Thanks a lot for all your comments!

I agree, nobody actually replaced Carl and became a full/core member of the Beach Boys. Nobody replaced Dennis and became a core member either. I think the only time this happened was when Bruce replaced Brian. Although Brian still contributed to the band with compositions and occasional appearances.

I think when Dennis died the loss was not so apparent as with Carl. He didn't sing. He was important in a more subtle way, having brought the surfing theme to the band. He also added credibility, having surfed himself.

For me the Beach Boys died the day Carl died. He sang the lead on some of their signature songs, and his voice was so beautiful. I think he also had a stabilizing presence, which was needed with all the arguing going on between the band members. IMHO he also had a lot of charisma on stage.

I felt the same way for a long time. I had last seen the group in 1991; then SIP came out, and I just felt "if this is the best they can do, it's not worth bothering with them anymore". Of course, when Carl died, I immediately regretted not having seen them for several years. And then I stubbornly refused to see Mike's group when they came to down. I did go see Brian once, early 00's, but I found it depressing to see him on stage at the same venue where I had seen the group so many times. I kept thinking "Mike, Al and Bruce should be singing these songs with him".
People kept telling me I should go see Mike's Beach Boys; finally decided to give them a chance back in 2019 - and I loved it. No, it's not the original Beach Boys, the original Beach Boys can never be, because two of them are gone. Mike has some strong talent on the stage with him, though. I'm glad they are touring today - and thankful I don't have to mortage my house to buy concert tickets.

So it was depressing to see Brian without the other guys even though it was billed as a performance by Brian Wilson, but you loved seeing Mike and Bruce. Now of course, we like what we like, but it's odd.

Well, if the billing meant anything, it should have been 2 hours of Brian singing songs from his acclaimed solo albums. I think he did Lay Down Burden, Let it Shine, and Love and Mercy that night. It was a Beach Boys show in all but billing; and Brian is not much of a showman, so yes, I did miss the guys I had seen performing these songs year after year in the 80's/early 90's - Carl (who obviously couldn't be there), Mike, Al, and Bruce.
True, Bruce doesn't appear to do much onstage, other than clap a lot, adjust his mic stand, and periodically touch his keyboard. Fortunately, Mike has a very talented group of musicians to help bring those songs to life night after night.
Now, in a better world, Al and David would join Mike onstage - but this is the world of the Beach Boys; a group right up there with the Kinks in terms of dysfunctional relationships.

So a Brian Wilson show should ONLY have solo Brian material??? That’s nuts!

Along the same line, I found the LA Times obituary for MSIA founder John-Roger.


https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-john-roger-20141023-story.html

Wonderful read. Thank you for posting this.

Fil is amazing, isn’t he? I always learn something watching his videos and his analysis is always really good, too.

I found out about this not long ago and apparently it is coming out this year to coincide with Brian’s 80th birthday.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/God-Only-Knows-Wilson-California/dp/1913172759/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1T00ZQ5B6V4LN&keywords=David+leaf&qid=1648132509&sprefix=david+leaf%252Caps%252C156&sr=8-4&_encoding=UTF8&tag=davidleaf-21&linkCode=ur2&linkId=aab0475510fe9c49dae939d12c2367c7&camp=1634&creative=6738

It might be fun to watch the heads over at the other board explode in rage all over again!

Joshylin, do you remember those recording that you made many years ago where you recorded yourself singing the California Girls chorus melody in chest voice, head voice, and falsetto? That is what made me understand better the differences between head and falsetto.

Nice to hear another musician not fall into the trap of falsely calling Brian's high voice "falsetto."

Let's be accurate, friends!!

Hi Joshilyn, I always call it a falsetto - what is the proper term?

Head voice.  There's no fixed definition of when head voice becomes falsetto but it has to do with vocal fold engagement.  The untrained male voice (and female voice, too actually) generally needs to dramatically thin the vocal folds above a certain note, usually somewhere within a fifth of around C4 depending on the person.  At that point, with training, one can sing with more or less the full length of the vocal folds contacting each other each cycle, which is a fuller sound because more mass is engaged.  Untrained voices, or those going for an intentional effect will not have the coördination to keep the folds fully engaged, so on each cycle, less mass in engaged and the timbre is thinner.  There is also much less control over the dynamic range and expression because falsetto is kind of a one-trick pony.  But it is easier to do.

Brian, by singing along with the high parts in Freshmen records, probably, cultivated a very assured head voice capable of every shade of expression.  He also managed to cultivate a smooth register break and thus was able to push in chest voice to the head sound when he wanted for even more shading.  He was a really gifted singer.

Exactly.

Chuck Britz in the David Leaf book used to marvel at Brian’s ability to sing high without going into falsetto.  

Now that’s a way better use of I Get Around than the elongated Applebees commercial jingle!

Is Bro Country still a thing? I thought it peaked, like 5 years ago.

Heyjude and Rab better get in line and like the song (or else) from the good people at the EH board.

yeah, I guess me sharing my viewpoints is me “stroking out”? One guy said the “rage” here made him relisten to the song, whereupon he found he likes the tune.

Honestly, if people like this song and get some joy from it, I’m glad! For me, I live in what was previously a confederate state (whose many occupants listen to this music constantly), so I’ve heard this exact song (with slight variation) for the last 15+ years (trucks, rednecks, booze). If this music is new to some people (or the addition of The Beach Boys adds a nice flavor), or they just like the song, that’s great. For me, it has been an unoriginal genre for over a decade (maybe even longer), and it’s odd to see The Beach Boys associated with it…especially as the year of the 60th anniversary gets underway.

The guy making the accusation was the asshole who threw a hissy fit and pulled his News clipping scans when AGD was banned. And he has the nerve to say rab and HJ were “stroking out”.

My brother had Bat Out Of Hell on vinyl and when he would babysit me, I would beg him to play it. It left an indelible impression on a very impressionable 5 year old child.

Thank you, Meat and Jim.

 

Sleep easy, Rock & Roll Angel. 😢💔🎶

Phew, thought you guys were gone for good!

I was sad I couldn't mourn Ronnie Spector's passing with everyone here. A sad time in the music world and in the world of the Beach Boys too, as she was so hugely influential for them, Brian especially.

God, that was and still is such a heartbreaker. Brian’s reaction was the first thing I thought of when she passed.

I hope everyone had a great and enjoyable Holiday season this year, and best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year in 2022!

So...Heard any good jokes lately? 

When a Cougar gets so old she needs a hearing aid, she becomes a *pregnant pause*

Def Leppard.

Over a month later and I’m still not really over it. Nez was the reason I bought a 12 string guitar.

[I]

Reports of our demise were...AHEM!...premature. 

AGD's attempt to be the Arnold Toynbee of all things Beach Boys (as in the "decline and fall of the SS board that began when I was banned!!" )--and the subset of jerks over on "The Nearest Faraway Place" who piled on with him--should hang their heads in shame. We won't hold our breaths for THAT, of course...

That said, let's all go to the beach! Yee-haw!!! 

I had to look up who that was.

Yay!!!

https://youtu.be/IhzzAUaOzsk

So the European fans get screwed yet again. Clearly it was more lucrative to open up for Chicago in the states than haul it to Europe on their own. As usual, I'd suspect this has nothing to do with health or safety, and everything to do with money. I'll pass.

No, that’s the case at all. The story I had heard was that this was due to Covid restrictions that are in place (the organization was told that there were hotels that were cancelling their accommodations). Aren’t most of those dates being pushed back to 2023 anyway?

He would have been, what, 14 or 15 in this shot? Living every 60’s teenaged boy’s dream. And that was only the start of his remarkable life in show business.

I am just gutted.

Billy will be missed.

https://youtu.be/_eAfe4RS97E?t=1186

That F chord is the only evidence I’ve seen of him playing one

Don’t forget those awesome Elvis moves!

No, it is Jeffery Foskett. Guest vocal on Jeremiah's album. He has 2 lead vocals on the album. The other is California Baby, which is showcased in the Sandlot Club movie.

Is it Jeffrey doing the lead?

No, it’s not Jeffrey. It’s someone named Jeremiah Burnham.

https://youtu.be/fWiEKKRieXw



http://jeremiahburnham.com/

The sheer fire of this 2002 performance posted just now by the official BW account

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CVxy0R_g-w9/?utm_medium=copy_link

Whoever does his social media got the date wrong. That’s from 1999. It’s from the BRIAN WILSON IN TOUR DVD which was released around 2002/3.