I really don't care about Blondie. To me, he was just a small part of Beach Boys history, 1972-73. David, on the other hand, was a founding member; one who was nearly written out of the history of the band. I would go see him if he was playing with Al or Mike again.
I'm sure Al is doing fine with his 'solo' shows. None of these guys are going to travel and perform at 80 years old if it means losing money. Is he making Paul McCartney money? No. He's probably not even making Mike Love money. Al's always been a sensible guy, and I doubt he is throwing wild parties every night after the show. He probably goes back to the hotel to sleep.
If the talked about documentary ever happens, I would hope David will be a part of it.

An argument could definitely be made that the 25th show was musically superior in myriad ways (not least of which was the BBs' own performance).  But, yikes, yes, the aforementioned cheesiness .... Mike Love prancing around shirtless with a beach towel around his waist, plus the over-the-top number of bikini-clad babes

But you also had Brian looking better than ever  - except when he had to deliver those scripted lines.

I was watching a discussion about the movie earlier today, and one of the main points the filmmaker wants to make is Elvis was not the King of Rock & Roll, Little Richard was. It's sad that all these years later, people are still accusing Elvis of being a racist who just stole music from black people. Elvis never asked people to call him "the king". Even Richard seemed to have backed off of that in later years. I saw one talk show where he said 'Elvis and I are friends, and we know who the King is, he's up above us, but I am the originator, the emancipator, the architect of rock and roll".

And now for the $64,000 question: How does this compare to the 25th Anniversary show?

Can't compare. The 25th anniversary show had the Beach Boys - for the most part - performing with the guests. The 25th had some legends among the guests - Ray Charles, the Everly Brothers, Glen Campbell. The Grammy show had John Legend. The 25th had Belinda Carlisle. The Grammy show had Brandi Carlisle.
The Grammy show certainly had a younger, hipper group of performers; the 25th was clearly aimed at middle America,  with people like Patrick Duffy, Gloria Loring, Joe Piscopo, and yes, Stamos.

I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this. The band they put together for the event was very good, and it was very cool to have Jason Falkner and Roger Manning on the same stage playing Beach Boys songs. Watch it if you can.

Should I know who they are?

I hate to be a stick in the mud, but a live box set without any studio material whatsoever sounds like something I and many other fans would largely pass on. The ‘76 live stuff with Brian, however, would be great. But even then, I’d probably think it would be better as part of a ‘76-77 box set.

What did Brian contribute to the live band in 1976? Any footage I've seen, he just sits there, hiding behind his piano.

Carl's passing really ended the Beach Boys' recording career as well, with the obvious exception of the reunion album.  It's just a shame they couldn't get things together well enough in the mid-90's to put out one more album while Carl was still with them.  I'm just glad I got to see him perform one final time in 1997 before he passed.  Will never forget watching him perform mostly sitting on a stool, only standing during his performance of "God Only Knows" where he ended the song thanking the crowd for their prayers. 

Yet somehow after his passing there seemed to be a rejuvenated interest in the band again with several high profile projects such as Endless Harmony and re-releasing their post-60's catalog which have more or less remained in print ever since.  Brian himself managed to finally get a decent solo career going and even eventually finished SMiLE.  It does make you wonder how things would have been if Carl were still with us.  Would Brian have still attempted a solo career or would his songs from Imagination have folded into an inevitable new Beach Boys album?  I wonder what some songs such as "Your Imagination" or "South American" would have sounded like with Carl and the rest of the band providing vocals.  And perhaps some of Carl's Like A Brother tracks would have found their way on such a potential album. 

But in any case Carl is definitely missed and I hope he would be ultimately happy with how the band's legacy has remained strong.

It was always my impression Carl did Like a Brother because the Beach Boys weren't interested in doing that kind of material; with Mike as the leader, they just wanted more fun in the sun, surf and sand songs. I believe Carl began work on Like a Brother around the same time that Summer in Paradise was released.
It was like the early 80's all over again - the band had gotten lazy, didn't want to put out the effort for more creatively expressive music. I'm glad Carl did that album. Wish he had lived long enough to see it released; maybe even do a small tour with Beckley and Lamm.
Brian was already doing a solo career since 1987. It got derailed by all the Landy/legal stuff, but 1995 certainly seemed like an attempt at restarting his solo career. I don't think Carl being around would have changed anything, other than maybe Brian would have asked Carl to sing on some Imagination stuff.

I'm satisfied with the two cd Sunshine Tomorrow; wish they had done the same for Friends and 20/20.
I find the 15 BO/Love You stuff painful to listen to. Don't need any more of that.
A 73-75 live set is something I would love to see.

So it appears this is like a Kennedy Center Honors show. The honored guests sit in the balcony and watch younger acts do their songs.  I wonder if they will at least be interviewed? You know Mike will want to talk up his touring band; Al will mention the 225th reissue of Postcard; and Brian will talk about food. "I love food".

McCartney is a guy for me that wore out his welcome years ago. Too much ego and fake thumbs up, and probably just the fact that everybody worships him like he walks on water. Paul was the bright, sunny one of the Beatles, while John and George balanced that some darkness and reality.
The way Macca treated the other guys in Wings still annoys me.
But I'm a minority voice here; and no question about it, I do love most of the music Paul made or was a part of from 1962-1985.

I mean, his voice is thrashed, and recent albums have been pretty weak. I don't really agree with any of the above, though. Yes, his public persona is rather autopilot. I think all of these guys, from Mike/Beach Boys to Brian to McCartney are all playing to crowds of people who adore/worship them. All of them have fanbases who sometimes skew too far into the overly-forgiving/unquestioning category (e.g. liking "Kisses on the Bottom").

I think an actual deep dive into the Beatles and their lives and music proves the pigeonholing of each of them as a particular type (e.g. sunny vs. "real", etc.) is ill-advised.

The Wings relationships vary wildly depending on what we're talking about. He certainly has been too dismissive of them as far as even *mentioning* them. The "Wingspan" doc was embarrassing. That has been somewhat corrected with the "Archive" boxed sets that include ample inclusion of the other members. I think pretty much all of the various Wings members were nowhere near the same league as the guy. That he dropped them creatively is not something I can really disagree with. One can't help but wish he had at times been a bit more gracious about discussing them over the years certainly.

But back to the Beach Boys, I certainly feel like it would have been more likely to get him at a BB tribute show in the last 10 years than prior. If he's willing to get on stage with Ringo (which he wasn't often doing prior to the last decade or so), then certainly popping by to remind us he loves "Pet Sounds" certainly seems plausible. But I figure it would have been announced by now. As I've mentioned, from what I've heard, it's been all they could do to get who they have so far.

Fair enough.

McCartney is a guy for me that wore out his welcome years ago. Too much ego and fake thumbs up, and probably just the fact that everybody worships him like he walks on water. Paul was the bright, sunny one of the Beatles, while John and George balanced that some darkness and reality.
The way Macca treated the other guys in Wings still annoys me.
But I'm a minority voice here; and no question about it, I do love most of the music Paul made or was a part of from 1962-1985.

Really great interview, guys.  Carnie is such a down-to-earth, regular person.  Gotta give Marilyn credit for raising her well under challenging circumstances.  She clearly also inherited her father's sense of humor and sweet disposition.
It made me sad, though, to hear her make oblique references to missing Brian and not being able to see him because of "what's going on around him" or something along those lines.  Not sure what all that's about, but it's troubling.

Yes it is, but we don't dare speak about that here.

Folks should listen to this Carnie interview. It's great.

She does say that the touring is done, but she also notes that it probably extended her dad's life by decades. Even when he was just going through the motions, the love from fans really mattered. Stay tuned for lots of stories about Carl, x-rated versions of Hey Santa and what it's like to tour with Al (everything we've assumed as fans is true). She also notes that she has been urging BW to do a Sinatra tribute record.

The ending part about her dad is concerning. She suggests he has a lot going on, then corrects that to "a lot going on around him," and says she misses him and wishes that he -- and then she doesn't finish the thought. It wouldn't be the BBs without family drama, so who knows.

I’ll definitely have to listen that interview. It’s one of the many that the BeachBoyTalk crew have done that I’ve put on a to-do list. However, apologies for the second (and hopefully final) off-topic post I’ll make in this thread, but I’m curious about what an x-rated version of Hey Santa sounds like. I guess I’ll have to get to that interview sooner rather than later. 

"Hey Santa, are you getting hard for me? Can we do it under the Christmas tree?"

I guess I've really missed the boat on some of these acts. I've heard a few Weezer songs but they're not a band I really know anything about. Whenever I hear their name, I think of "Weezy" on the Jeffersons tv show.
I know Belinda Carlisle, but not Brandi. I know she's really big with the AA (Adult Alternative) crowd.
Of course I know Norah Jones quite well, but haven't heard anything of hers since the third album "It's Not Too Late". Ditto for Leann Rimes. I remember when "Blue" and "How Do I Live" were all over radio, but not familiar with anything recent.
Part of the problem here is there just aren't many peers of the Beach Boys left. It would have been nice to have an appearance from Christine McVie, in memory of Dennis. I'm sure everyone would want to see Paul McCartney participate, but what would be the point of him showing up and singing "Let it Be" or "Hey Jude"?
If the documentary ever happens, that might be something to get excited about.

I didn’t know about the 2018 Grammys tributes, the 2019 box set, or the new live album. Thanks to Rocker and all for sharing and commenting. The one thing I’m confused on: I thought the 1993 box set was released by EMI/Capitol and Imperial Records? The Bear Family Records team claims it here, though; did EMI/Capitol recruit the Bear Family team (or whatever lineup existed at that time) to compile the box? I just got a hold of a copy of the 1993 box set last year. Is it a “waste” now? And unfortunately, despite my best efforts to search for a copy of the new live album, they’re all gone.       The record club doesn’t have any, and the same is true of Discogs. I’ll have to keep periodically searching; I would love to have it.

Yeah, I'd love to have it, too. I do have his last studio album, Alive and Kickin', from 2006. Fats' music just had a great rhythm to it, it feels like breathing to me. Can't imagine my life without his music.

[Austin Butler’s Full Concert Performance as Elvis Presley Will Be Released, Baz Luhrmann Promises]

Austin Butler’s Full Concert Performance as Elvis Presley Will Be Released, Baz Luhrmann Promises
However, the director won't start work on his estimated four-hour cut of the biopic until 2025

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/austin-butler-elvis-presley-concert-baz-luhrmann-directors-cut-1234638749/

I am so tired of the obsession over Austin Butler. In my opinion, at best, his performance was average. His voice/accent was off, and he shouldn’t have been cast in the first place because he doesn’t look enough like Elvis. I have heard those in charge of the nominations for the Golden Globes disagree with me, but I stand firm in my opinion. For all the research Baz Luhrmann did, there could and should have made many improvements to the movie (accuracy, casting, etc.).

agreed

Carl sounded great right through to the end, and his voice definitely changed over the years. I'd say about 1971 or 72 through to about 75 was perhaps the sweet spot. His voice had matured, but still had full range and was still pretty youthful.

He still sounded good in the 90s, but he did get a bit more gruff and bit more stuffy/congested sounding. I can't really claim a 90s take on GOK is *better* than like a '74 take, but they're all good. I do like some of the gruff flares he gave to some of the "Beckley Lamm Wilson" vocals (on top of very NOT gruff backing tracks!), or that '95 live take of "Sail on Sailor" on the MIC set.

His *voice* sounds great on his solo albums; the problem there is the bland material. Which is why I always point people to the live '81 soundboard recordings, because those sound much better than the studio album, with a lot more life injected into the material.

But geez, it doesn't get better than his isolated vocals on "The Trader" and "Only With You." Other worldly.

Excellent observations, Jude. As great as Brian is, and as hard-working as Mike is (and a top-notch, still-underrated singer), I just don't know where the band would've been if there had been no Carl--both as musician/singer and human being. Of all his great, great performances, I think that I revere his work on "The Trader" most of all--because it's his most ambitious and unusual songwriting effort, something that required him to use both sides of his singing talents, which he does brilliantly (and touchingly) throughout.

Amen.

These lists are meaningless.

Correct. Interesting that these lists are still a thing. It seems RS publishes every two years one of those. The lists are more about popularity and the author's favorites than anything else. Unfortunately the title suggests some kind of objectivity. An objective list of the greatest singers certainly wouldn't have John Lennon that high up in the ranks. Lennon may have been a lot of things, a great singer though wasn't one of them. Brian in his prime was a great singer. But he also had times when his voice wasn't in form. Al, Carl and Mike all were more consistent throughout the decades. Especially Carl's potential was never fully tapped. But boy, what a singer!

I disagree about Lennon. His was always the voice in the Beatles that I loved. McCartney probably rates higher on technical ability, but  John sang with more passion. And yes, I've heard outtakes where John sounds pretty bad. I get it. I have days like that, too!

Brian doesn't have to be on stage - just get Mike, Bruce, Al, David. Do a video tribute to Carl and Dennis.

I don't hear a lot of change in his vocals over the years, other than his voice maturing in the late 60's. Carl's voice lifted so much mediocre material in later years. He makes Summer in Paradise worth listening to.

These lists are meaningless.

I'm always surprised at what they can do with audio/video technology these days, which then has me asking, why can't they use some high tech digital wizardry on the 1983 Kingdome show?

I seriously doubt any reference to that said will be made on stage by Mike. Also, they have an unusually light schedule for 2023 as of right now. Usually much more is up and available leading into the new year...

Well, they are getting older...

If I can remove one track (guess which one, lol) LA. (Light Album). As it is, Beach Boys 85.
If we are including solo albums, Youngblood and Brian Wilson 88. Or Orange Crate Art.

I'm sure they will add some SOS songs after the holidays. It will be interesting to see which ones. My guesses? All This Is That, Marcella, California Saga, and Sail on Sailor. John Cowsill singing the latter.