The Beach Boys (especially Mike) should be kept as far away from TLOS as possible - other side of the planet - or even better shove the Boys in the space shuttle and send them to the other side of Pluto where they can sing Duke Of Earl 'til their heart's are content (and I don't have to hear it)!

I think it would be a good thing if Mike and Al wouldn't get any creative input, but I'd love to hear the voices of all surviving Beach Boys on one record again. So if someone would offer Mike and Al (and Bruce) a 'take it or leave it' deal to be on Brian's album and they'd accept it - I don't see what could be so bad about that.

From 95%+ of reports I have heard from the BB tour of Australia late last year (which I didn't attend) the auto tune would be as busy on Mike and Bruce's vocals as they would be on Brian's. For many reasons I can accept "fine tuning" of Brian's vocals but I cannot accept the same being done for Mike and Bruces vocals on an album they are only appearing on for nostalgia purposes - not to enhance the performance. I would much prefer to hear the naturally sweet vocals of Brian's band.

There are other Aussies who post on this board who can attest to the poor quality of the Beach Boys (Mike and Bruce) vocals on the last Aussie tour.

I have no desire to see or hear a Beach Boys reunion - Brian has not been a "touring" Beach Boy for 30 years.

The Beach Boys (especially Mike) should be kept as far away from TLOS as possible - other side of the planet - or even better shove the Boys in the space shuttle and send them to the other side of Pluto where they can sing Duke Of Earl 'til their heart's are content (and I don't have to hear it)!

TLOS is by far Brian's most consistent work of his solo career, in fact his most consistent work since the late 60s early 70s. Unlike every Brian and Beach Boy album since Pet Sounds and SMiLE which might have zero, one, or at best two, classic and eternal Brian songs TLOS is a consistent body of work in which for the most part, the quality and depth of material is high and does not scrape the bottom of the barrel. I have learnt over 30 years to be happy with one classic Brian song per album - TLOS makes me joyous.

Making the Top 40 or whatever is irrelevant and if it should happen it is simply a bonus. Now is about Brian's body of work and ultimately his legacy.

Okay guys - play fair - share the drugs!

I recently compiled a 2CD set of Beach Boys Live performances for a friend. I focused on the following criteria for the compilation:
1.   Must be reasonable quality soundboards (no audience recordings)
2.   Mostly recordings of new and more creative songs with a smattering of older material

This is what I came up with. I find CD1 really listenable (except maybe Track 7) and CD2 really listenable up to Track 10 – after that it is pretty much downhill, just like the Boy's career.

Disc 1 Tracks 1 to 4: Michigan State University, Ann Arbor - October 22 1966.
Disc 1 Tracks 5 to 7:   Honolulu International Centre – August 25, 1967.
Disc 1Track 8 to 12: Detroit, Michigan – November 17, 1967.
Disc 1Tracks 13 to 17: London Palladium - December 1, 1968.
Disc 1 Tracks 18 to 20: Big Sur Fold Festival – October 3, 1970.
Disc 1 Track 21: Grand Gala Du Disque TV show, Netherlands – February 25, 1972
Disc 1 Tracks 22 to 27 &  Disc 2 Tracks 1 to 3: Carnegie Hall, New York – November 23, 1972.
Disc 2 Tracks 4 to 9:   Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York – June 14, 1974.
Disc 2 Tracks 10 to 12: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York – May 14 1979.
Disc 2 Tracks 13 to 18: Philadelphia, April 18, 1980.
Disc 2 Track 19: Wembley Arena, London – June 29, 1993.

DISC 1:
1.   Medley: Surfin’ Safari/Fun Fun Fun/Shut Down/ Little Deuce Coupe/Surfin’ USA
2.   You’re So Good To Me (with false start)
3.   Mike intros Good Vibrations
4.   Good Vibrations
5.   The Letter
6.   Mike intros Getting’ Hungry
7.   Getting Hungry
8.   Darlin’
9.   Country Air
10.   Intro: How She Boogalooed It
11.   How She Boogalooed It
12.   Wild Honey
13.   Wake The World
14.   Aren’t You Glad
15.   Bluebirds Over The Mountains
16.   Do it Again
17.   All I Wanna Do
18.   Intro: Cottonfields
19.   Cottonfields
20.   Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring
21.   Surf’s Up
22.   Intro: Only With You
23.   Only With You
24.   Long Promised Road
25.   Don’t Worry Baby
26.   Marcella
27.   California Sage: California

DISC 2:
1.   Heroes & Villains
2.   Help Me Rhonda
3.   Wonderfull/Don’t Worry Bill
4.   Sail On Sailor
5.   Funky Pretty
6.   We Got Love
7.   The Trader
8.   All This Is That
9.   Feel Flows
10.   Angel Come Home
11.   Peggy Sue
12.   Roller Skating Child
13.   Keepin’ The Summer Alive
14.   Good Timin’
15.   Goin’ On
16.   Lady Linda
17.   Disney Girls
18.   Rock ‘n’ Roll Music
19.   Summer In Paradise

Yeah I know the London 68 stuff turned up on Live In London but here I have used the full concert source. The Wild Honey tour 67 stuff really filled out a void from when I had attempted previous compilations. The 72 Carniege Hall stuff is magnificent.

At times the performances are sloppy, at times magnificent, at times the feedback screams out of the speakers (it wasn’t a live concert in the 70s without feedback!) and at times the reason why we love the Beach Boys shines through.

Until the powers that be gives us the much desired live box, concert downloads or whatever I feel this little set will tide me over.

I loved the Pickwick Label!!

When i was really getting into the Beach Boys in the early to mid 70s Capital in Australia had ceased doing any of the Beach Boys albums - it was impossible to find anything - even/especially Pet Sounds - Pickwick and second hand record stores introduced me to the Beach Boys.  In Oz we also had a budget label called Axis and they had apretty good compilation. Then came the In Concert album - wonderful stuff ... 

It wasn't until after Endless Summer had gone mega huge that Capital Australia re-released the old 60s albums in the twofers.

Or maybe it was Y2K!

OH NO!!!

Y2K strikes at last!!

PANIC!!

Oh well - there you go - I'm screwed!!

Given the nature of the work - the meshed dichotomy between the story of Southern California/LA and the Wilson story - there are significant oportunities to expand the "art" behind the work. I'm not thinking simply of a combo of CD & a DVD of a live show here, I'm thinking bigger scope, something different, "outside the circle" as I posted earlier - I'm not sure what the answer is, I'm not the artist and my 50+ brain is limited in its knowledge of the mediums available to the creative people - but the potential is there - its a panoramic work of art and deserves to be treated as such. There are opportunities here for Brian's people to expand the scope of "an album release or format" and to push the boundaries. This isn't about "hits and Top 40 success" - those days are well behind Brian and are part of some blueboard fantasy world - this is about pushing the limits of the contemporary artist marketing to the non Top 40 market - rewrite some rules here folks! Just as Brian did in 66/67 - The TLOS release can be about mining the creative leagacy of what Brian was creating in 66/67 not 63/64.

Totally agree. My only qualm about TLOS as presented last year was that I felt musically it could have been pushed further out, more in a spacey direction. Were this recorded in a way that, let's say Nigel Godrich could help with, and matched with, say  autobiographical animation sequences, in the same way Chicago 10 apparently does, you would have something which would make a really big splash. Just some examples of what the possibilities could be.

The Chicago 10 concept is interesting (had to youtube it to know about it - nothing about it down this end of the planet) archival video footage and animation would be a good way of juxtaposing to the two story lines - certainly would come at a cost - maybe intercut with live performance footage (escpecially for the climax of Southern California) and find some other way of presenting the narratives. However this still reamains a simple context - push the boundaries of presentation within the acceptable commercial formats.

Come on Bri, you can do it ..... want a hamburger?

Oh well - there you go - I'm screwed!!

No, your point/post was an excellent one. It indirectly reiterates the point I was trying to make.

TLOS is (and sounds like) an attempt at "art", as opposed to a CD full of potential singles to get Brian back on the radio. If TLOS times in at 38 minutes, and that's what the piece calls for, then that's how it should come out.

But noooooooooooooooo, that's not good enough because it won't make enough money. See, they're thinking like 1966-67 again. They still haven't learned their lesson. The $$ comes before the artistic vision - again.

Your idea was a good one. Maybe they could release the 38 minute TLOS with a bonus CD or DVD of something. At least it wouldn't be compromising Brian's art.

And BTW, yeah, Brian does have three houses. Add up the value(s) of those three houses and subtract what he owes. I bet there's plenty of equity there. Real estate is one of the best investments there is. It increases in value all the time. Do you know anybody who sold their house for less than what they paid for it? Brian's loaded, unless Melinda made some horrible investments.

I was unaware that so many contemporary albums come out at the 30 to 40 minute mark - I'm not anal (not saying others are) about album lengths and would personally be very happy if TLOS came out as is. Having seen it live I know how good it really is. I wouldn't complain about a 38 minute TLOS CD release.

Given the nature of the work - the meshed dichotomy between the story of Southern California/LA and the Wilson story - there are significant oportunities to expand the "art" behind the work. I'm not thinking simply of a combo of CD & a DVD of a live show here, I'm thinking bigger scope, something different, "outside the circle" as I posted earlier - I'm not sure what the answer is, I'm not the artist and my 50+ brain is limited in its knowledge of the mediums available to the creative people - but the potential is there - its a panoramic work of art and deserves to be treated as such. There are opportunities here for Brian's people to expand the scope of "an album release or format" and to push the boundaries. This isn't about "hits and Top 40 success" - those days are well behind Brian and are part of some blueboard fantasy world - this is about pushing the limits of the contemporary artist marketing to the non Top 40 market - rewrite some rules here folks! Just as Brian did in 66/67 - The TLOS release can be about mining the creative leagacy of what Brian was creating in 66/67 not 63/64.

The release of TLOS shouldn't be limited to "how it's been done before" - for example Mark London should be considered as important in the overall "Brian Wilson" package now as Mike or Carl were to the "Beach Boys" package in the 60s. All of the creative people who work for Brian should be viewed as part of the "Brian Wilson" of today not just the musicians - why limit an artists ability to create new product to our old concepts of what a "band" should be?

And as for house prices going down - yep it happens - here in Australia the housing bubble burst about 5 years ago and house prices in major cities like Sydney & Melbourne crashed between 10% to 20% - back then our Reserve Bank pushed the credit responsibility back on the consumer unlike the US Fed which let the sub prime market expand - now Australia is increasing rates to cool the economy while the US Gov is reducing interest rates in order to boost the economy and avoid recession. Hell the Aussie Dollar is almost parity with the US$ - 5 years ago it was half the value of the US$ - at least the cost to us of buying boots from overseas has halved!!  

Oh well - there you go - I'm screwed!!

38 minutes or so for an album may have been acceptable in the 60s & 70s but not now. Times, markets and "consumer awareness" have changed substantially - just stop to think how many "bonus tracks" would have to be added to the Japanese market just to make it accepatble...  - or - just imagine all the blood and guts that would be splattered across the blueboard!! 

At 38 minutes just putting out an album would be seen as ripping off consumers no matter if the quality is far greater than the quantity, far too many people just "don't get it" when it comes to art and the artist. If 38 minutes is to be the length of the piece then some greater form on multi media presentation should be considered. Its time for Brian's marketing people and some multi media techies to start thinking outside the circle - TLOS is certainly a piece of work which lends itself to exploring new media.

[15 Big Ones]

Dennis had a lot of great stuff in the can, or in the process of development, none of which fit into the calculated mold. His songs were more progressive, more mature, definitely not retro. When it became apparent that the BB's were not going to use his stuff in 1975/76 he took four or five of his BB's tracks and built what became POB around them.

Reportedly, his submission for what became 15 Big Ones was "Pacific Ocean Blues". Can you say "sore thumb" ? 

In much the same way that Morning Christmas sticks out like a "sore thumb" on the steaming pile of merda that was to be the Christmas album.

If there was to be a DW song languishing in his catalogue it should have been San Miguel - it would have found a comfortable home in 15BO.

Or, perhaps, not in the format that those of us in Europe and Australia have been lucky enough to see.

As it stands - at roughly 38 minutes (or whatever) - its not an "album".

It certainly deserves release - it is a significant body of work in Brian's solo canon - one reassuring tidbit I keep reminding myself of is that there must be some quality soundboard recordings in the hand's of Brian's people .........

It sounds like Pet Sounds = The Fountainhead

Supernany - phooee!

Make it SUPERGRANNY and bring on Marilyn!!

A little bit of Granny love will set those kids straight!!

Wooohoooo!!!

The new SMiLE!

Speculation starts here:

1. Which bandmember hates the lyrics?
2. Which (prescribed) drugs are causing Brian's lack of focus?
3. Which other band has already "done it"?
4. Are there enough studios in LA to be able to record TLOS?
5. Are the "vibrations" and "astroligical signs" wrong?

FYI: I plan to put my copy of the Sydney Festival Sampler with Midnights Another Day on it up for sale on EBay starting at US$2000 - it might be your only chance to ever have an "official" TLOS recording!!!  Bidding starts now!!! [insert sarcasim smiley here]

The East Coast of Oz has been pounded with some wild wet weather for the past week and along with it some great surf. I have surferd my early fifties brain out and was high on surf stoke last night so put on an old surfing movie - The Inner Most Limits of Pure Fun.

Low and behold up pops the music credits - all three Dragon brothers along with legendary surfer and movie script writer Denny Aaberg. Great surfing soundtrack - and the surfing certainly takes one back to a simpler time.

FYI: Denny Aaberg's grommethood was the inspiration behind the storyline for the movie Big Wednesday - Denny was the script writer on the movie.

Anyone inerested in the music should go to this link: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1374293985

For anybody interested in the surfing technicalities the line up shots are Broken Head and all the Surfing action is Lennox Head. The footage dates to 1969 - the last days of the longboard era - if you look closely at the boards being used Bob MacTavish has already started to cut feet of the board lengths. Weeks after this footage was shot they started filming The Fantastic Plastic Machine which documented the start of the shortboard revolution.

Is there anything known about the TV broadcast? Was it the full show? Was it supposed to be a "make up" show after the Austrailian disaster?

Jay - if you are reffering to the NZ TV show being some sort of "make up" after the Oz shows then no way. New Zealand and Australia are two seperate countries - the Kiwis couldn't have given a toss if the Boys screwed up the Aussie leg of the tour. FYI the Australia/New Zealand relationship is a bit like the USA/Canada relationaship (they all speak funny!!)

Besides the NZ part of the tour was before Australia.

The You-tube posts are indeed frauds ......

Mark

Thanks Mark and everybody else - yep it sure looked suspicious.

Also - and this really has been overlooked for years - this was the tour where, as far as I know, the Good Vibrations hum de dahs version was played live for the first time (at all shows).

What about that other concert that was discovered about a year ago? Someone who works for a Australian TV station posted about it on BeachBoysBritain. Was that for real?

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say much, but there is at least one other Austrailian 1978 show on film. About 60 minutes of the show was taped.

Okay, confusion now - the Melbourne March 9th show which was taped and aired on May 10th is the 60 minute show - see this link: http://www.giginjapan.com/scan128/beach-boys-78melbourne.htm

I am not aware of any full show video - if their is another out there I'd love to see it. 

That's pretty cool. How did it sound at the show, and how did a (then-) unreleased song go over with the rest of the crowd?

Mike would give Lady Linda a big introduction - rap on about Bach and how AJ had updated it - by the time the song started the crowd were ready for it. The 78 Tour set list included a couple of obscurities, for example at most shows the Boys played a 4 song set kicking off with Lady Linda, followed by Everyones In Love With You, All This Is That and then Country Pie - everyone of those tracks would have been unknown to the Endless Summer fans who made up the majority of the crowd.

The newer material was well received, I can vividly remember how All This Is That went over big time with the Sydney crowds.

["Yeah, I was there. Carl said on the TV news the next night apologetically that he must have had too many Mai Tais before the concert!!!!!!I saw three concerts and they were all great to me. That’s the year my son was born and I remember it really well. About 10% of the audience (wowsers) left. There were 15 musicians on stage and covered the mistakes of Carl well. Brian was at that stage where he just wandered around on and off the stage, especially during an extended version of “All This Is That”.I remember “Country Pie” and “Lady Linda” particularly.Even before the lights came on Carl was audible and I suspected that he was “not normal ie pissed! Or stoned."]

Okay, we have found somebody who was at both Perth shows. Richard Marr (AKA Zac) has emailed me with some details - hopefull Richard will be registered on the board in a short while and will be able to join the discussion himself - finally SOMEBODY WHO WAS THERE!!

Here is the body of Zac's email to me:

"Yeah, I was there. Carl said on the TV news the next night apologetically that he must have had too many Mai Tais before the concert!!!!!!

I saw three concerts and they were all great to me. That’s the year my son was born and I remember it really well. About 10% of the audience (wowsers) left. There were 15 musicians on stage and covered the mistakes of Carl well. Brian was at that stage where he just wandered around on and off the stage, especially during an extended version of “All This Is That”.

I remember “Country Pie” and “Lady Linda” particularly.

Even before the lights came on Carl was  audible and I suspected that he was “not normal ie pissed! Or stoned."

Wait a minute. Carl's "apology press conference" was actually broadcast on tv? I hope somebody has a copy.

... cough, cough ...

... ummm ... this was 1979 ... Fred Flinstone's monkey couldn't chip away at the moving rock quick enough to record it ...

... in other words unless you owned a TV station is Australia in '79 you didn't own a video tape recorder. So check with Rupert Murdoch, he might have a copy gathering dust in the back of an old cupboard!!

I remember “Country Pie” and “Lady Linda” particularly.

They were already performing Lady Lynda by that point, despite LA Light not coming out until the following year? Can someone please confirm?

Confirmed - most definately played Lady Linda. Heard it with my own ears, saw it with my own eyes and its on the Surfin' Down Under boot to prove it!!

Also - and this really has been overlooked for years - this was the tour where, as far as I know, the Good Vibrations hum de dahs version was played live for the first time (at all shows).

I'm wondering if I have missed something here the past few days?

Can somebody please enlighten me on these two "clips" on You Tube supposedly posted by Mark Linett (Under the name "YourPlace18") with text referring to the work he did with the Comp Reel for EMI/Capitol and the Beach Boy/Brother Records.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL_2fYlryhc&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W37MjxHgwkA

The clips are audio mixes of Brian produced SMiLE tracks edited together in a similar sequence to BWPS 2004.

To me this looks like a hoax - the You Tube clips refer to the 1989 Comp Reel but as far as I know the Linett Comp Reel was 1988 - and that was not edited together as it was the source (Not Mark Linett,s fault) of the 1993 Vigotone SMiLE set.

Real (Reel) or hoax?

Hi Ian - we have a case of mistaken identity here! I thought the Ian posting on this thread was Ian Parsons from Brisbane - D'oh!

Ian Parsons will be a good source of what happened in Brisbane so i will get in contact with him and see if he can clarify shows and dates.

FYI: In 1978 the three biggest cities in Oz were Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane - even then in the late 70s Sydney and Melbourne were quite urban cities but Brisbane was still a big country town - it has since transformed into Bris Vegas. At the time the venue capacity in each city where the Boys played were:

Sydney Sports Ground - capacity 30,000
Myer Music Bowl Melbourne - capacity 30,000
Festival Hall Brisbane - capacity 4,000

So yes it is quite possible Brisbane had to add extra shows to meet demand because the Festival Hall venue was so small. I'll conract Ian P and see what he has - Ian's a collector so I'm sure he'll have the info at his finger tips.

Also for your info - the Sydney show on Sunday, March 19 at the Sydney Sports Ground was a mess as it poured rain - I mean it poured rain in a biblical sense - "get the Ark!!".

["Yeah, I was there. Carl said on the TV news the next night apologetically that he must have had too many Mai Tais before the concert!!!!!!I saw three concerts and they were all great to me. That’s the year my son was born and I remember it really well. About 10% of the audience (wowsers) left. There were 15 musicians on stage and covered the mistakes of Carl well. Brian was at that stage where he just wandered around on and off the stage, especially during an extended version of “All This Is That”.I remember “Country Pie” and “Lady Linda” particularly.Even before the lights came on Carl was audible and I suspected that he was “not normal ie pissed! Or stoned."]

Okay, we have found somebody who was at both Perth shows. Richard Marr (AKA Zac) has emailed me with some details - hopefull Richard will be registered on the board in a short while and will be able to join the discussion himself - finally SOMEBODY WHO WAS THERE!!

Here is the body of Zac's email to me:

"Yeah, I was there. Carl said on the TV news the next night apologetically that he must have had too many Mai Tais before the concert!!!!!!

I saw three concerts and they were all great to me. That’s the year my son was born and I remember it really well. About 10% of the audience (wowsers) left. There were 15 musicians on stage and covered the mistakes of Carl well. Brian was at that stage where he just wandered around on and off the stage, especially during an extended version of “All This Is That”.

I remember “Country Pie” and “Lady Linda” particularly.

Even before the lights came on Carl was  audible and I suspected that he was “not normal ie pissed! Or stoned."