Dig the Memphis-style guitars on this alternate "Slip On Through" and the country-ish psych guitars on "I'm Going Your Way". According to track sheet notations, these were (Mike) Deasy and Eddie (Carter). These two tracks were recorded at the same session at Gold Star, July '69.

On "Carnival", the guys sang each of their vocal parts separately, then doubled them (except for the fifth part) - a rare modus operandi for them, and probably the first time they ever did this. This was recorded on 16-track, so the final tape has four parts doubled and a single fifth part, using a total of 9 tracks for vocals (I think all of them except Bruce were involved with the recording). You can really hear the individual parts much better on this new remix than on the original bootlegged mix.

Hey c-man, I understand if you don't want to (or can't), but who are the instrumentalists and vocalists on "I'm Going Your Way" and "Carnival"?

[1967 - Live Sunshine]

Which shows? Hmm.

I'd have liked to see the March 27, 1965 show at Arie Crown Theater in Chicago. You had Brian near the height of his powers, singing "Please Let Me Wonder" and the band really sounding great.

I'd say 1967 Hawaii shows would be great to see for obvious reasons. I know that for years some "insiders" had pushed this whole thing that they sounded like sh*t, but I don't hear it when I listen to the Hawaii material from the 1967 - Live Sunshine set. "Heroes and Villains" sounded awesome and crazily enough I thought that "Barbara Ann" truly rocked.

The February 28, 1970 show at the Seattle Opera House is of obvious interest to me as well, with Brian rejoining the live group since Mike Love was not there. Surely would've been interesting to see.

From there, well...a choice Blondie and Ricky era show in like 1972 would be nice. Any later '70s shows with an engaged Brian would also be cool. From the '80s on, I think Live Aid might have been cool to see the guys at. I also would've liked to see the 1995 Las Vegas performance where Brian sang "Don't Worry Baby" in the original key (if memory serves), with help from Matt Jardine. After that, I guess I'd have to say the final show of C50 in 2012 would've been amazing.

He mentions his friend Bill Johnston as the person he went surfing with. I thought it was Bill Jackson. I am starting to doubt this story.

No disrespect, but you ever believed the story in the first place? Bill Jackson sounds like one of the most made up names ever! However..."Do It Again" is great nonetheless.

Don't remember double posting, but I musta. Sorry!

[Carl and the Passions]

I figure since no one has responded, that I'll be the one to do so...

As far as we know, there is no photo of Brian, Mike, Al, Carl, Dennis, Blondie and Ricky all together. And definitely not one of all seven of them plus Bruce. The latest first photo we have of the full band in Bruce's first tenure I guess would be this...



Obviously, as one can tell, this is where you get the photo of Brian that was pasted onto the photo of the rest of the guys for the back cover of Carl and the Passions.



Apparently this photo of the "classic five" was also taken the day of that last photo with Bruce...



Now there is indeed a photo of Carl, Dennis, Mike, Al, Bruce, Blondie and Ricky somewhere. All of them on a long sofa or something. It's in one of the books I have somewhere on The Beach Boys, but I haven't any idea which one it'd be in.

Hope this all helps!

I think something else at play,and I'm just guessing, might be that Mike seems to prefer to add relatively younger players to his band. I have plenty of theories for why that is (for another time)

Okay, I'll bite. Why do you think this is?

Posted this on the other board, also wanted to post my thoughts on the book here.

So I bought the book a few days ago and received it earlier. It's a nice addition to a big time Beach Boys fan's library. At least in my case it really helped to get a feeling for the personalities of the guys, particularly Brian and Bruce, with a bit of material on Carl and Mike.

For example, I think Mr. Goldberg really kinda helped paint the picture of Brian as the generally kinda amiably odd guy we all dig. Just with the way Goldberg would describe certain physical movements Brian would make or certain comments Brian made, it tracks with a lot of what we've heard over the years. It also to me showed that Brian, despite all his humbleness, definitely knows he is a big deal, despite sometimes being shocked at stuff like standing ovations. For instance, it was interesting to read Goldberg describing Brian's discussion of how certain people had said "Good Vibrations" was the greatest song ever or something. I can't remember exactly, but it was Brian sounding quite a bit more secure than we sometimes feel. But at the same time, that leads me to how Brian could seem very up and down. And while obviously that is true of any human being, you could see in this book that Brian was already deep into his battle with his issues, sleeping all day, staying out all night, etc.

Bruce on the other hand also really got a bit of a decent description from Goldberg. And he kinda comes across as a cocky, seemingly insecure son-of-a-bitch. Really kinda coming across as very "Hollywood", feeling like he's a hot sh*t music scene big shot, seemingly always talking down to Goldberg for whatever reason. Condescendingly, if I remember correctly, he would tell Goldberg he should feel lucky to hang with Brian, and that you had to a be really good guitarist to learn "Disney Girls", not to mention what Bruce did with the "Out in the Country" master tape. Overall it just seems like Bruce gets threatened by people in the inner circle who might steal his thunder. Witness how bitchy he's been to Dave Marks all the way from the early '70s all the way through to nearly the turn of the millennium. Then you have Bruce dismissing Blondie and Ricky as sidemen. It's just interesting that of all of The Beach Boys, Bruce often seems to be a huge ass-kisser to the group's perceived leaders (Brian and Mike) while being not so wonderful to others who could or did fill his spot in the group. Goldberg has an interesting rationale for why Bruce might act like this, which I'd never thought off, and does make a bit of sense.

Carl comes across, as usual, as a generally nice guy, seemingly always friendly and willing to help. Mike comes across as a professional, who kept his promise to Goldberg to do a lead vocal for his tune.

Overall an interesting book that I'm sure I'll pick and thumb through it again, to see if I missed any other interesting stories.

[Pet Sounds]

I'll have to A/B this version of "Waves of Love" to the previous version. It sounds pretty similar. It's definitely the "saxophone/soundcheck" version found on the first pressing of the 2012 CD (the one with the buried Carl vocal), with possibly some mix variations.

The other two are cool to hear. "Jenny Clover" is another Al piano ballad in the mold of "And I Always Will." Al's voice sounds great; the song is okay. I have to give it more listens.

"Middle of Nowhere" very much *screams* NINETIES!!!!! This reminds me of what "Summer in Paradise" could have sounded like with better production. But yeah, it's very early-mid 90s. The closest comparison in the BB world I could think of is that it sounds a bit production-wise and style-wise like the 1997 "The Wilsons" album. Nice Matt lead and backing from Al. Very much sounds like an attempt at a "The Jardines" album.

I don't think either of these songs are as good as the best stuff on "Postcards", but they're nice to listen to and more indicators that Al probably has like 50 more tracks buried that we've never heard.

With all due respect, I just cannot see how you think what we are calling the saxophone version of "Waves of Love" the soundcheck recording. The entire thing seems much cleaner and more thought through than the other version. It has Carl's vocal couched in harmonies (improving it greatly) instead of standing alone, it has Al singing in a much more reasonable key, and just overall has a much more "considered" arrangement in my opinion.  It just sounds more 2010s than the other one. The other just kinda rides along with it's "Help Me Rhonda" type organ part and and sounds like something that woulda...for lack of a better phrase....something that woulda been recorded at a soundcheck.

Now perhaps I'm wrong, but I think that despite what I feel many on this board may think, it may have been backwards.

This back and forth seemed strangely familiar, and sure enough we had this same debate back in 2012 regarding the variations of this song. Which is totally fine and all in good fun.

To be clear, I don’t think any version of the song is purely a raw soundcheck performance. Every version has been sweetened/overdubbed, etc.

What I recall hearing back years ago was that “Waves of Love” began as something Al laid down during a soundcheck; this is presumably where Carl was present and added his vocal contribution. From there, varying amounts of additional overdubs were added to the different versions.

What I’m saying is that the “saxophone version”, meaning the version in the lower key and with Carl’s vocals buried in a stack of voices (the version included on the first US copies of the 2012 CD, and a variation of which is now on Dvoskin’s Soundcloud), sounds MUCH closer in *ambience* to what a soundcheck recording would sound like. Meaning, everything is wetter in the mix (more echo/reverb). The basic track elements of this version are the only thing in any version that sound plausibly like they could have been tracked during on on-stage soundcheck sort of setting. Even on this version, clearly more vocals have been overdubbed, with some stacked Al vocals being most obvious.

The second version (the version issued on the download version of the album back in 2012, and an alternate mix of which was also included on the Japanese SHM CD in 2012) sounds essentially *completely* re-recorded in a studio setting, with only Carl’s vocal from the other version flown in (and done so in a rather odd fashion, more on that in a moment). The key is different, and everything is dryer and punchier. The key is higher, so Al’s voice, while still sounding quite good, does sound a bit strained in places. Al’s vocal also sounds newer (meaning he sounds older), also suggesting the first “saxophone” version likely includes a 90s Al lead vocal while this second version includes an Al vocal cut probably in the late 2000s. It also sounds like what they did on this version is to extract Carl’s vocal from the vocal stack of the “first” version, and then isolate it and fit it into the higher key of the “second” version. This is why, to me, Carl’s more isolated vocal on this version has always sounded a bit odd.

Now, further complicating things is that I don’t think even Al or Dvoskin have been consistent on which version is *THE* version of the song they want to establish. When confusion first reigned back in 2012 when both versions were simultaneously released via CD and download respectively, I believe Al mentioned in an interview that it was the saxophone/CD version that was the “error” so to speak. That was the version they didn’t want to release, and it was in fact the second, higher key version issued as a download that was the “finished” version. Supporting that this was the case back in 2012 was that it was that second version that was issued later in 2012 on the Japanese SHM CD, along with an alternate mix of that same version. Also supporting this was that they kept this second version up as the download version of the song, and of course a digital download is something that can much more easily be fixed/replaced if something is in error, as opposed to CD pressings which are out there and obviously much harder to recall or replace.

Everything (other than the screw-up of releasing two vastly different versions happening in the first place) up to this point made sense to me. Regardless of which version one likes more (I like both, truly), that second, higher-key version certainly sounded like a more dense version with more going on, and sounded much more like a modern in-studio recording, and it was clearly attempting to more prominently feature Carl’s vocal contribution. And Al was seeming to establish *that* version as the go-to version. So it made sense that *that* version was the “final” or “finished” version that they were trying to establish.

The new alternate mix on Dvoskin’s Soundcloud is a variation of that “first” version, however. Now, we don’t know for sure which version Dvoskin and Al were very recently shown on Facebook “finishing up”, but I have a suspicion they have now gone back to that first saxophone “soundcheck” sounding version and are working with that one again. Which makes perfect sense only in that everything these guys seem to do with this song tends to make NO sense.

Ironically, I’d wager it’s quite possible whatever version Al and Dvoskin issue in the future is going to be yet *another* mix of one version or the other, which will mean we’ll likely be up to FIVE different mixes of this song.

Hey there HeyJude, I admit when I first read your response, I was once again somewhat like "argh, he just does not get it! How can he not hear what I'm hearing." But after truly reading through it again, I must say that I see what you're saying in here. I understand what you mean vis-à-vis Carl's vocal and how it was couched in harmonies when it was recorded, but then extracted and then possibly pitch shifted, which leaves us with the slightly wonky sounding version on what I'll call the "organ" version (to differentiate from the "sax" version). However, where I think we part is how we hear the tracks in question. The organ version to me sounds like an open air stage with the organ getting a natural room reverb and Al just kinda going for it in a key that doesn't quite work for him. However, one point that you bring up that may hadn't crossed my mind was that both of these versions have probably had significant overdubbed and vocal work. But I still stand by the fact that I think the opposite of you. But that's what makes this board interesting.

I suppose the easiest thing to do would be for one of us to contact Larry Dvoskin on Facebook or Twitter, and perhaps maybe I'll do that some time. He always has kinda seemed up to discuss The Beach Boys and his work with Al. In fact didn't he once say that "Waves of Love" was their Pet Sounds? Though who even knows. If we asked Al, I have a feeling that things would get even more complicated! He'd probably say it's an unreleased cut!

I'll have to A/B this version of "Waves of Love" to the previous version. It sounds pretty similar. It's definitely the "saxophone/soundcheck" version found on the first pressing of the 2012 CD (the one with the buried Carl vocal), with possibly some mix variations.

The other two are cool to hear. "Jenny Clover" is another Al piano ballad in the mold of "And I Always Will." Al's voice sounds great; the song is okay. I have to give it more listens.

"Middle of Nowhere" very much *screams* NINETIES!!!!! This reminds me of what "Summer in Paradise" could have sounded like with better production. But yeah, it's very early-mid 90s. The closest comparison in the BB world I could think of is that it sounds a bit production-wise and style-wise like the 1997 "The Wilsons" album. Nice Matt lead and backing from Al. Very much sounds like an attempt at a "The Jardines" album.

I don't think either of these songs are as good as the best stuff on "Postcards", but they're nice to listen to and more indicators that Al probably has like 50 more tracks buried that we've never heard.

With all due respect, I just cannot see how you think what we are calling the saxophone version of "Waves of Love" the soundcheck recording. The entire thing seems much cleaner and more thought through than the other version. It has Carl's vocal couched in harmonies (improving it greatly) instead of standing alone, it has Al singing in a much more reasonable key, and just overall has a much more "considered" arrangement in my opinion.  It just sounds more 2010s than the other one. The other just kinda rides along with it's "Help Me Rhonda" type organ part and and sounds like something that woulda...for lack of a better phrase....something that woulda been recorded at a soundcheck.

Now perhaps I'm wrong, but I think that despite what I feel many on this board may think, it may have been backwards.

[Postcard]

Middle of Nowhere, Waves of Love and Jenny Clover are available on Larry's Soundcloud page:

https://soundcloud.com/user-418742223

Does anyone know how to download something from soundcloud?

Well that's a huge freaking find Matt H!!! Wow. Props for finding this stuff. I like "Jenny Clover" for sure.

Yet another mix of "Waves of Love," this one a variation on the saxophone version found on my Postcard CD. I like it. I generally just dig the song, but regardless the saxophone version is much better than the other version, with the strained lead vocal and more naked sounding Carl vocal on the chorus.

"Middle of Nowhere" I'm not in love with, but it's still listenable.

All in all, despite what I may have thought, I think there probably is enough material for another Al Jardine album. I think he should put another one out. This material easily outclasses Mike Love's new stuff.

Well, I'll tell ya...I went because my mother-in-law was in town, and she always had a spot in her heart for Ringo Starr, so we took her to see the double-header with Ringo and "the Beach Boys."

Now...one big thing with me is that I just cannot acknowledge Mike and Bruce as "the Beach Boys." They're only using that name because a lawyer said they could. But having said that...the band was spot-on. Mike sounded really good. The band did a really nice Scott Totten arrangement of "Here Comes The Sun" that I honestly am considering buying if it's available anywhere. But...something was off. Again, the music was fine, the band was fine, the vocals were fine...but...it sounded so...sterile, I guess. And as I watched the projections on the screen, I was reminded how Dennis and Carl weren't there. Two Wilsons gone. And Brian wasn't going to show up. No Wilsons. Beach Boys without Wilsons?? Al on the projections...aw, man, he COULD be there, theoretically! Even David Marks! (And John Stamos' presence didn't help things.)

I guess the best comparison I can make...ever watch Mad Men? Did you see the episode where Sal was directing a Patio commercial, and the folks at Pepsi wanted a shot-for-shot re-make of Ann-Margret's "Bye Bye Birdie" performance? So Sal had it done, right down to a singer who looked and sounded like Ann-Margret? It was note-perfect, frame-perfect...but...everybody who screened it ended up not liking it, but they couldn't put their fingers on exactly what they didn't like about it, until Harry Crane spoke up: "It's not Ann-Margret."

You know, Brian and Al are basically doing a Beach Boys show now. No, they don't call themselves the Beach Boys, but it's a night of Beach Boys music. It's not like Al is up there plugging Postcard from California; Brian is not doing songs from BW88. TLOS, Imagination, GIOMH, NPP. So, having said that...
Is there anyone at their shows that thinks "it's just not right without Mike and Bruce?"

Do Brian and Al bill themselves as "The Beach Boys"? Did they publicly state their desire to continue touring with Mike (and by extension Bruce)? I think those two questions answer why people are thinking a certain way. Mike (and Bruce) walked away, not Brian and Al.

I really think people wouldn't think walking away from The Beach Boys was a sleazy move from Mike if he had quit the band to go perform solo or with his Endless Summer Maharishi Pisces Brother Tribute Beach Band. But no, ol' Michael decided to basically quit The Beach Boys so he could go back out on the road without the other true, original Beach Boys, but still get billed as The Beach Boys.

Yeah -- because I can't keep track of where I write that stuff.

I think Jim was asking about why the concert made you feel that way

Haha. Yeah Billy was right. I definitely wasn't complaining about what and where and when you write something. I wanted to know why the Mike and Bruce show was an endless bummer for you.

But having said all of that...of all the concerts I've been to in my life, there was only one time a concert *ever* made me sad and literally made me wish I was anywhere but at that concert.

And it wasn't a Brian Wilson concert.

It was a "Beach Boys" concert I went to last weekend.

I've seen you've written this a few times. What's the reason for this?

Gosh. I'm absolutely heartbroken. And it's just so sad, as Brian's group is (and has been) full of such lovely people. What a shame.

Rest in peace, Nick.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

"The "Little Do Scoop" is a great mis-transcription."


I'm going to use that for a song title

That's nothing. When I was about 10 years old, I was chatting with my friend about Beach Boys songs that we liked and we named "Little Deuce Coupe." Then his little brother who was listening got upset and went and told his mom that we were talking about "little loose poops."

Well that sure brings new meaning to your handle, Chocolate Shake Man!

Sorry, I had to...

[Once Upon a Time in Hollywood]

I know this has hardly anything to do with The Beach Boys but I must say that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was another freaking masterwork by Tarantino! I went with my wife and two friends (a husband and wife) to see it and while they were not impressed, I walked out of the theater awestruck. And the awe has only grown in the time since. Really would like go see it again soon.

But my question has more to do with the soundtrack. Does anybody know what version of the Stones' "Out of Time" was used in that great scene near the end? It could possibly be the original version from Aftermath but I'm pretty sure it wasn't. I have a crap memory but I feel like it was the version with strings from Metamorphosis. Anybody know?

Also, when Denny was mentioned during the movie, of course I had to lean over to my wife and say something like, "yes, it's that Dennis Wilson." Which I'm sure she had already put together in her mind, but I love showing off The Beach Boys connection to anything and everything.

[Sunflower]

Are there any rumblings regarding anything from 1969 coming out this year?

There's been some minor stuff, but nothing close to official. Some think there could be a Sunflower box set or even a Sunflower / Surf's Up set, which would be awesome. But I don't know. It would be cool to some physical product this year from the guys, but if the best we can get is downloads (a la last years sets) then so be it. I'll be happy to buy the stuff either way!

And I just realized I didn't answer your question. I would say its about 99% sure that we will get at least a 1969 set this year, judging by the copyright sets they've done since 2013 (for the 1963 material).

["Love And Theft"]

For a new record, there has been very limited conversation about this release in any of the usual online BB's places.

Really seems to be little interest which kinda surprises me as there is not much else happening in the BB's world.

Talk of chart placings seems pointless when even hardcore BB's fans are not particularly bothered.

I agree that there has seemed to be much discussion of this album.

And I think the reason for it is that there isn't much "there" there with this album. I bought it. I'm a weirdo. I like that there are still new solo albums coming from members of The Beach Boys. However, as far as this one is considered, I think a lot of us could've jokingly guessed the track listing before seeing it and gotten pretty close. When the the biggest surprise to me is the fact that the album contains "California Beach" and "Keepin' the Summer Alive" things are looking iffy. It just seems that Mike doesn't want to challenge himself or his audience at all. Now I'm not expecting him to put out something like Dylan's "Love And Theft" or McCartney's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard at this point (or really at any point), but it'd be nice that if he is gonna do solo albums after all this time, Mike could show his supposedly still supple songwriting skills (how's that for alliteration). Nobody needs a new "California Sun" no matter how cute Totten got with the arrangement. And though I actually don't mind the new "Surfin'", what's the point? Or "Summertime Blues", why? It kinda just seems like Mike is kinda proving his detractors right with albums like this. A smattering of remakes, covers and last but not least, covers of songs he's already covered on other albums, almost 40 years ago. With a large coating of surfin', sun and fun.

[KTSA]

Anyways, anybody in the know *cough* c-man *cough* aware of whether Brian was heavily involved in this one or not? I would be surprised to learn if he wasn't. Actually in general I kinda wonder about Brian's participation on KTSA. He's obviously much more audible then he was on L.A. (Light Album) but I wonder if he was involved much instrumentally or vocally especially on the songs he didn't write.

Yes, and yes.
If it was Brian's idea to record a cover, then he was heavily involved instrumentally and vocally, and probably arrangement-wise: besides "Da Do Ron Ron", examples from those sessions are "School Days", "Little Girl", "Jamaica Farewell", "Stranded In The Jungle" (Brian actually produced the basic tracks for those four, under Bruce's "supervision", a few months before the bulk of the sessions started), "Johnny B. Goode", and "Smokey Places". Two that he apparently WASN'T involved with (at least instrumentally) were "I'll Always Love You" and the Bruce-driven re-recording of "Johnny B. Goode" two weeks after the Brian-driven original.

I know this is really bringing back an oldie, but c-man, if you know, could you let us know what the line-up was for this tune, both instrumentally and vocally?

[Musicology]

Also - Wasn't there a lawsuit brought up years ago about counting albums given away with concert tickets as actual sales to be tallied for chart positioning? I can't recall the details, something tells me it involved Prince? Can't remember.

Prince. Musicology. I like the album a lot but it was included in the ticket price and had gotten him his first number one album since like maybe Diamonds and Pearls or something. And after this Billboard changed the rules apparently.

No lawsuit as far as I know though. Just Billboard changing the rules.

Cool, thanks for the info! I thought there was legal action taken...maybe that was something more recent that referenced Prince, someone like DJ Khalid filing suit because of the way his sales were tallied and how he didn't get a #1 placement? I'll look it up when I can, but thanks for the info!

Ah. I did hear about Khaled going into his label offices and kicking up a fuss that he lost the number one spot for his latest album to somebody else. Maybe Tyler the Creator or somebody. Can't remember. But I did not know that there was a lawsuit. I haven't been paying attention to Khaled. I'm a decent hip-hop fan, though I really prefer artists who started in the '80s and '90s (Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Beastie Boys, OutKast), but admit a lot of the current stuff just doesn't do it for me.

[Musicology]

Also - Wasn't there a lawsuit brought up years ago about counting albums given away with concert tickets as actual sales to be tallied for chart positioning? I can't recall the details, something tells me it involved Prince? Can't remember.

Prince. Musicology. I like the album a lot but it was included in the ticket price and had gotten him his first number one album since like maybe Diamonds and Pearls or something. And after this Billboard changed the rules apparently.

No lawsuit as far as I know though. Just Billboard changing the rules.

[Still Cruisin']

Crazy to hear that version of "Make It Big." Count me as another big fan of that tune. Actually while reading this thread I've been listening to Still Cruisin' and I must say I unabashedly like a lot of it. I will totally admit to digging "Still Cruisin'", "Somewhere Near Japan", "Island Girl", "In My Car" and of course "Kokomo."

May I say that The Beach Boys were kinda awesome at that booming late '80s glossy, somewhat over-rawked sound? Shame they didn't put together more actual albums in this time. I think between what Brian was doing, a few things from Al, a few better things from Melcher and Mike and maybe "Run Don't Walk" from Carl we mighta had somewhat classy, somewhat lame, but ultimately fun late '80s Beach Boys album.

A few interesting "Stilll Cruisin'" related tidbits from a 1989 Carl interview:



LK: Why only five new songs on Still Cruisin'?

Carl: I wanted more new songs. Capitol only wanted three, we managed to get five.

LK: Why didn't you include songs like "Chasin' The Sky", which also were on film soundtracks?

Carl: No, that's CBS material, and they have the right to it a few more years. A new Caribou compilation album may come out soon.

LK: Why didn't you write any songs for Still Cruisin'?

Carl: I did write one, with Phil Goldstein, but I wasn't satisfied with the way it turned out in the studio.

LK: When will see a new album of Beach Boys songs?

Carl: Well, we've certainly run out compilations, don't you agree? The new LP should have been called 5 Big Ones (laughs). Perhaps next summer.

LK: So why don't you include songs like "Cool, Cool Water" and "Caroline, No", for example, instead of doing cover versions like "Little Old Lady From Pasadena" and "Little GTO"?

Carl: We have done "Cool, Cool Water" from time to time, and we did "Caroline, No" last year. I would like to do that more, but I'm in a minority in the group. Of course, there are times when each one of us is more active. Sometimes it's Al, and he does more of his stuff, now it's Michael. I hope Brian gets more involved. I spent some time with him in the studio when he recorded "In My Car" and it was great. I like the music, but Brian should collaborate with his peers, not Gene (Landy) and wife. These lyrics: "I'm master of my fate when I accelerate," ... what? (Carl laughs and shakes his head). Gene couldn't hit the right note even if his life depended on it! I said to Brian, "Feel free to call me." But Landy doesn't like me because I say the truth.

Interesting little excerpt right there. Coulda sworn I'd read it before somewhere. Perhaps you had posted it before, HJ.

Regardless, I feel like the song called worked on for Still Cruisin' was "Run Don't Walk" (which later appeared on the Beckley-Lamm-Wilson album Like A Brother). I have nothing to back this up, but I coulda swore I read it somewhere.

Also, it still shows Carl in his heart of hearts wanted to keep The Beach Boys moving forward, but that it seemed like he also was honest with himself that they were pretty much were where they were going to be (i.e. meat and potatoes setlists, not much creativity in the studio). And besides Brian's Paley material, the 1995 Beach Boys reunion sessions and his work with Beckley and Lamm, there really wasn't much to sink your teeth into in Beach Boy land. And for The Beach Boys fan at that time, obviously we weren't gonna hear the fruits of these projects for a while.

[Still Cruisin']

Crazy to hear that version of "Make It Big." Count me as another big fan of that tune. Actually while reading this thread I've been listening to Still Cruisin' and I must say I unabashedly like a lot of it. I will totally admit to digging "Still Cruisin'", "Somewhere Near Japan", "Island Girl", "In My Car" and of course "Kokomo."

May I say that The Beach Boys were kinda awesome at that booming late '80s glossy, somewhat over-rawked sound? Shame they didn't put together more actual albums in this time. I think between what Brian was doing, a few things from Al, a few better things from Melcher and Mike and maybe "Run Don't Walk" from Carl we mighta had somewhat classy, somewhat lame, but ultimately fun late '80s Beach Boys album.

[The Best of Bruce & Terry]

I think Melcher has a distinctive enough voice on a number of his tracks. As I've said, I'm not familiar with the changes his voice may have displayed by the 80s. Those lines in "Somewhere Near Japan" don't sound much at all like Melcher's (in my opinion rather dull and monotone) lead vocals from his 60s tracks.

But am I really the only person who thinks it sounds like Carl singing "my engine's all burned out..., etc." on "Somewhere Near Japan"?

Yes, the timbre of those lines is somewhat different from Carl's other lines. But those other lines are higher notes. The "my engine's.." lines are in a lower register, much more in the mid-range.

I'm open to those lines being Melcher, but if they are, it's Melcher doing a pretty good Carl impression. In the 30 years since that song came out, I don't think I've ever heard much of anyone suggest it's Melcher singing those lines. He very well could be, but I'm guessing most fans have assumed all these years it's Carl, which suggests to me that many agree it sounds enough like Carl to allow many to assume it *is* Carl.

I very much thought it was Carl on that line, Jude.

Also, I'm in agreement that at best his '60s vocals were workmanlike at best. I remember being kinda disappointed when I finally got The Best of Bruce & Terry and realzied that there were not too many Bruce Johnston lead vocals, instead a bunch of nondescript Melcher leads (and maybe a few nicer ones).

And at the same time, while I can see how "Hey Little Cobra" was a hit, it is hard to see how Melcher's lead vocal was good enough to make it that high on the charts. He just had such a bland voice. Listening to him, really does show you how lucky we are as fans with The Beach Boys. Brian, Mike, Carl, Dennis, Al, Bruce and Blondie all have (or had in Carl and Dennis' case) super distinct yet wonderful voices. And in addition, Ricky Fataar and David Marks both have good voices too, though a bit less distinct than other Beach Boys members. And especially in Dave's case, he was really only a kid in his first go-round with the group, so we've really never been able to hear an adult David Marks on a Beach Boys tune. In fact I'm still unsure whether he is vocally on the That's Why God Made The Radio album. The credits say no, but I've heard those may be wrong.

[Looking Back with Love]

So I'm trying to give the album a listen, but I will admit there are so tracks I just can't make it through. But a few thoughts.

First off, I really don't mind "It's OK", "Surfin'" and "Surfin' Safari." They at the least bring something a bit different than the originals. I will also give props for Mike re-doing "Keeping' the Summer Alive" but I don't feel like it works. I don't know why Carl's version never made it big, but this definitely isn't an improvement. But also, can you really compete with a Carl Wilson vocal most of the time? No way.

I do feel as though "California Beach" is growing on me. Harmless fun. At first I had beef with the arrangement being changed, but now I kind agree with changing it from the original "Surfin' USA Part 48" thing it was going for to something different.

The covers? Not for me. I think the idea of Mike doing "Rockaway Beach" is contrived. And just as I would imagine people giving Brian sh*t for covering something and not knowing the original, I can imagine that Mike had no clue about "Rockaway Beach" until his wifeandmanager or Totten or his son or somebody said "hey the Ramones liked you guys and did a beach song."

Anyway, what else do we have then? "Summertime Blues"? I like the track but it's an unconvincing vocal and it's a song that's been done so many times you'd really have to find something new in it to make it alive. Mike also shoulda given the boss and senator vocals to somebody else, as it sounded weird with him answering himself. "On and On and On" is cool in a way as you can feel the link to "Do It Again" but I don't see myself going back to it much, if ever. I'm a huge ska, reggae and dub fan but "Over and Over and Over Again" bored me. It's also weird that he did a reggae arrangement of the song both on Looking Back with Love and now on this album as well. Now the arrangements themselves are a bit different, as are the vocal performances, as the LBWL version beats this one by miles.

One thing I found interesting about "Girl from Ipanema" was how clean and professional Mike's vocal was. I don't particularly like the version of this song that Mike did (sorry guitar fool), but his voice songs like the strongest it has since probably the recording of "Cool Head, Warm Heart" and the like. And then we notice the producer credit goes to Mike's longtime collaborator, Paul Fauerso. This leads me to believe that this was an early 2000s recording that was done around the same time as "Cool Head...", "Daybreak Over The Ocean" as it appears on TWGMTR (minus Brian, Al, Bruce and Jeff's contributions, as obviously those didn't come 'til 2011 or 2012), "Love Like In Fairytales" and the original "Pisces Brothers."

In closing, I just don't get why Mike is putting stuff like this out. I'd give it 2 to 2.5 stars out of 5 because I do derive a bit of enjoyment out of what he does. But I don't understand why he is still sitting on the re-recording of "Big Sur" while also apparently not allowing the release of original Beach Boys version on Made In California. Baffling. I also don't get why he is doing so many covers and self covers. And covers of covers he already did. We know he is the most prolific songwriter, but I have to imagine he has more in his bag than just "California Beach", right? I don't love "Anything for You", but I'd take that over a lot of this new album, and that still hasn't been re-released. Or if he's gonna re-record, why not "Almost Summer"? Or really, honestly while we are at it, get the Celebration stuff re-issued as some kind of anthology and also get Looking Back With Love back out there. It's no masterpiece, but surely it's better than a lot of this stuff. Maybe Mike can get the licensing right to re-release the stuff, or maybe he prefers to keep it away from the digital realm. Who knows?