How limited is the later stuff?

Very moving story...agreed with Joe, thanks for sharing that.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6176819.html

Wow. It's basically been confirmed by Jermaine. Despite him touching kids, I'm actually saddened by this.

Same reason he's not credited for the basic production work on "Gettin' In Over My Head", or that Andy Paley's not credited for his work on "Soul Searchin'" & "Desert Drive" - history is being re-written and Thomas is now a non-person (not forgetting the small matter of a 1999 lawsuit). Back when the track was first released, late 1997, it was announced as being a BW/JT co-production. Shame, as it's the best track on the CD in my view. To call it 'precious' doesn't even come close.

Not a new thing, sadly. Look at how Gary Usher got dicked out of "Walkin the Line". That said, I've always felt that there was more to the story.

One thing I've learned in my 13 years of being a fan is that the honesty & accuracy of credits in the world of BB/BW leaves something to be desired in many cases.

Yeah, but it didn't feature Carl.

One thing though I've always wanted to ask, and the answer may kill my love for the song somewhat. Every version I've heard had Carl's voice drenched in reverb, like heavy reverb. Was that how it really sounded, or was it a fault in the original boot?

Reading that...wow. I have often wonder if that would have been Brian's fate. Why else would he redraft Brian's will?

Did he ever talk about Brian afterwards but  before his death?

Ahh, the Nat King Cole version, of course. I love that song. Brian was 4 years old when it  originally came out, although the famous version of it (and the one I'm talking about) was a version that Cole remade in 1961, which was the year the Beach Boys debuted, coincidentally enough.

You know what's strange about Go and Get That Girl the Carl version? He sounds stone sober something rare for the era.

No kidding.

And you know what? I personally feel the track could've been a hit. Why was it left in the can?!

When we, or any other 'Smile Historian' talk about how the Boys really did a number on Brian by not letting him complete the album, I think we all think of the tracks as we hear them now-as full, complete songs. It would seem logical that Bri would play them full tracks, but we know that during this time, Brian wasn't always 'logical'. Imagine for a second, though, that all the guys were hearing were these small snippets, and then they were being asked to do vocals that weren't really 'vocals' per se, but chants, or animal noises, or water noises. And you had the record company breathing down your neck for the album, which is already not going to be ready by the original release date. I used to be of the opinion that SMiLE was this real black and white issue: Brian was a genius, and The Boys were idiots for not liking the music and pretty much forcing Brian to quit the album. While I still think the music is amazing, and I think that at one time Brian was a musical genius, as time goes on I start to see things from the Boys perspective a little bit more. 

Might they be from when it was being revisited in the early 70s, though? It may be impossible to know, but Andrew, do you think he and/or the others had heard as much as there was reasonably available to hear at the time in '66/'67, or do you think they were blindly touching the snake, the tree trunk, etc. as opposed to the elephant?

Absolutely brilliant discussion, here. It really does cast the BB's opinions of SMiLE in a whole new light.

It's the best song  Brian has done since Til I Die, easy.

It's hard to measure ballads vs rockers etc. So, restraining to songs roughly in the same style of MAD, what about "The Night Was So Young"? "Still I Dream of It"?

Okay, best released song, as I like Still I Dream of it better, and Everybody wants to live just once. As for The Night was so young....this may be an unpopular opinion, but I fucking HATE Carl's vocal on it. Hell, anybody remember what I said about it a long time ago on this same message board? Something like Peter Cetera gargling with battery acid, or something equally as harsh. Yeah, it was THAT bad to me.

I have to admit it's starting to grow on me. Honestly, I hated it when I first heard it. Now, I can say it's not bad at all, although I really prefer the original and am not too crazy about the arrangement.

Carrie, I checked out the site... I freaking LOVE the version of Kokomo on there. 

Okay...I'm sold. If there's a reunion I want David there. All of those songs are new recordings? If that's the case, David's voice is the best out of the surviving Beach Boys, easily.

It's the best song  Brian has done since Til I Die, easy.

Who wrote 'Go and get that girl'? I like it in an MOR 70s kind of way though it doesn't sound like an original song from anyone in the group.

Wasn't it Ron Altbach?

[quoteI remember reading that during the 2006 Capitol rooftop event, "Don't Talk" was playing in the background and Mike asked Brian if he could still sound like that.  Brian laughed before telling him he couldn't. Either Mike is kidding himself about Brian's voice, or he still likes to goad Brian.[/quote]

Ever thought he was just kidding with him?

Thanks for that informative post, Carrie. In all honesty, I've never heard David sing, nor heard any of his solo work. Now I know I need to check him out!

Actually, IMHO hell yeah.

In any case,t hat song should have been released anyway. I love it . Glad also that I'm not the only one who noticed that the old story about the 2nd Christmas album doesn't make sense due to the timeline. I've been wondering that for years, and I personally believe that is another one of those BB myths that refuse to die. It's not out of the realm of possibility that they really were recording Christmas music at such a late date (considering they were almost dumb enough to release Child of Winter right at Christmas!) but I doubt it.

But what both albums desperately lacked were more traditional Christmas songs. There are so many Christmas songs I hear, and say to myself, "I wish the Beach Boys would've covered THAT"!!!

Maybe: Jingle Bells, Winter Wonderland, Do You Hear What I Hear (where they could trade off verses), Sleigh Ride, It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, I Saw Three Ships....

Mike Love did cover Do You Hear what I hear with some chick, if that counts.

Overlooked by seemingly everyone in this thread is the fact that this might be a very good thing for Brian. Much like finally finishing SMiLE lifted a great weight off of Brian, making peace and doing a final show and/or recording with the surviving BB may be great closure for Brian, and may indeed provide a great relief for him.

I'm not familiar with this Christmas standard, I guess there must be a few better renditions out there. That said, it's a good song, a nice track, the lead vocals are ok and the piano riff - performed by Brian - in the intro may be nothing new, but it gave me a smile.

The most famous version is the one by Nat King Cole, which is my 2nd favorite Christmas song ever recorded (very slightly behind "Merry Christmas Darling" by the Carpenters).

Yeah, I'm thinking the percussion has a lot to do with it.

Anybody checked out Brian's cover of "The Christmas Song" from brianwilson.com?

Honestly...not on of his better covers. The double-tracking on his lead sounds off to me. The voice itself sounds good, but something about the whole recording seems off. I think it's the tempo that's throwing me off.

That'd work for me.

So, let me get back to the original point of this thread, if I may. I don't have the Badman book at my side right now, but you guys are now saying the "In The Back of My Mind" re-recording is actually from early '75 now? And also has 50/50 Brians "new and old" vocal stylings? Or am I wrong?  Or was it actually from the next year, and he just pulled out a better than usual vocal performance?

Or should we just leave it with "California Feeling" as his last "classic" vocal performance?

CF is the last one that is 100% his old voice, from everything I've heard over the years...haven't heard the track myself, so I can't really say. "Back Home" is the first track where it's 100% his "new" voice, or at least the first track recorded where Brian is actually audible or the tape speed hasn't been altered.

So I assume Elliott is a persona non grata in the Beach Boys camp now?

That's a nice way to put it. I think he's persona non grata in many different camps these days...