The Smiley Smile Message Board

If you had to pick only one Beach Boys concert to have the band officially release for purchase, what would it be?  Assume they would release the entire show, talking and everything.  Venue and date would be appreciated.

I haven't heard many live shows at all, but out of the ones I have heard, I'd say that my pick would be 1979-05-14 at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.

Any of the Unplugged Series from Fall 1993. They were fan-freakin'-tastic!

Off the top of my head, the Whiskey Shows Brian did.

The Syracuse University show from May 1971. That's a fabulous performance.

Does a true tape have to exist or could it be from your dreams?  Soundboard, Syracuse is up there, but I think Princeton 1971 is even better.  True tape, I would love to see a live set from the 1972/3 era.  Make it a box and I am in paradise.  Also nice would be anything Beachago.

What I REALLY want is a concert video a la Led Zeppelin that would include the two Good Vibrations TV concerts from that era as well as various 70s show.

Which brings a question to mind... where's all the film stock/footage shot for this show?? Has any of it ever been seen?

What footage?  I never heard of any footage being shot.  AFAIK the tape is an audience recording.

Anything from '72-73!!!

The pre-soundboard master was booted about two years ago. Wonderful quality, and UNEDITED! The widely circulated bootleg is edited and does not include Bruce's rendition of "Your Song".

Anything from the Brian's back period to before Denny cashed in!!!! I guess that would be 76 - 83.


ROCK.  AND.  ROLL.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(ahem.  my PM button is on the left.  I can make some trades/deals if anyone is interested)

1993 Paramount NY
1977 Maryland (a trainwreck!)
Central Park ‘71

Does the SMiLE-premier count?

Any good concert from 1966-1971 would be great.

Nassau Colliseum, Long Island, 1974... commonly booted as "Trader Goes to Nassau" or "We Got Love".  Best Beach Boys show I've ever heard.

Princeton '71

My pick would be Hartford CT, from August 73. Mostly for the live version of River Song.

 I would like to see them ALL officially released, on a boxed set.   :-*

The entier 65 chicago concert with brian, or another concert from 64 besides the usuals

Lets continue this.

What are the 3 best unreleased live recordings in terms of quality and  performance?  Lets try to agree on just three.   The goal being that posters can apply their efforts to obtaining those top three through a P ermissible M edium.

Question;

Is there more than one quality Nassau boot?  That is, different years, or just the one?

Is there a soundboard of this? I have one audience recording but thats it.

Tell me more about the Whiskey shows.  I know I must have read about these but memory is a little dim.

ok i will.....check your pm's    ;D

As far as I know only one Whiskey-show (audience recording) circulates, and BW wasn't present on that particular recording.
If you're lucky though, one can get hold the extended recording which includes the Flame portions as well. And I could be wrong but those are the only known live recordings of The Flame that circulate.

Personally I'd like to hear just how good of a concert the show where the band opened for Elton John at Wembley Arena. I've read how great it was, and how once Elton hit the stage most of the audience left. But I also blame the fact that Elton was playing the entire CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY album for the first time. Maybe some of the shows that Chicago and the band did in 1975. Once again I read about them, but never heard how good the shows were.

Ted

Here is my list:

1. Hawaii 1967( both shows)

2. The soundboard tape of the show where they did Little Bird.

3. Carnage Hall 1971(or was that 1972?)

4. Heartford 1973

5. Nassau 1974

6. Any 1977 or 1978 show where Dennis did some POB songs.

7. Seattle 1977(well, maybe only some of the show.  ;D)

8. Perth 1978(just for the hell of it  ;D)

9. Nassau 1979

10. Springfield 1979

11. Japan 1979(just for Sumahama)

12. Philadelphia 1980

Yeah, I do have that one. With the Flame + Flame/Beach Boys encore. Thanks for the info.

There are some recordings of the Beachago tour. Off the top of my head everything I have from those shows are audience recordings; the professional recordings were apparently destroyed in the Caribou fire.

What's up with the Hawaii '67? I've seen that commonly called "Leid In Hawaii", what's so special about it?
Also, I love In Concert, it sounds way better than any live boot I've heard, do you think there could be a better document of the '72-'74 touring period?

I guess what made it special was that Brian performed as well. Bruce wasn't there though.

And at one of the shows the (only once played) Hawthorne Boulevard was played (an instrumental, not too special, but unique anyway)

O, and they actually did Gettin' Hungry live !

Also, the concert is just odd - Brian is playing his Baldwin organ (of Smiley Smile fame), which with no Bruce leaves Carl and Al to divvy up bass duties (and they're a little out of practice)... Also, because Denny seems to be playing his drums on a part-time basis, it's a very mellow affair. Or half-assed, depending on your mood. This isn't helped by the shrieking audience members, Mikes more-odd than usual stage patter and the general feeling that the band are getting quite nervy up there.....

Also, it's one of the first gigs they did after the collapse of Smile, and they had just recorded Smiley Smile i believe. So it's got historical value....

It's a shame they didn't record more of the 'new' arrangements of these tunes at Wally Heiders, or at least that they haven't been released/bootlegged. Some of the most wonderful recordings in the bands history.

What's the real story on this Caribou fire? 
Sounds like somebody made off with all the tapes, and then started the fire to cover their tracks( or lack therof)
Maybe Brian did it as Fire, Part 2?

According to Guercio, no tapes were destroyed in the Caribou fire.  The fire was confined to the control room.

You asked for only one show but it seems that people really want more...

My Wish list...

1997 - Boston Harborlights, the last one where I saw Carl Wilson sing.  Or 1996, same venue, when he was in still pretty good shape.

1972 - Boston College

1971 - Boston Symphony Hall where David Marks (then a student at Berklee did a "cameo" with the Boys.

1967 - Back Bay Theater - either April or November.

Thanks for the "Wishlist poll!"  ;)

 

One from each decade would be nice ... it would feature different players and vocalists.  
A "well-rounded" huge box set package of the touring Beach Boys band.

1. Chicago 1965 (or rehearsals in the studio)

2. Big Sur Folk Festival - 1970 full show ("Wouldn't it Be Nice" is a good teaser from the out-of-print Festival LP)

3. 1983 - Atlantic City - July 4 - (with Brian, Carl and Dennis)
(alternate 1989, any show - possibly including an encore with the band Chicago)

4. 1993 - Unplugged Tour - Any shows from that tour; Charlotte, NC (Ovens Auditorium) or Peekskill, NY (Paramount Theater)
(alternate 1996/1997, any show, perhaps the Country Music Fan Fest)

5. 2004 or 2008, Any show with a long set list (40 songs possibly)!

6. 2011 - Anniversary Show??? - by the time this "wish list" ever sees the light of day it will be WAYYYY past 2011! LOL!

I was always under the impression that the second concert was a 'live in the studio' with audience overdubs sort of thing. Considering how crazy the atmosphere, the sloppiness of the performance, and the fact that there's a version of "The Letter" without any audience overdubs. I also don't like how Brian's falsetto seems rather whiny on a few tracks. "Hawaii" and "Barbara Ann" mainly.

I love the Hawaii 67 show myself in all of its roughness.
I think probably most shows through 1975 or 76 would be worth hearing. I suppose any of the shows Brian was at from 1961-73 would be fun. I also think any pre 1975 show where Dennis sings a lead would be cool. Post Beacago I would really only like to hear shows where Dennis sang anything but You Are So Beautiful. Nothing against the song but I've heard so many versions. After Dennis died I would like to really only have a fall 1993 show. The one I saw in Chicago might have been the first unplugged one. It was terrific and it doesn't circulate. Wish I had brought a recorder. They really do need to do a bootleg series ala Dylan.

How about a 'themed' compilation of live tracks culled from various recorded shows?

I for one would love to hear a BB companion album to Brian's 'Presents Pet Sounds Live' release. Would such a release be possible or are there tracks from Pet Sounds that they never got to perform live?

I do believe they never did the instrumentals or "That's Not Me". A couple more, but I'm not quite certain.

Speaking of the Hawaii concert from 67-I have an interview with Brian from the Honolulu Advertiser from August 24 1967-when they were rehearsing. He says that they are planning on calling the album "Lei'd in Hawaii"-so it is straight from the horse's mouth-not some later name.  Also-while Brian played a lot of organ-if you listen to the show-it is clear that he is at the front of the stage-introducing songs on a bunch of numbers-and this is proven by taking a look at American Band-at the end of the God Only Knows segment there is a brief bit of extra footage from the shows that is seen-and Brian was clearly on bass for some numbers.

I was referring to the second of the two Hawaii concerts. The one with "Hawthorne Blvd." as an opener. The first one was definitely a true concert, yes.

Typical of the unusual events surrounding Brian and the BB's in the summer of '67, they paid to ship that Baldwin organ from Brian's house to Hawaii, just for those two shows, and then shipped it back to his house, which was very expensive! They could have rented one in Hawaii, but Brian insisted it be *that* Smiley Smile organ for the live concert recordings. He loved the Baldwin at that time, and then within a year it had all but disappeared from his recordings.

(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/guitarfool2002/hawaii2-1.jpg)

Note Carl playing the Hofner violin bass, in true McCartney fashion. I believe this may be one of the only shows where that Hofner bass was played.

Those Hawaii shows are sloppy, but very compelling. I can't explain why, other than it's the only time Brian did a full show at that time, and there are some bizarre as well as poignant moments.

It's also fun to guess which members were tripping that day. :o

A guilty pleasure could be a tape of one of these shows:

(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/guitarfool2002/1968_0505_yogi_2.jpg)

For historical value, and a few laughs.

He looks so fucking sinister in that picture, looming over The Beach Boys like that...

It seems they either enjoyed that kind of relationship, or needed a replacement since Brian wasn't available for the job in May 1968:

(http://cache4.asset-cache.net/xc/74253252.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF878921CC759DF4EBAC47D0BEA54C7C11FAF44CDFA4F052802D51E65CAEAACEED08D90F)

 :)

Carnegie Hall.

Though I'd love to hear some more of the '67-'68 era.  A very odd and ill-documented period in the band's history, LIVE IN LONDON notwithstanding.

Ah, the well known stupidest-idea-for-a-tour-ever!

The Maharashi does look sinister on that poster, kind of looks a bit like Charlie.... >:D

If I saw that comming in a dark alley I'd fill my pants.

1. I'm pretty sure I've seen at least one picture of Al playing the Hofner bass

2. I'm not sure which is worse: The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Accompanied by his devotees The Beach Boys, or John Stamos featuring The Beach Boys.  ::)

The Wilsons were tripping in unison...the other two declined.

Tripping here - peaking at the falls...

"The Wilsons were tripping in unison...the other two declined."

Hence Bruce's 'fishing trip'...?

Sounds about normal

Just looked at that photo from Hawaii. Anyone else a bit baffled that as the hippy movement was just kicking into high gear, all of the Wilson Brothers got their hair cut short?

Dennis certainly, can't see it in his brother's hairstyles though.

Not strictly in concert but there are photos of Bruce sporting a Höfner bass during rehearsals in England circa 1966 in LLVS.

But they couldn't have had it cut long... don't think the BBs were into the hippy movement. Some of their music had touches of it but the boys themselves were always pretty clean-cut really. Just as they'd been raised to be. even their early 70s grunge stuff was never oily...

I might not have seen the rehearsal photos you're referring to, but I do know of a few rehearsal shots (and maybe concert shots too) of both Bruce and Carl playing an Eko violin-shaped bass similar to this one:

(http://www.bass-clef.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/-36071704093429540.jpg)

You can spot the Eko from the little wooden piece on top of the headstock, and the pickups as well.

I honestly don't know why they'd choose an Eko over the Fender P-Bass which was their main bass axe no matter who was playing bass at the time: Brian, Bruce, Glen, or even Al. The Eko was a second-rate Italian-made bass that really didn't play well or sound particularly good, yet Eko was a major advertiser in the late 60's and had endorsements from bands like The Grass Roots.

The band missed Bruce at the Hawaii shows, and I'd say they also missed having Dennis play something other than his snare drum for most of the show...sparse and laid-back is cool, but they were one step away from an a capella show in Hawaii that weekend.

Didn't they use the Baldwin organ on Wild Honey too? What album(s) was the "tack piano" used on? Two different ones, right?

(http://i54.tinypic.com/ou3vpc.jpg)

That is the Eko bass Bruce is playing in that photo, it looks like it comes from the same series as the other shots where Bruce and Carl are holding that bass.

That famous tack piano Brian also loved at that time was mostly heard on Smiley Smile and Wild Honey, although I think it also popped up on a few Friends tracks if I remember. The Baldwin also was Brian's favorite and was heard more obviously on Smiley Smile than Wild Honey, but it's there too...and those albums were recorded from summer to December of '67, also including the Hawaii shows where it survived the hazards of shipping to play the shows. Then, apart from maybe a few parts on Friends, that Baldwin all but disappeared after being something of a "signature sound" for Brian in the latter half of '67.

Guitarfool2002.  Another board member here who knows his poo.

Having trouble hearing the Princeton 11-13-1971 Surf's Up show.  Can someone please P Me?  Thanks!

the EKO is a quality instrument ... i used one of these for bass parts on an album my band did a couple years ago, it sounds real good.  the sound is different from a P-bass, more upright-like and percussive.  quite different from a hofner or fender P.

There´s a picture in Leaf´s "California Myth" (page 123) that shows Brian playing bass (Hofner).

That's cool you had a chance to play an Eko - it's not something you see turn up at the vintage shows or shops all too often, even though I have a few old guitar magazines with full page ads for Eko, circa 1967, so they were a prominent brand. I was a bit harsh on my description of the Eko, because a lot of those opinions like mine on the Eko are subjective and based on experiences shared. Based on my own experiences, I'd rate both the Mosrite Ventures model guitar and the Rickenbacker 12-string pretty low on the playability and quality scale, because the examples I played weren't too good, actually I've never held a 12-string Rickenbacker that played well and stayed in tune. But obviously they carry a reputation and so many swear by them, maybe i just had the worst of the brand. And the 12-string Rick is still high on my dream list! I also had a chance to play a mid-60's original Hofner violin bass before the prices went crazy, and apart from the fact it felt like really light wood and the neck felt unusual and a bit flimsy/cheap overall, as soon as I plugged it in I got the total Paul McCartney vibe and that thumpy tone from the early Beatles tracks. There is a certain mojo to some instruments! I'd play a Hofner anytime for that reason alone. I'd like to road test an Eko bass as well, if one ever turns up around this area.

Wonder if Bruce still has that bass somewhere...

ha, yeh i owned the Eko for a year or so and then sold it off.  i know what you mean about the hofners ... nothing beats them in many ways, very light and they have that sound!  Ric 12s are cool, our guitar player has one and it plays and sounds nice.  i myself have a 65 fender electric xii, which i much prefer for sound and playability.  keeping with the beach boys instrument vibe, i also have an RMI rocksichord, maestro rhythm king, bass harmonica, leslie speaker, etc!  mainly a '60s-'70s setup.  when i am in doubt, i use the benchmark "did the beach boys use it?"

I guess the only tracks I've heard from the actual live shows in Hawaii 67' are the bonus tracks on the "Live In London" 2-fer (H&V and...was it Surfer Girl?).  I have heard what I thought were the rehearsal tapes, but maybe they were the recordings made afterwards.  Love the mellow vibe and Smiley organ.  

Potentially, I imagine this lack of access to the live tracks could be most upsetting to a less well-balanced BBs fanatic than myself.  

Regarding the "Darlin'" picture sleeve above. Bruce is holding the bass in the middle, with Carl standing on the right with his hand up. Is that Al bending over on the far left and Dennis standing on the far right? And who is Bruce looking at sitting down, Brian? And who's sitting down in the foreground? I don't have the sleeve myself, and haven't seen the picture before. 

Could be wrong but looks to me like Derek Taylor  :-\

When looking through this thread I was remindedof another one I started a few years ago, hoping we could compile a list of Beach Boys-concerts that were proffessionaly filmed. Maybe someone here is interested in (re-)visiting that thread and maybe add some more infos. Didn't get too far back then
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,6290.0.html (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,6290.0.html)

When I was over at Alan Boyd's a year or two ago, I heard some very cool live stuff he and Mark had transferred over from the '68 era...a live "Little Bird" that was excellent, a live "How She Boogalooed It" that was pretty shaky but fascinating.  There's also some of the stuff from TV like Dennis doing "Never Learn Not To Love" with Carl on drums.  One can hope that stuff gets out eventually.

Yeah, hopefully Beach Boys Central will finally become active for the big 50th anniversary!  It's been 42 years since I heard Dennis sing Little Bird live at at Beach Boys concert, and I'm more than ready to spend some more $ to hear a recording of it live in concert again.

Technically those performances are "available", just not on an official release! The video clips you're referring to were from "The Mike Douglas Show" in 1969, and there are appearances with Carl taking over for Dennis on drums as he sings lead on "Celebrate The News" and "Never Learn Not To Love", don't actually feature Carl playing the drums. They're singing a live vocal over the original instrumental backing tracks. Technically it's not "lip synching", but Carl is only going through the motions of playing the drums, as are Al and Bruce on their instruments.

It's interesting that they have not been released officially, because a few years ago the archives of "The Mike Douglas Show" were made available for purchase and licensing to re-broadcast. Unlike Carson and others, a lot of Mike Douglas' shows were saved on tape, and if a syndicated show or news program wanted to find a clip of someone on the show like the BB's in 1969, they'd be able to "buy" that segment from whoever was minding the Douglas archives.

Which probably means the Beach Boys organization, if they wanted an official release, could have had high quality clips of those performances available to use direct from the tapes in those Mike Douglas Show archives, if all the legal details fell into place. The clips you see of those appearances now are either low quality or have the timing strip running over the video.

Depends on which 12 string Rickenbacker you're talking about. A 330/12, 360/12, 620/12, the C series George Harrison reissue, the Mike Campbell model...

I've got the Harrison model, as well as a '78 360/12 (rounded top, with high-gain pickups). I love them both, but I'd give the edge in overall quality to the C, simply because some of the Klusons that Rickenbacker was using in the 70s had too much play / slippage in them. Not all though - I've played plenty of mid 60s 330/12s and 360/12s that have stood up to hard playing. The big problem with Rickenbacker 12s for lots of folks is that the necks are narrow on the semi-hollow models. The solid body versions (620/12 and 660/12) have slightly wider necks and may be more comfortable for many players. My only problem with a Ricky 12 per se is the "R" tailpiece - it's a huge PITA to change strings with that thing (much easier with the Harrison model, since it has a trapeze tail.

Maybe because of the shorter scale neck (30" as opposed to a P bass' 34")?  For someone who doesn't play bass all the time, that big fender neck can be a pain to wrestle with for an entire show.

^^
That's why before I had to pawn it for groceries, I loved my Gobson EB-0. Not just the SG styling, but the fret board was the perfect size for my short, ukulele-happy fingers.

I'd definitely still want one, and have for a long time, but it was a let-down for me to actually play some of these Rickenbackers that I always looked at from a distance and always wanted to own, and find some of the quality issues that I saw on them. I'd always wanted a 12-string Rickenbacker, but at the time I was really lusting over one, there were simply none available in my area, and some of the local shop owners seemed to get hostile when I'd walk in and ask if they had any Rickenbackers! To this day, I don't know why.

So when I did move to a major city with a lot of music happening and a lot of vintage and new guitar shops, I would travel around and try out the Rickenbackers I always wanted. At one place, "Wurlitzer's", they had a group of several brand new Rickenbacker 12-strings, I think they were the more deluxe 360's but maybe 330's...this was close to 20 years ago, I don't recall. But I picked one of them up, it was in tune, but there were notes fretting out and buzzing, the finish on the fretboard was flawed, and the frets themselves were rough and had not been dressed/smoothed out as they should have. Simple quality control and inspection issues, I couldn't believe it! And the other Rickys there had similar issues, if not exactly the same. Another shop had the John Lennon model 325, which just did not play or feel very well, but that was mostly due to the short scale. Another shop had one of the used 70's solidbody 12-strings similar to what would be the Petty model, but the tuning machines were terrible and there were other issues with the condition. I'd plug in 330's, 360's, to Fender amps to test them, and they didn't have that magic I expected.

I'm a Telecaster guy, so I'm sure that had something to do with it! I do have a "Venus" 12-string that I found at a pawn shop (basically an Electric XII with a different body), and it plays and sounds great. The McGuinn model would be a real find, because of the built-in compressor but the price of those is too high. The best Rickenbacker I ever played was a fellow bandmate who had a 330 6-string in the 90's, and played it through one of those mid-90's Fender reissue Vibrolux tube combos...great sound, great feel, and it was a killer setup. Then he traded the whole setup in on a new Epiphone Sheraton semi-hollow and a Marshall...big Oasis fan.

I hear that.  I have a Hofner  and a Gretch Electromatic Jet Jr.  I don't have the wingspan to fight with the bigger ones for hours at a clip.