I've grown a lot more fond of this track after repeated listens, but I'm still not sure it would make a strong single.  If anything, I think they've got to go with "Spring Vacation".  That one just sticks in your head like crazy, and that's what you need in a hit single.  "Daybreak" is enjoyable, but doesn't quite have that killer hook.

I made an effort today to listen to those "middle" tracks that I wasn't so crazy about during my first listen last night.  A lot of them grew on me, notably "Shelter" and "Daybreak".  Foskett bugs me a little in "Shelter" but that could be because I'd kill to be hearing Carl sing his part instead.  Where the hell was Christian Love when you needed him?  He sounds amazing on "Daybreak", a track that I hated last night but actually grew to enjoy after another few listens.

"Isn't It Time" is a great tune, the arrangement just doesn't work for me - not yet, anyways.

Oddly enough, "Strange World" isn't growing on me.  I really thought it would. 

If you'd have told me a month ago that a track called "Spring Vacation" would be one of the most enjoyable cuts, I'd have said you're crazy, but its been the biggest "ear-worm" track so far for me.

"Beaches in Mind" is still a boring clunker for me - given the title I had a feeling that might be the case, but 1/12 ain't bad though.

Honestly, I don't think he'd sound much different.  I think the bigger difference would be made if you took away the damage Landy did during his second tenure.  The slurring has a big impact on the overall sound of his voice, but the sweet tone is still there, especially in the last few years.

There have been hints of it all along, but as I just posted in another thread, for me the last 2 (well, really 3) tracks on TWGMTR mark the first time he's proven that he still "has it" in the "Brian Wilson, the Genius who made Pet Sounds" way since "Til' I Die". 

Maybe I'm just on a high from having heard the album for the first time a few hours ago, but as great as some of the stuff he's done in the intervening 40 years has been (and there are a lot of outstanding tracks to be had, make no mistake), he hasn't hit this level, and I'm so incredibly happy to know that the dude who made Pet Sounds is still in there, somewhere.

Before tonight I'd have said "Til' I Die" without much hesitation (and perhaps somewhere in this thread, I already did!), but after just being hit with "Pacific Coast Highway" and "Summer's Gone" a few hours ago, I'd have to say they rank right up there alongside it.

The sadness of those tracks is quite different than "Til' I Die" - as depressing as it is to hear a young man singing about having lost his way and resigning himself to always feeling so helpless, it's even more powerful hearing that same man sing about being in the last stages of his life, knowing that it's all behind him, never to return.  I can't even imagine what that realization must feel like, but hearing Brian Wilson sing about it may very well be the saddest damn thing I've ever heard.  I haven't had a Beach Boys song just flat out knock me back in my chair like those final two tracks since, well, "Til' I Die".  The genius has returned.

If Brian and Mike sound like they're in the their twenties like everybody says, Al sounds like he's about 13.  I know I'm getting older but there's NO f*ckING WAY a 70 year old man ought to sound like that. 

Amen to that - it defies logic, really.  Very few singers can keep their voice intact that long - the list of casualties is endless - but amazingly, somehow, Al's tone is as clean and pure as it was in 1965.

I just gave the album a first spin, and although I never do this, I'm posting without having read the entire thread, as I don't want any other opinions clouding mine just yet...

All in all, I'm thrilled to have this album.  It's still hard to believe I just listened to a new Beach Boys album - I've literally never done that in my life (unless you count compilations or Brian Wilson albums).  

As a whole, it's about what I expected going in - quality wise, for me, it's a bit like an inverse bell curve.  Starts out strong, sags in the middle but comes back and knocks you on your ass.  When it's good, it's really good, and that's enough to forgive some of the weaker material.

Going track by track:

1)  "Think About the Days" - I loved this from the first time I heard the preview on Amazon.  Great vocal arrangement, has a very evocative feel to it that really comes around full circle by the end of the record.

2)  "That's Why God Made the Radio" - obviously we all heard this weeks ago, but it's nice to hear it in context.  I'm not sure the transition from "Think About the Days" works too well, but it's a strong track with great harmonies.  Very distinctly Beach Boy-ish.

3)  "Isn't It Time" - I feel like I should have enjoyed this track more than I actually did.  I don't know if it's the arrangement, the melody or what, but this one didn't grab me.  That being said, I feel like there's a good chance it will grow on me over time.

4)  "Spring Vacation" - despite the (at times) terrible and cheesy lyrics, I found myself enjoying the song more than I thought I would based on the Amazon preview clip.  If any other track from the album has the potential to be a hit, it's this one.  Brian sounds amazing here.

5)  "The Private Life of Bill and Sue" - yet another track where I expected one thing and got another.  The title intrigued me when I first heard it, but I was really let down by this track.  It sounded very uninspired to me, like a bad takeoff on "Margaretaville" and "South American".  I was waiting for the great hook to come in, but it never did.  The only real "swing and a miss" for Brian on here.

6)  "Shelter" - I'm on the fence here.  I liked the track (despite the little "Darlin" melody ripoff), wasn't blown away but I think it has the potential to grow on me.  I think I'll need a few more listens to better assess this one.

7)  "Daybreak Over the Ocean" - worst track on the album as far as I'm concerned.  Not one redeeming aspect - all along I thought "Spring Vacation" would be the clunker, but while that one turned out much better than I thought, this one just does nothing for me.

 "Beaches in Mind" - I had a tough time getting into this one.  Like "Shelter", I think I need a few more listens.

9)  "Strange World" - here's where the album starts really kicking into gear.  Love Brian's vocals, it's a strong track with some nice BW quirks.

10) "From There to Back Again" - and so the closing trifecta begins.  This is a beautiful tune and track, and Al's "robot" vocals don't bother me as much as I would have thought.  Hearing this makes me wish they'd utilized him on a few more leads, but no matter.  He brings his "A" game here.

11) "Pacific Coast Highway" - wow.  This is where the emotions really started coming to the surface for me.  The arrangement is just perfect, and Brian's vocal is one of the best I've heard from him in years.  It suits the sad and melancholy material perfectly.  Those lyrics just hit you like a ton of bricks.  Being 28 years old it's nothing I can relate to yet, but the way this and "Summer's Gone" capture the feelings of a man who knows he's in the twilight of his life is nothing short of stunning, heartbreaking and incredibly moving.  

12) "Summer's Gone" - Brian hit the nail on the head; this is a perfect way to close out the last Beach Boys record (although I'd certainly welcome a few more original albums).  The arrangement is clearly the closest to Pet Sounds, at times borrowing from "Caroline, No" in a not-so-subtle way.  It works beautifully though, and like I said above, this track and "Pacific Coast Highway" make for a powerful punch to end the record.  The rain at the end was perfect.  I was left feeling happy and sad at the same time, but mostly just amazed and thankful that Brian and the Boys still has such powerful music left in them.

I can't wait to delve in some more and let some of these tracks sink in, but right now, after my first listen, I'm thrilled that we have this record at all.  We've been way too spoiled these last few years for sure.  

Now to go back and see what everyone else thinks...

I don't think it would be a hit either, for all the reasons mentioned - no Carl, no great hook, no hit movie to pair it with.

That and it's the weakest track on the record (in my opinion, admittedly based on just one listen so far).

Just picked it up at Best Buy about an hour ago for $9.99. 

Already gave it one spin, overall I'm impressed, especially those last 3 tracks...damn.

In a lot of cases "finished" would mean "better."

Perhaps, but this isn't one of them.  This is really a debate for another thread (that's been done about a thousand times already), but TSS is a hell of a lot more than an unfinished bridge.  If anything, I'd reverse the pictures in this case, but that's just me.

I used to struggle a lot with "Wouldn't It Be Nice," but oddly enough, as I've aged, it's become easier.  I can do "Don't Worry Baby" decently depending on the day, but that "columnated ruins domino" is by far the toughest thing in the whole Beach Boys canon for me.  I have to be having a really good voice day to get that one.

It's a great tune for what it sets out to be - killer vocals, catchy hook and just enough cheese to reel in the music buying public.  "God Only Knows" it ain't, but if you take away all of Mike's over-the-top boasting and the politics of the situation, you're left with a pretty darn good tune that deserves it's status in the Beach Boys canon.

Same here, it would have been a huge breath of fresh air if they gave it to BWPS over TSS.  Regardless of what people think of the production, the Wondermints or the new lyrics etc...this is the only "finished" version of that work ever put on tape.  As great as it is to listen to the actual BB voices and original musicians play on all those tracks on TSS..we're still left with songs with no vocals and incomplete thoughts.  TSS is mix-n-match compilation with a simulated "finsihed" album...BWPS is the whole thing brought to the finish line. 

"Finished" doesn't necessarily mean "better" though - even with the unfinished tracks, I think the original recordings are better than the finished ones on BWPS, so perhaps the voters in their poll felt the same.

Well said guitarfool, that looks perfect.  You're absolutely right about the double tracking too - it makes relatively simple 3/4 part harmony just sound huge.

Wow, that was some of the most enjoyable Beach Boys reading I've done in awhile - a job very well done Andrew, glad to have you here!

The insights and background information on the new album and tour were fascinating.  I really didn't think we would learn a lot of these things for several years after the fact, if ever.  It makes me happy to know that Brian had a lot more to do with putting it together than we otherwise thought.  The idea of him earmarking tunes exclusively for the Beach Boys is a touching thought.

Am I the only one who got a little choked up reading about Brian and Mike listening to 50's music in the back of the tour bus?  The "full circle" nature of this whole thing really hit me when I read that.

Surf's Up would have been so much better if they rerecorded it from scratch in 1971. I hate the fact that they used the original piano demo to provide the backing for over half of the song. It was laziness on their part, and it makes the song feel underproduced.

I feel the opposite. I wish they would have used MORE of the original demo/'66 recording - i.e Brian's voice on the first part instead of Carl's. And no bygones.

According to Desper, they did indeed try flying in Brian's voice for the first movement, but given the technology of the time, the speeds couldn't be matched well enough.  Thus the next best option was to record a new lead vocal over Brian's existing instrumental track.

I'm really curious to hear this.  I think it has the potential to sound really spectacular, given the bloodlines involved. 

[How many artists out there have the sheer balls to put something like that out there?]

"A Day In The Life Of A Tree", for me. All songs from the BB universe included, agreed that "Thoughts Of You" either tops "Tree" or comes pretty close. "Thoughts Of You", if you've ever been there, just says it way too well and is too real. A lot of songs try to do the same, and a lot of them are certainly good, but not many get it just right like that one does.

Agreed on all counts.  Just listened to both today on a long car ride, and I was just blown away by the raw emotion that Denny just spills all over the place on "Thoughts of You."  It makes me feel a bit uneasy listening to it, to be honest - I feel like I'm prying on the innermost thoughts of a troubled soul without permission.  How many artists out there have the sheer balls to put something like that out there? 

Syd Barrett, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Judee Sill, Nick Drake, Pete Townshend, Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple, Jason Pierce and many others. But Dennis is surely among the best.

Okay fair enough, I shouldn't have made such an overly broad statement.  Out of all those artists you listed I'm really only familiar with Lennon and Joni Mitchell, and they have their moments for sure, but for me, Dennis just takes it somewhere else.

I really enjoyed reading that Wirestone, thanks for posting! 

It's tough to find anything to add/critique, but one thing I will say is that, in my opinion, modern production techniques aren't as much to blame for Brian taking a less "hands-on" approach to making records.  Rather, I just don't think he has the energy or attention span to do it anymore.  He really hasn't in 40 years or so. 

If you place 23 year old Brian into 2012, with all it's technology and a completely different recording process, he would still be able to turn out complex and involved productions, just like in '66-'67.  The greatness of those records was due, in large part, to his ambition and work ethic at the time.  He was happy to obsess over every aspect of the production, and it showed in the final products.

The guy is nearly 70 years old though - who wants to spend their golden years hunkered down at a piano arranging a dozen different parts and working for hours on end in a studio to perfect a track?  He's been there, done that - it's easier for him to let others do the heavy lifting on the more involved productions.  When he does produce on his own, he doesn't mess around with complex arrangements because he'd rather bang out some piano track, add a few little touches, and be done with it.  This method perfectly suits where he's at at this point in his life.  He still gets the joy of producing (which I don't think will ever leave him), just without spending so much time that he gets bored and loses interest.

"A Day In The Life Of A Tree", for me. All songs from the BB universe included, agreed that "Thoughts Of You" either tops "Tree" or comes pretty close. "Thoughts Of You", if you've ever been there, just says it way too well and is too real. A lot of songs try to do the same, and a lot of them are certainly good, but not many get it just right like that one does.

Agreed on all counts.  Just listened to both today on a long car ride, and I was just blown away by the raw emotion that Denny just spills all over the place on "Thoughts of You."  It makes me feel a bit uneasy listening to it, to be honest - I feel like I'm prying on the innermost thoughts of a troubled soul without permission.  How many artists out there have the sheer balls to put something like that out there? 

Mike was never unsupportive of Pet Sounds.

Brian and Tony Asher would beg to differ.

To be fair though, unlike Smile, I do think that Mike legitimately came to love and appreciate the project later on.

The greatest, sturdiest, tallest, thickest, most formidable wall of Brian ever was the beautiful middle 8 of "Love and Mercy".  It sounds like GOD sang it.

Yeah, that part always gives me chills - I'm always bummed when they cut it from the live versions.

I typically love "wall-of-Brian" harmonies, although on GIOMH you could tell his heart wasn't in them.  But on BW88 and Imagination, they sound awesome.  He sounds strong, confident, and nobody sings a better falsetto vocal than Brian, even into his 40's and 50's. 

Don't get me wrong, I like the band vocals too, but I wish he'd still do a few "wall-of-Brian" tracks on his solo albums. 

Very cool story!  I always thought it was Brian, but I can buy Carl singing the lower part. 

Hearing a better sounding copy would be amazing, one can only hope that the powers that be stumble on this thread and give it some consideration for a future archive release.

Heroes and Villians is too long, and Cabinessence is too long, imho. 

Assuming you mean the single release and not the "cantina" version, I agree with you on "Heroes."  Can't agree on "Cabinessence" though, for me the changes in dynamics make the song feel shorter than it really is.  I've always believed that even though people call "Good Vibrations" the ultimate modular record, I think Brian truly perfected it on "Cabinessence."

To the OP, very well said.  Brian always left the listener wanting more, and he was a master at packing a ton of great music into 2-2:30.  Look at something like "Wouldn't It Be Nice."  There's so much that happens musically in that song, all of it mindblowing, and yet he gets it all out in just over 2 minutes.  It never ceases to astound me.  I remember in the A&E Bio, Al said that just the bridge to that song would be an achievement for most writers in a lifetime - for Brian, it was just a bridge, one piece of a greater whole. 

There have been a few threads on this one in the past.  The basic gist is that it's a Brian and Bob Norberg composition and recording although I'd say quite confidently that the vocals are all Brian. 

It's a crying shame that this was never given a "proper" studio recording.  It would have been a stone-cold classic.