"Hi Mary Kate. Hey Ashley...hic!"

"Wow, I shcan almosht tell them apart now.  Yesssshhhhh."

Holy sh*t, these wax figures look totally real!

Overrated=Surf's Up

Underrated=Surfin' USA

Deirdre from Sunflower is probably a mostly Bruce composition with minimal Brian input.

"RCM You co-wrote Deirdre with Brian for that album.

Bruce Johnston: I wrote all the music for the song and started writing the lyrics with Brian although that’s not his strong point, even though we must remember that Brian wrote all the lyrics for songs like Surfer Girl and ’Til I Die. So Deidre was kind of my song and I split it 50/50 with him. It’s really about 99% my baby."

Full Interview with Bruce:

http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2013/09/04/bruce-johnston-interview-beach-boys/#sthash.QcFHM3dN.dpbs

I was at this show. In fact, I played in the opening band and hung with all of the BBs and Tony post-show.
Fantastic group of guys and Tony is one of the funniest people I've ever met. I believe he was in town for a meeting with the BBs - not sure what for - I didn't ask.

I'm very curious about this meeting.  I would certainly hope that such a meeting would include Brian and Al, but the only free day for both bands over the weekend would have been on July 11th.  According to Brian's Tour Schedule, he was in Las Vegas on July 10th, Seattle on July 12th, and no other dates on the schedule until July 24th.  The BB's schedule had them in Connecticut on July 9th, New Hampshire on July 10th, and no dates until July 16th. 

Wouldn't it be nice if we were sober
Then we wouldn't have to barf so long
And wouldn't it be nice to drive together
To the Daily Pint where we belong

You know its gonna make it that much better
When we can make a toast and chug together

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up
In the morning covered in our spew
And after having puked all night together
Spend the next day locked up in the loo

Early Times together we've been sipping
I wish that every step would not be tripping
Wouldn't it be nice

Maybe if we drink and piss and hope and pray we might not heave
Baby then there wouldn't be a bouncer to make us leave
We would be carried
All through the lobby

Wouldn't it be nice

You know it seems the more reach our limit
We only take our cup and pour more in it
But let’s pour more in it
Wouldn't it be nice

Coors Light my baby
Bud Light my baby

She's Got Rhythm from the MIU Album in 1978 indicates that he could still access the falsetto, albeit a bit strained. 

There aren't many Beach Boys Memes on the Internet.  Here are a few good ones I have found.

Wouldn't It Be Nice...Wouldn't It Be Nice to Live Again

If Ringo Starr can be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, then Brian certainly deserves the honor.  Brian has a Grammy to his name (Best Rock Instrumental, Mrs. O'Leary's Cow, 2005) as well as many other solo awards, honors, tribute concerts, etc. over the last 15 years. 

I really think Ringo got in for two reasons

1.  John, Paul, and George were already inducted as solo artists, so they probably just wanted to have all four former Beatles as solo artists. 

2.  Ringo actually had some legit hits in the 1970s, and at one time, was outselling the other three. 

Brian doesn't have any hits to his name, and his best selling album was a re-worked Beach Boys effort.   I'm not trying to put Brian Wilson's solo output down, but I think we have to remember that, outside of our BW world, his solo career hasn't made much of a dent. 

I think #1 had the most to do with that decision.  Ringo has some hits under his belt but no major awards/Grammies as a solo artist.  Brian has no hits as a solo artist but he has a Grammy, MusiCares Person of the Year, Ivor Novello Award, etc.

Brian could also get in as a Producer/Arranger, in the vein of someone like George Martin.

If Ringo Starr can be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, then Brian certainly deserves the honor.  Brian has a Grammy to his name (Best Rock Instrumental, Mrs. O'Leary's Cow, 2005) as well as many other solo awards, honors, tribute concerts, etc. over the last 15 years. 

I've always thought that the money given to the Boys while Murry and Audree were away was quite a bit of cash for that time period. Various accounts state that $150, $200, $250 was given for groceries, etc.

How long were they away, exactly?  Even $150 would have been a lot in 1961. My dad has told me that he could take a date out for burgers and a movie for $5 back then.

No wonder they rented the instruments. That was a lot of "play money" for a bunch of teenagers.

By biggest issue is the scene when Brian plays the GV demo to Mike, Mike agrees to help him write the lyrics, and Brian gives him a big hug as if to say "You saved me!!!"  

 
[/quote]


Completely agree.  I thought it was pretty decent up to this point.  For me, this is where the movie lost it's way.

For all of its faults, that's the most I've ever seen Brian playing piano in any public performance.

Brian has been known to play the Studio on occasion.

Here's my sequence and a 10-track version.

1  This Beautiful Day
2  The Right Time
3  Whatever Happened
4  Somewhere Quiet
5  Our Special Love
6  Half Moon Bay
7  Guess You Had To Be There
8  One Kind Of Love
9  Saturday Night
10 The Last Song

This is  like an essential version of this album.Runnaway Dancer and On the Island, Tell Me Why omitted?
Oh, Why did you omit Tell Me Why? It's a center song on the album for me.

These are the songs I don't skip over. To each his own I guess.

I noticed it too when he talks about finishing Smile 38 years later in a recent interview.

Nothing miraculous there, everybody does that. I think many fans, even loving fans, look down on hin for some reason (perhaps because he sometimes appears bizarre and disengaged in interviews), that when he comes out as lucid and "with it" people celebrate traits and actions everybody has ("he smiled!", "he remembers a number!", "he played the piano on stage!", etc.). Let us not look down on him guys. He's smart, savvy and with it.

No one is looking down on him.. I just find it interested that he can recall dates as quickly as he can. Seem like I can barely recall my own birthday at times..

Right, I didn't mean the post to infer that I was looking down on him.  I just wanted to express that I was impressed that he was able to recall numerical information from 50 years ago.  Also, he is able to quickly recall which songs were on which album, whereas his some of his contemporaries in the music business sometimes get whole albums mixed up.

He is definitely with it.

Having read and listened to so many Brian interviews over the years, one characteristic about him really sticks out in my mind.  His memory and ability to recall numbers and figures is uncanny.  I am a stickler for getting dates correct, so I always tend to focus in on his comments regarding this aspect of his career.  Consistently, he nails years when albums were released, sessions, even financial figures.  For example, in a recent interview, the interviewer asked him about Murry selling the BB songs for $700,000, and Brian corrected him by saying it was $750,000.

Having said that, there is really only one glaring instance that stands out to me when Brian missed a date.  In the original liner notes to Pet Sounds, he talks about first hearing Rubber Soul in December 1966 (instead of 1965).  

Here's my sequence and a 10-track version.

1  This Beautiful Day
2  The Right Time
3  Whatever Happened
4  Somewhere Quiet
5  Our Special Love
6  Half Moon Bay
7  Guess You Had To Be There
8  One Kind Of Love
9  Saturday Night
10 The Last Song

Here's a Hall and Oates one that also made me laugh really hard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l56Hdjx0ckg
The microphone slapping gets me every time.

Also, related to the Monkees video, but instead it's a "literal version": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hArtxz6PRsk

Thanks for these.  I did a spit take on the Hall and Oates video when the guy tinkled the keyboard.

That Monkees video is golden.  "I dance like Axl Rose in my fruity Sixties clothes..." 

I played the Imagination album a lot after my daughter was born, and always got a little teary-eyed when "Dream Angel" came on - I played it a lot when she was little.

I also liked to play "I Wanna Pick You Up" for her when she was a baby - the lyrics fit so well.

Deleted.

Before Runaway Dancer, Brian said, "This next song is usually sung by a guy named Sabu...S..A..B..U...and he's got a big black beard."   

That is freaking hilarious.  Should go into the list of Brianisms for sure.

I think that reputation mostly has to do with the pretty dull and straightforward drum sound he had on the various production Work he did for others after shutting Down ELO. The Tom Petty stuff as well as George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Joe Cocker, 'Free as a Bird' etc. I quite like those productions but I can understand where some of the critics are coming from. It has a certain Lynne sound for sure - but you could say that with Spector, Brian and others as well so I guess it's just a matter of personal taste.

I will add though that I think Jeff Lynne has been massively underrated as a gifted songwriter and producer if you look at his ELO stuff. It's cool to see power pop fans and others in the know starting to give him the respect he deserves. 'Livin' Thing' alone is a work of genius.

Thanks for the comment.  The drum sound was the first thing that came to mind, but it really doesn't bother me.

One Kind of Love is so damn beautiful...

I never quite got what the big deal is with this sing.  It's alright, but they're sitting on a goldmine with "Guess You Had To Be There".  

Concur.  Also, why am I not hearing Saturday Night all over the radio right now?

My six-year-old Sierra came to see The Beach boys at the Royal Albert Hall last month and loved it (she slept for maybe 45 mins;'woke up for the encore).

She's been indoctrinated since she was born. Heroes & Villains is one if her favourite tunes; both she and three-year-old brother Nack as for "Daddy's music" from time to time. Sadly Sierra's now showing signs of liking Radio 1 so she might be entering a different phase. Still, as I've mentioned before, a while ago she asked:
"Daddy, can we go to see The Beach Boys?"
"Well, one day but I think you'd find the music a bit too loud at the moment…"
"No silly, not a concert, AT THEIR HOUSE!"

The thread title made me realise that while she might have been fortunate enough to see The Beach Boys once in her young life, she is - her brother certainly is - a member of the generation that will grow up with only the recorded music to enjoy. By the time they're both old enough to go to concerts themselves, The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson won't be around; they certainly won't be performing, if they're still with us.

Thinks… maybe I should get them both tickets for a Brian Wilson UK gig next year…

Good comment about seeing them while you can.   I forgot to mention that we took my daughter to see a free BB concert back in February in a suburb of New Orleans.  I think that is what really sparked her interest in setting up the Pandora station and asking to see Love and Mercy with my wife and I.