Brian's Liner/Website Notes

[Jim V.]

Hey, so I was just reading the liner notes for the Friends/ 20/20 "two-fer". And I was thinking about how they used these back in the day on Brian's website and also in his "autobiography" if I remember correctly. Anyways, which came first, the "two-fer" notes or the book? Were these notes really by Brian? It was weird with him taking credit for "I Can Hear Music" and talking about Cabinessence like he made the track for that album specially. There were also notes that came from the book that were on the website, I can't remember for which albums. But yeah, anyways, whats up with all that?

[Wirestone]

CD notes came first, book came second.

Notes read as though Brian at least dictated them. But yeah, it also seems like BW didn't have a great memory for some things.

BW website did include both booklet notes and sections from the "autobiography." I had some e-mail exchanges with Mike DeMartin back in the day about them, pointing out the stuff from the book on the 70s albums was dubious at best. I don't think he took them down after that, but they thankfully disappeared during one of the site redesigns.

[Roger Ryan]

I see those liner notes as the way Brian would have liked a new listener to see the Beach Boys' history - revisionist for sure, but a way of putting a positive spin on the background to the songs instead of saying something like "so I freaked out from the drugs and the pressure and couldn't finish "Cabinessence" as part of SMilE so Carl finally put it together against my wishes on 20/20 - hope you enjoy the album!".

There's no way those notes were ghost-written by someone other than Brian, they're just too awkward!

[Andrew G. Doe]

I see those liner notes as the way Brian would have liked a new listener to see the Beach Boys' history - revisionist for sure, but a way of putting a positive spin on the background to the songs instead of saying something like "so I freaked out from the drugs and the pressure and couldn't finish "Cabinessence" as part of SMilE so Carl finally put it together against my wishes on 20/20 - hope you enjoy the album!".

There's no way those notes were ghost-written by someone other than Brian, they're just too awkward!

It's easy enough to do Brianspeak if you've had enough practise. 

[Wirestone]

Someone here once did a brilliant impression of "Brian" notes for a Still Cruisin'/SIP twofer.

[Pablo.]

Well, on the 20/20 liners he writes about producing "I can hear music", so that must be revisionism, bad memory or a forgery

[Ron]

Or, maybe it was all a big elaborate scheme by the record company to make the record buying public think that the BB's didn't need drug riddled Brian, Carl was producing stuff just as great.  So they just told everybody Carl produced it, and wiped all records of Brian even being there that day!  Yeah! That's probably what happened.  Then Brian forgot to lie about it 30 years later when they did the liner notes. 

OR, maybe Brian was on the phone, and was like "Hey, Carl... make those guitars sound just like I want them to". 

OR Brian just phoned in the liner notes.  Either way I think a phone, figuratively, or literally, was probably involved somewhere down the line.