I'm not sure that people necessarily thought about the fact that the Boys weren't playing on those records. Even if so, you'd have to discount an ENORMOUS amount of music in the 60s if you took umbrage every time the Wrecking Crew played on the tracks. Their presence didn't hurt, say, Simon and Garfunkel any, right? Besides which, for people who saw the BBs live at the time, it's not as if they were just standing like a barber shop quartet with a bunch of backing tracks.

I think if they weren't respected as musicians, it's because they were mediocre musicians, plain and simple. They weren't bad, by any stretch, and at times could really cook (the Rieley era springs to mind). But the reason people respected Led Zeppelin was not just because they played their instruments, but because they could PLAY their instruments, you know? To be frank, The Beatles weren't amazing musicians either, in terms of being virtuosos at their instruments. George developed into a quite magnificent guitarist, but was never really a Guitar Hero (that perception has gradually changed in the last decade, particularly after his death). They did in fact use session musicians quite regularly, yes, but it was only to play the instruments they didn't already play themselves. That said, nothing they did instrumentally was terribly flashy, which is really what leads people to think of musicians as virtuosos. Pete Townshend isn't actually technically a great guitarist, but he's got more flash than anyone else, so the perception is that he's an amazing player. The only BB who played with flash was Denny.

I think people put the emphasis on the right thing with the BBs: the vocals. I personally have never heard a blend like that before or since, and it's impossible to impersonate. The sound of the records was superb, of course, because of the musicians, extraordinary imagination on Brian's part, and terrific songwriting to begin with. But the band's legacy as a unit is and probably should be the vocals, not how well they play.

I'm not sure any of that made sense, but it's late and my brain is addled.

This is so great. What a fun project.

So you think Sahanaja produced Smile and not Brian?

I don't know who produced it.  I'm sure Brian was heavily involved.  I'm sure his band and Mark Linnett were involved as well.

I think this was one of those 'recorded' more than 'produced' recordings. The production was ultimately a re-creation of Brian's '60s productions.

Based on the footage in the Beautiful Dreamer dvd, it seems to me like they basically set up the concert stage in the studio and then had the band play through everything a bunch of times, then did some vocal overdubs. So strictly speaking, Brian didn't produce these sessions, as really the work was already done beforehand. He sat in the booth and gave notes and had an engineer and so forth, but he wasn't strictly producing in the truest sense of the word, so much as overseeing or stage managing. But considering the fact that the band was recreating the Wrecking Crew material pretty much note for note (with the exception of the new interludes), it was still Brian's arrangements from thirty-some-odd years earlier. He just didn't need to take the time to go over whether or not the shekere sounded enough like jewelry, because he'd already established the sounds he wanted on the original tapes.

Easy to confuse Brian and Carl vocals during that period. They really sounded very very similar in those days. What a change for Carl only a couple of albums later on Wild Honey!

Off topic and glib and not at all useful, but now I want to name a band Hardcore Prescriptivism.

I think Bruce wears A LOT of Mike's shirt too.

Somehow I suspect none of the others wear Al's shirts. Although now the image of Brian barely able to move his arms because he's wearing a shirt 12 sizes too small for him has become the highlight of my afternoon...

Of course, when I was 17 and I heard "When I Grow Up", I didn't find the ending sad. Now in my 30s I do. Go figure.

I'm pretty sure Revolution 9 was primarily John. We now know that Paul had been messing with tape loops and getting into the Avant Garde scene a lot more than John did around that same time, but he didn't release any of that stuff. I think John's means of entry was basically through Yoko, and that's where his exposure to it ended as well, unless something was introduced to him through her.

It sounds enough like Stunt-era Barenaked Ladies that I could see it working in sort of a romantic comedy or basically accomplish the same vibe that like "We Go Together" does at the end of Grease. That last comparison isn't a compliment, per se, but just a statement.

BNL actually put out some really good songs during the Stunt era...Alcohol, In the Car, When You Dream, She's On Time, Told You So, Some Fantastic...
Don't be downplaying the Ladies... In the early 90s, Steve Page would sing "Mama Says" and get the audience clapping along right before they'd go into "Brian Wilson". How can one not like a band with a major hit that namechecks Smiley Smile?


But back on topic...How about Daybreak as a single?

I was knocking Grease, not BNL. I've seen them like half a dozen times. Their legacy will probably be that of a novelty band, because their hit singles have primarily supported that view, but you don't have to dig very deep at all to find some fantastic stuff of theirs. The "Are Me"/"Are Men" double album was outstanding.

"Daybreak" could be a single, but I'd be surprised if they used it since they're by and large using the old Brian's Back frame of mind with most of the promotional stuff.

In support of Mike, I'm gonna mention "Johnny Carson". I love his vocal in that.

Then again, I actually like him when he's nasal. He just sounds so much like Mike Love! I'm thinking of his lines in "Santa Ana Winds" or his verse in the Knebworth version of "Sloop John B". It almost sounds like when Brian is making fun of him in "Cassius Love vs Sonny Wilson", it's so extreme. But it's just so distinct.

I've long felt that the greatest singers in pop history aren't necessarily the ones who sound the best, if that makes any sense. Edith Piaf, Bob Dylan, Louis Armstrong, these are all legendary singers whose voices aren't technically what's desired in a singer, per se, but their voices fit the music they're singing so perfectly that you wouldn't have it any other way. Mike's voice isn't in the same league, necessarily, but it's along the same lines.

I was mostly being glib with my statement about "Ding Dang". I wouldn't part with it on that album for the world. But it does work better in context than it ever could on its own, I think.

As for "Revolution 9", that whole album just sort of peters out somewhere around "Long Long Long". Side 4 doesn't come close to living up to the prior three sides. When I listen to it on my iPod, I swap out "Revolution 1" for the single version and "Revolution 9" with "Hey Jude", cause those were the A sides around the same time. Helps enormously, although no matter what you put before it, ending with Ringo on "Good Night" will always be a somewhat foolish way to end a double-album.

That said, intelligent chicks are dynamite.

"Be Here in the Morning" for some reason strikes me as quite romantic, in that it's specifically about getting away and just having a relaxing time together. Plus it's friggin' awesome.

"Forever" will always be romantic for me because a friend of mine got married a couple of years ago and I played guitar on that song and harmonized on it during her ceremony.

But yeah, hands down, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" just knocks me out every single time. It just has that combination of joy, sadness, anxiety, elation, the whole Brian Wilson romance package. When you're sort of in a state of infatuation, this song sums up that feeling about as well as anything I can think of.

Yes, true. Whereas I don't think Brian was trying to be anything with "Ding Dang". He wrote it as another song, same as any other during that period, really.

You reminded me of when David Leaf came down to my office after a meeting with Don Zimmermann, then president of Capitol Records. He showed me a cassette of unreleased Beach Boys songs that he had given to him to evaluate for possible release. Next to We're Together Again, Don wrote, "This is not a song."

Really? Ha, that's great. I mean, in a way it's unfair, because you look at stuff contemporaries of the Beach Boys have put out on albums and the same description is true. Seriously, Beatles? "Wild Honey Pie"?

"Wild Honey Pie" is more of a song than "Revolution 9."
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Well, sure, but at least with that you could say it was deliberate experimentation. "Wild Honey Pie" was more like mucking about.

You reminded me of when David Leaf came down to my office after a meeting with Don Zimmermann, then president of Capitol Records. He showed me a cassette of unreleased Beach Boys songs that he had given to him to evaluate for possible release. Next to We're Together Again, Don wrote, "This is not a song."
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Really? Ha, that's great. I mean, in a way it's unfair, because you look at stuff contemporaries of the Beach Boys have put out on albums and the same description is true. Seriously, Beatles? "Wild Honey Pie"?

FWIW, you can still get the box set on iTunes. Might be worthwhile to do that now to at least get the mastered versions of the Adult/Child outtakes in case they pull it from there soon as well.

In the world of Brian rapping, let's not forget about those silly lines in the middle of "Child of Winter", where apparently the Pied Piper makes a return for a minute to tell us about Mama making cookies and bread.

Then there is Dennys' rap in Cabinessence

Incidentally, anyone able to make out what he's saying in that?

Was never able to make it out for myself until someone linked me to this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dje0M5b_9M

And my dream comes true. Thankee.

In the world of Brian rapping, let's not forget about those silly lines in the middle of "Child of Winter", where apparently the Pied Piper makes a return for a minute to tell us about Mama making cookies and bread.

Then there is Dennys' rap in Cabinessence

Incidentally, anyone able to make out what he's saying in that?

In the world of Brian rapping, let's not forget about those silly lines in the middle of "Child of Winter", where apparently the Pied Piper makes a return for a minute to tell us about Mama making cookies and bread.

[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.

Good call. For anyone looking for confessional aching music, look no further than Joni. She's exquisite. And Elliott's "Pretty (Ugly Before)" breaks my heart every time, especially since it was released posthumously.

I don't know about a single, but it feels like the sort of thing which should go on a movie soundtrack during a montage or something. It sounds enough like Stunt-era Barenaked Ladies that I could see it working in sort of a romantic comedy or basically accomplish the same vibe that like "We Go Together" does at the end of Grease. That last comparison isn't a compliment, per se, but just a statement. I think it succeeds as what it's trying to be, a car-top down, summery smiley shiny wind-in-your-hair song. It's the track for which the crunchy Pro-Toolsy production seems the most appropriate to me.

If they made it a single, I wouldn't be upset, per se, because most of the rest of the album feels like deep cuts so far, but I wouldn't be enthusiastic about it, per se, unless it led new people to become fans. That's no worse in my mind than new fans being gained by grooving to something silly like "Dance Dance Dance". Whatever the gateway drug, I approve.

"Our Favorite Recording Sessions"? Juuuuuust kidding.

"Day in the Life of a Tree" is pretty manipulative, in that it DEMANDS you to feel badly for that tree, dammit, but somehow even as I cynically go through the first couple of verses, by the time it gets to "Oh Lord, I lay me down" I like have to pull the car over and think about all the branches I've broken over the years or times I've let my dog pee on some roots, and I invariably end up in a glass case of emotionnnnnnnn!

"Til I Die" is actually the most perfect expression of despair I think I've ever heard in a pop song. It's my frame of reference whenever I feel my skin crawl with Scott's too on-the-nose lyrics in "Midnight's Another Day". When you're at the end of your rope, the imagery used in "Til I Die" is exactly what it feels like (at least for me), like you're reduced to a speck in a larger tumultuous environment that you can't control. In particular the image of the leaf trying to keep from being blown off its branch, asking "how long will the wind blow", just nails it perfectly. It's an unbelievably moving song.

"Don't Worry Baby" actually I find to be quite sad, because the melody and the delivery is so aching. I mean, yeah, it's about biting off more than you can chew and fearing that you'll lose a drag race, but it works enough on other levels that I think it's very sad. Especially in light of the fact that Brian seems to be always worried, like every minute of the day.


The ending of "When I Grow Up to Be a Man" gets me every time too as being so melancholic, "won't last forever", and all that.

Now, maybe if Landy sang "Day in the Life of a Tree" in a more beauteous tone than Jack did, we'd have an argument. 

Right, gotcha. I think for the buying public who arrived at the Beach Boys because of the hits, they will just never be ready for Brian's music to be weird. When your initial impression of someone is all of the music from 63-65 or so, it's a difficult leap to then try to listen to something even as challenging as Smiley Smile. In the context of a 50th anniversary tour, I don't think this would be the logical time to release something strange. That'd just lead to the same situation they had with the Brian's Back period, where the hype was "Hey, you liked that recent greatest hits collection?! Well, Brian's writing a bunch more stuff that sounds JUST LIKE THAT!" and then everyone sits perplexedly around their turntables listening to a bunch of oldies and strange synths and "Just Once in My Life" and they're just not prepared psychologically for it. Personally, I wasn't a huge Beach Boys fan UNTIL I bought Love You, Surf's Up, and the 2004 SMiLE. So my frame of mind was to expect the unusual from Brian. If I'd started with Fun Fun Fun, maybe it'd be different, I don't know.

I haven't listened to it in its entirety, but from what I've heard: maybe some good ideas, but the production may be even more ridiculous than the 88 album. I can't believe it's so bad.

Also, hating on "Ding Ding"?

Nah, I love "Ding Dang". But I'm not sure it's a song.

As for the rest of the album, of course we've heard finalized versions of some of it on GIOMH, but there are some interesting moments on it otherwise as well. There's a track where he talks about how basically his family sucks and his dad was mean, etc., as if he's doing Plastic Ono Band or something, except it's unclear if that's Landy or not. Frankly, even if it is Landy, I'm not sure it's any worse than Scott's approach to "Midnight's Another Day" or "Southern California", with their deliberately autobiographical lyrics, at least in terms of wanting to express Brian's state of mind on his own behalf. But then you've got the very very strange experience of Brian Wilson singing about getting "hotter", which just doesn't go with his otherwise sort of arrested-development frame of reference for things. It's just weird all around. All I'm saying by mentioning those other tracks is that "weird" isn't necessarily unwelcome in the BW canon. But sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.