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I'm not talking about the "funky pretty gone" backgrounds that can be heard in the verses, which are almost certainly sung by Brian, I'm talking about "his" part in the tag. Some people (myself included - I had been convinced it was him after reading about it in a previous thread) thought the "yeah, funky girl why, funky girl why" vocals in the tag were Brian's.

...Well, I stumbled upon this a few minutes ago:

http://www.mysteryisland.net/billyhinsche (http://www.mysteryisland.net/billyhinsche)


[Billy Hinsche:] While in Holland, Brian gave me another outstanding vocal part on "Funky Pretty" during the "tag" section. It goes, "yea, Funky come back, Funky come back" over and over again.


I've listened to the tag over and over again and came to this conclusion: if Billy's right (and I can't see why he wouldn't be), HE was the one singing the part we thought was Brian's. This goes to show that we can't know for sure whether Brian actually sung on such-and-such song. Let's face it: we don't really know what his singing voice sounded like in 1972-1973.  :P

Aren't those 2 different parts?

I can't really see what other part it could be  ???

Of course we do. He sings on "California".

Well, yes - but if that's the way he was singing in 1972, then there's no way it can be him on the FP tag anyway.

What I meant to say is that we can't know for sure how he sounded, because his voice seemed to change a lot during these two years. If he indeed is the one singing "what's in her heaaaad" in Marcella, then it's safe to say that he could sound very different...

Sorry, but I seem to be being a little dim here. It's Brian Wilson. It was recorded in summer 1972... so how can there be any possible question as to it being "the way he was singing in 1972" ?

Just wanted to say thank you for the link. Very interesting interview !

You're welcome!




A poor choice of words is to blame, I'll grant you that. Let me explain: IF he's the one singing "what's in her head" in Marcella, then we know how he sounded on THAT particular day, and obviously we also know how he sounded on the day they recorded "California", but take a random 1972 song and you can't be sure whether Brian is on it or not, because his voice tended to vary a lot.

I don't know if I'm being very clear (apparently not), but consider the following: take any 1963 song and you can immediately tell if Brian's on it or not. Doing the same thing with a 1972 song? Nuh-uh.

Anyway, any other opinions about that "Funky Pretty" part?

Wasn't Brian's part on California tape-speed/pitch manipulated anyway, thus altering the character of the vocal part in question?

Think I read that once <?>

:)

Brian only sang the intro (two lines) on "California". Though it does sound a little weak.........was his voice really messed with for the record?

He also sand another part on that song ..."on my way"....although it is nearly inaudible on the album version (as opposed to the single cut).

I'm going to sneak this in here, bevause it's the interview from Mystery Island that led me to it:

http://www.emusic.com/album/Nick-Sanelli-Nunc-Pro-Tunc-MP3-Download/12101203.html

Nunc Pro Tunc by Nick Sanelli
 
Today on Mystery Island we listened to NUNC PRO TUNC by NICK SANELLI.

Sanelli is working with an interesting team of music vets (including our pal BILLY HINSCHE on guitar, keyboards, harmonica, and vocals) to bring together an eclectic mix of blues and ballads with a personal, philosophical, and dogmatic theme.

The most interesting lyric from this set comes from the first song “God Talkin’”:

God told Adam
Go tell Eve
Go pack your sh*t
Get dressed and leave

Another stand out track is “Einstein’s Barber,” produced by Dean Martin’s son, RICCI MARTIN.

You’ll probably dig this music if you’re into: Billy Hinsche, Bruce Springsteen, Jeffrey Foskett, Jesus Christ, Jimmy Buffett, Neil Young, The Osmonds, Taylor Mills, or Tom Russell.

For more information check out the following websites:

http://billyhinsche.com
http://georgetemerson.com
http://tindrummusic.com

I doubt it was manipulated. Sounds right to me for that period.

Pretty sure the first 'On my way' is sped up, but the other two are not. Bri's voice does sound pretty bad here though, bad enough to have the group cover for him singing 'spend'. It's like he's wheezing his way through those two sentences, though he still has most of his old tone. Sound like his voice is really deteriorating at this point, which is the likely reason he felt uncomfortable with leads during these years (but he must've grown to like it enough by the time of 15BO). BW's voice deal-e-o is for sure one of the most fascinating aspects of the BB universe.

Bear in mind that for this little contribution, Brian turned up unannounced, did his bit and split, all in about 20 minutes.

Wow, this cannot be unheard! Now I'm thinking its Billy...

Really wish we had access to the multi-track of this (if it even exists, who knows with this crazy bunch!)

Well, I for one had no doubts about that part not being Brian. It just doesn't sound enough like his voice. The sped up falsetto in the background is definitely him, though.

Also, just because we don't know exactly, down to a tee, what Brian's voice sounded like in this or any other period, doesn't mean we can't make guesses, or be reasonably assured that the vocal bit in question is actually him.

And we can also build a sort of vocal archive of the time period. The Awake demo was recorded in 1971, Don't You Just Know It was recorded SOMETIME around this time period, Rollin' Up to Heaven gives an example of his voice two years after the period in question, and it sounds reasonably like him. The Pied Piper vocals also don't have any rasp to them. Dunno for sure if he did the "Glowing magic transistor, radio" bit.

All this proves is that Brian's voice is a fickle beast, though. It seems he was trying out more and more ways to innotate it, using vibrato and singing in bass, speeding up his falsetto. Probably the only clear vocal he did in this era was the aforementioned Awake demo.

On that note, however, I would like to post some snippets of Steamboat and Funky Pretty with Brian's voice I edited. I'm convinced that he's singing background harmonies in the latter, as well, as a very noticeable falsetto seems to break off from the rest of the vocals at two parts in the song.

Steamboat - Brian's background vocals in contrast to Carl's lead.

http://www.mediafire.com/?fw7szl0r8lknb3i

Funky Pretty - The background "break off" I mentioned earlier.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ngd43b392cn975r

Funky Pretty - Funky Pretty gone, centered and much clearer.

http://www.mediafire.com/?5ch5qarqspjkxpy

Arrgh...FLACS...my computer doesn't like them! :(


In any case, didn't a certain bald moderator do something like this recently? I wonder what happened to that guy.... :lol

Oh yes... I would never steal an idea or anything... At all...

I agree with everything you've just said - perhaps what makes his voice harder to isolate is not that it was changing, but that he was trying to make it change by trying different things. We can make guesses, of course, but will we ever know for sure whether he his on a given track? Probably not.




Both "Funky Pretty" snippets sound like Brian, but I have doubts about "Steamboat" - actually it reminds me of Marilyn's voice. But then again, that's just a wild guess!

Brilliant idea - posting clips in a format that my laptop can't open. Now I have to download some dubious program, and all to probably say "not Brian". You got something personal against mp3s ?

OK, I've heard it. And I was right, it's not Brian. Know who it is ?  Carl. Not Brian, not Marilyn - Carl.

Which part is Carl? I can't play the files.

Well, if you're talking about the Steamboat snippet, it definitely COULD be Carl, but you seem to know it's him - I'm going to need a source for this. "My ears" is not a valid answer.  :)

How about "it sounds incredibly like the guy singing the lead vocal, especially the last few notes" ?  ;D It's not Brian for sure because he wasn't on that song at all.

Just to clarify things a bit, I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing; I'm talking about the wordless harmony: "oooooooooh-aaaaaaaaah" (two different notes only). This could be either Marilyn or Carl in my opinion.

Obviously, the "roll, roll on, forever" and "river roll, forever" parts are 100% Carl.

[sigh]

I'm talking about the wordless vocal - the one that doesn't use any recognisable words, right ? - behind the vocal with words that is patently Carl.

It's not Marilyn for this reason: it's not a woman.

It's not Brian for these reasons: Brian's not on the recording at all... and it's very obviously Carl, at least to these ears that have been listening to Beach Boys recording for slightly over 35 years. It has that roundness and fullness that Carl had at that period in his life.

You're older than me, so you must be right. It seems I should have chosen my birth year more carefully.

By the way, that was totally not Bruce at the end of the GOK 2007 promo video.  ::)

I know. I asked him.  ;D

Wait...Brian's NOT on Steamboat?

:lol

Looks like I owe someone some money >_<

I was almost positive that he was on Steamboat. I can hear a very nasal voice(not Mike, I don't think) on the line "We'll get your steamboat going" that I thought was Brian.

Trade it off with the "Sail On, Sailor" bet.  :)

Oh, and as a small aside, when I downloaded a flac player, I also unwittingly downloaded some spyware called Relevant Knowledge which temporarily f*cked up my laptop and will cost me some time to delete completely from my registry.

Thanks, SloopJohnB, really appreciate it. From now on, any flac files are staying where they are.

I could be mistaken but I thought Curtis posted the flacs, and not Sloop JB...

You're not, I am, and my humble apologies to SJB. As you can understand, not in the sunniest of moods right now. I don't like going into the registry but it's theonly way.

:lol

In all seriousness though, this is why I *never* mess around with flacs. The last time I did, making a long story short, my hard drive ended up wiped.

I don't know why you guys are having a hard time with .flac files. Download "VLC Player" and you'll have no problems. Norton Internet Security for screening viruses and you'll be happenin'. Use Windows 7 and you're dancing with the wolves. Never had any problems whatsoever with that combo.

aaah...  n00bs...

Dear boy, if I got to pet a dog and it bites my fingers off, you really think I'm going back and offer it the other hand ?  ;D

Windows 7...my computer is old and has a lot of issues...I still have XP on it and wouldn't even be able to run Vista.

I agree with AGD, those wordless background vocals are definitely Carl. Because that's what Carl sounds like.

As for flacs, don't download some new software to play them, just find a plugin for your preferred listening software. It's not fair to blame someone for the particular software you downloaded. Flacs are just as valid as .wav, .mp3, or any other format. Even more so, since they are lossless.

Uh, I'll take Flac files over Mp3's (even @320) any day of the week. And the reason I'm promoting VLC Player is that it plays pretty much everything under the Sun for me - both audio and video. No need to run around looking for add-on codecs - they're pretty much already self-contained. 

Vista's troublesome. Windows XP SP3 runs better than that piece o' crap. Windows 7 seems to be rock solid and runs very smooth for me so far; never had an issue with it yet.

Norton sucks. I would not recommend it. Download Microsoft Security Essentials instead.

I like ESET.

...or you could just get a mac...

The Big Mac Attack!

You can't PAY me enough to get a Mac.

What, do they work too well for you? :p

...and instantly lose all your self-respect  ;D

This isn't particularly related to this thread's topic, but there are a few decent free antiviruses around. Avira and Avast! (free editions) both come to mind. Add a couple of programs such as Spybot Search & Destroy and you don't need to pay to keep your computer safe enough.



Back on topic: this "Steamboat" part sounds more and more like Carl the more I listen to it. Marilyn had come to mind because she's done other "low" harmonies that sometimes sounded pretty close to this.

Exaggerate much? He sounds exactly like he does on "'Til I Die" or "Take A Load Off Your Feet". And why would the first "on my way" section be sped up but not the entire thing?

On that note, I will forever be pissed at this band for not having Brian sing what he sings in the beginning over every chorus. They just feel completely lacking without that lead part, so much so that I drove myself to insanity pasting it over those parts.

No, I'm really not exaggerating. He sounds like he can barely get the sentence out, and clearly muffs it enough for the other guys to have to sing 'send' to cover for him. Also, compared to the other "On my Way"s, the first one DOES sound sped up. Why would they do that for only the first one? My guess is that's all they had for the original recording, but when they decided to put it out on a single they remixed it and had Brian do a couple more 'On my Way's because they thought it was cool and he was willing. Maybe that day he had no trouble with the pitch, so it wasn't slowed, or maybe the entire song was sped up after his original vocals were put on, but he just sang it at that faster speed when it came time to overdub the later parts.

I think the reason that first line sounds sped up to you might be the nasal inflection on "suh--", but in the whole the line never struck me as sped up.  Anything's possible, of course.  I think those other "on my ways" ARE on the album version, but mixed so far back as to be barely audible.

Care to share your remix with us runnersdialzero?  I'd love to hear this.

Small problem with your theory - if you listen to the album version, Brian's parts on the single mix are there too. They're very faint, almost as if they're bleed from another track... but they're there. They weren't added for the 45, they mixed out for the album. ;D

Damn. I guess I haven't listened to the album version in a while ( I put the single on my Holland mix, and got rid of Beaks of Eagles), but I sure never noticed those vox there before. Still, it was a good theory, just didn't stand up to reality. Also, Bri really does sound wheezy to me.

I think the single mix might've been tampered with as far as the vocals go, yes. It sounds like some effect was placed on his voice to make it sound more even. On the album version, it's much more quiet and off center.

We don't really have many records of him singing modal though, so there's not much frame of reference as to how his non-falsetto usually sounded back then.

Listening to one of the live versions of "Calfiornia" with Brian was rather mind opening though. He sounded just about like he did on the album, only with a lot more rasp (and, of course, weaker).

Also, I merged the entire California Saga into one track, with one version containing the album mix, and the other containing the single mix, added on as a "bonus track".