Since we can probably all agree that what she's singing isn't very hard to sing, and it's evident in live performances that she sings in key, why is it so hard to believe that they didn't have to 'autotune' her voice?  Autotune is a pitch correction tool.  If they're singing it on pitch, there's nothing to pitch correct.  

You understand that a number of producers do not think like this nowadays, though? They throw the filter on regardless, they think nothing of it, it's just like compression or reverb to them. It's a safety net applied to most tracks to ensure everything is "right" when music shouldn't be about being "right". They're not sitting they're debating "Was she in tune? Was it bad?" They're throwing it right in there along with the compression etc. simply because "that's how you do it now." They think said glossy, warbly character sounds "nice", just as people thought chamber-reverbed drum machines and 800 goofy keyboard overdubs sounded "nice" in the 80s.

More often than not, people are not using autotune to compensate for a poor vocal, they're using it just because it's what you do now. It's grating, it's ill-fitting, it's totally stupid and it's not going to age well at all. Joe Thomas' "work" is only serving to greatly cheapen what I hate to say will go down as some of the Beach Boys' final recordings together. It's really, really depressing. You can say "Just listen to the songs", but fuck, there's a point where it becomes a distraction and really takes away from the experience.

You can use pitch correction without lazily throwing a filter over the entirety of it and calling it a day. It doesn't have to be detectable in the slightestl, it doesn't have to have said glossy, warbly sheen all over it. But no, no one wants to put the work in, no one wants to give Brian's music the level of attention it deserves. Just throw a filter on it, it's the thing to do nowadays, it's cool, just collect your fat paycheck and go home and farm your hair some more.

Where's the autotune on this track? Not all autotune is as obvious as T-Pain, but if it's on this track then you should be able to detect it. Where is it? What's the time marking on the song?

Vocal gloss is not auto-tune. I hear vocal gloss on Kacey's vocals, but for the life of me, I cannot hear any autotune.

Saying, "you weren't there, so you don't know if there's autotune" seems very strange when there's no evidence of autotune.

The totally garbled, warbly sheen over the entire vocal of this song (and every other song that's surfaced, while admittedly much worse on every other song. Especially Brian's vocals, which is telling), only achieved by this particular effect and not multitracking, digital reverb, etc. etc. etc. and that's already heavily present on every one of Joe's productions for Brian in the last few years?

I can admit I wasn't there and say I could be wrong. Some folks on the other side of the fence refuse to be wrong and saying things like "these are the facts" and "you should be ashamed" etc. and using it "prove" they're right about this. It's like when kids angrily say "AND THAT'S FINAL" because they're out of things to say and just want to shut the conversation down.

Think the mods need to use that board function where a replacement word for autotune, auto-tune or any possible variation is automatically inserted when someone types it. Suggestions?

Yeah, good idea, let's stifle (mostly) constructive criticism, with the music's best interest in mind, of everything. Maybe change the board theme to be a bit cheerier, maybe a nice blue color, and at the top they can rename it the "Love it or leave it, asshole" message board in bold, red Comic Sans font.

All I hear - and correct me if I am not wrong - is childish complaints.

Sigh. I've made two posts in this thread, one of which was a pretty rational, well-meaning "Calm down, please" post. I never told anyone they couldn't like anything, I was pretty rational, I'm not sure why you're pinning that on me.

I haven't posted often lately. Thanks for making me want to post a little less.

Ha! Do you realize how important it was for you to post that response Ray? People here love to spout opinions off as fact and unchallenged it would "become fact". Look at all of the " gee wirestone your right" within such a short time. It would have gone on for pages.

Thanks a million.

Yeah, differing opinions and insights suck. I just want to be told what every song is about right out of the box, I want everything to be safe and easy to understand, and I want to listen to critically-acclaimed, dignified-feeling classic rock only.

This autotune thing is hilarious.  It's to the point that reverb gets called Autotune now.  "Oh, he put echo on the girl's vocals, he's touching up her stuff!"  I"m sure he was thinking about touching up her stuff but it had nothing to do with her great voice.

Kacey has a crisp, nicely tuned voice, and more importantly she knows her voice very well.  Most of her songs have little whistles, flourishes she adds in... she's doesn't have the world's greatest voice or even a voice that's anything special, but she knows how to use it competently and knows it's limitations.  Listen how inside the box it is, she's not singing a great range or anything that would need any kind of help with autotune.  It's clearly got a double tracked (triple tracked?) vocal behind the other vocal, with tons of reverb on it to make it sound like the old school reverb or 'slapback' they used in the 50's...  It's not just the effect because at times you can hear the backing vocal come in slightly different than the lead. 

Here's a great video of her singing one of her beautiful songs live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjeQtRn5euw

Listen to her style: minimal range (because her voice isn't incredibly expansive) but very solid, even tone all through her range, and sweet beautiful melody runs that she's able to keep the same dynamic volume as her other notes.  She has a 'crisp' sound to her speaking, and singing voice which is what you're hearing on Brian's record, covered in reverb to make it even more crisp. 

I'd agree with the other guy, she's proud and actually very technical with her vocals (even live).  To go around saying everybody related to Brian Wilson is slathering autotune on their vocals is insulting and you should be ashamed of it. 

You weren't there. Most of us aren't just looking for autotune. There is a gross, shiny gloss that comes with Joe Thomas' work that serves to cheapen and badly date Brian's work. It's a problem. It's nothing to do with doubling vocals - they've been doing that since the very beginning. Digital is not inherently bad at all, nor is vocal tuning - it's very possibly to do it seamlessly without said gloss. Not all autotune sounds like T-Pain. That's an extreme, but it can also be overdone to the point of creating... well, the previously described gross, shiny gloss on That's Why God Made The Radio and this album.

I'm sorry, Joe Thomas does a very poor job and it's upsetting to see him preserve Brian's work like this. If you think well-meaning people who say "The vocal sounds bad, it's not necessary. I wish Joe Thomas didn't cheapen Brian's music like this" are annoying, then know that these love-it-or-leave-it "THERE'S NO AUTOTUNE, THAT'S A FACT" fingers-in-my-ears-la-la-la posts are much more obnoxious.

Edit: Whoops

Saturday Night (1:26:29 into the program):  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05mpzxn

Recorded it on my computer for reference and documentation.

You are a pirate.

Yes and as stated vocal stacking or multi-tracking was used, not auto-tune.

You don't know that.

#2. Decide on a repertoire of songs people know and love like Louie louie, help me rhonda, summertime blues, johnny b goode, honky tonk etc. #3. Get gigs, perform the songs well and pay homage to the golden age of rockNroll!

Do not do this. Cover bands are a waste of talent and it bums me out when I see them. Do something new.

PAY HOMAGE TO THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCKNROLL, YOU NUGGETHEAD

I think Carl's and Brian's vocals are the hardest to tell apart on the earlier work.

Brian and Al too, though - hands down, who noticed it was Al, not Brian, doing the non-Mike lines the first time they heard IKTTAA?

Do you have any idea how long it took me to figure this acronym out?

How many comments have there been about Brian's band trying to continually recreate his 'classic 60s sound'?

502,268

this doesn't sound anything like "pet sounds 2: more pet sounds" and i got so mad about it that i hit my parole officer with a 2x4 this morning

I can barely remember it.

You seem to like the word "turd" a great deal.

Please fix this.

[That's all it does.]

I wonder if his mullet wilted almost instantly after BW leftthis small text is here to ensure I, runnersdialzero, have modified this quote

Even after Landy's passing, a mullet that diabolical cannot wilt. It cannot die.

You still don't get it, do you?

It will find you. That's what it does. That's all it does.

Does such a thing exist? I know Pet Sounds has been well-chronicled in this sense (because omg pet sounds paul mccartney), but it'd be cool to get something semi-definitive in this category for their whole catalog. I continually see someone like Jon Stebbins or Mark Linett post something like "Bruce did this" or "Dennis did that" and I often had no idea prior. I'd like to see this compiled/help in its compilation partially for the sake of getting these Wrecking-Crew-Did-Everything kids to calm the fuck down, but mostly just out of interest.

Also, does it weird anyone else that there's at least one track on a Beach Boys record in which Brian, Mike, Dennis, Carl, Al and Bruce do not appear at all? That's crazy!

I hear a lot of similarity between The Beach Boys (yes, beyond '63 or '64) and The Ramones. It'd be best to calm down a bit about it, though.

why did i come back to the board

I really, really hope this is a Jeff-free album. I've been wanting one for too long now. Sorry, but I'm not a fan. ;(

The part of the "Rhonda" session where Murry says he got drunk and the guys say a lot of stuff and Mike says "Murry." in a really, really concerned voice. The concern in his voice is just so real.

There's truly nothing like it. 

Thank God for that.

Let's hope everyone is on their best non-name-changing behaviour on Monday, lol. 

So I can't change my name to "jonh k" and ask Brian if he wears boxers or briefs or NUTHIN' AT ALL?!?!?!??!?!!

Lorren,

Can you find this thread now that it's been moved?