Soulful Old Man Sunshine

[Margarita]

I think this song would have been lost on the 1969 audience, at least in the US.  It would have been a massive hit everywhere else. 

Personally, if this song had to be hidden away for so many years, at least we fans had the absolute joy of discovery the day Endless Harmony was released.  I still remember reading the posts on rec.music.artists.beach-boys and alt.music.beach-boys totally gushing over it. 

[Banana]

Well, the first time I heard it (on Endless Harmony) I was blown away.  This is a lost Beach Boys track?  It may have been cobbled together in 1993 or whatever...but the parts were there for a truly great song.

[Fro]

They still ought to release this as a single at some point, or get someone to place it on a movie soundtrack.

My mind is still boggled as to why they sat on this and didn't try to rerecord it.  It just screams hit.

[bossaroo]

the Endless Harmony soundtrack has so many absolute gems.

Soulful Old Man (both versions)
Humble Harv demo
Sail Plane Song
Breakaway demo
God Only Knows '67
Til I Die extended version

and I love me some WonderBill too.

[I. Spaceman]

Great song, but the wrong direction for the band. It sounds like the Spiral Staircase and other one-hit AM Top 40 bands of the era.

[bossaroo]

it's in the same vein as Breakaway, with the big swinging horn sound. probably wouldn't have been a huge hit but definitely should have been finished and released. not like they were having much luck finding the right direction in 1969 anyway.

[Ron]

I know it's a really unique sound, but I never bought the 'wrong direction' idea... it's not miles different from something like "I Can Hear Music", harmonies 10 feet deep, everything over the top, etc.  It was different but it's not like it was a country single or something. 

[hypehat]

Am I right in thinking completed multi tracks for this are missing for the verse?  The verse on all versions I've heard is mono.  Did that come from a rough mix?  Hang on, I'll just check AGD's site instead

Yeah, I think so - maybe check the Linett or Boyd threads here?

[SBonilla]

Great song, but the wrong direction for the band. It sounds like the Spiral Staircase and other one-hit AM Top 40 bands of the era.

Bingo! With 98.6's type melody in the verses.

[The Shift]

Great song, but the wrong direction for the band. It sounds like the Spiral Staircase and other one-hit AM Top 40 bands of the era.

There was a time when some though Pet Sounds was the wrong direction for the band! 

[runnersdialzero]

I don't feel it would have been a good direction for the band in terms of their entire sound becoming this, but as a one-off thing it's just great and absolutely deserved a spot on an album back then. I don't know about hit potential, but again, it's really frigging good and deserved a spot on an album.

*insert Rieley's "they blew it" quote*

[Jukka]

I think it's pointless to talk about directions with Beach Boys' golden era. Their albums were all over the place! All I Want To Do sitting snuggly next to The Nearest Faraway Place, and an album side starting with an ancient folk song ending with something as cutting edge as Cabinessence. And that's one of the reasons why I love them. Screw directions, let the music show the way!

[runnersdialzero]

I think it's pointless to talk about directions with Beach Boys' golden era. Their albums were all over the place! All I Want To Do sitting snuggly next to The Nearest Faraway Place, and an album side starting with an ancient folk song ending with something as cutting edge as Cabinessence. And that's one of the reasons why I love them. Screw directions, let the music show the way!

Good point - and all the better the case for this song having a spot on an album back then. Can't change history, obviously, but yeah. YEHAH#@HFiii

[LostArt]

I got a question.  Could it be that the version we've heard, wasn't ever completed back in the day?  For instance, maybe they never mixed it properly or something, so the boys never heard it in the beautiful unbelievable oh my f***ing god I can't believe they never released this version that we all know and love?  I know about the Carl vox mistake, but hell anybody could have touched that up, they could have even deleted that whole line if they couldn't have taped either a new line or just spliced in something from the other 100 times he says "Sun" in the song.  

IIRC, Brian and Rick Henn wrote the tune, but Rick did the track session - Brian then took it to the group, who weren't very enthusiastic (the fools!) so after some initial work they junked it. It was in bits and pieces in the vault (like, nothing approaching a finished mix of any of the elements). They assembled it (which apparently wasn't easy) for the 93 box, Carl wasn't happy with his vocal from back then - the flub, mostly - so it waited until Endless Harmony.

Carl's 'shunshine' flub was the reason that Carl didn't want the song on the '93 box, but I think he had issues with the song when it was recorded, which is why they never finished it in the first place.  I may be one of a very few here who thinks the song is just okay.  I like the big group harmony part, but I'm not fond of the 'feel' of the track.
 

[lance]

does anybody else hear drips?

[rab2591]

I used to love this song. Then AGD commented on how someone had told him this song sounds like an ad jingle for shampoo (or something like that). I can't listen to it any differently now.

[runnersdialzero]

does anybody else hear drips?

Yes. sh*t drives me crazy, as they sound much like a sound assigned to error messages on some super old version of a Mac or Windows OS - I think the former.

[CarlTheVoice]

Personally I don't like this song and don't think it would have been a hit. Just my opinion though!

[Cabinessenceking]

I love the song but at the time, it seems that the Beach Boys were sort of trying to present a hipper, earthier image, and I'm not sure if a song that jazzy and sunshiney would have been the smash you all seem convinced it would have been.

it sounds pretty much like it coulda been right next to Add Some Music To Your Day. And wasn't Al still working on Loop De Loop when this was recorded? Hah, the fool!

[joshferrell]

I used to love this song. Then AGD commented on how someone had told him this song sounds like an ad jingle for shampoo (or something like that). I can't listen to it any differently now.

Yes....Thoughts of  Old men in the shower washing their hair while the sun shines on them while humming stevie wonder,,hhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

I used to love this song. Then AGD commented on how someone had told him this song sounds like an ad jingle for shampoo (or something like that). I can't listen to it any differently now.

Yes....Thoughts of  Old men in the shower washing their hair while the sun shines on them while humming stevie wonder,,hhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Whatever turns you on.

[bgas]

I used to love this song. Then AGD commented on how someone had told him this song sounds like an ad jingle for shampoo (or something like that). I can't listen to it any differently now.

Yes....Thoughts of  Old men in the shower washing their hair while the sun shines on them while humming stevie wonder,,hhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Whatever turns you on.

Ahhh, is that AGD in the shower?

[Mr. Cohen]

Imagine an A/B single with "Soulful Ol' Man Sunshine"/"Loop De Loop". The charts literally would've exploded, a release of Icarus proportions.

But no, these chumps left that in the can and released a Bruce Johnston tune as a single. It's a crazy world...

[Nicko1234]

This one sounds more Rick Henn than Beach Boys to me. If Murry had produced the group then I think this is what it would have sounded like.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Imagine an A/B single with "Soulful Ol' Man Sunshine"/"Loop De Loop". The charts literally would've exploded, a release of Icarus proportions.

Talk about wishful thinking.