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680601 Posts in 27601 Topics by 4068 Members - Latest Member: Dae Lims March 29, 2024, 06:49:51 AM
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1  Non Smiley Smile Stuff / General Music Discussion / Re: What Is Your Favorite Soundtrack? on: September 01, 2020, 05:43:23 PM
My favorite soundtrack is the 1980 "Xanadu" soundtrack. The Oliva and ELO songs (plus the cut featuring The Tubes) actually makes for a solid album. Those are definitely the Olivia Newton John tracks that have held my interest the most over the years and the ELO tracks are just good, strong pop. I've always looked upon "All Over The World" by ELO as the intro theme song to the decade of the 1980s (the decade I came of age in). I was in 5th grade when this soundtrack album was on the charts and a girl in class used to bring it to school and we'd play it during breaks.
2  Non Smiley Smile Stuff / General Music Discussion / Re: Best One-Album Bands on: August 14, 2020, 08:24:16 PM


1981...The All Sports Band was a pop/rock AOR band that made what has to be the catchiest album of all time. It's like a whole album of Eddie Money "Take Me Home Tonight" kind of songs. The unfortunate gimmick of being a rock band dressed up as sports figures understandably sank them. If they were trying to be a sports version of the Village People, they were about 2 years too late to cash in on that. I'm just so in love with catchy areno rock songs that I was always able to overlook the silly look of the band. First heard "Jet Set" and "Opposites Do Attract" on a Manchester, Kentucky radio station in 1982 and my little 12 year old ears were in ecstasy. I had to special order the album and it took ages for it to come in. It must've been on the verge of being a cut-out when I ordered it. It was on Radio Records...a subsidiary of Atlantic that had those "Stars on 45" medleys and a couple of latter-day Badfinger albums on it.
Keyboardist, Chuck Kentis, has been in Rod Stewart's band since the mid 80s and has done film scores. Lead singer, Michael John Toste, is now a 'prophet' (gulp). Yep.
But, anyway, the album is just plain, fun pop/rock AOR.....I'm now 50 and I still love it.
3  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Cool interview with Steve Levine on: May 21, 2020, 06:29:33 PM
I love Steve's production on BB85 and it's an album I treasure. Some people may refer to the vocal sounds and other sounds on this album as 'over-processed' but to me they are nicely textured and I always wished humans could naturally sing with that sound. I play this album more than Pet Sounds or Sunflower. To me it's the Sunflower of the 80s.
I am disappointed reading about Al's behavior at one point during the sessions. That just doesn't go with the image I've always had of Al. Thinking of Al making Levine CRY with his behavior would be like if I saw Brian Wilson slam dancing in a mosh pit at a punk rock concert. It just defies nature.
4  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: New Mike Love single on: May 02, 2020, 08:28:11 PM
Cheers to Mike for contributing to a great cause....Song-wise, maybe he should've co-wrote with Ringo Starr and maybe between them they could've come up with something that musically would be good enough for an 'unavailable on LP" B-side of a single that only came out in Portugal.
5  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Mike working on yet another new album on: May 25, 2019, 11:25:24 AM
I'm all for Mike recording another album for no other reason than it's just there for anybody who wants it just like a Ringo Starr album...nothing more, nothing less.
And now that the world is online it'll be easier to find the album than having to wade through the cut-out bins that stores used to have.
6  Smiley Smile Stuff / 1990's Beach Boys Albums / Re: Summer In Paradise on: March 03, 2018, 06:05:37 PM
Jeezus F'n Christ, this is not a great album  but it doesn't deserve the lambasting it gets just to look cool to other Beach Boys fans. I find it to be a pleasant album. I only have it on cassette and I've always enjoyed a lot of it and LOVE "Slow Summer Dancing", "Strange Things Happen" (rousing chord changes on the chorus along with Al's marvelous voice"), and I also love the cover of "Hot Fun In The Summertime" PLUS I find the remake of Surfin' happy and fun. I was 22 when I bought this cassette and love playing it still yet on my walks on one of my Sony Walkman's...Play it on the cassette player and Monster headphones at work....and play it on the big tape machine on my home stereo. And the production of the album doesn't offend me at all. I like the 'color' the production and mix has. Nice bright sound to it....
Oh...I also love the Bon Jovi-ish AOR treatment to "Forever" on this album. Being a child of the 80s that melodic arena rock style was a big part of my youth and always found it beautiful.
I'm also the guy who posted a love of the self-titled album from 1985. Both albums have given me a lot of happiness over the years.
7  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: The Beach Boys and Youtube Copyright Infringement on: August 16, 2016, 04:41:15 PM
I highly doubt these recordings are being pulled off of YouTube because of them supposedly being 'substandard' performances and/or recordings or else they would've never released those gawd-awful March 1965 Arie Crown Theater performances from Chicago, Illinois that I'm now listening to on headphones. Most demos have better performances than those!
8  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: What's the most obscure BB song that could get prominent soundtrack placement? on: July 31, 2016, 07:41:03 PM
Not Beach Boys but Brian solo..."Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight" from his 1988 self-titled album.....It could at least overtake Katrina and the Waves' "Walking On Sunshine" or New Radicals "Get What You Give". Smiley Wink
9  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Unpopular Beach Boys opinions on: July 27, 2016, 07:22:04 PM
My contribution to this thread:

I find the modern day stereo remixes of Beach Boys tracks to be WAYYYYY superior not only to Chuck Britz original stereo mixes but also BRIAN'S ORIGINAL MONO MIXES.
As a matter of fact, I CANNOT listen to the original mono of Pet Sounds because, to me, it sounds deplorable...especially compared to the vastly superior stereo mix on the 1996 box set.

I like ONLY half of the Love You album....and then I ACTUALLY like half of Summer In Paradise. I think Summer In Paradise doesn't deserve AS bad of a bum rap as it has gotten. I seriously believe it's just trendy among the Beach Boys 'elite' to pump up their disdain for that album.

I think That's Why God Made The Radio was the best Beach Boys album since the self-titled album in 1985...and I think THAT album was the best since Sunflower. All three albums have helped my heart and soul.

I've always gotten more enjoyment from Al's rendition of "Come Go With Me" and "Peggy Sue" than I ever have "Help Me Rhonda".

I don't DISlike "Holland" but I don't think it's anywhere near as enjoyable as Brian's 1988 solo album.

On the other hand, Brian's 1995 album "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" is WAYYYYY worse than M.I.U or "Keeping The Summer Alive".
10  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: What is your favorite Beach Boys Album and Song at the moment? on: July 24, 2016, 08:38:36 PM
Right now it's the self titled album from 1985. I love a lot of the tracks on it...they make up for the 3 tracks I don't like. I grew up in the 80s so I don't have the problem with the production and sounds on it that most people have with it. I love the melodies, the digitally slicked up vocals...I just think it's a wonderful sound.

Favorite song right now is "From There To Back Again" from TWGMTR......because it's so damn beautiful!
11  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: I'd rather listen to Kokomo than......... on: July 24, 2015, 04:17:17 PM
I rather enjoy "Kokomo" (AND my cassette of "Summer In Paradise" and CD of BB'85) so it'll be easier for me to pull this off than most other fans.

I'd rather listen to "Kokomo" than:

1. A Day In The Life Of A Tree-Sheer embarrassment. When I try to turn somebody on to the true talents of the Beach Boys I would NEVER dream of using this track...It's be like trying to turn on somebody to Uriah Heep with "Come Away Melinda" or somebody to the mighty Todd Rundgren with "Emperor of the Highway"!

2. Take A Load Off Your Feet-..........and I'm the guy with the friggin' foot fetish and I STILL can't get into this track!

3. School Day-I've heard rock'n'roll played with more authority on the 80s children's TV show, Fraggle Rock......and that has to be the most retarded sounding background vocals I've ever heard....even if it is on key.

4. When Girls Get Together-Shows that even during the musical highpoint of the Sunflower days there could still be really awful crap that could be recorded. There doesn't need to be an explanation why this was left on the cutting room floor (originally). Maybe they had to have SOMETHING on Keepin' The Summer Alive to make the rest of the album seem better than it is (and half of the album I like....probably all relative after being exposed to "When Girls Get Together")

5. California Calling-From an album I otherwise love. This may be tied with "School Days". Sounds like a pastiche of Beach Boys cliches by session musicians and session vocalists for a car lot commercial.

6. Heroes and Villains-I just never could 'connect' with this track.....and I really enjoy the rest of Smiley Smile!

7. Luau-Cheesy and dorky enough to be something that Opie and his band would play on the Andy Griffith Show.

Tracks like those listed above may account for why I have much more fondness for BB'85, SIP, and TWGMTR than a lot of other listeners do.
12  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: 2012 She Believes In Love Again on: July 23, 2015, 07:07:14 PM
I would so love to hear a TWGMTR treatment of "She Believes In Love Again"....It's a very special song to me. Dedicated it to my now wife back when we were 16 in 1986...and here we are today. It would be special to me to hear it recorded in recent times.
For me, it's the Surfer Girl/God Only Knows of the 80s.....the decade I grew up in.
13  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Most overrated and underrated BB's Albums on: July 19, 2015, 08:12:23 PM
Overrated-Smiley Smile......Sort of like the Beach Boys combined with the Mothers of Invention with a bit of Todd Rundgren's "A Wizard A True Star"........with none of the inspiration of "A Wizard A True Star". It's like the mindset of "Smiley Smile" was, "This music is gibberish anyway so let's just throw something together and hopefully some guy tripping in San Francisco will con themselves into thinking this is 'art'.

Underrated-Summer In Paradise.......I find this extremely tunefull. I love the melodies and harmonies of "Hot Fun In The Summertime", "Strange Things Happen", "One Summer Night", and the Bon Jovi-ish arena-rock take on "Forever"....plus I find the "Surfin' re-recording to be a lot of fun.
I only have it on cassette...bought it out of the cut-outs in 2002...and I play it on whichever of my cassette Walkmans I'm using on my long walk that day (played that cassette on my walk today as a matter of fact) and put it in my tape deck at work regularly.
I've even transferred the cassette to CD-R because I refuse to pay the high prices for the CD second hand.
14  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Friends on: July 07, 2015, 07:07:26 PM
If Brian performed this in it's entirety, I'd probably use vacation time to follow the entire tour.

Friends and 20/20 are the two albums that got me into The Beach Boys. Friends may not be everyone's cup of tea but I think it is a very strong album.

Mine, too!
I did have Made In The USA and Pet Sounds on CD before that...and I still have the single I bought in 1981 of "Come Go With Me" and then my brother's 8 track tape of Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2" but I didn't feel any need to go headlong into their catalog until I visited the all night WalMart store here in early 1993 when I was 23 and bought the two-fer of Friends/2020 just on a whim. I listened to it at 2 in the morning and I was so struck by the chords and harmonies...I HAD to have more.
The next day I went back out and bought the two-fer of Smiley Smile/Wild Honey.....
Let's just say that after becoming obsessed overnight with Friends/2020 and then hearing Smiley Smile I had the same knee jerk reaction that I had when I was 14 in 1984 and bought Todd Rundgren's "A Wizard A True Star" after buying "Hermit Of Mink Hollow" and Utopia's "Oblivion" and self-titled album from '82.
I hoped this experience with the Beach Boys/Brian would be similar to that of Todd...that is, giving me a musical education that felt like disappointment but gradually learning to worship those albums as well what originally intrigued me about the artists.
15  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / What are the differences in 'rough mix' of WIBN on Made In USA and on PS? on: June 30, 2015, 08:14:46 PM
I've had the Made In The U.S.A. CD and the first CD issue of Pet Sounds since 1990. I remember reading in the liner notes of Pet Sounds that it contains Brian's intended mix of WIBN and I just read tonight on this board somebody referring to the version on Made In U.S.A comp as a 'rough mix'.
To be completely honest I never noticed anything 'different' but I did always notice that I felt it always sounded 'smoother' and less harsh on Made In the U.S.A comp but I always chalked it up to just being a different mastering.
Before getting the stereo remix on The Pet Sounds Sessions I always used the mix/mastering on Made In The USA whenever I included WIBN on any of my personal compilation cassettes and CD's.
I'm by no means an audio professional so I'm wondering if some 'professional listeners' here will explain to me what the differences are.
Thanks in advance.
16  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Unpopular Beach Boys opinions on: April 03, 2015, 08:07:14 PM
My favorite voice of the Beach Boys is Al Jardine.
I was 11 years old in 1981 when I first heard "Come Go With Me" on the radio and I remember I hoped that's what my voice would sound like after it changed.
Always LOVED Al's tone.
"Peggy Sue" and his part on "Strange Things Happen" are among my favorite Beach Boys moments.
And I'm so thankful to have his solo album......A whole album of Al Jardine is something that greatly satisfied my ears.
17  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Weird Al Said on: April 25, 2014, 02:43:05 PM
That is silly and down right delusional of Al to say that...Like an early poster said, isn't that like the pot calling the kettle black? BUT I will say this for Al....It is a tie between Al and Carl as my favorite voice of the Beach Boys when it comes to lead vocals. I think Al has always had the most rock'n'roll punch in his delivery for somebody who's such a folk music fan. For example, I've always loved how Al sang "Come Go With Me" and "Peggy Sue"...and his line on "Strange Things Happen" is another all-time favorite moment on a Beach Boys album. I've been meaning to get Al's solo album but I haven't yet.
But, YES, that's very silly of Al to say that about Mike....and I have never liked Mike's singing.
18  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: The Weirdest Photos of Brian Wilson you can find on: April 19, 2014, 07:35:55 PM




That settles it...Brian and Mike ARE INDEED VISIONARIES....They had Gene Simmons of Kiss beat on this by at least 10 years!
19  Smiley Smile Stuff / Polls / Re: Beach Boys Survivor #30: The Beach Boys (85) on: April 19, 2014, 07:28:16 PM
Although I love this album dearly, I must say the one cut I would love to see go would be "Love At Your Crack". This song would make Kajagoogoo and Stacie Q seem like the deepest music of the 80s....and I hate the 'fingers clicking on a computer keyboard' percussion sounds on it.
20  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Are you ever embarrassed to be a Beach Boys fan? on: April 12, 2014, 03:10:43 PM
Have I ever been embarrassed to be a Beach Boys fan? Hell no! I'm not even embarrassed about having a foot fetish.  Razz
One of my best friends since high school viciously scoffs at the Beach Boys and will not give them a chance...and I even have played him their 'deeper' early 70s material like Til I Die and Long Promised Road and he still scoffs at it like it was "What's A Young Girl Made Of" just because the name on the label reads "The Beach Boys".
I'm not embarrassed that Beach Boys '85 is an all-time favorite album of mine and on some days it's the only Beach Boys album I play.
I'm not embarrassed that I like about 5 songs on the Summer In Paradise album and I still play my cassette of it on my Walkman when I go for my walks and take it in the car with me.
I'm not embarrassed that I like 5 songs from the Keeping The Summer Alive album.
I'm not embarrassed that I hold Todd Rundgren, Three Dog Night, and Uriah Heep in as much esteem as The Beatles.
Life is too short to not do something just because other people don't think it's cool......Hey, guys, "Crazy Horses" by The Osmonds is one of the greatest, most exciting 'heavy rock' tracks of the 70s as far as I'm concerned.
21  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Being a Beach Boy fan pre-internet on: October 19, 2013, 08:22:43 PM
Growing up as a teenager in southeast Kentucky in the 80s I can say us Beach Boys fans didn't abound in great numbers except for some people who like the typical early 'fun in the sun' material and Kokomo. One of my friends despised the Beach Boys until we were in our early 20s in the early 90s and I played him "Til I Die" and "Surf's Up". There was only one other person in town that got into the 1966-'73 period as much as me.

However, what made me feel REALLY lonely as a teen in the 80s in Kentucky was knowing how my schoolmates felt about my Todd Rundgren/Utopia/Three Dog Night/Laura Nyro/Dusty Springfield collections...Everybody else my age was into Bon Jovi, Poison, Thompson Twins, Michael Jackson, Prince, Motley Cure, Madonna, etc.....They LOVED the Beach Boys compared to how they were about the other artists I mentioned.
22  Smiley Smile Stuff / 1980's Beach Boys Albums / Re: Keepin' The Summer Alive on: October 16, 2013, 03:51:45 PM
Quote
When Girls Get Together 2/5
Super bad song! Why was this ever released, don't understand. One of the worst Beach boys songs ever. Extremely boring and irritating.
Can't understand why so many people like this.

I don't 'get it', either. I think so many people like it because it's from the Sunflower period (and I LOVE Sunflower) but, I swear, I think this song would make "Our Team" come off like "Til I Die".
23  Smiley Smile Stuff / 1980's Beach Boys Albums / Re: The Beach Boys on: October 07, 2013, 08:54:21 PM
Guys, I really LOVE this album. It satisfies me as much as Sunflower, Pet Sounds, and Friends...and on some days it is the Beach Boys album
that satisfies me the most. Yes, I know what corncob a lot of people have shoved sideways up their arse about this album and it's production but I'm a child of the 80s (I was 15 when this album was released) so I'm a lot more sympathetic to its production than most people here. I love the layers of production and the tunefulness of the album. I liked "Getcha Back" well enough in 1985 but I went absolutely ape-sheet over "She Believes In Love Again" when I first heard it on the radio in early 1986 when I was about to turn 16 and absolutely in love with a girl named Becki in school. The "oooo-OOOO-ooo" background vocals in the chorus of that song emotionally affects me as the background ooo's on "I Can Hear Music".

I didn't hear the rest of the album until I bought the 2-fer in late 2001 and, except for "California Calling" (which embarrasses me and "Crack At Your Love" which doesn't do a lot for me though I don't necessarily dislike it, I love the rest of the album.

I love the hypnotic sway of the layered harmony vocals on "It's Gettin' Late" and Carl's vocal, as always, is very soulful.

"Maybe I Don't Know" has a rhythm and chord changes with the rhythm that makes me think of a heartfelt, soul-searching walk in the rain. This one kind of makes me think of a cross between 80s Chicago and Kenny Loggins. The obviously synthesized background vocal sound that appears from 1:26 to 1:35 on the 2-fer is one of the most atmospheric goosebump inducing sounds I've ever heard. I love everything about this track.

"Passing Friend" is just a good, solid tuneful pop song to me. A Culture Club track with the Boys' vocals on top of it is what it is to me...and I like a lot of Culture Club songs.

The child-like innocence melody of the part in "I'm So Lonely" has been known to move me to tears thinking of the carefree days of my childhood and what it represents to me....though I will say Brian sounds extremely drunk during the verses.

The Stevie Wonder song "I Do Love You" is yet another highlight for me. The unique scales in the chorus is obviously pure-Stevie and, as usual, I love how Carl delivers it.

"Where I Belong" is probably my all-time favorite Carl lead. I find this track so emotional. Very spiritual, this one is.

Well, okay, I forgot "It's Just A Matter of Time" striking me as very slight...but I love it compared to "California Calling".

And I find "Male Ego" to be a complete joy. Makes me smile from ear to ear when I hear it.

I'm going to give this album a 4. The tracks I don't get much into kept me from giving it a 5.....but I was tempted to go ahead and give it a 5 because the tracks I love  actually makes up for the few I don't care for.

I'm taking this CD to work with me tomorrow. I played Friends,20/20, Sunflower, Surf's Up, So Tough, Holland, and In Concert ('73 album) today at work. Smiley
24  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Some random questions from a relatively recent Beach Boys convert on: October 06, 2013, 07:15:30 AM

I'm going to fix a couple of bologna sandwiches and have a read on this! Thanks.
25  Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Some random questions from a relatively recent Beach Boys convert on: October 06, 2013, 07:13:44 AM
Both extremities are on my original UK 45/LP, and I don't think either sound right without it! There's loads of things like that in the catalogue though. One I recently discovered was Brian shouting at the end of I Get Around obviously the end of count-in on Don't Worry Baby [bar new mixes] and more!

I, too, have noticed lots of things left inadvertently in the background on Beach Boys tracks. I've noticed the one on I Get Around as well but I heard something similar on the fade-out of the stereo mix of the title track of the Surfer Girl album on the 1990 2-fer that I've never heard on the mono mix.
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