I don't know how true it is, but I remember reading somewhere that Bruce was witness to a murder or something along those lines. Does anyone have any info on this (if it did indeed happen), like what were the details around the murder.. like what exactly happened, where and when was it, who was the murderer and the victim etc..? Sorry if this is totally wrong, but it's just what I remember reading ages ago.

I'd have to dig out Brad Elliott's interview with Bruce from a 1981 Goldmine issue for the exact details, but yeah it's true.  Bruce was sitting outside the office of some music biz bigwig, waiting for a meeting, when another guy walked into the man's office and shot him dead.  This was prior to Bruce becoming a Beach Boy, maybe even late '50s or very early '60s.

I know a fella that attended the Beach Boys Hollywood Palladium show in April '73.  The photo used on the front cover of the In Concert album is from that show

WOW - an exact date for the picture. THAT'S the kind of info that makes my own website all the more enjoyable ... I shall have to insert such fine detail ASAP - www.pipeline-operaglass.moonfruit.com - Thanks C-Man and C-Machine ..!

Wow...I'm a man, but Rob's a MACHINE?  Doesn't seem fair...   

Bonus Track:

17. Holy Man (Taylor Hawkins Version) (4:25)
(Dennis Wilson//Gregg Jakobson/Taylor Hawkins)


This sounds weird.  I'm assuming Mr. Hawkins is the dud from the Foo Fighters.  What does the drummer for the frickin' Foo Fighters have to do w/ Dennis?

http://www.fooarchive.com/hpb/moderndrummer06.htm

I didn't want to read every sentence in an interview with a guy I don't care about, but my computer's search function only yielded one hit for "Dennis", "Wilson", and "Pacific Ocean Blue", and it's just him saying that he likes the album. Why is he on one of the songs?

You should've just searched for "Dennis Wilson" within the article...he praises Dennis' work with the Beach Boys too:  "Friends", "Surf's Up" (obviously he meant "Sunflower") and "20/20", as well as other early '70s singer/songwriter stuff like Fleetwood Mac's mellow stuff from that era.  I saw the Foos a couple of weeks ago and Taylor sang lead on a song.  Nice mellow voice singing an upbeat pop song while he played the drums.  Which still doesn't answer your question as to why he's on the album...but if you tie his praise of Dennis' work in with what was just said about the Jakobson connection, you should have your answer.

Bonus Track:

17. Holy Man (Taylor Hawkins Version) (4:25)
(Dennis Wilson//Gregg Jakobson/Taylor Hawkins)


This sounds weird.  I'm assuming Mr. Hawkins is the dud from the Foo Fighters.  What does the drummer for the frickin' Foo Fighters have to do w/ Dennis?

http://www.fooarchive.com/hpb/moderndrummer06.htm

Well...According to the Apr 18 1972 AFM Brian was at the He Come Down (vocals?) session, whereas Dennis's name is not listed. This was not the only session for the song, however.

Dennis was at Sunset Sound recording horns for "Make It Good" while the "He Come Down" basic track session (and that for "Here She Comes") was going on back at Brian's place.   But like you said, there were other sessions, and the vocals could've been added after that. 

I really like Blondie's voice on "He Come Down"...great Gospel feel.

Hey, isn't this supposed to be a SMiLE-related thread?   

Dean, Brian, Marilyn & Diane recorded new backing vocals for it in 1971, and that version was released on the "Jan and Dean Anthology" album in early '72.  There's a picture of that session in the David Leaf book.  I don't think Brian or the Rovell sisters are on the original 1967 version, although Brian is credited with coproducing it.

Naw, in that last one, Al's hair is too long to be '64 (dig the sideburns!). 
Probably something more like "Loop de Loop" (which Hal played on).

[CATP-ST]

I tend to think maybe he [Dennis] pulled the songs because Brian was upset. 

Dennis pulled his songs because he fell out with Carl over the track sequence... which could also explain why he was, in essence, absent from CATP-ST as well. Aside from the two tracks culled from his solo project, anyone hear him at all ?

I can hear his voice on "Marcella"...maybe even two parts.  But yeah, I think that was pretty much it.

After my friend Rob helped Dennis with Audree's flat tire, and they drove off, Dennis looked back at Rob and said "Hey, have a great sex life!".

I just remembered something I've been trying to remember for days:

I know a fella that attended the Beach Boys Hollywood Palladium show in April '73.  The photo used on the front cover of the In Concert album is from that show, and my friend Rob is pictured in the audience.  That's one of the shows where Bruce joined the band onstage.  Brian was in the audience but I don't believe he was onstage at all, especially since a reporter ended his piece on the show by asking "Brian, where are you?".  Not sure if any recordings from that show were used on the album, but that photo was...

My friend recounts going up onstage after the show...the roadies where loading the gear out, and Bruce sat at the grand piano playing a new song (either "Ten Years Harmony" or "I Write The Songs", I don't remember which).  Out in the parking lot, Dennis was changing a flat on Audree's car and Rob helped him out.  Murry was there, possibly the last time he saw his Boys in concert.

"Ike spent the '70s and most of the '80s on a cocaine bender, smoking up his hard-earned fortune to the tune of $2000 a day. Among the talented friends who partied or recorded inside Bolic Sound - Ike's state-of-the-art studio at 1310 La Brea in Inglewood, California - were Sly Stone, Little Richard, and Bobby Womack. "There was a little silver box on the console with cocaine," recalls trombonist Jeffrey Deane. "Ike would try to engage you into snorting cocaine and then laugh at you when you couldn't play the parts. There was an upstairs at Bolic through a secret door. I went up there once; it was right out of Superfly, everything was white, with oval doors. There was a plastic bag with the largest amount of cocaine I'd ever seen in my life - at least a pound.

The permanent party at Bolic Sound came to an abrupt end when the temporarily uninsured building burned to the ground in 1982." - from the article "Unforgiven: The American Tragedy of Ike Turner" written in 1998 by Ann Marlow and published in Vibe, December 2007.

Mystery solved.  See what happens when we all work together? 

With the exception of a few lines (some even buried), Dennis isn't on SMiLE either.

What about "You Are My Sunshine"?  Unless those are the few lines you're referring to...

This isn't Pet Sounds, but Dennis was also supposed to sing lead on Good Vibrations.

Where did you read that from? I'd love to hear an outtake of Denny giving it a try...

I don't remember where I read it. I don't think it got as far as him recording it, though.

Badman, I believe.

Sure, I'd buy it.  I love the part where the chick (can't think of her name) puts her hands over Denny's eyes while he's drumming.

Or was that the opening of The Girls On The Beach?  Either way, I'd buy the Monkey's Uncle.

Sure, I'd buy it.  I love the part where the chick (can't think of her name) puts her hands over Denny's eyes while he's drumming.

Is What Can The Matter Be a Dennis song?

28 - Wilson/Sandler session: Funky Fever (Bolec)

Could this have been done at Ike Turner's Bolic Sound studio?

On the former: the personnel are listed as Carl, Dennis, Alan, Bruce, Michael, and Roger Neumann (horn player/arranger), plus contractor Jon Parks.  Carl's the "leader" of the session, but that doesn't rule out it being a Dennis song, or a Brian song, because Carl was the leader of the session for Brian & Mike's "All I Wanna Do", and Bruce and Carl were listed as leaders for some other Dennis songs.  I really don't know, as I've never heard it.

On the latter:  the location address is given as 1310 La Brea Ave, Inglewood...which produced no good Google results for me, but perhaps someone out there knows the address of Ike's studio?

I think the Green Bay Packers franchise is run by the fans. I wish their was someway the fans could own the Beach Boys music through stock! Then we could release whatever we wanted.

As if there's any less of a fractured, dysfunctional relationship within the fan community than the band... In 15 years, instead of everyone wondering why Carl sided with Mike on whatever, it would be a matter of why AGD sided with Surfer Girl. And everyone would still bitch, just like they do now.

Yeah...it's called "human nature", and it's unavoidable.

"I remember when I first heard Wonderful, it was the version from the GV Box set and the ending killed me...."WTF!!!! Where does it go??!!! 'One, one, One...' One what??!!!" I knew that this wasn't the end of the tune because the fade was unnatural, and the lyrics implied continuation....Here I was listening to the greatest song ever, and it seemed like it was ending too soon, or I was only spoon fed a part of the tune......so it is with SMiLE! itself......"

*******************************************************************************

Seems to me that problem was solved with the version on "BWPS".  Maybe it was always planned to work that way, maybe not, but it's the perfect resolution in my opinion.  That second movement (Wonderful / Song For Children / Child Is Father / Surf's Up) is the finest piece of pop craftsmanship in all of Brian's solo work to date IMO.  It is absolutely gorgeous and absolutely perfect. 

I was just wondering, is there any documentation as to who plays on this track? Like a lot of people I'm sure, this is one of my favourite Beach Boys songs (I especially dig the backing vocals - so haunting and of course Brian's lead) BUT I've always wished I knew who was playing on the track? Anyone got any idea? Or at the very least anyone got any theories? I'm pretty sure the track was cut January 1, 1964 (the same session as FFF) so I'm sure the track would consist of the same sort of people. From memory, weren't all the Beach Boys there as well as Hal Blaine, Ray Pohlman, Steve Douglas and Jay Migliori (I'm talking about on FFF anyway). Anyway, thanks in advance.

You got it, that's the date and those are the personnel.  Hal Blaine is credited with a double, so my best guess is:  Brian on piano, Carl on guitar, Denny on drums, Hal on two sets of percussion (you can clearly hear that there are two percussion parts, one an overdub), Steve & Jay on saxophones.  Bass is a little trickier...could be Al, Ray, or both.  Hard to tell if there's two guitars or just one.  Al possibly didn't play on this one (I believe he played Fender bass on FFF while Ray played Dano 6-string bass).  On Warmth, it might be Ray playing the only bass...like I said it's hard to tell unless we could hear the multi-tracks.  Brian's piano is low, but it's there in the blend. 

Trivia note:  this is the last song Dennis ever played live with the group, in Pomona in Sept. '83,

This one is aimed mainly at C-man or just whoever knows anything, but I read a comment by you on another board where you said that Carl around 1964 (it was on the topic of FFF) would sometimes add guitar at the same time as the group would lay down vocals. I was just wondering, is "In The Parkin' Lot" another example of this? The reason I ask is because on one side there is the vocals and then the other there is the track. Although the side with the vocals features a guitar 'solo' by Carl (atleast I'm assuming it's Carl). Anyway, if this is the case (or even if it isn't) what other occassions was this done besides Fun, Fun, Fun?

Off the top of my head, "She Knows Me Too Well" and "All Dressed Up For School" had their guitar solos added by Carl on the vocal tracks.  I think he also did this on "Do You Wanna Dance" but replaced it during the mono dubdown.  On the other hand, for "Dance Dance Dance" Carl played the solo live when they cut the backing track, which was very unusual (for anyone to do) even in those simple 3-track days.

Much appreciated - like I said, no authority on those sessions.

Is it possible the vocal was later dubbed on to the 1/9/67 track ?

Yeah, that's what I was wondering...I've got documentation for pretty much every known SMiLE session, including the vocal sessions, but none for "Wonderful" vocals post 1/9/67 (not counting the Smiley Smile version).  So it's possible.

[Smile]

I'm no authority on the Smile sessions, but I'm pretty sure it's been established that the "rock with me, Henry" version is from Smiley Smile. Further thoughts welcome.

Andrew, the SMiLE version of "Wonderful" was tracked and sung at sessions on August 25 and December 15, 1966.  Then there was a January 9, 1967 "Wonderful" insert (overdub) session that would seem to me to match up to "Rock With Me, Henry" based on the instrumentation used  (drums & basses), whereas neither the original 1966 version or the later Smiley Smile version have drums. 

there's a version of "We're Together Again" with pedal steel and dobro, which was most likely Red Rhodes and James Burton respectively.

Buddy Emmons is probably the world's greatest pedal steel player, and he claims to have done a Beach Boys session or two... but doesn't remember what song/album it was. Anyone have any idea??? It would have been in the late 60s or early 70s when he was living out in L.A.

Yes, James Burton and Orville "Red" Rhodes both appear on one of the AFM contracts for "We're Together Again".  Burton is credited with guitar & dobro on that one.

Buddy Emmons was one of the steel players on sessions for the Brian-produced Fred Vail country album (sadly, it remains unreleased).  Red Rhodes and J.D. Maness were the others.

I remember an interview with Lowell George where he said he had done a Beach Boys session in about 1972. I used to assume this was Steamboat but I know that isn't the case.

Anyone have any info on that?

Red Rhodes would make sense as he was a brilliant pedal steel player, Carl couldn't have played those parts.

Tony Martin played the steel part on "Marcella" and "Steamboat".  Lowell George lived in a house with Van Dyke Parks and Ricky Fataar in about 1974, where Dennis was a frequent guest, so he probably did do some recording with one or more of the Boys around then.

...possibly on the legendary "Miller Drive".