This is nuts. If Marilyn owns all this stuff and had it pulled, then unless someone is keeping her from doing something with it herself, unless Capitol/UMe or some other label is tying this up legally, and frankly even *if* they're tying it up legally, then she should be trying to cut a deal to get this stuff out there (and/or should have long ago), because I gotta point out the obvious: There aren't a bunch of labels or buyers standing in line waiting for "Spring" material. It's niche-within-niche-within-niche, and most of the people who know about it and want it and like it have sought it out years ago and secured the music in whatever form they can or need.

This recent stuff and/or the lack of the stuff being available for decades may or may not have anything to do with Marilyn, I honestly don't know. Maybe she's been fighting for years ardently to get it streaming, etc. And I'm all for someone exercising their rights if they own something.

But we're already probably past the prime moment for interest in "Spring" stuff. Waiting years and years for "the right time" to do it isn't going to fly anymore.

Again, without knowing the specifics of what the various hangups could be on "Spring" material, I do know that other kind of Beach Boys-adjacent material/projects have been stifled because rights holders, or prospective rights holders, have seemed to have a weirdly inflated sense for how much demand there is for the material, and/or how much it's worth. And/or they're just really slow/procrastinators, etc.

It even extends to the actual BBs. I'm glad Al finally got "Postcards" relaunched, but why did it takes YEARS to simply re-issue the ONE solo album he released 13 years ago?

Definitely not Carnie in that video behind Brian. 

Carnie mentioned Wilson Phillips was asked to perform, but they weren't all available on the date.

I think it's worth keeping in mind that Mike (and Bruce) have probably not seen Brian in person since that 2018 SiriusXM event.

I don't want to be overly dramatic or make any assumptions about Brian's shape, but I think it's quite possible that Mike (and Bruce, and probably David) may have some pretty strong emotions involved in seeing Brian in rougher shape. Like, I'm sure they've heard how last year's tour went down, at least the broad strokes. But seeing and talking to him, if he's still having a rough time as it appears he is to some degree, it may have been still jarring and emotional.

What I hope is that if/when Mike (because Bruce and Dave seem to rarely do interviews) talks about this, if he did find it tough to see Brian in rough shape, he shows some tact and is able to convey his emotions about it without being too blunt or unsubtle about it. I'm not trying to anticipate a negative thing about Mike, but I know in the past he hasn't been the best at speaking with true empathy about Brian, where it sometimes kind of comes across as patronizing and/or pity. He did this a bit many years ago talking about Carl.

But I'm hoping this meeting between all of them was a good thing for them, whatever came of it or however it went down.

As others have pointed out, several other threads have some relatively frank discussions about what is or may be going on with Brian these days.

I think the kind of gradual realization of Brian's shape out on tour last year dictated that the fan community kind of just slowly but steadily all (or mostly, aside from those living under a rock/in a bubble) just realized without any kind of announcement that Brian's probably done touring. Whether that precludes any sort of single performances, or other non-touring musical activity, that is somewhat less clear, because we don't know the precise reasons why Brian had such a downturn last year. We do now have an answer as to whether Brian is up to making any public appearances at all, as he did appear at the Grammy thing the other night.

I mean, there's a bit of a vacuum as far as information right now. I think the question of whether Brian is going to tour more is relatively easily answerable based on last year's tour and the lack of activity since then. The *precise* reason for Brian's current shape is not as clear, and that's where trying to prognosticate much beyond that is difficult. I'm sure I as well as some other fans have heard some things, and I think it's a testament to the love and admiration for Brian from his fans that fans have somehow found a way to be kind of measured and not histrionic about what's going on with Brian. Time will tell whether things end up getting stirred up more in the fan community. A lot of that depends on what if anything we see or hear of Brian, obviously.

And, we may not hear much of anything. And *maybe* that's okay. I think some sort of information or indication *at some point* for fans is probably a good idea. And, it may speak to the kind of catch-all, non-specific nature of what's going on with Brian that nobody including Brian and his team know exactly what the future holds.

While the overall slant of the song selections is not surprising at all, I guess I'm a tiny bit surprised there wasn't *something* a bit more out of the ordinary. This was all "Sounds of Summer" selections plus a couple "Pet Sounds" tracks. The only even slightly arguably "obscure" song was "I Know There's An Answer." But I can't not be a bit disappointed that after years of PS and Smile boxed sets, and other stuff honing in other eras, we still get "Barbara Ann" and "Do You Wanna Dance."

I'm always curious how the song selection happens, whether it's the producers or the artists. I'm sure it's some of both in most cases.

But it's worth noting that, as far as I can tell, "Kokomo" was NOT performed. Did that even cross Mike's mind? Does he care? All relatively interesting questions.

Just like the infamous "striped shirts" debate on the SiriusXM thing from 2018, there are all sorts of interpretations of that seating arrangement, from the very cynical to the pragmatic to the optimistic. But sure, it makes sense. The more pragmatic/optimistic interpretation would be that since Al has been with Brian more in recent years, he's more familiar with Brian's situation/needs, and Brian is more comfortable with him. The cynical reading of course is that they keep Brian and Mike as far away from each other as possible (and then Al and Mike the next farthest away from each other as possible, etc.).

I suspect they of course all talked/met up for at least some amount of time before and/or after the show. I think the degree to which anybody conversed with Brian would depend a lot on precisely how he's doing these days, and we still don't know exactly. That he showed up is certainly a better sign than *not* showing up.

I’m surprised there are fans on social media asking why Blondie and Ricky weren’t at this thing. I mean, I’m not saying I would be *opposed* to them appearing, but I can’t fathom why anybody would have expected it. Blondie and Ricky have *never* been featured at any band events of this sort, whether tribute shows, anniversary shows, etc. The band just released a big boxed set that prominently features Blondie and Ricky and properly contextualizes their place in the band’s history.

Barring “Sail on Sailor”, nothing at the show focused on the Blondie/Ricky era. If it was a “Tribute to So Tough and Holland”, then I’d say it would make sense to have Blondie and Ricky there. But I think most of us just feel like, yeah, that’s the core five up there in the balcony. Again, I’d love to see Blondie and Ricky also appear with the guys; I wouldn’t have balked at all at seeing all seven up there. But I don’t feel it’s like a slight that Blondie and Ricky aren’t there.

Also, I think fans scoffing at their exclusion seem to not understand the band/corporate/interpersonal politics that *still* permeate everything these guys do, even in a situation like this when it’s mostly outside producers putting on the show, and even with Iconic owning a majority stake in the band. Even then, there’s still politics and I think adding Blondie and Ricky would complicate things (to say nothing of whether they would even want to show; Ricky seems pretty low key when it comes to BB stuff especially.)

Setlist.fm seems to only have the show logged under each performer, but this is what they show for the song lineup (certainly not in this order):

Beck - Sloop John B
Brandi Carlile - In My Room
Brandi Carlile & John Legend - God Only Knows
Weezer - California Girls
Fall Out Boy - Do You Wanna Dance
John Legend - Sail on Sailor
Lady A - Surfer Girl
St. Vincent - You Still Believe In Me
Hanson - Barbara Ann
Charlie Puth - Wouldn't It Be Nice
Norah Jones - The Warmth of the Sun
Little Big Town - Help Me Rhonda
Take 6 & Michael McDonald - Don't Worry Baby
My Morning Jacket - I Get Around
LeAnn Rimes - Caroline, No
Pentatonix - Heroes and Villains
Luke Spiller & Taylor Momsen - Surfin' USA, Fun Fun Fun
Andy Grammer - Darlin'
Beck & Jim James - Good Vibrations
Mumford & Sons - I Know There's An Answer
Foster the People - Do It Again

I added a few from YouTube that aren't on setlist.fm yet. Could be more stuff missing, or incomplete details still.

Extra dork awards go to the Struts guy, who kind of came across like a bad Mick Jagger impersonator, and that Charlie Puth guy for seemingly not actually playing his piano and whatever the f*** it was he was wearing. And what sounded like autotune.

It's undeniably heartening to see all of them together. And yes, there's also some sadness as well. I won't dwell on it too much here, but obviously there's the feeling of missed opportunities of the last 11 years (or more). Also, while we only have a few grainy stills and grainy video bits of the guys up there together, there is a sense of unease or kind of muted emotions. But we'll need to see more and see/hear more reports to know how much of that was actually present. I think Mike usually seems more muted when he's not like *the* guy, like when it's just he and Bruce at an event.

And, I think seeing Brian here could easily elicit all kinds of responses and feelings. It's a good sign that he's there. Does he seem in good shape? I mean, not particularly I guess? But I suppose on par with recent photos and those 2022 dates. Some or all of what we see may just be par for the course, or a result of just the scattered nature of the few pics we have so far. Is it possible all of the other guys might be a bit sad or humbled to see Brian in rougher shape than back in 2018 at that SiriusXM thing? Quite possibly. Is there still stuff between Al and Mike? Maybe. Is there a clear obvious logic and politics to the seating order, with the two "camps" seated opposite each other and everybody's favorite middleman David Marks in the middle? Probably.

If I had to guess, there was a lot of rigamarole involved in how to have any or all of the guys there. My guess is that a performance from Brian was probably firmly off the table, so then it becomes an issue of it being weird to have a 4/5 reunion *performance* (and even weirder if Brian is in attendance but not performing), so then it becomes an issue about whether to have any or all of the guys simply in attendance. Would it have been weird to have some but not all of them simply in the audience? Sorta, but I guess less so than if only some of them actually performed together.

So, having all of them seated together simply observing was probably the best case scenario.

As for the artists; I've watched a bunch of the performances on YouTube. I guess it's about what I would have expected? It's for prime time on network TV, so it's going to be mostly the recognizable hits. And that unfortunately hampers a lot of the artists, because I think a lot of these singers and bands could find *much* better fits for themselves than doing like "Fun Fun Fun" or "I Get Around" or "California Girls." I haven't seen anything that blew me away. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Puth guy has *live autotune* turned up to 11.

Beach Boys songs are often quite difficult to cover, because you either have to have a *very good* group vocal ensemble, or you end up with a weird stripped-down arrangement. Not that a stripped-down arrangement can't work as well if done creatively.

I was not surprised but still disappointed with the John Stamos narration/intros. I'm not trying to bust on the guy; he *read* the lines just fine. No issue with Stamos (assuming he didn't write the lines). But whomever wrote those lines, it's like they used an AI to say the same cliched stuff we've heard forever. Sun, surf, cars, innocence, good times, etc.

But I haven't heard anything particularly ear-catching so far. Beck singing "Sloop John B?" It's somehow just really boring. I suppose the Norah Jones "Warmth of the Sun" was interesting to hear in that jazz lounge arrangement, even if I can't *not* fall asleep listening to her perform. The bands doing the up tempo stuff mostly sounded like dorks.

I should say that for the most part everybody sounded solid in terms of not like singing off-key or biffing performance elements. I mean, Weezer was hitting those notes on "California Girls." But it all felt kind of perfunctory.

In a stop-the-presses moment, Pentatonix did a non-Christmas song. But the music stands suggest they didn't have a ton of time to grasp or rehearse "Heroes and Villains." They sounded okay, but I was surprised it was a little more lacking than I would have thought. I think, while their a cappella format seems an easy and obvious fit for BB material, and especially H&V, they actually don't have enough voices to do it. They've got the percussion guy and the lead guy, leaving only three-part harmony for all of the other parts of the song. But at least it was interesting I guess.

I haven't watched all of the songs of course, only some were up on YouTube as of last night.

Curious to hear more reports from the show. From a production point of view it looks like everything was pulled together and not like extra shambolic or anything.

McCartney is a guy for me that wore out his welcome years ago. Too much ego and fake thumbs up, and probably just the fact that everybody worships him like he walks on water. Paul was the bright, sunny one of the Beatles, while John and George balanced that some darkness and reality.
The way Macca treated the other guys in Wings still annoys me.
But I'm a minority voice here; and no question about it, I do love most of the music Paul made or was a part of from 1962-1985.

I mean, his voice is thrashed, and recent albums have been pretty weak. I don't really agree with any of the above, though. Yes, his public persona is rather autopilot. I think all of these guys, from Mike/Beach Boys to Brian to McCartney are all playing to crowds of people who adore/worship them. All of them have fanbases who sometimes skew too far into the overly-forgiving/unquestioning category (e.g. liking "Kisses on the Bottom").

I think an actual deep dive into the Beatles and their lives and music proves the pigeonholing of each of them as a particular type (e.g. sunny vs. "real", etc.) is ill-advised.

The Wings relationships vary wildly depending on what we're talking about. He certainly has been too dismissive of them as far as even *mentioning* them. The "Wingspan" doc was embarrassing. That has been somewhat corrected with the "Archive" boxed sets that include ample inclusion of the other members. I think pretty much all of the various Wings members were nowhere near the same league as the guy. That he dropped them creatively is not something I can really disagree with. One can't help but wish he had at times been a bit more gracious about discussing them over the years certainly.

But back to the Beach Boys, I certainly feel like it would have been more likely to get him at a BB tribute show in the last 10 years than prior. If he's willing to get on stage with Ringo (which he wasn't often doing prior to the last decade or so), then certainly popping by to remind us he loves "Pet Sounds" certainly seems plausible. But I figure it would have been announced by now. As I've mentioned, from what I've heard, it's been all they could do to get who they have so far.

The guy that co-wrote/re-wrote his book was posting here for a while some time back. Is anyone able to contact him?

I think it's probably better all around to *not* make a big announcement of some sort of retirement. It doesn't really help much of anything, and it's not like there are still ticket holders waiting to find out if their show is canceled. It would just invite another negative spin news cycle.

I would imagine one likely scenario is that they realize Brian's not going to be doing like "on the road" touring, but they don't want to close the door on anything and everything, so why announce anything?

I don't think fans need more closure than what we have. I mean, I think we'd all like to see some video or something that hopefully shows Brian in good spirits and generally good overall health all things considered.

As has been discussed on many threads, both the BBs as a group and Brian solo have HUNDREDS of studio and live tracks in the vaults that could still be released to continue "the story" so to speak. And I don't know that the door is 100% closed on Brian cutting stuff in the studio.

I bow to nobody in my love for Paul McCartney and his music. He's like THE guy, of all time. I've studied every nook and cranny of his career, of his life.  Defended him *here* many times to the most die-hard BB/Brian fans who from time to time have some weird hang-up about the Beatles.

But his voice has been in very rough shape for a number of years now, certainly the last decade give or take. It's indeed a totally different deal from Brian's issues over the years; it's difficult to compare too much.

But listen to Howie's Fabcast Beatles podcast; they talk about McCartney's voice in a very honest, direct way, but as die hard fans and scholars of the man. It's kind of like criticizing your kid; you're allowed to do it, but it's not so great coming from others, especially non-fans. I feel I can be pretty blunt about Paul's voice because I've listened to it and studied it and admired it since I could listen to music. And I've stuck with him and his voice though many, many, many ups and downs.

I'm pretty much in the same boat as the Fabcast guys. It's *heartbreaking* what has happened to Paul's voice. Yes, yes, of course he still can command an arena, a stadium, all of that. That's how amazing his music is, and how energetic he still is. And his voice even now can be fit into certain material better than others. As fans have pointed out, it's actually the throat-shredders like "Helter Skelter" and "I've Got a Feeling" that, these days, are more palatable in concert compared to him trying to sing like "Maybe I'm Amazed."

But I remember listening to that "In the Blink of an Eye" track Paul released several years back, and I was depressed for the rest of the day. It had reached a stage where Paul couldn't even rescue the voice in the studio.

Again, I bow to nobody in my love for the man and the musician/singer/writer. And some things still sound better than others. And, I don't even really think too much about trying to figure out exactly *why* his voice has deteriorated so much beyond the normal aging process, or how much we're like supposed to "blame" him for it. Smoking a million pounds of weed for decade after decade didn't help. But I also think some medical or medical-adjacent issues have come into play as well. And I do think "McCartney III" shows him finally starting to figure out how to work with his voice a bit better.

I was kind of just riffing previously about Paul being at this BB tribute show. I do think he could be paired with a good song. Not "God Only Knows." But something.

Yeah, I'm sure if McCartney did show up, the point would be to do a Beach Boys song.

I'm not even sure I'd want to see McCartney on a show like this. He didn't sound so great singing "God Only Knows" at that benefit show with Brian back in 2000-whatever. I do think his current voice (read: not in good shape at all) could still be matched to a good song though.

But not landing a McCartney-type for this show is I suppose more just a bit emblematic of either not seeking out "legacy artists" or other contemporaries of the BBs, and/or not having the clout/pull to get such acts.

Knowing what I know, I think they probably had to bust their asses to get what they *did* get for this show. Like, that was probably achieved by a lot of last-minute cajoling and horse trading.

I’m actually most impressed with the team behind this, and looking at a few of the previous tributes, the high standard of production. Artists aside, this should be a class act.

*Ken Ehrlich Productions has been the leading production company in Los Angeles and produces Television, Specials, series and events for over 40 years. We have produced the Annual Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards and Concert specials. We have also produced events like the Obama Presidency fund raisers to the Women's Cancer Research Fund gala. Additionally, we have produced and directed Las Vegas residencies for Celine Dion, Mariah Carey and John Fogerty. Our clients include CBS, NBC, ABC along with artists from Celine Dion, The Rolling Stones, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez to name a few.*

I have no reason to doubt the production values will be just fine as far as these type of TV specials go. I mean, there's a point at which it's less a resume and more like evidence of a kind of cookie-cutter, assembly-line, sausage-making sort of thing with all of these shows.

But I've never assumed there would be any problems with the nuts-and-bolts in terms of production values. I'm sure the camera work and set design and all of that will be fine (probably, I mean I do think it was kind of weird on that Beatles Grammy tribute to have the "house band" on a second stage off to the side instead of behind the performers).

Their TV show production resume is fine. Their resume when it comes to the Beach Boys is close to zip. I don't complain too much about this, because it's not like there's a BRI in-house team that regularly produces Beach Boys tribute shows that they can go to. *But*, there are folks at BRI and others who could certainly help them make this thing a little more special. I sense this is going to be that 2012 round-robin Beach Boys "tribute" from the actual Grammy show, just minus the actual Beach Boys. In other words, and again I don't expect otherwise, but these shows are not for fans. They're for the same people who would watch the actual Grammy awards telecast, who might be hearing "You're So Good To Me" or whatever for the first time.

My only wish for these things is less about getting cover artists *I* want, and just about making the thing a little more "Concert for George" than the Beach Boys 25th Anniversary special in terms of gravitas and esteem and tone. I don't sense this upcoming show will be such an event. The fact that a Beach Boys "reunion" is likely past its expiration date makes me less interested of course. But of course I'll watch, and if any artists pick cool songs or do a good job, I'll be happy to say so.

The Beach Boys had gone arguably at least sporadically unscathed in the press, or unnoticed is perhaps a better way to put it. This obviously had pros and cons, but one of the only pros of the press not caring in, say, the early 80s, was that some of the dark/messy/uncomfortable stuff kind of went unnoticed (playing Sun City in 1981 being one of the most obvious).

*Then*, the Gaines book came. The Leaf book in '77 and '85 was not exactly appreciated by some if not most of the non-Brian Beach Boys either, but certainly the Gaines book got into much more messy, specific stuff, and perhaps most noteworthy the '78 Australia episode. However obvious or not it was to readers at the time, it's clear they were working from an *actual recording* of the episode (at least the confrontation/punch part of it), and I'm sure that not only were Carl and the other guys probably mortified by the Gaines book in general, but Carl got to be singled out with excruciating and specific detail concerning one of the rare, short-term instances he went off the rails.

That all being said, it's not like Carl was being hounded constantly about it as far as I know. I mean, I don't know what local journalists were asking him on each tour stop, etc. But in general, it's not like there are countless interviews where Carl is confronted about his short dance with drug use. He was asked in that translated '89 interview, and he seemed to still kind of bob and weave a bit around it. But it was certainly his right to answer or not answer whatever he wanted. I don't think anybody expects that Carl should have or would have said heroin was purchased and all of the stuff outlined in the Gaines book.

To the main point, I certainly would think that the Gaines book didn't *help* in terms of getting Carl to be more forthcoming and less private. And of course the Landy "autobiography" was another thing that clearly hurt and angered Carl (and, ironically, whether he knew it or not, a lot of that book appeared to be sourced from the Gaines book).

But I think the only way to know how forthcoming Carl was would be to find out how often he *turned down* interviews. I've never got the sense he was *asked* that often for detailed, sit-down interviews. He did various press junkets over the years with varying combinations of the other guys, but that was all fluff and quick.

It's both poignant and extremely frustrating that Carl's friends and family were and are very aware he was private, as that guy that did the Carl biography several years back got *very little* out of anybody of note. I think he got some interesting stuff from Carl's solo tour guitarist, but that was all like nuts and bolts stuff about touring with Carl. We still never got to know about the man. I'd like to think there would be a way to delve into that more without getting all tabloid status. Billy Hinsche's film on Carl was nice, but pretty surface-level, even just in terms of non-scandalous/personal stuff. A few cool details here and there of course.

I've long asked the question of why so little in the way of in-depth interviews with Carl exist. I'm sure the obvious multi-prong answer is most likely, that he was both a private person and presumably wasn't getting asked that often to do such interviews. It's no coincidence that a few of the best ones come from the times he was out promoting his solo albums. Too bad he didn't do more solo albums; perhaps we would have had more long form interviews too.

But there are a few from the 80s, both in print and on video. There was some raw footage from the mid-80s from an interview Carl did (perhaps with MTV or VH1 or something along those lines) that had some good stuff, although as I recall he was being interviewed by someone who clearly *wasn't* a skilled interviewer nor a big BB fan.

Am I the only one who thinks Brian should retire from touring?  He's earned it.

No, this has been a pretty regular sentiment from most fans here for quite some time. Perhaps a bit more "he should retire if he wants" than explicitly calling to bar him from the stage. But if you read the 2022 tour thread, I think most fans, even the most overly-forgiving fans, have come to the realization that we should probably expect few performances if any in the future.

We've already had at least two very similar events (the 2001 TNT show and the Musicares show from 2005 or whenever that was), and both were mixed bags.

I don't think it's really possible to make these things *great*; I think some greatness could be stumbled upon with the right performers and song picks. But it's very hard to do, even with an A-list group, which this show certainly isn't. I'm not totally ignorant as to who might be a young A-lister with a young fanbase, I think this show isn't even getting like A-list talent even if it's all artists with little or no connection to the BBs or their fanbase.

Assuming the show goes well enough to air later in the year in primetime on a network, it will get some eyes and ears on BB music. That's good.

As I mentioned, it's pretty interesting to see this thing unfold having just read David Leaf's excruciatingly detailed account of putting together than TNT tribute. Leaf essentially called in favors, and/or called in favors to call in favors, etc., and that was all to achieve what was really a mixed bag of a tribute show.

Why this Grammy show can't get top-tier talent from all genres and eras is a question I can't fully answer. Is a "Brian Wilson" tribute show more enticing than a "Beach Boys" tribute show? Has Mike's occasional well-known gaffes (Rock Hall speech, political stuff of recent years) soured a few folks on doing something that isn't more Brian-centric?

I've always hoped for something that isn't like Morgan Freeman at a podium narrating while the same dozen early-era Capitol publicity photos swoosh by. Or that same stupid early 60s stock beach footage.

And you know, especially as the artist list gets less interesting, the show's producers are going to push for the most recognizable songs.

Curious if the producers of the show (or Michael McDonald) have seen the "Long Promised Road", where Jason Fine tells a story about Brian and "What A Fool Believes." Maybe it's a good thing if Brian isn't there.

This lineup is firmly in the realm of "eye of the beholder" as far as personal preference versus what would constitute current day "A list", etc. As I mentioned awhile back, the Beatles tribute show the same people put on 8 or 9 years ago (or however long ago that was) worked a little better because they at least mixed the latter-day artists with a few sort-of "contemporaries" of the Beatles. At least some folks like Jeff Lynne, Joe Walsh, Frampton (in the backing band anyway), and so on. They also obviously had the benefit of getting both Paul and Ringo as well.

I'm sure the artists on this BB show have a wide ranging level of familiarity and fandom for the Beach Boys, but I sense a lot of these artists will either be picking very well-known hits, or will be learning songs they've never heard before.

It speaks to, well, something, that they couldn't get much of any of the "legacy" era artists to do this (McDonald presumably being of the most vintage), nor much of any artists that have any link or known strong affinity for the Beach Boys. I guess Hanson has worked with Mike. Pentatonix is an all-vocal group, so that's something I guess.

Not that it's surprising, but this cast seems to have been assembled much more as if it were a typical Grammy show lineup, with as much youth demographic appeal as possible, followed by an attempt to grab a bunch of different genres/demographics.

Is is kind of interesting to see this right after having just recently finally read the updated version of David Leaf's book, where he goes into (kind of comically excessive) detail about putting together that 2001 TNT Brian tribute show. He managed to call in enough favors to get the likes of Paul Simon, Elton, Billy Joel, etc.

Hopefully at least the production value on this will be up to snuff enough and good songs and artists matched enough to sell young folks and other prospective new fans on getting into the Beach Boys.

And yes, for many reasons, it's probably best to forego any attempt at a "reunited" band on stage for this.

I think the main deal with that '85 show that you're hearing is Brian's normal "stage fright" (or "stage fright adjacent") issues, and as Wirestone mentioned, some form of uppers to jack him up to have plenty of energy and push through the stage fright. In a lot of Brian's solo appearances in the 80s, for whatever reason, Landy had Brian standing and *not* playing an instrument, which I would think would typically only amp up stage fright issues.

Also, I presume an unfavorable comparison between this '85 show and Brian's mid-late 70s voice is being made to his *studio* voice in the mid-late 70s. Because, if you listen to decent-sounding live recordings from 1976-1982 with the Beach Boys, Brian doesn't sound any more in control of his voice.

Which brings us to the crux of this, which is that Brian has always been able to, for lack of a better way to put it, get his sh*t together when doing studio vocals (or any non-live-on-stage situation), both by way of being more relaxed, and also through all the normal studio methods (comping, re-takes, by the 80s various forms of running vocals through synthesizers, etc.).

In the 1976 through early 90s time frame, when Brian *wasn't* on some kind of stimulant, you got the rather low-energy performances you see on many 1979/1980 performances. When you watch something like the '77 Maryland pro-shot show, Brian certainly appears to be coked out or on some kind of upper, and he doesn't sound super dissimilar there to how he sounds in this '85 live show. He's a little more loosey-goosey on that '77 show, less even-tempered and a little gruffer on the vocals. But you're hearing his singing through a bunch of filters. It's like smoker voice filtered through stage fright filtered through stimulants filtered through whatever was going on that day.

To be honest, I'm not really hearing so much a case of his sounding like he doesn't know how to sing on this '85 show. I think that's the meds and additional uppers, all pushing him past not only the stage fright, but past the ability to know or care how good he sounds. He's just doin' it and letting loose, and it sounds a little off the rails which he regularly did all through this era.

I think, even going back to the late 70s and early 80s (think something like the Carl-less '81/'82 shows in particular), Brian was conditioned to be there when he kinda didn't want to be, and had to kind of, at least on some level, not *care* how he sounded. It's the only explanation for something like him trying to sing "Don't Worry Baby" on that '81 tour. So maybe part of getting Brian through stage fright was via a shortcut of kind of forcing him to not care how good he sounded.

He certainly fares better on those early 85-86 solo bits than he did on that 1991 private show video that circulated, from near the end of the Landy era. That's the one where Don Was is in the backing band, and Brian plays "Surfin' USA" in a different key than the rest of the band for like the entire song.

But I can't say much of any of his pre-1999 "solo" appearances were particularly good. I think of course in the early days of Landy Part 2, folks were happy to see Brian in much better physical shape. But his appearances (including some of his appearances with the BBs) tended to be awkward, or wonky, or, yes, featuring Brian seemingly on some form of stimulant beyond the cups of coffee he would beg off Landy or Usher in the mid-80s.

I don't often take out his '76 SNL appearance, or his '88 talk show appearances, or his '98 Farm Aid appearance, etc.

On a lot of those gigs, if one thing seemed good, then something else would be off. He did "I Sleep Alone" at that VH1 show around '91, and it was interesting to see him do a new song like that, but his demeanor overall was even stranger near the end of the Landy era, for some obvious reasons I suppose.

And then there's the leather pants and "Night Time" with Dick Clark.....

Fans were understandably nervous when he started actually touring in 1999 for real. And I think a lot of fans got tickets because they thought the little strings of shows in 1999 would probably be the only chance to ever see him barring perhaps some sort of Beach Boys reunion.

It's crazy how different things shook out.