With explosion of high-quality unreleased songs found on the Sunshine Tomorrow compilation, including several names that had been floating around for awhile but never booted like "Game of Love" and "Honey Get Home", I was curious to see if we can come up with a basic idea for what tracks we can hope will finally be unleashed upon people's ears. This is all assuming that Brother Records continues their yearly release cycle of copyright extension albums, which they show no sign of slowing down with.
I've combined the likes of the "Vaults" page (
http://esquarterly.com/bellagio/vaults.html) (also found here in more readable form:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unreleased_songs_recorded_by_the_Beach_Boys), the Proposed Brother Bonus Tracks thread (
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,17621.0.html, and my own personal collection of bootlegs to give a good idea of what exactly is still out there and if it will ever see the light of day. Of course, we have no way of knowing if any of this was releasable at all, and I trust Mark Linnett and Alan Boyd more than enough now to know they wouldn't leave off anything truly juicy when it comes to these annual compilations.
1967 -
SMiLE, Smiley Smile, Lei'd In Hawaii, Wild Honey era
- "On Top of Old Smoky": the most intriguing song left off Sunshine Tomorrow, this apparently features Brian and Paul McCartney on vocals. Hard to believe this was actually the case, since a recording like that would be insanely sought after by Beatle and Beach Boys fans alike. It could be made up, or a big fat disappointment like the jam Paul and John Lennon had in 1974 that turned out be a whole lotta nothing. Still, the mystery lives on
- "Sunflower Maiden": Brian and Van Dyke Parks song written for Three Dog Night. Apparently lost
- Lei'd In Hawaii studio rehearsal sessions; "Surfin'", "God Only Knows", "Good Vibrations", "California Girls", "Surfer Girl": Brian running through some of the songs they would play live on an organ with his faint vocals heard in the background. Not extremely necessary, but I certainly enjoy putting them on sometimes, if not just to Brian play all of "Good Vibrations" on an organ
- backing tracks to; "Gettin' Hungry", "She's Goin' Bald", "Wind Chimes" (Smiley version), "Vegetables" (Smiley version): booted
- SMiLE backing tracks: booted, should already have been released years ago
1968 -
Friends, early 20/20 era
- "Friends" (alternate mix): booted
- 1971 Friends remakes; "Passing By", "Wake the World", "Be Still" and "Friends": Stanley Shapiro and Tandyn Almer worked with Brian on these rerecordings. Only "Passing By" with lyrics has been released, the others are assumed to have been lost, especially considering that "Passing By" was sourced from a low-quality backup cassette
- "Fig Plucker": Dennis leading some of the group through a tongue-twister about a fig plucker
- backing tracks to; "Meant for You", "Wake the World", "We're Together Again": booted
1969 -
20/20, early Sunflower era
- "Harmony Friends" - name of the soaring vocal-only coda to "Break Away" booted as a standalone 2 minute track, a treat for the ears
- "What Can the Matter Be" and "Raspberries, Strawberries": unreleased to my knowledge
- "I'm Going Your Way (California Slide)": available on boots, not a bad track but missing any backing vocals
- "'Til I Die" (piano demo) - the holy grail of unheard Beach Boys songs. I have to hear this in my lifetime, this much I know
- "(Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again" (demo): anything related to this song must be released ASAP
- "America, I Know You" (backing track): unbooted collaboration with Stephen Kalinich
1970 -
Sunflower era
- "This Whole World" (alternate vocals/long version): please release this
- "Big Sur" (4/4 version): beautiful
- "Take A Load Off Your Feet, Pete" (original mix), "Add Some Music to Your Day" (original lyrics), "Tears In the Morning" (original lyrics), "When Girls Get Together" (both original mix and original instrumental track), "Loop de Loop" (original mix), "Our Sweet Love" (backing track with Brian vocals), "Slip on Through" (backing track), "It's About Time" (percussion mix with some dazzling bongo playing), "Lady" (original mix): booted
- Fred Vail country album: a country album produced by Brian that has not been booted, tracks included; "Bethany Ann", "There's Always Something There To Remind Me", "Kittens, Kids & Kites, "Lucky Billy", "Black Man In Georgia", "One Woman Won't Hold Me", "Why Don't You Give Her To Me", "If You're Not Loving, You're Not Living", "All For The Love Of A Girl", "Only The Lonely", "Carolina On My Mind", "My Way Of Life", "A Fool Such As I", "You Pass Me By", "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You"
- "Our Sweet Love" (piano demo), "Back Home" (demo), "Good Time" (original mix), "I Just Got My Pay" (original mix) - unbooted
- "You Never Give Me Your Money": unbooted jam after a session for "Good Time"
- "Carnival", "My Solution", and "Seasons in the Sun" are booted and worthy of being put out there, especially "Carnival" for all of it's channel-swapping charm and "My Solution" for that Halloween novelty weirdness. "Seasons in the Sun" doesn't work all that great with the Boys IMO
1971 -
Surf's Up, early Carl & the Passions era
- "Lookin' At Tomorrow" (alternate mix), "Wouldn't It Be Nice (To Live Again) (extended mix), "'Til I Die" (alternate "uplifting" lyrics ), "4th of July" (original mix and alternate version), "Barnyard Blues" (demo): criminally unavailable
- "'Til I Die" (a capella) and "Surf's Up" (a capella): booted
-"This Whole World" (version done for an Eastern Airlines ad) and "H.E.L.P. Is on the Way" (early mix): unbooted
- "Ol' Movie": unbooted early version of "Cuddle Up"
- Dennis Wilson solo album sessions (known as
Poops or
Hubba Hubba); "Behold the Night", "Baby, Baby", "Sea Cruise", "It's a New Day" (the only song booted, was eventually finished with Blondie lead vocal)
- "Telephone Backgrounds (On A Clear Day)": unbooted Carl song
- "Hawaii Song": intriguing because I haven't heard anything about it
- "Happy Birthday Brian (29th Birthday)": sounds like a fun recording
- "Won't You Tell Me": real nice little duet between Brian and Carl. Hope it sees the light of day
- "Beatrice From Baltimore": early version of "You Need A Mess of Help to Stand Alone", unbooted. Would love to hear
- "I've Got A Friend": Dennis song played live in the early 70's (introduced by Mike Love as "one of the best songs I've ever heard"), apparently recorded in the studio without a vocal
- "Sail On, Sailor" (demo): I hope the location of this is accounted for
1972 -
Carl & the Passions "So Tough", Holland era
- "Awake" (piano demo): one of the great Brian vocals from the era, a crystal clear sounding bootleg. There's also a high quality demo of "Ten Years Harmony", the original version of "Endless Harmony" floating around there
- "Daddy Dear", "Susie Cincinnati", "Fairy Tale Music" (with narration by Brian): piano demos played by Brian to somebody in Holland, the first two are both brief but worth release for showcasing some nice Brian vocals before the 15 Big Ones era, "Fairy Tale Music" may be from a different time Brian was playing his songs on the piano for a guest
- "Burlesque": Brian and Jack Riely song, Jack said in an interview that a line of lyric in it is "Tantalation and hot glowing skin/Sun’s ‘bout to rest"
- "Funky Fever" and "Gimme Some Lovin'": unbooted songs recorded by Brian and David Sandler
- "Quad Symphony": any sort of edit or sections of this would be welcome to hear in better condition than the boots it's on
- "Spark In the Dark", "Body Talk", "Is Jack Reilly Superman?", "Rooftop Harry", "Slow Song": all sound quite intriguing
- "Out in the Country": booted in a somewhat skeletal form, as a more finished version with banjos and other instrumentation has been said to exist. The booted version works quite well on it's own I think, a bit like a more moody "Meant for You"
- "Hard Times": booted Ricky & Blondie song. Not their best, but completely worthy of becoming available
- "Carry Me Home": what I would call the most sought after unreleased recording that has been booted, fans have an emotional connection to this song that I have not seen with any other bootlegged material
- "California Saga: On My Way Sunny Cali-for-nia" (single mix): booted. With a bit more Brian vocals
- "The Trader" (early mix): unbooted shorter version, seems like it's just the first part of the song
- "Fairy Tale Music/A Casual Look" (demo version), "I'm the Pied Piper" (extended version), "Pa, Let Her Go Out" (early version of "Better Get Back In Bed"): unbooted. Love the music in the fairy tale, would be very interested to hear any of this
- "Cuddle Up" (single mix): rare, but booted
- "California Saga" (1974 live version with sitar): booted, might only exist as an audience recording
1973 -
Holland and beyond
- "River Song" (original mix): booted. Recorded with the Beach Boys, seems the backing track was kept for Dennis' solo version
- "Dr. Tom" and "Canyon Summer": unbooted Al songs
- "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'/I'm a Man": unbooted medley from a Wilson/Sandler session
- "Ding Dang" and "Shortenin' Bread" (American Spring version): both unbooted, the beginning of the period where Brian recorded that same Shortenin' riff many times
- "Pattycake": unbooted (may have been lost). About a gorilla that Brian saw at the Bronx zoo
1974 - Caribou Sessions era
- "Honeycomb": unbooted cover recorded during the same session as "It's OK", also featuring Roy Wood of ELO and Wizzard on saxophone
- Carl demos: unbooted Moog and guitar demos
- "Shortenin' Bread"/"Clangin'": unsure if this is a version we've heard or not, referred to as "Brian's Jam" because it's a riff he's recorded many times throughout his career
- "Dennis' Symphony": unbooted early version of "Friday Night"
- "Just An Imitation": still hasn't been found
- Caribou sessions; "Good Timin'" (original track and lead vocal as well the instrumental version with horn section), "Ding Dang", "Is This Really Love", "Why Don't You Try Me?", "Rollin' Up to Heaven", "Earthquake Time", "You're Riding High On the Music", "Don't Let Me Go", "Our Live, Our Love, Our Land": only "Rollin' Up to Heaven" and both versions of "Good Timin'" circulate
- "Battle Hymn of the Republic": the less said about this, the better
- "Child of Winter": unbooted alternate mix with Carl and Dennis vocals
1975 - early "Brian Is Back" era
- "Come to the Sunshine": Brian's cover of a Van Dyke Parks song, supposed to be lost
- "Carl's Song": early version of "Angel Come Home", may be booted as an instrumental
- "Grateful We Are for Little Children": unbooted early version of "Saturday Morning in the City"
- "In the Back of My Mind" (piano demo): still don't think this exists digitally, was a bonus track for the Target release of No Pier Pressure I believe. A beautiful and revealing version with altered lyrics by Brian and features him prominently switching between his more coarse 15 Big Ones voice with the soaring falsetto from his younger voice
- unbooted Dennis Wilson songs; "Rainbows" (early version), "Slow Blues", "Don't Want Much, Just A Country Or Two, Maybe A Planet Before It's Through", "Helen Keller", "Our Love Remains", "Marble Sittin' On A Kitchen Table"
1976 -
15 Big Ones, Love You era
- "Michael Row the Boat Ashore", "Mony Mony", "Rock & Roll Music" ("hot" mix), "Come Go With Me" (original mix), "Ruby Baby", "Short Skirts", "Running Bear", "10,000 Years Ago", "On Broadway", "Sea Cruise", "We Gotta Groove", "Marilyn Rovell", "Lazy Lizzie", "Hey There Momma", "Let Us Go On This Way" (a capella mix): booted
- "Don't Fight the Sea": unbooted, I assume an early version of the Al song he tried to include on That's Why God Made the Radio?
- unbooted Dennis songs; - "Life Symphony", "Flowers Come In the Spring" (might be a remake of "Fallin' In Love"), "I Didn't Mean to Make You Worry", "Taking Off", "2,000 Years Ago" (possibly just a misnamed "10,000 Years Ago"), "String Thing 2", "Long String Song" (lotta "String" songs from Dennis around this time)
- "It's Like Heaven": booted. Recorded with Brian and Marilyn on vocals, I assume it predates the American Spring version
- "Just Once In My Life" (backing track): one of the absolute highlights of all bootlegs I've heard
- "Let's Dance", "Secret Love", and "Working in the Coal Mine": unheard covers
- "When Girls Get Together" (
15 Big Ones mix): unknown what this version is like
- "TM Song" (alternate mix with long intro and no lead vocals), "Lisa", "Gold Rush": not booted
-
Love You piano demos; "That Special Feeling", "Airplane", "Mona", "I'll Bet He's Nice", "It's Over Now", "Still I Dream of It", "Let's Put Our Hearts Together", "Love Is A Woman", "Little Children": booted and very much worthy of release (worth noting that Brian's official instagram page has posted some minute long excerpts of these that are cleaner sounding than the boots that circulate but unfortunately the audio isn't preferable since the video is a recording of the song being played out of speakers rather than inserting the actual mp3)
1977 -
Love You, Pacific Ocean Blue, and early M.I.U. era
- "The Night Was So Young" (early mix), "Love Is A Woman" (early mix with Al lead vocal), "Johnny Carson" (early mix with guitar intro), "Roller Skating Child" (early mix with different vocals), "I'll Bet He's Nice" (early mix), "Solar System" (early mix with no background vocals), "Clangin'", "11th Bar Blues": never booted
- "Honkin' Down the Highway" (alternate version with Billy Hinsche lead vocal and synth solo): booted
- Adult/Child sessions, booted; "Life Is for the Living" (studio version and backing track), "Lines" (also exists an early mix with different Brian vocal), "Everybody Wants to Live", "It's Trying to Say (Baseball)", "Deep Purple", "My Diane" (original mix without string section and demo mix), "Shortenin' Bread" (original mix), "New England Waltz", "Still I Dream of It" (alternate rougher Brian vocal)
- "Oh Darling", "Something New", "Crying", "Fever", "Here Comes the Sun": unbooted Dennis songs
- "Gimme Some Lovin'": unbooted, possibly same song as recorded in '72?
- "Mike Come Back to L.A.": any edit or rough version would be welcome, very fun and energetic track
- "How's About A Little Bit of Your Sweet Lovin'?", "Go and Get That Girl", "Beach Burlesque", "Egypt": the last two are unheard
- "Lady Lynda" (original mix): more superior version in my mind, lacks the classical music intro and the plasticky sound that Bruce Johnston productions have
- Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys sessions; "Christmas Medley" (an excellent medley of Christmas songs with the band and their children, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", "O Come All Ye Faithful", "Hark The Herald Angels Sing", and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas"), "Santa Is on His Way" (rerecording of "H.E.L.P. Is on the Way"), "Alone on Christmas Day", "Sad, Sad Christmas": no boot has "Sad, Sad Christmas", but it's the original version of "Sad, Sad Summer" so it probably isn't too different from that
- "Pacific Ocean Blue" (backing track): booted
- rehearsals for Dennis Wilson solo tour: according to Ed Roach, there is some beautiful stuff here that people have heard. Seems like it absolutely deserves uncovering
1978 -
M.I.U. and Bambu era
- "Rubles", "Ride Arabian, Ride": unbooted Al songs
- "Santa Ana Winds" (original version and an alternate mix with more instrumentation and double-tracked vocals) and "Lookin' Down the Coast": two great works by Al with Brian, especially the original version of "Santa Ana Winds" with different lyrics, grander instrumentation, and lacking the very unnecessary spoken word intro, allegedly with Brian on harmonica
- "I'm Begging You Please": Brian demo, much better than almost any of his other original songs released from this year
- "Where We Are (It Could Be Anything)": early version of a Carl song, a nice listen
- "California Feelin'" (original mix): more synthy and without Brian vocals
- "Drip Drop": booted cover by Brian, although maybe not worth release for how off Brian sounds
- "Calendar Girl": booted cover with Mike on lead vocal with Brian singing the intro and providing backing vocals
- "I Really Love You", "Basketball Rock", "Bowling": unbooted. Last two are Brian instrumentals
- booted outtakes from Bambu; "Constant Companion" (extended alternate mix without backing vocals that is frankly far superior), "Baby Blue" (rough mix with no Dennis vocal) "Time for Bed" (backing track), "He's A Bum" (backing track), "Wild Situation" (backing track with backing vocals), "Love Surrounds Me" (backing track), "All Alone" (demo mix)
- and unbooted Bambu; "I Don't Want to Go" and "Let Me Out of Here"
1979 -
L.A., Keepin' the Summer Alive era
- "Little Girl", "Jamaica Farewell", "Stranded In the Jungle", "Johnny B. Goode", "Smokey Places", "I'll Always Love You": covers recorded with Brian involvement, only the first song is booted in unfinished form
- "Boys and Girls": unbooted Brian song
1980 -
Keepin' the Summer Alive and beyond
- "Oh Darlin'" (original version): features Brian on lead vocal with prominent Carl vocals, alternate lyrics, and a much less busy backing track, I prefer this one 1000x more than the studio version which is harmed by Bruce's overblown production
- "Goin' On" (original backing track): neat version with some charged-up drum solos not in the studio version
- "Be My Baby", "River Deep, Mountain High", "Smokey Places", "Greenback Dollar": covers with Brian involvement. Only the first two are booted
- "My Solution" and "Shortenin' Bread": booted instrumentals by Brian, possibly booted as "Song Within a Song"
- "Can't Wait Too Long": unbooted. Overdubs were attempted by the group
- "Fly", "Up Again", "Candlesticks", "I'm a Man": unbooted
- Dennis Wilson and Christie McVie sessions: unbooted
1981- "Stevie": Brian/Dennis collaboration, possibly written by Brian with production by Dennis. Baffling why it hasn't been released, sounds so damn good and finished enough to put out there
- "I Ran (All the Way Home)": unbooted
- "Rings", "Walking On Water", "Sweetie": charming Brian piano demos
1982- Cocaine Sessions material: "Why Don't You Tell Me Why (You've Been Good to Me)", "I Feel So Fine", "Oh Lord", "City Blues", "Heroes and Villains", "I Said A Prayer" (early demo of "This Isn't Love"): been circulating for many many years, being repeatedly taken off Youtube whenever it is discovered there
- "Cry Like a Baby" and two other untitled songs: ubooted Brian songs
- "Labor Day": reported to be Dennis' final studio recording, unheard but hopefully out there
1983- Brian and Carl sessions: unbooted. Unknown what these were like, need to get my hands on this
- Carl demo sessions: unbooted
- "Turning Point", "Black Widow" (piano demo), "Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel" (piano demo), "The First Time" (demo mix): booted
- "It's Just a Matter of Time": a live version with Brian on lead vocals, he sounds quite good I have to say
1984 -
The Beach Boys (self-titled album) era- "Getcha Back" (alternate extended mix), "She Believes In Love Again" (alternate mix), "California Calling" (Al lead vocal): booted
- "Down By the Pier", "And I Always Will", "Buzz-Buzz-Buzz", "At the Hop": covers, only "At the Hop" is booted, and it might be better off kept in the vault
- "Oh Lord": unbooted. Apparently the group attempted a recording of Brian's song that he demoed in the Cocaine Sessions
- "Water Builds Up": unbooted. A song Brian later recorded on his own for the Sweet Insanity album
1986 -
Wilson Project era
- "Rock and Roll to the Rescue" (alternate extended mix) and "California Dreamin'" (alternate version): booted
- "Spirit of Rock and Roll": unbooted version with the Beach Boys
-
Wilson Project recordings: Brian's first serious work on a solo album done with Gary Usher and under the watchful eye of Dr. Landy. Here is what's booted; "Christine" (and it's other version "Barbie", made for Mattel), "Doing Time on Planet Earth" (early version of "Being With the One You Love" made for a movie of the same title), "He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body to Move" (early version with more Brian-y lyrics before Lindsay Buckingham came in to collaborate), "Heavenly Lovers", "Heavenly Bodies", "Christmas Time", "Just Say No"
- and what is unbooted from those sessions; "I'm Broke" (early version of Paley era song), "So Long", "I'm Tired", "A Little Love", "Magic", "All Over Me", "Still I Dream of You" (possibly a rerecording of "Still I Dream of It"?), "Magnetic Attraction"
1987 -
Brian Wilson solo album era
- "Let's Do It Again", "Spirit of Rock and Roll" (solo version), "Saturday Morning in the City" (early version); booted
- "I Feel This Love", "Saturday Evening in the City" (I would guess a companion piece to "Saturday Morning"), "Terri, She Needs Me" (yet another rewrite of "Sherry She Needs Me"?), "Boogie Woogie Beat": unbooted
1988- "Hotter", "Love Ya", "God Only Knows" (live), "I Sleep Alone", "Love and Mercy" (backing track and backing vocals): booted
1990 -
Sweet Insanity era
- Sweet Insanity sessions, booted; "Brian (Thank You)", "Do You Have Any Regrets?", "Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel", "Let's Stick Together", "Rainbow Eyes", "Make a Wish" (original mix and backing track), "Concert Tonight" (plus the extended mix), "Someone to Love", "Spirit of Rock and Roll" (yet another mix), "Smart Girls", "Water Builds Up" (original mix and backing track)
1992 - start of
Paley Sessions era
- Paley Sessions: a treasure trove of fantastic material from Brian, a good amount has been bootlegged in varying quality but much is still disappointingly unreleased. Here is what circulates; "Proud Mary" (Carl was present for at least some of this recording) and "I'm Broke"
1993- "God Did It" and "Chain Reaction of Love": booted
1994- "Saturday Morning in the City", "Goin' Home" (original version), "It's Not Easy Bein' Me", "Desert Drive" (original mix), "Elbow '63": booted
- "Off My Chest" and a few untitled songs: unbooted
1995- "Dancin' the Night Away", "Mary Ann", "Marketplace", "Must Be a Miracle", "You're Still a Mystery" (original version with earlier Brian vocal than the released version): booted
- "Grace of My Heart", "I'm Psyched", "Turn On Your Love Light": unbooted
Let's hope we won't have to wait until the early 2040's for an official release for all of the Paley session material
Since there really is STILL so much Beach Boys content out there waiting to be heard, my hope is they could group together a lot of the truly memorable unreleased songs and put them on a rarities collection that could drum up more interest in the band's more obscure periods without making prospective fans have to remember to buy/stream one of these collections every single year for the foreseeable future.
well, this list is so complete (well, some songs are missing) but yeah, let's revive this not-that old topic as some stuff on the list are now available and some will be available in some months with the release of the Feel Flows box set
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