I found a copy of Wild Honey on vinyl (been hard to locate all these years for some reason) and it says STEREO in big fat letters all over the place, but I swear to God the damm thing is in mono! I got on my hands and knees and crawled from speaker to speaker and it's the exact same audio image blaring from each speaker. No stereo seperation. WTF? It's certainly not Duophonic. I know a Duophonic nightmare when I hear one......

I should really know the answer to this. I am a musician after all..........


...... well, I'm a drummer. 

Drummers are not musicians. They pound on the skin of animals. To produce rhythmic noise. Noise. That's what it is. They thus assist the musicians in playing together...

Difficult. I was a huge fan in the '80s, and then my enthusiasm waned a bit, year by year. I still want to admire them as much as I did back then. But my problem is hard to pin down.
Perhaps they were, after all, too self-conscious... in that they knew too well that they were creating history and thereby almost felt themselves to be more scientists than artists. Sounds silly, I know...
Same with the Last Waltz. I adored the movie then. Don't so much anymore.
That is all I can say on the matter. For now.

Johann Sebastian Bach (I'd want to hear him play 'The Goldberg Variations' and 'The Well-Tempered Clavier' on his harpsichord, see what he originally intended).

PS: there are a few tiny BBs connections. 'Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring' is the template for 'Lady Lynda', and he's namechecked on 'Mt. Vernon And Fairway'.

Hey, thanks for writing in you all -
great choices. 'My Ding-A-Ling' truly is dreck, as are many of the other choices. Plus: I always thought this one did harm to racial relations, because it suggests that black men are only out for one thing and that in a very limited vocabulary (just my two cents). That may ring true for mr. Berry (e.g. the infamous toilet VHS stories); but others may feel insulted by it.

My choice for the day: Bruce Springsteen's 'Drive All Night', which has his cliché about cars and girls to the max; and since it pretends to be a 'grand statement', it goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on... and in the end you still don't know if he bought her those shoes.

I don't think it sounds that much like what Brian was doing at the time, but I guess if I had never heard it before and it was lumped in with a bunch of Smile tracks, it might make sense... it was written by Gershwin, after all.

I respectfully disagree. I think it's 'up and down and up again' melodies even fit Brian's intentions even more than 'George Fell...'; but well, that latter one is not much more than a bunch of smell-less farts...

I have the Dutch double LP with WH and 'Friends'. The WH album is indeed in mono and the sleeve claims it is stereo. Since day one I found the sound horribly thin; it is incredible because at that time the state of the production art was really far enough for a decent true stereo producion, as any fool knows. It always puzzled me why the boys even thought of releasing it this way.
Really, the vinyl album sounds like it was recorded on a C60 cassette that had priorily been used some 100 times for other purposes. The top and low ends are totally absent. Lovely songs like 'Let The Wind Blow' and 'I'd Love Just Once To See You' suffer from it; in the title track the volume settings of the electric organ seem to vary randomly; and the potentially energetic 'Darlin'' is almost unbearable in that form.
'Friends', on the other hand, sounds beautiful, in glorious stereo.
Irony is: IMHO 'Wild Honey' has the most beautiful Beach Boys sleeve of them all.

The later CD versions are a bit more dynamic, but you can't turn a production that was disastrous from the word 'go' into an audio miracle anymore.

I think it is brilliant. Quite unassuming, quite intellectual, quite er... quiet. Sort of: John Fahey meets the Beach Boys around the time of 'Surf's Up', or something.
Only setback: it's a bit too shortish in the CD era. Could've been 15 minutes longer without any boredom setting in.
Throw me your thoughts. Now.

Spector. Ultimate Xmas. They'd make an almost perfect double CD set. But it would only really be perfect after inclusion of a bonus single with:
Roy Wood and Wizzard: 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day', and:
Slade: 'Merry Christmas Everybody'.

I have spoken. My words should be inscribed on a stone tablet and carried down from Mt. Sinaï to the common people.

I don't want to interfere with all the interesting hypothesizing going on here, but...
isn't there a more down-to-earth explanation possible? Perhaps Bri suffered a broken jaw in his youth? Or had unilaterally have some molars pulled in his early adolescence (it happens, you know)? That would be a perfectly plausible explanation for talking with one corner of his mouth being a bit more down, and the other seemingly being used for expressing language more...

Jeez, figures: Mull of Kintyre is one of my favorite McCartney ditties.

I recommend Thorazine, with a dash of amphetamines when you're going to be interviewed.

Hi there Mike -
I notice that your initial post is dated April 1. That's a clue man, a real clue.
Apart from that: I have nothing but respect for you. You wrote that immense catalogue. You rightfully got those millions back. You invented the internet (before Al Gore tried to steal that honour from you by re-branding it as the 'Super Information Highway' - it was a stroke of genius of you to call moving around on the web: 'surfing'. Why didn't you drag that environ-mentalist into court, by the way? It's you, and only you, who's deserving of that Nobel Prize money, man!).
You gave the Stones a run for their money. Jagger still is wetting his bed every night after your speech, and Richards falls out of tiny palm trees when he merely thinks of your words. Bruce Springsteen shits himself on a regular basis, esp. whenever 'Kokomo' is on the radio.
In short: you're the man, Mike, you, and no one else. Keep on touring, and in 2012 I want to see you as the GOP Presidential Nominee, when you will be setting out to repair the damage that Obama no doubt's gonna inflict on us all.
We-Love-You!!!

This one?

I have that one as a cover shot for a SMiLE bleg, on the Chapter One label. In fact, this CD is simply a copy 'taken' from the first Japanese 'true' SMiLE bleg from 1989, you know, the one that for the very first time released the long sessions of Good Vibrations and Heroes And Villains to the world. Oh, those were the high points in my collector's life... at a fair I could grab both the 1985 SMiLE LP on Brother and that Japanese CD. Needless to say I 'shuffled' back to the train home, constantly eyeing that plastic bag lest one ignorant idiot would steal it from under my nose, inspecting the contents, seeing 'nothing of interest' in there (no money or drugs, that is) and throwing it in the river... the horror... the horror...

Perhaps this isn't entirely new... but I'll give it a try.
Name a terrifyingly bad song by an acknowledged great musician (or band).

I'll start with two:

Paul McCartney: 'Mull Of Kintyre'
Stevie Wonder: 'I Just Called To Say I Love You'

(is it any wonder that we're talking karaoke standards here?).

Your turn...

[reenactment]

It's interesting to note that Brian himself was suspect of keeping it in for Smile's completion--perhaps wary that it would come off like a reenactment. 

Sounds to me like you're just inventing this motive.  I don't think Brian has anywhere near the preoccupation with "authenticity" which his fans do.

It's far more likely that, at that particular moment, he just didn't like the way the drill looked or sounded.  All part of him being a changeable creature -- just like changing his mind back the other way is as well.

And if someone told him "nah, it's nice the way it was"?  That's a good thing.   Arguably it was the start of his self-doubt and second-guessing, his unsureness in what he'd created, which killed Smile in the first place.  He took out the power drills, he took out the Van Dyke, next thing you know he's decided he'd rather do "Wonderful" as a stoned giggle-fest with an organ rather than a beautiful harpsichord music-box full of harmonies.  That may have been authentically what Brian felt like doing at that moment, but that doesn't make it the best he was capable of.

I'm glad he's willing to be reassured by the people he works with.

Cheers,
Jon Blum

Pretty good call, Jon. At a fatal point during the construction of SMiLE, Brian lost his self-confidence. I always thought that the intake of psychoactive drugs, combined with the horrifying abuse that he underwent in his childhood, caused this loss. Drugs are bad as they are already, but they can bring flashbacks to people with a history of traumatic life events. In other words: LSD potentially can make you 4 years of age again, with all the trouble that can come with that.

Rumour has it that Sea Of Tunes will shortly release a 10-CD box titled 'The Black & Decker Tapes', with nothing but animal and drill noises on it. Could that be true?

Only if is spontaneous. 

  (spontaneous, and not rehearsed)

I'm with you on most of your points/opinions Bean bag, but this one, well.....

  This one's tough, I understand.  It might be more in reaction to the live performance -- I'm not sure if object as much to them in the studio version.  If that helps!  But in going with my gut, the animal noises and power tooling around, well...my gut tells me it's a distraction, to put it nicely.  It's interesting to note that Brian himself was suspect of keeping it in. 

Also, I feel it increases the sterility a tad.  As if they were to re-record the "Go!" at the beginning of Little Honda.  But instead of yelling "Go!" someone half-a55edly just mumble "Go."  I guess its almost akin to a performer doing the same joke every night--acting like its spontaneous each time.  Kind of spoils the magic.  Sort of like that but different. 

Rumour has it that Sea Of Tunes will shortly release a 10-CD box titled 'The Black & Decker Tapes', with nothing but animal and drill noises on it. Could that be true?

This would explain that he took longer to realize a project; and also many an odd moment - e.g. when he told George Martin in a TV documentary that Martin, by a couple of manipulations of the mixing desk, created a 'Pet Sounds' far finer than he (Brian) himself had made. Which is a truly embarrassing moment, a typical 'later Brian' moment where he tries to be sooo polite, sooo self-effacing, sooo modest to other parties.

I didn't take it that way. I thought it was very typical of Brian, "old Brian" or "modern Brian." It reminded me of that moment on the Pet Sounds Sessions box where one of the musicians messes up a keyboard part on I'm Waiting for the Day and Brian marvels at the inventiveness of it. "How did you play that?"  I think with George Martin, it was the same thing-- Brian giving credit to someone for whom he has respect.

Tks for commenting Amy -
I respectfully disagree. I see what you're driving at, and your example is well-chosen. But I got the dialogue with Martin in another way; in that Brian just was too humble, wanting desperately to be liked.
Ah well, let's agree to disagree.

I think Brian, from '61 to '67, worked on an intuïtive compass (like all true artists). Feelings guided his enormous grasp of technicalities. And that is why he was able to do what he did. He wasn't 'self-conscious' in the psychological sense of the world, not 'depersonalized' as in: 'I am looking at myself and telling myself now how to proceed'. His art flowered all by itself, it seemed.
After the Landy years things were quite different. Necessarily so. He experienced many breakdowns, exacerbated by the use of street drugs. He then got 'therapy', and very likely the wrong medication (and too high doses of that). Which led to a period in which he almost was indoctrinated with psycho-babble.
What I don't like at all about 'Sweet Insanity' is its attempt to depict Brian as a politically correct likable patient. After that one, Brian partially found back his own powers. By 'partially', I mean: he did not work by pure gut instinct anymore, like he did so impressively with Pet Sounds, dealing out instructions for everyone and asking the Wrecking Crew to play sounds that, going by the box set, already were lodged firmly in his head.
He often had to be guided by someone, e.g. Joe Thomas. And, I conjecture, he simply had to be self-conscious to create. To say to himself continuously: 'now I'm gonna do this or that, I must call him or her, will they like what I am planning?' and so on and so forth.
This would explain that he took longer to realize a project; and also many an odd moment - e.g. when he told George Martin in a TV documentary that Martin, by a couple of manipulations of the mixing desk, created a 'Pet Sounds' far finer than he (Brian) himself had made. Which is a truly embarrassing moment, a typical 'later Brian' moment where he tries to be sooo polite, sooo self-effacing, sooo modest to other parties.

I gave it a qualified 5 stars. Why? Because on the one hand it is a must-have, for all the historical detail and family history. The 'qualified' amounts to this: I could not dock one star for certain types of info that are, erm... a bit redundant, one might say. Like (to paraphrase): do I really want to know the composition of the glue that was used in the early '60s to build a decent surf board? No. And there are many more such examples.
But, as I said: this in itself is not a good reason to dock points. I have the hardback, and it's a wonderful thing to behold: luxurious, fat, and informative.
Now, on to the next question: did they use 'Dapper Dan' brylcreem in those days?

Brilliant book. A must-have. Enough said.

I like the live rendition of TLOS, but it's a pretty bad recording, so it does not quite 'gel' on my stereo. I guess I'll have to wait for the CD to form a definitive opinion. I hope it's as good as the reviews say it is.
David Quantick and Mat Snow are excellent, mature reviewers. Both are from the New Musical Express, from way back when the mag was the best in the U.K. (and before all those luxury magazines appeared). Snow talked me into buying Hüsker Dü's 'Warehouse', and I haven't regretted that one day in those 22 years.
I don't think 'Surf's Up' is as good as many other people think it is. The segue of the last three songs is wonderful (of course) but 'Student's Demonstration Time', 'Take A Load', 'Lookin' At Tomorrow', 'Feel Flows', and 'Long Promised Road'? Good, but not that great.
'Love You' is a one-of-a-kind album. To me it's a collection of demos, but a great collection of demos. Take 'The Night Was So Young'... Carl's too closely miked, and his pronunciation certainly is not a definite one. Brian bends a couple of strange notes in 'Let's Put...'. 'Johnny Carson' is exotic, wonderful, but does not come over as a final draft.
Perhaps my criticism is wrong, in that it emphasizes what makes the album great at the same time. 'Love You' also sounds like you're a guest at a private rehearsal at Brian's house, with simple but strong synth work filling in for what will later be washes of string sections, horns, and choir work.
Still, it's a pretty unique effort. Great album, as is POB.

Thank you Luther! -
noted with great joy. Didn't know about it at all.

Am I right in that the 1983 Brother one had that Miles Davis track on it (a devilishly funny joke in that it fit musically) and the 1985 rectified the situation? I am happy to have a CD version of the 1983 one, and the original vinyl version of the 1985 one.

Hello y'all -

I like the Paley sessions a lot. In 1995, they got a lot of attention in the UK press and quickly acquired a high status; it was suggested that Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas would collaborate eventually on the finishing work to be done still. That was not to be.
Why do I like them? Not because every song is a classic. But at the time they carried a lot of hope with them. For instance, Brian's voice on some of the tracks sounded truly like his '60s best, without the raspy, coarse side-effects of cigarettes and cocaine in it; and neither does it sound 'thin' like it does on 'Brian Wilson' and 'Sweet Insanity'.
Plus: I think 'This Song Wants To Sleep...' is outstanding, just as 'GIOMH' and a couple of others.
Why did he and Paley separate eventually? I was at the London RFH 'Pet Sounds' live show in 2002, was Paley present there in his touring ensemble?