The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've read in a few different places that Brian re-recorded "In The Back Of My Mind" in like 1975 or something. And that it was one of the first instances showcasing the "new" voice.

It's not listed on AGD's page, but it is seen the Badman book I'm pretty sure.

So whats the deal on this one?

They played "In The Back of My Mind" live around 75 with Billy Hinsche on lead, is that what you mean?

Dennis sings it with Beachago as well.

No the Badman books lists a re-recording. Not a live version or any of that biz.

Seeing as Badman is the only place I've seen it listed, until some confirmation shows up, I'm ignoring it.

wasn't it to be re-recorded by Brian?
I'm guessing around the same time of Sherri She Needs Me (obviously inspired by old tunes).
I'd love to hear the instrumental track he may have produced for it.

With Billy Hinsche on lead? That's news to me. I know Billy sang I'm Waiting For the Day and Wishing You Were Here live in '75...but the only live '75 version of ITBOMM I've heard and/or heard of was with Dennis on lead.

Whoops, you are right, my bad.

Consider it confirmed, my friend.

That's kind-of nebulous, isn't it? 
Have you personally heard a studio re-recording?
Have some aural proof to share with AGD or someone else you trust not to boot it?
I'm not saying you're lying/it doesn't exist, but I'd like a little more than "Consider it confirmed, my friend"

Ummm... now Adam mentions it, I do recall him saying he'd either heard it or knew someone who had. Well duh ! on me.

I guess that's the problem with the Badman book, there's so many mistakes and factual errors in there that something that is actually correct gets ignored!

Was  new track recorded or just the vocals, like Sherry, She Needs Me?

Alan Boyd told me about the 1975 ITBOMM. He says it's really sad because it's the last of the old voice and the new voice keeps breaking through.

That's exactly right.  And yes, I've heard it, once.

wow, sounds jawdropping and must be released!

The deal seems to be, it's not in Badman's book - just checked 1973/4/5. Nada, zippo, zilch.

Ahh...   fast forward to October 1976, Badman: >>a solo piano/vocal version by Brian of the "Today" song "In The Back Of My Mind" with a newly composed bridge.<<
 Easy to miss stuff here...

I was told Nov. or Dec. '74...I think.  Boyd is the authority on this.  I'm just going by an old memory.

Just looked at that, and there's stuff he states that makes his dating (surprise !) exceedingly questionable: October 1976 recording dates for "Michael Row The Boat Ashore", "Shake, Rattle And Roll" and "Running Bear" ? I don't think so. Also, I'm reliably informed the date on the "Back Of My Mind" tape box is 1975.

When I contacted Badman originally about the unauthorised/uncredited use of my material, what he said about his 'researchers' contributions to the project very strongly indicated to me that little, if any, fact checking and cross referencing was undertaken. Seems to me that stuff pulled directly from the 'net was (slightly) reworded and then just thrown into the pot.

Definitely! 
I am in no way defending Badman, or his dates/research/writing.
 Simply wanted to point out the ITBOMM reference, since we all had seemed to miss it.
I think it's obvious to everyone how many errors he allowed to be printed.

Everyone except himself, and his publishers, apparently.  ;D

The one thing about that book I find utterly inexplicable is that no-one, at any stage of the production process, looked at the AFM sheet repros and thought "should we be printing these with the social security numbers ?"

we need this Keith Badman on this message board, anyone have any connections?  ;)

I think maybe you should start your own message board, where you and Keith can pass inanities back and forth.   ;D

Wow. Do we have any idea for what reason this was recorded? Maybe as a demo for California Music to use or something? It's just odd the guy couldn't be bothered to write or record much from '73 thru '75 but he gets the urge to re-record an album track from 1965. Weird.

This has to be near the top of my list of things that I would love to hear, along with "California Feelin'" '74 and "Where Is She?". Don't know if there are many other things I've heard of that seem to be unreleased Brian treasures besides maybe some nice little things like "Boys & Girls" or whatever from '81 which was talked up a bit, or maybe "Sweetie", or possibly "Burlesque" which we'll probably never see an official release of, due to it be dirty supposedly.

I'd love to hear this as well, if for no other reason than to hear Brian sing the song.  I can actually imagine it working for his voice in that era.  Why he would choose to sing it in the first place is beyond me, but from a historical perspective it would be fascinating to hear.

Since a lot of things we dreamed of (the demo of "California Feelin'", "(Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again)" and some we never even knew existed ("Surf's Up 1967", "Child Is Father Of The Man" with more vocals) ended up getting release within the past few years, I wanted to bring back the topic of Brian's 1975 recording of "In the Back of My Mind".

Honestly, besides whatever new material he is putting out, this is the Brian recording that I would totally love to hear. However, I wonder if there is even a chance. It doesn't really seem that this has gotten much traction in the fan community like other stuff did, such as the aforementioned "California Feelin'" demo and "(Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again" or even something like "Barnyard Blues". But maybe one of these years we could end up hearing this super interesting sounding recording. Possibly as a part of some kind of "bedroom years" release if one ever materializes?

So over the past few years, was anything else ever learned about this recording?  I guess it's for sure then that it exists, as Adam Marsland heard it. Does anybody know if the 1975 recording date is indeed correct? Did we ever find out a month? Because we do know that by later in the year "Back Home" was recorded, and Brian sounded quite different from the old days.

So yeah, just bringing this back up to see if anybody knows anything? Maybe c-man? Any info on where it was recorded and on what date? Anything besides just Brian and piano?

Anyways, hopefully the fact that I brought this old thread back up isn't a problem. I figure it's a worthwhile subject.

I'm reliably informed it'll be on the 2025 copyright extension release.

Whew!  That's good to hear; I was scared I might not hear this before I got to be 100...

Oh Andrew you joker!  :lol

By the way, dennis' live version of this song was excellent

Were you at one of those concerts? This is one of my favorite songs, I would've killed to hear Dennis do it live.

I have it on a mixed live boot CD someone made me years ago ...... Sounds great!

Don't know if I'm allowed to even be mentioning this, but ......

I don't get the constant mealy mouthing for boots.
As long as you're not offering to supply them or asking to receive them, there's no prohibitons about discussion.
This IS supposed to be a discussion board, after all

I have to admit that I just couldn't stand 'In The Back of My Mind' when I bought 'Today' back in 1965.  And now here we are almost 50 years later and I still have NO idea why that song was included on the album.  To these ears it just wasn't ready for prime time whatsoever.  The vocals were weak, poorly done and, at times, just too out of tune.  Why the heck was that allowed to pass through the 'fire-wall'?  A re-record would have been the right thing to do.  It is one of the reasons why I rank 'Today' lower than it otherwise would have deserved to be placed.

So come with it...I am wearing my triple thick/extra strength asbestos suit.  The song was poop.

Interesting viewpoint, I don't recall reading anything like that before about the song. And it comes from an old-timer! Thanks for telling it like it is, Add Some! And welcome to the board!

Huh.  I do agree that Dennis' vocal take isn't very refined.  But anyone judging the song has to hear the instrumental backing track by itself.  Stunning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuUtWOPzSeE

It IS interesting to hear different takes on this (to many fans) hallowed track. The mood is mournful and dirge-like, with Dennis singing very plaintively, less polished-sounding than most and very nearly off-key. The vocal style and dissonant chord at the end stand in contrast to the perfection of the rest of side 2, though the tone is somewhat similar, esp. to She Knows Me Too Well, an undeniable classic. The song has been cited as early evidence of Brian's impending disturbed state of mind, and it may well be. The production is first-rate though, and there is an alternate take on YouTube featuring Dennis' single-tracked vocal which is very revealing. Not as muddy as the album version and quite excellent IMO.

As Shane mentioned...the backing musical track is truly well done if not a stark contrast to the other tracks on the album...just like the orchestral work on their Christmas album is obviously a different slant on things. musically speaking.

No...my problem is with the vocals.  I have no idea how many takes Dennis put in on this one but...even if it was only one...I'm saying Brian took the wrong one for inclusion on 'Today'.

I prefer several versions of Help Me Rhonda/Ronda to the one on the album...and it ain't bad at all as is.  So if Brian could fix that....why not in the back of my vacuous noggin?  One [and a half/Party bein' the 1/2] albums later he had NO problem switching vocals in and out...including dumping some of his own.  I'm going to GUESS that time/touring restraints perhaps kept that from happening with the song sitting under our collective microscope. 

I think Brian directed Dennis to sing the lead in that ragged, hangdog, beseeching way, to better express the emotional confusion that he (Brian) was feeling at the time. The single version of Ronda/Rhonda was an attempt to record the material in a more perky arrangement so it would be more commercial, and it succeeds artistically as well.

"I  think Brian directed Dennis to sing the lead in that ragged, hangdog, beseeching way, to better express the emotional confusion that he (Brian) was feeling at the time. "

------------

And he only felt to express that confusion is such a strange manner once?  [given the oddities of 'I'm Bugged At My Old Man'...which at that time I took as mere teenage rebellion until I found out differently]  In that time-frame and context when Brian was churning 'em out like a factory there's nothing really like it heading into...or out of 1965.  In My Room?  Beautiful.  A glimpse inside Brian's head with 'Busy Doin' Nothin' suggests nothing of the sort.  I wonder if the "emotional confusion" explanation is just a theory conceived to try and explain why the song stood/stands the way it does?  I know that it ain't just a mistake.

I guess I've made my point about it standing out on 'Today' like a hammer smacked throbbing thumb?  If THAT was a warning signal from Brian everyone who mattered surely missed it.

This is one of my favourite BBs songs and I never had a problem with the vocal. Until I started reading this board it never occurred to me that anyone would.

Ditto that. I always loved Dennis' vocals.

I'm a big Dennis fan, but, for me, his vocal on "In The Back Of My Mind" keeps the song from reaching its full potential. I often wondered if Brian gave the song to Dennis because he (Brian) really thought that Dennis was the right voice for the song - or if he was just throwing Dennis a bone. If it's the latter, I wish Brian would've thrown Carl a bone with this song. I think Carl (or Brian) would've done it more justice.

If Brian was really happy with the way the song turned out, I wonder what motivated him to re-record it. Granted it could be several reasons.

Yeah, I think "In The Back Of My Mind" belongs on Today, although I could also hear it on Summer Days (And Summer Nights). However, I still think "She Knows Me Too Well" was/is perfect as an album closer.

I didn't want to give the impression that I don't really dig almost all of the songs Dennis recorded as a lead vocalist. ..solo or Beach Boys.   Many are just outstanding.  It's just this one...and also the kind of muddy rendition of the hit 'Do You Wanna Dance' which, to me, come up short of the typical BW qualitative line.

I guess that is why I liked it, strangely enough. There was something less refined and "Rock 'n Roll" about his vocals. It's unexpected.

I've always loved the song, the track, the playing, Dennis' vocal.....

Let's remember that Brian is a master of sequencing ...... Whatever the song's/track's apparent "weaknesses" are, I think Brian used them to an advantage by placing the song at the very end of an album (well, aside from Bull Session) that ..... for the time especially ..... was something of an emotional drainer (side 2 mainly) ...... Having a spent/desperate/sad/reflective narrator at the helm of the song was a crack decision ...... and Dennis was perfect for that.

I much prefer the alternate mix with Dennis' single tracked vocal. The double tracking on the Today version lessens the immediacy and natural appeal of Dennis' voice IMO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Q8gMdFgfU

Thank you..... I'd never heard that version ...... The only "flaw" I could ever notice in the album version was not-exactly-perfect double tracking.

Yup.

So...I went back this morning and listened to the song again. :hat  As you likely deciphered...it's been a long, LONG time since I last did that.  You know what?  Except for the "no man can cling" bit...It's not THAT bad.  Not nearly as bad as I remembered it.  The "I try to run far 'way/I tried to rationalize" bits are a little 'strange'...but maybe I've been a little bit too harsh.  Maybe I was a worse critic back in '65...when I was only 13.

So ya...Most of it, in fact, is kind of decent...or, at the very least better than I remembered it.  The backing track and that sax bit Brian sneaks in under the vocal about 46 seconds in always worked.

Now I'm going to have to upgrade my rating of the album. 8)

Back of My Mind's nearest relative in the repertoire, to my mind, is Just Once In My Life on 1976's 15BOs. Soulmates.

Re:  Dennis' vocal and Brian's intentions for it, I distinctly remember an interview with Brian (I'm thinking it may have been one of his late '80s/early '90s interviews with Bill Holdship for BAM, though I have no idea if that's really the case - but I'm pretty sure about the thrust of what he said) where he complained about Dennis screwing up the double tracking on this song.  So it would appear Brian wasn't happy with it either.

As much of an unabashed Dennis fan as I am, I was never too keen on his double track on this song, either. Very ragged, and I don't feel it serves to accentuate the emotion of the song. Too bad.

Now, the stereo version on MiC? Blows my mind. Nicely cleaned up. Dennis is still a little off-key in parts, sure, a little behind the beat, but all of it serves the needs of the song more completely, IMO. That's my preferred version.

What I find so interesting-- I've said this before, no one cares-- is that I find Dennis' double-tracking of his own voice later in his career MASTERFUL. Even with that torn, bleeding voice of his, his vocal overdubs settle-in to one another perfectly, shoring up weaknesses in the early takes and "playing off" each other. Almost like he was harmonizing with himself... just in unison.

Haven't heard any live versions of this song. Would love an official release of one of those, or '70s Brian version.

Totally agree w/ the MiC version being the definitive one. The poor double-tracking on the original is distracting.

The instrumental is gorgeous. Especially the bridge. One of Brian's absolute best moments. It reminds me of something John Barry would've done in the late 60s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuUtWOPzSeE

The pizzicato strings playing the arpeggio of what the guitars are doing in the verses is very, very clever too.
The outro too. Wow!