Adrian Baker ?

[D409]

What's the general consensus about Adrian Baker's contributions to the BB's over the years ? Having had around 3 stints in the touring band, was he any good ? If not, how come they toured with him for so long ? What led to his departure in 2004 ?

[Runaways]

super amazingly awesome bad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNV-eve42M0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4l4aqDeR18

he's much better suited for four seasons songs.

[D409]

super amazingly awesome bad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNV-eve42M0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4l4aqDeR18

Mmm...that version of Don't Worry Baby is testicle-wrenchingly bad !

[PaulTMA]

Everything you need to know about the man, from 2 mins 25 seconds in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVrbpgz37tk

[Wah Wah Wah Ooooo]

super amazingly awesome bad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNV-eve42M0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4l4aqDeR18

Mmm...that version of Don't Worry Baby is testicle-wrenchingly bad !

I think every person that ever sang falsetto for the Beach Boys was better than Adrian Baker.  I don't even know if he'd sound good on Four Seasons songs either, as has been suggested. His voice just sucks.  Brian, Bruce, Al, Carl, Matt, Jeff...all better singers than Baker. I will never, ever, ever understand what appealed to Mike et al about this guy. Awful.

[Rocker]

super amazingly awesome bad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNV-eve42M0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4l4aqDeR18

Mmm...that version of Don't Worry Baby is testicle-wrenchingly bad !

I think every person that ever sang falsetto for the Beach Boys was better than Adrian Baker.  I don't even know if he'd sound good on Four Seasons songs either, as has been suggested. His voice just sucks.  Brian, Bruce, Al, Carl, Matt, Jeff...all better singers than Baker. I will never, ever, ever understand what appealed to Mike et al about this guy. Awful.

I will never understand why Carl let him back into the band after kicking him out when he (Carl) returned

[Cliff1000uk]

Everything you need to know about the man, from 2 mins 25 seconds in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVrbpgz37tk

Paul-I've never seen that with The Gorky's. They had a song on their album, Patio, that was about Adrian Baker called Mr Groovy. A massively underrated band and much missed

[Andrew G. Doe]

What's the general consensus about Adrian Baker's contributions to the BB's over the years ? Having had around 3 stints in the touring band, was he any good ? If not, how come they toured with him for so long ? What led to his departure in 2004 ?

Baker's contributions to the band were not in anyway meaningful. His falsetto grated. His departure in 2004 was related to his not begin exactly a team player, I've heard.

[Michael Edwards Love]

To give the guy his props, he really does sound like Frankie Valli.  But, I agree he was totally inappropriate on the Brian/Carl parts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Dc5ldEISY

[southbay]

He just plain sucked, period. And he wore horrible Hawaiian shirts on stage while doing it. When Matt Jardine replaced him in 2003 it was like we had been delivered out of the desert

[JanBerryFarm]

Too bad they can't find a singer who sounds like Brian (once did). It's not Foskett.

It's one thing to hit the notes. It's another to have 'the whine'.

[Autotune]

What's the general consensus about Adrian Baker's contributions to the BB's over the years ? Having had around 3 stints in the touring band, was he any good ? If not, how come they toured with him for so long ? What led to his departure in 2004 ?

Much beloved, as you've seen.

[keysarsoze001]

Too bad they can't find a singer who sounds like Brian (once did). It's not Foskett.

It's one thing to hit the notes. It's another to have 'the whine'.

Bingo.

[AndrewHickey]

Almost always off-pitch, horribly mutilated vowel sounds from an Englishman trying to sound American, a terrible record producer (as his remakes with Mike show)... basically he was everything the worst Foskett-basher claims Jeff is.

Notably, Mike's band started getting actually *good* once he was replaced with Randell Kirsch (and then got even better when Cowsill switched to drums, replacing Kowalski -- but the difference is that Kowalski had once had some ability. Baker never did.)

That said, I've generally not heard many bad things about him as a person, so maybe that's why he was able to join the band on multiple occasions.

[HeyJude]

Surprisingly, from the recorded evidence I've heard, Baker sounded the worst during his 1981 stint. The stuff from 1990-91 isn't too bad, just extremely nasaly and whiney. When they brought Matt Jardine on full time, that was definitely much better.

It was a bit off-putting in the late 90's and early 2000's that he was singing "Sherry" at Beach Boys concerts and whatnot. The whole deal a few years back when they "traded" Baker to "Papa Doo Run Run" for Randell Kirsch was kind of weird. It ultimately apparently made Mike's band better, but I remember reading comments and reports from around that time that were kind of weird in terms of the circumstances of all of that.

[SMiLE Brian]

Frankie Valli doing BBs covers....

[JanBerryFarm]

I would Much rather have heard the Beach Boys doing Four Seasons covers than Frankie Valli singing Beach Boy covers.

That's for sure.

[SIP.FLAC]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9BKCF5bwqU&feature=related perfectly fine in this context. Not with the Beach Boys.

[SIP.FLAC]

Though I quite like his vocal on Hot Fun in the Summertime (I assume its him).

[Nicko1234]

Adrian Baker leaving the BB touring band was the best thing that had happened to the group in some years. Ironic now that some people at the time were complaining,  " another long term member leaves...what a joke!"

The studio recordings that Mike and Adrian Baker did are also truly awful. The worst stuff that Mike has recorded imo (yes, worse than Summer in Paradise).

Having said that, I believe that Adrian Baker did do the vocal arrangements on Cool Head, Warm Heart and some other stuff so maybe there were traces of talent there.

[Aegir]

The stuff from Mike's solo album sound good but nothing else Adrian Baker ever touched sounds good. I think one of the worst things about Summer in Paradise is the vocal blend.

[Rocker]

Having said that, I believe that Adrian Baker did do the vocal arrangements on Cool Head, Warm Heart and some other stuff so maybe there were traces of talent there.

If he did "Cool head..." then he probably did "Daybreak over..." as well. He did totally ruin "The warmth of the sun" on "Symphonic sounds". If you compare that awfully exaggerated thing to the original (or another tastefully done rendition - Murry's for example), you'll understand just how awful his work for the Beach Boys was. Again, I can't understand how Carl would let him back again after he throw him out of the band in '82(?).

[Pretty Funky]

When Matt Jardine replaced him in 2003 it was like we had been delivered out of the desert

In what group was this?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Having said that, I believe that Adrian Baker did do the vocal arrangements on Cool Head, Warm Heart and some other stuff so maybe there were traces of talent there.

If he did "Cool head..." then he probably did "Daybreak over..." as well.

Nope. Paul Fauerso, like the credits say. 

[Rocker]

Having said that, I believe that Adrian Baker did do the vocal arrangements on Cool Head, Warm Heart and some other stuff so maybe there were traces of talent there.

If he did "Cool head..." then he probably did "Daybreak over..." as well.

Nope. Paul Fauerso, like the credits say. 

Good point