The Smiley Smile Message Board

Best tracks that Brian didn't write/co-write, sing on, or produce:

"I Can Hear Music"

"All This Is That"

Others?

Did BW sing on "I Was Made To Love Her"?  "Bluebirds Over the Mountain"? 

Kokomo (English version)

SNJ

Here's a few I like, Fairly certain Brian had nothing to do with any of them: 
What's Going On 
Let's Get Together
Memory ( Cats)
Tent
I could go on...   ;D

 ::) I knew someone would say this, but was hoping not.

I don't think I know any of these.

What's SNJ stand for?

Somewhere Near Japan

OH!  I bet you meant BBs tracks....

River Song

Still Cruisin'
Lahaina Aloha
It's a Beautiful Day

"The Trader" (pretty sure he's not on it)

"All This Is That"

"Be With Me"

"Love Surrounds Me"

"Somewhere Near Japan"

"Cuddle Up"

Make It Good
Long Promised Road
Feel Flows
Steamboat
Trader

Sumahama

Full Sail

Goin South

Love Surrounds Me

Baby Blue

All This Is That

Leaving This Town

Long Promised Road

Feel Flows

Don't Go Near The Water

Hold On Dear Brother

Only With You

Angel Come Home

Trader

I know Brian might be ON some of these in some capacity. But I guess I wouldn't really count that as him being heavily involved. I think we all know what's a heavily Brian song and what is not: and these are all fantastic songs that feature very little or no Brian involvement.

I love this post because 15 or so years ago the answer would be a resounding THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A GOOD BRIAN-LESS BEACH BOYS TRACK!

I would have added "FF" and/or "LPR", but I know he's definitely on one (bvs, and no, I can't recall which one), and might well be on both.

Not only minimal, but also the wrong song.  ;D

Does Tones count?

What is this "Tones" you speak of - it's not on any of my entirely legally released albums.  ::)

Darn, when I pushed the post-button, I knew I was mixing up things... and I evensucceeded in  deleting my own message not-too quick enough...  :lol

As I mentioned to some other people earlier today: I really really really need to get some extra sleep the next couple of days...  (starting now)

Oops, gotta add Big Sur!!!!!!

Did I say Tones? I meant Be Still...

Brian was on basically all of the Surf's Up LP to some capacity. Desper's book really clears that up.

He is on both. He does the Down Down Down vocal on LPR and the White Puffs high part on Feel Flows.

Don't Go Near The Water he worked heavily on the ending

Steamboat and Cuddle Up are open to debate but I hear him.

I Was Made To Love Her he produced and sang the high part.

To answer the question though.....
I Can Hear Music
Be With Me
All I Want To Do
Looking At Tomorrow
SDT (I like it so sue me)
Trader
Here She Comes
Hard Times (even if it is solo Blondie and Ricky it's from the Beach Boys era)
All This Is That
We Got Love
Only With You
River Song
Angel Come Home
Baby Blue
Love Surrounds Me
Somewhere Near Japan

If only I owned that book of his!

Second that.

Cool, thanks.  I'd like to add "River Song," and others from POB.

They really did make a lot of great songs without Brian

Not sure if Brian was involved but, "Cuddle Up"

My favorite Brian-less recording is "All This & That." Very beautiful tune.

Strangely, Rolling Stone gave Brian credit for the orchestrations on Dennis's CATP songs.

Strangely wrong. Daryl Dragon did them with direction from Dennis.

Can I also add that on "Feel Flows" that long (long) sustained note being held during the guitar/flute middle eight is actually sung by Brian. I have tried to sing along with it many a time and have always needed to take a quick gulp of air halfway through, so his lungs must have still been in pretty good shape in '71.

I don't even hear that in the song.  ;D I hear a "yeah, yeeeeeeeeeeeeah", but I think it's carl.

Won't You Tell Him was cut around then and he sounds very good on that.

He's holding a long droning note thought the otherwise instrumental break. I've always noticed it but never guessed it was Brian because people never associate him with the lower notes (which is why all his CATP contributions slip under the radar). I only found out when I heard him being interviewed on one of the promotional podcasts for (I think it was for) the "Warmth of the Sun" release a couple of years back. He says his main memory of that song is "having to hold that one note for like a minute and a half".

One - I don't hear anyone holding a note, and more to the point, Steve Desper doesn't mention anything like that in his little book, which is otherwise awash with vocal session info. There is a little vocal drone section towards the end but it's, like, two-three seconds (2.44-2.46)

Two - no-one can hold a note for 90 seconds. Try it. I think Bill Withers managed about 17 seconds in "Lovely Day".  ;D

From what I recall Desper's book talks about Brian singing the White Puffs line. He's easy to hear the last 30 seconds.

One - mike's beard hears someone holding a note, I hear someone holding a note, everybody (you being a notable exception, it seems) hears someone holding a note, Brian says he held the note. He talks about it in the WOTS podcast...

Two - ...and adds that he didn't hold the note during the whole section ("take a quick breath...") and hints at studio trickery having been involved ("they taped it...")

Holding a note, eeeh? Mike tried... ;D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2qE61E0i7s

It's a shame I can't find the link to where I heard it but like so many BB related things these days it seems to have disappeared from youtube.....

I think I can hear a sustained note that could be Brian (going 'ehhhhhhhh'), but it's not particularly low, middle (?) C. Is that it?

This description seems to fit. It goes from around 1:45 to 2:55.

For those who haven't downloaded the WOTS podcast yet, there you go: http://beachboyswarmth.blogspot.com/ (http://beachboyswarmth.blogspot.com/). Click on "episode 8" (right side of the screen) for "Feel Flows".

Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback!  Has anyone made a "Best of Brian-less" playlist?  Here's my attempt (restricting myself to 15 tracks):


I Can Hear Music

All This Is That

Be Still

Dreamer

Steamboat

Long Promised Road

The Trader

Looking At Tomorrow

Be With Me

Baby Blue

Love Surrounds Me

Leaving This Town

All I Want To Do

Feel Flows

River Song

"Everyone", in reference to this thread, apparently consists of mikesbeard and yourself.  :)  Further, Brian isn't a credible source. He'll tell you what he thinks you want to hear, or anything to get the questions over.  Further still, Desper doesn't make any reference whatsoever to to it.  Three strikes, yer out !  ;D

Looking over my list of titles, Dennis sure pulled a lot of the post-BW's-prime weight, eh?

Brian isn't a reliable source when he answers precise questions... ("Did you hold a note in 'Feel Flows'?" being a bad way of asking something, for instance). My understanding is that the guys who did the WOTS podcast just gave the song title to Brian, and it's the first thing he remembered about the song. That's credible enough to me.

Also, just because Desper didn't mention it doesn't mean it didn't happen. And finally, I hear that long note, and my ears are still young. :)

Brian can be a reliable source, sometimes — like when asked what's the most-recent movie he saw.  Or his favorite movie.

I just relistened to it on headphones and to my ears there does seem to be at least four edits in the note. Still it's pretty impressive.

Make it Good- Dennis

Feel Flows - Carl

That's definitely Brian holding a long note (edited yes, but still long notes spliced together) in the middle section of "Feel Flows".  It's easiest to hear him at around 2:45, just before we transition out of the jammy section when the mix gets slightly more sparse.  I've heard that long note from the first time I heard the song back in 2000.

Groovy song.  I just listened to it again and it simply takes me to another place.

Starting about 4:05-ish into the song, I can hear a "mid range" note being held. It starts and stops a couple times though. It's when Carl's singing "feel flows, feel goes...feel flows, feelings to grow". Is that what you're talking about?

Somebody let me down easy.

Are we absolutely, 100% positive that Brian had nothing to do with "I Can Hear Music" ?  Can we definitively say he wasn't around at all?  I'm not claiming he was.  I'm just wondering if we know that for sure.  Do we know for sure he's not singing on it, either?  

I know there's the liner notes thing, that most people pass off as either being ghost written or Brian just being Brian and making things up (In the 2fer liner notes, when he's talking about I Can Hear Music, he says that he loves that song because they got the guitars to sound just how they wanted, kind of suggesting he was there when it was recorded and helped with production).

Also on that 'piano jam' tape that somebody linked to a few days ago from 1990, Brian's really animated when they play that song.  Not that that means much, but he certainly was down with it and was into singing it.  I know.  That has nothing to do with it, but hey it's something.  I imagine he was of course a big fan of the original.

Geez, I must have been distracted or something...that should read "2:45" (edited my previous post accordingly).  I swear no  :hat was involved in my post, ha.  The note starts as soon as the guitar and flute duel starts, basically the whole middle section of the song.  Start at about 2:45 it becomes slightly easier to hear Brian's voice.  It's mostly in the left channel too if that helps.  The note is C. 

.

I concur.  ;D

Interesting questions. During the "I hear the music all the time, yeah..." section, there's a background part that goes "music, music, music, music"... And that sounds like it could be Brian. But it's hard to tell, and it could very well be Al, Bruce or Carl.


Since when does "." = "I was wrong"?  ???  :p ;)

River Song without a doubt.

?

I'm not saying he's on it.  I don't even know why I would think he might be... I've heard the HIGH "Music" part in the back of that acapella section was Bruce.  I'm not familiar enough with Bruce's voice or his falsetto (OR HIGH CHEST VOICE!) to know if it's him or not.  It sounds like vintage Brian, but I've always heard he wasn't on the track. 

I suppose the only reason I've ever thought Brian had something to do with it (besides the liner notes quote) is that it's a Ronettes song. 

I've isolated quite a bit of Brian's vocals in Adobe Audition from this period...I'll see if it's him or not ;)

Summer Of Love...





...OH! you wanted best!

Here's 10:

I Can Hear Music
Somewhere Near Japan
All This Is That
Here She Comes
The Trader
Kokomo
Hard Times
It's A New Day
Feel Flows*
Steamboat

*We Got Love (if "Feel Flows" doesn't count)

Disney Girls (1957)
Add Some Music to Your Day
Kokomo
Big Sur etc.
Feel Flows
Cottonfields
.... so many!

Brian is on Add Some Music.

...And "Disney Girls (1957)"

It definitely sounds like Brian's early 70's voice doing that 'ehhhh' part but it's not sustained all the way through the instrumental break (for obvious reasons). It's buried in the mix and you really need to block out the rest of the stuff going on to pick it out. Never ever noticed that part before!  ;D

Feel Flows.

Best song he wasn't on is "I Can  Hear Music".  It's one of their best songs period, that he's not on it is astonishing. 

...Hang on, can someone give me a complete list of songs from "Surf's Up" to "Holland" that Brian *isn't* on?  I'm kinda surprised by the sheer number of "Surf's Up" songs he's been sighted on...

Cheers,
Jon Blum

"Heaven," if that counts!