How would Brian sound now if he hadn't ruined his voice?

[Jukka]

How do you think Brian would sound now if he hadn't ruined his voice in the 70's? Would he still have his amazing falsetto fully intact? If he had stayed Landy-free, I assume his phrasing would be a whole lot better. Would he be still able to hit those highs? Would his voice resemble latterday Carl? Would Foskett be currently unemployed?

McCartney and some others have their classic voice still going strong, but then again Macca's trademark voice was not falsetto/head voice. Hmm. Are there any kick-ass falsetto guys around who still can deliver when in their 70's?

[cablegeddon]

Fun question, impossible to answer. Fact: Brian has not been a fan of his falsetto for a long long time.

[Smilin Ed H]

Better. 

[Runaways]

I think they might have the lower the key on songs, but he'd sound like Brian.  i think the beach boys would have maintained a lil more popularity over the years too

[cablegeddon]

Better. 

That's subjective

[Autotune]

listen to Four Freshmen recordings/performances from the 80s. Probably, he'd sound like Bob Flanigan does there (he was born in 1926 I think). By the way, Flanigan was a smoker and had to reach for those high notes right from the start.

[SMiLE Brian]

Wouldn't he sound like Carl did in the 1990s because of their vocal similarities?

[Autotune]

. Are there any kick-ass falsetto guys around who still can deliver when in their 70's?

Gibb, probably.
Valli lip-synchs.

[HighOnLife]

I don't think Brian would sound much different than he does now.

[Autotune]

Oh, Bruce Johnston can sing falsetto at 69!

[Runaways]

I think Brian had a better voice than Carl and one of the better voices of the 60s.  Just looking at his peers, i think he'd sound pretty close to his old self.

[startBBtoday]

Wouldn't he sound like Carl did in the 1990s because of their vocal similarities?

That's a tough comparison to make, Brian's almost 70, Carl was in his 40s in the 90s.

[EgoHanger1966]

Lou Christie is fairly good at recapturing some of his falsetto parts.

Jay Siegal (The Tokens) can sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" perfectly, like he did in 1961 - he does it in the original key, too! I've seen him live twice.

[Smilin Ed H]

The question was asked and I answered it.  I could do without his occasional awkward phrasing and those moments where he ends tersely because he doesn't seem to have the breath.  Brian's range was far greater in the past and he wouldn't need Jeff to cover, even if he couldn't hit the high notes as sweet as he could. How does Al sound now, for example?

[Lookit]

I think in the last few years Brian has really recaptured the sweetness of his voice, and that we're not far off from what he would have sounded like were it not for the 70's/80's. Personally I don't hear any of 60's Brian in 80's/90's Brian, at all: it could be a totally different singer. I felt in moments of LOS and particularly the Disney album that you could hear his classic tone come through, and that most people would recognise it as the same guy who sang on the classic recordings.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

He would sound exactly like this

http://www.rollingstone.com/videos/rs-live/beach-boys-play-their-classics-legends-perform-in-rolling-stone-studio-20120606#ooid=Q3bHZ4NDo_1-xNPNYqIWzJPgrMy8T2-1,VtNnZ4NDrWk7FW04DgN3T7jIiNBY9Fsx

Check out Surfer Girl's bridge.

[Dwayne]

I think on the "Imagination" album, his voice was the sweetest I'd ever heard up to that point and especially the verses of "Keep an Eye on Summer" his voice sounded just like his young self from the 60's-just a lower key.  His classic falsetto was all over the single "Getcha Back" in 1985 and was a dead ringer for the young Brian.

[anazgnos]

The 70s just damaged his vocal cords, but the 80s damaged his ability to sing well.  Today I think you hear a lot more 80s in his voice than 70s.  He probably has a wider range and an overall smoother quality to his singing today than he did at his worst in '76-'81, but he also has the post-1982 problems with tonality & pitch and slurriness.  In other words if it was just about the damage from cigarettes and whatever else in the 70s that originally cost him his falsetto, he would, and did, recover from that.

[seltaeb1012002]

The 70s just damaged his vocal cords, but the 80s damaged his ability to sing well.  Today I think you hear a lot more 80s in his voice than 70s.  He probably has a wider range and an overall smoother quality to his singing today than he did at his worst in '76-'81, but he also has the post-1982 problems with tonality & pitch and slurriness.  In other words if it was just about the damage from cigarettes and whatever else in the 70s that originally cost him his falsetto, he would, and did, recover from that.

Wow, good point. Up until 1980 (?) his speaking voice still sounded pretty close to young Brian.

The Don't Worry Baby clip from 1981 shows signs of the slurring, IIRC.

[Sheriff John Stone]

He would sound exactly like this

http://www.rollingstone.com/videos/rs-live/beach-boys-play-their-classics-legends-perform-in-rolling-stone-studio-20120606#ooid=Q3bHZ4NDo_1-xNPNYqIWzJPgrMy8T2-1,VtNnZ4NDrWk7FW04DgN3T7jIiNBY9Fsx

Check out Surfer Girl's bridge.

Wow, I loved that tender bridge. It's funny, but it used to be that Brian shouted to reach certain notes. Now, it seems that he goes "tender" or mellow to reach the notes. Obviously, the latter way sounds much better.

[pixletwin]

On both the Gershwin and the Disney albums, to my ears, his phrasing and timbre sounds like 60's Brian grown old. Plus, as was linked above, his performance on the Rolling Stone link really bring this point home.

[Fro]

He would have sounded pretty darn close to young Brian up until a few years ago, at which point he might have lost a little bit.

He wouldn't sound like Carl... Brian's tenor voice was mature by the time of Smile/Pet Sounds (and certainly by the time "Good Time" was recorded).  We got to hear Carl's voice develop over the years.

Brian doesn't sing with the same kind of soul, either.  Maybe he would have developed that had he been differently mentally.  Obviously, if Brian would have been out singing for 50 years on the road and constantly refining his technique he might sound different now.

Jay Siegel still has his falsetto at 80 or so, as people have mentioned.  A lot of it is just good technique and taking care of your voice.  Generally you're going to lose some power/range as you age and maybe some pitch if your hearing goes.  Macca's finally lost a little bit over the last few years but he sounded perfect still up until that point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqyHz3hhfvU

[MBE]

At the show I saw Brian sounded a lot like his sixties self but only the lower end of his range. Still never thought I would hear him perform so well.

[TheLazenby]

Actually, Barry Gibb can't usually hit the falsetto anymore - once he started having back troubles in the mid-90's, it became a lot more difficult.

But honestly..... what does it matter now?

[Chris Brown]

Honestly, I don't think he'd sound much different.  I think the bigger difference would be made if you took away the damage Landy did during his second tenure.  The slurring has a big impact on the overall sound of his voice, but the sweet tone is still there, especially in the last few years.