I find it hard to even rank "The Beatles" among Beatles albums. I have the choice between a bunch of 30 minute albums (well, okay, Pepper and Abbey run a little longer), and this nearly two hour double album!
"Friends", on the other hand, is over in LESS than 30 minutes. But I do like it pretty well up till "Diamond Head" - I know i'm supposed to hear it as a continuation of the "Smile" vibe, but I just find it boring. And then the album closes with an absolutely awful, off-key track about "Transcendental Meditation".
If I wanted the perfect song to meditate to, it certainly wouldn't be this one. I'd choose "Be Still" or "All I Wanna Do".

What about Transcendental Meditation sounds off-key? The harmonies (both the saxes and Brian's vocals) have always sounded extremely spot on to me.

I highly recommend the book for those who haven't read yet; it's a short but fascinating look into a strange part of the Beach Boys' career. Here's an interesting picture - a signed copy of Smiley Smile that Brian gave to Don.

Although Brian didn't cowrite Sweet & Bitter, he apparently changed the chords over the lines "We're still in love, can't you see it's meant to be..."  Originally, Don Goldberg just played an E7 throughout, but Brian spiced it up with the chords Bm / G / E7

I just wrote a big review of the show tonight and my internet was lost and with it, the post was lost. I'm not typing it again.

The band was in very rough shape tonight. The first half was far less than okay, and many people in my section noted it. "Darlin" actually crashed and burned when Cowsill missed a fill and the whole band froze for about three seconds looking panicked. Mike and Bruce look and sounds damn rough. The band was not tight in fact, it was quite messy. I point this out because it is not the norm. I was quite shocked.

Part Two was better, but still rough around the edges. It was wonderful to hear the old Christmas music that I never thought I'd hear live. Mike is singing with the recording of himself on his new Christmas songs.

2018 was not a good year overall for Beach Boys live and I hope that doesn't mean we've passed the point of no return. Mike, Brian, and Bruce are not in good voice. Mike's band is not the tight and well-oiled machine they have been from like 2013-2017. Perhaps this is because they've had more of a revolving door lately. The highlight of 2018 by a landslide, is Al Jardine's Storyteller Shows. If your concert budget allows one Beach Boys experience, that's the way to go. His voice still sounds like 1965, his stories are down to earth and honest, his son is a huge asset to the show, great setlist that allows for fan input (Santa Ana Winds from yours truly), and there's a free meet-and-greet afterwards. What's not to like?

This is surprising to me. I saw them in early summer this year. The band was tight both vocally and instrumentally, Mike and Bruce sounded pretty good, and the crowd was into it 100% of the time.

Do we know if there is going to be a physical CD release, or just digital?

Just digital, as of now. These end of the year sets usually are.

Hey everyone, I was bored the other night and only had access to a melodica. I decided to make a cover of GV for laughs, hope you enjoy. https://soundcloud.com/user-711049186/good-vibrations-melodica-cover

Yeah, sounds like the opposite of Brian for sure. He strikes me as someone who doesn't even like being called genius. DEFINITELY not someone who needs to hear it constantly.

There are a lot of lead vocals that get debated around here. Some of these are hard to tell, and what was initially thought has changed as different evidence has been presented. For example, a lot of people who initially thought Brian sang the verses on BHITM have come around, and now the majority belief is that it's Al Jardine. However, Sail On Sailor is not one of these songs. The boys can all sound pretty similar, but not a single person has doubted the lead singer of this song until this whole issue. I think we can all agree it's Blondie.

Today's song is Goin' Home  (not TLOS ver. but early ver. recorded circa '95):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHt_LQBfZ-Y

Thanks for the YouTube link, but can you include where "Goin' Home" appears in this 1 hour, 15-minute video?

Around 1:07:30 I believe.

Fantastic song! This has always been an underrated one in my opinion.

I think "Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again" probably has the highest, strongest notes of his original voice. Sure, there's the high "side" on "Slip On Through", but I believe that song was sped up a bit for release. The powerful "whoever said" parts in "WIBNTLA", though, are pretty impressive. Not sure if they quite reach "Dream On" territory, though! 

Those parts in WIBNTLA are great, but they're not all that high and don't require his falsetto. The high notes in Slip On Through are much higher, and they were only sped up a half tone.

https://mikelove.com/?attachment_id=2456
Is it just me, or is this Shortenin Bread.....

Sixthed. (ok these aren't words anymore).

Not that big a fan of this arrangement, but the song is so good it transcends this minor flaw. 5

Is Carl's lead vocal on Cabin Essence that we all know a vocal from 1968? Or is it a SMiLE era recording?

What, I didn't know about that Denny song! Where did you hear about that?

I'm also super interested in stories like this, like how the vocal tracks for Do It Again were somehow found. Does anyone know about these?

Catch a Wave

On his instagram, a picture of Brian in the studio with a caption "Brian's in the studio" was posted.

I believe Brian plays drums on the Beach Boys Concert version of The Wanderer.

Posted this on PSF and almost forgot to post it here. I have it on good authority that there will be a '68 set coming in November. From what I hear, the physical version will be smaller than the digital one.

I'm guessing it will be like the releases last year, where we get a 2CD set and then a huge expansive collection on iTunes and Spotify.

I realize this is probably a stupid question, but I've just noticed that I've never heard of Brian playing guitar on a session or live at a concert. I know that he pretty much picked up the bass as "his" touring instrument, but did he ever learn guitar?

COMMENT to John Brode:  Brian Wilson is proficient at playing any keyboard instrument, any 12-string guitar, 6-string guitar, bass guitar and you would be amazed at how good he is playing the drums too.

He prefers to play the keyboard because he relates to music as harmony as well as melody. Harmony is best expressed by the polyphonic keyboard. ~swd

Very cool. I've seen so many videos of him playing bass, piano, and even some drums, but I had come to the realization this morning that I'd never heard anything about him playing guitar. A talented man indeed.

I realize this is probably a stupid question, but I've just noticed that I've never heard of Brian playing guitar on a session or live at a concert. I know that he pretty much picked up the bass as "his" touring instrument, but did he ever learn guitar?

Welcome Steve! I'm pretty sure those were just one offs, not released any where else besides youtube. I could be wrong though

Bruce just seems to contradict himself all the time, as if his opinion is constantly changing. This is a little off topic, but does anyone know if he's still married? I work with his (ex?) brother-in-law, and he seems to steer the conversation away whenever I mention Bruce, but I get the impression from him that his sister is still with Bruce. However, I've heard some people on here say he's divorced. Does anyone know what his marital status is at now?

[SEE AND HEAR]

COMMENT TO EVERYONE: !!

I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU ARE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION.  THERE IS ABSOLUTLY NO DOUBT THAT CARL WILSON SANG THE LEAD VOCAL, AND THEN DOUBLED IT, ON THE LP RELEASE OF GOD ONLY KNOWS .

I REFER YOU TO THE PRODUCER, BRIAN WILSON   AS HE TALKS WITH GEORGE MARTIN ABOUT GOD ONLY KNOWS. IN THIS VIDEO YOU WILL SEE AND HEAR THE ISOLATED VOCAL TRACKS FROM THE GOD ONLY KNOWS MASTER MULTI-TRACK.

IT WILL SETTLE THIS STUPID ARGUMENT.  

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-watch-george-martin-los-angeles-god-only-knows-brian-wilson-20160309-story.html

SEE:  3:18 TO 3:48  

You can also hear the isolated vocal tracks at http://swdstudyvideos.com  --  page 3  --  "God Only Knows" button.    ~SWD

Mr. Desper,

With all respect, this thread is about the version of GOK marked "Brian Sings Lead" on the Pet Sounds Sessions. I'm almost certain everyone here knows that Carl sings the album version. It seems this topic that I started has initiated a string of similarly related ones about who sang which line, such as the Be Here in the Morning. Sorry if the title of this topic didn't make that clear. Much respect!