KRETCH!!

Total weirdness, eh Jason? Dean Eliot is as equally odd. I like Dean a bit better, but still can't locate his impossibly rare LP.

POW!!

Holy poop on a stick! They played Buddy Holly Tribute? WOW. Not that it's a great tune (not terrible either), but it's definite rarity. The flip is twisted- Ooh She's Young. Dolenz claims it's about his daughter, sounds a bit pedo-like, ala: I Wanna Pick You Up. Only available on CD from me! 

To yammer on a bit more- His first 45 Easy On You/ Oh Someone featured some 'out there' Moog work and was recorded in his home studio with Peter Tork. Dolenz recorded a load of tracks for MGM & subsidiaries between 1970 - 74. He was pals with the likes of Nilsson, Randy Newman, Michael Lloyd and recorded with all of them or recorded their songs. He recorded enough for a full LP. It's a shame they'll never do anything with them. Most are quite enjoyable, a good handfull are unreleased and these are quite good, as well. Dolenz had some real talent. It's sad none of his stuff hit the charts or will be subject to CD release. Pity.

Thanks Zen! It's enlightening.

I have no clue what that tune is.    Can you find out from them??
I think Don't Do It mentions a Mary, once. I believe it charted around 100- or bubbled under.
Dolenz had about 9 solo 45's from '66 to his last in '83. None of them charted. None of which had Mary in the title or repeated it in the verses/chorus. Dolenz never had an LP.
You've got my curiosity peaked, Zen.

Even as a kid, Our Favorite Recording Sessions has always sounded staged to me vs something that was extracted as outtakes or flubs. Can anyone elaborate on this?

Hey Hey!
It's worth a look, but honestly... it's overkill. I don't think I've made it through the whole thing. Same set for 4 shows. It's a bit too much. There's a reason it hasn't sold out for Rhino Handmade. Andrew wasn't happy that got released as he had no say in the matter.

The Mobile Alabama show is probably the best as it was a dry-run recording for the NW shows. I first got the Mobile show in 1987 and was amazed that it existed. The levels are terrible, mix to 2-track is not that hot. But it's still fun. Somewhere I have the opening sets by The Sundowners & Lynn Randell from the Mobile show.

There is also a 5th live show that a few board members now have- Phoenix '67. Even more crude than the others. Segments were extracted fot the TV show episode. It also features tunes they only performed a few times: Papa Genes Blues, Can't Get Her Off My Mind, She's So Far Out She's In.
Also a 6th live show- the Japanese Tokyo show filmed for Japanese TV from Oct 4, '68. This is an amazing show with many unusual tunes: Johnny B Goode, DW Washburn, It's Nice To Be With You, Cindy (folk banjo #), Daydream Believer... I'm missing another tune or two.

JapFactBombSocks- Get the Headquarters Sessions if you can find one. MUCH better & a more highly interesting set.
One just finished on ebay last night for $148. OUCH!

Cub Coda & John Belushi had it nailed!
Belushi - 2000 LB Bee- The Ventures
Coda- Surfin' Bird - The Trashmen

With advance notice of my own death- if dying of a terrible ailment...
I'd probably record a message/tune of my own.

I think Beautiful Day would have been more at home on KTSA. How this track occurred around LA is beyond me. It rocks harder that anything on that LP (I'll refrain from LA bashing).
Beautiful Day never charted nationally, did it?? Didn't even crack the charts? Pity.

I wish Brian had used the Farfisa a bit more. Amazing solo in How She Boogalooed It!
I love that buzzing Farfisa-wheeze combo organ sound. I need to use mine more frequently.

Lambert Hendricks & Ross for the swankest, beat-jazz, dinner party ever.

I like Mike Love's hat collection!  Until he started wearing baseball caps, that is.

When I saw Harry Shearer last month, he (on bass) & his wife (amazing jazz pianist/vocalist) performed Christmas With The Devil ! An instant stone classic Christmas tune! Majesty Of Rock always cracks me up!
Ladies & Gents- Derek Smalls on bass- sans make-up. He even signed the X-mas 45- Derek Smalls! FUNNY!

Not that I find one version superior to the other, but why ditch versions of Veggies & Wonderful that are amazing and recreate something different?

Because Smiley is a different album with a different concept.  The new approach would sound ridiculous if elements of the old approach were placed within it that explicitly.

Not necessarily. Can you say Good Vibrations and Heroes & Villains??

It seems that the Beach boys sometimes have had no clue about their own music, about what is good and what is not.

The greatest understatement that's ever been documented on this board! 

I'll admit that I have never heard Adult/Child (what the hell kind of title is that anyway?), but judging from what I've heard from many people, I suspect that the only reason it gets any love at all is because it's...you guessed it...UNRELEASED!

That's kinda it. Sort of. There's always a lot of hype behind unreleased material from any band although there seems to be a lot of 'hugging' of the Beach Boys unreleased material. Adult Child is certainly one of those examples. About half is interesting- half could be discarded. Then again, I'm not a fan of about 60% of the 70 material as a whole. It'd still be interesting to see a legit release just to hear it all in a nice fidelity. Especially the key tracks- Still I Dream Of It, Deep Purple, It's Over Now, et al.

Complicated or not- it's just interesting. Insight makes it a bit more phun.
Not that I find one version superior to the other, but why ditch versions of Veggies & Wonderful that are amazing and recreate something different? Simply to avoid using those versions because of what they were associated with?
I recall the first time I heard Smiley's Wonderful, it was strangely uncomfortable as a tune by itself AND I had yet to hear SMiLE's Wonderful. I love them both, and to see an artist turn the production around and go the extreme opposite is amazing to me.

You're spot on and I'm full on aware of the history as well! It's interesting since there are some answers and double the amount of opinions as to why it went that way. If only more undercurrents could be uncovered & elaborated upon. Interesting answers lie within and yes, many arguements are there as well!

A buddy of mine cannot stand Smiley, but loves SMiLE. He just gets angry and can't listen to it. It frustrates him and I find that amusing! "I... I... I can't... can't listen to it." He associates them too closely, as where some of us can look at both seperately and comparatively. I dig 'em both equally and love the scathing histories behind both.

The recent chatter here makes me wonder how Mike let Smiley Smile 'slip on through' when he gave SMiLE the big thumbs down. Smiley is by far weirder that the finished SMiLE would have been. Maybe Mike liked the more organic feel to Smiley?
I totally dig all the weirdness on this record: uke, giggles & laughs, crunching veggies, 'bom-bom's' in Fall Breaks, sha na na's in Bald, way out man, way out. How this cannot be dug is beyond me! Way bizarre.

Some stuff he did with the MFQ was quite good. Tad (Henry) Diltz, Chip Douglass, Cyrus Faryar, Jim & Jarry Yester (later of the Association). I'm not sure how much MFQ stuff he did, tho. Did he produce Night Time Girl? I'm at work can't look up the facts.

Awesome Mark! Thanks loads!
I didn't realize they did more than one run through! Thankz. Thankz!!

Has anybody got the Big Star Norton rehearsals & live LP?? Scroll about 1/3 way down... just below my boys- The Hentchmen.
http://www.nortonrecords.com/index2.html

Good tunes. Production blows. Don't listen much because of the production. Wonder how it'd sound if his current band had recorded it instead of all the crummy programming. Sigh.

Koko-mOH-NO!!
Can't-- stop... can't-- stop...

Sheriff John Stone... why don't you leave him alone!

I see your point in all aspects, but in essence (not completely) Brian was the Beach Boys. He was the sound & partial lyricist. He was mentor to the other BB's. He created that sound and they followed. That's what he did and did it well. How can you stretch out and expound upon an already great catalog? What he did was what he was good at. Familiar & comfortable with.

Every artist reaches into their back catalog to see what was there and what could be done with it. The Beatles did it. Del Shannon did it. Michael Nesmith did it. Everyone has done it. Ask any of the musicians on this board. Do you play? I've done it and will continue to do it (though I'm not comparing myself in any way to any of those mentioned above). If you're an artist and have been around for a while there's bound to be some tunes that you've never completed and would finally like to attempt or finish. Granted, not everything he has done has been good, then again there's only a very small handful of artists that you can say didn't do anything that was junk.

Brian has such a large catalog that you & I are so familiar with and have known for so long with that if something new comes along you can't help but say that sounds like him. No matter what he does- it's going to sound like him. It's his voice. His music. His lyrics. His idea. It's him and can't sound like anyone else. When some people step beyond their boundaries they record 'Smart Girls.'

I dunno. Those are my immediate thoughts. I do see your points though.
And, I'm glad no Clapton rubbed off on Brian! Can you imagine the mess that would have made?