Does Brian still have it?

[b00ts]

The thing that gets me the most about Brian still-having-it is that not only does he have it now... some of these astonishing songs date back to 1999, when in the wake of "Imagination" I was utterly convinced that Brian was a shadow of his former self.

Not only does he still have it, he had it all those years.  And I never imagined.

Well then Jonathan, you should have had more of an IMAGINATION! How delightful of me to think of that.

One of my favorite moments on the new record is Brian's line "turn back the pages" on "Isn't it Time." At the end of this phrase, he sounds like he did on 15 Big Ones / Love You; ragged but relaxed and confident. It is a pleasure to hear.

[onkster]

Yes, he still has it. A lot of it.

But don't tell that to those people in the comments section under the AV Club review...yeesh, it gets ugly. And stupid. But that's kinda the crowd that can't believe SMiLE merits release, yet get all gooey over Yankee Hotel Foxtrot like it was even anywhere in the same league.

Yes, Brian has it. And we are lucky enough to have him sharing it.

[Catbirdman]

All the evidence you need is contained within Isn't It Time.

Or

the moment at 0.37 where Mike does a really low "Dum"

as in:

be doobie doobie .....

              


          



                          ... dummmmm

That is the absolute highlight of the album for me right now. Just feels like the sort of cool little detail that would crop up on Wild Honey.

Of course it could've been Mike's idea ....

Oooh, I love that bit. I like the way you illustrated it too! That moment was one of the first things I heard listening to the amazon.com samples. Loved it then, love it now. Oh, and my guess (just a guess, mind) is that that entire bass vocal part was Mike's idea. If not, it was Brian paying homage to the kind of great idea Mike might have.

[Jcc]

One thing that I have learned about BW in the last 10 years is that he is the Ultimate Faker. If he does not feel like doing something, or performing something, or acting in a certain way, then he will not do it and there is no force on Earth capable of moving him.   Anyone remember how he revealed many years back on his message board that his bullcrap about "burning the tapes" was a flat-out lie that he conveniently used to avoid answering uncomfortable questions?  He stuck to that crazy story for almost 30 years!

On the other hand, if he is properly motivated, miracles can happen.  I've seen that guy nail his 1960's falsetto as late as the 2000 tour on "Don't Talk" because he was hyped to play at the Hollywood Bowl, and play Surf's Up flawlessly as early as 2001 simply because Paul McCartney was sitting in the audience at the Greek Theater.    In fact, as soon as Sir Paul walked into the venue, that concert was kicked up a significant notch.  Suddenly there was more at stake than Arnie Morton's after the concert!

Musically, I think this album is a huge case in point.   BW can still turn it on, when he wants to.  But getting him to sustain it at that level through an entire album of 12-14 songs may no longer be something he really wants to do.

[PhilSpectre]

Musically, I think this album is a huge case in point.   BW can still turn it on, when he wants to.  But getting him to sustain it at that level through an entire album of 12-14 songs may no longer be something he really wants to do.

I actually think Brian has almost always had 'it' since the '60s. He has imo produced songs on a similar level of quality to his '60s peak in every decade since. It's just that he needs a whole lot of circumstances and conditions to be right for 'it' to take full flight.  I doubt even he always knows what those conditions are, but he produces the song-writing and vocal goods when those 'stars' are right, as TLOS and the new album show. IMO his songwriting since the late '80s is underrated by some fans.

As to his producing skills, I doubt he has had the consistent energy or interest to truly keep up with all the technicalities of developments, particularly in digital production since the mid-'80s and beyond. I'm not saying he hasn't studied this or doesn't understand it, I just speculate that he's felt a little out of the loop as regards record production since the early '70s, hence the only time he's really produced solo since was on Love You, effectively recording solo (I know Carl gave the Love You sessions a once over after Brian had delivered the tapes) and Adult/Child. Otherwise, he seems pretty much to have 'produced' with collaborators.

[southbay]

.........Brian's work on the new Beach Boys album.

I must've played the album a solid 10 times through already, and it's still shocking to read this.

Agreed.  That sentence is just wonderful to read.