Eh. I find it kind of monotonous.

It sounds like really good, but I think the songwriting was better on Brian Wilson.

Whoever mentioned Christopher Cross in another thread is dead on. I like some of Cross' stuff, mind you.

Debuts at #20 on the UK chart.

I thought Brian played bass on Party too, or am I mistaken?

Christopher Cross was really good friends with the Wilsons, according to an interview I saw on YouTube. He talked about hanging out with them, including Audree.

An interesting fact: the session drummer on Dave's cover is John Robinson, who apparently has played on more songs than even Hal Blaine.

I think Steve Desper said Brian played the guitar on "Breakaway".

Someone pointed out that "After the Game" is the only place you can hear Brian playing guitar too.

Brian played the lead guitar on Breakaway.

For real........?

Desper said that Brian played the piano and the acoustic guitar on the same channel.

The Warmth of the Sun had some of the best packaging I've ever seen on a Beach Boys product. Nice picture and lettering on the cover. Good pictures of all eras inside. Good selection of tracks, too.

Capitol must outsource the Beach Boys covers to a local high school art department.

No Wild Honey in stereo? Bummer.

I'll still buy the Today and Summer Days albums though.

Which begs the trivia question: What Beatles album does Hal Blaine perform on?

Let It Be? 

Then you must not like Pet Sounds, Today, or Wild Honey that much. All muddy in production.

It's sad that these three albums are not great now.

I actually don't find those anywhere near as murky as "Heroes and Villains" and I don't have great hearing. Pet Sounds sparkles to me, Today a little less so, and Wild Honey sounds like it was made in somebody's living room or garage.

I find "Heroes and Villains" to be good, not great. It's probably the muddiness in the production that bothers me more than the song itself. It's pretty far down on my list.

I have a hard time believing only two concerts pre-1965 were filmed. Is this correct, or is there other footage out there that's unreleased.

My wife doesn't like the new album too much. She says it sounds like "lounge music", but what I really think she means is that it sounds like adult contemporary. Kind of ironic given that she likes Imagination for the most part. She said "If I want to hear the Beach Boys, I want to hear their good stuff." (meaning, their stuff from the 60s). She did say once while we were listening to Pet Sounds that she was amazed a guy in his early twenties could write songs like that. I thought that was awesome.

You can't win 'em all. She loves Led Zeppelin and I don't like them too much, although I appreciate their musicianship. She loves Elvis and I gained an immense appreciation of him through her. So it's all good in the end.

I will say though. I very rarely play stuff like Smiley Smile or Love You in the car with her. I just know.

Murry.

"Surfin' USA" - Who did the drums on the track, Dennis or Frank DeVito? It sounds like Dennis thumping on the basic track with some overdubs that sound a bit more like someone else playing.

"I'd Love Just Once To See You" - Who played the bass on this track? I know it's been discussed that one of the Beach Boys played it or maybe Ron Brown. Did Brian cut any of these bass tracks himself? Doesn't sound like his playing.

I was just going to say "Surfer Girl" too. I listened to it on the way home from work today and paid particular attention to the bass line. I love Brian's tone on that song.

One of the best interviews about Brian that I've seen. He's got a great memory.

The songs are more important than the production. Yeah, I said it. The Beatles didn't need any session guys, just like the Beach Boys really didn't either. Brian chose to use the Wrecking Crew for a variety of reasons. The Beach Boys could have knocked out any of their albums without session guys. I'm sure some of the songs wouldn't have sounded quite as polished, but the material was ace and they were proficient enough.

If you think the Beatles would have been bad without Martin, what do you think about the Beach Boys without Brian producing?

It's a shame there's no Al Jardine and Mike Love on that list when Paul McCartney is here and even is ranked much higher than Brian - another Beach Boy. That's imo incorrect and illogical. According to my ears, both Al & Mike have better voices than Paul. I quite like his singing, just think Al and Mike are greater singers.

I'd love to hear Al or Mike sing "Oh! Darling" off of Abbey Road.

Paul is/was much more of a versatile singer than any Beach Boy, even Brian.

I love the Beatles. They are truly perceived as the greatest band of all-time. I think McCartney's one of the two or three greatest talents in pop history.

I love the Beach Boys because I think they have something in their music that the Beatles don't have in theirs. Don't ask me what it is because I'm not exactly sure. It could be a certain essence or spirituality, but I'm not even sure those would be the right words. There's a certain quality to their music. It's not my opinion though.

Pet Sounds Live in London played on Saturday morning.

Why is Brian singing "Sail On Sailor"? He's rough on that tune.

He kicked ass on it tonight.

That's good. Must have just been a bad night on that one.

Why is Brian singing "Sail On Sailor"? He's rough on that tune.