The Smiley Smile Message Board

Like this:

Brian - "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)"
Carl - "Good Vibrations"
Dennis - "In The Back of My Mind"
Mike - "All I Wanna Do"
Al - The "Children's Song" bit on "Surf's Up"
Bruce - "Disney Girls"

My list would be:

Brian: Please Let Me Wonder
Carl: Trader
Dennis: Angel Come Home
Mike: All I Wanna Do
Al: California Saga: On The Beaks Of Eagles
Bruce: Tears In The Morning (Disney Girls is the better song, but I just dig how Bruce sounds on this one so much)

Mike: All I Want To Do
Carl: Feel Flows
Brian: Surfer Girl/In My Room
Al: Lookin' At Tomorrow
Dennis: Do You Wanna Dance/Slip On Through
Bruce: Disney Girls

This is just my favorites of the Moment
Brian-Here Comes The Night
Carl-Time To Get Alone
Dennis-Celebrate The News
Mike-Here Today
Al-Susie
Bruce-With A Little Help From My Friends
Blondie-Hard Time
Ricky-We Got Love
David-Brother Lou's Love Colony

Brian - Please Let Me Wonder
Carl - God Only Knows
Dennis - Cuddle Up
Mike - Big Sur
Al - Lookin' At Tomorrow (A Kingston Trio Song)  :)
Bruce - Disney Girls
Blondie - Sail On Sailor

Tough task, especially for Brian and Carl...

Brian - Don't Worry Baby
Carl - God Only Knows
Dennis - Cuddle Up
Mike - All I Wanna Do
Al - Help Me Rhonda
Bruce - Disney Girls

Brian: Caroline, No
Carl: Cabin Essence
Dennis: Little Bird
Mike: I Get Around
Al: Help Me, Rhonda

Carl is probably the hardest for me. He has so many good songs.

Mike: Meant For You

Brian *young voice*: Please Let Me Wonder

Dennis *young voice*: Slip On Through, or Forever

Carl: Baby Blue

Al: Lady Lynda

Brian *old voice* Still I Dream of It, Deep Purple, or Matchpoint of Our Love

Dennis *old voice* My Diane

Brian: Your Summer Dreams

Dennis: A Time to Live in Dreams

Carl: Where I Belong

Mike: Big Sur

Al: Looking at Tomorrow

Bruce: At My Window

all thoughts are subject to change, of course. but as of this exact moment in time, with oversights probable:

Brian: We'll Run Away
Mike: Aren't You Glad
Carl: Goin' South
Dennis: It's Trying to Say
Al: Crack at Your Love
Bruce: Deirdre

The choices you made for Brian and Mike are terrific.

Brian: "She Knows Me Too Well"
Mike: "Meant for You" or "All I Wanna Do" or "All I Want to Do"
Carl: "Time to Get Alone" and "God Only Knows" (impossible for me to decide)
Alan: "Lookin' at Tomorrow"
Bruce: "At My Window" or his bit on "God Only Knows"
Dennis: "Little Bird"

Mike - Airplane
Al - Somewhere Near Japan
Carl - God Only Knows
Brian - Caroline No
Dennis - Forever
Bruce - Disney Girls

Mike-Roller Skating Child

Absolutely! He sounded like young Mike on this and most of the Love You tracks. There were none of the overly nasal vocals that began appearing on 15 Big Ones and beyond.

My choices for today:
Brian-Don't Worry Baby
Carl-This Whole World
younger Dennis: Forever
Mike: That's Not Me
Al: Help Me Rhonda
older Dennis: You and I
Bruce: Disney Girls

These are just based on studio recordings.

Al : "A Casual Look"
Brian : "Please Let Me Wonder"
Bruce : "At My Window"
Carl : "Keepin the Summer Alive"
Dennis : "Angel Come Home"
Mike : "Aren't You Glad"

Hard to pick for Carl. I really love his voice from '77 to '88, especially that tone he had on "Kokomo" and "Somewhere Near Japan."

Mike: 'Surfin' or 'Meant For You' or 'I Get Around' - Mike has such a wide range of vocals!
Brian: 'Don't Worry Baby' or 'We'll Run Away'
Al: 'I Know There's An Answer'
Dennis: 'Do You Wanna Dance'
Carl: 'God Only Knows'

Brian - Don't Worry Baby
Mike - All I Wanna Do
Carl - I Can Hear Music *
Dennis - Slip On Through
Al - Cottonfields
Bruce - Summer In Paradise (live version)
Blondie - It's A New Day
Ricky - Between Us  ;)

* (So many for Carl tho: It's About Time, Long Promised Road, Darlin', Good Vibrations......)

Brian: "We'll Run Away" (that penultimate "anyway"!!!!)
Carl: "I Can Hear Music" (that "oh oh"!!!)
Dennis: "Slip On Through"
Mike: "All I Wanna Do" (Sunflower)
Alan: "Susie Cincinnati"
(Bruce: Tag on "God Only Knows")

Brian: Wouldn't It Be Nice
Mike: All I Wanna Do
Carl: God Only Knows
Dennis: Forever
Al: Break Away (choruses)
Bruce: Deirdre

Brian: I'm Waiting For The Day
Mike: Do It Again
Al: Then I Kissed Her
Carl: Wild Honey
Dennis: Be With Me

What's the matter with you people? The Trader is Carl's best vocal. How can you all be so obtuse? Except you Erik H, you're alright. The rest of you though....

Mike - "Big Sur"
Dennis - "My Diane"
Brian - "Busy Doin' Nothin'"
Carl - "All This Is That"
Alan - "Help Me, Rhonda"
Bruce - "At My Window"

We're talking about Carl Wilson, hurr. d00d legit sounds great just about everywhere.

Couldn't resist jumping in on this thread:

Brian: "Surf's Up" (new mix - not the '67 version)
Carl: "Full Sail"
Dennis: "Cuddle Up"
Mike: "Johnny Carson"
Al: "Honkin' Down The Highway"
Bruce: "Tears In The Morning"

I only picked group songs of course.....

Brian = Surf's Up or Here Comes the Night
Carl = I Can Hear Music
Dennis = Cuddle Up or Be With Me
Mike = Big Sur or All I Wanna Do
Al = Cottonfields (either version)
Bruce = Disney Girls (1957)

Brian = Male Ego
Carl = Where I Belong
Dennis = Forever
Mike = Pisces Brothers
Al = Susie Cincinnati
Bruce = I Write The Songs

Brian = When a Man Needs a Woman
Carl = Wild Honey
Dennis = Forever
Mike = Aren't You Glad (Live In London)
Al = Don't Worry Baby (Concert 73)
Bruce = Tears In The Morning
Murry = The Colonel's March

Brian = I Just Wasn't Made for These Times or Transcendental Meditation
Carl = Life Is For The Living
Dennis = Little Bird
Mike = All I Want to Do
Al = On Broadway
Bruce = Disney Girls

Carl: God Only Knows
Dennis: Forever
Mike: Aren't You Glad
Brian: Surf's Up
Al: Lookin' Down The Coast (Beach Boys version)
Bruce: Tears In The Morning

I'm gonna go ahead and say I love you for naming "Transcendental Meditation" and "Life Is For The Living".

I love him too, especially for naming All I Want To Do as well.


Ok.
Brian - Surf's Up
Mike - The Surf n Turf stuff - he rocks all those songs. Let's say 'I Get Around' for the sake of argument.
Carl - I'm really fond of Friends. But the one I'm loving atm is It's Getting Late, believe it or not. His vocals are insane on that.
Dennis - Cuddle Up
Al - Be Here In The Morning. Or Heroes and Villains live in the 70's.
Bruce - the Disney Girls performance from OGWT.

"The Colonel's March" = classic

Much appreciated! Yeah, Trader is THE merda! It goes from being "wow, this is Carl's best rockin' vocal" to "wow, this is Carls' best ballad vocal" without skipping a beat.  And that is indeed saying something. Guy had the best voice of anyone ever in history! Yes, Brian could communicate more pain and Dennis: more Dennis, but Carl had the tool, the goods! He was the real thing and no one had better forget it.

Hugh: happy to see Full Sail getting some props. That track gives me goosebumps and comes in at # 2 by the slightest of hairs.

I especially like the ending of Life Is For The Living, Carl sounds insane ;D

Syncopated chicken at its best !!

Also: Ah, what the hell.

Al: "Help Me Rhonda"
Blondie: "Sail On, Sailor" (derp)
Brian: "Surf's Up" ('66 demo) or basically anything else he sang
Bruce: "Deirdre"
Carl: "Cabinessence" or basically anything else he sang
Dennis: "In The Back Of My Mind", because I picture Dennis sneaking downstairs for a snack in the middle of the night while singing it, afraid of waking his woman because she told him to cut back on the sweets and fatty foods.
Mike: "All I Wanna Do"

Favorites:

Brian -So many ways I can go with this one, so I'll choose three

-"She Knows Me too Well" (For the Ballads)
-"I'm Waiting for the Day" (For the Rockin' voice)
-"I'd Love Just Once to See You" (I just love this one)

Carl - "I Can Hear Music" or if I'm in the right mood... "Shortenin' Bread (Adult Child Version)" or anything really

Dennis - "Slip on Through"

Al - "Be Here in the Morning" or "Heroes and Villains" (In Concert)

Mike - "That's Not Me" (Even though Mike's Voice cracks at one point!)

Bruce "Deirdre"

Blondie "Funky Pretty (tag)" with the Beach Boys
Or "See The Light" with The Flame.  He out McCartney's McCartney on that one...

Ricky "Here She Comes"

*Props goes to Anna Lee, the Healer for containing the most beautiful group vocals I've heard from anyone, ever...

This was fun. Here are my votes:

Brian: How do you even choose? I could give you four I love equally (IJWMFTT, WIBN, KMB, SU66), but right now I'll just say "Don't Worry Baby." Touching delivery, amazing tone, and a fragility that I've always resonated with.

Carl: "God Only Knows." You could find a dozen great contenders for Carl's best, but for me this has always been the one, and I'm not sure I can articulate why.

Dennis: "Forever." I love his voice on Sunflower, and "Slip On Through" is a very close second for me, but this one edges out. Gruff beauty; whatever he did that day, he imparted that message 100%.

Mike: "Fun, Fun, Fun." Some folks are going to say "All I Wanna Do," which is cool, but I think a large reason that's impressive is because he doesn't sing like that very often. "Fun, Fun, Fun," on the other hand, is the man in his prime. This is what he loves to sing about -- and you hear it in every last syllable.

Al: "Help Me Rhonda." This, along with "Then I Kissed Her," describes Al at his best: bright, boyish, spirited, versatile. Vocally, the secret weapon.

Bruce: "Disney Girls." When I hear this one, it sounds like a guy who was raised on old standards, the classics. And there's something about that youthful tone and delivery that's totally well-suited to lamenting a bygone decade.

It is very hard to find Carl's best song, although probably relatively easy for the others. I of course love TTGA - I think it's so amazing, but to be honest Carl sang beautifully in every song. He sang from the heart and that is why you just have to listen to his lead songs. It kind of draws me in without knowing it's happening!

Brian W.   Wouldn't it Be Nice
Carl W.     Darlin'
Mike L.      California Girls and Don't Go Near the Water

Brian: Smart Girls or In My car (a tie, I guess)
Mike: Summer Of Love
Carl: God Only Knows (Australia 78)
Dennis: Got To Know The Woman
Al: PT Cruiser
Bruce: Deirdre (Goin Public version)

Al - Help Me Rhonda
Brian - Caroline No
Mike L. - Cabinessence tag
Dennis - Do You Wanna Dance
Carl - I Can Hear Music
Bruce - Dierdre
Blondie - Sail on Sailor

Oh my god

Hey, Dennis' vocal in Got to Know the Woman is great!!

It is indeed great!

This was only a partially jokey list!

I must admit that, due to all the slamming it gets around here, I tend to listen to Summer Of Love quite often. To revel in how awful it is, of course, but then again it's so freakin catchy I just have to play it over and over, and then at some point it doesn't matter how bad it is because everything about it just suddenly works and all it's cheesy points and the awful/backward decisions that went into it's creation don't matter and it's so damn uncool that it's ends up beyond cool! And just watch Mike's face in the video: the man really really really means every damn word!!!

I definitely agree with you.  I do enjoy listening to Summer of Love, but I don't think I'll ever like it in a serious fashion.  It's like the "Friday" of Beach Boys songs. 

Mike:  409
Brian:  Don't Worry Baby
Carl:  I Can Hear Music
Dennis:  This Car of Mine
Al:  Cottonfields
Bruce:  Deidre

Wow i Forgot Mike's Best Vocals Are On "Cabin essence" When He Sings "Over and over, the crow cries, uncover the cornfield. Over and over, the thresher and plover, the wheatfield". It's mystic and almost hypnotizing :)

Brian - Wouldn't It Be Nice
Carl - Good Vibrations
Denny - Forever
Mike - 409
Al - Help Me Rhonda
Bruce - Disney Girls

I read through the posts after I posted, and had forgotten two phenomenal vocals others remembered.  It's hard to top Brian singing "Your Summer Dreams", nearly flawless voice.  Also, Carl singing "I Can Hear Music" is nearly flawless.  To be honest I can't think of any other singers that sang quite the way either of them do on those two songs. 

Brian - Busy doin' nothing
Mike - Big Sur (original version)
Carl - I can hear music
Al - Cotton fields (single)
Dennis - Angel come home ("I just let her go...")

The only Carl vocal I'd be tempted to put ahead of The Trader is Talk to Me.

Just went and listened to Talk To Me!

Damn! That IS a great vocal!

Al -- "On Broadway"
Mike -- hmmm...don't know...possibly "Aren't You Glad" and, believe it or not, his RlaaBBP! vocals...
Brian -- his performance of "Summertime" in Toronto earlier this year. Seriously. Farking amazing.
Dennis -- "Cuddle Up." Amazing how high his voice reached.
Carl -- any performance of "God Only Knows" that's NOT from 1978. I need to say it, but "Oh Darlin'" is a close second for me. Love his vocal on that.
Blondie -- gotta be "Sail On, Sailor."
Ricky -- "Joe Public." Hey, you said any given song!
Bruce -- kinda hard to say...I don't like his voice, sounds too syrupy. Probably that song he has on the '85 album.

carl did have beautiful vocals on "i do love you" too. :]

Seriously, Carl is INSANE on BB85. He makes that record, every other guy sounds like they can't be bothered and Carl is in there tearing it up.

Bruce singing "she believes in love again"  like an 1980s singer on BB85 on the other hand.... :lol

Bruce and Al sound like they have colds on every track they sing on. Levine must have used crappy mics when recording their vocals.

Brian - Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
Carl - I Can Hear Music
Dennis - Forever
Mike - Kiss Me, Baby
Al - Be Here in the Mornin'
Bruce - Disney Girls.

Brian - Please Let me Wonder
Carl - I Can Hear Music
Dennis - Be with Me
Al - Cottonfields (single version)
Mike - Anna Lee, the Healer
Bruce - Lonely Days (lovely blend with Carl)
Blondie - Sail on Sailor
Group (can't help myself) - Old Man River...version from Hawthorne Ave.
Jack (can't help myself!!) - A Day in the Life of a Tree

Mike - Add some music
Dennis - Do you wanna dance
Al - Help me Rhonda (Today!)
Carl - Darlin
Brian - She knows me too well

This is really impossible, but...

Brian --The Warmth of the Sun
Mike--I Get Around
Carl-- 1. God Only Knows; 2. Somewhere Near Japan/Where I Belong
Al--1. His parts in I Know There's An Answer; 2. Strange Things Happen
Bruce--Dierdre
Dennis--You and I

Brian: "It's Over Now" (second piano demo) or "Please Let Me Wonder" or "Here Comes The Night" (original)
Dennis: "In The Back Of My Mind" or "I'll Bet He's Nice" or "Celebrate The News"
Carl: "Time To Get Alone" or "The Night Was So Young"
Mike: "Big Sur" (4/4 version) or "All I Wanna Do" or "Airplane" or "Michael, Row That Boat Ashore"
Al: "Christmas Day"
Bruce: "Deirdre"

Hmmmm great question, I have a few current faves for each of the guys, well here goes

Brian - Wonderful and Oh Lord (Some of Brian's most intense vocals)
Dennis - You've Got To Hide Your Love Away and Make It Good (very emotional)
Carl - Time To Get Alone and It's Not To Late (Great chorus, It won't be long)
Mike - Aren't You Glad and All I Want To Do (Mike sounding like a complete maniac!)
Al - Help Me Rhonda and Lookin At Tomorrow (Al's coolest song, psychedelic folk)
Bruce - Dierdre and Disney Girls (Old Grey Whistle Test version)
Blondie - Sail On Sailor and Carry Me Home (Also very intense vocals as are Dennis's at the end)

BW-Papa Oom Mow Mow
CW-Girl Don't Tell Me
DW-In The Back Of My Mind
BJ-At My Window
Blondie-SOS
Myke-Student Demonstration Time
Al-I Know There's An Answer

Man, you're so right on that. it's such a class vocal.

Of all the copyright infringement Alan's perpetrated over the years, this is the most blatant. It's even more of a rip of a Kingston trio song - "The wanderer" -  than "Surfin' USA" is of "Sweet Little Sixteen". Thus:

The Wanderer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1poFkCG2NE)

I was singing along with the lookin at tomorrow lyrics. ;D

Brian - Wouldn't It Be Nice - What a powerful lead vocal!

Carl - Darlin' - I must have 50 different recordings of this song. He nails this mother every time.

Dennis - Do You Wanna Dance - In hindsight, the perfect vocal for him to sing behind that dense, lush soundtrack.

Mike - Here Today - I just love the timbre of his voice on this one.

Al - Help Me Rhonda - At Murry's prodding, he became the singer of a #1 hit song. Terrific phrasing on this one.

Bruce - At My Window - A song that just fits his voice perfectly.

Dave - Summertime Blues - His only lead/co-lead on record.

Blondie - Sail On Sailor- His very best lead, even amongst his own solo material.

Ricky - Here She Comes - I just love every thing about this song. Probably my favorite track on CATP.

Brian: PLMW (!!) (most gorgeous human vocals ever recorded)

Carl: GOK (basically anything he sang on, but yeah, GOK is the obvious choice.. besides "Darlin'", maybe)

Dennis: Little Bird (Dennis invented the Eels 30 years before Mark Oliver Everett did)

Mike: I Get Around (Mike's voice is the perfect fit for this kind of thing, couldn't imagine anyone else singing this)

Al: Help Me, Rhonda (been my favourite BBs tune for a long time, and Al's lead here is just outstanding.. thanks to Murry, that is  ;D)

Bruce: Deirdre (best & musically most interesting Bruce song in the catalogue)

i think i'm a weirdo because i really don't like Carl's voice anywhere on the Wild Honey album. 

His vocals on that album are among the many great & funky things about Wild Honey.  :)

sometimes i find it screechy, others pretty good.  Good just be the way it's produced tbh.  I think Wild Honey woulda been great recorded as a live in studio album

I may have just forgot, but why wasn't Dennis given more lead vocals early in the Beach Boys career? Was it just because he was "the drummer?" His lead on Little Girl (You're My Miss America) is downright teen idol-esque.

An interesting alternate universe is if Dennis took on the Mike front man role from the start and they found or taught someone else to play drums. There are obviously so many question marks there though, without Mike's pop sensibility would they have even ever gotten as big as they got from the start? It's easy to say they could have been more creative throughout their careers. I don't think it would have made Dennis' personality or addictions less volatile though, he would have been out in the spotlight even more.

Now here's an ancient thread that could benefit from being bumped for the sake of all posters who joined in the last three years...

Long live ancient threads! ;D

no way this is too hard!

off the top of my head here's some of my favorites from each dude:

brian - wonderful
carl - long promised road
al - looking at tomorrow
dennis - wouldnt it be nice to live again
bruce - disney
mike - og big sur

Brian - Warmth of the Sun

Carl - Feel Flows

Dennis - Little Bird

Mike - All I Wanna Do

Al - From There to Back Again

Bruce - Disney Girls

Blondie - Leaving This Town

Brian - Sloop John B
Mike - California Girls
Carl - Heaven
Dennis - Thoughts Of You
Al - Peggy Sue
Bruce - Disney Girls

mike- Wrinkles

Brian  --  Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)   :)

Mike- All I Wanna Do
Brian- Dance, Dance, Dance
Carl- Good Vibrations
Dennis- Be With Me
Alan- Heroes And Villains
Bruce- Deirdre
David- Hawaii (C50 Tour)

Brian - WIBN

Dennis - Slip On Through

Carl - Surf's Up

Al - From There to Back Again

Mike - The Original Big Sur or All I Wanna Do

Favorite Leads!


Al - Then I Kissed Her (sounds amazing, the swag is unstoppable on this)
Carl - God Only Knows (sounds like an angel)
Dennis - I wanna pick you up (I know it's rough, but he really puts everything into it)
Mike - 409 (Something about the "well.... I saved my pennies, and I saved my dimes..." sounds so bad-ass I can barely handle it)
Bruce - Disney Girls - very beautifully sung
Brian - Catch a Wave - so many to choose, but Brian's part before the choruses is just sublime.  He almost sounds alien his voice is so incredible.  It's one of the few songs where not only is his voice high, and clear, and precise, but it's very powerful as well... so it almost sounds like the equivalent of an alto trumpet, or something.  His voice was always great but it was rarely as perfect as it is on this song.   In the third verse when he does the "But donnnn't, you treat it like a toy.... oyyyy......" my head almost explodes.

From Brian's Solo Career, there's so many to choose from and I know everybody has their favorites, but mine is "Someone to Watch Over Me".  First, he doesn't sound overly medicated, and I say that with all respect.  So it allows him to be nuanced, something he has trouble doing in his modern career.  His voice sounds soft and sweet in places, and has that beautiful whine in a couple places.  He sounds really tender and I don't hear anything but him in complete mastery of his voice.  There's nothing especially acrobatic about it, but he sings it competently and it's fan-fucking-tastic to my ears.  It's also melancholy enough that it's relatable to his life experience.  Love Love Love it. 

 

Brian - The Warmth of the Sun
Mike - All I Wanna Do
Carl - Where I Belong
Dennis - Never Learn Not to Love
Al - Help Me Rhonda
Bruce - She Believes in Love Again

Brian: Surf's Up
Mike: Big Sur
Dennis: Forever
Carl: God Only Knows
Al: From There to Back Again
Bruce: Disney Girls
Blondie: Sail On, Sailor
Ricky: We Got Love

Brian: Wouldn't It Be Nice
Mike: All I Wanna Do
Carl: Surf's Up
Al: Honkin' Down The Highway
Dennis: Slip On Through
Blondie: Sail On Sailor
Ricky: Here She Comes

Forgot about Bruce: At My Window

Brian: I'm Waiting For the Day/Where Is She/In the Back of My Mind '75
Mike: Meant For You/1970 version of Big Sur
Carl: It's Over Now (at correct speed)
Dennis: Wouldn't It Be Nice (To Live Again)
Al: Susie Cincinnatti
Bruce: Tears in the Morning
David: Getcha Back live in 2012
Glen Campbell: Guess I'm Dumb
Blondie: Sail On Sailor

Brian- surf's up
Carl- surf's up
Dennis-angel come home
Al- From there to back again
Mike- big Sur
Bruce- tears in the morning