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This has been something I've been thinking about a bit lately. It's well established that Brian's voice changed in the time period between "Holland" and "15 Big Ones" to the point where it's almost unrecognisable. It's a lot more gruff and lost a lot of his old range. But at least for the rest of the 70's, he was still able to give some decent vocal performances. Of course, since the 80's Brian's voice has progressively gotten worse - at first shouty and arguably a bit shrill (as heard on the self-titled album and his debut solo album), and now sounds somewhat slurred and is a lot harder to listen to. This can be disputed though, but personally I find his vocals from recent decades to be borderline unlistenable. But this is not the thread to discuss that.

What would you guys consider to be Brian's last great and/or decent vocals? My pick would have to be "Match Point Of Our Love" from 1978. His singing on that is one of the only redeemable qualities for that song, and sounds delightfully pleasant and sweet.

The "Awake" demo.

Whatever Happened.

Going by your definition I would agree with Match Point of Our Love.  Great classic Brian vocal that we would never see again. 

But I think he has a number of good/really good vocals on NPP.

I know this wasn't the intent of your thread, since you said you don't want to debate the merit of Brian's current work, but your premise is that the current work isn't "decent" and I don't agree. I don't think a less "youthful" vocal is necessarily a "worse" vocal. Brian's current voice might not be clear and soaring like it was in the 60's, but it is Brian's voice. It's not a young man's voice. It's a voice that reflects the wear and tear and history of a man who has been to hell and back and, against all odds,  lived to sing again. And, instead of finding that unlistenable, I find it compelling.

Listen to "Midnight's Another Day" and you won't hear the young genius of Pet Sounds. But, you will hear that same person's shattered heart being put back together. Listen to "Summer's Gone" and you won't hear a Beach Boy's fun in the sun surf anthem. But, you will hear that former young man reflecting on the approaching latter days of his life. It's in the music. It's in the lyrics. And, it's in the voice.

Brian had a wonderful voice when he was young. It was clear, and soaring and it perfectly expressed his youthful enthusiasm, his fears,  and his doubts. Elder Brian has a world worn voice, damaged by time, excess and criminal overmedication, that perfectly expresses his musings, his fears, and his doubts at this point of his life. If the speech is slurred and the voice a little weak, it's because there's now history behind that voice, instead of just promise.

So, you see,  I can't accept your premise, because to me  that's beautiful too.

Beautiful analysis, Cyncie.

I love Brian's 15BO/Love You voice. The gruffer the better.

That's fair enough, and I can completely understand that. I'd agree that the older vocals work to its advantage on "Summer's Gone", which is a reason why I find it to be one of the best songs off TWGMTR. But a lot of the time, I admittedly find it hard to listen to older Brian's singing, his voice certainly hasn't held up anywhere near as good as Al or Bruce's, and I can imagine quite a number of people feeling that same way. I suppose ultimately this thread isn't really about whether or not he's really bad now or not, but more what you consider to be his last (or most recent if you'd like) great or decent vocal performance of his

I *love* his Love You era vocals. I think most of his post-1998 studio performances are at least OK, but I think his best solo-era vocal by miles is on She Says That She Needs Me. I also get chills down my spine listening to his Joy To The World, but that's more the arrangement than any particular vocal performance.

I don't agree with the premise of the thread, but I find his most impressive latter day vocals to be on Orange Crate Art. Those melodies are quite complex, and he maneuvers them quite well; and the wall of Brian's behind the lead is wonderful. Some of the best moments on those songs are the beginnings, where it is just wordless "oohh's" (Summer in Monterey, My Hobo Heart, San Francisco). Of course Brian mastered the art of the beautiful "oohh's" decades before with the Beach Boys.

Yep^, or going back one album..."Pacific Coast Highway".

One Kind of Love is really good.

As if many of his vocals on NPP.

I think Brian's vocals have been getting progressively better since The Beach Boys 1985 album.  Personally, I'm not a big fan of his mid 70s gruff vocals, which is one of the reasons I didn't much care for the bonus version of ITMOFM that was included on my Target NPP.  But, starting with his vocals in Getcha Back, it was an uphill climb.  As Jon Stebbins points out, he'll never recapture his 60s voice, but who at Brian's age still sings like they did 50 years ago.................................

................Al Jardine.   

falsetto on getcha back

Personally, I think there's no such thing as Brian's "last" great/decent vocal. One thing that really stuck out for me was how great he sounded on the Disney album, for example...but of course that album was pretty much ignored due to very poor timing.

If you're looking for the last youthful pristine Brian vocals, I would say that the Sunflower album would be it..  for example on Forever and Cool Cool Water he sounds as beautiful as ever.  After this his vocals pretty much disappeared til the mid 70s with a return to form on MIU.

Despite any issues or rough patches with his "regular" singing voice though, I still maintain that his high register/falsetto singing has always been great throughout his career.  Just listen to Getcha Back, Heaven, and The First Noel, for proof.

Seems to me this is exactly the thread to discuss that, if we're offering opinions on Brian's last great or decent vocals. My overall opinion is right there with Cyncie's: Brian's vocals aren't great in the same way they were in the '60s (obviously), but they sometimes reach greatness in other ways. It's a different instrument than it was 50 years ago. While I would not argue the new one is as good as (much less better than) the old one, it still is capable of great performances when the material and arrangements suit it.

The falsetto doesn't sound remotely as good, the slurring can be off-putting, especially on wordier lyrics. (The spoken bits on TLOS drive me crazy.) But "Midnight's Another Day" was lovely. Plenty of the Disney album was good. The Gershwin album had some really good vocals. Parts of NPP were good. So I don't think you have to go back very far at all, especially to find the "decent" half of "great/decent."

The like in I love you.


I don't see what's great about the Matchpoint vocal.

You know I used to be one of those people that totally thought anything that Brian did singing or writing-wise just couldn't stand up to what he did from 1962 to 1973. But definitely since the beginning of the reunion I've realized that the Brian of "Please Let Me Wonder" or "Caroline No" is still definitely there.

The first hint of this was when I first heard the 2012 version of "Do It Again." I really heard a prettiness that I hadn't heard since at least "She Said That She Needs Me," but a little sweeter. And then when "That's Why God Made The Radio" came out, I was floored by how nice and sweet Brian's vocal sounded. So much sweeter than anything since, shoot, maybe "Matchpoint of Our Love." But nothing prepared me for when That's Why God Made The Radio came out, and I heard "Summer's Gone." I was absolutely blown away. What it sounded like to me was a nearly 70 year old version of the guy that did "Caroline No." Just as good as anything Paul McCartney could do these days, or nearly any of Brian's other peers (including Al).

And then on No Pier Pressure, I really didn't think he could bring it the way he did on that latest Beach Boys album. But lo and behold, he did. The gorgeous vocals on "Whatever Happened", "I'm Feeling Sad", and "Somewhere Quiet" blew me away. And the way he traded vocals with Al on "The Right Time".....ah, perfection.

Now is he what he was when he was in his twenties? No, absolutely not. Nobody is. Not even Al, as his voice has coarsened a bit since the sixties despite what we all say. I also don't think a lot of harder rocking stuff fits Brian's voice these days. He's better on the mellow cuts. Although at the same time, I think Brian and his band taking on "You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone" with Brian and Blondie sharing the lead vocal would be quite interesting. That seems like it would be perfect for Brian's "Goin' Home" type growled vocal.

But anyways, does Brian sound really great on the songs I mentioned? You bet. And I'm super happy that he's performing at that level.

Thanks for telling the truth. (Except for that "we all" part, as there are exceptions. Or at least exception. Yours truly. So this makes two of us.) Al's voice has held up beautifully, no doubt about it. He still sounds FANTASTIC. Far and away the best of the Beach Boys in that respect. But his voice isn't exactly what it was in earlier decades. He struggles on the higher notes, just as you'd expect. I'm amazed that some people seem to think hyperbole is required to give credit where it's due. It's not an insult to the guy to tell the truth: that while his voice is great for a man his age, and while it's better than most or all of his contemporaries' voices, it is still diminished somewhat.

"Let It Shine" has a great vocal. I like the '95-era vocals too.

I love pretty much everything he did up until and including the late 70s.

After that, personal faves include Surfer Girl at Knebworth (arguably THE highlight of the entire recorded show), Getcha Back, Male Ego, Love and Mercy/Melt Away/Let It Shine, some Sweet Insanity stuff (while on some of the other songs he sounds pretty rough), and some of the Paley sessions stuff (same here; love Proud Mary!).

Agreed. I think "Let It Shine" and "Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight" both have lovely vocals. Not quite as good as Brian at his best, but really, really good.

And even some of the stuff from some of the "rougher" years really isn't bad. For instance let's compare Carl's lead on "Oh Darlin'" to the version with a Brian lead. For some odd reason, even though Brian doesn't sound as "pretty" on it, his version is a lot better in my humble opinion.

Your imagination, Colours of the Wind, The like in I love you, Pacific Coast Highway, This Beautiful Day, to mention only a few more recent efforts. Yup, he's still my favourite singer.

Last great: Heroes And Villains
Last decent: Match Point Of Our Love

I think the issue that people will have with Brian voice is that they have his sweet 1960's voice to compare with. Music fans can accept Tom Wait's voice on its own merits. They might not be able to do that if Tom Waits had a choir boy voice and that choir boy voice was The Voice you heard on his best-known recordings.

   8) :smokin

That's a beautiful post affirming the value of experience. I agree. I also agree with sweetdudejim that in the last decade I've heard Brian's voice strengthen and clarify to the point where it sounds like Brian Wilson, just older and more experienced. I've had the same experience sdj describes of being startled at the familiarity of his vocals when they do some of the older songs. Age does stuff to your voice. More some than others. I'm no singer, but I sing; and in the last half year my upper register has just about vanished.

I think Brian sang very well on TLOS and was particularly stellar on "Midnight's Another Day". A great vocal indeed. :) On TWGMTR he was okay except for some places, on NPP I wasn't that happy with his performances. :(

I'm not trying to try or condemn your opinion.  But can you elaborate on your disappointment in Brian's vocals on NPP?  Personally, I think the vox are on the same level of TLOS or TWGMTR, and maybe even better in places. 

The original version of Gettin' In Over My Head.

I do kind of like his California accent on Lazy Lizzie, especially the way he sings "school" and "cool."

"Midnight's Another Day". That is all.

I have always been moved by Brian's vocal on "Lay Down Burden" (though to my ears the mix on the instruments could have been better).

Several on the Disney albums.

'Someone To Watch Over Me', 'Baby Mine'.

I think the vocals on NPP are generally better than TWGMTR, perhaps as a result of the fact that the latter project was not rushed.

Thanks for not condemning my opinion. It's just when I first listened to it I thought at various spots "This vocal performance doesn't sound good, he tries something here he was able to in years past but cannot do anymore in a way that sounds good." I'm aware this is an opinion, that's why I worded it "I wasn't happy with the singing" rather than "his singing was not very good". And it worked! :) If you want to know which places those were in particular, I'd have to listen to it again which I rarely ever do.

No need.  If you're not a fan of the record, no need to listen to it again to point out the specific vocal moments you weren't happy with.  I was just curious.

I will say that, as much as I liked Brian's vocals on NPP, it was brilliant to have Al Jardine to help with some of the heavy lifting.  I hope Mr. Jardine continues to do leads on any future BW release.

But so I did. It helps that I find the vinyl more bearable, in part due to a better song sequencing.

Right on the first song, Brian's voice gets very thin on the line "if we could hold onto this feeling", also on "One kind of Love", especially on the line "I couldn't hear my heart calling out to you". He does a solid lead on "Runaway Dancer", though. I then put on TLOS, and in comparison those vocals seem strong, confident, full, phrased with expression and emotion in his voice, while on NPP Brian's voice seems thin, fragile, insecure, and having to put so much effort in the pitch control he doesn't manage to put much emotion into it. At least that seems so to me. Good he used so many guest lead vocalists.

Last great for me means the best..
And i think of the 67 piano & vocals "surf's up" contained in the extra of the SMiLE sessions.. Detuned but the best, the most expressive, live. I cried when i heard it. That's the last and the best Brian. No doubt 4 me. :)

Colors of the Wind has one of Brian's greatest vocals too...

No great Brian leads after Pet Sounds.....his voice was purdy good in the late sixties and very early seventies...and of course just went straight to hell in the mid-seventies.

You don't love his singing on Friends or Wild Honey?