The Smiley Smile Message Board

In the early 70's, we know that Brian still had his signature falsetto, this can be proved by California Feelin' & In the Back of My Mind. So, what would be the last recording of Brian's falsetto? He lost it by 1976, correct? And I believe the piano version of "In the Back.." was recorded in 1975, if I'm not mistaken.

Does anyone know what the last recording of his falsetto was?

She's Got Rhythm from the MIU Album in 1978 indicates that he could still access the falsetto, albeit a bit strained. 

He sounds pretty good on Getcha Back (1985) as well. 

It's been reported that he sings some of the higher parts on Shelter from TWGMTR.

While not quite falsetto, his voice hits some good highs on This Beautiful Day and One Kind of Love from NPP. 

Shelter's a tricky one. Joe claims it's Brian singing the chorus. Alas, everybody hears Jeff in it.

Sounds like Jeff to me, but it's been reported by many of the experts here and the BW Forum that it's Brian.  Either way, I like it. 

That's funny. It's definitely not Brian singing the "I'll give you shelter" part. He IS singing the lead "Woah oh oh ohs" immediately after the falsetto bit in question and it's obvious how different the two voices are in contrast.

In my opinion, I believe Brian never truly lost his falsetto. It's apparent all throughout the BBs career, not only in the 60's. In She's Got Rhythm from MIU, Brian sings in his signature falsetto, despite being slightly strained. Or in the song Goin' On, I believe Brian is singing falsetto, based on the Our Team footage. Although on the final take, it could've been Bruce, who in the 80's had a better falsetto. In Getcha Back, that's definitely Brian, and he sounds great. Even in 2001, there was a clip of Brian singing Good Vibrations with Carol Kaye playing bass, and he hit all the notes. Or there is the youtube clip where's he asked about his voice, and instantly jumps into his falsetto to prove he still has it.
In the 70's, Brian claimed he was embarrassed of his falsetto. I believe that's why he doesn't use it very much anymore. As everyone on Smiley Smile know, BW is one of the most talented singers in this whole world (see what I did  there?)

I believe Brian sings falsetto on In the Still of the Night from 15 Big Ones... and The Night Was So Young from Love You.  He's also doing falsetto on Kona Coast, Wontcha Come Out Tonight and Winds of Change on MIU.

I have heard that the falsetto on It's OK and Rock & Roll Music (2012 remix) is actually Marilyn.

I've never seen this one before. Does anyone have a link?

This.  I don't think he ever really lost his falsetto, except for maybe a brief time in the early 80s.  He just stopped using it all of the time.  Just listen to Caroline No from London in 2002.  He even used it on Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl.  He gets really close on Think About the Days.

Here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-u5UqsHsMo
Look at 2:03

Two quick Christmas ones...Brian sings a very high vocal part on "Joy To The World", and then there's "the note". On "The First Noel" at the 3:19 mark, Brian sings the word "Noel" in a high, sensitive tone; gets to me every time.

Do Ya by The Honeys comes to mind as a late (1978?) however impressive falsetto recording.

Brian's answer about Marie Callender's.  :lol

I don't think anyone believes he "lost" his falsetto. The issue is he lost a certain timbre to it around 1974/75 which has never returned.

The main issue is not losing the ability to hit the notes. He has it. The thing is having enough control to use it steadily in an artful way. He doesn't have that consistency anymore; allthough in a controled studio environment he can work outstanding treble/falsetto vocals (Rhapsody in Blue and the rest of the examples given). It is a very tricky range, hard to control, and changes a lot from day to day. For instance, he hasn't given a consistent, controled rendition of Surfer Girl in decades; and justifiably so since the falsetto range is the first to go shot with age and lack of vocal health (he tried to murder his young voice in every possible way I think). With time and lack of care, it becomes harder to hold and control the notes, like when he hits a pure high C at the end of Please Let Me Wonder (RAH 2012) but then cannot hold it or finish it gracefully. So, basically, he has the range, can hit the notes, but no longer has the absolute mastery of it.

I posted this in a prior thread about Brian's voice.. I want to dispel the myth that Brian lost his falsetto in the 70s.


One thing certain to me is that despite the hoarse 70s leads (from smoking, coke, laryngitis or other illness), Brian never lost his falsetto.

Just listen to the evidence..

74 California Feelin demo
75 In the back of my mind demo

Sherry she needs me
You've lost that lovin Feelin
In the still of the night
Airplane
The night was so young

Most of the MIU album

And then even after the brutal '79-82 years..
We get Getcha Back (strained but classic falsetto)
Little Children demo (crystal clear high notes)
Fat boys wah-wah-wahs
Brian's version of Heaven
Noelle on Christmas album (sick high note at the end)

Etc etc etc..

So even though the falsetto wasn't as youthful and powerful as it once was, Brian still possessed the soaring falsetto for all these years if he chose to use it.

Soaring IMHO would be Brian's lead on She Knows Me Too Well.  I think it's doubtful Brian could sing this or Farmer's Daughter the way he used to, hence the main reason he doesn't do it anymore.  Falsetto doesn't necessarily mean singing high.  Yes, he could easily make his voice sound like a falsetto voice but could he make it soar for a whole song the way he used to?

I personally witnessed Brian's falsetto voice at his Hollywood Bowl concert in the Fall of 2000.  He was performing the Pet Sounds Album live and the song was "Don't Talk".   He hit the part of the song that goes "...and listen to my heartbeat".  In the original album version, Brian hits the high falsetto from "my" into "heartbeat" and draws it out.  Apparently, that night he was feeling pretty good because he went into that line and I swear to you, it sounded like 1966.  In the middle of the song, the entire Hollywood Bowl crowd jumped to their feet and started cheering.  I still get goosebumps when I think about how awesome it was.

 I used to own a boot recording of that concert and I have no idea what happened to it, so I know my memory isn't based on my one-time being present at the event (I got to hear it over and over again on the CD). 

Maybe not soaring at the age of 73..  My point is that he still had a damn good falsetto in the 70s, 80s, 90s and even beyond when he chose to utilize it.  Again, not as powerful as it was in the 60s but still great.

In fairness, he lowered the key for this song (and a couple others, as I recall) for the Pet Sounds tour, but that doesn't diminish the impact.

Brian's falsetto is all over the BVs to 15 Big Ones and Love You, he never so much as lost it as his voice changed so drastically it's hard to recognize his falsetto as belonging to the same individual. In "Let Us Go On This Way", he sings falsetto in the chorus. The high notes of "Solar System" are falsetto as well. In "Airplane" he alternates falsetto with Mike's lead. "It's OK" has lots of Brian falsetto all over the track. Even in the Specter cover, "Chapel of Love" you will find Brian falsetto (specifically on the verse after the second chorus, buried rather deep in the mix). Certainly, Brian's falsetto leads became much rarer, though I would like to point out that most of "California Feelin'" 1974 is not falsetto, he only hits falsetto on the high notes. Ditto for '75 "In the Back of My Mind". But he continued to use it regularly, and continues to use it regularly I would add, to this day ("This Beautiful Day").

Again, I think the key point is that there are two different falsettos in play.  There's the effortless one which delivers the EXCLAMATION POINT! at the end of "Fun Fun Fun", or soars through "Don't Talk" without breaking a sweat, and the more strained, earthly one which you hear on "She's Got Rhythm", "Getcha Back", and "This Beautiful Day".  Two distinctly different voices, even though the same guy is singing it.

Cheers,
Jon Blum

Exactly my point. The timbre changes drastically, but he never really "loses" his falsetto.

When you hear "Good Time" on Love You, it's like a different vocalist just showed up, which in some ways he did (1970-77 being a lifetime in BW terms).

OTOH Love You contains many of my favorite Brian moments so the loss of the falsetto was not an artistic death knell.

I guess what I really meant was, what was the last recording we know of with his signature falsetto, do know what it is? Or if there is a recording of it?

My best guess would be "Forever" or "Good Time"

The California Feelin' demo from Nov. 1974 on Made In California is widely regarded as among the final... though the 1975 demo of in The Back Of My Mind shows that, although his lower range had been deeply effected, his bright falsetto was still hangin' on for dear life.  :lol

In what was probably his last falsetto of the 1970's (released anyway), and arguably not too far removed from his younger voice, the "Won't last forever" part at the end of "Winds Of Change" is pretty impressive. It gave me hope anyway...

It's been discussed on this board at some length, with the evidence reasonably conclusive that BW did not sing the falsetto on Getcha Back, Jeff Foskett did.

Errr....I know it's been discussed, but I don't think it was ever concluded that Brian didn't do that part on "Getcha Back." Considering how it was said Brian did that part as a favor to Terry Melcher and whatnot, and I think maybe some quote here or there, I'd be surprised if it wasn't him.

And anyways, it sounds like Brian, and not like Jeff at all. Just my opinion though.

I agree with you. It sounds a lot like Brian. Nothing like Foskett. Listen to the 50th Anniversary Tour CD, and you'll hear Jeff singing the falsetto- nothing like the BB85 version

Don't forget too  that live show (Seattle ?) where  he hit quite a few 'money notes' and sounded like 1965 era Brian at times.

When I think about Brian's high register in the 70's, the one thing that sticks out is the notes he hits during the end of Love Is A Woman from the Maryland 1977 videoi. After the song ends, even Brian himself seems surprised that he pulled it off.  ;D

I've always thought he gets a pretty good approximation of 1960s falsetto on the tag to You've Touched Me from GIOMH

Agreed. Getcha Back sounds 100% like Brian to me. 0% Foskett. Maybe he is buried in there somewhere, but I don't hear it.

Right. I've read suggestions that Brian's vocal is hyper-processed, tripled or quadrupled, and probably a hidden Jeff thrown in there to reinforce. But sounds like Brian all the way. BTW: I'm assuming the answer's yes, but did Terry have a hand in producing the track?

Just remembered he sings a thorough falsetto vocal on the Heavenly Bodies demo. And there's a bunch of (somewhat hoarse) falsettos on BW 88.

don't forget the hearts of full of spring from the CBS convention. BW's falsetto goes all 1965 since he tries so hard on that song.

There are still plenty of signature Brian falsetto moments..

In Sherry she needs me..  "Baby if you don't stop crying I'll walk away.."  Sounds very close to 60s Brian

The "won't last forever" part on Winds of change

The end of Kona Coast

Soaring background on The night was so young


Definitely Getcha back (100% Brian)

His version of Carl's Heaven (lots of falsetto on this one)



Again not as powerful, youthful and pure as a 23 year old Brian, but still retains the old sound.

Gotta tell ya that when the song lineup of TWGMTR was announced, I had the hope that Summer's gone would end up with a soaring BW falsetto, thus closing the BBs recording career into eternity.

Getcha Back is Brian.  There was a story that the tape was slowed to lower the pitch then the vocal recorded and the tape sped back up again.  I think he could have nailed it anyway at that time without the need to slow the tape.

I've always read that was the final one myself.

Briian sings the opening on Getcha Back. It's multitracked like crazy. But it is Brian. Steve Levine has said so.

This is an old thread, but I saw this clip on Youtube, and around 2 minutes, when the DJ plays Surfer Girl, BW sings along in his falsetto. It sounds just like the 60's. It's only for a moment- but it's magical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmQ0HutAFaE

That is amazing, thanks for posting.  I really wish he would sing it like that in concert, I've seen enough evidence that he can do it still.  Even if he just did it for Surfer Girl and Good Vibrations (there used to be a video from the 2012 tour where he did falsetto for a couple seconds, but let Jeff finish.)

Just heard 'Oh Lord' from The Cocaine Sessions...and Brian does an amazing job singing! Sounds way more fluent than other stuff from the late 70s (except for MIU) and 80s.

Am I mistaken or does he sing in falsetto here in some parts?