[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?

So my wife and I had tickets to see Al Jardine tomorrow, but unfortunately a few days ago a I got a call from the venue that it was cancelled. And I've been noticing that nearly everything promoting it has been taken down on Al's website and Facebook and few other places, but it was never really confirmed that it is off. I suppose it is, but the whole thing seemed very random. I'm just posting on here to see if anybody knows what has happened.

I can’t help but think this album would have been a great opportunity for Mike to reclaim “Almost Summer” and bring it back into setlists. Not that a 2019 recording of “Almost Summer” would be particularly revelatory, but it would at least be more interesting than another remake of “Surfin’” and could have introduced casual fans to the song.

It's really, really weird how Mike has excluded that song from pretty much all areas when he has gone back to the well for so many inferior old songs. It's as if he's forgotten about it, or feels it has the cooties. Almost Summer is a surprisingly solid tune, although some of the lyrics probably didn't age all that well.

Agreed with both of you guys. I'm of the opinion that "Almost Summer" is the best "solo" tune of Mike's, though I guess it should be pointed out that a certain Brian Wilson and Alan Jardine also wrote the track. Overall it's nuts the the original recording is not available via iTunes or any of the digital music services, nor any Beach Boys, Brian Wilson or Mike Love compilation. But The Beach Boys have proven themselves to not always be the most sensible bunch.

To paraphrase what someone said back in 2012, the TWGMTR album was much better than it had any right being. That’s really just another way of saying “Whoa, I assumed it wouldn’t be very good, but it’s actually pretty good!”

It’s an anachronism in the BB catalog in a number of ways. It sounds nothing like the most recent BB albums (though those were pretty old), it’s the first album where Brian so heavily dominates writing since “Love You”, it’s missing Carl, it has David Marks on it, the production is generally sort of “soft” for lack of a better way to put it, though it avoids the easy listening/AC smoothness of “Imagination”, it was full of political concessions and backroom negotiations, and I could go on and on. All that factored in, it’s a surprisingly enjoyable and *relatively* cohesive listen.

There’s really not an out-and-out *bad* song on it, and it had been awhile since I could say *that* about a BB album. Mike’s “Daybreak” is innocuous, and Al’s backing vocals definitely punch it up. A few of the Brian tunes like “Private Life….” are a bit slight. There’s too much Foskett in a lot of the vocal stacks. The autotune *is* distracting and unfortunate. But top to bottom, most of the songs are solid, the production is solid if lacking much contrast or extra punch (which is why I don’t mind “Beaches in Mind”). Even some of the slight stuff like “Spring Vacation” is undeniably catchy. The ending suite is great. Sure, it sounds a bit like “Rio Grande” in that some of the fragments sounds kind of smushed together in not the most organic way. But all the fragments are good, and it’s not that they don’t fit together still.

If nothing else, the album answers a question I had occasionally had in the preceding couple of decades: What would it sound like if the other BBs sang on a Brian solo album? TWGMTR is the answer to that question. It’s interesting (in a good way) to hear Mike sing on a Brian/Joe Thomas 2000s production.

I don’t know if anything on the album reaches true greatness; the first two tracks come close, and the ending suite is a high mark unquestionably.

I can’t think of a *ton* of stuff featuring Carl that would have worked well on the album. I think a slightly remixed “Soul Searchin’” could have fit. A re-recording of “They’re Only Words” with Carl’s vocals grafted back on maybe. Al’s “Waves of Love” with Carl would have worked. After that, I don’t know what was or is “in the can” as far as Carl lead vocals. Grabbing stuff like the bland “Where We Are” from the early 80s (or whatever the title is), I wouldn’t have advocated for that. But who knows what else is lurking in the vaults from the 80s and 90s. Does “Grace of My Heart” exist? “Down by the Pier?” That song could be great, or it could suck. I have no idea. I always liked Carl’s little vocal intro on the incomplete “Dancing the Night Away”, but I never liked the rest of the song that much (and it was sorta kinda remade as “How Could We Still Be Dancing” anyway), so that one would have required “Now and Then” levels of reformatting.

But interesting stuff to chew on.

I notice you brought up "Soul Searchin'" a few times, but of course you have to remember that Brian had already issued a version on 2004's Gettin' In Over My Head? While that version is easily my least favorite of the versions I've heard, I can't imagine a scenario would have went back to that in 2011/2012 to put on a new album.

As far as "Baywatch Nights" (or "Dancin' the Night Away".....whatever the official title is) I honestly was kinda expecting it to be on the 2012 Beach Boys album after the album was announced. It seemed like an obvious way to get Carl on the album in a smooth way and in fact was an unfinished Wilson/Love song from when they last worked together. I thought Carl's vocal was beautiful, the backing track was rockin' and I really do love the "somewhere out in Malibu" group vocal. But, alas it was not to be. Maybe because it was forgotten by Brian and everyone else, or maybe because wasn't part of the Joe Thomas material, or who knows. Perhaps it was looked at and even worked on. Maybe we will find out one day.

Lastly, I know we don't know much about "Down by the Pier" except one thing: according to the "Wilson Project" book Brian was not a big fan of this song of Carl's and therefore that is probably one reason why it's remained stuck in obscurity.

[That's Why God Made The Radio]

 I think TWGMTR was likely the last chance for that to happen, and I was a bit surprised they didn't try to integrate Carl into that album at all. Al tried to get "Waves of Love" on there and nobody went for it. They didn't try to use "Soul Searchin'" or something (which hadn't yet come out on "MIC" at that point). TWGMTR ended up being the one BB album Carl isn't on at all.

I was also quite surprised at that. I figure it's either some odd politics (because then maybe there'd be a push for including something with Denny too, and that just means less spotlight for an already unsatisfied-with-his-level-of-input Mike)... or Brian just wasn't emotionally in a space to be able to touch the idea of including his late brothers on a new project with a 10 foot pole. Or a combination of both. It must be. I'm sure they could have excavated some unreleaesed Carl vocal parts/fragments from some project if they really wanted to. I can't believe that there just wasn't anything usable. At minimum, even a wordless Carl or Denny background vocal or two could have been flown in and stuff built around that.

Yeah I agree with Rocker that I just think the group was Brian, Mike, Al, Bruce and Dave in 2011/2012 and That's Why God Made The Radio represented that. There were archive releases to hear Denny and Carl on. I think Brian and Joe (and Mike) were mostly just focused on creating what they thought a 2012 Beach Boys album should be, so likely there was little or no thought  of pulling this song or that song out of the vaults to get a Carl vocal on there. They picked the songs they wanted to work on and I think we got what we got.

Side note: damn shame that The Beatles didn't finish that song just due to time. That whole release should have been delayed in order for them to finish it. Talk about misplaced priorities (which is usually what The BBs have the market cornered on)  

Off topic I suppose, but the only reason "Now and Then" wasn't finished was George Harrison. Apparently he just didn't wanna do it. Time had nothing to do with it.

[right]

Regarding Carl's work on the "Beckley Lamm Wilson" album, while this wouldn't completely save the material, a ground-up re-recording pretty much re-doing everything but the vocals would help quite a bit.

I semi-rediscovered "They're Only Words" when it was playing on the SiriusXM channel last year; I think that one's probably the best one. That would have been a good one to partially re-record with the BBs backing Carl or something.

Even just a remix would help that Carl material to some degree. But re-recordings from scratch with more organic, acoustic instrumentation, and then with Carl's vocals grafted back on, would be interesting to hear and surely less "90s Adult Contemporary" sounding.

The best way to revisit that material would probably be to rework those Carl tracks along with other as-yet-unheard Carl demos/recordings. I've been convinced for quite some time now that his estate HAS to be sitting on some demos and/or other unreleased material that Carl worked on in the 80s and 90s. Obviously, there's some Carl-centric stuff in the BB vaults. But for one random example, I believe there's a post-BB '85 interview where Carl references having written a bunch of additional songs with Robert White Johnson. Surely some demos are around of that stuff. And who knows, maybe some of *that* stuff sounds kind of drippy and AC too. But there's gotta be some interesting Carl stuff to work with. Carl singing background on "This Is Elvis" can't be as good as it gets.

I hear what you're saying, but I think even if this is done, it would be nothing more than a curio. First of all, even though the album was released after Carl's passing, I have to assume that his songs at the very least were probably at least close to finished (if not fully finished) before he died and therefore I think he got the songs right in his mind. So for someone, heck, even Brian, Mike and Al, going in an rejiggering one of these songs would kinda be disrespectful in my opinion unless it was just a straight up cover.

I just think that these "fix up this album or this project" thing that's been going on kind wanders into some weird territory. Like how last year Bowie's Never Let Me Down was somewhat re-recorded to sound "less '80s" because David had talked about from time to time, and had even had one of the tracks remixed for a compilation release in 2008. I've heard differing things about Bowie's involvement in actually getting the project off the ground, but at the least we know recording didn't start until long after Bowie's passing. And now that we have this different version, is it good? I suppose that's in the eye of the beholder. But the problem for me is that Bowie never got to hear any of these re-workings, so I can't take it as any more "definitive" than the original 1987 version. But perhaps it's not supposed to be definitive, but instead is just supposed to be another view of the material in different clothing as it were.

Now perhaps I'm misunderstanding, and if so, I do apologize. And I will say, if the guys ever did another album or something, or if there was some Carl rarities thing and they wanted to amend what I assume to be the somewhat unfinished "It Could Be Anything" (also known as "Where We Are") I think that would probably be okay, if they were given the okay by Carl's kids. But then I go back to this...aren't there better things to do? Probably.

So I'll be the first to say it, I don't hate the unreleased "California Beach" as recorded in the late '70s by The Beach Boys. It's that kinda harmless fluff like "It's a Beautiful Day" that I'm sure the group could still knock out in their sleep if they wanted to. But this remake, egh, I don't know. I feel like a lot of the songs Mike are doing these days are being recorded at slower tempos because his voice isn't up to the challenge for the more "rocking", up-tempo things. But regardless, it definitely pulls back on the punch that the original "California Beach" had. I suppose I need more time to fully decide how I feel, but I think it's fair that we put this song in the "Mike Love trying recapture 1963" bucket with "Camp California", "Goin' To The Beach" and a handful of others.

Tell your Teach, we're gonna make it out to California Beach? OMG.....UGH!

I don’t want to find fault where there isn’t any but I’m not sure what to make of this:

I’ll tell my boss why don’t you tell your teach...?

Am I reading too much into this or is this about a working aged man and a girl in high school?

EoL

That lyric also caught my eye/ear but I guess I forgot about it kinda quickly. But yeah, kinda weird. But not so weird considering this a song originally recorded (and therefore likely composted) not long after "Lazy Lizzie" and "Hey Little Tomboy" from the same group.

So I was sat sideways on from the state for this and could reasonably see what each person was playing.

I’m convinced Bruce’s keyboard either isn’t plugged in or isn’t in the mix at all. When his fingers were on the keys nothing changes. Is he miming? Playing for his own monitors?

Those in the know say he's really playing and that's only in his ear monitor for the most part to help with vocals and whatnot. And apparently if they play "Disney Girls" you can hear it in all its 1980s DX7 glory.

Now don't take any of that as gospel, I may have it slightly (or fully) wrong.

Yeah-there is no doubt that 1990-1997 was really a series of missed opportunities.  The potential was there for something great-but somehow all we got was SIP and Stars and Stripes!!!! Orange Crate Art was the best LP from that stretch of time.  Such a shame that Carl's last recording years were wasted so greatly on mostly mediocre crap.  I do love "Like a Brother" though-it's a hard song to listen to now that he is gone without getting a little teary.

I agree about "Like A Brother" for sure Ian. I also think "I Wish For You" is even better to be honest, especially now as a father.

There was a political moment where Mike implied an American politician (AOC?) wanted to ban air travel which then led on to a Brexit comment that I didn’t quite understand but Bruce certainly enjoyed it 

Ugh. So politics are once again rearing their ugly head into Beach Boys land. Perhaps Mike and Bruce will revamp "Bush vibrations" to "Trump vibrations" for next year's election? Just freaking wonderful.

Thank you so much for these "week in BB history" posts Ian. Please keep 'em coming if you can!

Now the real interesting thing is Carl (?) apparently saying that Mike Love's Celebration project "doesn't mean sh*t." Kinda doesn't jibe with the "go along to get along" Carl we think we know, though I guess I'd say this is still a late '70s quote, so it makes sense.

recording date 3 / 2 / 1974....... a jam ..... no vocals

Hey there Mark! Thank you for the reply, but I'm not sure what you mean here. I know that apparently "Brian's Jam" and "Clangin'" were recorded on that day, but was the basic track for "Ding Dang" recorded that day? Or is "Brian's Jam" the basic track for "Ding Dang"?

I'll have to dig around for the exact source on this, but engineer Earle Mankey said the first thing he ever recorded with Brian was Ding Dang. Apparently it was a Carl session, Brian happened to be there, and one way or another they ended up recording that too just to make the most of the studio time. If "Is This Really Love" was that song Carl was working on, the June 10 '74 date would make sense. IIRC Earle's first session with the Beach Boys in general was Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me in January that year so it'd have to be '74 at the earliest. And I don't think it could be later than that, because Brian speaking at the start sounds like his younger voice.

Not sure on the exact date but there's an interview with Brian from early '74 where he talks about working with Roger McGuinn recently (also mentions him owning a secret laser beam), so Roger's recollection of it being the Landy era is probably mixed up. There's also the "Brian's Jam / Clangin'" session at Brother in March which I think is another variation with no vocals that exists in the vaults. Whatever the date, the Ding Dang on Love You is from before Rollin' Up to Heaven and the Caribou trip for sure. In the '76 live rehearsal they sing the "alley oop" parts from Rollin' that don't feature in Ding Dang.

Edit:

This is from David Leaf's book (in the context of stuff Brian did around '74) -

Brother Studio engineer and record-producer Earle Mankey remembers the first time he worked with Brian in the mid-70s. "At one session of Carl's, somebody said to Brian, 'Let's cut a track,' and he said, 'I have this great song, it's called "Ding, Dang."' It was a legendary track, and it was around, as I understand it, for a long time."

This is from an article in '77 -

Earle remembers the first time he did a session with Brian. "About a year and a half ago, before 15 Big Ones was released we did some basic tracks and Brian was very tense in the studio. We recorded a version of 'Ding Dang', and a few weeks later waxed a song called 'Back Home.'
"Things started clicking," Earle recalls. "Carl came into the booth when we were playing back the track and said, 'Earle! This is the way it used to be! This is it! You're seeing it! It's happening now!"

Wow, thank you so much wjcrerar!

However, I do need to ask about this interview where Brian talks about McGuinn. I feel like I have listened to or read like two or three Brian interview from 1974. Do you know where this one comes from?

So, I've noticed that at least for the first two decades of The Beach Boys career, we've pretty much nailed down the recording dates and sessions and whatnot for nearly every song that we know of. However, there is one song that it has seemed we've never been able to figure out the specifics on. And that song is "Ding Dang."

Some say it was recorded in 1973, but then I see something about a session for a June 10, 1974 session. And then the vocals, I'm not sure I can place them. Just by my feeling, they feel mid to late '70s-ish, but perhaps I'm wrong. Also, there is the issue of the very, very similar "Brian's Tune" (also known as "Rollin' Up to Heaven" which was recorded late in '74. So was this recorded after or before "Ding Dang"?

Plus I'm pretty sure you have the song's co-writer, Roger McGuinn saying that it was written together while Brian was trying to duck Gene Landy and his crew, which obviously wouldn't make sense if the song was already done and dusted by mid 1974.

I suspect this might just be something that is left vague, but I figured I'd ask anyways just to see if anybody knows anything.


Anybody got any concrete info on when this one was done.

I would go see a "Brian Wilson Orchestra" show, as long as they made clear that Brian wouldn't be there, and it would essentially be a "Tribute" type of show. But I'd want it to be the "original" band from 1999 to the early 2000's...which would include Scott Bennett, among the others. I know, I know....that's a very controversial thing to say or even think about.

I don't think Bennett's on-stage contribution was or is integral enough to *need* him to be on stage. The band had enough changes just in the first couple of years that I don't feel a need for a replication of that original lineup. I don't need Joe Thomas and Steve Dahl, and I think D'Amico is as good on drums as Hines or Sucherman were. I might actually prefer D'Amico. I think Lizik is a fine bassist but has never been super to my taste, so if, say, Al fronted an amalgamation of BW backing guys, I wouldn't mind him bringing along Ed Carter or something like that.

I think Al (in conjunction with maybe Blondie and/or Marks) could front a pared-down version of Brian's band that's more affordable, consisting of Al, Matt, Darian, Probyn, D'Amico, some bassist (Carter or Lizik, etc.), and maybe one more ancillary guy to play keys and/or guitar. All of Brian's guys are great, but I think a slimmed-down Al-fronted tour could work without an extra percussionist, guitarist, keyboardist, and woodwind player, especially if he did a bit more Al-centric and Brother-era material and a bit less of the Summer Days/Pet Sounds sort of stuff.

My comments on Scott are based on some YouTube videos, now no longer available unfortunately. Watching the interplay between Scott and Taylor during Marcella was part of the fun in watching it. He's also a damn good guitar player.

He's also a convicted rapist, so why are we even going down this road?

This is by no means a defense for Scott's actions. Consider the notion that video surveillance were as prevelant in the 60's-80's as it is now. Where would Mike Love and Dennis Wilson be now?

I'll just leave that there.

There's been some....iffy....stuff said about the guys from time to time, but I think this is too much RubberSoul. I personally think you are usually a great poster, but this is beyond the pale. I think at the very least we can give Mike and Denny the benefit of the doubt that they aren't rapists.

["Brian, Melinda and the Wilson family would like to thank all of you for your wonderful notes and good wishes. Brian looks forward to feeling better and seeing you again this Fall. Love & Mercy."]

I'm sure somebody has beaten me to it, but in case nobody has seen the Brian Wilson Facebook page just posted this:

"Brian, Melinda and the Wilson family would like to thank all of you for your wonderful notes and good wishes. Brian looks forward to feeling better and seeing you again this Fall. Love & Mercy."

So I think it's reasonable to think that maybe Brian's getting some much needed rest and maybe some kinda treatment and that he will be back doing what he does soon and back on the road in the fall.

I think I speak for everyone here that all we want is for Brian to be of sound mind and body, at least as much as a 77 year old man can be. If he doesn't feel up to touring and/or recording, so be it. And if he feels best still getting out there and touring and maybe recording some new stuff, that's wonderful too. He's given us so much over his life that just his presence in today's world is good enough for me.

You know, I'm thinking that for those who are very worried (count me among them) it could be that Brian just mentally knew he couldn't handle these upcoming dates. He just didn't have it in him. I remember when I was 19 I knew that I wasn't going to be able to handle another college semester away from home. I freaked, I guess I'd say I had a breakdown. And that was that. I dropped out (just for that semester) and later went back to school after getting my head back in shape. Or shoot, just while typing this, perhaps it was another 1964 plane type deal for Brian. He just realized he couldn't do it. The brain is a crazy thing and who knows what pushes us to certain points.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but who knows?

Hope he’s ok. He does not look healthy at all .

Really? I think Jeff looks pretty good. He's 63.
As for Bruce, he and Mike have looked and dressed like old men for a decade and a half. They look like they're living at Del Boca Vista with Jerry Seinfeld's parents. But they're in their late 70s, so...

This is my favorite post ever

YES YES YES!!

Also, Bruce gave me a pen. But he really wanted it back. Kinda messed up.

[Songs from Here & Back]

In some cases, he's literally dusting off old recordings (e.g. "Cool Head") and just sticking them on albums.

In the case of "Cool Head" I will say it's one case of Mike getting it right. He got a good recording of it, which is probably his best "solo" song in like 2003, and released it on The Beach Boys' Songs from Here & Back in '06 and instead of screwing it up over a decade later, like he did with some of the other material from around that time, he left well enough alone.

[Unleash The Love]

It's interesting that Mike hasn't sought out a Terry Melcher-type collaborator to continue to write new material that much. Yes, there are a few actual originals (or newly polished-off songs) on the recent albums. But beyond the glut of cover versions and BB re-recordings, most of the "originals" on the albums have been songs written decades ago.

One would have thought that Mike's continual stated desire to "write songs from scratch" alone in a room with Brian would have sprung at least in part by a desire to write new music in general. Yet, we don't see him seeking out alternate avenues to write a ton of material with other writers (at least in terms of what's released). It tends to reinforce the feeling some fans have that Mike's "alone in a room" thing with Brian had more to do with taking issue with *others* writing with Brian and getting writing credits/royalties.

Agreed that it's a shame that now that he is finally putting out new albums that he either hasn't written new material to put on them, or at least taken older unreleased stuff and reworked it for this new one. Whatever we wanna say about Unleash The Love, at least he was finally getting some of his his own better material finally out there on his own album ("Cool Head", "Daybreak" in an arrangement more like the First Love version, "Too Cruel" and "I Don't Wanna Know"). One would think that he has more unreleased (or at least super rare) material that is work another look, but perhaps not, and that's why we end up with one "new" original that is around 40 years old ("California Beach") and a bunch of covers and re-records (and even some re-recorded covers apparently).