonies are quirky and very Wilsonian...it's not just layered block harmonies; each singer brings a wonderfully "human" sound to the blend.  Just listen to the chorus of "You're Still A Mystery": there's so much happening, yet it all dovetails beautiful as to be uncluttered sounding, the way the best Brian Wilson vocal rounds always have.  The Melcher period had a lot of great vocals (one of that era's few saving graces) but rarely did the vocal parts intersect and weave around each other.  "Island Girl" is indeed one the better tracks off of the "80s Odds and Ends" of Still Cruisin', but vocally I'd say it's not too different from much of the other material of the time, other than Brian is quite prominent in the blend.

Island Girl is a pretty underrated song. It's miles better than anything on SIP, and makes me a little sad that Al's recent effort had so few new original songs. His few originals are mini gems in my opinion. The man has a way with a hook.

I definitely agree on Alan's songs being underrated. Yes, they're often derivative but they're also very, very catchy most of the time and "Island Girl" is no exception.

Don't Fight the Sea!

Is it true to say that this number was based on the song of the same name that featured on the Celebration album?

Also, is this the song in which Al has claimed Landy only gave them 30 minutes with Brian to record the vocals?

And finally, I don't really agree about You're Still a Mystery. Unlike Soul Searchin', I would say that YSAM sounds a little bit awkward and that the vocals don't really gel properly.

Nope. Actually it's based - very, very loosely - on the old Del-Vikings number "Whispering Bells" (and not, as I once wrote, "Whispering Grass" by that well-known dynamic duo of Windsor Davies & Don Estelle !).

Also bears a (slight) resemblance to "The Tide is High" by Blondie...

Same melody as Buddy Holly's "Everyday".
Great song though and I really love the harmonies on this too. In fact I'm quite a fan of the whole "Still crusin'-album, except for the inclusion of the classic tracks (including an imo awful alt. take of WIBN)

Last great moment in BB vocal recordings was the S&S album. They sound terrific in it.

I've had Island Girl stuck in my head all day! I keep singing Mike's part.

Not so bad - could be "Island Fever".  ;D

"Do you ever get the feeling that you gotta get away..." *sing*  :listening

You're all insane.  :lol

My family doctor told me
The flu is what we have
But I know it's island fever
And we got it real bad

Hey doc, I need a pain reliever
I got it bad, I got the island fever
I got it bad, I got the island fever
I got it bad, I got the island fever

Real poetry put to music.

Hey I *like* Island Fever too!  That totally would have been a better single than anything else on the album.  I was really confused when they released no less than 4 other songs (Hot Fun, Summer Of Love, Under The Boardwalk, Forever) to radio, but left that one as an album track.

I hate to say it, but the lyrics to "Island Fever" could pass as Lil Wayne lyrics. Mike Love was a visionary, foreseeing the corny wordplay that now dominates the charts.

I agree!  :-D

Me too! Oh wait that was my post.

Somewhere Near Japan.  They may have touched the harmony again after that but that was the last, really, good song under the BB banner.  Soul Searchin gave promise but nothing after that.  My opinion of course.

Some  solo productions have since been quite good .

So, as they used to say in BBFUN, the saga continues.