I think Diamond Head (and Little Pad) both fit nicely with the whole SMiLE concept.

It did come together in the studio during a Friends-era session according to Mr. Vescovo.  He said Brian was banging the reverb unit and splashing water in a washtub and knocking rocks together... just looking for creative ways to make it sound more tropical and alive. And let's not forget the great Lyle Ritz on ukulele.

apparently Al plays jazz every Thursday at an L.A.-area club called Casey's.  I'd love to check that out.

Instead of double-tracking, he's quadruple-tracking parts (according to himself, as far back as OCA) in order to make them sound fuller.

i think this is the trick Buffett was referring to... not the doubling of parts, but the quadrupling... of ALL the background vocals.

sorry if this has already been posted. i never heard/saw this before:

Almost Summer demo

just caught this over at steelguitarforum.com, thought i'd spread the cheer as they say.

http://www.youtube.com/user/edwinherder
top notch tribute to brian's music!

I assume a bunch of you have heard the recording of an obviously plastered Brian doing Barbara Ann w/ ringo and co.
anyone know when it happened?

if you haven't heard it, consider yourself lucky.  it's horrible and sad. I'm shocked Ringo let it go down.

hahaha

i did a youtube search for American Spring and got:

American Spring, an organization dedicated to stopping illegal aliens from coming into the United States

I saw him play "Busy Doin Nothing" at the Roxy in LA.  what a treat.

and "When a Man Needs a Woman" is one of my absolute favorites!
so Brian, and every bit as personal as anything on Pet Sounds.  love those guitars too.

speaking of 'Friends' and Marilyn, she sang on "Busy Doin Nothing" too i believe.
Brian should play that one at every show.

i love Love You. they're damn good songs that Brian was really feelin. this is evident in the demos especially... love that Hearts demo mikey!

Mike says the night before it happened
Brian says the night after

such a great song.
i wish Brian would dust it off and play it.

holy christ. i haven't laughed that hard since... never. 
it's sad, really.

Tammy Wynette... her very last recording session. 

There aren't any diminished chords in this one, but what the hell...

well, there's a half-diminished or two.  do two halves make a whole diminished? 
give the guy a break.

according to Al Vescovo, the pedal steel guitarist on Diamond Head (and Little Pad), he came up with the music for Diamond Head almost on the spot.  Brian's main contribution was the song concept and all the different sound effects...

Al's a good guy, he's played a lot of sessions, and he is an amazing jazz player.  I have every reason to believe him on this.  It IS a complex tune played on a complex instrument.

plus, so many of his songs are in difficult keys... Ab is a popular one.

I think "This Whole World" is up there with all those key changes.
"Our Sweet Love" is another good one.

and how about a tune with no chords at all... "Our Prayer"?

i like the spanish vocal on "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times"... O Cuando Sere, Un Dia Sere... gorgeous.

Lastly, I love Stevie....one of my favorite Brian leads with his rougher voice.  Such a great song, shame it wasn't released at the time.

i've never heard Brian's version of this. can someone help me out? i will return the favor.
thanks

those stories are kinda sad.
cool to hear that John was "thrilled" to see Brian though.

what's the story on John covering "The Lonely Sea"? is that from a Let It Be rehearsal? i've never heard it.

yeah when i said
Wonderful (Smiley Smile)

i meant
Wind Chimes (Smiley Smile)

 

In the Back of My Mind
Help Me Rhonda (single)
Good Vibrations
Wonderful (Smiley Smile)
I'd Love Just Once to See You

Brian should tour some two-fers...

Today/Summer Days

and

Wild Honey/Friends

I'd Love Just Once to See You, and others... on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/burner007

whee!

I'd Love Just Once To See You ...on youtube!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoAowj7KArE

hooray.

did Ricky play fiddle? isn't there a shot of him playing a pedal steel guitar?
so he was a multi-instrumentalist.  the playing on "Mess of Help" is quite unique.

 

can't find any session info on this one. anyone? 

i really like the violin playing, and it's the only Beach Boy track with "fiddling" that i can think of.
with the fiddle & banjo, it's almost Beach Boys bluegrass! Could that be Al on banjo?

thanks.

this is great news. it's about time.

the KC honors are always top notch. very moving.  can't wait to see it.