I saw the band last night in Montreal (greatest hits live) and tonight in Ottawa (PS).  I was really looking forward to the Greatest Hits shows because of what people have been saying about Brian seeming bored by the PS songs.  I was a bit nervous about the PS show also because it was the fourth night in a row for them and in my experience Brian is usually more into things on the day after a break.  Anyway, I was kind of wrong on all fronts.  

Greatest Hits (Montreal, November 22):  the band sounded great, as always, but they didn’t seem to be having as much fun as I know they can have.  The little set of deep cuts (Salt Lake City, Wake the World/Add Some Music To Your Day) with Wild Honey, Sail on Sailor and Do it Again sounded great.  After that, Brian said “now we’re going to play Pet Sounds” and everyone looked quite caught off guard.  Al smoothed it over and they went on, but it just seemed like everyone was having a slightly off night.  Not that they didn’t sound good - they sounded amazing, as always, but there was just a little something missing.  Al covered for a lot of Brian’s singing, but there were some moments where there were little hiccups, like at the beginning of Surfin USA, where Brian just didn’t sing, and Al had to come in halfway through the second line.  Things like that.  Not a big deal, but they had definitely had better nights.  The fact that the crowd was really, really lame didn’t help (and is also very unusual for Montreal audiences, which are usually pretty lively).  

Pet Sounds (Ottawa, November 23):  As much as I was annoyed by the lame Montreal audience, I was pleasantly surprised by the Ottawa audience, which was uncharacteristically colourful.  The band seemed to be in a better mood.  They knocked all the PS songs out of the park.  Al continued to do a lot of covering for Brian - actually, I have to say, Al is carrying a hell of a lot of these shows.  His voice sounded a little raspier than it had the last time I saw them (about 14 months ago) but he still sounds and looks amazing.  Overall the energy was great and the vibe was really fun.  When Al’s wife and the opening band are dancing at the side of the stage, you know it’s a good night!  

Some other observations:  

Rob Bonfiglio:  I know some on here are not fans, but I actually really liked him.  He does sometimes stuggle to hit the very high falsetto, but I very much appreciate the fact that he just sings his parts nice and straight, rather than embellishing them or singing in an affected way.  He sounded better tonight than last night, I thought.  But yeah, I have very little to complain about with him.  He’s a solid singer and seems to fit in well with the band.  

Blondie:  he clearly really enjoys the spotlight and is having a lot of fun up there.  It’s easy to get distracted by his colourful stage presence or funny mannerisms but at the end of the day, I’m going to say it in caps because I feel that strongly about it, BLONDIE IS AN ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE SINGER.  His voice is clearly a gift from God, and his phrasing knocks me out every time I hear him.  I know he’s had a succesful career as a sideman but how he never became truly famous as a singer is something I don’t understand.  

Darian:  I have loved Darian from the first time I saw Brian’s band and heard him sing Darlin’.  Anyone who has the inspiration to play Rhapsody in Blue over the ending of Fun, Fun, Fun is a musical genius in my books.  

And the big guy.  I feel very sad for Brian because he’s obviously got very limited mobility these days.  He walked out with help, but he was really hobbling at some points and was very slow on a small set of stairs to the stage.  He also seems very tired.  Of course, he has every right to be; I’m sure if I had had back surgery six months ago and then went on tour I’d be tired too.  Having said all that, when he wants to sing, he can sing well.  His voice was VERY strong tonight, and as many others have noted, he sings Love and Mercy super-well.  I suspect it takes a lot out of him to sing like that, though, and he can’t sustain it for an hour and a half.  I had the feeling he was in pain.  By the end of the show he was shifting in his chair and didn’t seem too comfortable.  I can recall times in my life when I was in a lot of physical pain and at times like that, even talking normally can seem like an effort.  So I kind of wonder if that’s a factor with Brian.  I will say that to my eyes, he didn’t actually seem bored during the PS songs.  He sang them with a strong voice and good pitch, just struggling a bit with the higher notes in God Only Knows.  As much as it makes me sad to see him struggling with health issues, I have endless respect for him.  Under ideal circumstances, touring must be very taxing, and Brian definitely is not working with ideal circumstances.  I know it’s been said before, but he must be tough as hell.  As long as he wants to be out touring, I will go see him and feel lucky that I’m able to do so.  

I just read the foreword, called "Call us the Guardian Angels", which should tell you something right there, on Amazon.  "The Beach Boys stayed alive on the back of Mike Love's charismatic lead singing and hard-working stage presence, becoming widely respected for their constant touring and great concerts". 

Are you ****ing kidding me? 

I guess Carl's singing had nothing to do with it.  Nor did his producing, arranging, guitar-playing or band-leading. 

I bought it and read it. I’ll admit it is entertaining and interesting but I wish it didn’t leave such a bitter aftertaste-the portrayal of Dennis and Carl are almost wholly negative (Mike only positive). Obviously this is Rocky’s experiences but the book needs some balance. A few tacked on words about how Carl And Dennis were not that bad just didn’t cut it

Can you let us know what it says about Carl?  I'm interested, as I've almost never seen anything negative about him.  I don't want to shell out money for this book, for reasons that are probably obvious, but I have to admit I'm curious about this book's spin. 

I don’t know.  Just wanted to say that the live version on MIC is unbelievable. 

I think they need to stop the Pet Sounds shows.  Admittedly, I went a bit crazy when they started the tour and have seen it...um, seven times, but it's not because I particularly want to hear Pet Sounds, it's because I came to my BB fandom late in life and want to see Brian and Al as much as I can while I can.  After seven shows, I'm a little tired of PS, so I can only imagine what it must be like for Brian and the band.  Also, PS is such an emotionally-charged album that I would think performing it would either mean going through those emotions - night after night - or kind of tuning it all out.

I'm seeing them in a couple of weeks - one night is the Greatest Hits show and the next night is Pet Sounds, and will report as to whether there's any difference in energy between the shows. 

I don't know.  I listened to the whole thing and I think that Brian didn't actually sound bored or disengaged, he just gave simple, one-word answers.  I thought I heard some slight interest or feeling in some of those yesses or nos.    Anyway, the man is a 76-year old legend with well-known issues.  If the interview doesn't go the way you'd hoped, suck it up.  It's not like Brian was being awful.  Bottom line, he did technically answer all of the questions.  The hosts should have just let the whole thing go with some grace. 

On the other hand, I guess this helps ensure that mindless idiots won't be buying tix, which isn't a bad thing

Oh man, this is painful.  The thing is, if you’ve watched or read as little as one or two interviews with him, you realize very quickly that Brian just answers questions.  As in, he’s just going to give you the answer that’s in his head, and not make up some bulls!@t that sounds good.  If you ask him, “do you enjoy knowing that your music had a big impact on so many people’s lives” or whatever, the answer is going to be “yes”.  Period.  Because that’s the truthful answer. 

It’s really sad that they think he was being rude because I bet Brian just thought he was doing a good job of answering the questions. 
 

[quote author=Bicyclerider link=topic=26093.msg640169#msg640169 date=1535225879

I’m surprised there hasn’t been more responses to the poll.  How many members does the board have?  This should be something everyone, even just lurkers and readers who usually don’t post, could participate in.
[/quote]

In my case, the only reason I didn’t reply to this one was that I honestly couldn’t pick a top ten.  A top twenty, sure, but top ten was too hard.  Too many great songs. 

On a more pedantic note, could we please change the title of this and the other threads to definitive, not definite?  It hurts my eyes every time I see it. 

Happy birthday Al.  Keep rocking.

The title should be "definitive", not "definite".  

1.  Wild Honey
2.  Smiley Smile (due to Good Vibrations)
3.  Carl and the Passions
4.  Surf's Up
5.  Pet Sounds
6.  20/20
7.  Sunflower
8.  Summer Days...and Summer Nights!!
9.  Surfer Girl
10.  Keepin the Summer Alive

I deeply resent that official live albums are excluded.  Beach Boys In Concert would have been my number two pick.  

I've seen both bands a few times in the last years and I would say Brian, Mike and Bruce are all struggling vocally. Al is incredible. 

I saw Mike and Bruce in august 2015, May 2017, August 2017, and July 2018. At the show last month, his singing was just not great. Very very nasal and his singing was quite flat in parts. And I say that trying to be as objective as possible.

I saw Brian in June 2015, a ton of times on the first leg of the PS tour in 2016, and most recently in September 2017. As we all know he has good and not-as-good nights but yes, his singing has declined markedly since C50.

The reality is that singing is very physical and age takes a serious toll. There aren't many singers in their mid- to late-seventies that can compete with their younger voices.

I'm perplexed as to how Mike, who tours all year and brings in a ton of money, could be either too bored or so interested in making more money that they'd want to go for this "Kokomo" theme.

Hopefully investors will do their due diligence and look back at past "Kokomo"-related branding failures. And, as I mentioned, back in the 90s Mike could use the "Beach Boys" name for such projects, whereas now he can't.

The Beach Boys have generally just not had the branding success that the Beatles or even Jimmy Buffett have had, for whatever reason. But hey, they did make a BRI-approved singing toothbrush!

HeyJude, is that from your own collection? It is amAzing! When is this from and were there other songs? 

On a more serious note, I often wonder why there hasn't been a bigger marketing push for BB merchandise in the way that the Beatles, Zeppelin etc...have done. Think about stores like Hot Topic, FYE, even Target - you can always find fairly generic t-shirts with the Stones' mouth logo, Zeppeling shirts, Bob Marley, so on but I guarantee you will NEVER find a BB shirt. Why is that? They're certainly as much of a classic band as any of the others, and God knows there can't be any worry about "diluting the brand". So what gives, any thoughts?

Some nice sounding clips on You Tube of last nights performance in front of 30,000 plus in Montreal.

This article says that Mike made a joke about there being no Trump in Canada. Then again, it also describes Pisces Brother as a "superb" song, so maybe we should take it with a grain of salt. https://m.quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/07/24/the-beach-boys-surfer-habilement-sur-la-vague-des-belles-annees_a_23488355/

One more comment: they HAVE to stop doing the schtick with bringing girls up on stage to dance during Barbara Ann. Especially when Totten plays guitar while it's being held by a hot girl...come on, it's 2018. This is cheesy and embarrassing and sexist. 

Well i sure wouldn't mind if a gorgeous girl joined me onstage for a song every night.
But if it would make you happy, we could have a good looking guy join Scott for the solo some nights.

Nothing to do with guys or girls. It’s tacky and it’s continued moves like this since the 80s that keep the BB as B list entertainers on the party / state fair route when their musical output matches the A listers. Some fans are fine with that others are not.

Yep.

Some nice sounding clips on You Tube of last nights performance in front of 30,000 plus in Montreal.

This article says that Mike made a joke about there being no Trump in Canada. Then again, it also describes Pisces Brother as a "superb" song, so maybe we should take it with a grain of salt. https://m.quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/07/24/the-beach-boys-surfer-habilement-sur-la-vague-des-belles-annees_a_23488355/

One more comment: they HAVE to stop doing the schtick with bringing girls up on stage to dance during Barbara Ann. Especially when Totten plays guitar while it's being held by a hot girl...come on, it's 2018. This is cheesy and embarrassing and sexist. 

I saw them on Saturday at Kemptville Music Festival and the setlist on Setlist FM is accurate, I believe, as is Juice Brohnston's post immediately above. No surprises, but it was a festival show so I wasn't expecting any.

The band sounded good but Mike's voice is really not what it used to be. It's to be expected from a 76 year old man (only Al seems to defy time) but the fact remains, it's not great. For all the criticism I have read of Brian's singing, I can't say Mike's is any better at all. Again, I don't mean this with any disrespect as it's a natural aspect of aging, and Mike and Bruce's punishing tour schedule can't help. Just my observation having seem them a couple of times since C50.

Brian is using a wheelchair on stage now - https://www.facebook.com/alanjardine/posts/1946717888719830

He looks quite animated, which is great. 

I’m a little disturbed by a number of comments on here about the use of wheelchairs.  And this has nothing to do with Brian. For all I know a wheelchair might not help with brian’s health issues so that’s besides the point. But for those that do need a wheelchair, whether temporarily, permanently, or in specific situations, there’s nothing shameful or alarming about using one.  A number of comments here suggest that Brian might “not want to be seen” in one or that fans “might be alarmed” to see him in a wheelchair.  This kind of attitude perpetuates the stigmatization of people that use wheelchairs or mobility devices. 

The jazz giant Clark Terry was often in a wheelchair in his last years and, I believe, performed live while using a wheelchair.  Instead of seeing that and feeling uncomfortable for whatever reason, or worrying that he’s on the decline, we should all take our hats off to someone who has physical or mobility issues but uses whatever tools are available (wheelchair, walker, what have you) to allow them to do what they want to do.  That’s called kicking ass, and it’s not something to be ashamed of. 

Marcella, I was one of the people who made some wheelchair comments. I in no way meant that using a wheelchair is shameful or anything like that. But it's the way people react, and I was saying a real possibility that Brian or one of his staff thought people would react to a wheelchair. I wasn't saying it was correct to do so. People reacted when he had to be helped onstage. There's nothing shameful in needing help, either. I'm probably not explaining myself well, but I do apologize if I implied that using a wheelchair is anything to be ashamed of.

I completely understand what you're saying, and I wasn't calling out any one comment, just the idea that people could react negatively if they saw Brian in a wheelchair. I understand that the paparazzi will spin something like that into a story on Brian's decline or whatever, but frankly, so what? If B-list magazines and whatever "camps" want to suggest that Brian shouldn't be touring - well, as many have pointed out, that's been happening for years, and it doesn't seem to hold any sway with Brian. My point was just that people should be able to use whatever mobility device or medical assistance they need in order to let them do the things they want to do, without worrying about what anyone else thinks.

And on an entirely separate note but still related to this thread, a huge thank you to Hey Jude for keeping the list of concerts updated.  I don’t listen to the radio so I don’t always get news about concerts in my area.  I saw your comment about a show being added in November and it turns out it’s in my town!  Went online the next day as soon as the presale started and got second row.  Thanks. 

I’m a little disturbed by a number of comments on here about the use of wheelchairs.  And this has nothing to do with Brian. For all I know a wheelchair might not help with brian’s health issues so that’s besides the point. But for those that do need a wheelchair, whether temporarily, permanently, or in specific situations, there’s nothing shameful or alarming about using one.  A number of comments here suggest that Brian might “not want to be seen” in one or that fans “might be alarmed” to see him in a wheelchair.  This kind of attitude perpetuates the stigmatization of people that use wheelchairs or mobility devices. 

The jazz giant Clark Terry was often in a wheelchair in his last years and, I believe, performed live while using a wheelchair.  Instead of seeing that and feeling uncomfortable for whatever reason, or worrying that he’s on the decline, we should all take our hats off to someone who has physical or mobility issues but uses whatever tools are available (wheelchair, walker, what have you) to allow them to do what they want to do.  That’s called kicking ass, and it’s not something to be ashamed of. 

Glad that Brian seemed in a good mood, but I’m concerned about him too.  I don’t know anything about back problems but if mobility is an issue, wouldn’t a wheelchair be worth considering?  It seems safer than being carried. 

The thread about the group's second-best songwriter got me thinking about the River Song, which I think is a straight-out-of-the-park gorgeous song, production, performance, etc... Knowing that it was co-written by Dennis and Carl, it made me wonder if there are any other songs written ONLY by the two of them. I can't think of any BB songs, don't think there's anything by the two of them on Carl's two solo records, and am not familiar enough with POB (I know...I'll get to it eventually!) to know if there were other songs co-written by just C and D.

If River Song is an example of what they could do together, is it ever too bad they didn't work on more stuff!

Dennis by a mile. No disrespect to the others but imo Dennis should merit the #2 spot just based on his contributions to Sunflower alone.

Agreed. In some ways I’d call him 1a rather than 2 because he was on Brian’s level although in a different style.

There is no one on Brian's level. Sure, Dennis wrote a handful of excellent songs that are musically very interesting, but he is nowhere near Brian's level. Brian is arguably the best songwriter in all of pop/rock, so to suggest that Dennis is close to that is massively overstating Dennis' output.

I think the OP had it right in saying Brian is so wildly talented that anyone else in the band is a very, very very distant second. Everyone else wrote some great songs (Feel Flows, LPR, the River Song, lady Lynda, Disney Girls are ones I'd highlight), many of which I would argue are quite interesting in that they have unexpected elements like unusual chord progressions or great bridges or what have you - which was probably partially the result of being exposed to so much of Brian's style. Brian's songs are just so great that I suspect it pushed the others to really deliver when they wrote stuff.

[I'm also sick and tired of Dennis and Carl being relegated to being the "dead guys." They meant a whole lot more to the Beach Boys and their success than just being footnotes]

Why does the public continue to dwell on events that happened decades ago, especially with things that people got over and left in the past in their own lives? This isn't just "dirt," it's archeological dirt. I hate seeing the Wilson brothers' past problems constantly dredged back up, especially when both Carl and Brian moved on. Yes, those events in Australia happened, but they're only a small part of the story.

Dear members of the press, please stop asking people with known drug agendas (anti or pro) about these events. The same goes for serial killer questions regarding events 50+ years in the past. Stop pretending that gossip is newsworthy. Thank you.

I'm also sick and tired of Dennis and Carl being relegated to being the "dead guys." They meant a whole lot more to the Beach Boys and their success than just being footnotes.

Ok, rant off.

Yes!  Pretty much every article written about the BB these days refers to Dennis as "the one that drowned in 1983" and Carl as the one that died of lung cancer in 98.  Like that's all that's worth mentioning about them.  How about mentioning that Carl ran the band for many years and was the lead vocalist on arguably their most famous songs? 

Mike understandably fails to mention that perhaps if he hadn't thwarted the Wilson brothers' more progressive musical direction after 1975, iconoclastic as it may have been, in favor of commerciality at all costs, they wouldn't have been so frustrated and felt a need to increasingly turn to hard drugs to escape such a creatively stifling professional situation.

I’m not a Mike apologist, and I hate that he badmouths dead relatives and bandmates, but blaming him for the Wilsons’ drug use is really unfair, in my opinion. 

Happy birthday Brian, and loads more!