I don't think the full story of Adult Child has been told. I know there are quotes from Brian that he was doing "swing" music in the '70s and Mike Love didn't like it and said it wasn't of the times ... this suggests that Brian did like the record and wanted it out at one point. And we know Warner Bros. rejected it (rightly or wrongly, from a commercial standpoint- if these people wanted Brian Wilson, then maybe they could have understood with more nuance the fragility of working with Brian Wilson?).

Who decided to get Dick Reynolds and make swing music in 1977? No one but Brian Wilson. Why did he do this? Simply put, likely because that's what he wanted to do at that time. Surely, no one else was pushing for something so peculiar. Not Mike Love or the Beach Boys. Not Warners.  To be frank, to me- it's easy to see when Brian was calling the shots because he's truly an original an innovative creator. This appears as "nutty" or "quirky" or downright weird and uncommercial to some people IMO.

There are also stories that BW didn't think "Still I Dream of It" was any good and didn't want it out at some later point ... but to your point: was this a defense mechanism? Was it retaliation? Brian is a complex character.

To me it's not a stretch to go with Marylin's angle- she was his wife after all. Like, Okay here's a record I made. Eh ... we don't want that, Brian. Okay f*** you, the music is shitty and I don't want it released. Fine.

My whole point in this thread is that there are lots of records that seem as though Brian is a reluctant participant. Then there are records (many unreleased) where he seemed to have been genuinely enthused while making them. It just so happens that the ones he seemed genuinely enthused about are also the ones where they sound the most like a Brian Wilson production.

I completely agree. I guess a thing that I still think is kind of strange (building on what you're saying, not disagreeing), is how it became so one-or-the-other. It's the kind of thing that makes sense in the Beach Boys story because it just happened so often, but that in the context of any other band would seem incredibly bizarre and dysfunctional. With the exception, maybe, of Carl bringing out Love You and perhaps the 88 album, there was never a situation where the more commercial record built on the more creative work. And I do think a big part of the problem, here, was that a number of key people (Mike Love, but not just him, I think) just didn't like the creative stuff and couldn't muster the enthusiasm for it. I mean, Adult Child has a couple spectacular 40s-style swing songs, some clearly half-ass efforts in that direction, two sticking-out-like-sore-thumbs early 70s novelty songs (both of which I love, but that is neither here nor there), Dennis singing a catchy but inane song about Baseball.... If this had been any other band, they would have been like, wow, there are some incredible songs here, Brian, we love this swing direction. Why don't we get three or four tracks that are really perfect with the jazz stuff, and release them alongside some more Beach Boys style songs and some Dennis and Carl tunes. Then you could have had something like the best of Adult Child meets the best of the LA Light album, and honestly, that would probably have been pretty fucking great. But there's not even an attempt in that direction, it's just one or the other, and the song that does get thrown on LA in the end is Shortening Bread, which is just like, what?

What’s interesting to me is the tracks that Brian recorded that are most like Pet Sounds after say, 1970- were “Still I Dream of It” and “It’s Over Now”.

So you have everyone kind of clamoring for Brian to do something more like Pet Sounds- but we get MIU and LA Light Album instead of the Adult Child record.

I think a huge part of this must have been Brian's unwillingness to let his best songs be released, or at times even recorded, by the Beach Boys, after he felt they had rejected them in some way, or just because the idea of releasing work that he'd put actual effort into scared him. One clear example is California Feeling. It almost *titled* MIU, before Brian himself insisted that it be pulled altogether. Then it was rerecorded for the LA Light Album in Miami, producing the stunning version on the Made in California boxset, before being left off that album too (an album that would have seriously benefitted from its inclusion). I love Adult Child, it's a late 70s outsider-art cult classic, for sure, but it's not exactly hard to see why the record company rejected it. What's sadder, although also not exactly difficult to understand, is why the Beach Boys in the late 70s couldn't have reproduced a semblance of the collaborative spirit of the early 70s, with Carl helping get Brian's songs over the finish line, and Brian contributing some of his quirky arrangement ideas to the other guys' songs. But communication and collaboration in the band was obviously fundamentally broken by that point, which meant that although the Beach Boys had more than enough incredible material and raw talent between them to record albums capable of standing with their best work... they just didn't, or couldn't, or wouldn't.

I feel deeply compelled to come to the defense of Imagination and its ilk. Maybe I just have an unhealthy regard for the thing, as horrible as those nylon guitars may be. But there’s this idea that there is an “authentic Brian,” and that that’s quirky and low-fi and represented by albums like Love You and the quirkier parts of the Paley sessions, and that Brian’s contributions to albums like Imagination and MIU are somehow inauthentic, or Brian couldn’t have really been involved in a real way. But I don’t think that idea holds up to scrutiny. Brian has always been interested in making commercially successful records, and he got his start as a record producer for the teen and novelty market, writing songs about surfing and cars to sell records. I mean, even at his height, we’re talking about the artist who combined one of the (in my opinion) grandest and most magnificent pieces of music of the 20th century with inane lyrics about how cute the girls were in different regions of the country.

I wasn’t there, and I don’t know what the break down of labor was on Imagination. I’m certainly not disputing that Brian was checked out for a lot of it. But honestly, the idea that “Imagination” just *couldn’t* have been Brian’s *real* work is pretty insulting. Brian Wilson was in his mid 50s in the 1990s, with a lifetime of music business experience. I don’t see how it’s so implausible that he couldn’t have agreed with Melinda and Joe Thomas that an Adult Contemporary song would be successful and knocked out a song like Imagination with a couple collaborators. It might not be to your taste, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t Brian’s work. (And sadly, one need only compare the demo and the final product of Everything I Need to see that Joe Thomas could turn a perfectly decent production from Brian into dreck just by overdubbing 30 or 40 tracks of reverb-soaked percussion….)

I also think that Melinda and the Beach Boys both deserve a little more sympathy than they sometimes get, in terms of "forcing" Brian to work. (Landy, who was supposed to be a doctor, deserves no sympathy whatsoever, just to be clear). It can be very hard to tell, when you’re living with a mentally ill person, what is really going to be best for them, or even what they want. What *almost* never helps, though, is them not working at all, and just lying around the house. That usually leads to only dark places. So as easy as it is to think that The Beach Boys were *forcing* Brian to make MIU or Almost Summer or whatever, because of their selfish desire for hits, I think it is crucial to remember that Brian was probably, at moments, extremely enthusiastic about these projects, and that trying to keep him working could really have felt like the best among bad options. In the case of Melinda, this goes times a thousand.

So far as I can tell, Brian is mostly just making music when he feels like it these days. And when fans are disappointed, I don’t think it’s because Brian isn’t really involved. It’s just that many fans seem to associate “real” or “authentic” Brian music with the quirky Brian of Love You, as opposed to the more commercially-minded Brian of MIU; the quirky Brian of the Paley Sessions, as opposed to the commercially-minded Brian of Imagination; or, for that matter, the quirky Brian of Pet Sounds versus the commercially-minded Brian of Summer Days. But Brian has clearly always been perfectly comfortable knocking out a song about whatever theme he thinks might hit the charts, whether that’s surfing or cars or gentle boomer nostalgia with a twist of Jimmy Buffet.

Also, on a total side note, underneath the horrible production, Cry is an extraordinary song and vocal arrangement. That is one that never seems to come up in terms of solo-career highlights, but I’d kill for a good remix or a Brian Wilson Band version.

Brian had nothing at all to do with either San Miguel or Celebrate the News. He isn't even on them. Forever and (to some degree) Slip on Through however are Brian arranging the vocals.

Bruce, with Michel Colombier on the orchestral touches, arranged all of his own work. Al and Dennis were capable instrumental and vocal arrangers in their own right and took lead of their own tracks. It was a collaborative environment and the situation changed song to song; you can't really pinpoint any consistent model for the way the roles worked in those years. Carl wasn't the principal complex vocal handler in Brian's absence, though - that'd be Bruce. I Can Hear Music was his doing too.

That is fascinating. I didn't realize that Bruce was taking on such a significant role in vocal arrangements, though it makes sense! I always sort of assumed that Deirdre's production was more collaborative, it just feels more "Beach Boys" to me, whereas Tears in the Morning feels more like "pure" Bruce. But if there's one thing I've learned from this board over the years, its that our ears can deceive us! (although paperwork can also deceive...). But I think we're basically saying the same thing, which is simply that most of this material was produced collaboratively with someone other than the "lead" taking on a significant role, whether Brian or Carl or (as I now know!) Bruce, or even an outside collaborator or arranger. I completely agree that Al and Dennis took the lead on their own songs, in fact, it's what I was trying to say, too My point was meant to be that just because someone like Dennis didn't do every little detail of an arrangement, a la Brian on Pet Sounds, doesn't mean they weren't the legitimate producer of the material, since producers have never been expected to handle every detail in that way.

The most relevant question that has not been asked in this thread is: WHY has Brian "needed" collaborators to finish projects since after Friends?

Brian always used collaborators, his entire career. And it makes sense. Very, very few individuals in music history - at least before the rise of infinite-track digital recording technology - did what Brian did. He was the writer, producer, arranger, *and* performer of his best work. It's just a lot, and Brian always depended on having talented people around to finish up the lyrics, contribute to the instrumental arrangements, sing some of the songs, etc. And unfortunately, "how good were the collaborators" is simply a major determinant of how fully Brian has ever been able to express his talent. I mean, Van Dyke Parks and the Wrecking Crew! Or Carl and Dennis Wilson ca. 1969! These are the kinds of collaborators you dream about! Joe Thomas... talented man in many, many respects and I'm not knocking him, especially as a co-writer, but if Brian's contributions to Imagination had been matched with a more artistically and less commercially driven sensibility, it could have been an absolutely incredible record.

The thing that stands out to me about Brian's solo work, is that he is obviously still capable of writing, arranging, producing, and even singing at a level damn close to his 1960s peak. He just can't seem to pull it all out for the same song. The arrangements and performances on the Gershwin album are stunning. Some of the songs on That Lucky Old Sun are breathtaking. But in my opinion, only on a few tracks, Melt Away, the suite at the end of That's Why God Made the Radio, have we gotten world class Brian performances on top of world class Brian songs with world class Brian arrangements and production. And for the suite, having the other Beach Boys there to share the vocals was a not-inconsiderable part of that.

But honestly, I am just so happy and feel so lucky that we have any of it! Any new Brian songs, any new Brian arrangements, any new Brian productions! They don't need to be perfect, because the inspiration and unique sensibility Brian brings to music seems to always find a way to shine through, and no matter how good or bad or involved or uninvolved the collaborators are, that is the magic ingredient, and Brian still has it in spades.

Also, at the risk of losing friends here: is it wrong of me to wonder how Dennis produced tracks of the precision and complexity of Celebrate the News and San Miguel in 1969 that he never matched later? Do his production credits on these songs belie a fair bit of involvement from Brian? By the same token, surely Sunflower is rich in Brian Wilson vocal arrangements, even where they aren't his songs or production credits. This seems to be to be an under-appreciated (see what I did there?) fact about the album.

My impression from the last few boxsets has been that the original "produced by the Beach Boys" that appeared on the records when they came out is actually about right (other than Smiley Smile which is obviously a Brian production, imo). Up through Sunflower, my guess is that most of the time what that meant was Brian and/or Carl co-producing with the songwriter. For these two Dennis songs, there is just no way Dennis did those vocal arrangements at that moment in his career. To me, they bear the clear hallmarks of Brian's work - noticeably more complicated than, say, I Can Hear Music, although Carl got better and better at doing Brianesque vocal arrangements as the years went on. Of course, with the Beach Boys, the role of producer and the role of arranger have always been a little confused, because Brian did both. (Phil Spector had Jack Nitzsche - no one claims that he didn't produce his records because Nitzsche did the arrangements). So that's one way to think of these songs, and these sessions: Dennis produced in the classic sense: he lead the session and defined the vision of how the song would sound. Brian arranged the vocals (at least in the Sunflower years), and Brian and/or Carl co-arranged the tracks with Dennis. Personally, I suspect this model extends to the Bruce and Al songs as well. Then, in the years between 20/20 and Holland, Carl slowly takes over more and more arranging and production duties from Brian.

I've long thought that Brian's point of no return, was the moment when he decided not to put out the cantina version of Heroes and Villains in February 67. He gave an interview (in LLVS I think) right after the cantina version was finished, where he said that Heroes and Villains was done, but he hadn't decided on a B side yet, and he was thinking of just recording himself playing something on the piano. If he had just done that and rushed the song out - even if it had disappointed commercially - he would have had at least another month or two of recording dedicated to finishing the *album* instead of the single. And given how quickly Brian was working, and how much had already been done, another couple months of sessions on things like Do You Dig Worms (in this universe, not cannibalized!) and Child is the Father would have brought the album so much closer to being finished that shelving everything would have become much less likely; or at the least, there would have been a real album for Carl to put back together in the 70s.

I know a lot of things had already gone wrong by February, it's not like this *caused* Smile to fail. It just has always seemed like the point of no return, to me. The Cantina mix of Heroes and Villains was probably not commercial enough to be a huge hit, but it is certainly more dynamic than the song Brian put out. It would have blown some more minds in Los Angeles, for sure. And in early March it would have been climbing the charts alongside Ruby Tuesday and Penny Lane and, in my opinion, comporting itself quite respectably. But it makes sense: the moment that Brian lost confidence in the first actual finished, mixed song the Smile sessions had produced....was the moment that no song from the sessions would ever be properly finished, and it all dissolved into endlessly shuffling parts in and out of heroes until all momentum was lost.

I am not a copyright lawyer, but I have an interest in copyright law and I think I understand the issue here.

So first off, the copyright extension releases are driven by a provision in UK law, so it has nothing to do with copyright in the United States. However, in the world of the internet, if a document goes into the public domain in one country, it is very hard to keep it from being viewed in other countries. After all, if a British person can legally share an album online, then it is much harder to stop an American from listening to it, even if it is still in copyright there. And of course, if you do release it in the UK, then not releasing it in the rest of the world too is just asking people to download it illegally.

Second, there is a distinction in copyright law between the copyright in the sound recording – that is the right to the actual recorded performance – and the right in the underlying song itself. This is why musicians always have two companies, a publishing company and a record label. The publisher handles the ownership of the song, the record company handles the ownership of the recording. To release a record, of course, you need permission from both rightsholders. (This is how Murry could sell the publishing to all Brian’s tunes without effecting the ownership of the Beach Boys actual recordings).

In 2013 the copyright in a sound recording was changed in Britain from 50 years to 70 years after the date that the recording was “fixed” – or recorded. However, this extension only occurs if the sound recording has been published within the original 50 years. Hence, the online releases we’ve all been enjoying.

So to answer your original question, if “Visions” was not released *in the UK* within 50 years of its recording, then the sound recording is in the public domain in the UK (though still under copyright in the US). However, the underlying composition – the song itself – is not. So in order to print up your record and sell it *in the UK*, you would have to secure the right to release the song from the publishing company that owns it, but you would not have to secure the right to the recording itself from the label, cutting the owner of the recording out of any profits.

As a side note, because the underlying copyright in the song is not effected, this has no effect whatsoever on your ability to cover the song, since to cover a song you only need permission from one company, the publisher of the song, and not the label that owns the recording. 

One thing to keep in mind is that an artist like Brian elevates the people around them. Brian got the best performances out of his session musicians and background singers, the best lyrics out of his partners, etc. His creativity and enthusiasm for other peoples ideas brings out the best in the people who work with him. So, yes, Joe Thomas wrote the outro to Sunshine, but Brian Wilson brought him to the place where he could create that.

Everytime I have seen Brian do Row your Boat, it cracks me up, but I taught 4 and 5 year olds for a long time. 

Hope Brian is not deterred by this knucklehead and keeps it in the show! 

Didn't mean to imply that I didn't love it! Just that it was weird The two go together quite nicely in Beach Boys land.

I've seen Brian do the row row row your boat thing a few times, but I must say, in the past it was definitely a funny bit but seemed entirely planned out. in Brooklyn yesterday, between God Only Knows and I Know there's an Answer, it felt totally bizarre and spontaneous. Of course, that doesn't mean it wasn't planned, but it definitely had a different,much weirder, vibe at this show, at least to me! My take on the show in general was that Brian was in very poor voice compared to usual, but very high spirits.

Or this!
http://en.mediamass.net/people/david-marks/sexiest-alive.html

I've recently become very interested in Brian's Friends-20/20 work, and it struck me just how often he composed waltzes in this era. I can't think of too many notable songs before when he wrote in 3/4 time*, yet from "Time to Get Alone" (probably Brian's most ambitious song from this period) to "I Went to Sleep," he seems to have landed on several interrelated feels in 3/4 time.  It sounds to me like the Friends-era waltzes come from a discrete batch of songs and feels - can anyone give more info on the composition of these songs, or any place where Brian has commented on them?

*can someone think of others? Surfer Girl, In my Room, some of the b-side songs on Today!, and what else?

A lot of the early ballads were in 6/8:

The Lonely Sea
Surfer Girl
The Surfer Moon
In My Room
Your Summer Dream
The Warmth of the Sun
Keep an Eye on Summer
Ballad of Ole Betsy
We’ll Run Away
Girls on the Beach
Thank Him

(some would say 12/8 - honestly the difference between the two time signatures has always escaped me a little, I guess one has more of a triplet feel than the other. However you write it out, this 6/8 feel was very, very common in 50s and early 60s ballads/doo wop. Brian's trick was to take these old ballad feels and give them a twist in the harmonies and progressions that made them fresh and new.

I think that Let the Wind blow may be Brian's first waltz, although I'm not positive.

But it kind of makes sense that Brian would have become attracted to Waltz time, because he was so used to writing ballads with a triplet feel, and waltz time was sort of a mature twist on that. The fact that a song like Friends or I Went To Sleep changes chords every measure makes it really sound like a traditional waltz by emphasizing the 3/4 time. Likewise, Time to Get Alone emphasizes its time signature by using a different prepared piano for every beat of the measure and repeating that every measure. Let the Wind Blow doesn't stand out as much as a waltz because it sits on the first chord of every line for the first two bars, which de-emphasizes the waltz aspect a little.

That said, compared to how often he used straight time, Brian really didn't write very many waltzes at all!

I've long been under the impression that this song was the source of the famous story of Brian erasing all the groups vocals and replacing them with himself because the group hadn't been able to get it right. Is there any truth to that?

I finally got around to buying Made in California and I'm thoroughly enjoying it, especially the last two discs! I want to load all of the songs or mixes that I don't have already onto the computer, while avoiding those songs that would be duplicates (something I imagine a lot of people here also did.) In doing this, some questions have come up about different mixes that I was hoping you all could help me answer. I have tried my best with the search function, but the only question I could find an answer to was Breakaway - and even then the poster didn't say if it was a vintage mix or a newly created one. So basically, I want to know what makes some of these mixes different from the mixes I already have, where it's not obvious to my ears, and also as much background as you knowledgeable people might be able to give!

1. What is the difference between the Made in California mix of the 1967 Surfs Up demo and the Smile Sessions mix?
2. Where else has the single version of California Saga been released? I'm trying to figure out if I have the single version already in itunes. Is the single version very different from the album version?
3. Is the Lonely Sea version on this boxset different besides having the longer fade?
4. Other than the session excerpts, are there other differences between the Graduation Day mix on Made in California and the version on the two-fer?
5. From the Smile Sessions, the vegetables and wind chimes stereo mixes were on the LP in the box set, but not the CDs, right? Heroes Parts 1 and 2 were also only the 7 inch vinyl? And Our Prayer wasn't released on the box set in stereo? Are these the only Smile cuts on the box that weren't previously released on CD/digital?
6. What is the deal with Sail Plane Song?
7. Ditto Susie cincinatti - what makes it an unreleased 2012 mix?
8. What makes this Break Away mix different, and is it vintage? I don't have Hawthorne California, so it's new to me.
9. What's different about the It's Ok alternate mix? Is it vintage or a new creation like Rock and Roll music?
10. What are the difference's on Brian's Back from the Endless Harmony Version? I can't hear any, but it's not exactly a song I listen to all the time.

One last, more subjective questions - are there any tracks on this box set that particularly surprised you or that you didn't realize had something new or cool going on in them until you'd had the box for a while?

I suspect someone more knowledgeable than me will answer this more specifically, but I do recall that there was a specific story about Dennis playing the Tuba, as well as a general opinion from someone involved in the sessions - I can't remember who, maybe Earle Mankey? - that he could pick up just about any instrument and get some kind of interesting sound out of it, even if he was no expert. And that he played the bass harmonica himself but had to sit down on the floor to get enough air in his lungs! The impression I've gotten is that Dennis was not at all selfish with his production style - that he would gladly throw a part to anyone who happened to be around if he thought they could play something good, whether or not they were a pro or an expert, or he'd just do it himself if that was easier. I take it as being similar in spirit to Brian's openness to the contributions of session musicians, combined with a penchant to be very, very specific and demanding when he knew what he wanted.

Edit: just remembered my source: it was Craig Slowinski's riveting and comprehensive sessionography of Pacific Ocean Blue which I believe is available on the internet with some googling! It will answer all of your questions.

My suggestions would be:
first and foremost: The Christmas Album. This was a real production effort from Brian and a very important step forward in his evolution as an artist. Definitely a need-to-own record, in my opinion.
The 1973 In Concert album is absolutely essential. The band transformed those songs into something new. To me, this live album sums up everything that made the Beach Boys great in the 70s.
A compilation of Brian's outside production work in the 60s (there are a couple) - the volume of work the man was doing is astounding!

And I'll add my voice to the That Lucky Old Sun and Gershwin chorus. Also, you really should own Gettin In Over My Head - it gets ragged on to no end here, but it actually has some amazing songs and productions on it, particularly if you haven't heard the Paley sessions that so many of those great songs and productions came from! 

Loving it so far, guys.  Keep them coming.  I'm torn on which version of Good Vibrations to use.  I prefer the more complete TSS version with the "hum, we now. hum, we now ohoh" but I'd love to hear why another version might fit better.

I would use the single version - as the only truly completed and released Smile track from the time period, I feel that it is an absolutely essential indicator of the level of perfection, attention to detail, and economy with which the final mixes of the Smile songs would been completed! I love the other versions too, of course! One thing I might do is include the single version and the sessions excerpts from the old Wild Honey two-fer, that way you can see all of the cool ideas that didn't make it in, while still understanding, historically speaking, how Brian was working and what he considered an appropriate final product. (this is the reason I use the Cantina mix of heroes and villains too, although of course that wasn't actually released!)

Here's how I would do it:

I Get Around
All Summer Long - I would start my playlist with these songs, as a representative of Brian's high level of creativity in traditional pop/surf songwriting.
When I grow up to be a Man – the harpsichord and introspective lyrics linked with the surf beat make this one of the best "in-between" tracks.
Guess I'm Dumb - another step on the road to Pet Sounds. The link from this to I Guess I Just Wasn't Made for these Times is pretty easy to see, in terms of the complexity of the melody itself. A wickedly difficult song to sing!
Kiss me Baby (use the stereo mix, it’s easier to see the link to Pet Sounds that way, I think)
In the Back of My Mind (instrumental track) – the connection to Pet Sounds is easier to make without the vocal, in my opinion.
California Girls (again, using the Stereo mix is a must, much easier to draw out the complexity of the arrangement.)
Let Him Run Wild (instrumental track) – Listening to just the Instrumental Track of this makes clear that there is a direct line from the sounds and sensibilities of a track like this to the Smile material.
And Your Dreams Come True - looking forward to Our Prayer
The Little Girl I Once Knew - using the mix with the acapella drop out from the Hawthorne sessions might make the link to Sloop John B easier to see, although the single mix is better, in my opinion.
Sloop John B – From Little Girl to Sloop you see the Pet Sounds production sensibility being refined.
Pet Sounds (with Sloop John B removed, of course, and Hang On To Your Ego swapped in for I Know There's an Answer - helping to bridge forward into the Smile sessions with it's slightly druggy lyrics)
Good Vibrations
Heroes and Villains (Cantina Mix) – Good Vibrations and the Cantina mix continue to show the progression of Brian’s sound through single mixes.
Prayer – (because you included And Your Dreams Come True, this isn’t so much out of nowhere as a refinement of something Brian was doing before Pet Sounds.
Heroes and Villains Sections (Stereo Mix from Smile Sessions)
Cabinessence
Wonderful
Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow – these four songs cover all of Smile’s major themes, with the Heroes and Villains sections really illustrating Brian’s iterative working methods.
Surf’s Up (Piano demo) – here we see Brian’s greatest song as it was left when Smile was scrapped in ’67.

Good memory!

"Until two weeks ago, I hadn’t seen him since 1974,” said Wilson, who reconnected with Chaplin to have him sing on Wilson’s next solo album, currently in the works. “It was great to see him again. He came into the studio and sang on one of my new tracks called ‘He Come Down’ -- he sang it great! It will be fun to have him at a few of our concerts.”

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/09/entertainment/la-et-ms-brian-wilson-jeff-beck-blondie-chaplin-tour-album-20130906

One thing Brian has demonstrated with the last couple of projects is that he still sees an album as rightly having a consistency of tone, and that he is not above holding back material for the right future project. The fact that Brian Wilson, all through Getting in Over My Head and That Lucky Old Sun, was just sitting on a bunch of good songs he'd written in the mid-90s, waiting patiently for a Beach Boys reunion, combined with old interviews like this one, indicates to me that he probably has a stock of songs sitting around waiting for either a particular project or simply a more "appropriate" one. Brian himself has said that No Pier Pressure was intended  to be mellow and "not rock n roll" - so maybe the rock n roll songs were set aside, rather than not written.

Hi Brian, thanks for stopping by! Do you have any songs that you've written that have an interesting story behind their composition which you've never told anyone before, or which people never seem to ask about? What's the song and what's the story?

I've always loved "Bull Sessions with Big Daddy," and may be nearly alone in thinking it's the perfect ending to Today. Something about the way In the Back of My Mind fades out, the lights come up, and then the band is just sitting around having dinner feels so authentic and interesting to me. And I think it was very much intentional. The way I see it, the idea of the rock/pop album as art was still very nascent, and the Beach Boys' previous albums were not conceptualized as art, but as "product." They were meant to be fun, and cool. I don't really think it's fair to call the joke tracks "filler" when Brian was so productive at this point that he was leaving songs unreleased, and writing and producing tons of records for other bands, many of which were formed just to release a song or two that he had lying around. If Brian had wanted one more song for any of those albums, he could have gone into the studio and recorded one! But he included the joking around tracks because Beach Boys fans were teenagers, and those tracks helped build their image, create loyalty, make their fans feel like the band were just kids like them having a good time, joking around, playing music in their garage. It was about their image. So then in 1965, Brian is suddenly making this really arty, serious album, filled with self doubt, anxiety, questioning. But rather than give the album the kind of beautiful, poignant ending that he would practically invent with Caroline, No, he just made the "talking" track more serious too. Instead of silly voices, stupid jokes, and fake fights, he recorded three minutes of the band sitting around in the studio eating some burgers. Now that his music was more authentic, he made the "what it's like to be in a recording studio with the Beach Boy" track more authentic too.

I think one thing people may be discounting is that Brian Wilson, who needs neither money nor respect at this point in his career, records music for fun. It's easy for fans to talk about artistic expression and commercial potential, and I'm sure those are real factors. But when Brian goes into the studio, maybe, just maybe, it's because he feels like it. He's been doing it his whole life, and it's fun to make records! And so maybe Brian wants to shake things up by bringing in some other voices, and so he asks his management to find some young people he can sing with - no one too scary or intimidating, not Paul McCartney (and it's not like those super-star collaborations ever go well anyways), just some new voices. You know?

It is very much an open question in my mind what role Mike Love played in the composition of the Beach Boys Today. On stylistic grounds, I'm confident that Mike made a major contribution to Kiss Me Baby, and that he contributed relatively little to In the Back of My Mind. But for some of the other songs I think it's hard to say. But there is no doubt in my mind that the same balance of composing could have been applied to Pet Sounds, because Today has a similar level of lyrical sophistication. But Brian needed Tony Asher as more than a lyricist, he was also a friend, someone to hang out with, talk things through with, bounce ideas off of. It was a time-consuming process, and Mike was in Japan with the Beach Boys. Pet Sounds wasn't the kind of thing you could get done in back rooms and cabs between gigs, so for Mike to work on the project, the band would have had to take a break from touring. So it would have meant changes in the Beach Boys methods and course beyond just switching lyricists.

As for Smile, I think it is no diss on Mike Love to say that Mike's talents and interests were fundamentally incompatible with Smile as Brian and conceived it on a fundamental level. Smile with Mike Love lyrics wouldn't have been Smile, it would have had to be something completely different.

I thought, for a career as long and varied as the Beach Boys, the two-fer reissues were pretty amazing. I mean, for once the record companies were giving people more bang for their buck, and with detailed liner notes and bonus tracks, it was clear that they were well thought out releases. And they amde the catalogue a little more digestible. Released individually the albums are slight, especially early on, if only because they're often only 25 or 30 minutes long. I think that all the albums between Today and Holland deserve individual releases with lots of bonus tracks, reflecting the richness of the material, but for earlier and later albums the two-fers were perfect.