any new info on another new BB album?

[DonnyL]

The new album is as much a Joe Thomas record as it is anyone else's, perhaps even more his than anyone's. His credit, 'Recorded by' is totally fabricated to give BW the production credit. I think this is something people seem to be missing: he is not the engineer or the producer, so what is he? What does 'Recorded by' even mean? As noted above, he co-wrote every song. For all we know he wrote most of the songs based around riffs BW had lying around (that's what it seems like to me). And the whole thing sounds like JT trying to sound like the Beach Boys.

Somehow, despite the odds, 'From Here to Back Again' works ... and there are moments of that '80s Beach Boys sparkle, but ... Bon Jovi wrote a song on this record.

[Jim V.]

The new album is as much a Joe Thomas record as it is anyone else's, perhaps even more his than anyone's. His credit, 'Recorded by' is totally fabricated to give BW the production credit. I think this is something people seem to be missing: he is not the engineer or the producer, so what is he? What does 'Recorded by' even mean? As noted above, he co-wrote every song. For all we know he wrote most of the songs based around riffs BW had lying around (that's what it seems like to me). And the whole thing sounds like JT trying to sound like the Beach Boys.

Somehow, despite the odds, 'From Here to Back Again' works ... and there are moments of that '80s Beach Boys sparkle, but ... Bon Jovi wrote a song on this record.

Meh. I usually agree with you Donny, but I personally think you are wayyyy too tough on this album. If you heard "Summer's Gone" and didn't know the songwriters, I highly doubt you'd guess Jon Bon Jovi was a co-writer. And I think the "'80s Beach Boys sparkle" thing is a backhanded compliment, but whatever.

And I think getting pissy over whether Brian "produced" it is kinda useless. I honestly don't think they sell one more record by saying Brian produced something, rather than saying whoever else did. Pretty much everybody involved in the project refers to Brian as the producer, and in the Rolling Stone article on the group, it definitely gave me the image of Brian as the head producer, the leader, or whatever. You had Brian doing his thing and Al asking him if they could work on "Waves of Love". Of course, Brian didn't want to, so it didn't get worked on. He made the big decisions and therefore is the producer. That's what the album says and all evidence points to it being the truth. Therefore, it's a Brian production. I think people get so hung up on the fact that they think if Brian really produced a new album it would sound like Love You or something, and that he is being coerced into these projects. Now, I don't know about his last few solo albums, but if you read the background info about That's Why God Made The Radio, you would notice it was basically Brian would facilitated the entire thing, with him getting back together with Joe Thomas to gather up some songs for the album, demoing them, presenting them to Capitol with the insistence that this material be on a new Beach Boys album, getting Mike Love involved, etc. This was Brian's baby, whether we like it or not.

And although I'd prefer if Brian and the boys were still writing and performing at the level they were on Pet Sounds, Wild Honey, and Sunflower, I understand that people get older and environments change and therefore, so does the output.

Therefore, I feel that basically Brian put out the album that he wanted to. And I hope we get a new Beach Boys album next year! And the year after that. The guy still brings the goods, regardless of co-writer or whatever.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

But... You've been proven wrong.

In 2008, Brian recorded demos for TLOS, that sound almost stylistically the same as Love You.

[Jim V.]

But... You've been proven wrong.

In 2008, Brian recorded demos for TLOS, that sound almost stylistically the same as Love You.

Not to these ears. They are rougher than TLOS, but nothing like Love You. And there's not moogs buzzing all over the place or anything. And he didn't release those demos as a final product either, did he? That's not how he rolls anymore. I'd wager to say he prefers a slicker sound.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

The outtakes, though...man, as much as I love TLOS the album, the outtakes are just as good! Those have more of a Love You feel, if not in style, then in attitude. Comparing his love for his woman like a dog waits for his master...if that was Brian's lyric (and I've yet to hear otherwise, as Brian apparently has been writing lyrics more often over the past 6 years, such as his work on TWGMTR), then it is rather revealing...

[Ron]

The new album is as much a Joe Thomas record as it is anyone else's, perhaps even more his than anyone's. His credit, 'Recorded by' is totally fabricated to give BW the production credit. I think this is something people seem to be missing: he is not the engineer or the producer, so what is he? What does 'Recorded by' even mean? As noted above, he co-wrote every song. For all we know he wrote most of the songs based around riffs BW had lying around (that's what it seems like to me). And the whole thing sounds like JT trying to sound like the Beach Boys.

Somehow, despite the odds, 'From Here to Back Again' works ... and there are moments of that '80s Beach Boys sparkle, but ... Bon Jovi wrote a song on this record.

Why don't you forget all that sh*t , and just enjoy the album? 

Sex is really fun too if you don't think so much about it.  You ought to try that sometime. 

Also you have fun on the Beach if you walk around not worrying about how you look with your shirt off.

Kisses are better when you don't worry about whether or not your breath is fresh.
















Or you could just overthink everything and worry about which parts of which song which human being wrote. 

[Micha]

But... You've been proven wrong.

In 2008, Brian recorded demos for TLOS, that sound almost stylistically the same as Love You.

I've never heard them. Does that mean they have single snares with no bass drum on them?

As I'm one of the few here who doesn't like the sound of Love You (the songs are good) your post now makes me think the whole Love You album sounds like demos.

Interestingly, someone posted here once posted "Isn't It Time" reminded him of Love You. I love "Isn't It Time", but it reminds me rather of the "Landlocked" boot, which I love. That shows how subjective this all is.

[DonnyL]

The new album is as much a Joe Thomas record as it is anyone else's, perhaps even more his than anyone's. His credit, 'Recorded by' is totally fabricated to give BW the production credit. I think this is something people seem to be missing: he is not the engineer or the producer, so what is he? What does 'Recorded by' even mean? As noted above, he co-wrote every song. For all we know he wrote most of the songs based around riffs BW had lying around (that's what it seems like to me). And the whole thing sounds like JT trying to sound like the Beach Boys.

Somehow, despite the odds, 'From Here to Back Again' works ... and there are moments of that '80s Beach Boys sparkle, but ... Bon Jovi wrote a song on this record.

Meh. I usually agree with you Donny, but I personally think you are wayyyy too tough on this album. If you heard "Summer's Gone" and didn't know the songwriters, I highly doubt you'd guess Jon Bon Jovi was a co-writer. And I think the "'80s Beach Boys sparkle" thing is a backhanded compliment, but whatever.

And I think getting pissy over whether Brian "produced" it is kinda useless. I honestly don't think they sell one more record by saying Brian produced something, rather than saying whoever else did. Pretty much everybody involved in the project refers to Brian as the producer, and in the Rolling Stone article on the group, it definitely gave me the image of Brian as the head producer, the leader, or whatever. You had Brian doing his thing and Al asking him if they could work on "Waves of Love". Of course, Brian didn't want to, so it didn't get worked on. He made the big decisions and therefore is the producer. That's what the album says and all evidence points to it being the truth. Therefore, it's a Brian production. I think people get so hung up on the fact that they think if Brian really produced a new album it would sound like Love You or something, and that he is being coerced into these projects. Now, I don't know about his last few solo albums, but if you read the background info about That's Why God Made The Radio, you would notice it was basically Brian would facilitated the entire thing, with him getting back together with Joe Thomas to gather up some songs for the album, demoing them, presenting them to Capitol with the insistence that this material be on a new Beach Boys album, getting Mike Love involved, etc. This was Brian's baby, whether we like it or not.

And although I'd prefer if Brian and the boys were still writing and performing at the level they were on Pet Sounds, Wild Honey, and Sunflower, I understand that people get older and environments change and therefore, so does the output.

Therefore, I feel that basically Brian put out the album that he wanted to. And I hope we get a new Beach Boys album next year! And the year after that. The guy still brings the goods, regardless of co-writer or whatever.

Fair points ... but I think Brian Wilson is the greatest record producer of all time, and I also think he's fully capable of producing another album. It just doesn't sound like this is it to me.

[DonnyL]

The new album is as much a Joe Thomas record as it is anyone else's, perhaps even more his than anyone's. His credit, 'Recorded by' is totally fabricated to give BW the production credit. I think this is something people seem to be missing: he is not the engineer or the producer, so what is he? What does 'Recorded by' even mean? As noted above, he co-wrote every song. For all we know he wrote most of the songs based around riffs BW had lying around (that's what it seems like to me). And the whole thing sounds like JT trying to sound like the Beach Boys.

Somehow, despite the odds, 'From Here to Back Again' works ... and there are moments of that '80s Beach Boys sparkle, but ... Bon Jovi wrote a song on this record.

Why don't you forget all that sh*t , and just enjoy the album? 

Sex is really fun too if you don't think so much about it.  You ought to try that sometime. 

Also you have fun on the Beach if you walk around not worrying about how you look with your shirt off.

Kisses are better when you don't worry about whether or not your breath is fresh.
















Or you could just overthink everything and worry about which parts of which song which human being wrote. 

That would be great advice if the record sounded good.

Not sure what you're getting at with the other weird comments.

[Jim V.]

The new album is as much a Joe Thomas record as it is anyone else's, perhaps even more his than anyone's. His credit, 'Recorded by' is totally fabricated to give BW the production credit. I think this is something people seem to be missing: he is not the engineer or the producer, so what is he? What does 'Recorded by' even mean? As noted above, he co-wrote every song. For all we know he wrote most of the songs based around riffs BW had lying around (that's what it seems like to me). And the whole thing sounds like JT trying to sound like the Beach Boys.

Somehow, despite the odds, 'From Here to Back Again' works ... and there are moments of that '80s Beach Boys sparkle, but ... Bon Jovi wrote a song on this record.

Meh. I usually agree with you Donny, but I personally think you are wayyyy too tough on this album. If you heard "Summer's Gone" and didn't know the songwriters, I highly doubt you'd guess Jon Bon Jovi was a co-writer. And I think the "'80s Beach Boys sparkle" thing is a backhanded compliment, but whatever.

And I think getting pissy over whether Brian "produced" it is kinda useless. I honestly don't think they sell one more record by saying Brian produced something, rather than saying whoever else did. Pretty much everybody involved in the project refers to Brian as the producer, and in the Rolling Stone article on the group, it definitely gave me the image of Brian as the head producer, the leader, or whatever. You had Brian doing his thing and Al asking him if they could work on "Waves of Love". Of course, Brian didn't want to, so it didn't get worked on. He made the big decisions and therefore is the producer. That's what the album says and all evidence points to it being the truth. Therefore, it's a Brian production. I think people get so hung up on the fact that they think if Brian really produced a new album it would sound like Love You or something, and that he is being coerced into these projects. Now, I don't know about his last few solo albums, but if you read the background info about That's Why God Made The Radio, you would notice it was basically Brian would facilitated the entire thing, with him getting back together with Joe Thomas to gather up some songs for the album, demoing them, presenting them to Capitol with the insistence that this material be on a new Beach Boys album, getting Mike Love involved, etc. This was Brian's baby, whether we like it or not.

And although I'd prefer if Brian and the boys were still writing and performing at the level they were on Pet Sounds, Wild Honey, and Sunflower, I understand that people get older and environments change and therefore, so does the output.

Therefore, I feel that basically Brian put out the album that he wanted to. And I hope we get a new Beach Boys album next year! And the year after that. The guy still brings the goods, regardless of co-writer or whatever.

Fair points ... but I think Brian Wilson is the greatest record producer of all time, and I also think he's fully capable of producing another album. It just doesn't sound like this is it to me.

I dig what you're saying. But my view is that Brian has given us a career full of great stuff. So if he puts out five more albums, and there's only one great new song on each album from here on out, then that's ok with me, since it's just a cherry on top of the great stuff he's given us already.

The new album is as much a Joe Thomas record as it is anyone else's, perhaps even more his than anyone's. His credit, 'Recorded by' is totally fabricated to give BW the production credit. I think this is something people seem to be missing: he is not the engineer or the producer, so what is he? What does 'Recorded by' even mean? As noted above, he co-wrote every song. For all we know he wrote most of the songs based around riffs BW had lying around (that's what it seems like to me). And the whole thing sounds like JT trying to sound like the Beach Boys.

Somehow, despite the odds, 'From Here to Back Again' works ... and there are moments of that '80s Beach Boys sparkle, but ... Bon Jovi wrote a song on this record.

Why don't you forget all that sh*t , and just enjoy the album? 

Sex is really fun too if you don't think so much about it.  You ought to try that sometime. 

Also you have fun on the Beach if you walk around not worrying about how you look with your shirt off.

Kisses are better when you don't worry about whether or not your breath is fresh.
















Or you could just overthink everything and worry about which parts of which song which human being wrote. 

That would be great advice if the record sounded good.

Not sure what you're getting at with the other weird comments.

Ron tries to be the "regular guy" of the board. The guy that can admit he likes "Kokomo" and SMiLE in the same breath and not overthink things. But he also kinda seems to state his opinions as fact a lot. But, whatever, to each his own.

[Rocker]

Joe did explain tho that he did the piano on Think About The Days and Brian came up with all the harmonies on it.

So not impossible that he came up with other ideas, like chords or some lyrics for some other song on the album.

I remember in an interview Joe stated that he supplied some of the lyrics for Shelter and The Private Life of Bill and Sue after Brian came up with the idea/concept for both songs.

For all we know he wrote most of the songs based around riffs BW had lying around

[/quote]

That would be news to me because nothing like that was ever mentioned.

And the whole thing sounds like JT trying to sound like the Beach Boys.

I don't agree with this. The album sounds very much like a Brian Wilson production to me with - no doubt about that - assisstance by Joe.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Even during Imagination, it was blindingly obvious (or rather, since it is music, deafeningly obvious ) that Brian was doing the vocal arrangements. That hasn't changed. And one thing that that has been brought up (not just by me, but in interviews) that nobody seems to be commenting on is the fact that Brian contributed lyrics to the album, more on anything since Love You.

[Wirestone]

There is no doubt the TWGMTR engineering -- and processing on vocals and instruments -- is pretty slick. Thanks, JT. But the overall instrumental and vocal arrangements are of a piece with everything Brian has done in his solo career for the last dozen years or so. It's many of the same guys, and generally the same sound. It doesn't sound much like Imagination. It does sound quite a bit like the finished TLOS, or BWRG. In other words, it's a Brian Wilson production.

... And this is also something I've had confirmed, to my satisfaction.

[Sam_BFC]

There is no doubt the TWGMTR engineering -- and processing on vocals and instruments -- is pretty slick. Thanks, JT. But the overall instrumental and vocal arrangements are of a piece with everything Brian has done in his solo career for the last dozen years or so. It's many of the same guys, and generally the same sound. It doesn't sound much like Imagination. It does sound quite a bit like the finished TLOS, or BWRG. In other words, it's a Brian Wilson production.

... And this is also something I've had confirmed, to my satisfaction.

Would be cool to read more about that...

--

Agreed it doesn't sound much like Imagination...TLOS does have a bit more of a raw sound to it as well compared to 'Radio'.  I guess it is closer to BWRG.

[Sheriff John Stone]

And one thing that that has been brought up (not just by me, but in interviews) that nobody seems to be commenting on is the fact that Brian contributed lyrics to the album, more on anything since Love You.

I tried to keep up with the interviews, but admittedly have missed a few. Other than "The Private Life Of Bill And Sue" (and I think the lyrics on that song are underwhelming), what songs did Brian write lyrics for? Did the articles/interviews mention specific lines? How would you know what Brian wrote? Or Joe Thomas? Or Jon Bon Jovi? Please get me up to date. 

[Roger Ryan]

And one thing that that has been brought up (not just by me, but in interviews) that nobody seems to be commenting on is the fact that Brian contributed lyrics to the album, more on anything since Love You.

I tried to keep up with the interviews, but admittedly have missed a few. Other than "The Private Life Of Bill And Sue" (and I think the lyrics on that song are underwhelming), what songs did Brian write lyrics for? Did the articles/interviews mention specific lines? How would you know what Brian wrote? Or Joe Thomas? Or Jon Bon Jovi? Please get me up to date. 

Just by listening to the songs you can hear Brian's hand in the lyrics. Much of "Shelter" sounds like it was written by him, so does "Strange World". I also suspect that the second half of "From There and Back Again" with its abstract phrasing is Brian's work. Finally, thanks to the Rolling Stone story, we know that one seemingly innocuous line in "Summer's Gone" represents Brian's last words to Carl...which gives the verse a whole new meaning.

[Rocker]

[Finally, thanks to the Rolling Stone story, we know that one seemingly innocuous line in "Summer's Gone" represents Brian's last words to Carl...which gives the verse a whole new meaning.

Well, but IIRC Thomas took these last words from Brian to Carl to work them as lyrics into the song, didn't he? That's how I understood it but of course that might not be what was reported

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Plus, some of the lyrics in 'Spring Vacation', including the 'easy money/ain't live funny/ so what's it to ya/ hallelujah' part.