The Smiley Smile Message Board

The BBs have a history of misunderstood information being imparted to the masses regarding who played what instrument on particular recordings… certainly exacerbated by myths that they didn’t play any of their instruments, etc. Fortunately, thanks to researchers and fans (many on this board), lots of this has been cleared up in recent years, as new info has come to light.

I’m curious if there were times that people on this board were surprised to find out that a particular BB was performing a particular instrument on a particular song (often times this was when an instrument was being played by a BB, that wasn’t the band member’s most well-known instrument, etc). I find it interesting that when, as a fan, having first heard a BB song, I might have been associating or picturing a particular band member (or Wrecking Crew member) with the sound you are hearing, and finding out (sometimes years) later that this information was wrong all along makes the song have a bit of a new vibe sometimes.

For me, for starters, I’d say I was certainly surprised to find out:

- Dennis was playing the organ on Good Vibrations
- The BBs (and not the Wrecking Crew) were the musicians on That’s Not Me (although I guess there remains some questions about this?)
- That Van Dyke Parks (not a BB exactly, but still) played accordion on Kokomo (talk about a strange world)

Anyone got other examples?

Carl, drums on "Moon Dawg"

Going by ear, listening to a few different unsurpassed masters last night, it sounds like Brian plays the bongos on "Shes Going Bald", which is pretty cool.

There was an outtake I heard from a rehearsal (or perhaps basic track session) of "I Can Hear Music" where Dennis asks Carl if the chords he has in mind/are playing are the correct chords, and you can hear him play piano on there. I don't remember if there's an audible piano on the released version or not as it's mostly acoustic guitars..

I think as well as That's Not Me (which I also did hear the entire band played on and not the wrecking crew), there's also "Girl Don't Tell Me" and "You're So Good To Me" on the previous album. I believe the band is playing that one too from what I remember.

This is the best topic for ages, I was totally surprised to find out about these above!

Brian Wilson, marimba on "All Summer Long"

I like the fact that When I Grow Up To Be A Man has only Beach Boys playing the instruments on it, no session musicians at all on that one (except for a tiny bit of harmonica). It's a great track and has great feel and texture, and proves the boys were capable of playing Brian's more sophisticated stuff.

Another one is I Get Around, except for some added percussion and the saxes, nice to know it's all Beach Boys on the track. I mean it went to #1...and they are the musicians on the track. Nuff said.

Not surprising at all.

Didn't know about I Get Around.. I think the rest of the guys don't get enough credit for how awesome their musicianship is. They really pulled those songs together brilliantly and it's funny how you can't tell the difference whether its the wrecking crew or not on some of these songs.

Yes! great thread!   hope those who know these details please post and tell...

I always find it interesting it is Brian tapping on the 'snare' on 'surfin'.... with Al on 'double bass'?.... and Carl on acoustic guitar...

wish there was a photo or two of that session floating about...

RickB

Brian's drums on "Funky Pretty" come to mind for me and I agree with the marimba on "All Summer Live".  I'm sure I'll think of a few more.

Carl:  ukelele on "He Come Down" and drums on "How She Boogalooed It."

Jon, firstly let me start by paying due respect to your tremendous journalistic work in regards to the Beach Boys legacy. I don't doubt for a second that the boys are all on this track. I just wanted to add that on the latest Made in California box set release "I Get Around" includes some session chat as an intro. In that intro, Brian talks to Ray and Carl to start the verse on the letter 'A'. So, I think what we have on this track is the original, great and under-rated Wrecking Session musician Ray Pohlman playing a Danelectro 6-string bass with Carl doubling his lines for the majority of the song on guitar.

The case of the "IGA" master is an interesting one, as Brian reused it for the "live" version on the 1964 live album, before (apparently - I may be in error here) deciding to recut a new instrumental track: hence this may be the recording Ray Pohlman is on, and not the original studio version which is, seemingly, lost. Hopefully c-man will shed more light on this thorny topic. Said "sweetening" session was 8/31/64, btw.

Didn't Bruce play celesta on "Girl Don't tell Me" ?

Oh yes, c-man most definitely will be able to clear it up. By the way, c-man's beachboysarchive (http://www.beachboysarchives.com/page6) site states that Bruce is on the celesta while Brian is leading the band on bass on "Girl Don't Tell Me". The Summer Days CD booklet has Brian credited for both.

I think this is a wonderfully interesting topic. I myself was researching tonight on who played bass on "Here Today" as it is often credited to Carole Kaye. I never felt it fit in with her style of playing and was happy to learn that Carole acknowledges that Ray played that great bass line here (http://albumlinernotes.com/Carol_Kaye.html).

For me discovering the Boys played on a lot of the Today tracks was a huge surprise.  When I Grow Up, I'm So Young, dance dance dance, She knows me so well etc..

I always thought it was all wrecking crew.

Wait, wasn't the album version of DDD all crew (and Carl), and the rest of the guys only played on the early take that's on twofer?

You're right, I forgot that I Get Around has two bassists on the track (Ray Pohlman and Al Jardine)...thanks for reminding me.

No that Dance Dance Dance notion was an unfortunate David Leaf error in the two-fer CD booklet, the group does play on the early Nashville recording, but the core Beach Boys are also on the hit single version as well (Carl lead guitar, Al rhythm guitar, Brian bass, Dennis drums...along with some Wrecking Crew support Glen Campbell acoustic, Ray Pohlman 2nd bass, Hal Blaine extra percussion, Carl Fortina accordion, Steve and Jay saxes). A lot of Beach Boys material has this kind of mix, where the Beach Boys play the core instruments and elements of the Wrecking Crew participate as well.

‍

The middle-eight.

I would love to have a list of Brian's instrumental contributions from 20/20 to Holland. I guess he did play quite a few keyboard parts during that time and bass on a couple of tracks, but more specifics would be nice...

Didn't he play harmonica on one of the California Saga tracks? Maybe I'm confusing things, not sure about this at all...

Aside from the Fairytale (keyboards) and his piano on the original track for "SO, S" (reportedly recycled), his only confirmed instrumental contribution for Holland was on "Funky Pretty": drums & keyboards. That's the best I can do this time of night - get back to you in the morning.  :)

     Brian does the organ solo in "Wendy," right?

     Doesn't Glen Campbell claim to be a guitarist on "Get Around"?

There's some information here about Brian's Sunflower contributions:

http://recordingsunflower.blogspot.com.au/2008/02/track-2-this-whole-world.html (http://recordingsunflower.blogspot.com.au/2008/02/track-2-this-whole-world.html)
http://recordingsunflower.blogspot.com.au/2008/02/track-3-add-some-music-to-your-day.html (http://recordingsunflower.blogspot.com.au/2008/02/track-3-add-some-music-to-your-day.html)

Good Time:
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,4188.msg68973.html#msg68973 (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,4188.msg68973.html#msg68973)

Hopefully, Stephen Desper's updated book will contain band member track contributions.

I think Steve Desper said Brian played the guitar on "Breakaway".

Greeat reading.  I wasn't aware (or simply forgot) about the details of ASMTYD.  That's great.

Brian played drums on Funky Pretty?  :o That's awesome.  ;D No wonder I can never figure that beat out.

More info Brian's (and other's) contributions to CATP:

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,8454.msg141100.html#msg141100 (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,8454.msg141100.html#msg141100)

Sail on Sailor:

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,12683.msg261034.html#msg261034 (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,12683.msg261034.html#msg261034)

I just realized Bruce plays a lot of keyboards (usually organ or non-piano keyboards) on late 60s recordings.. I was never really a big fan of him.. I acknowledge that he did great stuff with the Rip Chords and had some nice vocal contributions, but I don't really care for any of his written songs except Deirdre (which I always thought Brian had something to do with but now I hear he contributed a few words at best). However he did some amazing keyboard parts on the late 60s records. I listen and always think Brian did it, but then I realize that it was usually Bruce doing those parts. Clavinet on Good Time, organ on Sail Plane Song, Wild Honey, and probably a bunch of other songs from Wild Honey to 20/20. What other songs did he contribute a notable keyboard part to during this period?

... well, if you think that's strange... VDP even played on the Summer In Paradise album... (Lahaina Aloha)

Not A BB song but the nice lead guitar on Survivors After The Game is Brian.

Brian jumps behind the drum kit when Dennis sings Wanderer.

Seems a good post to ask this question.  I was listening to SNJ this morning on my way to work and really noticed for the first time just how nice the lead guitar is on that song.   I wondered if it was Carl or one of the Phillips/melcher crew.

can anyone name that guitarist?

[brain fart - wrong album]

Wikipedia says that Craig Trippand Fall,was the guitarist on. SNJ.     


What a silly name!   Reminds me of my friend Ben Dover and his sister Eiliene.

Craig Fall was Glenn Campbell's longtime guitarist/bassist, I believe.

If I would invent a silly profile name, it would be "Stan Dorfall"

Actually, the credits Jon is quoted on here are for "Dance, Dance, Dance", not "I Get Around".
If you listen to the "I Get Around" studio session on the SOT U.M. boot, and ignore the "live in the studio" re-recording done for (but not used on) the "Concert" album - which is spliced in with the studio version session -  it's clear that Carl is playing the lead guitar, but you'll notice Glen's voice a couple of times amongst the off-mic studio chatter, and you might also catch Hal referring to him by name at one point after the Dano bass intro is played ("Kinda fast, Glen")...then it becomes obvious Glen's playing the Dano bass (it took me a few extra listens before I caught on to this). BUT, if you listen to the "IGA" session intro as included on the MIC box set, you'll hear Brian clearly directing Ray on the Dano bass and Carl on the lead guitar. Solution? From listening to the stereo backing track, it's obvious that some of the instruments (including the lead guitar and the Dano bass) were recorded twice - once on the basic track and again on an overdub track. From my background research for the upcoming MIC online sessionography, I discovered that those two sessions were held several days apart. So, it appears Glen played the Dano bass on the basic track but Ray did on the overdub session (Ray's overdubbed part is an exact double of Glen's original). And all the lead guitar on "IGA" is Carl.

That's great research, c-man. Looking forward to that sessionography!

I have a couple of questions. What was Al's bass playing role during the recording of IGA? Was he augmented by Glen on bass during the first session?

I believe Al played Fender bass on the basic session AND again on the overdub of "IGA". The Dano bass played by Glen on the basic and by Ray on the o/d has a more "agressive" tone, similar to the Dano bass on "Dance, Dance, Dance", whereas Al's bass on "IGA" is more subdued in tone, not unlike Brian's Fender bass on "Dance, Dance, Dance".

Thanks for the info.

Oops!  You're absolutely correct.  Thanks for correcting me, as well as supplying the correct info.

“some added percussion”? The entire rhythmic drive of IGA comes from Hal on the timbales with brushes. Rhythmically, Hal makes that recording.

For me the biggest surprise of all was confirmation from reliable quarters that it is indeed Mike blowing up a storm on sax on "What'd I Say" (Sydney, 1964). Wow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMFsy9fIaqQ 

I think I recall reading not too long ago that Dennis played guitar on Slip On Through. I believe it was Stephen Desper who wrote that. There are some pictures out there of Dennis with guitars, and a brief clip of him holding one in EH, but I haven't seen of any footage of Dennis playing.

I recall when POB came out I was mightily impressed to see Dennis's listed contributions to the tracks. Back then I had always thought of him as the drummer, period, with occasional keyboards...

What confirmation?

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,20053.msg505052.html#msg505052

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,14344.msg320573.html#msg320573

Possibly elsewhere on this board...

And, most recently, Rocker, who I'm certain wouldn't say so if it weren't a fact.

I don't know if there is a thread about this, so I've tapped into this one.
Carl & Al played many guitars, even in the early days.  Strats, Juguar's, Telecasters, Rickenbackers etc
Is there any documentation as to what exact instruments were played on their early albums?
Has this ever been researched as such like the Beatles?
other than a few early studio shots, but has anybody worked out whether 'surfin usa' is a strat or a jag?
fun fun fun intro?
etc etc

The mention in the 1981 Rarities sleeve notes, "This rare gem, featuring Mike Love on wailing sax", seems like a possibly mistaken assumption by the writer (McParland?), who (I think) also was mistaken about the lead singer.

Regarding MBE's comment, "No it is them and Brian and I discussed it. That is Mike on sax", it looks like the "discussed it" comment doesn't necessarily refer to the possibly separate claim about Mike on sax, which might be just MBE's own opinion. And even if Brian did say that Mike played sax on "What'd I Say", he may have meant that Mike usually did, not necessarily remembering who played on the Sydney concert.

Here (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,11002.msg210895.html#msg210895), here (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,11002.msg210902.html#msg210902), and here (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,11002.msg211118.html#msg211118) (one thread) are comments by Stebbins and others.