Just in time for your weekend listening...here is PET SQUARES #13 which continues the extensive deep dive into the BEACH BOYS TODAY! album, where we discuss its highly acclaimed second side, often cited as the trial run for PET SOUNDS.

https://youtu.be/2NF4DJ1xgLE

Adam--excellent work! These just keep getting better and better.

Curious if you can pinpoint WHEN these songs were written relative to one another and present that in a summary kind of way somewhere in part two, as I think there's an evolutionary step toward PET SOUNDS in the songs written closer to the release of TODAY. Some of that is sort of set aside for SUMMER DAYS as Brian works his way through and beyond his "Spector phase" and into his own unique production sounds, so I tend to think it's important to pinpoint the thread between the more introspective tracks in TODAY and how they are a key flowthrough point to PET SOUNDS. Just a thought--and, of course, if you've already wrapped up Part 2 and what's being suggested here is just not possible, so be it. But I think that would great to add in, and it makes sense to be in Part 2, because it covers the "introspective" side of TODAY...

Part 2's already filmed actually, I just haven't edited it yet. It should turn up later this week. I do discuss this a little, but probably not as much as I should have.

It's funny you mention this because I found myself being more intrigued by the lyrical thrust of TODAY than the music, which is odd given that it's certainly secondary to what Brian did musically, but maybe it's just as well since the music's been so thoroughly analyzed elsewhere. But I find the timeline interesting there too because you can see the evolution of Brian's and Marilyn's relationship through when the songs start to appear (e.g. "Don't Hurt My Sister" is written by mid 1964). Nearly all the songs relate directly either to Brian's road pressure or Brian's romantic confusion.

I talk about this in part two but there's a real tragedy running through this album as you hear Brian trying to negotiate the leap to emotionally mature adulthood...and he's trying VERY HARD and with an admirable sense of self-awareness. But as we know, he doesn't really make it. It's like watching a movie where you hope there's going to be a happy ending but you know there won't be.

I'm of course leaving out the redemption saga of LOVE AND MERCY but even if we accept that as a happy ending, it comes much, much later in the game. It's still tragic.

Adam--excellent work! These just keep getting better and better.

Curious if you can pinpoint WHEN these songs were written relative to one another and present that in a summary kind of way somewhere in part two, as I think there's an evolutionary step toward PET SOUNDS in the songs written closer to the release of TODAY. Some of that is sort of set aside for SUMMER DAYS as Brian works his way through and beyond his "Spector phase" and into his own unique production sounds, so I tend to think it's important to pinpoint the thread between the more introspective tracks in TODAY and how they are a key flowthrough point to PET SOUNDS. Just a thought--and, of course, if you've already wrapped up Part 2 and what's being suggested here is just not possible, so be it. But I think that would great to add in, and it makes sense to be in Part 2, because it covers the "introspective" side of TODAY...

Part 2's already filmed actually, I just haven't edited it yet. It should turn up later this week.

It's funny you mention this because I found myself being more intrigued by the lyrical thrust of TODAY than the music, which is odd given that it's certainly secondary to what Brian did musically, but maybe it's just as well since the music's been so thoroughly analyzed elsewhere. But I find the timeline interesting there too because you can see the evolution of Brian's and Marilyn's relationship through when the songs start to appear (e.g. "Don't Hurt My Sister" is written by mid 1964). Nearly all the songs relate directly either to Brian's road pressure or Brian's romantic confusion.

I talk about this in part two but there's a real tragedy running through this album as you hear Brian trying to negotiate the leap to emotionally mature adulthood...and he's trying VERY HARD and with an admirable sense of self-awareness. But as we know, he doesn't really make it. It's like watching a movie where you hope there's going to be a happy ending but you know there won't be.

I'm of course leaving out the redemption saga of LOVE AND MERCY but even if we accept that as a happy ending, it comes much, much later in the game. It's still tragic.

Hi all! The new PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS is up. PET SQUARES #12 is part one of a two hour deep dive into the BEACH BOYS TODAY! album. A lot here to digest, and we give it full weight.

Let me know what you think! And thanks to all that have become, or will become, contributors or patrons to the channel (see youTube first comment for more info). It has really enabled these shows to get up more quickly.

Here it 'tis: https://youtu.be/kd2lF77t8oo

There is something sadly beautiful about the section where Brian sings in that clip. He does get stuck and drops one line, but that’s the only time that I’ve heard him sing that section without messing it up rhythmically, or just singing the first line, or forgetting to sing the section altogether.  He’s actually quite focused here, and he sounds really nice.

I too found it very poignant.

The more I think about it, the more confused I am over why 15 Big Ones and Love You are the only two albums where Brian's voice is so overly hoarse. On the Adult Child tracks Brian's voice is a lot smoother for the most part, other than Lazy Lizzie. He sounds really good on MIU, and even on KTSA.

I've heard outtakes from the KTSA era and listening to them it's evident they didn't use Brian's lead vocals because his voice was *really* bad around then. It's not so much that it was hoarse as that he was no longer really doing passable lead vocals regardless of the approach. The vibe I got was they wanted him up front more but wound up using him just for cameos and increased presence in the background vocal stack. Ironically the stuff a little later sounded a bit better, maybe because he was forced to sing a lot while Carl was gone.

I don't supposed you're at liberty to elaborate? The only outtakes from that period I've heard(that I'm aware of) are the alternate version of Oh Darlin'(which I personally believe to be better than the version they went with), and River Deep, Mountain High. I'm not sure if Stevie or Sweetie would count as being from that period.

I wouldn't be, because I don't remember, although some of the tracks I heard at that time have I think since been released or gotten out there otherwise. I did note and still recall "Smokey Places," which I thought was the only decent Brian vocal, as Will references above.

The more I think about it, the more confused I am over why 15 Big Ones and Love You are the only two albums where Brian's voice is so overly hoarse. On the Adult Child tracks Brian's voice is a lot smoother for the most part, other than Lazy Lizzie. He sounds really good on MIU, and even on KTSA.

I've heard outtakes from the KTSA era and listening to them it's evident they didn't use Brian's lead vocals because his voice was *really* bad around then. It's not so much that it was hoarse as that he was no longer really doing passable lead vocals regardless of the approach. The vibe I got was they wanted him up front more but wound up using him just for cameos and increased presence in the background vocal stack. Ironically the stuff a little later sounded a bit better, maybe because he was forced to sing a lot while Carl was gone.

Thanks Don. There are other future episodes - one coming up fairly soon - that I'm planning that will veer away from the album review format.

The reaction to this episode has been the best of the series. I didn't expect that, but I'm certainly glad about it.

(Apologies for posting and then un-posting, there was a technical issue with the original upload)

Pleased to offer the latest, Ep. #11 of PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS here: https://youtu.be/LtMOAoXEOF8

"Brian's Breakdown" veers from the album review format of the show to examine the chain of events and pressures that led to Brian Wilson's breakdown in December 1964 and how it was both a pivotal event in the band's history, and probably inevitable. I tried to deal with this sensitive topic thoughtfully and fairly. Let me know how I did.

I was able to get this show up in a timely way because of the support of a fundraiser/patron drive for the youTube channel. That is still ongoing...if you are a fan of the show and want to know more, check this link: https://www.karmafrog.com/channel.html. Thanks all!

[M.I.U.]

Well, M.I.U. of course had the TV special, as did Keepin' The Summer Alive.

I remember the M.I.U. one was "Our Team" and the KTSA one was called "Goin' Platinum" or something.

I will say it doesn't seem like The Beach Boys were very well promoted from Smiley Smile through Holland. The labels just didn't seem to be doing it. However with everything from 15 Big Ones through That's Why God Made The Radio, every album outside of Love You got quite the push. I mean, any group that got a TV special, especially in the '70s and early '80s when there just weren't a ton of choices on the TV, you had to be happy.

Now, why Love You didn't get that push might've come down to the their new contract with CBS at the time, which I'm sure didn't make Warners very happy. And while I consider Love You a top Brian Wilson / Beach Boys album, I'm just not sure I can see a world where that thing ever sells a bunch, even with expert promotion.

Well, maybe one other album didn't get a ton of promotion, but I really can't speak on it. L.A. (Light Album)? I know they definitely did some personal publicity with personal signings and what not, but how heavily was it promoted? I mean, as their first record for CBS I'd assume they put a lot into it, but I honestly don't know / can't remember.

My impression at the time was that L.A. got a pretty extensive push. There was quite a lot of presence in record stores with end caps and such. The two singles got a substantial amount of airplay in my rural upstate New York market.

KTSA on the other hand barely broke a wave. I heard the title track on a local AOR station once (and loved it), that was it. Plus Goin' Platinum, I did see that.

What this all points up (to me at least...) is just how insane the schedule really was for bands like the Beach Boys once they'd "made it." Clearly Brian was driven to create--one reason why he worked as many angles as he could to get off the road--but he must have rolled his eyes at the prospect of a Christmas album on top of what else he was doing in '64. It's no wonder he took some short cuts and angled to get Dick Reynolds involved in a large chunk of the project...

Very solid work as always, and really looking forward to an episode about BEACH BOYS TODAY!. Hoping all of your circumstances will work out so that it won't be too terribly long in coming our way...

Yeah, and that's something I keep trying to cycle back to. I don't really *blame* Brian, as I said above, just having analyzed a lot of his stuff up to the point I really was kind of shocked. It reminded me of when I charted out the vocals to "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "Do It Again" back to back. The former was clearly done by someone reaching for the stars...Mozart level stuff...and then DIA just two years later you can see the ambition crash. They're both great songs. It's more about the process and seeing it from that perspective.

I'm planning to do a couple of standalone episode around TODAY and one of them is going to talk about Brian's Breakdown in the context of all that was going on in '64. We do get a bit caught up in the drugs and the mental illness but those likely were exacerbated, if not downright brought on, by the insane level of pressure Brian was under. It's easy to lose track of the fact that even a very psychically robust individual would have probably cracked under his workload.

The viewership of the show has fallen off quite a bit so it's just becoming a problem of slotting it in against the time I need to find paying work in a new country.  I'm planning to do a Patreon drive but even that's fallen by the wayside as I get other things together. It will happen, question is when. Thanks for watching!

I'm a bit critical of parts of this album but I do zero in on Mike's singing as a highlight, just as you say here.

I totally get where you're coming from on Brian phoning it in on parts of this album, and agree completely. But there was something kind of funny when you're talking about Merry Christmas, Baby, and you're like, this song...they're really just phoning it in. Sure, it's got a nice verse melody. And Mike Love really sells the lead vocal. And yea, it's got a nice driving rhythm and a deceptively cool intro that looks forward to Smile.... but just phoning it in! It's a little like the "what have the Romans ever done for us" Monty Python sketch Just goes to show what a great band this was, even when they weren't 100% on the ball!

Yeah, true. I mean it's not the worst song ever written. I was just kind of appalled at the chorus when I was reviewing the album. From a songwriting perspective, Brian couldn't possibly have been lazier and still filled the requisite 16 bars. Repeat the (not very original) 3-word chorus phrase three times over not very interesting generic chord progression and then...finish by modulating up a whole step to the 5 chord, the most generic of all songwriting moves. That's the kind of chorus you write when you just need to crank out a song as fast as possible and you don't care. Not that I blame Brian for that really. Just given the ingenuity he'd displayed up to this point, even on fairly minor tracks, I found it a bit shocking.

The rest of the song is...okay.

I'm a little busy right now, but I will definitely watch this! There is so much great content to be found. Especially the Beach Boys' incredible ability to sing even complex "grown-up" arrangements. These kind of thngs were'nt heard of from a Rock and Roll band. Especially Mike shines on this album imo. Not only on the mentioned "grown-up" tracks but also on the originals. He is almost channeling Ronnie Spector on a track like "Merry Christmas, Baby". And it shows that when it comes to singing lead he was way ahead of all the other guys which gets very clear if you compare with Brian's and Al's lead vocals. Mike puts in more character and swagger. At this point in time the other guys were just not able to do this in such a convincing way. They would be soon, but here Mike is the de facto lead singer. I always pont to this album when I talk about how good Mike's singing was.

I'm looking forward to watching the video. Hope I'll get around to do so soon.

I'm a bit critical of parts of this album but I do zero in on Mike's singing as a highlight, just as you say here.

You heard it here first: the latest episode of PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS is up and we're doing are usually ridiculously wonky and detailed dive into The Beach Boys' Christmas Album, another highly overlooked entry into the band's discography. You can view it here:


https://youtu.be/dRZOTNZ1Etk

Also, I've been reluctant to talk about this but, I'm starting to have a battle of time between making the PET SQUARES, ADAM WALKS AROUND and music videos for the channel and doing the things I need to do to put food on the table. I want to keep these videos coming on a pretty regular basis and not have to cut back, so I'm doing another push for patrons for the channel over the next month.

For those that want to pitch in, check the first comment under the video for the Patreon and PayPal links.
Thanks all for watching.

You can believe it or not, and recollections are indeed notoriously unreliable, but everything you are saying was within my understanding in early 1984. I was a fan of the band. I knew what I was seeing and why it was improbable and strange. That's the precise reason it struck me then and sticks in my memory now. I remember thinking "huh, is this random dude supposed to be replacing Dennis?"

I'm not saying there isn't another explanation - there may well be - but what I describe happened, and it looked like what it looked like. Misrecollection might account for it being something other than what it appeared to me, but not for forming that impression at the time.

Whoever this person was, I never saw him before or since. But he was male and considerably younger than the other guys. I'm quite clear on that.

It's not particularly surprising that such a video, whatever it was, would have occurred and gone down the rabbit hole. It was just a short clip that probably only aired once or twice in the days where not everything in the world was taped and thrown on youTube.

Just so we're clear, since it may have been misunderstood: I'm not saying I saw a news report that the Beach Boys were considering adding a replacement for Dennis.

I'm saying I saw an interview with the band *where they were together with an unknown implied sixth member* in early 1984. It was only one interview, and only that one time. I indeed never saw it again or heard of it mentioned again, so it's no surprise that no one seems to know about it. But it happened. I took note of it at the time as being extremely weird and thinking who the hell is that young guy. I can understand why people would be inclined to disbelieve this recollection, but the implications were clear to me at the time and that's why I remember it.

That all may well be, but I still remember seeing the clip in early '84. It may have been on MTV.

I'd normally chalk it up to bad recollection, but I was already a BBs fan at the time and the implications of what I was seeing struck me immediately. That's the only reason I remember the clip.

So after Dennis drowned it didn't take the remaining Beach Boys long to announce that they would continue as a band, and they replaced him with various drummers.

Whenever Brian was absent he was replaced by other musicians, like Ed Carter or Jeff Foskett.

However, when Carl died he wasn't replaced. Why not?

By the 70s and 80s, when the band was already using supplemental musicians, they were no longer “replacing” members who were permanently out of the band. That member’s role would simply be assumed by one or several backing musicians. The band was clearly no longer interested in taking on like “real/core” full members of the group by the 80s.

Wasn't there a hot minute where there was an official replacement considered for Dennis (possibly Scott Matthews?). I swear just after Dennis' death I saw a brief interview with the band and they had a younger guy with them, new member by implication. It wasn't just a thing backstage where someone might have drifted in, it was clearly someone that was supposed to represent as "in the group" though he wasn't introduced.

I never saw the clip again or saw it mentioned again but I distinctly remember being surprised by it at the time. When I saw Scott mention he was asked to join the band at one point, I figured it must have been him (It was no one familiar to me).

This is pure speculation but aside from family stuff and Landy I wouldn't be surprised if Brian had mixed feelings about the way that Carl continued the band's work as their new de-facto leader both in the studio and live after Brian really stepped back from the role of leader around 20/20 or Surf's Up; and it wouldn't surprise me either if Carl, despite being in awe of his brother's musical brilliance, had a hard time living in the shadow of Brian's work despite his own efforts during some of the band's most difficult times. Brian was the genius (and we all know he really was!) but Carl had to be always reliable and I'm sure he had to neglect his own feelings more than once in the process. This kind of stuff makes human relationships incredibly complex, especially if there's a family history of bad communication too. In any case it's nice to read stories of the brothers getting back together despite their earlier estrangement(s).

One of the most surprising things that's become clear to me doing the PET SQUARES shows and doing/being exposed to deep research about the band is that Carl was the true band leader for most of the band's history, but in a very subtle way. Brian was indeed fully in charge up in studio until 1968, but Carl was almost always at Brian's side and had the most integral role *as a musician* (as opposed to songwriter/arranger) of any person in the band live and in studio, including even Brian. Onstage, Carl certainly was in charge from 1965 on and given the "Carl Wilson and four musicians" contract that dates back to the bands earliest days, plus Brian's frequent absences from the road, Carl was probably the default live band leader (even though Brian certainly was in charge when he was there and as producer) from almost day one.

The reason this isn't that obvious - though it was impossible to completely ignore, particularly during the early '70s - is Carl wanted it that way. He kept the focus off his own contributions for most of the band's history, deferring to Brian and Mike publicly.  If you think about Carl's role as band mediator, and how this would have evolved from the earliest days figuring out how to make things work with Brian and Murry pulling in different directions but Carl being the point guy to make sure it happened, you can see exactly why he would have evolved such a low profile, almost shadow leadership style...which served him well at various other periods where the other guys, particularly Mike and Dennis, asserted themselves. Had Carl been a more prolific or talented songwriter, with his first rate vocal chops and solid all-round musicianship and production skills he might have dominated the band outright, whether he wanted to or not. It had started to move that way in the '80s until "Kokomo" happened and reshuffled the deck.

Given Carl's actual vital contributions, though, there had to have been tension at various periods where Brian tried to reassert his leadership and it probably wasn't up to the standard that Carl could get behind (however we all might feel about Brian's work as fans). You can see how complicated that would have been...Carl clearly wanting Brian back in the fold so the band could excel, but likely not being happy with the level of playing/singing/writing that was produced when they tried it. And you can also imagine Carl at some point becoming tired of not being recognized not just for his incredible voice but for essentially keeping the band going for nearly the whole of its existence, while his brothers and cousin gained more notoriety. It's even easier to see how Carl's position could have rankled Brian's sensitivities at various points along the way.

You're welcome Bob!

Shamelessly off topic but I'm going to seize the moment anyway: for anyone that might be a fan of the other main show on the KarmaFrog1 channel, the travel/exploration show ADAM WALKS AROUND, it just returned from a long hiatus, with three more shows already shot during a central Indonesian road trip and another three planned over the summer...

And of course PET SQUARES will be back too, but want to let everyone digest the two eps I just dropped first!

ADAM WALKS AROUND #42 "Reboot": https://youtu.be/IPAkUbBhjks

Hi Adam - quick question...
On part 1 you flashed a pic of the Live in Sacramento album cover, mentioning it contained the unaltered (truly live) versions of the "In Concert" tracks.
Do I have that right?  I see that download out there on Amazon and would love to hear the "warts and all" versions.  So no post-production on Live in Sacramento?
I've totally enjoyed your Pet Squares videos - great job!!!
Bob  

Sort of. My understanding is that it's the "warts and all" recording of both August 1, 1964 shows. A bunch of IN CONCERT came from the earlier show in December 1963 which as far as I know has never been made available in its original form.

I relied heavily on an earlier Pet Sounds post that attempted to piece together what parts are from what shows, and I confess I didn't check that individual's research. I did get my hands on the LIS tracks but I only auditioned a few of them to answer some questions I myself had. If I had to do the video over again I would probably take a closer listen to "Graduation Day" to totally confirm that that *isn't* live, since it's the one song that appears to have live flaws on the vocal track (e.g. the microphone being bumped). But that original poster said the vocals had been replaced and I took his word for it.

Thanks for the heads-up! I'm looking forward to watching this. The BBs as a live group during the striped shirt years are very interesting to me and I'm always astonished how well their live renditions stand up to the studio recordings.
Hope to get around watching this soon, but right now I'm too focused on what is happening in Ukraine, so I probably won't be watching a lot of other things.

Very understandable. Well, it's there when you need a break from geopolitics.

Hi all, I did promise it wouldn't be long before I released part 2 of PET SQUARES' deep dive into the Beach Boys Concert, and here it is. If you were waiting until you could watch both parts in succession, wait no longer:


https://youtu.be/IiHVV6Cp774

This is probably the more information-packed of the two parts, with a very deep dive into Brian's talents as a bass player and a Darian Sahanaja-requested breakdown of the vocals on "I Get Around" which of course everyone can critique at leisure. Plus lots more fun adventures in Photoshop. Enjoy!!!

Hi y'all!

The new PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS is up. This is a two-parter that takes a deep, deep dive into the 1964 BEACH BOYS CONCERT album, with lots of discussion of the Beach Boys' musicianship, side excursions into some of the bands and songs covered on the album, and the usual mixture of wonky commentary and irreverent humour. PET SQUARES #8 encompasses Part One....PET SQUARES #9 will conclude the look into the CONCERT album and will follow in just a few days. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/EZcQk1l5Fyg

And much "fun, fun, fun" watching you "get around" to all those filming locations, Adam!

Focusing on the LPs is, of course, the most logical way to organize all this...but when you get to TODAY!, you might consider talking about the songs based on when they were conceived/recorded as opposed to how they appear on the LP itself. This period of time is clearly the point where Brian (somehow manages) to blossom into the creator who held so much of the world in thrall through the end of 1966, upping his game with "When I Grow Up" and "She Knows Me Too Well," clear evolutions from "Don't Worry Baby" and "Girls on the Beach" that strongly mark what will appear on TODAY!

The shows/sessions log from July-December 1964 is certifiably insane--it's no wonder that Brian broke down. But even in the midst of that ongoing turmoil, he was still progressing, with "Kiss Me Baby" before the breakdown, followed by "Please Let Me Wonder" and "In the Back of My Mind" almost immediately after the instigation of the "new arrangement." (Plus all the up-tempo stuff, which isn't as ambitious in terms of texture but still benefits from Brian's evolution as an arranger.)

And the most significant reason why the Wrecking Crew starts to become more prominent on the records in '65 is because Brian's at home all the time, and the guys are on the road, so the personnel shifts because Brian needs the Crew to handle what the band had been doing previously. That suggests the idea that the SUMMER DAYS record might be discussed by focusing on the tracks with the band vs. the tracks that have a more pronounced presence of the Crew...

I'll take this all under advisement. Worthy suggestions. I do agree that once we hit 1965 probably a shift in focus is called for, and 1966-67, a fairly radical one.