What if God had said "f*ck it" . . . and went elsewhere to create the universe . . . or multi-verse.

M.

On the songwriting issue . . . there are several ways of looking at it.

On the one hand, you may have a musician who writes both music and lyrics . . . OR, you may have a musician who writes the music, and a lyricist (who otherwise cannot play or write music) who writes the words for the song.

In the later case, about all you can say is that the lyricist is not a musician, but at the same time IS a songwriter -- in a collaborative sense.

And songwriting partnerships can go either way. There can be existing music or melody, to which a lyricist will add words . . . OR . . . there can be a set of lyrics that comes first, which then are put to music (after the fact) by a musician/songwriter.

Bottome line is, the collaborators create the song, and thus each party involved is a songwriter. It's a terminology thing.

M.

True . . . "Earl the Pearl" played on many more Jan & Arnie and Jan & Dean sessions than he did for the Beach Boys.

Hal and Earl in tandem . . . and even Hal by himself . . . equaled a major, MAJOR difference in drum/percussion sounds and techniques between Jan & Dean & the Beach Boys.

For the '63-'66 period, the drums are wide open on the former, and much more subdued on the latter.

If you're a drummer . . . you might like the Jan & Dean stuff more than the Beach Boys . . . just from that narrow angle of focus (percussion-wise).

M.

And a beer . . . in a treeeeeeeeeee.

M.

[FALL 2007]

Here's the info . . .

FALL 2007

THE BEACH BOYS: "Smiley Smile" revisited

The Fall 2007 edition of Endless Summer Quarterly celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Smiley Smile with collected comments from Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Van Dyke Parks and Stephen Desper; An exclusive interview with Dean Torrence on the Jan & Dean release Save For A Rainy Day, and The Laughing Gravy’s version of “Vegetables”; Mark A. Moore unveils Jan Berry’s first post-accident recording sessions – Carnival Of Sound; Brian Wilson Royal Festival Hall performance review in London (September 14); more

Individual issue: $12
Subscriptions:
$27 U.S., $32 Canada and Mexico
$37 elsewhere in the world
ESQ's PayPal account ID is: esqeditor@aol.com



M.

Great responses here . . .

Remember, too, that some of the boots were made from poor quality acetates.

But you can't take the SMiLE comparison literally. "Carnival" just gives you an example of what Jan Berry and his collaborators were working on at the same time Brian was working on SMiLE.

"Carnival" has its own groovy vibe. I have the origial music scores . . . and they're amazing. The string arrangements alone for "Fan Tan" and "Love & Hate" are mind-boggling. (Nothing remotely like them on SMiLE, including "Fire"). A lot doesn't come through on the boots.

The vocalists were big-time A-Listers (studio-wise) . . . including Glen Campbell, Stan Farber, Ian Freebairn-Smith, Bob Zwirn, Ron Hicklin, Tom Bahler, Bob Tebow, B.J. Baker, Gwen Johnson . . . and others. (Go online and look up their credits).

Our Jan Berry Tribute album will feature seven tracks from "Carnival" (newly recorded, based on the original scores).

"Carnival of Sound" was a big expensive studio operation that fell apart (in terms of final production and release) due to legal and personal wrangling.

I've written an article, forthcoming in ESQ, that lays out what happened with "Carnival of Sound" and "Save For A Rainy Day" . . . There's an interlocking context there that's never been properly presented.

M.

Hey Mark,

Do any good quality masters for any of the Carnival tracks exist, even in private hands? From the cuts I've heard from various sources, the arrangements are second to none and totally unique - in the same sense SMILE or The Millennium is unique. It was a really cool experiences discovering the COS of sound material, and once while talking with Phil Sloan about his relationship/work with J&D I got to talk a little about these tracks...cool stuff   

And when can I get my hands on this issue of ESQ?

Warner Bros. has the master tapes for the "Carnival" era stuff, and I want to get them officially released.

Whether that happens or not, I plan to work with Jan's estate to publish the full music scores to the "Carnival of Sound" material . . . . all parts for brass, woodwinds, and strings were written out . . . also the bass parts, chord charts, etc. . . . and recorded by the famous Hollywood studio musicians.

That's one way I know for sure I can illustrate the depth of arrangement that went into those songs . . . again, regardless of whether the original recordings are released.

The Fall 2007 issue of ESQ should be out within a week or so, according to Dave Beard.

M.

"Roll Over Beethoven" . . . among others.

Jan&Dean's "Yesterday" is awesome. Their arrangement is very close to the Beatles' but Dean's singing is so great and clear. Goes right into my heart....

Agreed . . . that's Dean Torrence's best lead vocal.

M.

Great responses here . . .

Remember, too, that some of the boots were made from poor quality acetates.

But you can't take the SMiLE comparison literally. "Carnival" just gives you an example of what Jan Berry and his collaborators were working on at the same time Brian was working on SMiLE.

"Carnival" has its own groovy vibe. I have the origial music scores . . . and they're amazing. The string arrangements alone for "Fan Tan" and "Love & Hate" are mind-boggling. (Nothing remotely like them on SMiLE, including "Fire"). A lot doesn't come through on the boots.

The vocalists were big-time A-Listers (studio-wise) . . . including Glen Campbell, Stan Farber, Ian Freebairn-Smith, Bob Zwirn, Ron Hicklin, Tom Bahler, Bob Tebow, B.J. Baker, Gwen Johnson . . . and others. (Go online and look up their credits).

Our Jan Berry Tribute album will feature seven tracks from "Carnival" (newly recorded, based on the original scores).

"Carnival of Sound" was a big expensive studio operation that fell apart (in terms of final production and release) due to legal and personal wrangling.

I've written an article, forthcoming in ESQ, that lays out what happened with "Carnival of Sound" and "Save For A Rainy Day" . . . There's an interlocking context there that's never been properly presented.

M.

[Don Grady]

We're pleased to announce that composer Don Grady will join our team of guest artists for the Jan Berry / Jan & Dean Tribute Album. Don will sing one of Jan Berry's Warner Bros. era compositions from Carnival of Sound.

We're shooting for a release in April 2008.

Don is a former member of the Yellow Balloon (co-writer of "Stained Glass Window" and "Good Feelin' Time") as well as the  Windupwatchband. If you don't already have the Sundazed Yellow Balloon re-issue, be sure to get a copy. It's one of the coolest Los Angeles pop albums from the late '60s.

Don also played the character "Robbie Douglas" on the long-running TV sitcom My Three Sons.

He is currently at work on a brand new solo album . . .

www.myspace.com/dongradymusic

M.

[Jan Berry / Jan & Dean Tributre Album:]

Jan Berry / Jan & Dean Tributre Album:
http://www.myspace.com/jananddeantribute

Mark A Moore:
http://www.myspace.com/markandersonmoore

M.

Please go to this link, read the petition, and add your name. You can choose to keep your e-mail address private:

http://www.petitiononline.com/jdcd2007/petition.html

It's for a good cause . . .

Thanks!

I heard an interview once, years ago, where Brian said "Holland" was his favorite BB album (at the time).

M.

And the grab on Drac's manhood?

Haha! . . . I think that's the Phantom of the Opera . . . Sing a little higher.

M.

It's very Bach.

M.

[JAN & DEAN]

Listen to these outtakes . . . and you'll gain an even better appreciation of "Little Old Lady" . . . and everything Jan Berry put into the production. Concentrate on the rhythm section, brass, and backing vocals. You'll hear things a lot more plainly . . . more than you can hear on the final production for the single release. That's P. F. Sloan on falsetto.

It's complex stuff . . . and fascinating how some of the same musicians sound a lot different on Jan's productions than they do on Brian Wilson's . . . Diffferent approaches . . . different production styles.

The drums are Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer playing together live in the studio at the same time . . . not the noodling, but during the song itself (and Hal counts them off).

It's a really tight percussion sound (hard to achieve in tandem), and you can hear the doubling best on the toms and hi-hat . . . But on the intercut, you can hear the snare drums start to separate a little bit toward the end, causing a bit of a "flam" sound . . . betraying two drummers.

I've interviewed both of them . . . and Hal pretty much says they doubled all of Jan's Screen Gems era productions. Earl remembers doubling the parts as well, but wasn't sure if they did it all the time.

Enjoy . . .

JAN & DEAN

The Little Old Lady from Pasadena
Studio Outtakes, 1964:

Instrumental Track

Intercut (track)

Track with Backing Vocals and Brass

Track with Harmonica and Backing Vocals and Brass (plus more falsetto and bass vocals)

M.

at this late date, there aren't any 'facts', just memories.

Peoples' memories alone will always steer you off course . . . whether said people were "there" or not . . . whether you're researching something that happened 40 years ago . . . or even four weeks ago. "He said, she said" . . . by itself won't cut it.

People who were "there" are often decidedly wrong when you put their memories to the test, against documentation that was generated during the time period in question.

You need something to cross reference the memories against . . . (and not just other recollections).

M.

Valid point (are you listening, Carol Kaye ?), but to take a recent case in point, David recalled there being a 2nd drummer on "Surfin' USA", and on this here very MB he was tracked down and named. Plus, as I've discovered to my cost, even contemporary documentation can be spurious. These people weren't thinking of future generations of researchers: they were either having fun, or doing the day job.

Yeah, that can happen . . . but I've found that contemporary documentation is generally far more reliable than peoples' memories. Particularly when it comes to business related matters (as with Jan Berry and Screen Gems) . . . and another huge boon is legal correspondence (of all types) and court records. These kinds of things generate a paper trail a mile long.

You have to cross reference the memories against the documentary evidence (and vice versa). People often do remember things correctly. But it can get muky, especially with people who have changed their stories (even in print) numerous times over the years.

M.

I dig Carl on London '69

M.

Ha ha!! . . .

All in good fun . . .

M.

Yeah . . . Jan's records run the gamut, covering the periods both before the accident and after. All of his original business contracts, etc., are extant. And a whole lot more.

Here's the thing . . . people who make a lot of money tend to keep good records . . . even if it's done by an accountant.

Moreover, after the accident, Jan's father, Bill Berry, did a remarkable job of archiving things, and taking notes.

M.

at this late date, there aren't any 'facts', just memories.

It seems odd to me that this would be true for a band like the Beach Boys. There's bound to be a significant paper trail somewhere.

I have tons of hard-core documentation on Jan Berry's life and career (going well beyond AFM sheets) . . . and I'm truly blessed in that sense. It makes a world of difference, believe me.

Peoples' memories alone will always steer you off course . . . whether said people were "there" or not . . . whether you're researching something that happened 40 years ago . . . or even four weeks ago. "He said, she said" . . . by itself won't cut it.

People who were "there" are often decidedly wrong when you put their memories to the test, against documentation that was generated during the time period in question.

You need something to cross reference the memories against . . . (and not just other recollections).

M.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTf2MehizWI]

Brian talks about "Surf City" . . . about Jan as a producer . . . and about blasting Mike Love with whip cream.

The video clocks in at 9:53 . . . just under the wire for YouTube.

Lots of good and rare segments with Brian . . .

Enjoy . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTf2MehizWI

M.

["Bat No. 1"]

Holy Harpsichord, Batman . . .

We've posted a new promotional video for our Jan Berry / Jan & Dean Tribute Album . . .

For this installment of the video series, the song is "Bat No. 1" (Berry-Tipton) . . . originally from the album "Jan & Dean Meet Batman" (1966). Featuring David Marks (original member of the Beach Boys) on guitars . . . Cameron Michael Parkes on harpsichord & bass . . . and Mark A. Moore on percussion.

Produced by Cameron Michael Parkes and Mark A. Moore (2007). The tribute album also features seven tracks from 1968's "Carnival of Sound" LP (Warner Bros.), plus about 14 more songs highlighting Jan Berry's career as a writer, arranger, and producer.

This is a rough cut preview version only . . . not our final production.

Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_hYzjP8ZVc

Enjoy,

M.

Yep . . . Bond & Pitman were on the DMC session. I think Pitman usually did the Dano stuff.

M.

[www.myspace.com/jananddeantribute]

Okay, since MySpace now allows a fifth song in the Standalone Player, we've added yet another teaser to our site for the Jan Berry / Jan & Dean Tribute Album:

. . . a pre-mix draft of our instrumental track for "When It's Over" . . . written by Jill Gibson, and arranged and produced by Jan Berry in 1964.

www.myspace.com/jananddeantribute

Jill will be singing this song on our album.

"When It's Over" is an example of the orchestral pop that Jan was working on . . . in the run-up to his "Pop Symphony" album in 1965.

This is the original arrangement, taken from the charts and scores used by top-flight Hollywood studio musicians to record the original version in the '60s.

In this draft, the acoustic rhythm guitar and some auxiliary percussion parts are still missing . . . but still a nice preview of the string and woodwind parts.

M.