There is a bit of a sense of trying to sell the viewer too hard on Brian's genius though some of these interview clips; a bit like a McCartney doc.

Despite the generous amount of cheerleading from interview subjects, I don't know how this film would play to non-fans; I don't know if it gets deep enough to really fully *show* his genius and talent.

This is my only issue with this documentary. I know this was less of an informative documentary and it was meant to pull on your heartstrings (which I think it did perfectly), but how I wish someone like Philip Lambert had been interviewed even to show up for just 3 minutes on film explaining WHY those chord changes are genius...sprinkle in a little bit of music theory (or whatever you want to call it) just to help back up the claims. It's one thing to keep saying "genius" over again, but it's another to quickly show why Brian has a level of talent that has hardly been topped (if it ever has) by other songwriters. Lambert was great at doing just that in the Songwriter documentary.
______

BTW the iTunes Extras are really cool. And by "Extras" it is just one full 15 minute piece that has some extra car, other footage, and some interviews. There is a really beautiful segment that shows a lot of Audree Wilson photos/footage that I have never seen before, and overtop that montage Audree is heard on a very crisp recording singing wonderfully the tune "Is It True What They Say About Dixie" (I'm sure others here know of this recording but I have never heard it before) - really funny dialogue between her and Brian. The 15 minute clips ends rather abruptly.

Highlight of this segment was after spending time at Hawthorne High Brian yells to Jason "I wanna split after this, I've seen enough of this damn place!"

https://consequence.net/2021/11/brian-wilson-long-promised-road-soundtrack-right-where-i-belong-stream/

'Nuff said!

Thanks for linking that!

Tracklist for the album:

01. Right Where I Belong
02. I’m Goin Home
03. It’s Not Easy Being Me
04. Must Be a Miracle
05. Slightly American Music
06. It’s O.K.
07. Rock & Roll Has Got a Hold On Me
08. The Night Was So Young
09. Honeycomb
10. Long Promised Road
11. In My Room Live from the Ryman Auditorium
12. I’m Broke

Thanks, Aomdiddlywalla!!

While I love the majority of the track (and really think it is one of the better compositions/recordings of Brian's solo career), I do wish that Brian had done a couple more takes for that opening and re-occuring line "For me, the loves, that's what the music really is". The "is" (at least I think it is supposed to be "is"?) is completely warped and distorted (I think both vocally and via audio manipulation to the point you can't really tell what he is singing. Not trying to nitpick it, but for such an incredible song it seems like a vast oversight.

Outside of that, the production is perfect - the tone of that piano works so well against Brian's vocal, and I love the buildup.

Can't tell you how blessed we are as fans of The Beach Boys to get all these new songs, this new documentary, and who knows whats around the corner.

[it's also a slightly funny moment when Brian tells Jason to park in the handicapped spot and Jason is hesitant but Brian says he parks there all the time]

The Cadillac moment is fun.

 I also got a kick out of Brian's excitement about seeing Vanna White at the deli.

Speaking of the Beverly Glen deli, it's also a slightly funny moment when Brian tells Jason to park in the handicapped spot and Jason is hesitant but Brian says he parks there all the time.  It kind of comes off as humorous in the sense of "rock star parks wherever the hell he wants."  At the same time, as a gentleman in his late 70s with back and knee issues, Brian would almost certainly be entitled to a CA handicapped placard if he or his people were to obtain a note from his physician.

I didn't notice that part at all! Must look for that on my second viewing.

According to the documentary’s official Instagram, the soundtrack comes out next Friday.  I asked about it under the most recent post.

From the Long Promised Road thread. No doubt the new song will be on there as well as (hopefully) all the stuff Brian was recording in the studio in the film.

Absolutely gorgeous, Rab! Let's hope someday that it (the Dennis biopic) will no longer be non-existent. When that day comes, the poster is ready already!

Thanks! What a dream it would be for that to become a reality. It's tough, because you don't want Hollywood bungling his story, but I think his music is highly underrated and should be heard by more people - and a biopic would be a great vessel for that.

Overall this was an incredibly unique, informative yet emotional, very high quality documentary. I don’t really agree that this doc follows the usual structure of other BW documentaries - while it does carry the same themes, I think the structure is something that has never been attempted in a BW doc before. While the film is somewhat chronological to Brian’s life, it also doesn’t really feel that way because the film is cleverly broken up with the car and deli segments (which sometimes those conversations have literally nothing to do with The Beach Boys). I mean, take the Vanna scene from the movie haha, there is nothing like that in any other Beach Boys related documentary. On top of that, they play ‘Long Promised Road’ and ‘It’s Ok’ over many different parts of the movie - pretty much most (if not all, this movie excluded) BW/Beach Boy documentaries only play certain songs when are relevant to the period in which they are talking about.

And I think the usual themes are a necessity of a BW documentary: imagine a film about Brian’s life that didn’t talk about Pet Sounds, or his drug use, or his redemption? It would be an incomplete story. But this film takes those themes and makes such a unique narrative out of them.

What was most unique about this documentary is the amount of time they spent playing/talking about songs that Brian didn’t even write! I mean, that alone shows how this film stands alone from any other Brian Wilson documentary. The name of the movie isn’t a BW song, the movie closes with Brian and his band covered that song. I don’t know why they did that, and it is out of the norm, but it works! And it works really well.

What I LOVED about this film was that it just shows Brian being Brian. He is at times scared, hilarious, tired, energetic. He is also really mentally sharp. This film just shows Brian as he is - not who we think he is, or who we expect him to be. That alone makes this a required viewing for any fan - as there has been so much speculation and bullshit information about the man (especially on these forums) - yet this movie helps break those myths.

My only complaint about the film is the gushing about Pet Sounds material - it almost seemed forced. And this is coming from someone who does think that Pet Sounds is the greatest set of music ever composed. So perhaps it isn’t something I should complain about - I only saw the movie once so perhaps I will have a different opinion on the second viewing.

Clearly the film was more about Brian and his brothers, but Mike’s lack of presence in the film is very obvious. It doesn’t detract from the movie, but it’s just a sad reminder of how fragmented these guys are right now. And given Mike’s petty lawsuits about the dumbest, most illogical sh*t, it was probably a very easy choice by Brent Wilson to leave Mike 1000 miles away from this doc. It was really nice to hear Brian compliment Mike’s singing voice.

Overall this movie is the most intimate look at Brian ever. I mean, where he opens up and admits that he hasn’t had a friend to talk to in 3 years - that was heartbreaking, and yet it’s real and in the movie. So this movie isn’t trying to force a narrative, it’s just showing Brian for who he is these days.

I think someone said it above or elsewhere, but this film is a great component to Love and Mercy. Brent Wilson and Jason Fine really knocked it out of the park with this. The quality is outstanding, and it’s really not your usual BW documentary. It’s very unique, charming - it made me laugh out loud, it also made me tear up at parts…which I’ve never done with any other Brian Wilson/Beach Boys documentary.

10/10

Rest in peace, Billy. Very sad news.

But when you LISTEN and HEAR those melodies and chord changes from Smile, I for one can't help but think Brian was standing alone among his peers when he crafted that music. Nothing sounds or feels like it.

And even though it's only one track, hopefully hearing it in a piano-only format as we can on this album will reinforce or remind us just how amazing these melodies and chords really are. There is truly nothing like it.

This is what I came away with. For me, it's just awesome to hear what Brian heard when he was composing these songs in the 60s. And granted, I know these tracks are layered so it's not exactly what Brian heard, but you get the point. The SMiLE songs remind me so much of Gershwin/Americana - which I don't really pick up on when listening to Brian's studio recordings, but you can really hear it on these piano tracks.

Again I'll say, I was expecting to be happy with this album and to basically have it to listen to in the background while working...but instead it's this glimpse into just how intricate these songs are.

'Don't Worry Baby' was released today (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt08M-AMIwo). It's amazing how beautiful this song is played in a higher octave (not sure if my musical terminology is correct there) - the melody lines are played lower than the chords (though the bass notes are still very prominent) which creates a really cool dynamic that you don't hear in the original song.

Basically, I'm glad to hear this variation in these covers - it still very much sounds like the original, but it's also different.

I can't wait for next week!

This is the track that has sold me on the project. The prominence of the chords does make it even more beautiful than just foregrounding the melody.

While I enjoyed the other singles, 'Don't Worry Baby' gave me hope that many of the songs on the album wouldn't be just straight-up copies of the original songs. And thankfully that turned out to be correct.

My only qualm with this project is that Brian leaves out those step-down notes in the coda of 'Surf's Up' - those notes are one of my favorite Brian Wilson creations, and he didn't play them here! Oh well.

@OSD & Guitarfool,

Vistaprint offers a price of $40 to get one semi-gloss, laminated, 24x36 poster (which is the size I created this in). I will email you both the high quality file you'll need to upload to the Vistaprint site.

And Guitarfool, I will absolutely change that to 'Variety' for you

I'm also going to clean some stuff up before sending it to you both - I'll make the river wider toward the bottom and add some variety in the size of the stars behind Dennis. Also, something that isn't seen in the lo-res version above: in the PG-13 box, the rating explanation says "For thematic elements, drug use, absurd amounts of sexual content. It is Dennis Wilson afterall." I can keep that in or take it out (I don't know if it's too crass for ya'll haha)...just let me know!

Thanks for all the reviews! I’m so glad it is getting positive feedback. I’ve got it ordered on iTunes and later today I’ll sit down to watch.

Very good.

Is there a "real" missing somewhere near the bottom?

Right?? and thanks!


@OSD I have a Love and Mercy movie poster in my office that gave me the inspiration for this, if it didn’t cost so much it would be nice to refine the above poster and get it printed to size. Maybe one day.

Just finished the album and here are my initial thoughts:

The song progression is simple and brilliant: aside from GOK and California Girls, it mostly starts off with songs heavily influenced by 50s rock n roll. And then there is this abrupt shift when the rest of the Pet Sounds songs start: it sounds like classical music…from Chopin to Gershwin (is he considered classical?). The chords/progressions are out of this world.

Which leads us to Sketches of SMiLE. This is a tiny little capsule of SMiLE and it’s truly the first time I’ve heard what Brian meant when he wanted to mix and match parts of different songs. All these SMiLE sections mix so well with one another. I love how it is book-ended with Our Prayer. In 4 minutes Brian gives us this little pocket symphony, and it really shows how complex these songs are and how well they work together.

I do wish they had closed the album with Love and Mercy as that’s how he ends his concerts and how Love and Mercy the movie ends. But closing with GV does make sense as well.

The mixing on this album is fantastic. I watched Love and Mercy last night in anticipation of my Brian Wilson filled Friday. In it Paul Dano talks about closing your eyes and you see a place - that really happens with many of these songs. There are just so many layers of beauty on songs like IJWMFTT and you can kinda see/hear those different levels when you solely focus on the music.

And finally, when this album was announced I was very excited, but I was basically expecting an album of relaxing music to put on in the background when I work. When in reality this set of songs is a testament of Brian’s genius. And before I get called a Brianista for saying that: listen to Brian play ‘Friends’ on the piano - it sounds just like Trois Gymnopedies but yet I’ve NEVER picked up on that listening to the original song. This album is kinda full of those moments.

Sometimes I would forget I was listening to Beach Boys songs - so many moments just don’t sound like pop-music but instead classical.

Anyways, I hope the rest of you find as much enjoyment from this as I did. I know this project was initially looked down upon by some and I know it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but really give it a chance. It’s a lot more complex than you’d initially think.

Thanks so much for the review! I can’t wait to see this - just one more day. I wish I could’ve seen it in theaters but there wasn’t really a local option for me.

I have so many questions but I also don’t want to spoil any surprises.

Thanks, Emdeeh!

There’s not a lot of film footage of The Beach Boys in the studio at their peak. I don’t think they ever allowed anyone to document them as extensively as The Beatles did during that time.  The only thing I could think of that might be cool is the raw footage from the 1976 TV special if it exists, if there’s more of that concert for instance and more rehearsal and interview footage, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s enough for a full-length documentary there.

The first part is absolutely not true: BRI is sitting on over 45 minutes of 1966 Good Vibrations session footage which fans have seen roughly 4-5 minutes of so far "officially", scattered around various TV programs starting during the C50 hoopla back in 2012. 45 minutes! I think the only airing so far was that it was screened at a UK "fan fest" or something.

The fact fans can't see the full run of footage showing Brian Wilson literally "at his peak" as a record producer both working a vocal session at Columbia and tracking inside Western #3 (with the Wrecking Crew), and the band captured on film recording perhaps their most influential and forward-thinking song that became a worldwide #1 hit record is to me ridiculous, and it needs to see an official release outside of a fan gathering. Even if it's silent footage, it's historically valuable and fans would want to see it. But I've been beating that drum for years now and maybe someday people will be able to see the full run of footage they've been sitting on.

What kills me is that NOW is the time to release this stuff. I just wonder how thriving The Beach Boys fan community will be in 20, 30 years. I hope that it is alive and well. But the world is changing, tastes are changing, and I fear that The Beach Boys will slowly continue to simmer down in popularity (and with that, what is the likelihood that BRI would be pushing release of this footage in 20, 30 years?). Now is the time. I know there are so many factors at play, but The Beach Boys just continuously shoot themselves in the foot with a sawed-off shotgun at every chance they get. So many opportunities for greatness squandered later in their career.

I liked the first project, and I'm enjoying what I'm hearing from this upcoming release as well. It sounds like Plant has found his new inspiration in both recording with Alison, and revisiting songs more on the vibe of his old Honeydrippers rockabilly/50's tribute project back in the 80's. Because Plant sounds fantastic! He and Alison have a great blend, and Plant's vocals really deliver the goods. That's pretty amazing considering his history in the 60's and 70's where he was literally shredding his voice on stage with Zep.

In fact I'd say Plant's vocals - based on these duet projects with Alison - show that he is one of the artists from the 60's and 70's whose musical skill and vocal prowess has survived the decades. Understanding the circumstances behind one of the following artists, compare the Plant-Krauss project to a recent duet pairing of Springsteen and Mellencamp. It sounds like two hoarse guys singing during the peak of a bad cold or flu. Again, I know what Mellencamp went through, but hearing "The Boss"...I just don't get it, or the appeal. Especially after hearing Robert Plant actually singing and harmonizing skillfully versus croaking out lyrics.

Yeah Springsteen doesn’t sound too great these days.

And I totally agree about Plant’s voice. It is such an unusual pairing, but it works so well. And the instrumentals for these songs are just stellar. This Friday is going to be such a wonderful day full of music!

Also, glad to see you posting here again, I hope all is well with you!

Fab - ironically, I’m watching “2010” as I type this and just heard “my God it’s full of stars!”

Anyway, I love the poster idea! Well done!

I liked 2010 the book better than the movie, but the movie is pretty good for its time. The story is really good though - definitely one of my favorite Clarke stories.

And thanks! I have some ideas for more that I want to make. I’ll post if I get around to making them.

Really annoying not being able to watch this

Are you able to use a VPN?

Incredibly random! I have been trying to get more practice with graphic design and I thought doing a series of movie posters for a couple Beach Boys would be a fun project to help with that goal. I very much used the vector artwork from the Love and Mercy poster as inspiration, only I wanted this poster to be a lot darker in color and theme.

I guess a dream film for me would be something like the aborted "The Drummer" film - I would love to see Paul Dano reprise his role as Brian Wilson, and would love it if Bill Pohlad decided to create a similar but different film about Dennis. I also think that Aaron Eckhart was such a great pick for Dennis. I really wish that film had come to fruition.

Anyways, it probably wasn't worth creating a whole new topic for this, but I'm hoping to create more to post, and if anyone wants to add their own Beach Boys related photoshops to this, feel free!

Alongside 'Long Promised Road' and 'At My Piano', Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' 'Raise the Roof' will be released on November 19 as well. I was a huge fan of their 'Raising Sand' album, and the three singles released for their latest project sound fantastic. Anywho, I just found out about this the other day, and wanted to inform anyone else of this in case they missed the news like I did!

https://www.amazon.com/Raise-Robert-Plant-Alison-Krauss/dp/B09BDLX1CL

For Virginia fans...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/the-beach-boys-to-perform-at-dominion-energy-center-in-richmond/ar-AAQJRyI?ocid=hplocalnews

"The Beach Boys will be performing at the Dominion Energy Center in Richmond.

The Beach Boys have sold over 100 million records worldwide and have received more than 33 RIAA Platinum and Gold record awards."

Congrats to Mike and his touring band for selling 100 million records!

Firstly, 
Secondly,
Thirdly, 

It just reads like all these same guys who will be on-stage are also all the same guys who sold 100 million records. Honestly I don't think a whole too many people who go to these shows know (or even care) about that. But it still seems like false advertising (even though it technically isn't). People will go and hopefully see a good show and many people may be introduced to a whole new world of music they didn't know existed. I guess I just wish that we didn't live in a world where The Beach Boys who tour aren't the actual Beach Boys (but instead they are a band with two actual Beach Boys who tour as The Beach Boys) while two other actual Beach Boys aren't a part of the touring band who go by the name The Beach Boys...I just wish The Beach Boys were The Beach Boys without an asterisk attached to the name.

I'm still not buying the idea that the Get Back sessions were all fun and laughs. The group DID break up after agreeing to record one more album. There were a multitude of reasons for the group falling apart. I don't want a spin doctored look at the Beach Boys history. Just tell the truth of what happened.
The comparison I would make would be The Beatles Anthology series. Just let the guys tell the story themselves. There's plenty of interview footage out there; I realize getting more than a few words out of Brian these days is a challenge, but it wasn't back in the old days. There's that one clip where Brian is talking about whatever, then catches himself, and says something like "here I am blabbing away" and Carl breaks up laughing. "I like food!"

Even from the trailer of the 'Get Back' series you can easily see that the sessions were not all fun and laughs. I think Jackson's point was that there was this overall perception of 99% negativity regarding the Beatles' time together during those sessions, and he found out that the sessions actually had a lot of good/fun moments associated with them.

If someone did do a substantial series about The Beach Boys, it would be great if they could tell the story themselves. However, even Brian himself has proven to not be the most reliable of sources...so having some form of unbiased fact-checking would be great to have at points in the series (whether by an unbiased historian, or a narrator guiding the story along).

I'd love to see a 50 Sides Of The Beach Boys type series....chronologically take like 25 songs spanning their career and make 10 minute segments about each of them. Interviews, footage, musicians. From their first single to 'Summer's Gone'.

For Virginia fans...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/the-beach-boys-to-perform-at-dominion-energy-center-in-richmond/ar-AAQJRyI?ocid=hplocalnews

"The Beach Boys will be performing at the Dominion Energy Center in Richmond.

The Beach Boys have sold over 100 million records worldwide and have received more than 33 RIAA Platinum and Gold record awards."

Congrats to Mike and his touring band for selling 100 million records!

Thought I'd share the Apple+/iTunes link:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/brian-wilson-long-promised-road/id1592595798?ign-mpt=uo%3D4


While I'm at it - I hadn't realised this was on iTunes as well:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/brian-wilson-i-just-wasnt-made-for-these-times/id290374626

Thank you!!!! November 19th is going to be a wonderful Brian Wilson filled day for me!