Here's an amazing song by Carl from 1972, "The Trip". I totally forgot about it, but what a gem! And imo more prove that with the right management he could've made it big in the country and later country rock field. "Cotton top" and "Me without you" were small hits, "Restless" a bigger one. With more promotion I think there was definitely an audience for his new songs.
Anyway, enjoy this. It's perfect for such a late-summer day as we have it today in Germany.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8krkjtDPfN8

Unfortunately only a neelde-drop- It's available in great sound on the "Back on top"-boxset.

There's an ad on spotify now that uses Restless. I don't know who's doing it, but glad one of Carl's best songs is getting exposure.

Oh really? That's cool! I didn't know that? Is it available to watch without having spotify?

I have no idea. I don't have spotify on all that often; may try to find it on youtube.

I'm waiting for the 50th anniversary of Abbey Road. The white album was documented pretty well on Anthology 3; AR wasn't. I'm not a person that needs to hear every outtake, every burp, every hiccup.

Wow! It's being reported that Egypt Station is set for a #1 debut on Billboard 200. Would be his first #1 since Tug Of War.

I'm surprised Flaming Pine Tree or one of the others didn't debut at #1. That's the way the biz is now for veteran acts - push the pre-orders, so that when you add up several months of those, you have a phenomenal first week. It looks impressive, but then the second week comes, and there is a serious drop off in sales, as we've seen with Brian's recent albums, and TWGMTR. I found it more interesting in the days when an album would debut lower down the charts, and then climb and climb until it reached a peak.

Here's an amazing song by Carl from 1972, "The Trip". I totally forgot about it, but what a gem! And imo more prove that with the right management he could've made it big in the country and later country rock field. "Cotton top" and "Me without you" were small hits, "Restless" a bigger one. With more promotion I think there was definitely an audience for his new songs.
Anyway, enjoy this. It's perfect for such a late-summer day as we have it today in Germany.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8krkjtDPfN8

Unfortunately only a neelde-drop- It's available in great sound on the "Back on top"-boxset.

There's an ad on spotify now that uses Restless. I don't know who's doing it, but glad one of Carl's best songs is getting exposure.

I like the song, but I would've chosen Al to be the lead singer on this song. Mike would be the natural choice, and that's why I choose Al - just because he sounds great on it, and he needs more lead vocals. 

I attended the Mt. Winery show lastnight in the SF Bay area. The crowd was very much into the classics, but rather motionless and with minimal applause for his (Love's) new solo work. I went with a group of casual fans all of which thought the new songs were pretty weak. I thought they were awful. All The Love in Paris being the best out of the three...but still meh.

How many damn songs will he write that includes his last name in the title? Does he think we all believe he's really clever? Does he not realize how lame that is? Again, a group of casual fans I was with (who supplied me with a free ticket) all leaned over and whispered to me...how lame. I can only imagine what Dennis would think.

"All the Love in Paris", "Unleash the Love", and on the way into the venue they were playing random Beach Boy and Mike Love songs, one of which seemed to have the title "Make Love Not War"....I wouldn't know as I wouldn't buy the album.

BTW, it seems very shady to plug your solo album and play three tracks at a show billed as the Beach Boys. Totten's and Cowsil's playing/singing were the highlights lastnight....

Okay, i'll accept that; and Brian and Al and Blondie shouldn't be doing Beach Boys songs in a concert advertised as a Brian Wilson show.
Bring on Melt Away, There's So Many, Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight, Let's Go to Heaven in My Car, Orange Crate Art, San Francisco, Palm Tree and Moon, Where Has Love Been, Lay Down Burden, ...well, you get the idea.

Danke schön, Rocker. You da man!

I'm only trying   

I remember getting Tug of War, and really enjoying "Get it", but I kept reading about another song Carl recorded with McCartney called "My Old Friend". Everytime i'd see a new Carl Perkins album, i'd look for that song, but no luck....until, finally, it appeared on Go Cat Go in 1996. I'd also seen some pics of Carl in the studio with Paul and Denny Laine, jamming on some of the classics. Somewhere i'll bet there is a reel of tape of these 3 guys having fun with some of those great old songs. Probably not likely to be released any time soon, though. Tug of War already got the deluxe treatment, and there was very little in terms of outtakes and rare tracks.

These pictures are the only ones I could find right now. I guess they come frome those session, don't they?








I heard about rumours that "Get it" was actually co-written by Carl. I am not sure right now if Carl mentions that even on the unedited show at Lone Star Café, I'd have to listen to that again. There are certainly parts that sound like they could come from him in that song, but otherwise there is no need to think McCartney couldn't have written them himself. Also I'd think that Carl would've gotten a credit if he really did substantially write a part of that song.

"My old friend" was indeed often talked about by Carl as it seems. He even performed it solo in an interview with Bobby Bare in the 80s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHH-4q8kA00

7:28 mins.

Those 2 pics look familiar; there were a few others in the deluxe reissue of Tug of War.

[Bobbie Gentry Had The Most Gorgeous Legs Ever: On The Record With Jimmie Haskell]

That was a wonderful link to the Jim Stafford interview. Hope he will eventually be comfortable talking about Bobbie on the record.

Earlier this week I finally got around to publishing my interview with Grammy-winning arranger Jimmie Haskell (worked with Rick Nelson, Elvis, hundreds of others)


Bobbie Gentry Had The Most Gorgeous Legs Ever: On The Record With Jimmie Haskell
http://www.examiner.com/article/bobbie-gentry-had-the-most-gorgeous-legs-ever-on-the-record-with-jimmie-haskell


Here is what Haskell talks about...

Haskell sets the record straight on his initial meeting with Gentry (she liked his beard), recording the string arrangement for "Ode to Billie Joe" as if it were a movie, Capitol being initially embarrassed by the recording, how the alluring songwriter handily dealt with the musician who claimed he "produced" "Ode to Billie Joe", and what it was like to receive a Grammy for the legendary song.

Believe it or not, the easy-going and forthright gentleman briefly dated the girl with the most beautiful legs ever. Once she became wealthy, Haskell analyzes whether fame and fortune affected Gentry's personality in an adverse manner. A glaring example: what occurred backstage at a Memphis Symphony concert when a facility manager did not meet her demands.

And has the singer/songwriter attempted to rejuvenate her long-dormant recording career? You might be surprised at Haskell's revelation that an out-of-the-blue phone call after decades of non-communication was poised to reunite the duo in the studio but inexplicably failed to materialize.

It's odd to me that guys rave about her legs - I never saw them! She was always in slacks or something.
Glen's duets with Bobbie were so successful, that later on, Capitol tried pairing him up with Anne Murray. They did an album together, but I don't recall it producing any hits.
And much later, of course, Glen sang with Tanya Tucker....

I remember getting Tug of War, and really enjoying "Get it", but I kept reading about another song Carl recorded with McCartney called "My Old Friend". Everytime i'd see a new Carl Perkins album, i'd look for that song, but no luck....until, finally, it appeared on Go Cat Go in 1996. I'd also seen some pics of Carl in the studio with Paul and Denny Laine, jamming on some of the classics. Somewhere i'll bet there is a reel of tape of these 3 guys having fun with some of those great old songs. Probably not likely to be released any time soon, though. Tug of War already got the deluxe treatment, and there was very little in terms of outtakes and rare tracks.

He sure looks to be singing a lead on this one. Some great pictures. Good find!

It looks like hes really excited to be playing with The Beach Boys. Like reeealy excited.

Well, what did you want him to do, jump around and scream with joy that "i'm just so garsh darned happy to be hear with the Beach Boys, yee-haw!" He's probably singing his solo here, and it's not exactly a party type of song.

Those guys were so excited just to be playing with Carl. I mean, he even got that recluse George Harrison out of the house to play!

And then there's this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMjPRDP_7Ms

Yeah, that's from a documentary called "The Movie Life of George". But you probably knew that. For the rest here, though, they had an anniversary party for George's Handmade Films, and Carl was invited to be the entertainment. Carl's band in the video is his sons Stan and Greg.

Hair aside, that video just shows again how Carl had that amazing country boogie feel when he played, no matter who the band was backing him. It's really something. It's not unique necessarily, but the way Carl put it all together and added up with his lyrics, it was his calling card. Great music.

Re: The hair. I think some of this has to be chalked up to the way the country music industry operated and what was expected from performers. It was a very, very controlled and even prohibitive scene around the Opry up until the rules started to change. The fans wanted artists to look a certain way, and a lot of times it was over the top "clean" while still being flashy enough to say this person is a performer.

Look at any country themed TV shows or concert photos from the 60's and especially into the 70's. Especially the male artists, the hair styles were ridiculous. I call it "Televangelist Hair", just these crazy helmets of hair combed and styled so precise as to look like it came  stamped out of a mold. You don't see many bald artists...and the stone-cold country artists who were playing on Hee-Haw or the Wilburn Brothers TV shows, or anything featuring Porter Wagoner or Conway Twitty...etc etc etc...the male hair styles were a thing. I think if an artist was balding, or had hair issues, they'd  probably be advised to get a wig or a piece of some kind. The female artists...huge, over the top hairdos and wigs were just part of how you'd dress in the country circuit.

So Carl wearing a wig may have been a personal choice, he didn't hide it, but I also think it was just part of being in country music during those years, part of the image.

I agree. And Carl knew he didn't have the looks to be a pop star.

Yeah, excactly. That's what I meant when I said it was a wrong move to try to sell him as a "good time teenage-idol Rock'n'Roll nostalgia act" in the 70s, but you're description certainly makes the point much clearer. I think it would've been much better to have him being the country artist he was. I could see him as having a part in the outlaw movement although he was probably a little too old at that point to be considered one of those guys (same with Johnny Cash).

Hair aside, that video just shows again how Carl had that amazing country boogie feel when he played, no matter who the band was backing him. It's really something. It's not unique necessarily, but the way Carl put it all together and added up with his lyrics, it was his calling card. Great music.

There's also another point: Carl had his own sound. Even if you played the exact same thing, you'd know by the first note when it was Carl's turn. It's like Jerry Lee's piano playing or B. B. King's guitar. You just know when it's them. Stylists, I guess.
Just look at this:

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

 


Also when you look at the video above and others of Carl's live shows, it's never one of those nostalgia/Rockabilly revival stuff. He's always doing the real thing. Personally, I really don't like the revival acts. Even if they are good musicians, that stuff it just doesn't do what the real Rockabilly (as I said above, I don't like to use that term, because it is so overloaded with the nostalgia stuff) sound did and was.

It always annoys me when some younger performer talks about Gene Vincent or Eddie Cochran or Buddy Holly as the King of Rockabilly

Yes, but Buddy Holly at least was really good and Eddie had some fine singles and certainly potential. But what I can't stand is when people call basically everyone a "legend" who recorded a song back in the 50s. Even if it was a terrible record and a flop on the charts, as long as it sounds a certain way - say: old (mostly the kind of sound the neo-Rockabillys are looking for) - it is considered legendary - back in the 50s it was just a failed try to copy the real Rock'n'Roll/Rockabilly acts by lesser gifted Pat Boones. I mean, if you like listening to that stuff and get some pleasure, that's fine. It just shouldn't be made to what it isn't and never was. Do you know where I'm going? As so often, I can't really get it into better english at this point 



BTW guys, I really enjoy this. Who would've thought that there are people on a Beach Boys board with whom I can talk about Carl Perkins! Even on Elvis boards it's seldomly more than a look at his Sun recordings and maybe the '86 special and that's it. Thanks for this!

Yeah, well, that's kind of what I was getting at with my comments about Buddy, Eddie. etc. In fact, aside from Elvis, Buddy seems to be the most popular of the 50s rockers now. Even teens and 20-somethings know his music - even if they don't listen to any other artists from the 50's. I think part of the intrigue with Buddy is the early death. Carl Perkins was doomed to just be an average looking guy - well, I guess Buddy was, too, but the glasses kind of became a gimmick that worked for him. But Carl was just as talented as Buddy; he was just as talented as Chuck Berry. And unlike Chuck, he didn't dry up as a songwriter in later years, he kept coming up with great stuff. But I guess Carl's rockabilly was a bit too country or honky tonk for the average pop radio listener. It seemed to be a style of music that the masses could only appreciate if it was given more of a pop feel - Elvis' early RCA recordings, Ricky Nelson's 50s stuff on Imperial. But it's nice to know that musicians recognized how great Carl was. That Showtime special confirmed that. Those guys were so excited just to be playing with Carl. I mean, he even got that recluse George Harrison out of the house to play!

 Blondie?

[“Unleashed Love.”]

Review of their MN State Fair show last night. Not much love for Love solo material or Stamos’s Forever.

http://www.startribune.com/beach-boys-and-righteous-brothers-thrill-crowds-at-state-fair/491859921/

Love indulged in a few songs from his 2017 solo album, including the forgettable “All the Love in Paris” and “Unleashed Love.”

...Apparently, forgettable enough that the reviewer can't remember the name of the song!   

Well, the critic had to show how hip he is by dissing ML solo material. It's in the rock critics code of laws, section 3, paragraph 409.

Interesting that they would consider doing one of Brian's solo songs, when he wasn't touring regularly with them. Carl doing a couple of his solo songs in the shows circa 1982-85 made sense, because Carl was always there. Did they ever do anything from Looking Back With Love in their shows?
The only footage i've ever seen from that press conference is in An American Band, Carl doing most of the talking, Brian looking uncomfortable and talking a little. Is there more footage somewhere else? Must have been hard for them being there,  especially Carl and Brian.

Hair aside, that video just shows again how Carl had that amazing country boogie feel when he played, no matter who the band was backing him. It's really something. It's not unique necessarily, but the way Carl put it all together and added up with his lyrics, it was his calling card. Great music.

Re: The hair. I think some of this has to be chalked up to the way the country music industry operated and what was expected from performers. It was a very, very controlled and even prohibitive scene around the Opry up until the rules started to change. The fans wanted artists to look a certain way, and a lot of times it was over the top "clean" while still being flashy enough to say this person is a performer.

Look at any country themed TV shows or concert photos from the 60's and especially into the 70's. Especially the male artists, the hair styles were ridiculous. I call it "Televangelist Hair", just these crazy helmets of hair combed and styled so precise as to look like it came  stamped out of a mold. You don't see many bald artists...and the stone-cold country artists who were playing on Hee-Haw or the Wilburn Brothers TV shows, or anything featuring Porter Wagoner or Conway Twitty...etc etc etc...the male hair styles were a thing. I think if an artist was balding, or had hair issues, they'd  probably be advised to get a wig or a piece of some kind. The female artists...huge, over the top hairdos and wigs were just part of how you'd dress in the country circuit.

So Carl wearing a wig may have been a personal choice, he didn't hide it, but I also think it was just part of being in country music during those years, part of the image.

I agree. And Carl knew he didn't have the looks to be a pop star. I remember seeing him on a Rick Nelson tribute show circa 1987, and he said 'there's really only been two cats that had it all - Elvis Presley was one, Ricky Nelson was the other". But man, Perkins sure had the talent! I think the comparison to Chuck Berry is very accurate. Here, you had 2 guys that wrote their own songs, sang the songs, and played the lead guitar. It's not hard to build a band around that! Of course, Chuck had Johnny Johnson on piano; maybe that's what inspired Sam Phillips to bring Jerry Lee Lewis in to play on "Matchbox".

And that leads me to one of the few disappointments I've ever had with Carl; that he is on the Million Dollar Quartet session, but only takes the lead on one song, "Keeper of the Key". But what a man, what a talent. It always annoys me when some younger performer talks about Gene Vincent or Eddie Cochran or Buddy Holly as the King of Rockabilly; for me there is only one man deserving of that title. El.... ...no, you know I was gonna say Carl Perkins.

I particularly like the idea of different lyrics to California Girls.  I know it was a big hit as it was but I hate those atlas lyrics Mike does and it's so sexist - woman are only good for one thing right?  I know Brian will never do it but perhaps someone else could.

No thanks to any sanitized, PC version of any song.

Boy, this is a sad, sad world we live in, if boys are no longer allowed to like girls for their looks. 

Call it my OCD or whatever, but it is odd to me to see someone wearing their own tribute shirt, in this case every time Mike looked down at his hands he'd see his own image staring up at him on those rolled-up sleeves. I don't know...if it's done as humor that's one thing, but the word narcissism comes to mind just the same.

The 80's 90's TV teen band comparison "hey kids, let's put on our own show..." kind of scene is spot-on.    It seems every teen sitcom or show had an episode where the "kids" decide to form a band, and the resulting music did sound a lot like this. I was thinking too the old Super Bowl halftime shows before major artists started getting the bookings. Up With People, etc.

Full House had an episode like that. Stephanie starts a band with a couple friends, and they play Ace of Base's hit "The Sign". And not a single Beach Boy in sight.

I'm so used to seeing Carl with that wig on, I never think about him being bald. Any pics of him out there without it on? I've been told he didn't wear it at home. But what a nice man - kind, humble. Great storyteller, too. He must have been asked the same questions a thousand times, but he always took the time to talk about Elvis, Sam, BSS, Cash.
I would bet that Carl Wilson was a fan, being a guitar player. Don't know about the rest of the Beach Boys. There's a real nice album recorded just a couple years before Perkins' passing, "Go Cat Go". The guest lineup is HOF caliber: Cash, Willie, Waylon, Paul Simon, John Fogerty, Tom Petty, McCartney, Ringo, Harrison. The version of "Restless" on that album is one of the best things Carl ever recorded. The song with George, "Distance Makes No Difference", is pretty special. Some very good songs with Carl on his own, too - "Don't Stop the Music", "Go Cat Go"..well, I love everything he did.
Was it just coincidence that we lost 2 Carl's, Perkins and Wilson, within months of each other? Sad time.

Usually, judging , say, a Youtube video or a mobile phone capture is unkind to the performer. But this is a well shot, close up clear film and records a song which does not merit the cost of filming. I have never seen ML struggle so. And , blind to the quality level drop it gives the act, when he is licensed to do HUNDREDS of well written tunes on which he used to excel.

Mike needs to give up on promoting his new material; he should take a cue from his famous cousin, just do the oldies, that's all we want to hear.

In this interview (see below) Carl Perkins mentions that he was gonna do some sort of TV special with the Beach Boys. Does anyone know which show that was?


https://youtu.be/SuKE71mBfVY?t=1029


EDIT:


Argh, saw this on AGD's site:

"This show was abandoned after two songs of Chichago's set by heavy rains (The Beach Boys played their full set), which also caused the following two gigs to be postponed until early August."

Damnit! Would've loved to see the Boys and Carl. Did those shows in August happen and was he on the bill?

My guess is Carl was going to be a guest on the Endless Summer tv series. If this occurred, though, I never saw it.

Great.  Now everytime I watch the 68 special, I gotta think about Elvis jizzing in his leather suit. 

What a complete embarrassment that video was. Not only is it a bad song it's a bad performance.

So maybe what we should do is, contact any potential venues Mike might be talking to, and show them this video. "You want to book the Beach Boys? This is what they look and sound like in 2018!" 

A pro-shot (from the ESPN feed?) segment featuring "Unleash the Love" was posted in the "pro-shot" thread:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4u-I1Mln2c

Keeping in mind that I'm well aware that Brian and Al have biffed lyrics many times over the years, it's weird and kind of ironic that Mike totally blanks on the words to the *title track* to his *own* solo album in this clip.

Apparently, while even some quite positive reviews of his shows have noted the unremarkable nature of the new solo tracks he performs in concerts, the song appears to be unremarkable enough to Mike himself that he blanked on the words to the title track to his solo album even though he's been performing the song live at most of his concerts for about a year now.

I was also surprised to see a weird attempt to corral many of the small crowd to, for some inexplicable reason, form a big "UNLEASH THE LOVE" sign.

In other news, I believe Foskett is back from his hiatus.

Yeah, what a loser Mike Love is! Still trying to push that terrible autotuned album that nobody bought! He can't even remember the lyrics to his own lame songs! He should just stick to songs about surfing, cars, and girls. 

When I see the words "Do it!", in my head that is followed by "wish I had a little pad in Hawaii".