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Smiley Smile Stuff => General On Topic Discussions => Topic started by: soulful young man sunshin on March 08, 2018, 04:31:51 AM



Title: I got a friend
Post by: soulful young man sunshin on March 08, 2018, 04:31:51 AM
Any info on this song live from 72?


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: Matt H on March 08, 2018, 05:44:05 AM
Do you mean this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iG1fYgsuZ0


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: Rocker on March 08, 2018, 09:28:43 AM
Any info on this song live from 72?


Written by Dennis. A finished studio backing track is in the vaults but no vocal.


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: c-man on March 08, 2018, 04:27:31 PM
Any info on this song live from 72?


Written by Dennis. A finished studio backing track is in the vaults but no vocal.

And a couple of live versions in lo-fi quality, with vocal.


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: c-man on March 10, 2018, 08:22:17 AM
Any info on this song live from 72?


Written by Dennis. A finished studio backing track is in the vaults but no vocal.

And a couple of live versions in lo-fi quality, with vocal.

Oh, and I believe the actual title is "I've Got A Friend" - but who knows, since it's not actually been released!


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: jeremylr on March 10, 2018, 09:04:48 PM
Who were the musicians on the unreleased studio backing track of "I've Got a Friend?" And do the live versions closely mirror the studio rendition? And just to clarify--any backing / harmony vocals on the studio take--or is it completely instrumental? Any unreleased BB music from the '60s and '70s fascinates me exponentially.


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: c-man on March 11, 2018, 08:13:45 AM
Who were the musicians on the unreleased studio backing track of "I've Got a Friend?" And do the live versions closely mirror the studio rendition? And just to clarify--any backing / harmony vocals on the studio take--or is it completely instrumental? Any unreleased BB music from the '60s and '70s fascinates me exponentially.

I've not heard the studio backing track (at least I don't think I have - does it circulate?).


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: Jon Stebbins on March 11, 2018, 08:31:00 AM
Who were the musicians on the unreleased studio backing track of "I've Got a Friend?" And do the live versions closely mirror the studio rendition? And just to clarify--any backing / harmony vocals on the studio take--or is it completely instrumental? Any unreleased BB music from the '60s and '70s fascinates me exponentially.

I've not heard the studio backing track (at least I don't think I have - does it circulate?).

Does not circulate as far as I know. But the version of the studio track I've heard is very minimal. Mainly just piano, bass and drums. My recollection is that it isn't anywhere near a complete or produced track, no backing vocals, no lead vocals. Of course there have been some DW tracks that I thought that about in the past and then had a chance to hear a multi-track brought up on a board, and you start pulling faders up and oh...there's more here than we thought. But whether that's the case with I've Got A Friend I don't know.


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: Rocker on March 11, 2018, 12:22:38 PM
From what one can hear on the live recordings, I have to say that I always loved this song. Thinking about it, I believe it would've fit nicely on "So tough". The first part is a typically Dennis ballad that fits right in with "Cuddle up" for example. Then the second part is much more rocking and would make a great step towards the R'n'B influenced material on the album. Could you imagine? A whole album that evolves from ballads to rock numbers? Oh and I really could hear Blondie sharing the lead with Dennis on this one.


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: Zesterz on March 11, 2018, 12:38:37 PM
He did it live in such a manner in Newcastle, May 1972.


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: Ian on March 11, 2018, 01:19:58 PM
Yeah the bbs had a number of songs from that period with strong potential that never made it on an album. By 1976 I guess they were all forgotten. But it is funny they pulled the silly good time and the god awful when girls get together out of mothballs but left I've got a friend unfinished and unloved


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: jeremylr on March 11, 2018, 10:59:23 PM
Jon, Craig, Rocker, Zesterz, Ian--thank you for shedding further light on "I've Got a Friend."


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: HeyJude on March 12, 2018, 06:36:13 AM
Yeah the bbs had a number of songs from that period with strong potential that never made it on an album. By 1976 I guess they were all forgotten. But it is funny they pulled the silly good time and the god awful when girls get together out of mothballs but left I've got a friend unfinished and unloved

It's interesting to try to figure out, just in terms of the band's own weird internal logic, why they were dusting off those tracks while leaving all those early 70s outtakes ontouched.

In some cases, it would seem that the overall sound/vibe of some earlier songs wouldn't match well. Certainly, "Wouldn't It Be Nice to Live Again" or "I'm Going Your Way" or "Carry Me Home" would have sounded out of place production-wise on "Love You" (or KTSA for that matter).

I always figured they either just remembered "Good Time", or felt they needed one more track, and "Good Time" at least vaguely matched the production/arrangement style of the '76/'77 "Love You" tracks in terms of sparse percussion/drums, heavy use of synths/keyboards. Of course, Brian's voice was vastly different, which made it stick out tremendously.

With "When Girls Get Together", it *didn't* particularly match the production sound/style of other KTSA tracks. But I think it may have just been that Bruce weirdly had some extra affinity for that particular song/recording. He was around back when it was originally cut, and Bruce always seemed to have extra warm feelings for the general "Sunflower-ish" era.


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: B.E. on March 12, 2018, 11:24:17 AM
It's interesting to try to figure out, just in terms of the band's own weird internal logic, why they were dusting off those tracks while leaving all those early 70s outtakes ontouched.

In some cases, it would seem that the overall sound/vibe of some earlier songs wouldn't match well. Certainly, "Wouldn't It Be Nice to Live Again" or "I'm Going Your Way" or "Carry Me Home" would have sounded out of place production-wise on "Love You" (or KTSA for that matter).

I always figured they either just remembered "Good Time", or felt they needed one more track, and "Good Time" at least vaguely matched the production/arrangement style of the '76/'77 "Love You" tracks in terms of sparse percussion/drums, heavy use of synths/keyboards. Of course, Brian's voice was vastly different, which made it stick out tremendously.

With "When Girls Get Together", it *didn't* particularly match the production sound/style of other KTSA tracks. But I think it may have just been that Bruce weirdly had some extra affinity for that particular song/recording. He was around back when it was originally cut, and Bruce always seemed to have extra warm feelings for the general "Sunflower-ish" era.

It's not surprising to me that older "Brian" songs found their way onto newer albums while other member's songs didn't. If Brian was involved, he'd choose his own songs. Simple. Good Time? I'd never even considered that anyone other than Brian decided to include that song on Love You. Had Adult/Child been released it probably would have included H.E.L.P Is On The Way and/or Games Two Can Play. When Girls Get Together was also considered during this era (wasn't the kick drum overdub recorded in 1976?). Point is, these are all songs that Brian was heavily involved in during the Sunflower era that Brian is dusting off during the Brian's Back era while he was back in charge. Conversely, if Brian was not involved, let's not forget that he was contractually obligated to be.


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: HeyJude on March 12, 2018, 12:38:04 PM
I believe there was a mix prepared for "15 Big Ones" of "When Girls Get Together"; I'm not sure if any overdubs were added at that time.

I'd have to dig pretty far to find it, but I recall a contemporaneous-ish interview with Bruce back at that time that seemed to indicate to me that he was a, if not *the* major proponent of putting "When Girls Get Together" on KTSA in 1980.

KTSA is a weird one in that at first glance it kind of seems like they were trying to make *something* about it unified. Unified at least in terms of "sound" and production. Yet, the album was rife with trawls through the vaults. "Santa Ana Winds" was partially re-recorded from its "LA" incarnation. "Endless Harmony" was dug up from nearly a decade prior. Bruce talked about licensing the then-17-year-old recording of "The Lord's Prayer" for the album (wtf?). They of course tinkered with "Can't Wait Too Long", but probably realized it was too much effort to "finish" that one.

They also attempted numerous additional covers including "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "I'll Always Love You." They apparently recorded but then rejected Ed Carter's song.

To bring it back around to Dennis, certainly by 1980 there were plenty of "Bambu" era things they could have grabbed for the album. His place in the band was obviously in some level of limbo while KTSA was recorded; I doubt they assumed he was gone for good, but he wasn't touring with them. But they put him on the cover. I suppose pulling in some "Bambu" stuff would have required his agreement and/or some level of additional recording to finish another song or two off.


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: B.E. on March 12, 2018, 03:16:18 PM
I believe there was a mix prepared for "15 Big Ones" of "When Girls Get Together"; I'm not sure if any overdubs were added at that time.

I'd have to dig pretty far to find it, but I recall a contemporaneous-ish interview with Bruce back at that time that seemed to indicate to me that he was a, if not *the* major proponent of putting "When Girls Get Together" on KTSA in 1980.

KTSA is a weird one in that at first glance it kind of seems like they were trying to make *something* about it unified. Unified at least in terms of "sound" and production. Yet, the album was rife with trawls through the vaults. "Santa Ana Winds" was partially re-recorded from its "LA" incarnation. "Endless Harmony" was dug up from nearly a decade prior. Bruce talked about licensing the then-17-year-old recording of "The Lord's Prayer" for the album (wtf?). They of course tinkered with "Can't Wait Too Long", but probably realized it was too much effort to "finish" that one.

They also attempted numerous additional covers including "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "I'll Always Love You." They apparently recorded but then rejected Ed Carter's song.

To bring it back around to Dennis, certainly by 1980 there were plenty of "Bambu" era things they could have grabbed for the album. His place in the band was obviously in some level of limbo while KTSA was recorded; I doubt they assumed he was gone for good, but he wasn't touring with them. But they put him on the cover. I suppose pulling in some "Bambu" stuff would have required his agreement and/or some level of additional recording to finish another song or two off.

You're right about Bruce and 'When Girls Get Together'. I remember reading that. Still, the less involved Brian was in an album, the greater likelihood an older "Brian" song would be resurrected. By the way, wasn't The Lord's Prayer also considered during the Sunflower era? ...there's another connection. Also, look at San Miguel. It was released on Ten Years Of Harmony, why not on KTSA? Brian and Dennis songs weren't treated equally and as you say Dennis wasn't really a member of the group at that time (which is a shame). Dennis wasn't contractually obligated to write 4 songs and co-write 70% of the album (or whatever the CBS deal required). Aside from the contracts, I'd think the group felt they owed the fans to include at least some Brian music on a BBs album. They probably felt they owed it to Brian, no matter how difficult he was being. Assuming Bambu was destined not to be released, I wish they had included a few songs on KTSA. It wouldn't have been too difficult to work some of that material into the album and maintain a reasonable amount of cohesion. It's particularly frustrating when you learn about all the Bambu songs that were considered for L.A., but ultimately weren't released for decades. They also could have used some of his material on the album they were attempting to record after KTSA but before BB85. Obviously the group wasn't nearly as receptive to Dennis' material as they should have been (especially considering Brian's lack of involvement), but it kind of seems that Dennis would work on something and move on. He left material in the early 70s that could have been incorporated into POB or Bambu or even a third solo album. He pulled songs from Surf's Up, but did he ever push for their release later on? Some fans talk about how they wish Dennis would have become the frontman/leader of the band in the early 70s, but others say that that just wasn't in Dennis' nature. Personally, if Brian wasn't up for it, I'd have loved for Dennis to be the primary songwriter and producer of the band. It just doesn't seem to me that the group worked well enough together in the studio. They missed that singular vision that Brian's leadership in the 60s provided. Ever notice how Dennis seems to disappear from the harmony stack when Brian wasn't involved? Brian utilized the whole group when he produced. You begin to lose that post Friends.


Title: Re: I got a friend
Post by: HeyJude on March 13, 2018, 06:48:20 AM
For sure, the band was making some level of effort on "LA" and "KTSA" to give the appearance of Brian being involved. I'm not sure they did the most effective job of it. It's like, if you're going to just borderline mislead people about how involved Brian is, why not just stick Brian's name as a co-writer on a bunch of the songs? But I guess that would require the other writers to give up some level of publishing.

What's extra strange about "When Girls Get Together" is that, if you're just a random fan (or CBS executive) and have no context for when anything was recorded or who wrote it, "When Girls Get Together" doesn't scream "this is a Brian song!" It obviously has Brian listed as a co-writer, but he's not like a prominent sole lead vocalist.

I sometimes wonder if the band just had a really short memory when it came to their unreleased material. If they were really stretching to try to make it seem like Brian was a major player on LA and KTSA, they could have easily just grabbed an "Adult Child" outtake or two.

It's easy to pick things apart in hindsight, but I often feel like they needed to take one route or the other on those "late era" albums, and they seemed to kind of go half-way and thus the albums were disjointed and a mixed bag. They probably should have either found an outside producer (like a real one, not Bruce who by 1978-79-80 wasn't a capable of making a hit, critically-acclaimed album for the BBs or anyone else for that matter) to helm a truly all-new collection of songs, or they should have had some sort of objective observer do a true, full trawl through the vaults and grab the truly excellent stuff that was still unreleased. Instead, everything was bogged down not only in group politics, but poor producer choices and a non-committal overarching goal/theme for the albums. Especially on "LA", I think Bruce (and Guercio) patched together the best thing they could once it was decided that the band *wasn't* going to do truly all-new, group recordings across the board, nor were they going to extensively go through the vaults to pick out the best stuff.

Then again, it has always been unclear what the primary (or was there only one?) motivation in putting albums like "LA" and "KTSA" together? At a certain point, it kinda seemed with "LA" that they just wanted to get *something* out to keep some of their CBS deal money. With "KTSA", that may have once again been a motivation, and I also think KTSA was the last time they really seemed to want to try again for that typical "album cycle" format where they record an album, release it, and then promote it with a new single, trying for a hit, etc.

I always wonder, even with their compromised, clouded idea of what might constitute a "hit" or a critically-acclaimed release, did anybody in the group really think "Sunshine" or "When Girls Get Together" were going to do them any good? To be clear, *I* actually have more a fondness for the KTSA album than I figure many if not most fans do. But I also recognize objectively that it's not a great album.