Speaking of double standards, I'm reminded of the story of Dennis and Karen(?) arguing to the point that Dennis threw out a bunch of pictures of them, because he thought she was sleeping around. This, coming from "The Wood".

SMiLE sessions are coming out on July 4th, 2010?

Edit: Hey, I can read Dutch!  

Another Edit: When(and how) did I learn how to read Dutch? 

I think Dutch and English are similar enough that you can get the gist of what they're saying because of all the cognates.

Well, Dutch and English are related, they're both so-called West Germanic languages.

True dat. See: compare the following two statements:

'Sakkerloot, ik heb goesting in een pikketanussie!'

'Damn, I need a stiff drink!'

Sounds similar, don't it?

Damn translates to Sakkerloot in Dutch? That's my new favorite swear word. 

SMiLE sessions are coming out on July 4th, 2010?

Edit: Hey, I can read Dutch!  

Another Edit: When(and how) did I learn how to read Dutch? 

Sorry. I had to add that the POB set came out shortly before my dad died. If you believe in ghosts, he was still hanging out with us for about another month. One day at my mom's place I put on "Farewell My Friend". We both cried and we never had any paranormal experiences after that. That was a very tough summer though. Dennis Wilson deserves a lot more respect than he gets credited for!

In a really strange coincedence, my own Father died shortly after the POB/Bambu set came out. I can no longer hear Farewell, My Friend in the same way.

To me, Brian seems very bored, and just doesn't want to be there. I can understand him "noodling around" between songs, but why he would continue during a good portion of In My Room, I have no idea.

[No]

"So you’re not using any Ira Gershwin material?

No. We’re doing 10 Ira and George Gershwin songs...."

 


OK. Well, is there anything else you want to tell me?

No.

Man, I love Brian.  

Brian's playing something very different at the end of Good Timin', going into In My Room.

Everybody gets thrown off during the first verse, because Brian is playing something uptempo, during a ballad. He also plays a little bit of Rapsody in Blue at the very end of California Girls.

I would do Mafia jobs to see that film. 

we all hope it doesn't come to that.

My understanding is that the film of Carl's infamous collapsing gig will never be shown... because it cannot be shown.

Unless there are safeties, of course.

Does that mean that the original film doesn't exist anymore?

I've heard that Carl fell into the drums during Darlin'. Listening to the recording, there IS a chunck of vocals missing. But why would Carl be all the way back by the drums during a song he was singing lead on? I don't know why I'm so curios about that.

There was probably some stumbling involved. It wasn't like he dropped straight down from where he was standing. One of the two Aus. '78 shows I have on video features a very unsteady Carl, his ability to balance on his feet is real shaky...and he does actually stumble more than once. I don't have the show in which he actually fell to the floor, however, from the footage I do have i can easily imagine him stumbling backwards, trying to get his balance and ending up near the drum riser as he fell. In these BB's concerts Dennis seems much healthier and physically together than his brothers, which probably only means he had a higher tolerance for the substances they were sharing.

Dennis isn't in near the shape he was for sat the Summer of 1976 special but you are right he is the picutre of health next to his brothers. Such an odd film. Anyhow listening to Darlin is wild. Honestly its the worst thing I ever heard Carl do by far. I think he does fall during it listening close.

I thought that Feel Flows from Maryland 1977 was bad...until I heard that version of Darlin'. Ouch.

Well, this was a VERY pleasent surprise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_FC56pH5c0&feature=related

When the tempo changes, if you close your eyes and concentrate it sounds a lot like Carl. At least to me.

Whoa! I can't wait to see more.  I noticed that there is one frame of the film that seems to have been used for a certain bootleg cd. It's a shame that Brian isn't there in the footage.

I've heard that Carl fell into the drums during Darlin'. Listening to the recording, there IS a chunck of vocals missing. But why would Carl be all the way back by the drums during a song he was singing lead on? I don't know why I'm so curios about that.

There was probably some stumbling involved. It wasn't like he dropped straight down from where he was standing. One of the two Aus. '78 shows I have on video features a very unsteady Carl, his ability to balance on his feet is real shaky...and he does actually stumble more than once. I don't have the show in which he actually fell to the floor, however, from the footage I do have i can easily imagine him stumbling backwards, trying to get his balance and ending up near the drum riser as he fell. In these BB's concerts Dennis seems much healthier and physically together than his brothers, which probably only means he had a higher tolerance for the substances they were sharing.

I was just wondering, because Darlin' is a fast paced song. You need to be close to the mike, you know what I mean? On the one Australian show I've seen, Carl is quite unsteady. When he takes a bow(I think after Surfer Girl), Dennis has his arm around Carl, and literally has to help him up. You mention that you have, or have seen, two films from that tour. May I ask for more details? I only know of one show that is circulating.

Actually, the specific recording that this topic is about was downloaded from a "commercial" bootleg. Unless somebody mis-matched the bootleg artwork with a different show.

One question I have is, what exact song did Carl pass out/fall down during? Or was it between songs? I've heard that Carl fell into the drums during Darlin'. Listening to the recording, there IS a chunck of vocals missing. But why would Carl be all the way back by the drums during a song he was singing lead on? I don't know why I'm so curios about that.

I would do Mafia jobs to see that film. 

  There is also sitting in the vaults of TV New Zealand, and unseen for 30 years, pristine copies of the Auckland show.

Several months ago I offered to bank roll whatever is needed to view and/or copy the films. The offer still stands.

[The 3/14 show that's being referred to as "newly surfaced" has been around for years.]

Here's what circulates from the 1978 Australia/New Zealand tour.

2/28 Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Christchurch, NZ (50 minutes)
3/5 Festival Hall, Brisbane, QLD, Australia (85 minutes)
3/9 Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, VIC, Australia (55 minutes)
3/14 Perth Entertainment Centre, Perth, WA, Australia (90 minutes)
3/15 Perth Entertainment Centre, Perth, WA, Australia (90 minutes)

The 3/14 show that's being referred to as "newly surfaced" has been around for years.

Sorry for the confusion.  I asked about the show where Carl passed out, or fell down, on this very message board about a year ago, and was told that it did not circulate. Obviously somebody was wrong.

I REALLY don't want this topic to get deleted, but it treads on very shakey grounds. There is a certain recently created blog which currently has a show for download that is claimed to be from Perth, 1978. I have never heard this particular recording. It is NOT the show that is circulating on DVD, and it is NOT the currently circulating show where Carl apologises for his behaviour. On this "new" recording, Carl does a very terrible job at "singing" Darlin'. He misses most of the second verse for some reason, and there seems to be some odd commotion going on during this section. It sounds like something falls down. Also of note is a horrible version of Wouldn't It Be Nice, with what sounds like a plastered Brian singing in a deep bass voice. Also  on this recording is the version of God Only Knows that was a "bonus track" on a certain Hawaii 1967 bootleg. Is this recording new to the public, or is it old news that I have somehow missed? 

A few opinions and thoughts:

1. I don't think it should be a typical hour long program. It should be done like the Beatles anthology. It should be done over three or four days with each episode an hour long, at least. You just can't tell their story in one hour. The SMiLE saga alone would take up a big chunk. Then you have the Brian Is Back thing. Then the MIU/Christmas sessions, Brian's retreat, yet again, into the abyss. Enter Bruce for the LA Light album. Then Dennis's exit from the band and subsequent death. Then the Landy years, etc etc....

2. The first half hour(or maybe even the entire first episode) should be Mike and Brian meeting in an empty room. Remember the "Bands Reunited"? show on VH1? Something like that. Just Brian and Mike in an empty room. No wives, lawyers, hangers ons, or therapists. Only a very small camera crew. Brian should confront Mike over the Smile lawsuit, and various of stuff. Mike should confront Brian for all the drugs and mental illness. He needs to get out his feelings of abandonment, etc. Then Mike and Al should meet in the same room. Same story basically. Mike and Al confront each other about the years of lawsuits. Al confronts Mike over his(Al) being forced out of the group. Then all three men sit down and try to have a friendly conversation.

3. Why is it that Mike ALWAYS mentions Brian when talking about a reunion, but never says a word about AL? I mean, in the above article he even mentioned Carl and Dennis and David, but still not a word about Al. Something isn't right about that....

Damm straight they should've gotten Al. But thanks for 40+ years of Brian Brian Brian, too many viewers would be scratching their heads and asking "who"

They should've used the occasion to break out The Beatle-Boys"

Mike, Paul, Al, Ringo, Brian, and Bruce!!

They could open with Back In The USSR and Mike could tell his tale of helping write it! Paul could take the lead on God Only Knows.... Then they could all crash through a 10 minute Helter Skelter where Mike would bust a few tamborines!

Then they'd do a full tour!!!!!!!

As corny and tongue in cheek as this post is, that actually sounds like a half decent show.  Paul doing God Only Knows would probably work. I'd like to hear him sing You Still Believe In Me. Even at his age, he could still probably hit that high note at the end.

Ed Roach and Stephen Desper both discussed with me Dennis' disregard for the need to keep silent. In 1981 they actually did a surgery to remove polyps  so he could speak and sing again. He wouldn't stop trying to yell on stage, sing, or talk, long enough for it to do any good. Who knows how much they could have done but he probably wouldn't have had as much trouble as he did.

I often wonder if he was in physical pain in the last year or two of his life. Imagine how it must feel to be punched in the throat, hard enough to do damage. In the weeks and months after the initial beating, he probably healed up and felt much better than the day of the beating. But he probably still had quite a bit of pain when he tried to speak and sing. I would imagine that he had a great deal of difficulty just trying to swallow properally.

Breakfast isn't the only thing we think about when we think of hash, but I'm sure some people would rush to eat breakfast after thinking about hash.

When I hear the word hash, I think about the story my mom told me about taking hash when she was younger, and not knowing or remembering how she got home. 

I didn't know that in 1981 his doctors told him to rest his voice to help heal it. I mean, being punched in the throat, the obvious thing to do is rest your voice as much as possible. What I mean is, I thought that his doctor's basically thought that by 1981, his voice was beyond repair.

Well that was in April but that June concert has him sounding OK on Rhonda. That's why it's so hard to figure out when he first had a real change. I have heard that if he properly rested his voice after the 1974 and 1981 injuries that he would have gotten a lot more of it back.

I remember you and I once talked about a 1974 show where Dennis sang Rhonda and sounded very hoarse. Do you remember when that was?

What I can't understand is, when he cut his hand so badly that he couldn't play drums, why didn't he just take some time off? Sure, the shows would have been less interesting and fun, but he could have used it as an excuse to rest his voice.

I always wanted to know this myself
Well it could be from when Dennis taught it to Blondie for stage purposes so at the earliest I would have to say early spring 1973. It may have been recorded right after Blondie left that Decemeber, but it certainly seems as relatively  unformed as the 1973 live versions. Listening to concert tapes through the end of 1973 he was smooth voice even when doing Forever late in the year. It was more or less just as good as the ones he did live in 1970-71.  In 1974 it's hard to say because I haven't heard him do anything but Rhonda. A June 1974 rendition seems pretty clear but an interview tape from early in the year has him speaking like he did in 1976 already. By fall of 1974 even Rhonda sounded rougher and by 1975 he sounded exactly as he did on 15 Big Ones. So my guess would be anytime from 3-73 to 9-74. By the Caribou sessions I think he would have sounded raspy already. Those who have heard more studio tapes then I may jump in here.

I have a recording of the group from Tampa Florida in 1974, and Dennis sounds pretty hoarse. He doesn't actually sing as far as I can tell(the sound quality isn't very good), but he speaks in between songs, and his voice sounds like it did from about 1978, to the rest of his life.