Curious to hear it, being Charles Manson fan (I really like his singing voice & as musician-songwriter).

Eeek.

I haven’t read through the whole thread so I don’t know if anyone else has said it but man, Dennis’s vocal on “All I Want to Do” is far superior to Mike.  Should have put this version on the original album! https://youtu.be/5OK0rEvqHDQ

I'm curious to know the reasoning why Mike was chosen as the lead vocalist over the original Dennis vocal.  Mike's is sorta interesting, unlike anything else he's ever done, but objectively I just don't think it's as strong as Denny's, and I wonder if Denny just didn't have the self confidence to release that type of vocal for himself at that point, or what the reason was.

Well, actually Dennis is struggling to get this song right. Mike's voice (or technique) in that range is much fuller and strong, so I can see why he got the lead on that. While I like Dennis', it is certainly not as direct and in-your-face as Mike's.

I'd been meaning to say something like this as well Rocker. While I think having a Dennis lead on "All I Want To Do" is freaking awesome, it has made me re-investigate the song, and I have to say that Mike Love is the right singer for it. I think if one is able to try to forget its that litigious, money grubbing goofball you realize that his voice really cuts through on this cut in a way Dennis' voice didn't. It'd be like having a breathy Carl lead on "Heroes and Villains" rather than Brian's lead in my opinion. It just wouldn't work. Or at the least it'd be really different.

["Even Steven"]

A few random thoughts...

"Even Steven" is great. For whatever reason, "Busy Doin' Nothin'" has never been a favorite of mine, but this one just works for me. Really doesn't make sense as they are so similar, but whatever.

"Be Here In The Morning Darling" is wonderful. What is it? Is it an entirely different thing from "Be Here In The Morning"? Or is it a totally different backing track that the same lyrics were supposed to be applied to?

"Been Way Too Long (Sections)" is as awesome as I'd hoped for. Brian was truly in the zone with this tune and it's a shame that it was never truly finished. But what we have from it is amazing and maybe the mystery of never knowing what it quite coulda been works for it in the same way that it does for things like The Beach Boys versions of "Do You Like Worms" and "Child Is Father Of The Man" and this basically leaves them just fine in the form they are now in.

Listening to Brian's chord progressions on things like "I'm Confessin'", "You're As Cool As Can Be" and "Our New Home" never gets old. I wouldn't be mad if there were 500 more things like this in the vault. I still enjoy things like things like "Da Da" and "Heroes And Villains: All Day" from The SMiLE Sessions and "Hide Go Seek" and "Honey Get Home" from Sunshine Tomorrow. Brian at the keyboard pounding out chords just hits the spot for me.

"Passing By" from the legendary re-write sessions is definitely fascinating. Is it good? Yeah. Is it better than what was on the Friends album? In my opinion right at this moment? No. Still glad though to hear a 1971 Brian Wilson lead vocal though. And glad to hear those lyrics. I have to assume though, that the 1971 re-written versions of "Wake The World", "Friends" and "Be Still" have been lost though cuz otherwise they'd have probably been on here too. Also must say how odd it is that Brian wanted to do new versions of songs from one of the group's least successful albums sales wise. Perhaps he just thought that at least those four songs deserved another chance to be heard? Who knows? Also weird that one of the re-writes is of a Dennis song.

Too bad they never finished working on "Rock And Roll Woman" as I think that song was one that works really well for The Beach Boys.

All the Denny stuff is super cool too. Do I ever need to hear whatever "The Gong" is ever again? I'm not sure about that. 

["Passing By - Demo"]

So the most exciting things (for me) just by looking at the titles are as following...

"Passing By - Demo": is this the 1972 recording with lyrics? If so, then I am super pumped for this one.

"Child Is Father Of The Man - Original 1966 Track Mix": been waiting on this one for a while. Don't know why it didn't get put on The SMiLE Sessions or a 1966 copyright set but whatever. I'm cool. Odd that they didn't position it with "Little Bird" on the track listing though to highlight the similarities.

"I'm Confessin'/You're As Cool As Can Be 1": I'm intrigued to see what this is. It's a Brian thing right?

Also, "Our New Home", "Rock And Roll Woman" (just judging by the live video clips that I watched years ago), "Walk On By - 2018 Mix" (probably something like the alternate, extended "Lonely Days", right?) and "Been Way Too Long - Sections" have really got me intrigued.

Super excited for tomorrow!

This sounds absolutely amazing. Jason Fine has an incredible rapport with Brian and has brought about some of the best BW interviews around. I cannot wait for this documentary!

Haven't listen yet but what a lovely thing regardless of how it sounds.

Go Brian and go girls!!

Yeah, I think we just established that there is a guy who exists called Floyd Tucker in LA around the right age to have probably written it. Also, Sweet and Bitter is just copyrighted to Don Goldberg, and likewise Out in the Country is copyrighted to Brian Wilson and Don Goldberg. Mike and Al weren't writers on those songs.

"Out in the Country" is credited to Brian and Goldberg? I thought Brian had nothing to do with that one. When was it recorded anyways?

Has any other info about "Labor Day" ever made itself known? With the state of his voice, it's just kinda tough to imagine how it would sound.

All of this is why that song "Labor Day" is so interesting to me. Apparently this was the last time Dennis ever recorded new material. And also the song's studio sheet supposedly lists the song as having vocal and piano, so it's hard to imagine that if indeed the song is recorded in full, what it could be.

The second group of BW/AP/BBs sessions was in November of that year (for "Soul Searchin'" and "Still A Mystery"), and while Andy states here that his brother Jonathan was involved with those and Bruce wasn't, an eyewitness account by Cindy Lee Berryhill, published in an issue of "ESQ" within a couple months of the session, confirms Bruce's participation (as well as Matt Jardine's), but there's no mention of Jonathan being involved with those November '95 sessions. The track sheets also include notations for Matt's and Bruce's vocals.

I will admit the stuff about Bruce not being there for the "You're Still A Mystery" and "Soul Searchin'" sessions did seem a little odd to me, as it I pretty much surely seemed to hear his voice on the former.

https://mikelove.com/?attachment_id=2456
Is it just me, or is this Shortenin Bread.....

Yeah, definitely not what I was expecting! It's so bizarre, I grudgingly kind of like it. 

I kinda like it too. If it was Brian, I definitely would like it as a quirky Brian thing. So count me in on this one. That doesn't mean it's much more than a trifle, but I don't mind it.

Is it that important in the greater scheme of things. Mr. Desper worked his ass off with Dr. Conner for a FREE book!

Absolutely SMiLE Brian.

["Now let me tell you, Brian's genius music and Mike's just super cool lyrics, it's totally rad!]

^ that didn’t work with me. Just an FYI.

Well OKAY, MISTER MAN!



"Now let me tell you, Brian's genius music and Mike's just super cool lyrics, it's totally rad!"

I'm getting the feeling that we ain't getting a physical release of any unreleased 1968 material this year. The summer was taken over by the useless orchestral disc and it's getting a little late for the classic fall release that would usually come in like October or November. So unless we hear some news soon, I'd assume we will only be getting a December copyright dump in digital only format. Which I admit I wouldn't be heartbroken over, as it's the music that matters to me, but I wouldn't mind that if the stuff gets released, it gets an actual physical release.

Get ready for the fake beards and horrible wigs.

Uh no.

That's not how Quentin T. rolls.

[Pacific Ocean Blue]

Eckhart still has the best "DW" chin in show-biz, but is obviously too old for late '60s Dennis. Too bad "The Drummer" never got made.

I agree. I thought that movie woulda been great. And though I don't think Vera Farmiga really *looks* like Christine McVie, I think she woulda worked really well as her. She has her kinda vibe, in my opinion.

Plus I'm sure a "Drummer" soundtrack woulda gotten us some more Dennis material. And with that I have to say that it's ridiculous that it's been ten years since the re-release of Pacific Ocean Blue, yet there hasn't been a Denny compilation issued since. He has too much great material for it to languish in the vault.

[Smiley]

It seems like Bruce has made grumbly, passive-aggressive comments about a good number of their albums, doesn't it? As HeyJude points out, he has had every opportunity to steer their music wherever it is he thinks it should have gone.

Doesn't he love Smiley Smile? Or is it Wild Honey I'm thinking of?

Pretty sure he's a big fan of both. And I think he's kinda said in a way that he prefers Smiley to Smile, though maybe he just means Smile as it is now and not what it could have been. He has also been a big booster of Sunflower throughout the years.

I don’t have any problem with the lyrics of the early Beach Boys songs. They are pretty tame.
I actually have more of a problem with some of the early Beatles songs.

Care to elaborate? I'm truly interested. I know "Run for Your Life" is a bit rude (though it's ripped from "Baby Let's Play House") but which others give you a problem?

[Friends]

You know, even though I love Friends I can understand what Bruce was saying here. In 1968, this was apparently not what the public was looking for from The Beach Boys, though one could make the argument that the public really didn't want anything from them by this point, besides a retro surf song ("Do It Again"). But then, maybe it truly was the promotion of the band? Who knows? Why for instance was the great work of bands like The Beach Boys and The Kinks being ignored around this era (maybe because of changing from what the public knew them as), even though both were putting out awesome material at the time, while peers like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and whoever also changed quite a bit, yet did incredibly better commercially? It's weird. I guess sometimes maybe it's just your time and sometimes it isn't.

But yeah, as others have stated, if I had to ever had to pick a guy who represented "wimpy" music, it would be one Bruce Johnston. Seriously, put on "Won't Somebody Dance with Me" and tell me if it's the Friends music or Bruce's that is wimpy?

[August 24th]

So does anybody remember Mike's old complaint about Reprise releasing "It's OK" too late into the summer to capitalize on it's hit potential?

Well, 42 years later Mike has the chance to make "It's OK" an even bigger hit than it was (#29 in Billboard in 1976) and he ends up releasing his version on August 24th.

Classic Mike Love right there.

I don't think it makes any difference at this point, but yeah. Was thinking much the same thing.   

Of course it makes no difference. Mike is not gonna have a solo hit single at this point in time, if he ever was in the first place.

[August 24th]

So does anybody remember Mike's old complaint about Reprise releasing "It's OK" too late into the summer to capitalize on it's hit potential?

Well, 42 years later Mike has the chance to make "It's OK" an even bigger hit than it was (#29 in Billboard in 1976) and he ends up releasing his version on August 24th.

Classic Mike Love right there.

While I don't understand the point of why it was done, I don't think Mike sounds bad. His older, weathered voice seems to work pretty well on this one.

Now granted, I was listening from a TV at a low-ish volume. There is likely a slathering of autotune. I also thought the "sum-sum-summer" thing at the beginning was definitely similar to the backing vocals that feature later in the original version of the song.

I have to get back to the point and say I don't understand why this was done though? New, non-holiday album? New single? Why is this gonna get attention if his "Do It Again" single didn't?

[1964]

So overall this is pretty darn good, but I think I'd lose some of the opinionated commentary, and there are also a few facts that you've gotten wrong. Also, CD is digital, so when you're saying something isn't available digitally, perhaps you should say "it's not available for purchase on iTunes, Amazon, etc.”

I'm going to post a few of things that in my opinion should be changed. Also, in addition to those changes, I think it would make sense to remove things like "single mixes" becuz obviously they have already been released.

1964

-"What'd I Say" (live): only released without Beach Boys authorization on an Australian Beach Boys comp if memory serves. I honestly can't believe this never got re-released just based on the fact that it's a good version of a song otherwise unavailable by The Beach Boys at one of their career high points. Seems like an obvious box set inclusion to me.

1966 - SMiLE era

- "Child Is Father Of The Man" (Brian's full mono instrumental mix): self explanatory.

- "Barnyard" (backing track w/ background vocals): somehow omitted from The SMiLE Sessions


1968 - Friends, early 20/20 era

- early 70's Friends remakes; "Passing By", "Wake the World", "Be Still" and "Friends": Stanley Shapiro and Tandyn Almer worked with Brian on these rerecordings, never circulated (perhaps this belongs in 1971 or 1972)

1972 - Carl & the Passions "So Tough", Holland era

- "California Saga: On My Way Sunny Cali-for-nia" (single mix): Released in 1973 as a single! Ergo the single mix. Available on CD on both the UK Ten years of Harmony and Greatest Hits Vol. 3 or whatever it's calleder it's called. Truthfully shouldn't be on list as it's been released.[/b]

- "Cuddle Up" (single mix): rare, but booted (Perhaps not necessary as it's already been released, though it's rarity does merit inclusion perhaps


1975 - early "Brian Is Back" era

- "Come to the Sunshine": Brian's cover of a Van Dyke Parks song, supposed to be lost

- "Carl's Song": unbooted early version of "Angel Come Home"

- "Grateful We Are for Little Children": unbooted early version of "Saturday Morning in the City"

- "In the Back of My Mind" (piano demo): still don't think this exists for sale through iTunes or the like, was a bonus track for the Target release of No Pier Pressure I believe. A beautiful and revealing version with altered lyrics by Brian and features him prominently switching between his more coarse 15 Big Ones voice with the soaring falsetto from his younger voice

1976 - 15 Big Ones, Love You era

 - "Michael Row the Boat Ashore", "Mony Mony", "Rock & Roll Music" ("hot" mix) one suspects that the version on Made In California is at least a re-creation of this verion, "Come Go With Me" (original mix), "Ruby Baby", "Short Skirts", "Running Bear", "10,000 Years Ago", "On Broadway", "Sea Cruise", "We Gotta Groove", "Marilyn Rovell", "Lazy Lizzie", "Hey There Momma", "Let Us Go On This Way" (a capella mix): booted

- "Don't Fight the Sea": unbooted, I assume an early version of the Al song he tried to include on That's Why God Made the Radio? Not true. He offered "Waves of Love" for TWGMTR. He did however, release "Don't Fight the Sea" on his solo album, A Postcard from California. The song featured Brian, Mike, Carl and Bruce, effectively making a Beach Boys track in all but name

- "It's Like Heaven": booted. Recorded with Brian and Marilyn on vocals, I assume it predates the American Spring version (Where on earth have you heard a version with Brian and Marilyn on vocals? I need to hear this


1978 - M.I.U. and Bambu era

- "I'm Begging You Please": Brian demo, much better than almost any of his other original songs released from this year (Really? If we are counting songs that he worked on or reviewed for use in '78, I think "Good Timin'" and "California Feelin'" both rank high above this one

- "California Feelin'" (original mix): more synthy and without Brian (lead) vocals


1980 - Keepin' the Summer Alive and beyond

- "Be My Baby", "Smokey Places", "River Deep, Mountain High", "Greenback Dollar": covers with Brian involvement. Only the first two are booted ("Smokey Places" is booted?



1981

- "Be My Baby",  "River Deep, Mountain High", "Greenback Dollar": covers with Brian involvement.

-"I'm A Man" also recorded. New BW song, not the classic Spencer Davis tune.

1986 - Made in U.S.A. era

-"Wouldn't That Be Cool": a Brian Wilson original, per Alan Boyd. Attempted during Made in U.S.A sessions. Apparently shares similarities with American Spring's "Do Ya" (also co-written by BW)

2012 - That's Why God Made The Radio era

-"I'd Go Anywhere": another Brian track, apparently was at some point part of the "suite"
-"She Believes in Love Again": new version Bruce's tune from the 1985 album
-"Waves of Love": if it was even worked on? Who knows if the Beach Boys (outside of Carl and Al) ever touched it
-supposedly there were like 29 tracks overall recorded for this album. Whether or not any ended up on No Pier Pressure is another question though

[Unleash the Love]

Heard it on Sirius today and thought I'd somehow forgotten about it from Unleash The Love.

It's no improvement on the original and it's very, very heavily produced. If you like It's OK, you won't hate it. But when the original is out there, why bother?

It's not on Unleash the Love. What the hell is it from actually? I have no knowledge of this ever existing.

Honestly, I think the choice of Rob Reiner is great. He's a great actor and a great director and he brings the same type of prestige that Ron Howard brought in he directed his recent movie on The Beatles touring years.

Now surely there are the people who are butthurt over the fact that Reiner was chosen to do this and not Sean Hannity, but once we get past that, it's pretty neat.

To truly get a deep discussion with the guys I think it would have to been done long form over maybe a year with perhaps different sets of people interviewing each guy separately (perhaps Stamos for Mike, Ray Lawlor for Brian, Lou Dobbs for Bruce,  Tim Heidecker for Al ) and then a final get together with all of the guys perhaps moderated by a big celebrity fan. Maybe, say...Elton John for instance?