"That's Why God Made The Radio" Single!

[b00ts]

Bridge


Lead vocals - Brian

"To a whole new generation" - Al, Bruce, Mike, David, Jeff (I don't hear Brian in there but he probably is as well)

"That's why God Made, That's why God made..." - Mike in the left channel (His voice has changed but he sounds great). Another Mike comes into the right channel, doubling this vocal as the left channel harmonies come in

Lead "That's why God made the Radio" - Bruce and Alan

Great post, boots. May I suggest that the unison "That's why God made" after the bridge is Mike plus David and Alan. It sounds like more than just one singer (Mike is very distinguishable on "God"), and those three are shown singing (lip-synching in the video). Not being completely familiar with David's singing voice, I'd say it's Mike and one or two others.

Good call, Dr. Lenny. I think you're right on the money, and the video confirms it. It's a cool arranging tactic to really bring through the vocal, and they use it all over this single.

As for the Foskett hate, I like Foskett even though I can hear what others hear in Foskett's voice - a strident quality that is distinct from the other Beach Boys. I understand why people don't like his voice, but I must say he blends beautifully and he knows his place in the harmony mix. When Jeff does strike out towards the end, he is doing a good impression of Carl that is a nice touch, and a tribute to Carl's part of the Beach Boys blend.

It's worth noting that Jeff is not the only one doing falsetto - Bruce is singing falsetto in the chorus (and he smoothly glides into head voice, showing that he has retained his chops over the years) and Brian gets up to a high head voice, if not falsetto.

Andrew G. Doe thinks that people resent Jeff because he has the Beach Boy fan's dream job, but I think it is much simpler - Jeff is an outsider who is in the vocal blend. There have been plenty of "outsiders" before on Beach Boys records, but even on this single, where all the Beach Boys are present vocally in spades, Jeff is all over the mix, and he is not an official Beach Boy. He is a utility hitter who is necessary for the blend at this point, as he was on BWPS and other projects, and he has the distinction of being a long-time member of the Beach Boys/Brian Wilson camp, but he is still considered an outsider by fans.

"Who is that singing all those beautiful harmonies and the part at the end that sounds like Carl?" "Oh, that's just Jeff, honey. Pay him no mind."

But without Jeff, this single would not be what it is. Jeff is a stalwart man and he has done a lot for us as fans, even for those of us who absolutely despise his vocals. Do you think BWPS would exist without Jeff? I don't.

I'm not hitting out at anyone who dislikes Jeff (runnersdialzero and many others). I am just saying that one day, you may grow to appreciate his contributions, musical and otherwise.

[Ron]

Jeff simply fills a role the band created.  If Jeff didn't exist, someone like Jeff would exist, and they probably wouldn't be as talented as Jeff is.  Not only vocally, but with all the extra curricular stuff he's willing to do, and his ability to get along with Brian at least and the rest of the band at best. 

I like what someone above said, since this song is new, It's much easier to swallow Jeff having a lot of part in it.

The song just sounds good, no matter who's singing or how they accomplished it.  To me, that's most important. 

[18thofMay]

Well said Ron!

[Dunderhead]

I don't know what it is about the classic sound of The Beach Boys' voices. Could it just be I'm so used to hearing it that I won't accept anything else? It is merely a prejudice informed by habit which dominates me?
When I listen to I Can Hear Music there is something transcendental about Carl's voice, a quality of ineffable sweetness to which no other may ever hope to aspire. On The Trader when the harmonies rise like some vast and shimmering aurora borealis, crowing the unexplored horizon in radiant beauty. On the wilting, ephemeral goodbyes of the Heroes fadeout, or the will-o'-the-wisp backing vox on Steamboat which drifts over the twanging moog like the sound of lost souls crowding a murky and unholy swamp.

Those instances are just unparalleled, evocative of some other realm beyond the farthest twilight heavens. On the second chorus of I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, the harmonies seem to open, for one fleeting moment, a window to the brilliant fog of some far away nebula. Each voice twining like some eerie star through the dense haze in resplendent color.

When I listen to TWGMTR though...
I hear none of that. So sure the vocals may be quite fine, and well delivered. But they still pale in comparison to those truly spectral moments of otherworldly beauty which I'm so accustomed to.

[Ron]

Fishmonk, you're basically expecting something that's not even remotely possible anymore because one of the principals has passed away.  If you go into it with expectations like that, you can't possibly be pleased because Carl's no longer with us.  It's impossible.

So it's not that you have to lower your expectations, it's just you have to appreciate what's to appreciate. 

To me, there's something about them doing a pretty fine job, even in the face of old age, mental illness, lawsuits, changing times, the death of Carl and Dennis, etc.... I can appreciate that.  So it may not be as good as Carl would have done it, or a young Brian, or whatever.... but it's still pretty special.

Carl and Dennis would have been proud of them, they're doing the best they can. 

[lance]

Well then that certainly wouldn't explain his SOUTH BAY, LOS ANGELES ACCENT!

Right, because accents are irrevocably fixed by age 7.  

[lance]

(not really, just playing along)

[Ron]

It could be as simple as his wife has an accent and he's around her so much now he does, or something.  Or not.  Accents change, I find myself often talking like whomever I'm around.  Or maybe David's dad had a really heavy accent and so he's always had one, or whatever. 

[Wirestone]

Fishmonk, the classic sound you speak of was produced by five guys in their 20s. The core of the group was three brothers.

Two of those five guys, and two of that core group of brothers, are dead.

The three remaining guys are nearly (or past) 70. Two extra guys have been added, but they're not relations and in their 60s too.

There is nothing to be regained. That sound was lost in the late 60s and cannot come back. Mortality and the passage of time is a bitch. But what can you do?

To me, it's enough that Brian Wilson is still arranging vocals and making records. To have Al and Mike on there, in whatever form, is a bonus.

[Mikie]

What "Los Angeles accent".  There's no Los Angeles accent.

[Dunderhead]

Fishmonk, the classic sound you speak of was produced by five guys in their 20s. The core of the group was three brothers.

Two of those five guys, and two of that core group of brothers, are dead.

The three remaining guys are nearly (or past) 70. Two extra guys have been added, but they're not relations and in their 60s too.

There is nothing to be regained. That sound was lost in the late 60s and cannot come back. Mortality and the passage of time is a bitch. But what can you do?

Nothing can be done, but do I have to like everything The Beach Boys do simply because it's The Beach Boys? It may be "good for what it is" but why do I have to care? What if I just don't like what it is? I don't think TWGMTR deserves any special praise. It's not really good in any objective way. If it wasn't by The Beach Boys I would never have bothered to listen to it.
I think you can talk yourself into liking it, and maybe in the context of all the reunion stuff it's wrapped up in you could say it was acceptable. But honestly, I don't care about it, it doesn't move me, it's a thousand miles away from when the band wrote and recorded touching music. In the absolute I simply don't like it, it doesn't appeal to me in any way shape or form.

[lance]

What "Los Angeles accent".  There's no Los Angeles accent.

Yes, there is. IBut you know, I've always thought Mike Love has a different accent than the Wilson brothers. More twangy.

[?]

Fishmonk, the classic sound you speak of was produced by five guys in their 20s. The core of the group was three brothers.

Two of those five guys, and two of that core group of brothers, are dead.

The three remaining guys are nearly (or past) 70. Two extra guys have been added, but they're not relations and in their 60s too.

There is nothing to be regained. That sound was lost in the late 60s and cannot come back. Mortality and the passage of time is a bitch. But what can you do?

Nothing can be done, but do I have to like everything The Beach Boys do simply because it's The Beach Boys? It may be "good for what it is" but why do I have to care? What if I just don't like what it is? I don't think TWGMTR deserves any special praise. It's not really good in any objective way. If it wasn't by The Beach Boys I would never have bothered to listen to it.
I think you can talk yourself into liking it, and maybe in the context of all the reunion stuff it's wrapped up in you could say it was acceptable. But honestly, I don't care about it, it doesn't move me, it's a thousand miles away from when the band wrote and recorded touching music. In the absolute I simply don't like it, it doesn't appeal to me in any way shape or form.

That's pretty much how I feel.  It just isn't a good song.

[Aegir]

Well then that certainly wouldn't explain his SOUTH BAY, LOS ANGELES ACCENT!

Right, because accents are irrevocably fixed by age 7.  

I just don't understand how people are saying you can hear David in the song because of his distinct accent. Shouldn't Brian/Carl/Dennis have the same accent?

[Eric Aniversario]

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
 #128 Paid in MP3 Songs
#7 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Songs > Rock

[stack-o-tracks]

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
 #128 Paid in MP3 Songs
#7 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Songs > Rock

Niiiiiice. Not really a "rock" song, but if it's that high on Amazon, it should definitely make a splash on those Billboard charts.

[Zargo]

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
 #128 Paid in MP3 Songs
#7 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Songs > Rock

Tried to purchase... not permitted outside of the US 

[brother john]

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
 #128 Paid in MP3 Songs
#7 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Songs > Rock

Tried to purchase... not permitted outside of the US 

Buy it from iTunes.

[lance]

Well then that certainly wouldn't explain his SOUTH BAY, LOS ANGELES ACCENT!

Right, because accents are irrevocably fixed by age 7.  

I just don't understand how people are saying you can hear David in the song because of his distinct accent. Shouldn't Brian/Carl/Dennis have the same accent?

Well, Brian and Dennis definitely have an LA accent when they sing, Carl not so much, in my opinion. As far as David, personally, I can't pick him out at all. But I've only listened to the song twice. All I can hear is Brian Wilson and Foskett.

[drbeachboy]

I agree. Jeff may be singing Carl's part, but he doesn't sound like him, at all. Overall, everyone sounds great on the track, especially for their age. Except for Jeff, pretty damn good for an average age of 68 Years old.

[buddhahat]

Also check the solitary drum thump followed by glissando organ note at 2.34 - exactly the same technique is used in Nothing But Love and one of the musicians on that session described it as an inspired bit of production from Brian. I'll wager this is also a BW touch for heightening the drama as the other voices come in.

Actually, I don't think it was "Nothing But Love." The story I heard was about "Summertime," where at 2:56 point everything stops and the drum is thwacked hard three times before the tag starts. The rest of the band thought it was a strange suggestion, but it gives the song a lot of drama. It seems like that's a BW device to focus a listener's attention. And it works, by gum.

I think you're right - the thwacks are from Summertime but I'm sure a keyboardist also spoke of their surprise at being instructed by brian to just hold one note in the bridge for Nothin But Love (1.25). Then they heard it and were amazed at how effective one note could be! I got the two confused.

[Amy B.]

Fishmonk, the classic sound you speak of was produced by five guys in their 20s. The core of the group was three brothers.

Two of those five guys, and two of that core group of brothers, are dead.

The three remaining guys are nearly (or past) 70. Two extra guys have been added, but they're not relations and in their 60s too.

There is nothing to be regained. That sound was lost in the late 60s and cannot come back. Mortality and the passage of time is a bitch. But what can you do?

Nothing can be done, but do I have to like everything The Beach Boys do simply because it's The Beach Boys? It may be "good for what it is" but why do I have to care? What if I just don't like what it is? I don't think TWGMTR deserves any special praise. It's not really good in any objective way. If it wasn't by The Beach Boys I would never have bothered to listen to it.
I think you can talk yourself into liking it, and maybe in the context of all the reunion stuff it's wrapped up in you could say it was acceptable. But honestly, I don't care about it, it doesn't move me, it's a thousand miles away from when the band wrote and recorded touching music. In the absolute I simply don't like it, it doesn't appeal to me in any way shape or form.

That's pretty much how I feel.  It just isn't a good song.

You guys are talking about two different things-- whether it's a good song and whether it has the classic BBs sound vocally. I don't think it's the best song they've ever done, but for me, the harmonies save it. And in my opinion, while it isn't a great song, it's not terrible either.  And maybe also the idea that all the living BBs are singing together makes it even more appealing to me.
As for vocal blend, they haven't had that since Brian lost his falsetto in the 70s. Love You sounds like it has different singers than Pet Sounds. The fact that Jeff sings falsetto means that he voice dominates, and maybe that's why the reaction is so strong. Maybe if he sang in the middle range, people wouldn't object so much.

[Amy B.]

What "Los Angeles accent".  There's no Los Angeles accent.

I'm from the eastern U.S., am not a linguist, and have never been to LA, but there's definitely a California accent, or there was in that generation. (A lot of old-time child stars--including Shirley Temple--had it, it seems to me.) The Wilson brothers all had it, and Mike. There's a way of pronouncing the vowels that is different than in the East or Midwest (or South, obviously). And there's a real emphasis on R's (surrrrrrfin'). Mike might exaggerate it when he sings, but it's there when he talks, too. But as for Dave, I still can't pick him out in the song, so I don't know about his singing accent.

[the professor]

so thrilled with b00ts listing; I hear it like that exactly except:

"For fallin' in Love" in left channel - Jeff

No, I would maintain this is, as had been noted much earlier, Bruce, in his finest signature moment, eh?

best to all; this is so wonderful.

[UK_Surf]

Lyrics are pretty naff, but there's some ok moments in there, some good vocals. Mostly harmless, to quote the great Adams...

But what a fantastic event. How could any song live up to it? My hope is that there's a hidden BW gem lurking in there somewhere.