I was shocked to read this last night on Brian's official facebook page. And have logged in here for the first time in years as a result.

I think Brian's personal message sums it up....Melinda gave Brian the loving support and emotional stability he needed to have a career again. And he must feel bereft without her.

I sincerely wish Brian, the kids, all the extended family and friends my heartfelt condolences. I hope Brian in particular has the support he needs. It really is heartbreaking.

I haven't had the honour of meeting Brian but I was in the 4th row of a BWPS concert in July 2004 with a very large camera and long lens.

I was worried it might put him off...especially as the press photographers all left after 25 minutes...but I soon noticed that every time I raised the camera to my eye, he would smile and wave.

I deduce that, at least when he's in a good frame of mind, Brian is friendly and quite fun-loving. Most musicians put up with audience members photographing them...Brian mugs for the camera. Word got back to be via a member of his band that he was totally cool with it, and not putting this on.

If I did ever meet him...I have no idea what I'd say to be honest. Probably something cheesy like "Brian, your music has touched me all my life. Thank you".

I have talked to people who smuggled portable reel to reel recorders into gigs in the late 60s.

Generally they were limited to Uher machines taking 5 inch reels or Phillips machines taking 4 inch reels, and to recording at 3 3/4 ips or even 1 7/8 ips. A portable machine was often run off 4-6 D size cells and would need to be hidden in a backpack or duffel etc. I know one guy who would record onto a 5" double play tape in a Uher getting 60 minutes per side. He'd time it so he'd sneak off to the toilet to swap the tape sides over and taping for another hour.

Cassette made things easier as the machines were more portable and flipping a cassette or changing to a second cassette was easier than swapping reels. However the quality in the early 70s was often poor.

Some bands and venues don't mind fans taping concerts. Others detest it. Today it's possible to record in fair quality with any smartphone but true high fidelity still needs a dedicated audio recorder.

Yes it's getting to be a tired meme but....

On rare occasions when I am in a bad mood, sad, down...whatever.....often I do listen to Pet Sounds.

Because I find that Pet Sounds contains just about every emotion known to mankind, and that 40 minutes can help me get to the roots of my emotions. If a particular lyric or mood hits me more than usual, I know just which emotion is in need of attention.

So yeah....keep calm and listen to Pet Sounds.....as posted on Brian's facebook page yesterday.

With regards to the end of the C50 tour, as far as I remember it went something like this:

Everyone agreed to a tour of roughly 50 dates. Nobody knew how it would go, especially Brian who was unwell (back problems) early in the tour.

Mike seems to have persuaded Brian to add some 20-odd more dates, including the final two in the UK. Brian agreed to those "and no more" at a time when he wasn't feeling too good physically and likely everyone was wary of the whole situation even lasting to the end of those dates.

Amazingly, by the time of the final gigs everyone was still getting on with each other and still performing well. Really this went against all predictions. By now, Brian wanted the tour to continue. Indeed its possible that in some way everyone wanted to continue that line-up of The Beach Boys in some form or other...either continuing the C50 tour after a short break, continuing together full time or resting that line-up before bringing it back in, say, 2014.

But...some months earlier Brian had said "and no more". The Mike & Bruce show had already committed to dates, on the prior assumption that the agreement to end the "reunion" after the C50 tour would be honoured by all parties. This pee'd off Brian who said it felt like being fired etc. I really can't blame Mike, Bruce and their people for wanting to continue working after the C50 tour was completed.

Strikes me as a monumental misunderstanding, and I can genuinely see both sides.

AGD correct me please if I am wrong (it's been known).

As for why Brian didn't turn up at Mike's award, I have no idea.

Certainly Linda came in for a lot of criticism for appearing on just about everything Paul did after they married, despite a perceived lack of musical talent. While nobody connected with The Beatles has been vilified more than Yoko Ono, Linda McCartney certainly was not portrayed positively by the music media, mainstream media or even a lot of Beatles fans for a long time.

In her later years I think Paul did a lot for her reputation, saying that they never spent a night apart and so on gave an understanding of how close the couple were. But then she didn't always help herself by making statements such as "Photography isn't chemistry, it's smells and crystals". Umm...yeah...chemistry, then. When traces of meat were found in the "Linda McCartney" branded vegetarian ready meals, the media thought it very funny because Linda wasn't especially popular.

Women of my mother's generation (born 1944) actually disliked Linda purely because she married Paul. I think one can successfully argue that her talent for photography was greater than her musical talents but her presence on Wings albums hardly does any harm and occasionally is quite positive (Band On The Run, for example).

It was astonishing - the whole was immeasurably greater than the sum of the parts, and pretty much every aspect of C50 turned out better than anyone dared hope. As for "now or never", sorry but that parade's gone by: it was "then or never", and they chose then. For that, we should be eternally grateful - because it will never happen again, at that level and that pitch of excitement, anticipation and fear-tinged expectation. Chances are, it will never happen again. I can live with that, I have the golden memories of 2012.*

[* provided I never listen to the appalling live album]

I'm with you there. I've not even listened to the whole thing.

I have the memories of Wembley, and the honour of attending probably the last concert ever given by the "full" Beach Boys. They pulled off the C50, with a pretty good LP and a great tour. We have a lot to be thankful for in that respect. It could have been a lot worse.

Would I go see them if they all toured together again? Probably, yes. But the anticipation and occasion could not realistically be the same as 2012.

Define "obsessed" ....

I would say, in chronological order:

The Police
Queen
The Beach Boys
Genesis
Yes
Peter Gabriel
Radiohead

Those are artists whom I would, at the time when I was obsessed, automatically buy anything they released...who I listened (and in all cases still listen to) frequently and become emotionally connected with their music. Those are artists who's back catalogue I investigated in cases where I discovered them during their mid or late career.

Funny, I've been going back to my old Police LPs lately enjoying them a lot still.

If Al has made reference to a desire to tour as "The Original Beach Boys" then he, Brian & co would have to launch a lawsuit to gain entitlement to use the phrase "Beach Boys" in the title of their band or in their promotional material.

From what AGD says, and I have no reason to doubt him, Carl's estate would vote to retain the status quo. Therefore calling a meeting of BRI and tabling a motion to change the licence agreement would be futile. So it could be that the legal action mentioned is wresting the Beach Boys moniker from Mike & Bruce.

If so (remember we still don't know who's suing who for what)...that would pretty much kill Mike  & Bruce's show dead unless there was an arrangement that both parties could use the title. I can see this getting nasty

As far as I am aware Mike and Brian have both said that it was Mike who suggested adding more dates and Brian somewhat reluctantly agreed.

I am open to being proved wrong.

As I understand it, and AGD would be the oracle here, BRI licences the rights to "The Beach Boys" name to 'The Mike & Bruce' show. Brian Douglas Wilson is a voting member of BRI and therefore a part of the decision to grant that license.

If he, Al and Dave now wish to use the moniker "The Beach Boys" they could await the next time the license is up, or they could presumably launch legal action. I am unsure what grounds they might do so. You could argue there are more "original" Beach Boys in in Brian's band as it is currently touring and recording but that's not really the point, legally speaking. The license is owned or leased to Mike.

Reminds me of Yes and ABWH.....

Now, why Mike might be suing anyone at this point is conjecture. It's been established that Brian and co can call themselves former or erstwhile Beach Boys in their publicity and can mention that they play Beach Boys songs. What they cannot do is put the phrase "Beach Boys" in the name of their band. After the Daily Mail fiasco where Mike was laughed out of court I doubt he'd try that on again. He's fond of his lawyers but he's not actually stupid.

Is Mike suing anyone ?  Suppose - and I grant it's a radical idea, involving considering the available evidence in isolation without any spin or bias, but indulge me - it's Brian et al bringing the suit ? The wording of the piece gives no clues as to who is suing who. In fact, if anything, the author appears to imply that the litigation isn't pending but actually in progress.

to be fair AGD, we don't know who's suing who. Just an assumption going on prior behaviour. You are quite correct that there is no identification of who might be suing who.

I've just posted in another thread but what seems to have happened is this.

Initial agreement with all parties for a C50 tour of about 50 dates. Early in the tour Mike more or less persuaded Brian to add a few more dates. Brian was having his back trouble at the time and agreed to those extra dates (including the two London dates) "and no more". This is recorded fact.

Meanwhile M+B were taking bookings for their band post-C50 to tour. These bookings were taken well before the C50 tour ended, some were announced in June 2012.

By the end of the tour Brian's back was good, he was having a whale of a time as was everybody. But the M+B dates were committed, and in all likelihood the last communicaton Mike had with Brian about it was "A few more dates AND NO MORE". Mike didn't see it as firing anyone, he was merely acting on an agreement already made.

It strikes me as a big misunderstanding.

Added to this, most of the M+B band were not included on the C50 tour. I would assume Mike feels loyalty to them. Perhaps they weren't even paid - as they weren't touring or playing.

It's all a shame because it does seem that in September 2012 everyone concerned wanted to either extend the tour or book another tour for 2013. There's little reason why the M+B tour couldn't have taken place over the winter and spring with the C50 lineup touring 12 months after the C50 tour ended. Venues wanted them, fans wanted them.

Still, that looks like more of a pipe dream than ever. I am glad that I was at Wembley, likely the last time The (surviving) Beach Boys all played together.

My reading of the situation is like this:

The original C50 tour was agreed by all parties to be something like 50 dates. Then during the early stages of the tour Brian agreed to some more dates including the final gigs in London. At this point Brian was having his back pain and still getting into things and he is known to have agreed to those extra dates "and no more".

Meanwhile, M+B had already booked some post-C50 dates for their own band, as per the agreement that after Wembley the C50 celebration would be over.

However, everyone including Brian was having a great time by the time the tour ended that the non-touring Beach Boys (Brian, Al, David and Brian's band) were perfectly happy to continue longer or to do some more dates in 2013. However, crucially the last communication Mike was aware of was "A few more dates including London and no more". So he went and pushed ahead with the pre-existing M+B band.

It's all rather a sad misunderstanding.

Now, why Mike might be suing anyone at this point is conjecture. It's been established that Brian and co can call themselves former or erstwhile Beach Boys in their publicity and can mention that they play Beach Boys songs. What they cannot do is put the phrase "Beach Boys" in the name of their band. After the Daily Mail fiasco where Mike was laughed out of court I doubt he'd try that on again. He's fond of his lawyers but he's not actually stupid.

VDP is a wordsmith par excellence. Twitter is part of his natural habitat.

I don't know what might have happened between him and Brian but it does seem to stem from the period when TSS was being put together. VDP has said some distinctly negative things about Brian in the time since then whilst sometimes still showing warmth. Clearly VDP feels he has been slighted by Brian.

I prefer the BAD setliest but to be honest there isn't much between them. I'd seriously enjoy the B&B set too.

Both are very good setlists with a mix of older and newer material. For me there are a few specific favourites in the BAD set. But nothing to complain about with the M&B set at all.

"Yes, he did seem a bit disconnected. "

He seemed like that last summer at the Hollywood Bowl, looked miserable.   That is the reason, along with the horrible vocals, that I will not go to see him solo anymore.  The guy is not capable of carrying a concert by himself.

If you go in to a Brian Wilson gig expecting to be riveted by his on stage theatrics then that's your problem.

If you go in expecting to hear a selection of songs from the greatest catalog in the history of music done by the man who wrote them, well expect to be entertained

This.

In 2011 I took my wife (casual BB enthusiast) to Brian's date at the Royal Festival Hall. He did the entire Gershwin record, then a full set of hits and deep cuts. She came away believing it was the best concert she'd ever been to because she didn't expect to be riveted by some stage presence...she got caught up in the music.

ALso remember that Brian *can* carry a whole concert...but it very much depends on how he is feeling that day. He suffers from mental illnesses that are well documented and his mood/condition varies a lot from day to day. I've been lucky that the two BW gigs and the C50 gig I attended....Brian was on it. But I accept that may not always be the case.

As for where he and his piano are on stage. Wherever he feels comfortable. That piano is a big security blanket, he needs it to feel comfy...I think it separates him from the crowd. If Brian needs a "security blanky" to feel comfortable and fight his stagefright then so be it. The dude can sit where he likes.

Let's face it. I think *everyone* was surprised that by the final dates the Beach Boys were still apparently enjoying performing together.

I get that Mike feels a need to keep his M&B touring band as a going concern to keep the money flowing. The question they might like to ask is how do they incorporate Al, Dave and Brian into, say, 30 big shows a year? Will people still turn up to the M&B shows?

I've got to say I agree with the first post. It's a crying shame, and it seems the Beach Boys themselves were not involved in the decision to use pitch correction.

As I said before. If I want to hear a square wave I'll plug in my signal generator.

My wife, who is no audiophile whatsoever, noticed the autotune immediately.

RIP Milton Love. Sympathies to Mike and the family. 95 is a grand age by almost any standards.

I wish I'd never heard of JLS.

Manufactured pop crud at it's worst.

I am no fan of Daft Punk, though I know people who share a good deal of my musical tastes and who *are* fans of Daft Punk. So there is something in their music.

Whatever the merits of them....it shows that a current, hip, relevant band recognises Brian as the genius that he is...and would like to collaborate with him. It proves Brian is still relevant himself because he's still influencing the young'uns.

From reading about, it seems Daft Punk also like Paul McCartney but the guy they really revere is....Brian Douglas Wilson.

Happy birthday big dude. See you if you come to the UK

I agree Jeff Beck and Brian Wilson - though I admire both - are an odd mix. That is what makes this intriguing. Both are supremely talented and Brian still has the capacity to surprise in a good way.

I do not get the feeling that this new record is GIOMH II, there is a real collaboration between Brian, Brian's band and the guests. Enough that Jeff Beck is doing some concerts with them.

Digital recording has been around since the late 70's with the SoundStream system used initially on some famous Telarc orchestral releases and then with pop/rock artists from 1978 onwards.

However I believe Imagination was released on vinyl in 1998. I asked for it as a present that year but didn't get it.

I have the 5.1 DVD-Audio version and it's quite pleasing but doesn't give the impression of being BW in the hot seat. I always put it down to him not having the confidence at that point to voice his opinions.