Add "It's Not Easy Being Me" & "Slightly American Music" and you got my vote.

I thought you didn't like the Wilson/Paley stuff...?

In what way? The original articles came out 3 years before my entry into this world.

For me, the nadir in the Dark Stuff was the "Jacuzzi? JACUZZI?!" part.

I think Carl, honestly, was somewhat dubious of the Paley material because of Brian collaborating with someone unfamiliar with the band and who (let's be frank) contributed a LOT to the songs. It was kind of like Brian shows up at your doorstep with a lot of songs written by someone you've never heard of and expecting you to sing on them. And to have this same guy co-produce them.

Except for the co-production aspect, that's not a big change from the "glory days". How familiar was the rest of the band with Roger Christian?

Welcome, Debbie!

My respect for Nick Kent took a direct hit when I realised he'd ripped off a lot of his Smile info in his 1975 pieces from the Vosse Fusion interview. Uncredited, too.

Of course he's going to rip off other people's writing...when he writes his own material, 99% of what he says is wrong.

I wonder what it is like to listen to Fall Breaks and Back to Winter on repeat while stoned. I wonder what it's like to be stoned.

I've often wondered those things too.  Smiley must sound so trippy while "under the influence."

Actually, to be honest it sounds more normal, and to these ears even cooler.

You know what the perfect song is for that occasion? "Time to get alone", esp the "Deep and Wide" part (esp listening on good head phones).

No, I mean wasn't Barbara about that age? So, if Marilyn was 14, wasn't Barbara 11? So if he fancied HER first, then that's seriously f***ed up.

So that really IS true? I thought that was just some made up thing in the "autobiography". Wasn't she like 13 at the time?

I think I just sh*t myself.

Why?

Agree  with you about the TLOS outtakes.  See, to me that's what Brian should be doing, just doing music whenever he feels like it...the results speak for themselves.

Good points, except

For Leaf, he gets to live out his dreams through Brian.

Not no more he don't.

Hopefully it will be more like her first 2 albums and not like the last one. Sadly, it seems like live she is struggling to hit high notes that she used to hit easily. She's still young, so wonder what's up.

Damn...this reads like one of my posts in the main forum!

How, Billy? How was he in better shape in 1999 as opposed to 2009? Besides being 10 years older. The main difference I can see from then to now is that he's recorded four more solo albums and no longer is creatively entangled with Joe Thomas.

Probably because when AGD says things, it's often coming from sources who would know or his own first-hand knowledge, whereas most of us here are either just guessing, observing from afar, or hearing from someone who heard from someone who thinks he heard that someone once said something (or something like that).

Though plenty of people disregard Andrew's posts, too, even when they're perfectly accurate--especially when they mess with their already-set caricatures.

Andrew  kinda touched on what I was driving at. Let me put it like this... Brian was more articulate back then, and seemed more energetic.  Not just talking about performance either, as his first year of touring was seriously rough. His age is catching up with him. It happens. He has his good days and his bad days, but his bad days are starting to outnumber his good ones. A performance such as the 1998 Farm Aid show used to be an exception (not so much 1998-1999, but afterwards) but now it's the norm. His fire seems to be fading. But, again, he is 67, so it's not unexpected entirely.

Perhaps I'm on thin ice here but the REAL comparison with how Brian is today would be the brief resurgence in the 90s of classical pianist David Helfgott (whose story is the movie "Shine").

Now THERE was a guy who really needed to be led around by his ever-patient wife just to function.  And if you think people are apologetic for Brian, you should have seen the people who went to Helfgott's concerts.  As I understand it those performances were very hit-or-miss affairs, much more so than Brian checking his watch on a bad day.  From that standpoint Brian is doing OK, at least most of the time.

Yes it is sad to see the failings, as it is with all these aging boomer rockers, and I acknowledge them.  But in Brian's case I would add another variable, which I have now seen a couple of times: every now and then, however briefly, his old laser-beam focus re-emerges, and when it does it is exhilirating (and scary) to behold.

Not skating on thin ice at all...I made the same point a decade ago on the Wheeler board. Difference is, Brian was in better shape when I said that compared to now.

Not good. The transition to Please let me Wonder may be one of the worst things I have ever heard.

The whole thing sounded very amateurish,esp the reverb put on the interview clip with Mike on I'm Waiting for the Day ("Hear-ear-ear-ear-ear...").

It's all about energy - comparing a Brian who was active on stage, showing some kind of life, actually PLAYING music, as opposed to a sedentary, robotic, karaoke-like figure. I mean, jeesh, it's just comparing the two videos, the images....

Hell yeah. I just don't understand how the sight of 2009 Brian doesn't depress the hell out of anyone.

Agreed. Sadly, he reminds me of my father in his last 5-10 years or so. Even kinda looks like him, and that's freaky.

That said...the 2nd 2009 clip was much better. You can tell when he's dogging it and when he's not.

MUCH better. You can hear the difference from when Brian is trying and just going through the motions.

Before God only knows: "If I don't get standing ovations after this one, there is something seriously wrong with you"

That is some funny sh*t right there.

Has `Goin` to the Beach` ever been bootlegged?

I think I remember that the backing track was booted, but not the finished version. I'm not sure though. You can hear Mike and Brian working on that song in the TV-special.


I said it once and I'll say it again: "Oh darlin'" is a very, very good song but that terrible (!!!) production ruined everything

To me, the version with Brian singing on it sounds better.

Okay everyone, sorry I brought it up.

Don't be!

Ahh...okay

Pukka?

Anytime, buddy. I take care of my friends always.

[TLOS]

A year earlier, at the RFH TLOS premiere, he did it well.

From the tapes I heard from that tour, to me he sounded a lot like he did during the original recording. Amazing.

This wasn't his shining moment,although I still thought it was good. Not his best, but I do like the part when the guy in the audience goes "YEAH" and the rest of the audience laughs.

There are some albums that Brian hardly mentions, thus I'm guessing he doesn't care for: MIU, LALA, KTSA, BB85, (the one with Kokamo. I forgot the album title) and SIP.

Has he ever acknoledged these albums. If so what did he say about them?

I think there is a lack of acknowledgement from Brian of albums in general because he was basically a singles artist. From 1962-65 (with Today being the exception), hit singles were his thing; the rest was filler. Extremely good filler, though.

After Rubber Soul admittedly "blew him away", he went the album route for a year or two, but then it was back to working on "songs", not albums. Even with 15 Big Ones and Love You, he worked so quickly and got out of there; I wonder how much he was working on albums and not just a collection of songs. And, other than 15 Big Ones and Love You, he wasn't churning out enough songs for an entire album anyway.

I'd count All summer Long in there as a cohesive album.