“Lean” Mike has a big band now….

I’m sure I had to have thought of that before, but I guess I’d never said it out loud. So that’s a great point SMiLE Brian. Size of the band was supposedly a huge sticking point for Mike as far as his pulling the plug on C50, yet he has how many sidemen in his band now? Sure is odd.

However, let’s be real. It was never about band size or this or that. I think whatever it is, I’m not sure Mike has ever told the truth about it.

Egh. That ain't The Beach Boys.

But in sadder news, is Foskett no longer touring with them at all? I assume he's been at home dealing with the cancer? Does anybody know how he's doin'?

Also, anybody find it kinda weird that there will be "2019 mixes" of both "Good Time" and "When Girls Get Together"? Personally I figured that their inclusion on the set would have them as they left when the era that encompasses the set ends, as of course both were later put on official, canon Beach Boys studio albums. My assumption is that both will be presented as closely as possible to what they were in '70 and/or '71. Anyway though, is it possible that neither were given even rough mixes in '70/'71?

Lastly, anybody sure about the writers on "It's Natural" and "Won't You Tell Me"? I know it's been said that "It's Natural" is collaboration between Brian and David Sandler but I hadn't seen it confirmed. If it is indeed a Wilson/Sandler tune I am very interested to hear it as "Sweet Mountain" is pretty close to a masterpiece in my book. As far as "Won't You Tell Me" goes, I assumed that it was a collaboration between Murry Wilson and Rick Henn. But then comes the Rolling Stone article and you have Brian saying what he said. Anybody know what's up on either of these or will we just have to wait for the set and scour the credits?

[1969: I'm Going Your Way]

So maybe it got buried, maybe nobody cares...

But on the 1969: I'm Going Your Way EP from 2019, there was "I'm Going Your Way" classified as an "Alternate Vocal Take" while Feel Flows version of the song is listed an as "alternate mix" or something of that nature. Does anybody else (besides me) think that the "alternate mix" label is likely not intended? Because otherwise, we basically started aren't getting the quote-unquote original version. Now of course since Dennis isn't with us (and that at least I am not sure he ever got the tune to the final mix down status) anything put out is likely the work of Mark Linett and of course okayed by Brian, Mike, Al, Carl's estate and perhaps Bruce.

This looks absolutely amazing. We can't thank Howie, Mark, Alan and the others who have made this project enough. This thing looks chock full of interesting stuff.

However, I gotta ask...

What is up with "I'm Going Your Way"? Is there no "original" version? The version released in 2019 was the "alternate vocal take" while this one is an "alternate mix" apparently. Weird.

Towards the end he sneaks in, "My relationship with Bruce is as is" with a bit of a negative vibe... Wonder what their quarrels with each other would have been?

Based on first hand knowledge Bruce seems to turn directions on people at the drop of a hat, without rhyme or reason. I know of at least three occasions on the C50 tour, and there are plenty of other stories here.  I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Levine didn’t get along with him

Care to document any? C'mon don't leave us hangin'!

[Imagination]

You know everybody talking about how Brian is more active to the eye or whatever you'd call it, I think it comes down to this...the less there needs to be from Brian on-stage, the less you'll get. Look at the late '70s Beach Boys. Obviously the touring group had showed for over ten years that they could do great shows without Brian. When he played with them live during the late '70s and early '80s you didn't see him usually doing all that much. But if you look at the mid '80s when he started doing the occasional solo appearance, you'd see him playing piano and singing with gusto. This basically continued up until the Imagination period. But then you watch something like that Fender Presents appearance he did with Blondie and Nicky, you see an engaged and upbeat Brian.

Now obviously these days he moves a bit slower then he did 25 years ago. Who of us doesn't? But I think when he wants to, he can still deliver.

My guess is simple. Because they were there to be had. Especially Brian and Denny. I doubt they put tons of thought into their outfits, yet both still had this odd kinda style.

[Guilty Pleasures]

Mike was not interested in having this album reissued on CD, let alone in high def.  He was approached several times by a legit CD reissue label and declined to proceed with a digital release.

Really? I'm not saying I don't believe you, but do you have sources for this? I mean, with the amount of goofy Mike Love artifacts out there, it's interesting that as CenturyDeprived basically said, this would be the thing Mike would wanna bury and keep away from easy public consumption.

Also I know I've been on this one for a while, but it's also a shame that there is nothing available digitally from Mike's band Celebration except for the appearance of the song "Almost Summer" on a CD called (yep, you guessed it) Guilty Pleasures. Even if the whole Almost Summer soundtrack couldn't be licensed, one would thing there coulda been a Celebration anthology released with the all their songs from that soundtrack along with along with their self-titled album. Best to forget Disco Celebration though. Maybe leave that in obscurity.

If this thing is ever given a digital release for purchase I'd probably snag "Be My Baby" and "Paradise Found" perhaps. I do wonder why it's available for streaming but not purchase. I also really do wonder if it's legal. Anybody interested in contact Michael Edward Love or his people for their take on this?

Anyways, maybe I'll give this album a listen later. I had some old mp3s from a while ago that I never really dug into, so maybe it's time to get the album more of a chance. Obviously it doesn't have a great reputation at all, however there are some folks on this board whose taste I pretty much trust who have a soft spot for this album.

So with the release of the new recording of "Add Some Music to Your Day" featuring Mike, Al, Bruce and Dave among others, we found out the project was going to be released under the 'California Music' moniker. I personally found this amusing as Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher had their own project in the '70s that released a few records under that exact name.*

Now only in the world of The Beach Boys would you have two highish profile projects end up coming out under the same group name, even including one participant (Bruce) who is up front and center in both projects. Is this of any importance? Of course it isn't. But I just found it amusing. I wonder if David Beard approached Bruce about the use of the name for this album project, and indeed for the name of the "group" credited with this new recorded of "Add Some Music." Not that I think Bruce has any say about the name California Music, or would he? I honestly don't know how that would work legally.

*A little backstory for those who don't know, Bruce and Terry apparently wanted "bring the fun back" to west coast music or something like that in the early '70s and so they went about overdubbing old Jan & Dean records and released those on the United Artists label. The plan then was to then move into original material, which Bruce and Terry ultimately did under the California Music name, though of course there were covers aplenty released under the name as well. You had Bruce (and a Gloria Grinel) doing "Don't Worry Baby" along with Johnston doing an original cut like "Ten Years Harmony." And the reason many of us on this board might be familiar with this band name would be Brian producing a cover of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" along with him playing organ on it's b-side "Jamaica Farewell" if my memory serves. Anyways, Brian's family terminated his involvement in the project, Bruce and Terry apparently lost interest or something and the project ended up continuing, headed by Curt Becher under the name California, releasing a few more records later in the '70s.

Also, while I don't want to take away from the altruistic nature of this recording/project, it can't be ignored that, even though all band members including Brian have maintained a mutually beneficial friendly relationship with ESQ, that "Is he brain damaged? Yes." article from several years ago is something that conceivably is not always completely forgotten by Brian and his folks.

Ouch. I totally forgot that one. I don't think David Beard is a bad dude at all, but that...man, I have to imagine he'd prefer he never wrote that (or so I'd hope).

So, is this "west coast mix" a new mix? It says it's remastered so it's perhaps not new? And what on earth could be the east coast mix? Perhaps what are referred to as "mixes" might be different versions. One version would be the version with the saxophone up front and the other would be the more organ-led version?

I don't know.

Gosh, I love Al.

There's another one from April '78 that doesn't go around, called I Really Love You, and it's bizarre. It sounds like his MIU voice on sleeping pills.

Hmm, I always thought "I Really Love You" was an unreleased Carl tune for some reason. So it's a Brian tune with a Brian lead? And you've really heard it? Kinda nuts. Is it a ballad? By the sleeping pills reference I'm assuming it's a slow one.

  as is often the case with the Brits, is way too glib-

A bit of a generalisation, methinketh.  I hope you're only talking about the music mag journos.

Yes, referring to the journos, not to the entire citizenry!

Never mind asking Brian and Mike about Do It Again. Has anyone asked Bill Jackson???

I have been asking for information on Bill Jackson for years now! I think in one interview Mike gave Bill a slightly different name.
Bill, are you out there?

Well, THIS thread has everything you never wanted to know about Bill Jackson:

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php?topic=7531.0

But wouldn't it be great if it turned out to be THIS Bill Jackson?

https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/books/2017/01/17/jackson-takes-pride-diverse-cast-lion-winter/96646462/

After you check out the link, you probably won't be holding your breath...

All joking aside, until yesterday, I truly thought Bill Jackson was a made-up friend in a made-up story.  Let's face it.  The name sounds like something a guy would sign in a hotel guest book as he checked in with his mistress.   But, damn, then I saw that there really was a Bill Jackson at Dorsey High with Mike Love in 1959... and, you know, he looks like he could be surfer... so why not?  Maybe the story is more or less true, and everything happened pretty the way Mike Love said it did.    I'm kind reminded of the Tim Burton film "Big Fish."   

Same. I always thought Mike was full of sh*t on that one. But maybe he was telling the truth this whole time.

I think Salty's point pretty much holds true - yes, Brian could still sing in 69-70, but he'd lost a lot of resonance, power, consistency, flexibility, etc etc. He sounds fine on stuff like Sail Plane or Walkin, but that's because those songs are relatively easy - both melodies are quite small in range, and neither require any big changes in dynamics or register. He wasn't attempting the difficult stuff anymore - maybe he could've done This Whole World for example, but it was no longer comfortable for him to sing that way, so it probably just made better sense on all fronts to let a member of the touring group do it.

I agree 100% that it was coke and being out of practice that contributed most to Brian's initial vocal decline - not cigarettes as many have suggested. Cigs aren't ideal for the voice of course, but generally their effect is mostly to irritate/dry out the larynx. McCartney was a heavy smoker for his entire Beatles tenure and his vocal tone didn't change in any significant way until at least his 40's. Same is true for Carl Wilson. Cocaine, on the other hand, has such a dramatic effect on the health of the pharynx/nasal lining etc - it doesn't take long at all before you hear the difference with singers who've indulged in it excessively. Stevie Nicks is a very similar example to Brian imo - dramatic change around '76-77 in her case, where her upper range and flexibility disappeared, and she began sounding like she had a cold all the time. Very familiar when we think of Brian's 'shouty' sound from the 80's forwards, which was really starting to appear from about '70 onwards, and especially apparent in some of his early '70s vocals.

Also agreed that the gruff voice in the mid 70's was essentially a detour where Brian purposely 'placed' his voice very differently in order to imitate Randy Newman. He did have laryngitis in '76, and I'm sure that played a part, but overall Brian's 15BO/LY voice is not that far out of the realm of what any healthy adult male could achieve with a bit of effort (not to say that they wouldn't be hurting their voices in the process...) Overall, I'd have to say that Brian knew what he was doing at this point - at least by switching to a completely different vocal style he could regain some warmth & character in his voice, knowing that his old style of singing was no longer viable.

I rarely say something like this...

But I think this was a hell of a post and I wouldn't mind if you delved deeper into what you've posted here.

[Please Let Me Wonder (mono single version)]

So there are a few things I can add...

Please Let Me Wonder (mono single version): longer fade, available on The Greatest Hits - Volume 2 and the Japanese US Single Collection
There’s No Other (Like My Baby) (mono single version): edited differently then album version, available on US Single Collection
Devoted To You (mono single version):edited differently then album version, available on US Single Collection
         
There's also some stereo singles that have differences (not counting stuff like the single versions of "California Saga (On My Way to Sunny Californ-i-a)", "Rock 'n Roll Music" and "It's OK" as I assume most on here are very well aware of these):

Cool, Cool Water (single version): much shorter, available on The Warmth of the Sun
Cuddle Up (single version): honestly have no idea what the difference is, but know it because I've studiously kept track of these things and have it in my notes! Only available on You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone / Cuddle Up single.
Lady Lynda (single version): honestly have no idea what the difference is, but know it because I've studiously kept track of these things and have it in my notes! Only available on Lady Lynda / Full Sail single.
Livin’ With a Heartache (single version):honestly have no idea what the difference is, but know it because I've studiously kept track of these things and have it in my notes! Only available on Livin’ With a Heartache / Santa Ana Winds single.

Now if anybody could remind me what is different with the single versions of "Cuddle Up", "Lady Lynda" and "Livin' With a Heartache" I'd love to know cuz I am totally drawing a blank. Whatever the differences, I can't imagine they will ever be reissued any time soon, as I'm pretty sure we are into major trainspotter territory with those.

Honestly I had totally forgotten about this. I'm excited to see it, whenever it is that it comes out.

Also one has to wonder if the release of this documentary might precipitate the release of more previously unreleased BW solo material? Here's hoping for something.

Where has joe blow been. Feel like he hasn’t posted lately. Must be busy.

Yeah, I feel like since Feel Flows got confirmed (but no details) the site has slowed down a lot. I’ve noticed Guitarfool hasn’t been around in a while, too.

I admit my post was fueled more by the fact that the poster I was referring to only seemed to pitch in mostly with anti-Joe Biden and anti-Democratic Party material as opposed to anything to do with The Beach Boys. And now the fact that he's been MIA since Election Day and especially Saturday morning is conspicuous to say the least.

You are right though that since Howie came here and calmed our fears, things have been slow.

I’m not usually one to overdo it, but my God, what a voice. Only months left, with God knows how much strength and the voice sends a tingle down my spine. What a man. What a singer.

Where has joe blow been. Feel like he hasn’t posted lately. Must be busy.

Things are good. It's moving forward.

Thank you for the good news Howie. It is greatly appreciated.

A lot of TDS on this thread. Whatever you think of him, please remember he is the first President in decades to not start a war. Brokered the middle east peace deal. Remember the guarantees from CNN, MSNBC, and many in the media? The economy will crash, Russian collusion will be proven, minority unemployment will hit all time highs, there will be a war with North Korea, the embassy will not be moved to Jerusalem, the stock market will crash,. How many of these have panned out? Trump donates his salary. But he won't denounce white supremacy right? Oh only dozens of times. Look at all the decrepit democratic run cities....hmmm? When a story comes out about Biden's corruption FB and Twitter ban it. They claim not verified while allowing countless Trump stories to remain up even after being debunked. The fact that this post will probably force this thread to be locked  because it shines a good light on The President after pages of open Trump bashing has been allowed might be something to think about.

A proud supporter of President Trump right there ↑

If you're so proud, share your name on here instead of hiding behind the "joe_blow" nonsense! Be proud of your support of Stormy Daniels' tiny mushroom-shaped-penis-having former lover!

The response(s) were basically of the message that they are not the one with the answers, and that there are "more important" things going on, encouraging me to "put this in perspective" with the global pandemic and all.

I presume then that the latest issue of ESQ is wall-to-wall COVID-19 coverage? Because the cover suggests otherwise.

You know, that probably has to qualify as post of the year and I hope FreakySmiley would consider throwing that one back at ESQ.

[NO MEMORY]

Hey Tojo, I think the original poster is saying that there was a Beach Boys Grammy release that was released in 2014 of their performance (and that of Maroon 5 and Foster the People). And that he can't find the cover art for that release. The crazy thing to me is that I have absolutely NO MEMORY of such a release. I every so often look up The Beach Boys on the iTunes store and the like to make sure something hasn't slipped thru the cracks that I should snap up, but apparently I missed this one.