Brian's "Missing Link" Vocals

[Iron Horse-Apples]

As we all know, Brian has had two voices. Pre 15 Big Ones and Post 15 Big Ones. His vocals were scarce after the early 70's, so it is difficult to pin down exactly when and how quickly the decline took place, although 75' seems to be the concensus.

I've found this though, albeit from 71', where you can almost hear both voices. The sweet younger voice is giving way to the strained, older voice, especially on the falsetto.

And I'm sure you've all heard this version and the Spring version, but my god what a beautiful song this is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZf31lOrNSY&feature=related

Are there any more, perhaps better examples of Brian's "Missing Link" vocals

[Jason]

Don't You Just Know It. You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone. California. Rollin' Up To Heaven. Child of Winter.

If you listen to the interview Brian did with Jim Pewter in 1974, he has the rough voice.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

Don't You Just Know It. You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone. California. Rollin' Up To Heaven. Child of Winter.

If you listen to the interview Brian did with Jim Pewter in 1974, he has the rough voice.

Yes, but it's that "in between" stage I'm after. Though there are a few titles there I may have to search out.

[Jason]

I don't know what the hell "in between" stage you're referring to, but you can hear the decline on all of those listed tunes. Perhaps you should reword your post and properly articulate what you're looking for.

[runnersdialzero]

All the songs named may be a tad "in between" but are much closer to the old voice than the new sans "Child Of Winter", but that's just a spoken word bit. Still, you can clearly hear a good half of both Brians in there.

Also, Brian's had a good 359 voices or so, really. You could still hear the tiniest bit of the old Brian on Love You etc. Some time in the late 70s or early 80s is when he really sounded like someone completely different. I can easily hear 2011 Brian on BB85, for instance.

Also, I want to say very few "in between" recordings are said to exist. The "California Feelin'" demo that none of us have heard has been named as an example.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

I don't know what the hell "in between" stage you're referring to, but you can hear the decline on all of those listed tunes. Perhaps you should reword your post and properly articulate what you're looking for.

I think what I'm saying is, that Brian's young voice and Brian's old voice could be two completely different people. And you only hear one or the other, I was musing on the fact there might be a bridge between these two voices. Because Brian recorded so little in the mid 70's, the change seemed to happen overnight.

But as I hinted, I haven't heard a few of the tracks you listed, namely "Don't You Just Know It" and "Rolling Up To Heaven". PM?

"California" sounds like his young voice, and I've never been able to hear him in "Mess Of Help"

The "Awake" Demo was good, beacuse it was just him, up close to the mic.

[letsmakeit31]

In the Aussie radio interview that Brian did in I think? Late 74-early 75 his voice still sounded (to me at least) young pre 15 Big Ones. It was the same interview that's on the "Life of Brian CD4 entitled "Lost in space" I've written about this interview before on here. I thought it was a great honest interview if a little strange but pure Brian and I good insight into his state of mind at the time. 

[runnersdialzero]

"Rollin' Up To Heaven" is absolutely confounding. Recorded in November 74, Brian still sounds exactly like he did in the late 60s, "Child Of Winter" was finished shortly after, and then the next year saw work on 15 Big Ones. How does someone's voice change so suddenly?

[puni puni]

brian went through another voice change after 1980 though

[runnersdialzero]

brian went through another voice change after 1980 though

I feel like someone made a fairly detailed list of this. Anyone?

[SMiLE Brian]

"Rollin' Up To Heaven" is absolutely confounding. Recorded in November 74, Brian still sounds exactly like he did in the late 60s, "Child Of Winter" was finished shortly after, and then the next year saw work on 15 Big Ones. How does someone's voice change so suddenly?

Maybe the full extent gruff voice was a put on to some extent with the gruff voice sounding like his bass voice on "sweet mountain", because Brian could still sing high well on "sherry she needs me" or "airplane". I think his voice was declining slowly to the point where for a short while he could sing both normal voice and gruff voice.

[Sunflower Seed]

Brian has an interesting falsetto in that era, this Awake demo and Good Time are standout examples: "Might go up in smoke now but what do we care...".


It's very subtle but I hear slight hints of Brian's Love You voice on the Breakaway demo on the Endless Harmony Soundtrack, when he's singing in the lower register.

Around 1:34 there's hints of gruffness, he seems to struggle around the here while singing "...the more I thought of iiighhhhttt, I had been out of it".

Anyone else hear it? Not as obvious as the "eeeeeeeee" on He Came Down.

[runnersdialzero]

Are we 100% sure the "eeee" on "He Came Down"/"He Come Down"/"I Dislike Firefighters And Pie" is actually Brian? 72 just seems way too early for his Love You voice to appear, especially considering he sounds like this nowhere else up until 15BO (15 Body Odors)

[Runaways]

i always thought winter symphony was an obvious tweener voice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3dciht0NG4

[MJP]

If you listen to Brian's vocal solo for Tammy Wynette's version of "In My Room" done in 1996; he sounds exactly like he did in the 60's and early 70's.

[oldsurferdude]

i always thought winter symphony was an obvious tweener voice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3dciht0NG4

Good example-more like the MIU voice-and what happened between LY and MIU?

[pixletwin]

I don't hear the post 15BO voice at all in awake. I still hear Brian's sweet voice in that song.

[Smilin Ed H]

""Rollin' Up To Heaven" is absolutely confounding. Recorded in November 74, Brian still sounds exactly like he did in the late 60s, "Child Of Winter" was finished shortly after, and then the next year saw work on 15 Big Ones. How does someone's voice change so suddenly?"

I thought the vocals for Child of Winter were from 77?

[Chris Brown]

Brian has an interesting falsetto in that era, this Awake demo and Good Time are standout examples: "Might go up in smoke now but what do we care...".


It's very subtle but I hear slight hints of Brian's Love You voice on the Breakaway demo on the Endless Harmony Soundtrack, when he's singing in the lower register.

Around 1:34 there's hints of gruffness, he seems to struggle around the here while singing "...the more I thought of iiighhhhttt, I had been out of it".

Anyone else hear it? Not as obvious as the "eeeeeeeee" on He Came Down.

Yeah I've always heard that too - probably the first time you hear any gruff sneaking in, even if it's sporadic. 

[seltaeb1012002]

That "Breakaway" demo is pretty rough in some spots. Then again, it was probably just a quick reference done for Carl.

I always wondered if the other Beach Boys (or anyone else for that matter) noticed Brian's vocal decline in the late 60's/early 70's and advised him to practice more. Surely there must've been some internal conversation regarding that. I know I would've said something, lol.

[Aegir]

Not all the gruffness is physical deterioration, especially early on.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Are we 100% sure the "eeee" on "He Came Down"/"He Come Down"/"I Dislike Firefighters And Pie" is actually Brian? 72 just seems way too early for his Love You voice to appear, especially considering he sounds like this nowhere else up until 15BO (15 Body Odors)

Yes. Also, that same voice shows up in some of the backups on the Spring disc. Difference between him sounding like that then and , say, 4 years later, is that during the former he was trying to sound like that.

[Wylson]

Brian has an interesting falsetto in that era, this Awake demo and Good Time are standout examples: "Might go up in smoke now but what do we care...".


It's very subtle but I hear slight hints of Brian's Love You voice on the Breakaway demo on the Endless Harmony Soundtrack, when he's singing in the lower register.

Around 1:34 there's hints of gruffness, he seems to struggle around the here while singing "...the more I thought of iiighhhhttt, I had been out of it".

Anyone else hear it? Not as obvious as the "eeeeeeeee" on He Came Down.

Yeah I've always heard that too - probably the first time you hear any gruff sneaking in, even if it's sporadic.  

**just realised you said endless harmony, not hawthorne*

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's Carl on the second verse of the alternate version of Breakaway.

[37!ws]

If you smoke enough and snort enough, then absolutely your voice can go that bad in a quick time. Also, I think Brian was intentionally pushing himself to sound more "manly" around 1976 as well.

Also, one thought...is it possible that Brian had throat surgery that we just never knew about? Case in point...Mike Nesmith had a tonsillectomy in 1967, and his voice did go through a noticeable change, and over the next few years it did kind of gradually revert to sort of its original sound...and didn't Dennis have surgery on his vocal cords in the '80s (which explains how shot he sounds in that clip near the end of An American Band) Wondering if Brian had minor surgery like a tonsillectomy or something that might have contributed to the change as well...

[Jay]

I'm pretty sure that the vocal for Don't You Just Know It was recorded back in 1970. Brian really hits some odd notes on that recording. I've always thought that his voice sounded slightly "thin". He also seems to be trying harder to hit the high note on the line "they siiiiing their songs so clear".