Amazon (and iTunes!!!) samples are up

[Ron]

I have yet to fathom how the Beach Boys have made their choices of what to release and what to reject over the years, but I imagine a blind man and a dartboard were involved...

I think what it comes down to is, they're all amatuers.  Self taught... pretty relaxed and laid back about their careers and their places in pop culture... and Brian was always one to write and record completely outside of the norm, but somehow make it commercially viable (sometimes!). 

So they've never, ever been good businessmen.  Their idea of good business sense is to charge one of them to use the name.  While that is a good idea, it just shows that they've only scratched the surface of what they could be doing, and the money they could be making. 

[drbeachboy]

I think I'll wait to hear the full songs before I start giving opinions on what worked and what didn't.

You do that, and also while you're at it, don't worry about what the f*ck I think or say.  

Why so testy? Just saying it is really hard to tell how good or bad these songs are by these small snippets.

Please.  You don't think your remark was a little smart?

Yes, but it wasn't meant that way. I listened to them twice through and I coudn't tell whether anything was good or bad enough to rate. I've already posted that I liked the 3 full songs that I have heard. Some folks are rating with numbers based on 10 second snippets. It seems a bit premature to do so. Of the nine snippets only, my first impression was that it wasn't quite what I expected to hear.

[Justin]

Still not having heard the clips (I'm still hanging on, heysaboda!  ) but just going by everyone's comments it seems that the album is looking very promising.  With that in mind, I'm almost hoping that they don't come up with another album to follow this.  If this album is as great as it appears to be--I would love for this to be the band's swan song.  With the final song being titled "Summer's Gone" and apparently the album ending with a very, very appropo "sound" signaling "the end"--I think it would be very risky to gamble it all away by putting out yet another album.  It'll be hard to juggle success with integrity.  I hope they make the right decision.

[I. Spaceman]

Okay, I find it increasingly hard to believe that any of these songs were "Imagination-rejects".  

From an interview with Brian, May 1st of this year:

"Most of the stuff I wrote in 1998 with my collaborator Joe Thomas. [Until now], the guys had never heard it before. They love it. They think it’s great stuff."

[southbay]

Hmm, really quite surprising that in 2012 with the Smile SEssions, the reunion tour and a new album a great proportion of Smiley Smilers seem to be angrier than at any time I can recall. Makes little sense to me.

[Runaways]

Okay, I find it increasingly hard to believe that any of these songs were "Imagination-rejects".  

From an interview with Brian, May 1st of this year:

"Brian Wilson) “Most of the stuff I wrote in 1998 with my collaborator Joe Thomas. [Until now], the guys had never heard it before. They love it. They think it’s great stuff."

that doesn't necessarily mean they were cast offs.  They could have been written during and after the recording of imagination and still fallen within 1998.  just as easily they could be cast offs i suppose

[EgoHanger1966]

Spring Vacation has been stuck in my head for a good portion of the day, and I just listened to it again, and I think I actually like it!!!
These things are earworms.

[southbay]

Still not having heard the clips (I'm still hanging on, heysaboda!  ) but just going by everyone's comments it seems that the album is looking very promising.  With that in mind, I'm almost hoping that they don't come up with another album to follow this.  If this album is as great as it appears to be--I would love for this to be the band's swan song.  With the final song being titled "Summer's Gone" and apparently the album ending with a very, very appropo "sound" signaling "the end"--I think it would be very risky to gamble it all away by putting out yet another album.  It'll be hard to juggle success with integrity.  I hope they make the right decision.

Agreed. But they've never made the right decision before. Seems like they might have this time, though, finally...

[Ron]

Still not having heard the clips (I'm still hanging on, heysaboda!  ) but just going by everyone's comments it seems that the album is looking very promising.  With that in mind, I'm almost hoping that they don't come up with another album to follow this.  If this album is as great as it appears to be--I would love for this to be the band's swan song.  With the final song being titled "Summer's Gone" and apparently the album ending with a very, very appropo "sound" signaling "the end"--I think it would be very risky to gamble it all away by putting out yet another album.  It'll be hard to juggle success with integrity.  I hope they make the right decision.

I can understand your thoughts (don't want another end to the story)... but eventually Justin, everybody dies in a bed alone.  The end is always bad.  

So my opinion on it is, I hope they make music as long as they want to, even if it's bad.  And I hope they live as long as they want to, even if nothing's perfect....

None of that will diminish my appreciation of this album if it ends up being good (and it appears it's going to be!)

[I. Spaceman]

Okay, I find it increasingly hard to believe that any of these songs were "Imagination-rejects".  

From an interview with Brian, May 1st of this year:

"Brian Wilson) “Most of the stuff I wrote in 1998 with my collaborator Joe Thomas. [Until now], the guys had never heard it before. They love it. They think it’s great stuff."

that doesn't necessarily mean they were cast offs.  They could have been written during and after the recording of imagination and still fallen within 1998.  just as easily they could be cast offs i suppose

No, they are not outtakes, they were written for Brian's next album after Imagination.

[Ron]

Spring Vacation has been stuck in my head for a good portion of the day, and I just listened to it again, and I think I actually like it!!!
These things are earworms.

I know, right?  And we've only heard small, seemingly randomly snipped snippets!  Spring Vacation sounds MUCH better than I thought it would, the verse in particular that we hear the tail end of sounds really really good. 

I hope everybody's right and it's the worst song on the album, we'll be in for a treat!

[Wirestone]

Okay, I find it increasingly hard to believe that any of these songs were "Imagination-rejects".  

From an interview with Brian, May 1st of this year:

"Brian Wilson) “Most of the stuff I wrote in 1998 with my collaborator Joe Thomas. [Until now], the guys had never heard it before. They love it. They think it’s great stuff."

that doesn't necessarily mean they were cast offs.  They could have been written during and after the recording of imagination and still fallen within 1998.  just as easily they could be cast offs i suppose

In the same interview, Brian suggests that Think About the Days, Bill and Sue and Shelter were all newly written. He then says that That's Why God Made the Radio was finished up by him and Joe last year. So that's a third of the album that was newly written or newly finished by Brian in the last year or so.

[Ron]

I'll also remind everybody that Brian Wilson is by any definition insane and doesn't always mean what he says.  If we were throwing a percentage at the truthfullness of things he says in interviews, the percentage would look like an 8. 

[EgoHanger1966]

Spring Vacation has been stuck in my head for a good portion of the day, and I just listened to it again, and I think I actually like it!!!
These things are earworms.

I know, right?  And we've only heard small, seemingly randomly snipped snippets!  Spring Vacation sounds MUCH better than I thought it would, the verse in particular that we hear the tail end of sounds really really good. 

I hope everybody's right and it's the worst song on the album, we'll be in for a treat!

Just so you know (it sounds like you might not), the whole song was played on a foreign radio station and is 'making the rounds' along with Think About The Days.

[Ron]

Oh O.K., I didn't realize that.  I'm going to hold off on listening to anything but the snippets I think, however. 

[drbeachboy]

Spring Vacation has been stuck in my head for a good portion of the day, and I just listened to it again, and I think I actually like it!!!
These things are earworms.

I know, right?  And we've only heard small, seemingly randomly snipped snippets!  Spring Vacation sounds MUCH better than I thought it would, the verse in particular that we hear the tail end of sounds really really good.  

I hope everybody's right and it's the worst song on the album, we'll be in for a treat!

Ron, have you heard the full version? Very catchy song, I've been singing it for 2 days now. People at work must think I'm nuts.

[Ron]

Gonna be a good night, we're all trampling over each other's convos again!  lol  You know it's good by the time you post 3 people have alread posted and you have to read it all again. 

[Justin]

But they've never made the right decision before.

Ha..I was just thinking that too.  Maybe it would be best if they followed tradition?? 

I can understand your thoughts (don't want another end to the story)... but eventually Justin, everybody dies in a bed alone.  The end is always bad. 

So my opinion on it is, I hope they make music as long as they want to, even if it's bad.  And I hope they live as long as they want to, even if nothing's perfect....

None of that will diminish my appreciation of this album if it ends up being good (and it appears it's going to be!)

Yeah, see...I want them to keep making music too.  Lord knows if Brian somehow makes the decision to permanently use the Beach Boys as his main outlet for music--I'm not gonna protest!  The tone of this album appears to be the "one more ride...for old time's sake" kind of thing, so I think it puts huge pressure on that next album to be better than this one.  But you're right...whatever...if they want to continue writing and singing songs together...I'll be there to listen.

[I. Spaceman]

Okay, I find it increasingly hard to believe that any of these songs were "Imagination-rejects".  

From an interview with Brian, May 1st of this year:

"Brian Wilson) “Most of the stuff I wrote in 1998 with my collaborator Joe Thomas. [Until now], the guys had never heard it before. They love it. They think it’s great stuff."

that doesn't necessarily mean they were cast offs.  They could have been written during and after the recording of imagination and still fallen within 1998.  just as easily they could be cast offs i suppose

In the same interview, Brian suggests that Think About the Days, Bill and Sue and Shelter were all newly written. He then says that That's Why God Made the Radio was finished up by him and Joe last year. So that's a third of the album that was newly written or newly finished by Brian in the last year or so.

Yeah, so if you take those out, along with Mike's track, that leaves 7. Brian is known to be contradictory across interviews, so that could affect the scenario either way. More or less could be new or old. But I believe most of it is old, as he said.

[I. Spaceman]

I'll also remind everybody that Brian Wilson is by any definition insane and doesn't always mean what he says.  If we were throwing a percentage at the truthfullness of things he says in interviews, the percentage would look like an 8. 

Maybe, but I would trust his statements more than I'd trust those of fans.

[Ron]

I'd trust his statements more than fans too.  Just saying though.  He's crazy. 

[Summertime Blooz]

Still not having heard the clips (I'm still hanging on, heysaboda!  ) but just going by everyone's comments it seems that the album is looking very promising.  With that in mind, I'm almost hoping that they don't come up with another album to follow this.  If this album is as great as it appears to be--I would love for this to be the band's swan song.  With the final song being titled "Summer's Gone" and apparently the album ending with a very, very appropo "sound" signaling "the end"--I think it would be very risky to gamble it all away by putting out yet another album.  It'll be hard to juggle success with integrity.  I hope they make the right decision.

Not like I expect them to do another album after this, but I hope they don't unless they're sure they can  top TWGMTR.

[Wirestone]

FWIW, I suspect that whatever Joe and Brian worked on in '98 was rather fragmentary. I don't doubt that a good 60 percent or more of the raw material comes from then, but let's break it down a bit --

Newly composed:
Think About the Days (not hard, given that it's essentially a melodic fragment)
Shelter
The Private Life of Bill and Sue

Old Mike Love song:
Daybreak over the Ocean

Started in 98, finished in 2011:
That's Why God Made the Radio

New Mike Love lyrics added in 2011:
Spring Vacation
Beaches in Mind
Isn't It Time

Possibly dating from Joe-Bon Jovi collaboration in '07
Summer's Gone

Other songs, possibly completed in '98:
Strange World
From There to Back Again
Summer's Gone

So it's a grab bag. But a lot has been added or changed for this album. It's kind of a patchwork quilt, so it will be interesting to see how it hangs together.

And, of course, it could be that most of the melody lines on the album turn up as Brian piano improvisations on a Smile tape from '66. You never know.

[EgoHanger1966]

I highly doubt The Private Life of Bill and Sue and Shelter were newly composed - the backing tracks (and even Bri's vocal on the former) sound the most like Imagination/Joe Thomas 1998 sessions to me out of all of the samples.

[Wirestone]

I highly doubt The Private Life of Bill and Sue and Shelter were newly composed - the backing tracks (and even Bri's vocal on the former) sound the most like Imagination/Joe Thomas 1998 sessions to me out of all of the samples.

We'll have to see what the credits say, but I strongly suspect that the entire album is newly recorded. Vocals and instruments. So what the tracks sound like isn't that relevant IMO. Perhaps those are simply the couple of songs that Joe and Brian recorded in Illinois with Joe's session guys last year.

Given that Brian had never talked about those songs before -- and just started touting them within the last year -- I believe they are new. Plus, he says so in the interview from this month.

http://s3.excoboard.com/therecordroom/54492/907333/4

(Please direct patronage over to the RR -- it is, as frequently stated here, excellent.