The Smiley Smile Message Board

According to the BW board and AGD the Disney album is all done. Brian has cancelled some of the shows in September and is going into the studio - another Christmas tune perhaps? Or what? Any hints....? ;)

Speaking of sessions - I posted the 1-minute outtake of the "crispy" version of "Let him run wild" (as played on a radio show 1995-96), recorded some time around "Imagination" - but no-one seems to know anything about that version - or what else was recorded and not released...? AGD?

/B

I doubt Brian would cancel shows just to record Christmas tunes. It must be something bigger.

BRIAN WILSON PRESENTS REMEMBER THE ZOO HOLY SHIT

My money's on recordings for a Beach Boys (anniversary-related) release. Not necessarily involving the other members, though.
If it was an all-new BW solo record we would've heard of some record deal or something, right?

Hoping the Beach Boys are recording a new album for one last hurrah because i want the last chapter of the group to be positive.

LMFAO!!!  ;D ;D ;D

A BBs-tributealbum with each member re-recording one of their biggies.... :lol

Ya... or each member laying down vocals and stuff separately. This could be for various reasons. (Scenes from the Stars & Stripes recording sessions come to mind.)

Or, who knows.... maybe Brian, Mike, Al, Bruce and David already decided on a joined recording date in September.  :-D Is it known whether the other BBs have touring commitments at that time?

Al is wanting more "Don't Fight The Sea" style tracks for the physical release of Postcard From California..  :lol

This has to be a group session, filmed for posterity - or sales ;D - otherwise there'd be no need to scrub gigs. They could record it anywhere in the world - even in a hotel room - and transfer it digitally to YRPlace for assembly. But for this they have to be togetjer.

If I remember that interview correctly, it was stated that Let Him Run Wild & Sweetie were recorded for the Wilsons project.

Has anyone heard anything about the touring BB calendar? If Mike has September cleared as well then we could assume much more accurately.

According to the Beach Boys' last.fm page they are scheduled to play gigs Sept the 2nd and Sept the 9th. No gigs for the rest of the month.
When were Brian's Scandinavian dates supposed to be exactly?

According to beachboysfanclub.com:

Sept. 2 — Pueblo, CA (Colorado State Fair, Events Center)
Sept. 3 — Las Vegas, NV (Mandalay Bay)
Sept. 5 — Pomona, CA (LA County Fair)*
Sept. 9 — Atlanta, GA (Cobb Energy PAC)*
Sept. 29 — Lawrenceburg, TN (Middle Tennessee District Fair)

According to beachboysband.net:
Sept. 02 — Pueblo, CO - Colorado State Fair
Sept. 03 — Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay
Sept. 05 — Pomona, CA - LA County Fair
Sept. 09 — Atlanta, GA - Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center

The canceled dates were towards the end of September. Perhaps a good studio/ producer has been booked and the dates clashed.

Regarding that "Let Him Run Wild" clip....if it's the one I'm thinking of, I think I know where it came from....in July or August 1996, right before Stars and Stripes was released, Brian and Joe Thomas were in-studio guests of Steve Dahl on either WLUP or WCKG in Chicago, whichever station he was on at the time. I found out about it by accident -- I noticed a quick mention in the Sun-Times, probably Feder's column...problem: I was going to be working at the time without access to a recorder...solution: I happened to have a system that would auto-record at a certain time! I did manage to grab a good portion of the part with Brian and Joe....basically, the last 45 minutes or so of when they were in the studio. Unfortunately, I lost that tape long ago, as I've moved several times since, so this is all going by memory...

For the most part, it was just Brian and Joe talking about the album, and they played a couple of songs off it...I remember they played the Willie version of TWOTS, and IIRC, they started the tape up at the wrong speed (they were playing the stuff from a reel-to-reel deck)...at one point during the show Brian asked if he should play something, pointing out that "there's an instrument here." I remember at one point Steve asked Brian to play him some background music on the keyboard that was in the studio, and Brian proceded to sing a verse and a chorus of "Darlin'" in the original key -- but sang the verse an octave lower and returned to the original key for the chorus, at which point Steve interrupted him and said, "What kind of a list is that?" Brian sounded puzzled, so Steve asked him what the lyrics are, and Brian said, in the beat of the song, "I dream about you often, my pretty darrrrrrrr-lin'." And Steve commented that he always thought it was "I got to get you off of my pretty girl list." Brian LOUDLY castigated him for getting it wrong and laughed. At another point Brian played and sang a verse of "Little GTO." I don't remember if he did anything else with that keyboard...

The "Let Him Run Wild" thing is the last thing they played before Brian and Joe left. Steve mentioned that they gave him a reel full of new unreleased recordings and he wanted to play some of it, and he played that minute or two of "Let Him Run Wild," which Joe said had Brian on all the instruments and vocals. I think Steve faded it himself, so there might be more on the tape he had. I seem to remember Joe implied that it was for the upcoming album with Wendy and Carnie, but as we saw when it came out, it was NOT on the album. And it's not the version that was on Imagination, as the version they played on the radio was in the original key (and 100% synths).

Steve asked 'em if he could play more stuff from the tape during his show later on, and they said yes. Whether he actually did, I don't know, as to this day I can't stand Steve Dahl and avoid his show like the plague...

I'm guessing that what you posted came from that broadcast and, since you had it to post, I obviously wasn't the only one who managed to record it. But really, the Brian that I heard on the show was NOT the Brian everybody became with...he was VERY talkative, and seriously, you'd swear you were just listening in on a couple of old friends riffing (which, essentially, is what it was)....

Pretty good depiction of the tape. The LHRW is similar. arrangement wise, to the one on Imagination. It seems likely it was used as a template. They also use a weird echo effect on Brian's voice when he was singing in the studio.

I will take issue, though, with the thought that Brian is significantly different in this tape than any appearance in the post-Landy era. It's okay, certainly, but Joe and Steve do most of the talking.

Again, going from memory...

It definitely shows him a little looser, and he seems to thrive in an atmosphere like that, so I'm not disagreeing that it's a decent appearance. And the Darlin version is excellent -- as is Little GTO. Always thought Brian and a piano, with some good vocal production, would be a great album.

According to Brian's website the dates cancelled were September 24, 25, and 26.

maybe just doing a single together.

And maybe "Smile" is coming out end of September and Brian needs to be available for 'recording' interviews.  Gotta be a big PR push when this this thing drops.

Ding, ding, ding.  I think we may have winner.  Capitol can't throw a release party without the big man.

Thanks 37!ws for your elaboration. Unfortunately I don't have the whole show, and I cannot remember where I got that outtake from. But is an interesting version, better than both the SDSN version and the Imagination version, IMO. I would sure like to know what was on the reel that was handed over to Steve... "The alternative Imagination album"???   ;D

/B

Right, of course he will need to do all those things. But would Brian call that "studio commitments"? I'm betting on some kind of BBs recordings, maybe just that single Runaway mentioned.

I'd hate to think that BW or any other artist would scrap gigs and deprive fans for the sake of a few promotional interviews, even for The Smile Sessions. BBs sessions make much more sense in terms of the cancellations, as suiting several folks' diaries would be difficult and this a last resort solution.

Honestly, a final Beach Boys album feels somewhat necessary considering the outright bizarre way things were left in the 90s (and even the 80s to a lesser extent). A few key tracks that were never finished being brought back, specifically a couple from the scrapped 90s sessions (and, of course, utilizing Carl's vocals whenever possible), getting Brian, Al, Mike, Bruce, and David involved in the project, have Darian in the picture somewhere because he knows his sh*t and has shown he knows what's tasteful with arrangements, possibly work on a lost Dennis track or two (again, tastefully), keep re-recordings of classic tracks and too blatant retreads of the surf material to a minimum (as to avoid Summer in Paradise II), etc. etc. etc.

With the right producer (and considering the quality of some of the stuff on That Lucky Old Sun), I honest to goodness think they'd be capable of pulling off something on par with a lesser late 60s album. Their songwriting isn't what it used to be, their voices aren't what they used to be, they're getting on in age, but I'll be damned if an aged and lesser Beach Boys isn't still capable of work every bit as affective as it used to be IF (BIIIG if) they have the right people in their corner on this.

Doesn't Matt Jardine have a somewhat late 60s Brian-esque falsetto? Doesn't one of Carl's sons have really good Carl-esque voice? I'd love to hear the right people assisting the main surviving Beach Boys members with this stuff - not because they simply sound like other folks in Beach Boys history, but because they have the skills and they're of Beach Boys blood.

I can dream, can't I? *gets genuinely sad to a small extent* :(

I'm with you all the way on this.

There might be some solid arguments for this not to happen but I too believe they could still just pull it off.

Stranger things have happened in Beach Boyland – after all, some of you will be aware that Brian Wilson has even been known to play a live gig or two.

Yeah, but I don't think anyone expected Brian Wilson to become a fat Elvis either.

Mike and Bruce now have a gig in Tulsa Sep 30.


http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=371&articleid=20110714_371_0_Cmnote915108

sounds like a single track

They're going to record a new version of "Summer of Love" and this time Bart Simpson IS going to do some of the rapping.

This all sounds great and it's not beyond the realms of reason that somebody might persuade the BBs to do a Johnny Cash, or Tom Jones and knock out an artistically credible twilight-of-career album. However, whereas artists such as Cash are able to deliver gritty, authentic elder statesman type albums convincingly, I think The Beach Boys are slaves to that endless summer/surf image, and I just can't see them stepping away from that any time soon. Do we honesty believe that a new Beach Boys album would not be constrained by the familiar California Dream cliches? Their called 'The Beach Boys' for crying out loud!
Brian can get away with it as part of his 'brand' is that of the tortured genius, but even his latest album was littered with allusions to the surf albums.

But it's a great dream, and as someone else has pointed out, stranger things have happened in BB land.

Why do fans feel there has to be 'closure' to a band's recording career? It doesn't happen to so many other artistic endeavours in other walks of life!

OK, OK, so I'll nail my colours to the mast - I know a lot of people here are into this 'maybe, just maybe, they can make one last, great album...' idea, but I just *can't* warm to it. For me, the best way to listen to the Beach Boys on record is... on their original records, not something new. I think Brian sounds absolutely great with his current band, and you can chalk me up as a SMiLE '04/Lucky Old Sun believer to the max, but as to his appearing with The Beach Boys? That ship has totally sailed - I honestly think it can only disappoint, for various reasons.

1) Most importantly, no Carl, no Dennis... no Beach Boys.

2) Their voices - none of the guys, not just Brian - aren't what they were. While that doesn't matter for some bands - you don't listen to The Pogues, say, for angelic choir-like purity, and never did - with the Beach Boys, that WAS a major part of the appeal.

3) Too much politics, too much history to get over. Another group LP can only be achieved by accommodating everyone's requirements to some extent, which means you're going to end up with a load of lowest-common denominator stuff to keep everyone happy. So there will be 'Beach Cheese' like California Calling off the 85 album or Wipe Out with the Fat Boys so that the band still projects that surf'n'cars image that's so important to Mike; there will be banjo-plastered 'Ecological Cheese' in the vein of Song Of The Whale, or possibly 'Folky Cheese' like the 80s California Dreaming cover to keep Al happy; there'll be some lame piano ballad tossed to Bruce (and I say this as an active FAN of 'Disney Girls' and, at the very least, a working relationship with 'Tears In The Morning')... and then, for Brian, there'll undoubtedly be a track or two which try to approximate the sound of the band's most famous released album, from 1966, by plastering it in plastic-cup-style percussion and bass harmonica (didn't folks 'round here used to call that 'The Wilsoniser'...?) ...only without approaching a fraction of the emotional impact of those '66 cuts. Oh, and of course, there will have to be a track (or maybe two) which use Carl vocals, following the now-accepted precedent set by Ron Nasty's vocals on 'Free As A Bird' and 'Real Love' - even though the remaining unheard Carl vocals are ones he didn't rate while alive and shelved for a good reason. In short, I can almost see the visible fumes rising from this ghastly twist of brown e'en as I type...

4) Why do people think that it's somehow an acceptable substitute to bring in siblings and/or offspring to compensate for the loss of an original band member? I have flat out NEVER understood this, ever since people started saying back in the 80s that it would be 'interesting' to see Liverpool's finest reform with Julian Nasty instead of John (L), or Zeppelin with Jason Bonham instead of John (B). Excuse me for shouting, but THEY ARE DIFFERENT PEOPLE - that's how reproduction works. Different genes, different throats, different likes and dislikes, different characters, different upbringings, different everything. The surname (usually) remains the same, but that's IT. You might as well get in the singing plumber for all the actual musical connection their sons have to Carl or Dennis Wilson, and their ability to sing, drum or compose like either of those guys.

Of course, having said (or ranted) all of that, I would of course be in the store to buy any new BB release on the morning it came out... just *in case* it was, against all expectations, good after all...!   ;)

MattB

I don't need to see a new studio album, or any album at all, really (cool as it might be). But I think there's merit in something simple, like getting together in a room with a couple acoustics and singing old hits. I'd much rather see them do something low-key that they're comfortable with and do a great job, as opposed to something ambitious and do it half-assedly.

Great point. I have never understood this either.

Say what you will, but I'm stoked for Beach Boys' Retirement Party! to the max!

OK, I take it all back - Beach Boys' Retirement Party, that's one album sure to sell a million copies in January! Forget that Dumb Angle album, or whatever it was called...  ;)

Recorded mostly alive... at a Beach Boys Retirement Party!

"One night in July 2011, I and the other Beach Boys invited some friends to bring their Zimmer frames and Segways along to the studio to take part in what was to be the first and only live retirement party album. We even had Sanatogen multi-vitamins for everybody... " wrote Brian Wilson. "The Beautiful South did it first. But our three-minute, semi-serious take on 'When I'm 84' will be an out-of-the-box smash," he continued. "Half the people in the room were taking an afternoon nap, while the other half were slurping mashed swede through their dentures, swigging Libogen to give them the energy to attempt a take, or emptying their colostomy bags."

The Beach Boys Retirement Party! is bound to be a smash success, helped in no small measure by the promotional packets of Preparation H, Warfarin high blood pressure medication, and half-moon spectacles which will be stapled to each cover.

Maybe this is not a bad idea, considering how many baby boomers are set to retire or have retired over tha last couple years. Who better for the Boomers to relate to retiring than The Beach Boys.

as if there's a retirement plan! 
Mike won't be able to reture until he's at least 85, if he reigns in his spending now; otherwise he's destined to die in the saddle

I think it's all a lie, there are no studio sessions, Brian just doesn't like Norway  :P

Just a small point - the word "sessions" wasn't mentioned in the original statement. Thus:

"Dear friends,
Unfortunately it seems that we have to postpone the Scandinavian dates on our September tour. I have an unavoidable situation in the studio in Los Angeles, and we must therefore return home after Brussels.

I promise to get back as soon as possible so I can play Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. I love that part of the world and the wonderful people who come to our shows. We keep you informed of new dates.

Meanwhile, back to my first love - STUDIO"

Call me cynical, but I cannot conceive of any situation that's so unavoidable to cause the cancellation of shows three months hence. Well, unless it's promo work for an upcoming release that has to be out by a specific date...  ::)

I find 'an unavoidable situation in the studio' rather funny sounding. What could that be? Having to put a wig on, perhaps sunglasses and a fireman's hat, and pretending that you're 25 again? Perhaps 'situation' points indeed to some scene shooting... something that is very time- and place-bound, really related to the SS Box ahead.

Well, we'll see...

AGD agrees with Surfriderhi theory?  Did the world stop spinning....

On Brian's website it reads

Dear friends,

Sadly, it looks like we will be having to postpone the Scandinavian dates on our September tour. I have a commitment in the studio back in Los Angeles so we will have to be heading home after Brussels.

I promise to get back to play Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo as soon as I can. I love that part of the world and the wonderful people who come to our shows. We will keep you posted on new dates.

In the meantime, back to my first love the STUDIO!!

Love and Mercy,

Brian

Or recreating the Van Dyke Parks vs. Mike Love fight over lyrics so the whole world can find out the true story in a vocal filler track....

I think it's to produce a new Spring album.

Hmmm, October 4th? Naah, September 24-26 is too close......

"What? Ooh, so it's not October 4th??" :P

/B

Of course he does not say what studio!

Me thinks it is for a haircut. :afro

Told ya, my colloquial Danish is a bit rusty.  :)

Recording/filming promo video doesn't happen overnight. They might be going to different studios Brian recorded Smile in.  They'd be lucky to film Brian interviews in Sept for Oct PR blitz.  Could be for a video to be included in the box set.  Could be 'in the studio' listening and approving final mixes for the set.

CAP is putting big bucks into this Smile Sessions box.  It's Brian's baby!  

bottom line - Surely it makes perfect sense to postpone a few concerts to make sure this puppy launches properly.

But now the band formerly known as Spring will now be named Fall Breaks And Into Winter.

You think he'll visit the ultra-cheap hair studio that Denny used to frequent? To get totally bald?

I think it's a dance studio. 

He's going to start breakdancing during Barbara Ann from now on

What he said.

Ditto! 

Let us fans raid the vaults and enjoy what we enjoy.  All that stuff is miles better than anything they could do today.  Like "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore" - it didn't merit release in it's day but it's way better than anything they could do now.

I personally think that Disney and Brian's management felt that the upcoming Disney CD was either needing one more song ( be it Brian's or Disney's idea) or there was a problem in the vocal mix somewhere on the CD that needing fixing that was earlier missed...

 :)

I think... not.  ::)

And the only time that could be done is in 3 months? (from the announcement) ???

That's what Genevelyn semaphored to him, yes.

It's all finished, right? Disney probably sitting on it until Smile drops.....

No big secret, the Disney songs album was mixed, mastered and handed over to WED Corp late March/early April. Out of Brian's hands now.

So I heard. First, SMiLE will drop from all release schedules. And then Disney chimes in with a wonderful substitute.

"now that SMiLE has been shelved, here's something completely different to make you SMiLE. 18 Disney classics"

I'm actually excited for the DIsney album. Hope it comes sooner or later

While BWRG was being recorded and before its release, there was quite a buzz surrounding it through the grapevine...have any such whispers been heard about ummm BWRD?

It might leak before it is released at this rate.  >:D

Highly unlikely.  :)

So another theory for the mix.

Happened to watch a youtube Moody Blues  performance on Leno from 95 to promote a compilation.

Any chance Brian, Mike and co may be doing a Leno slot, possibly the end of September, to promote the Smile Sessions?

I hope not. Brian is often uncomfortable on TV with HIS band. With the BBs, he might be worse. I hope that if they do perform live, it will be in a setting that is comfortable for all.