I love the idea of the lenticular cover.  Even more cool would have been that pic of Brian from what would have been the inner sleeve.

I wonder if the quality of the picture on the back cover will be significantly improved?




Dan

During a heated discussion at a recording session, love demands that Parks explain the meaning of the song Parks objected and went, leading to Love officially end his association with Wilson. Although love supposedly had nothing personal against the wind, apparently feared that the letters were too abstract to a record of the Beach Boys.

[/i]

I take this to mean that VDP, once cornered by Mike and challenged over lyrics, proceeded to let one rip bigtime as a clever diversion, and/or means to escape, to wit:
ML: Explain this..."Over and over, the crow cries uncover the cornfield?"
VDP: Brrrrraaaaaaaappppppp... Ding Witty Pearl, Mikey!  Got to split.  Bye!


Dan

As someone else said, SMILEY was the album that got me into the more creative side of BW/BB's.
Never cared for Wind Chimes or Wonderful on Smiley.  When I heard the SMILE versions of those tracks, not only did I get that feeling that "these" were the best versions, I also went back and re-evaluated SMILEY.

This is what I concluded: I will always enjoy the album, but I feel like WC, Wonderful, and With Me Tonight were like a "wake" for the album that was left behind.  The minimalism of the LP still puzzles me.  Maybe Brian felt like he painted himself into a corner with Smile?  Who knows?

And yet, to me, there is something about the SS version of Vegetables that has it all over the Smile one.

Go figure.............

Dan

I saw the show and thought it was great.  Al's voice sounded superb.  I only wish that they let him sing more leads.  WIBN might have been better if Al sang it....maybe he could have done it closer to the original key.

Brian sounded great, too.  He seemed a little nervous during the acoustic set, then got more confident and did a good job on the PS stuff.



Dan

It's important to find the right teacher.  Some are very open-minded in terms of technique, and some are fanatically opinionated.  I've had both kinds.

I know drummers that feel they can get more speed heel down, but more power heel up.
Just as with traditional grip vs. matched grip, I switch between both depending on what kind of sound is necessary.

I would suggest staying with the heel up approach.  Hopefully, the teacher you have now will be agreeable to that.  Good luck.


Dan

Me too!  I just saw the link on this post on Steve Hoffman's board:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=91002



Dan

I say we find the m-f-er.




Dan

I was just perusing your Recording The Beach Boys book yesterday.  Best wishes for a speedy recovery!



Dan

Get well soon, Josh!  Sounds like the worst is over....best wishes, and hope there is no appendix "B"!



Dan

To answer the initial question: I don't know about "piss me off", but sure, some of the BB's shows were better than others.  This is true of any musician or group.  No explanation necessary; it's called being human, and everyone has an off night.

That having been said, I am REALLY sick of people taking cheap shots at Dennis' drumming because he wasn't "a drummer's drummer".  Unlike people coming up today, there were not dozens of rock drummers to emulate as Dennis began.  Sure, there was Buddy, Gene, Max, Louie Bellson, Joe Morello, etc., but those were jazz guys.  Maybe DJ Fontana with Elvis, or Jerry Allison with the Crickets?  But my point is that Dennis was largely finding his own way, with no lessons to my knowledge.  Just that is impressive, IMHO.

Personally, I've been playing drums for over 30 years, and it's still a matter of opinion.  What a non-musician likes is no more valid than what a musician likes.  I love Dennis' drumming.  Lots of what I've heard live is exciting as all hell, and that is what the BB's needed, not Steve Gadd(though I'm sure he would do a good job, as well).

Ultimately, to complain about a band's lack of musical instrument chops when they sang like no one else on the planet is simply missing the point.



Dan

The song on that collection is not "Down South In San Diego", it's "Everybody's Waiting".  As it says at the bottom of the track info, both songs were the theme songs of Beach Boy Conventions in California. 

>> "Everybody's Waiting" was used as the official song of the 1992 San Diego Beach Boys Convention, as was Alan's "Down South in San Diego" in 1990. <<


I believe both songs can be found on Alan's own CD, along with a lot of other nifty Alan Boyd songs!


               Love and merci,    Dan Lega

"Everybody's Waiting" is just phenomenal!  When I first heard it on IN MY ROOM, I remember thinking, "Geez, this is better than the actual band!". Then of course, there was Darian's "Regrets", which also is killer and is the way the song should have been done IMHO.
At the time, I thought, "This guy Darian is pretty good!".  Little did I know...........

Dan

Whatever the truth is about Landy--and I feel he saved Brian--I'm more concerned about Brian's reaction to this.  I hope he can tap into that inner strength he has gathered these past years.



Dan

Awesome, Jon!
I wonder if there's room on this board for a definitive "Denny Played Drums On...." sticky thread.

It would certainly put his playing in perspective with Hal Blaine, Jim Gordon, Earl Palmer, Rikki,  Dennis Dragon, etc. as far as Beach Boys tracks go.



Dan

Thank you Jon!  I went from thinking Dennis played to thinking Mike K. played...now back to Dennis, which is what I had thought all along.



Dan

Unless it's another Badman error, I believe that book lists Mike Kowalski as the drummer for LIL '69.  Have to go check the book. 



Dan

The eqd 88.2 digital master was transferred to 15 ips 1/4" tape using the CCIR curve and the discs were cut flat from that tape.

I'm confused.  I thought the CCIR curve was used more in Europe than here.  I know of a studio that recently began using CCIR rather than NAB.  Why the switch?  Also, do you recall what kind of 1/4" stock was used?  Emtec?  Quantegy?

Equipment heads like me want to know. Thanks, Mark!

Dan

Steve, a few of us were discussing Daryl's bass contributions on Sunflower and Surf's Up.  He was trained as a srting bassist at one point in his life, High School or College, I don't remember.

Anyhow, do you remember how much bass Daryl did contribute?  I'm still trying to get a feel for who contributed what.

And on that subject, if you missed it, here is a cool pic thanks to Mark H:

aeijtzsche,
You think that Daryl's bass looks less like a Jazz and more like a Mustang?  Sorry to hijack.


Dan

Dennis also used Zeco drums for a few years, and as late as 1982 had kept a set to record on (according to an interview Carl did that year with Geoffrey Himes for "Musician" magazine, published the following year).

C-Man

Don't you mean Zickos, the acrylic drums?
Dan

Not sure...could be...but "Zecos" is the way it was spelled in the interview, and I just dropped the "s" the same way I would if I was saying "a set of Camco drums" instead of "Camcos".   Back then, I hadn't heard of Camcos or Zecos, despite having been a drummer myself a few years earlier!  Since then, of course, I've seen the Dennis Wilson-endorsed Camco ads.  But Zecos, or Zickos, I know nothing of.  Were these the cool see-through drums Dennis played in the late '70s?

C-man

The very same.  Zickos(always plural) are even made today, albeit improved.  They were actually the first to come out with an acrylic drum, though Ludwig got the most attention, followed somewhere by Fibes.  Slingerland and Sonor also made acrylics for a while.

Camco morphed into the omnipresent DW drums that we know today(be glad I spared you the long version!)

Dan

Dennis also used Zeco drums for a few years, and as late as 1982 had kept a set to record on (according to an interview Carl did that year with Geoffrey Himes for "Musician" magazine, published the following year).

C-Man

Don't you mean Zickos, the acrylic drums?


Dan

It says a lot that Brian often used Carl as a guitar player, along with all the LA session hotshots.  And, he did a great job on Surf's Up.




Dan

Angel and devil in the same person.




Dan

Whenever someone suggests that Capitol insisted "Sloop John B" was put on the album, it usually comes with the insinuation that Brian wouldn't choose to put that song on his masterpiece, Pet Sounds, because it's not artistic enough. 

Well.....ok.  "Usually" is the operative word here.  Read my original post again.  There was no hidden agenda.  I happen to love SJB, and I couldn't imagine PS without it.  And I didn't suggest anything.  I asked a question.


Dan

I'm confused.  I asked a simple question, and then there was this thing about insinuation.  There was none......so why even mention it?


Dan

... and in my opinion, it's a huge injustice to insinuate (not that you were!) that Sloop John B is inferior to the rest of the album.  That track is nothing short of a masterpiece, and one of Brian's very best productions, again, in my opinion.  Capitol or anyone would be crazy not to want that song on the album. 

Uh, what? So why mention it?


Dan

I've heard various viewpoints on this.  Is there anything definitive? 



Dan