The Smiley Smile Message Board

Thinking about sleigh bells...  Be with me may be last but I feel like there is something on MIU with sleigh bells .

Bass harmonica - perhaps pet sounds era?

Vibraphones - till I die - NOPE - "That Same Song", various MIU tracks, "Goin' South", various TWGMTR tracks

Leslie on guitar - you’re so good to me - NOPE: "Loop De Loop" (although you can't really tell) - and, actually: "You're Still A Mystery" (VERY noticeable!) :)

Tympani - celebrate the news - NOPE - "Bill And Sue", "Strange World"

Dano bass/baritone - today era - NOPE - Pet Sounds, SMiLE, possibly once or twice later as well

Timbales - I get around - NOPE: "Please Let Me Wonder", "Daybreak Over The Ocean" (although the latter may be sampled)

Lap steel - Holland era - That's pedal steel, my friend :)

Triangle - be true to your school (perhaps it was used again? I can’t recall)

Bell tree - kiss me baby - MAYBE...but there's mark tree on "Daybreak Over The Ocean", and probably some MIU tracks like "Matchpoint"

Wood block / temple block - good time - NOPE: "Summer's Gone"

Mandolin - Disney girls - NOPE: "Summer In Paradise", possibly some Stars And Stripes track

Banjo - surfs up era - NOPE: "California Saga", "Bill And Sue"

Tuba - wake the world - NOPE: "Loop De Loop"

Glockenspiel - girl don’t tell me - POSSIBLY: "Daybreak Over The Ocean" (again, maybe sampled)

Harpsichord - when I grow up to be a man - NOPE: it's all over Pet Sounds and SMiLE...as well as "I'll Bet He's Nice", "Good Timin'" and "Shelter"

I'm pretty sure there's a bass harmonica on Friends

Hate to break it to you but there's an accordion on Strange World.

The last time any synthesizers were used was probably SIP or maybe Stars and Stripes.

When were real drums last used (ie skins,cymbals played with drumsticks utilising real human limbs) ?  :lol

And the flipside of that: when was the 1st time a drum machine was used? Was it Lady and/or Til I Die? And then not again for a number of years after?

Isn't there a drum machine on "Our Sweet Love"?

When were real drums last used (ie skins,cymbals played with drumsticks utilising real human limbs) ?  :lol

If we are going to get into super geeky territory here, how about the last time that certain models of Fender guitars were played on BBs recordings? I know Carl played a Jaguar (at least he did live, I'm assuming he did in the studio at some point too?)... did anyone else after the early 60s ever play a Fender Jaguar on a BBs recording?

Jim Keltner plays some real drums on "Kokomo", so that comes after BB '85.

I wouldn't be surprised if a smattering of the "Still Cruisin'" material has real drums. It sounds to me like at least "Somewhere Near Japan" and "Island Girl" have real drums.

On a Beach Boys album before TWGMTR, I would think it is California Calling with Ringo Starr.

I believe the bass drum sound was created by placing a microphone inside a guitar case and keys were used for percussion.

I would have to guess some form of synthesizer is somewhere on TWGMTR. Unless it's truly all acoustic piano, some of the keys on the album would presumably come from some sort of electronic piano/synthesizer.

Certainly, if we include solo material there are synths/electric piano on various tracks.

I guess it has been awhile since we got a sort of "DX7" type of 80s synth sound. The last instance of that may be something like Al's "Don't Fight the Sea" (a BB track in all but name), though in that case the synths may actually come from the vintage 1989 sessions for the song.

I think the keyboards on "Daybreak Over The Ocean" are probably the only synths on that album - and they may not be synths in the '80s sense of the word (meaning, digitally created soundwaves), but rather sounds digitally sampled from real instruments.

Are we defining synths in the 80's sense of the word? That's what I was doing. I was guessing modern keyboards would be different from the 70's/80's synthesizers like Moogs and Yamahas.

I think that part of Strange World is either an electric piano (like rhodes or wurlie) with the highs taken out. However, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a synth, considering we known Joe Thomas has no problem with synths!

Actually a Harpsichord was used on Good Timin' I believe, Dano Bass was used during the Good Vibrations sessions as well as The Smile Sessions, A Celeste not a Glockenspiel used on Girl Don't Tell Me which was used later on as well for other songs. It's quite interesting how much the Celeste has appeared with the Beach Boys. It started way back in 1963 for the Surfin' USA sessions, then Brian used it again for Little Saint Nick. He wasn't done with it, he used it again on Girl Don't Tell Me. After that it was used during the Smile Sessions. I think it disappeared after that. The longest used obscure instrument, the Harpsichord. Used in 1964, 1966, 1967, 1978 and even 2012. Craig can correct me, he's awesome when it comes to this stuff.

Does the sampled harpsichord from 2004 not count?

Someone mentioned Loop De Loop as the last song with a tuba. But doesn't When Girls Get Together have one? Though it's possible it was actually recorded before LDL?

"Loop De Loop" came first...but I don't think there's a tuba on "When Girls Get Together"...track sheet notations for that one indicate oboe, bari sax, and bass trombone.

Random question, sorta off topic, but not exactly...

Is "I Do Love You" the last (and perhaps only?) time that a BBs track had a single musician (not a member of the band) playing so many different instruments on one song? That person being Stevie Wonder, of course. "I Do Love You" is definitely an odd duck, and I think it may hold this record.

The only other tracks that come to mind are stuff like Love You tracks, but of course that one single musician was a BB member, Brian, playing nearly all instruments.

It's not the same as Wonder's near one-man-band, and it's a BW track, but "Let It Shine" is pretty much all Brian and Jeff Lynne, with one of the session drummers. But it's Lynne on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, 6-string bass/baritone guitar, and possibly some keyboards. Then Brian on keys/piano presumably, and one of the session drummers.

Orange Juice Cartons (?)  -- God Only Knows, played by Hal Blaine?

It's not the same as Wonder's near one-man-band, and it's a BW track, but "Let It Shine" is pretty much all Brian and Jeff Lynne, with one of the session drummers. But it's Lynne on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, 6-string bass/baritone guitar, and possibly some keyboards. Then Brian on keys/piano presumably, and one of the session drummers.

I haven't listened to it in some time, but I recall that the original 1978 version of "Santa Ana Winds" sounds like it has bass harmonica on it. There's also regular harmonica on it  (which was retained for the 1980 KTSA version), but I recall hearing what sounds like bass harmonica underscoring the verses of that '78 version. It could be something else that *sounds* like bass harmonica I suppose.

This thread also got me wondering; did Dennis (or any of the BB drummers) ever actually physically play an electronic drum kit, either live or in the studio?

They toured with an electronic drum kit from 1984 to around 1988, if memory serves. Bobby Figueroa and Mike Kowalski traded off on it, and I even saw Al play it (on "Be True To Your School") in '88. Video of their July 4th 1990 performance (in Cape Code, Mass.) reveals John Stamos playing an electronic drum kit (I think he may have mostly bashed the cymbals attached to the kit...which were real cymbals).

You can see Bobby F. playing the electronic drums in this clip from the 1984 DC show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaezkdnJ6WU

Thanks for that clip, HeyJude. I wonder if Denny would have tried out an electronic kit had he been around then (or perhaps out of curiosity he actually might have tried playing a kit like that in a music store during his lifetime, who knows).

Dennis would have BATTERED an electric drum kit!

It's not the same as Wonder's near one-man-band, and it's a BW track, but "Let It Shine" is pretty much all Brian and Jeff Lynne, with one of the session drummers. But it's Lynne on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, 6-string bass/baritone guitar, and possibly some keyboards. Then Brian on keys/piano presumably, and one of the session drummers.

Virtually every frame the group appears on "Summer of love"

By the way, last night I dreamt I was at Stamos' place and I asked him for an explation for the autotune on Do it Again and other productions crimes on Unleash The Love.

Might bring it to therapy this afternoon, I think.

Virtually every frame the group appears on "Summer of love"

By the way, last night I dreamt I was at Stamos' place and I asked him for an explation for the autotune on Do it Again and other productions crimes on Unleash The Love.

Might bring it to therapy this afternoon, I think.

Agreed. I kinda wonder if his music might have adapted a slightly more 1980s electronic edge at some point.