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Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

 Tracklist
01. Right Where I Belong
02. I’m Goin Home
03. It’s Not Easy Being Me
04. Must Be a Miracle
05. Slightly American Music
06. It’s O.K.
07. Rock & Roll Has Got a Hold On Me
08. The Night Was So Young
09. Honeycomb
10. Long Promised Road
11. In My Room Live from the Ryman Auditorium
12. I’m Broke


Finally, I'm Broke and Honeycomb are to be officially released.

Maybe 1 or 2 too many Paley collaboration songs here. . .

It'll be interesting to see if the Paley tracks are the original versions (like the stuff put on Brian's website a few months ago). Would be nice to get a correct speed, pristine "It's Not Easy Being Me."

Hyped to finally get an official release for It's Not Easy Being Me! I wish they could've also included the version of You're Still A Mystery from his website (afaik there's no way to purchase that?). But this is a really pleasant surprise. Loving the new song too.

Interesting track listing.  Hope it has some chestnuts.  Currently listening to "Right Where I Belong".  It's, ehhh, interesting to say the least.  Not sure I'll be listening to it again though...

Totally agree. INEBM is great, an IJWMFTT for the nineties.

It seems like *this* might as well be the fabled rock and roll album. Lotta good rockin' tunes!

Is "Rock & Roll Has Got a Hold On Me" a new track?

I have it on good word that the Paley collabs are the original versions presented in newer mixes - besides Must Be A Miracle, which is the later version heard in the film.

Great stuff all around here! These 12 tracks really make me yearn for a much more expansive, comprehensive solo collection, and I think the 90s Paley collaborations definitely deserve their own release, but this soundtrack works as a pretty nice teaser of Brian's unreleased tracks. Since there's nothing out there that really breaks down the tracks, I'll give as much info as I can:

Right Where I Belong is the new Brian Wilson / Jim James song, written and recorded by just the two.

I'm Goin' Home is the 1994 Wilson/Paley recording, presented in a new mix (seemingly by Mark Linett?). It's in stereo which is nice, but Brian's voice has some very strange EQ on it.

It's Not Easy Being Me is also the 1994 Wilson/Paley recording, in a new stereo mix. Sounds pretty great! Always been one of my favorite Brian solo tunes.

Must Be A Miracle, like I said, is not the 1995 bootlegged recording. It's a newer version - could it be the one produced by Brian, Andy and Don Was in 1995, originally meant for the beach boys? Anyway, the vocals sound like late 90s-early 2000s Brian to my ear. No other Beach Boys as far as I can tell.

Slightly American Music is the 90s Wilson/Paley recording as well. Now in full stereo, it sounds great!

It's OK is the 2017/2018 recording done just for the film, with Brian on lead. Nice little session intro, and Brian sings the ending "find a ride"! Very fun little remake.

Rock & Roll Has Got A Hold On Me is a 2000s Brian original, but I'm pretty sure this is a 2017/2018 remake done for the film, but unused. I've heard a bit of the original recording, and I wish that was used instead! The verses are made up of an A section right from Country Feelin, a B section from In My Car, and the bridge comes straight from Concert Tonight! Again, I would've prefered the 2004(?) recording, but this is nice to have officially released!

The Night Was So Young also sounds like another 2017/2018 recording. Brian sings lead again. The autotune is pretty noticeable on this one and the previous song. Very charming to hear old man Brian belt out that "WHY SHE HAS TO HI-I-IDE!"

Honeycomb is another 2017-2018 recording, as seen in the movie. Brian sings lead once again.

Long Promised Road is, once again, the new recording made just for the movie. Brian, Blondie, and Jim James take turns on the lead.

In My Room is the live version featured in the movie. Pretty standard for Brian's band live.

I'm Broke is the 1992 version that's been booted, presented in a new mix. The effects and weird EQ on this one, as well as the rest of the Paley tracks, make it pretty hard to listen to. Who mixed this? There's a lot of buzzing that kind of makes it a painful listen. I'll stick to the mix on Brian's website.

There's a lot of out-of-control high end on the new mixes of the 90s material that sounds similar to what happened on the Feel Flows box. A little painful to listen to, but man what great songs!

..

Bummer about the mix on I’m Broke. Most of the other tracks sound ok. To me it sounds like someone went to town with a hard limiter when mastering this thing.

According to Tidal, the track features Brian, Andy Paley and Jeffrey Foskett on vocals.

This is a real surprise.

Who thought we would have two full, new BW albums in 2021?

Let’s just say that this record really makes me happy. Not that I need Brian to do anything else. But all the new studio recordings showcase a vibrant, alert bandleader and singer, with some fun material. A major statement? Not really. But when you combine “Right Where I Belong,” and “Rock and Roll has Got a Hold on Me” you have two ultra-BW statements. Add the long-gestating Honeycomb, and the delightful retakes of “It’s Okay” and “The Night Was So Young,” you have a really fresh sounding batch of recordings with the best BW leads in a decade (apart from some chunks of the lead single, which given BW’s love of self-sabotage seems almost intentional).

That gets you a solid EP. But the Paley material, which underscores the film’s themes (It’s Not East Being Me and Must Be a Miracle specifically) takes the record to another level. It largely fits in the same sonic world, and Brian doesn’t sound radically different. But these are solid, important original tunes that have sat in the archives for far too long.

Taken as a whole, you have a portrait of a still vital recording artist (although not the most prolific recent songwriter) with a still rich and mysterious back catalog. Please find it and listen to it.

Rock and roll has direct quotes from Country Feelin as well as a bridge from Concert Tonight from Sweet Insanity. Never thought I’d hear that again.

More than that. The chorus is taken from the bridge of In My Car.

Sorry BUT the whole thing sounds a mess (I loved the original Paley Boot, and still do) and It's OK is just horrid (to say the least)
HOWEVER in the context of the Documentary i am sure the songs sound and work  a whole lot better  (I do hope) but being a Brit I haven't seen the doc yet

SORRY 

Is there any word on a physical release?

Loving the Paley stuff...going home is a bit of a revelation in that form. "I'm Broke" mix seems to me like a conscious decision to add a raw sounding/demoish/live mix to the soundtrack even though it's a studio recording. Never really cared for "Slightly American Music" but it sounds so much more interesting here.

Obviously, the newer vocals are less enjoyable but I was surprised how much I liked "The Night was so Young".

Since this is probably the closest we'll ever get to Brian's long fabled rock & roll record, I selfishly wish they had recorded Little Richard's "Keep A Knockin" for this soundtrack, since Brian's band played that live a few years back.

"Slightly American Music" seems like a sequel to "Do You Remember"... although the moment that Brian sings "I Get Around", I'm instantly transported to the alternate Black Mirror universe of self-references of "Smart Girls" for a brief moment. ;D

I wonder what drove the 1990s decision to record "Slightly American music" considering there was a BBs song with virtually the same blueprint in the Beach Boys catalog from a thematic standpoint. I guess maybe it's a bit of an updated version with references to The Beatles, looking back 30 years later…

I think that, for whatever reason, the 2018-era BW vocals sound fairly similar his voice on the Paley-era tracks. The combination works better than one might expect.

I mean, you wouldn't want the BW vocals from No Pier Pressure alongside them. And again, for my taste, Brian's vocals on this one are a real revelation. Expressive and honest, with a hint of rawness here and there.

So far from what I'm listening to the whole thing sounds pretty messy and unpolished.  But I think that's what they were going for...?  And the Paley tracks are just as weird as they sounded on bootlegs.  Going to have to listen to this more to determine if it will grow on me but so far I'm not overly enthusiastic.  It is kind of interesting to hear some of this stuff. 

Somewhat interesting to see from poking around on Google that the company who controls the soundtrack masters (BW Soundtrack LLC) was registered as a company in Texas on 10/6/2016. The CEO of BW Soundtrack LLC is Long Promised Road producer (and oil industry exec) Tim Headington.

So it’s been years since I’ve listened to any Paley era recordings - and whatever bootleg I had I’m pretty sure it was transferred via a wax cylinder recorder from the 1800s. Basically, hearing these mixes my mind is blown away at how good that material sounds. Slightly American Music is CRAZY good - I’m not sure I had ever heard that before, and to my ears that’s gotta be one of Brian’s best solo compositions. I mean what the hell - it’s like a wall-of-sound of all this great music rolled into one. I’ve been playing that on repeat constantly.

Anywho, I don’t know much about the mixes to even comment on the quality. Honestly I love how these sound so I won’t be complaining about it.

On the newer songs, the instrumentals sound great, and while you can tell that Brian is aging, he sounds confident behind the mic on those tracks.

(https://i.redd.it/onfulrw8ky181.jpg)

^also thank you KoolKoolWater1 on Reddit :lol

Well, I just listened to the soundtrack on youtube. I only had my laptop speakers but I'll share some thoughts anyway.

First of all: Who is singing "Long promised Road" beside Brian and Blondie?
Anyway, not having seen the movie I nonetheless think that the album does absolutely work as a soundtrack. It's different than a new studio project but then it's also not just a collection of leftovers. I didn't expect to like the newer recordings as much as I did. Not a fan of re-recordings and also worrying that Brian's voice got weak these last five-ish years, "It's ok" is very fun to lsten to. That one, "Honeycomb", "Long promised Road" and "Rock and Roll has got a Hold on me" have a very dynamic sound to them. Especially "It's ok" and "Honeycomb" make you think that Brian sang along ive with the band (which may have been the case, I don't now). Very lively and very good. Sure, it's not all clean and on key, but it has feeling and Brian seems to be in the right spirit. After listening I actually think that a Rock and Roll album wouldn't be too far-fetched, especially with Blondie and Al helping out here and there. I was very much in doubt about that but after hearing these recordings I guess it could work.
BTW is there a list of who plays and sings on the new recordings?

I'm no gonna talk about each song, especially not the ones from the Paley sessions as I wanted to concentrate on the newer stuff. But I would like to mention Brian's great lead vocal on "Slightly american Music", especially the way he starts. Listen to that!

Ask and you shall receive answers.

Jim James is singing on Long Promised Road, as he does on Right Where I Belong.

No notes have been released, but I believe that BW and JJ are the main instrumentalists on their co-written song.

Honeycomb, It’s OK, TNWSY, LPR and Rock’s Got a Hold on Me seem to be recorded with the 2018 touring band — they’re shown tracking Honeycomb and doing vocals on Its OK. Jim Laspesa has replaced Nelson and Nicky Wonder is still alive. Bonfiglio seems to be there too, though, and does the low “yeahs” on Its OK.

As far as I can tell, those five tracks are the first solo BW productions since 2011.

Thanks, Wirestone!

The Paley Sessions are simply Brian’s finest moment as a solo artist. It’s not easy being me is his greatest song this side of love and mercy. This is a great soundtrack. Just get the rest released.

By the way, since there doesn't seem to be a physical copy of the soundtrack currently available on either CD or vinyl at the moment, you can purchase a lossless version of it on Qobuz in either 16 or 24-bit form (either version should play on your media player of choice and you can select a variety of different file formats to download it).

https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/brian-wilson-long-promised-road-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-brian-wilson/i04a8mbtr8y9a

Agreed. All of those tracks deserve a proper release. They kick the @$$ of BW88 and Sweet Insanity, IJWMFTT, OCA, Imagination, and everything released since. This was Brian being Brian, without any outside influences (i.e. record companies, band members, lawyers, wives).

I’ve probably listened to the Paley Sessions, over the past 15 or so years that I’ve had a copy, as much as any of my favourite albums. It’s amazing art and just so enjoyable. I’m a 50 year old man who is more than happy to sing Slightly American Music at the top of my lungs. It is ridiculous and it feels good! It’s definitely one of my favourite Brian periods.

Oh wow... heard the tracks from the soundtrack................................one-take style vocals from Brian instead of the professional leads of the Gerswhin or Disney records.... no one wants to tell him that he needs to do another take... sloppy and full of slurring... he even at his age could do so much better...  ???

Yeah I mean I get why people want the "raw" thing and that it's cool to hear Brian so engaged. But for my money, some of his most affecting recent leads are on Disney, That's Why God Made the Radio and No Pier Pressure.

Overall I like the new album, but yeah, just my two cents.

Fantastic - a new Brian Wilson record. Joining this forum has already paid dividends. 

I found it on Spotify and am listening to it right now.  His voice sounds great.

I really love the "new" version of Must Be a Miracle. I wonder if there's any other re-recordings of the Paley material we haven't heard yet?

The vocal on it sounds much closer to Imagination-era than the Paley sessions, but the backing track doesn't have that sheen from Imagination.

Great to see some of the Paley songs finally getting released! This is some of my favorite solo material from Brian, together with BW88 and the Gershwin album. I'm a huge fan of the original It's OK and I'm pleasantly surprised Brian revisited that song since many fans see it as "belonging" to Mike for some reason. The new lead vocal of course sounds very spontaneous.

We know that Brian, Andy and Don Was produced a track for The Beach Boys in 1995, so that's probably what this is, with later vocals. There's also a version of God Did It with Brian singing lead from the same period, and a few other whole songs that haven't been bootlegged. Release it all!!!

+1

I'd bet the Paley Sessions will be out before too long. Maybe there's a little appetite for a 30th anniversary deluxe package ? ?

It wouldn't be inconceivable for these leftover Paley tracks to find their way on some kind of release eventually but an anniversary box set commemorating them?  Highly unlikely.  If this soundtrack is any indicator, then dare I assert that the Paley era was mostly overrated, as the majority of songs really don't have much appeal to most folks save for the unconditional die-hards.  I guess if you really wanted a sequel to the Love You album then you might like these songs.  But having listened to this soundtrack it's very obvious why BW and the other Beach Boys abandoned these songs. 

I guess it's all up to one's personal taste. Must Be A Miracle and Slightly American Music have been stuck in my head since I first heard the soundtrack. I remember other Paley era recordings/compositions being really cool. I like the creativity associated with these songs - they aren't really trying to copy a previous era of Brian Wilson tunes (kinda like Gershwin and Disney) but are instead their own thing.

Personally I would love to see a career spanning boxset - Brian remixes the Imagination album and takes out the hokey AC sounds, we get a better mix of TLOS, the original mix of Gershwin, outtakes from those eras, the awesome demos from the TLOS era, the Paley songs. If there is any cool studio chatter from the Paul McCartney collaboration that would be great. I would LOVE it if Lana Del Rey OK'd the release of her vocal take of 'Last Song' for such a set.

Honestly there is something for everyone in his solo career. I'm not sure how feasible a physical set would be, but even a digital set would be tremendous for us.

A remixed Imagination would be interesting, but a remixed GIOMH with band backing vocals instead of the wall of Brians has always been my dream.

The Long Promised Road soundtrack could be called "GIOMH, version 2.0", as we're treated to more "real Brian" (vs. Joe Thomas-filtered Brian).  I like GIOMH more than most (in spite of some sloppy voacals), but I am not very enthusiastic about Brian's aged vocals on the more recently recorded tracks on the LPR soundtrack. 

I really do not like the new recording of “Long Promised Road”. I’ve enjoyed when Blondie sings it in the live shows but the recording just seems poorly mixed and the vocal blend on the chorus sounds sloppy. Given that it’s the title of the movie, I was expecting something better.

It goes too long, that's the problem for me regarding that version.

Man, "I'm Broke" sounds really weird. Other Paley tracks also doesn't sound very well, like they lost the master tapes or something.

I really enjoy the soundtrack, although the slurry new vocals makes kind of a link with the "Ever afterrrrrrrr" on "Fairy Tale" on GIOMH.

Ironically, the best of the most recent Brian vocals (ie. the verses of Where I Belong, It's OK) to me, in their own way, are a continuation of the "shouty" Brian from the Paley sessions.

"R&R has a hold on me" has its pros and cons on the vocal department.

I also noticed how on most of the most recent tracks they decided to left Brian giving instructions or the count-ins before the start of the songs.

EDIT: I mean, the end of "R&R..." is almost like when you heard an unreleased sessions from the 60s before the fade applied during mixing, but it ties good with "The Night Was So Young", where the "hideeeeee" almost sounds like a "Hide ay ay ay".

BTW, much has been sayed about the Paley tracks having Love You-qualities, but the production qualities are way much higher. I love both of them.

Man, after living with this Long Promised Road album, there are some things I really love.

Favorites from the project for me have to start with "I'm Broke". I freaking love it and I think it's one of Brian's best rockers, solo career or Beach Boys. The fuzz bass really gets it going and honestly whatever Mark Linnet did for the mixing and mastering honestly makes it just absolutely rocking. The song never really did anything for me on bootleg, but this here on this particularl album, it finally hit me.

I always really enjoyed the new version of "The Night Was So Young." It definitely was a surprise to see the song on the track listing and it was even more surprising to hear that we got a new Brian version of it and not some instrumental or something else.

Never really cared for "Must Be a Miracle" on any of the boots, and didn't really feel much for it when this soundtrack was first released. But this version is pretty affecting. For whatever reason, now it hits me. I see some of you all are saying this has a post-Paley sessions vocal? Isn't the track different as well? Any guess on when this stuff was done? Maybe around the time he rerecorded the vocal for "You're Still A Mystery"?

And thought I'm not usually a big fan of live stuff from any of The Beach Boys, I gotta say I really loved this version of "In My Room." For whatever reason this version just hits the spot, and I'm very glad to have it.

As far as the more newly recorded stuff, I really like the Brian's cover of the title track. Always happy to hear a Blondie lead, and Jim James voice actually did stick out like a sore thumb amongst the Beach Boys present. Also thought "It's O.K." and "Honeycomb" were cute, if a bit sloppy. But of course I think that was the point. I will also say I'm glad Brian finally got to record (and finish) his own version of "Honeycomb" which it seems like he's been trying to get on tape since at least 1974. "Right Where I Belong" isn't quite the statement song I hoped for, but its a solid tune by Brian and Jim James, and it's been growing on me. I don't think it'll ever be a favorite of mine though.

I'm glad "I'm Going Home" is on here, but I think I prefer "Going Home" from That Lucky Old Sun. Also, I can't figure it out but where else did Brian use the melody from the part "the moon and stars all seem to say / wonder why you ever ran away"? It sounds so familiar but I just cannot figure out what it is.

I've never been a huge fan of "It's Not Easy Being Me" and the appearance of that song on here didn't change my mind. I know it's the kind of thing in line with "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" but for me it just doesn't work.

"Slightly American Music" sounds oddly both very Brian and very un-Brian at the same time. Not a song a personally care much for, but it's cool.

Lastly, "Rock & Roll Has Got a Hold on Me" is cute, I honestly find it kinda endearing Brian reuses these old melodies. I doubt many people even know of "Country Feelin's" though I'm sure a fair amount more know of "In My Car." But whatever. "Concert Tonight" I honestly don't know that well, but it's interesting that even a song like that is fair game to be used for parts years later. I read on here that there was a recording from the earlier 2000s of "Rock & Roll Has Got a Hold on Me"?  I never knew that one.

I don't know why I went through all the tracks and I don't know if it'll be of any help to anybody, but just wanted to throw my opinion out there on this stuff, so hopefully it's not a drag for anybody to read.

Also, I gotta say how on earth is there basically two new albums out by Brian Wilson and this board kinda don't care for sh*t? Like...two pages for this soundtrack? Has this forum really hit the shits that much? Shame.

It sounds a bit like a line from Black Widow/Let's Do It Again, IMO.

I think you might have nailed it. That might just be it.

I love the LPR soundtrack. "Raw" Brian exactly like I like him, darn Joe Thomas out of the picture. I consider the promise of the fabled R&R album fulfilled, and in a sane world "Rock and roll has got a hold on me" would be a Number 1 hit. I proposed the song to some friends, not BB/BW fans, and they were enthusiastic about it.

That track would need a hell of a lot of polish to make it radio friendly. 

Keeping the legit complaints of Joe Thomas's glossy production style in mind, I'd still take No Pier Pressure over this soundtrack any day of the week.  The songs are just stronger on there, and I did not mind the abundance of guest appearances.  I get the complaints people had with it sounding a bit too modern, but I think it actually worked in the album's benefit. 

I''ll choose actually good over radio friendly, any day. And yes, I know that means not getting to Number 1. I did not say that we are living in a sane world.

However, I notice that many were asking for "raw" Brian when he was doing ""polished", but now that he did "raw" now they want "polished".

Yup…noticed that too.

You always want what you don't got!

In this fandom especially...at least a certain sect of people who can't find the good in anything.

I disliked Mike's UTL solo album, but I still tried to find things to enjoy about it (and I did)...Ram Raj still comes to mind as one of those songs I'm glad Mike recorded, and I listen to it every now and then. But when it comes to Brian's music, some people just gotta hate on it...I mean, a mod at the Endless Bitchfest forum had to RENAME the thread dedicated to Brian's solo album because the original name of the thread was a knock at the album. They literally have to moderate/censor the hate that Brian receives over there because there's so much non-stop whining that occurs about Brian's solo career. I mean heck, as Billy mentioned, some guy there was calling for Brian's solo discography to be done away with after Brian's passing like a Nazi book burning. It's so absurd that it was almost troll-level-behavior, but people there hate Brian's music that much so it's honestly not surprising* *yes there are a lot of great people/posters over there, I don't know how they can stand the nauseating waft of lies, annoyance, and constant Brian hate over there.

Meanwhile, I think most fans are realistic about Brian's solo career: it's not perfect, but it has a lot of beautiful gems. I'm just happy that the guy still likes making music - same with Mike. It's great these guys can ignore the BS and perform/record music. I hope I'm that energetic at their ages!

In my opinion, the pinnacle of the right kind of polish in BW's solo career is the Gershwin album.

By a mile.

His voice sounds fantastic and whatever pitch correction artifacts on there are exceedingly minimal and not distracting to my ears whatsoever. They totally nailed it in the production on the album and Brian clearly really took his time on those vocals.

It doesn't have to be the extremes of Joe Thomas NPP versus this new rawer soundtrack.

But I also understand he is getting older and either might not have the patience or there could be any number of factors why we aren't getting another Gershwin level album these days. But I'm grateful for what we are getting nevertheless.

Absolutely, CD. I think the production on Gershwin was the pinnacle of his solo career. I do wish we could hear Darian’s original mix though.

I imagine since this project wasn’t a full stand-alone album that Brian wasn’t too picky about his vocals (or the instrumentals). I think if Brian were doing a full on production (Pleasure Island?) that he would spend a lot more time getting his vocals right.

Nah, I don't care if the music is radio friendly or not.  I only care if the music appeals to me.  The music on the soundtrack simply does not.  And I think all the best Paley tracks ("Soul Searchin', "You're Still a Mystery", "Saturday Morning in the City") were already released on other albums and box sets. 

I confess that I love most Brian at his quirkiest and rawest. My fav Beach Boys albums are Smiley Smile and Love You, if we exclude the Smile Sessions. I dig the Long Promised Road soundtrack so much because to my ears it sounds me like "Love You meets the Rock and Roll Album".

That Brian still does these things when almost everybody around him (bandmates, family, producers, fans...) has tried to "sanitize" him and make him more "mainstream", is the real miracle about him. I think that the only one who really understands Brian musically is Darian.

I had no idea there was an original Gershwin mix by Darian, that would be great to hear indeed!

In all fairness, though, a lot of that polish has come at Brian's request...depends on the mood. He has gone on record as saying that if auto tune had been around in the 60s, he'd have been all over it

I think Brian knows what he wants. No Pier Pressure, TWGMTR and Imagination were all plays for wide, mainstream success. This project is a soundtrack to a documentary and a lower-key deal.

I see the raw and polished Brian as two sides of the same coin, and both are conscious choices for a creative artist.

That was one of the reasons I was and remain (to an extent) a defender of the Gettin' In Over My Head album. It was similarly self-produced, fairly raw in sound, and I valued that about it. No, it wasn't Smile or BW88 or Imagination or even Sweet Insanity. But it had its homespun charms nonetheless, just as this soundtrack does.

Wirestone, do you have any guesses as to why GIOMH isn’t available on streaming services? I have it in my personal collection, but it’s odd that it’s like this Summer In Paradise-type album that is unavailable to people via streaming.

I agree that Brian's various "modes" are creative choices, depending on circumstances and mood. As I said, I prefer him in "quirky" mode, and guess we would have a bit more of that if practically all the world had not pushed him, often rather heavily, toward the opposite. Just guess, could well be wrong.
In fact, I don't hate GIOMH either, and I surely prefer it to NPP, but at least at the moment I like LPR much more. In part because there is more rock and roll, and good rock and roll IMO, in part because I think GIOMH features lesser versions of several songs from the Wilson/Paley sessions. In particular, I think the original GIOMH (the song), as listenable in Brian's site, is fantastic. The only real gripe I have about LPR is I'd put the Wilson/Paley GIOMH instead of "Must be a miracle", which I find syrupy. 

IIRC it was said that the mix by Al Schmitt doesn't sound very different to what was done by Brian, Darian and Nick Walusko.

I’m not sure it’s intentional. When asked a year or two ago on this board, Mark L. was surprised and said he’d look into it. I suspect there might be something hinky about the rights — it was released as part of a two-album deal with Warner’s, but Nonesuch wouldn’t take it so Rhino put it out. Two tracks appear on the best of, so I don’t think the BW folk are that embarrassed by it (not that they should be).

IIRC, the Al S. mix of Gershwin was a Grammy Award play. He gave an interview about the process, and it seems like the main change he made was replacing digital reverb with actual reverb from the Capitol Tower. I don’t think he was a weak link in the process for that record. (Lyrics ghost written by Scotty’s wife, on the other hand …)

As far as you know, is she responsible for One Kind of Love, too? It has the same kind of clunky and long winded lyrics as The Like in I Love You. About the latter, when a title sounds like a review for a  Beach Boys album something is off. :P

Not so bad as The Last Song, however... I wonder who is really responsible for THAT. Lana Del Rey has all my sympathy.

The soundtrack is not available on vinyl, cd, cassette. I suspect there'd be more excitement about it if it was a physical release we could hold in our hands.

I am also underwhelmed by the reaction, or lack of thereof, to these latest two albums. That you can't buy a physical copy of LPR, though unfortunate, should not matter so much. The music is there.

The "LPR" soundtrack is a great kind of catch-all. If this is what it takes to drop some additional Paley tracks, so be it.

I don't know that it works as an "album" proper, nor particularly as a "soundtrack" in that a bunch of the songs are either not in the film at all or barely heard.

I think a "proper" release of the Paley stuff would have been preferable, obviously. It's weird now that we have pristine copies of a lot of the Paley stuff, but you have to hodge podge it together with this LPR soundtrack, download several songs off of Brian's website, pick up the "Playback" set, etc.

Some folks are trying to frame this album as either his infamous "Rock and Roll Album", or frame it as the "stripped down" sort of album some fans have called for over the years. I suppose it fits the description of the former a bit more, though I think this is partly sort of accidental. For me, in the past when I've mentioned a "stripped down/back to basics" sort of Brian album, this is not what I was talking about. My thought has always been to have an album of Brian solo at the piano playing and singing new songs wholly written by himself, a "Pure Brian" sort of thing, and then also something a bit more along the lines of a Rick Rubin/Johnny Cash sort of project, again with mostly new material.

"At My Piano" is a different animal, but I quite like it.

What we have with the LPR soundtrack is basically a dump of roughly half recent studio recordings, and half more vintage solo outtakes. Cool, and a great little surprise.

I can't claim "Rock and Roll Has Got a Hold On Me" is like A-list material. It kind of sounds like a more well-produced version of Mike's "This Too Shall Pass", but without the awful lyrics. The other relatively recent covers are cool curios. A few of the Paley tracks (and "Right Where I Belong") are probably the standouts, although weirdly some of the Paley stuff seems to have been mixed kind of wonky.

One has to acknowledge that the "LPR" soundtrack is a pretty lowkey release, even for Brian solo album standards. We didn't even have a confirmed tracklisting or release date until pretty recently. I'm fine streaming and downloading, but given the demographics of Brian's fan base, I'm sure a physical release of the set would have helped as well.

"At My Piano" obviously had much more of a push and promotion, with "singles" , etc.

I'm sure the lack of heavy discussion is due to all sorts of factors, and I can't deny that two albums and a doc would get more discussion at some other points over the years. But among those factors, is that while this is a nice chunk of Brian material (two albums and a doc), and while fans can dissect the most mundane and insignificant things, I think it's also the case that some of these projects don't have like a TON of things to talk about. The new doc is cool, but like its soundtrack, it's kind of a mellow curio. Similarly, "At My Piano" has beautiful music on it, but it's still covers of mostly well-known songs.

I would imagine like a long-form, thorough history of the BBs and/or Brian, along the lines of the "Beatles Anthology", would get far more attention and discussion, and I'm also sure a full, new studio album with like 14 new songs front to back, would also get more attention. I'm not downplaying the coolness of the three projects we've gotten. But it's kind of the most low-key such an onslaught of material could possibly be, if that makes any sense.

I think a whole album of new material, either solo Brian at the piano or fully produced, is just a pipe dream. Brian is 79, and has been mentally ill since God only knows. He's already a walking miracle. What did Syd Barrett do after his crisis, to name just an example? I'd add Kevin Ayers, in case anybody remembers the Soft Machine. The same could well have happened to Brian. In that case, I'd not be here bitching about NPP.

Said that, everybody is entitled to their opinions, including me. I still don't dig NPP, nor almost everything Joe Thomas put his wrestler hands on. Btw, I am fed with songs about the unavoidable end of Summer. We all know that, no need to harp endlessly on it. Hey, I almost agree with Mike on this!

So, I welcome the piano album. Some very nice renditions (particularly Good Vibes). Sketches of SMiLE alone is worth the ticket price. Hearing a SMiLE mini-suite right from the source is an unexpected delight. And the album does not end with some downer, ends with GV. Thinking of it, if we include GV there is about 12 minutes worth of SMiLE in the album. Cool! But of course Brian did not play any of it... just kidding.

So, I welcome LPR, as disjointed and imperfect as it is. No JT, no end of Summer. Some good Wilson/Paley tunes, some very good rockers, a good new song. Works for me!

Would I want an official release of the whole Wilson/Paley sessions, possibly without remixes? Hell yeah! This week I read about a comment about "The best album which never was"... talking of the WP sessions. Does that remind you of anything from 1966/1967?

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I think Joe Thomas does a good job when it comes to recording Brian's vocals. In a perfect world, we would have an album with backing tracks produced by Brian/Andy/Darian and vocals (and only vocals) produced by Joe. TWGMTR isn't his best work, but the vocals in Imagination and No Pier Pressure sound great, IMO.

As others have mentioned, the new songs in the soundtrack sound like they contain vocals that were done in a single/first take, and that's it. Maybe that's the sound they were going for, maybe Brian didn't feel like spending too much time recording these songs, maybe he was just having fun, taping footage for the documentary, not thinking necessarily about a proper album... And this is me just guessing, but I think most people don't dare question Brian when it comes to recording. He's Brian Wilson, after all. But it seems to me that Joe isn't afraid to tell Brian when they need another take. So, yes, I would have preferred if these new songs had vocals produced by Joe.

On a different note, I wonder what source they used for the Paley tracks. Must Be A Miracle sounds great, but there's a lot of hiss on the other tracks, it almost feels like listening to an old cassette. You can particularly tell with I'm Goin' Home at the 3:00 minute mark, when the track goes quiet, you can hear a lot of hiss using headphones. Maybe it's the same source they used for the tracks they uploaded to brianwilson.com, they sound much better than what we had available in bootlegs, but still don't sound like something that's ready for commercial release.

Having said that, I'm very happy we got a new Brian Wilson album. Keep them coming.

The Paley sessions were recorded to tape, the newer ones digital. The glory of tape hiss!

Clip for ‘It’s OK’.

https://youtu.be/VzAJouIwPTo

Thanks! The song is kind of an odd choice for Brian's current voice, as it sounds like he has to really push himself to project as the lead vocal demands. But still a cool clip.

Some gentleman collected all the legally available Paley tracks, and it's a hell of an album
(not included: Saturday Morning in the City. Not only GIOMH is not on streaming, it seems it's not easy to upload songs from it to You Tube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK1Cyd4gerY

For me the WP sessions were a revelation, that changed some idea I had previously about Brian.

I keep on liking the Long Promised Road soundtrack, quite a lot.
Sincerely, I was not hoping for any more Brian album. I still can't really believe that we got two, and completely different to boot.
What we got is very, very near to a hopeless dream I had since... well, almost ever. A double album where the first side is melancholy, quiet, quirky Brian and the second is gruff, upbeat, rockin' Brian.

The apparently kind of semi-inadvertent format of the LPR soundtrack (archival solo tracks mixed with more or less "new" tracks) might be a good way to move forward on further Brian albums, especially if they're not inclined to do a boxed set of rare Brian solo stuff. It would be way to get some new stuff out, get some archival stuff out, and potentially get better reviews/notices for "new" albums if they're back-filled with the best archival material instead of potentially kind of mediocre "new" stuff.

One of these every three or six months would be nice. 

I am, maybe, the only one, but I like the new or newish tunes in the LPR soundtrack actually more, in general, than the tunes from the Paley sessions.

Some of the Paley tracks are mixed rather strangely. "Slightly American Music" sounds great, but "It's Not Easy Being Me" sounds really murky for some reason.

Are they really missing the multis on some of the Paley stuff to do proper remixes? It sure seems like they have multis on the two Brian/Beach Boys Paley tracks.

But in terms of quality, I think this album is all over the place, which I'm fine with. I love the idea of a dump of some archival tracks and some new-ish tracks, even if they're not all gems.

I said earlier in the thread that  "Rock and Roll Has Got a Hold On Me" kind of sounds like a more well-produced version of Mike's "This Too Shall Pass", but without the awful lyrics. And no, that is not particularly a huge compliment. I don't have much patience for the occasional "If Mike had released the same thing, everybody would hate it!" arguments made in fandom, but I can't deny that "R&R Has Got a Hold On Me" is pretty similar musically/backing track-wise to "This Too Shall Pass." Brian's track is of course just innocuous at worst, whereas Mike's track of course adds a whole layer of misplaced pathos ("it's kinda like a viral super bowl"). But the Mike track was the first thing that popped into my mind when I heard the Brian track.

The other relatively recent covers are cool curios, but I can't say I'll come back to them often. The fact that Brian chose to revisit "It's OK" after nary a peep for years is more interesting than his actual re-recording of it.

The title track with Jim James is really by far the most *interesting* of the new songs.

RRHGHOM is a (fantastic imho) repackaging and "completion" of "Country Feelings", a hidden gem of Brian's. I don't hear so much the similarity with the Mike tune, also due to the much gruffer delivery by Brian.

The soundtrack will hit CD in June!

https://theseconddisc.com/2022/04/26/right-where-he-belongs-brian-wilsons-long-promised-road-soundtrack-comes-to-cd-in-june/

Edit…Wrong thread.

According to ESQ, Al isn’t on the new recordings? That may have been reported here before but is news to me. Does anyone know why? Was Al on tour with his storytelling shows at the time? Thanks!!

Just a reminder that the Long Promised Road Soundtrack is available on physical CD now. And from now, I consider the promise of the "rock 'n' roll album" fulfilled. :)

The CD appears to be out of stock on the Walmart site, there's one copy on Amazon for $30+ and none on eBay. I hope they stock up on these soon, I need a copy!

This is hitting vinyl at independent record stores on 11/25/2022. https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/15488

(https://i.imgur.com/eUI2mZA.jpg)

Nelson's comment on this are interesting

Who Nelson? Rick? Ozzie? David?

Maybe they mean BW Band member Nelson Bragg.

Don’t feed the troll.

Yes Nelson Bragg, who's a troll?

Okay, Nelson Bragg, that makes sense; but I didn't see his comments, whatever they were.

Why  does I'm Broke on this CD sound so bad?  It's murky and distorted like it comes from an acetate or low gen tape copy.  The version I have on boot (and is up on youtube) sounds much better.

A few of the Paley tracks sound murky enough that I wonder if all of the multitracks are/were available. "It's Not Easy Being Me" also sounds kind of murky. But then "Slightly American Music" and "Some Sweet Day" (off of the "Playback" set) sound pretty clean and punchy.

The LPR album is a bit of a weird compilation imo as it’s a mixture of ‘new’/relatively recent recordings plus the mid-90s WP stuff.

I wonder whether the original plan was for Brian to re-record all the WP material for the LPR project, but they found that he was unable/ unwilling to do this, so they just put the original versions out instead.

This sadly makes sense to me, in part due to the, er, quality of his contribution to the new track Right Where I Belong.

I think the plan was to record the "rock and roll" album as something to accompany the film. Brian and the band did a handful of sessions and recorded about 18 minutes' worth of material, but that wasn't enough for a record. I also think that the sessions, regardless of what you see in the film, didn't go particularly well.

BW then had the bad spinal surgery (and an attempt to repair it) after the bulk of the sessions and has been in rough shape since.

I do suspect that "I'm Broke" would have been part of the new sessions, as they played it live a handful of times in recent years, along with the "Honeycomb" cover. The rest of the Paley stuff is filler, although well-chosen given the subject of the film. (Must be a Miracle sounds like a re-recording from the late 90s or early 00s.)

I can believe that. Thanks for the info.

In case anybody was still wondering, while I downloaded this when it came out, I did finally snag the physical CD. It does indeed exist.

(https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/312235068_592989192622211_144972447344365323_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=UW2Ty1DzLJoAX98v64a&_nc_ht=scontent-sjc3-1.xx&oh=00_AT9v3NAZOn-zsU7I-tQ2Z0PnvCuGTy2Hv7GiY0RRFgd1BA&oe=6357D53C)

I'll say it again: this is a great album, and I consider the promise of R&R album fulfilled.
Please understand me: I was DREADING that No Pier Pressure (a fairly good album which I don't really like) would be the last I would hear from Brian, and above all that The Last Song (a great song which I hate) would REALLY be his last song.
Instead...
First the ultra-stellar piano album... I still haven't the words for that. There are no words for such a thing. In any case, completely from the left field.
Then Long Promised Road... the medley of the Paley album and the R&R album! Completely from the OTHER left field, if you take my meaning.
And, at the moment, the latest Brian song is ROCK & ROLL HAS GOT A HOLD ON ME, where Brian asserts again himself as the real KING OF ROCK & ROLL.

Brianista, I know. But then, I am also a Mike Lover etc. Can't help myself.

My only complain is that they should have released At My Piano and Long Promised Road as a double album. Just to mess with people's minds. :)

As completely indifferent towards this album as I am, I admit I wouldn't mind snagging a vinyl copy of it.

Opposite here, love the album but don't care about the vinyl.

Where did you find it? Was it pricey?
I'm not too impressed with today's vinyl.

Is it still possible to get this soundtrack on CD anywhere? Seeing that it doesn't seem to be for sale on Amazon, Discogs, or ebay and fearing I may have missed the boat on this one.

Not sure about CD but it's getting a regular black vinyl release this month

I saw the RSD version and passed on it.

What the heck is RSD? As a non-native English speaker, I find this overuse of acronyms obnoxious. A Google search resulted in this:

https://www.abbreviations.com/RSD

I guess it is Record Store Day from page 2 of the list, but really, guys...

I'm not a big fan of excessive acronyms, I get it.  But RSD is pretty common in music forums.

If you Google "rsd long promised road", the first hit is the "Record Store Day" page for that album. 

GI, IWUOAN