How Many Songs Could the Original Members Perform Without Backing from Jeff etc?

[harrisonjon]

Could they do Surfin' or In My Room a capella with no Jeff, Darian or others doubling and taking the high notes?

[stack-o-tracks]

Yup they just wouldn't be singing all of the parts the way they are recorded.

I'd much prefer a show with as little outside presence as possible, but the Beach Boys have been touring with a diverse group since the 60s. Whatever the 70 year old man version of Lei'd in Hawaii sounds like is how this reunion should sound.

[hypehat]

I bet they could still knock out Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring. That's probably engrained into their souls

[Lowbacca]

Sure, they could do some version of those songs.. Bruce and even Brian can still do the higher parts. Aging bands do it everywhere, performing old hits of theirs with their naturally aged voices. It would sound different though. What those Beach Boys shows are trying to give to the general audience is the 'original' Beach Boys sound one hears on the radio or from one's Sounds of Summer CD. In order to do that at ages around 70, of course they need vocal backup.

[The Shift]

I'm not sure Brian would be comfortable without that safety net. Hell, he can't even perform in the back seat of a London taxi cab without Jeff!

[Runaways]

doesn't brian usually perform without jeff's doubling?  last night is the exception because come on.  Brian was scared shitless

[acedecade75]

All of them!

[joe_blow]

Would be really impressed is they tried at least one song:

Brian - Bass
Al -Guitar
Bruce - Keyboards
Mike -vocals
Dave - Guitar

Anyone on drums...they are a band aren't they?

[harrisonjon]

I mentioned 'Surfin' because I recall Brian doing that a capella with his band in London in, I think, 2003 (in the section just after the interval). The BB's with Brian also did it on TV in the Landy era IIRC.

[GuyOnTheBeach]

I think quite a few of the less demanding songs they could pull off, Come Go With Me is one I reckon they could still do, Al could easily nail the lead still and the harmonies are nothing TOO demanding, I think between them they could manage it

[the captain]

If they were trying to play and sing the original parts on their own, very few songs would make it. Not one of them sings with his original range and clarity, and aside from David, the instrumental side of things wouldn't exactly be stellar from the survivors. Sorry, I'm not trying to be a dick, but a) I am, and b) it's true.

They could perform any number of songs, of course. But if they want to stick to original arrangements and you want to hear them as they were, well, it wouldn't go well.

[Ron]

I think they may try it on their cd.  It'd be interesting. 

BTW, best I ever heard of anybody doing that was Little Richard.  I bought one of his CD's a few years back, after hearing one song sound particularly clear, I was shocked to find out it was a CD from the late 90's that he had re-recorded, trying to sound exactly like the original singles.  About 4 or 5 songs, he sounded spot-on, exactly like the originals.  Screaming vocals and all.  It was unbelievable. 

BTW Luther I disagree about the instrumentation.  Al still plays guitar fine, Brian still plays piano fine, Mike could still slap a tamborine or some sh*t.  What do you mean by their original instrumentation?  You don't think these guys could play a song they originally played on, like "Catch a Wave" or something? 

[Wirestone]

Would be really impressed is they tried at least one song:

Brian - Bass
Al -Guitar
Bruce - Keyboards
Mike -vocals
Dave - Guitar

Anyone on drums...they are a band aren't they?

Not really. I've always thought of them as a vocal group.

[Wirestone]

I think they may try it on their cd.  It'd be interesting. 

BTW, best I ever heard of anybody doing that was Little Richard.  I bought one of his CD's a few years back, after hearing one song sound particularly clear, I was shocked to find out it was a CD from the late 90's that he had re-recorded, trying to sound exactly like the original singles.  About 4 or 5 songs, he sounded spot-on, exactly like the originals.  Screaming vocals and all.  It was unbelievable. 

BTW Luther I disagree about the instrumentation.  Al still plays guitar fine, Brian still plays piano fine, Mike could still slap a tamborine or some sh*t.  What do you mean by their original instrumentation?  You don't think these guys could play a song they originally played on, like "Catch a Wave" or something? 

They might be able to play it. But sing it? You honestly think Brian could do that falsetto?

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

How about Brian and Jeff duet on "Let's Put Our Hearts Together"?

[the captain]

BTW Luther I disagree about the instrumentation.  Al still plays guitar fine, Brian still plays piano fine, Mike could still slap a tamborine or some sh*t.  What do you mean by their original instrumentation?  You don't think these guys could play a song they originally played on, like "Catch a Wave" or something? 

I would just say that this is a band who, relatively early on, understood their strengths. Obviously, it's a long-since debunked myth about them not playing blah blah blah; that isn't what I mean. But they knew their limitations, and were supplementing their live shows pretty early on with outside musicians. And two of their best live performers from an instrumental perspective are dead. The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson and his band, and Al Jardine's bands have all relied very heavily on non-Beach Boys to carry the instrumental weight for decades. I'm not insulting them at all when I say that I think they knew what they were doing in making those decisions.

[Jim McShane]

doesn't brian usually perform without jeff's doubling?  last night is the exception because come on.  Brian was scared sh*tless

No, Jeff doubles a LOT of Brian's parts. Even Scott and Darian do some doubling of a few of Brian's parts.

Jeff's performance last night wasn't atypical at all.

[Jim McShane]

I bet they could still knock out Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring. That's probably engrained into their souls

I doubt they could do it in the original key.

[Wirestone]

doesn't brian usually perform without jeff's doubling?  last night is the exception because come on.  Brian was scared sh*tless

No, Jeff doubles a LOT of Brian's parts. Even Scott and Darian do some doubling of a few of Brian's parts.

Jeff's performance last night wasn't atypical at all.

It depends on the show. Very early on (1999, 2000), Jeff did a number of fully doubled leads with Brian. Since then, he's mainly handled falsetto duties, sometimes weaving in and out of the same song. For instance, when the BW band does the good vibes verses, Jeff generally sings the few words that Brian did on the original, and Brian comes in on Carl's part. So it's more of a tradeoff than anything.

Also, there are points when a Brian lead heads into falsetto, and Brian will take a lower part, and Jeff will keep going up. But that's not doubling -- it's more like sleight-of-hand harmonizing.

This is complicated by the fact that Jeff is basically the band's fail safe if Brian forgets to come in at some point in a song. So a handful of times in each concert, Jeff will sing a line or two for Brian in a song. It's not necessarily ever in the same place, it's just a backup. Again, not exactly doubling.

When Brian is super engaged and into shows, Jeff does virtually no fill-in work at all. But at other shows, he's practically the most important guy onstage.

[Jameswilliam]

I think brian should do Id love just once to see you 

[Autotune]

doesn't brian usually perform without jeff's doubling?  last night is the exception because come on.  Brian was scared sh*tless

No, Jeff doubles a LOT of Brian's parts. Even Scott and Darian do some doubling of a few of Brian's parts.

Jeff's performance last night wasn't atypical at all.

It depends on the show. Very early on (1999, 2000), Jeff did a number of fully doubled leads with Brian. Since then, he's mainly handled falsetto duties, sometimes weaving in and out of the same song. For instance, when the BW band does the good vibes verses, Jeff generally sings the few words that Brian did on the original, and Brian comes in on Carl's part. So it's more of a tradeoff than anything.

Also, there are points when a Brian lead heads into falsetto, and Brian will take a lower part, and Jeff will keep going up. But that's not doubling -- it's more like sleight-of-hand harmonizing.

This is complicated by the fact that Jeff is basically the band's fail safe if Brian forgets to come in at some point in a song. So a handful of times in each concert, Jeff will sing a line or two for Brian in a song. It's not necessarily ever in the same place, it's just a backup. Again, not exactly doubling.

When Brian is super engaged and into shows, Jeff does virtually no fill-in work at all. But at other shows, he's practically the most important guy onstage.

Know what? At the beginning of Maroon 5's Surfer Girl, you can hear someone doubling the high lead (and there's maybe some doubling of the other parts). I wonder if Jeff performed safety net to the M5 guy

[runnersdialzero]

JEFF SAVES EVERYTHING

[Jaco]

It's been that way since day one
Look at this video from Live Aid 1985 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUCm_-zvj00

It's a shame he is so often off camera

[Musketeer]

I think brian should do Id love just once to see you 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CSVt6prH9g

[hypehat]

It's been that way since day one

Er, want to take another run up at that one, chief?