Just thought I'd compile what we know about the tunes on the album. A lot of this comes from the various Joe Thomas interviews, although some of it has been corroborated by Mike and various band members, along with Brian interviews from the last year or so.
Think About the DaysWritten in 2011, the day before the Do It Again session. Joe Thomas had the chords, and Brian wrote the melody and harmony parts. He and Jeff demoed it, and he surprised the guys with it the very next day. They recorded the song after Do It Again, and it became the starting point for the album sessions.
That's Why God Made the RadioFrom 1998. Joe ascribes the the title and chords to Brian. Other, earlier accounts from Jim Peterik have not mentioned BW. Whatever the case, Joe says this was a song Brian specifically set aside for the group. One of the first tunes on the album to have incorrect credits -- there is no mention of the prominent bari sax part.
Isn't It TimeSeems to have been written in February or March of this year, and was the last tune added to the album. Peterik and Millas came up with the rhythm, according to the VCStar piece, which I assume means they created the basic riff. Mike then came up with the bass part and verse, and Brian wrote the chorus. Peterik and Millas (who were in the Ides of March together) are the only credited musicians on the tune (well, Marks is too, but I'm dubious that he appears on the album). There does seem to be an uncredited piano part, though.
Spring VacationA 1998 song, originally titled "Lay Down Your Burden," and intended for Carl Wilson. The finished version has the second set of lyrics on the album by Mike, with the chorus crafted in only five minutes!
Organ by Scott Bennett and guitar by Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. (Baxter, by the way, played on Carl Wilson's Youngblood and chairs a congressional advisory board on missile defense.) The strangely mixed bridge (there seem to have been more words that are faded out) surely deserves some discussion.
The Private Life of Bill and SueBrian mentions writing this in a 2009 interview. Thomas says Brian wrote the verse and he (JT) wrote the chorus. The radio announcer and scenario of the song were all Brian's idea. The chorus features Jeff and Brian trading lines -- Jeff sings the geographical bits, and Brian answers him.
ShelterOriginating with an offhand statement by Brian as Joe drove him around LA (which likely dates this to 2011). Brian worked on it for a week or so and got very excited about the concept. It was one of the first songs he talked about in interviews last year. Jeff sings the entire chorus, and make sure to listen in later choruses for Brian's awesome syncopated backgrounds.
DaybreakA 1978 Mike Love solo composition, as remade in 2005. Most of that recording seems to remain, with BB voices added for the introduction. Mike is sped up, rather bizarrely, for about 20 seconds starting at 2:40.
Beaches in MindNot much has been said about the origins of this tune. You get more Skunk Baxter on guitar and Bennett on organ. The fourth and final song to feature Mike Love's words.
Strange WorldThe final third of the album (the mini suite) begins. According to Joe, this tune came from Brian's friendship with housekeeper / confidant Gloria Ramos. She's Columbian, and there's a bit of Spanish in the bridge. It was started in 1998. Nelson Bragg is featured on percussion.
From There to Back AgainNo one has mentioned the Hobbit connection, but it's surely there, right? Joe claims Brian wrote this song last year, although there weren't words for a long time. It was always meant for Al to sing. The arrangement is -- like the Gershwin and Disney albums -- very much a collaboration between Brian and Mertens (flutes and string arranging). My guess, frankly, is that a section or two dates earlier than last year. That's just how Brian works.
Pacific Coast HighwayAnother 1998 tune. Part of the 11-part My Life Suite that remains unfinished. (Six songs in the first half -- all incomplete -- and five in the second -- one incomplete.) More Mertens strings. The song was originally titled "My Life," according to Joe.
Summer's GoneThe verse and concept come from 1998. Brian's idea was that the last Beach Boys album should end with this song. During sessions for the record, Jon Bon Jovi was visiting and expanded the verse into a full song. Given that the verse repeats throughout, that means Bon Jovi is essentially the lyricist for the tune. Production note: Mike seems to have also recorded a lead vocal to the song, and he echoes Brian at several points. A very neat effect.
Anyway, a fascinating group of songs. It's interesting that, as much as people feared the album would all be retreads, nearly half of it (five songs) is all new, and even more tunes (at least three, and possibly four) were set aside specifically for the band.
Just thought it might be interesting to talk about the tracks specifically a bit, and see if anyone else had heard cool things.