I know it's been months since this was posted, but I was just browsing this thread and came across it. The drums at the beginning kind of reminded me of Ticket to Ride by the Beatles. Anyway, I was letting it play as I was browsing the internet and then it autojumped to another of your songs--So Much Better. Just wanted to say I love that one! Very great pop rock melodies there! Out of Sight just came on as I'm typing this and I'm also enjoying that. It's a shame your music doesn't have more of a playcount. Have you shared anywhere else?

Just saw Brian in Toronto. I've gone to see him every time he's come here since C50, so I know what to expect. Still, it seemed today even more than usual that he's really sick of singing these songs, maybe even of touring in general. The oddly phrased almost talk singing thing worked for some songs better than others (it was okay, for example on Good Vibrations, but Don't Talk was absolutely terrible). He can still sing when he wants to--there were several moments throughout the night where he actually put in the effort and delivered some good vocals, which made his performance everywhere else just seem bizarre. He did a really great job singing Love and Mercy, and God Only Knows was also all right. All that said, the man is 76 and has been doing this exact tour for like over a year now. If I were in his shoes, I'd be sick of it too. He definitely gave a better performance the last time he was here, but really, we don't go to his shows for the performance anyway, right? And especially with the Facebook post calling this the last time he'd come to Toronto, I didn't want to risk missing it.

On to the other stuff. Al Jardine is finally sounding a bit older, but he still put on a great show. I'm always happy to see him. Blondie was amazing is always, really lively and really taking over the stage whenever he came on. Definitely the highlight of the show. And I was blown away to hear Feel Flows! Darian also killed it singing Darlin'. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the new singer--I think Brian said it's his son in law? He just didn't do it for me. I miss Matt Jardine, and I REALLY miss Foskett. Oh well.

At the end of the day, I enjoyed the show and I'm glad I went. I find Brian's lack of interest funny (not in a mocking way, but more in the same way we laugh at all the Brianisms throughout the years) rather than offensive (you got to love how he sings two lines of Fun, Fun, Fun and then just gives up and leaves Al to do the rest), and as I said, I do sympathize with how tired he must be from all these performances, especially at his age and with his back problems. And if he does wind up coming back to do another show, I'll definitely go see him again--every chance I get. He's probably my favourite human being on the planet.

Controversial opinion, but Brian's modern voice minus the heavy autotuning is going to take some getting used to. Hm. I like this--a modern take on the classic pre-Pet Sounds period. If this is what the legendary "rock and roll album" will sound like, I'm on board. Though, I might wind up being sad that it's not a Beach Boys album. This sounds exactly like the kind of song Mike would get on board for. With Brian's solo stuff, I'm looking more for the weird, melancholy, quirkiness of an album like NPP. If he's going to make music like this that's more fun, why not get Mike and Bruce and make it the real deal? (I mean, if Mike cares so much about getting in a room and writing something from scratch, why is his new single a terrible remake of a song he and Brian wrote almost 50 years ago?) But hey, I'll take whatever we get at this point. Great song.

I think you nailed it with It's Not Easy Being Me. If that had been on there, this would've been a day 1 instant purchase. As it is, I'll probably pick up the anthology eventually, but I'm in no rush to do so.

Wow! I would kill to see a performance of Friends!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPbSbFLYvIo

Go to 4:45

As many others have said, I'm sad to hear this but glad that he's finally at rest. I remember my grandfather playing Rhinestone Cowboy for me when I was a kid. I was surprised to find out many years later that that same guy played such a huge role in The Beach Boys. And Wichita Lineman is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I usually can't bring myself to play songs from an artist who has recently passed, but I think I'm going to go give that one a listen in his honour. R.I.P.

I love this! Nice arrangement--the piano has a really dream sound. I don't think you have to bury your vocals so low in the mix; they sound great. Are you familiar with Animal Collective at all? You could totally pull off their vocal style.

I came to say Matchpoint of our Love, but it seems thats already one of the most popular in this thread. Most of MIU and The Beach Boys 85.

I've always found Let's Put Our Hearts Together cheesy despite loving the actual music.

And someone will probably come along and mention Match Point Of Our Love, but that's one of my favourite songs lyrics and all.

I read this thread title thinking Brian had announced that he'd begun work on a new album or something. But of course, it's just more bitterness.

Damn. I'd love to have Happy Endings on CD, but I'm not paying $156 for it.

marcella27 -- Oh, you're right, it was. And that's one of my favourite Beatles songs. How embarrassing. >.>

I was at the Toronto show. Pretty great, as usual. I was excited for Funky Pretty, but I actually didn't really care for their live rendition that much. Highlights were One Kind Of Love (I absolutely love this song, and as a bonus Brian remembered all the lyrics this time!--last year he forgot how the verse went), Let's Go Away For A While, Here Today, Pet Sounds, and Good Vibrations. Brian's singing was hit and miss as usual. I also love that they played the sound effects at the end of Caroline No. And Matt Jardine totally stole the show. He does Brian's parts way better than Foskett ever did.

Also, I'm not sure if this has been asked already in this massive thread, but does someone have a list of all of the little song snippets they used when introducing the band members? I recall Smoke On The Water, Carry On My Wayward Son, and Day Tripper. What were the other ones?

If you need a more beach boysy intro to the album check out this one...has some harmonies in a tag at the end:

http://jonahlustig.bandcamp.com/track/no-instructions

anyway would love feedback. i know it's not a 'genre' album (dont think it has much of a precedent in terms of sound) but personally i think that makes it more interesting...but whatever if people think it's "too weird" i just tell them folks said the same about smile...im allowed to be delusional  

This was really cool. I'll have to check out more tomorrow.

The rarest Beach Boys song is a good SiP song. 

So Lahaina Aloha then?

The only producer I hold in higher regard than Brian himself. Along with a certain four individuals, this man shaped modern music. Can't express how big a fan I am of his work, not just with the Beatles, but elsewhere as well. Rest in peace.

I'm not suuuuper familiar with Kanye, although I actually enjoy Yeezus and Graduation quite a bit. I just wanted to appreciate the similarity you pointed out to Smile.

Where are you finding these rearrangements/unreleased tracks? Perhaps one of these nights when I'm not studying for physics I'll take a gander at those.

The unreleased/alternate tracks leaked gradually over the last week or so. They're not available by any legitimate means, of course. You could probably still find them if you looked hard enough.

I'm sure many people here aren't too fond of Kanye, but it's interesting to note what's going on with his latest album. For those who don't know, he was constantly altering and updating the tracklist on Twitter before the album's release. Many fans were disappointed with the final product and thought the sequencing to be a little off. So what happens? Everybody starts rearranging the tracks, sometimes even removing whole songs or parts of songs to make the album flow better. Some of them even added in a couple of singles that didn't end up making the album. Recently some early/alternate versions of tracks leaked, and now people are making their definitive versions of individual songs as well. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the album was originally, according to Kanye, meant to be divided into 3 acts. The fans have interpreted each of those acts as having their own unique theme, and are arranging the tracks to better fulfill that vision of the album. Sound familiar?

Nothing in Canada? 

This is also something I've wanted to do for a while (not just for the Beach Boys, but for all sorts of albums). I'm not sure what the rules are, but they're probably stacked against you. You might end up with ads or stuff. But I'd love to watch someone going through every album, so definitely do it--I'll watch them!

Of those, either M.I.U. or The Beach Boys 85. Both are in my top 10.

I don't have it yet, so I'm glad for this release.

Why yes it is! I'm actually replaying that game right now, since it was just released on the Wii U virtual console. Those 3 games are my favourite of all time, and I can't get enough of the soundtracks. Love that Dierdre sample in Earthbound.

I will warn you that this is a hip hop album, but I've tried to incorporate various different styles of music into the songs. I know it's not the most popular genre here, but I thought I'd give it a shot. And yes, there are various Beach Boys inspired moments throughout the album, some more obvious than others (check out Passion and Life Well Lived).

https://blooburds.bandcamp.com/album/the-show-aint-over