ISN'T IT TIME SINGLE VERSION (BBC Radio 2) LISTEN NOW

[Doo Dah]

I'm just a little too ingrained with the original to be able to judge it fairly. Ditto on the previous comment that Bruce would've sounded nice singing the original Jeff line on the bridge. The current bridge just doesn't stand out to me, and Mike is a bit buried in the EQ.

Still, I didn't cringe when I heard it. I actually liked it and bopped along. It's a single, for Pete's sake. Made for the radio, which God created.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I agree with ^ 100%

[pixletwin]

Yeah me too. On the whole it's ok.

[runnersdialzero]

Someone here said it'd be replacing the original on future copies of the album (once it's released). Really hope that's not the case.

[Doo Dah]

Someone here said it'd be replacing the original on future copies of the album (once it's released). Really hope that's not the case.

That means that the original CD's will become prized collector's items, when the government confiscates all CD's and decrees that all music must reside in the CLOUD. 

[EgoHanger1966]

Also, about the effects, I'm starting to think Al's FTTBA vocal is less tuned and more double tracked, I feel like it's a more natural fullness, idk but listen you may hear it

Traditional double tracking doesn't make a vocal sound robotic. It may not be autotune, but it's something similar...

(Autotune isn't bad. It's just become misused so often.....)

[Jonathan Blum]

Y'all are zoomed in way too close, folks.

What we have here is a three-and-a-half-minute song in which the first minute -- crucial for hooking radio ears -- has been very definitely spruced up.  The rest?  There's a more vocal processing starting with the second verse, but hey, Mike was processed on the bass part in "Kokomo".  Don't like it?  You've still got the original, but this might do the job of reaching a different audience.

And cantcha at least take a minute to recognize that the things this board bitched about last time around -- Brian's shaky vocal at the start, the non-Beach-Boy on the bridge -- have been ***FIXED*** before moving on to bitch about something else?

Cheers,
Jon Blum

[send me a picture and i'll tell you]

Y'all are zoomed in way too close, folks.

What we have here is a three-and-a-half-minute song in which the first minute -- crucial for hooking radio ears -- has been very definitely spruced up.  The rest?  There's a more vocal processing starting with the second verse, but hey, Mike was processed on the bass part in "Kokomo".  Don't like it?  You've still got the original, but this might do the job of reaching a different audience.

And cantcha at least take a minute to recognize that the things this board bitched about last time around -- Brian's shaky vocal at the start, the non-Beach-Boy on the bridge -- have been ***FIXED*** before moving on to bitch about something else?

Cheers,
Jon Blum

+11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

[runnersdialzero]

They've certainly been changed, but I don't know if they've been fixed.

[ArtVandalay]

They get points for the intro harmonies...however, they eliminated the harmonies leading into the bridge for some strange reason. Speaking of the bridge...Good God. The original bridge wasn't great, but this is just an absolute mess. Why not let Bruce sing the bridge? And the new lyrics suck.

It's an absolute waste of time to promote this to radio. If they're looking for radio play, I'd push Strange World to indie radio, a la The Spectrum.
I'll stick with the album version.

[over and over]

Someone here said it'd be replacing the original on future copies of the album (once it's released). Really hope that's not the case.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[coco1997]

They absolutely butchered the bridge. Why the hell would they do that? I loved the "And as the sun goes down, we raise a glass to kindness" line. On top of the pointless lyrical modifications, I can't even make out what Mike is singing in the chorus. His bass part is way too low in the first verse.

The extra organ & guitar parts and cleaned up first verse are the only good changes. Everything else was unnecessary and downgraded from the original recording. Once I get this track on mp3 I'll probably splice together a custom version using the first verse from the single mix and the rest of the song being the album version.

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

The single version has been sped up so much that the percussion sounds like a complete mess, the originals' stone groove has been lost, and the entire thing sounds rushed. The new lyrics are more stilted than the album version's lyrics, and the bridge... Will take some getting used to. I'm surprised to say I might be leaning toward Mr. Foskett.

I love the new first verse, though. But I'll always love the album version's first verse, too. It was on seemingly endless repeat during my summer of 2012

[runnersdialzero]

I'll probably splice together a custom version using the first verse from the single mix and the rest of the song being the album version.

Yerp.

Also, is it me, or is Brian's lead the same, just produced very differently? They've applied a ton of compression, it seems, which works wonders on Brian's modern voice. See TLOS - compressed and/or limited all to hell, usually single-tracked, very dry and right up front in the mix. He sounds great on that album and I'm not sure why they've moved away from it again, if only a little.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

He sounded amazing on TLOS, actually, he did most of those vocals in the demos.

[the professor]

It's been mentioned that this song will be released on 50 big ones, which I had forgotten: thank you, Jude, for the reminder.  So we have to wait weeks until we hear the real song.  Hold out for the possibility that the "real" version will be better technologically than the radio rip and that it will be, as well in fact, a newer, better production.  This assumes that this release was an error or a trial balloon or some such reversible mistake (too big a hope?)

I tried to find the positive side of it (above), but I also agree with the scorching criticism here justly leveled.

I will be inactive for a while, as the professor must travel to consult , converse, and otherwise hobnob with his fellow professors, so see you all in late September.

Some of you guys are nuts, but I cherish you all just the same. It's fun and satisfying to contribute and to hear your contributions about the band we love so much.

[Shady]

Have a good one, Van

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Have a good once, Van

+1

[Quzi]

Yikes, no hyperbole here, this sounds dreadful. If they wanted a single to make a splash in the current music scene, they should have tried tweaking it in a quirky, Gotye-esque way to appeal to the 'indie' scene. This alternate version sounds like they're trying to hit a market which they'll never get close to conquering today and it's truly embarrassing that there's enough naivety and out-of-touchness within the Beach Boys camp that the strings were pulled in this dead-end direction. There was a mound of potential to turn this ditty into something that could've been moderately successful and artistically meritable to boot in lieu of this sloppy mess, for f***'s sake.

I can't imagine what other music forums will have to say about this monstrosity considering we're the band's apologists  

[send me a picture and i'll tell you]

I checked the quartz metronome, after installing a brand-new 9V battery, seriously.

Album version: 108 beats per minute.
Single version: 110 beats per minute.

(Actually, my metronome knob stops at 108 and 112; it's noticeably slower than 112, and noticeably faster than 108.)

So the tempo was sped up between about 2 and 4 percent.  That's a pretty small discrepancy, but it's there.

[18thofMay]

Yikes, no hyperbole here, this sounds dreadful. If they wanted a single to make a splash in the current music scene, they should have tried tweaking it in a quirky, Gotye-esque way to appeal to the 'indie' scene. This alternate version sounds like they're trying to hit a market which they'll never get close to conquering today and it's truly embarrassing that there's enough naivety and out-of-touchness within the Beach Boys camp that the strings were pulled in this dead-end direction. There was a mound of potential to turn this ditty into something that could've been moderately successful and artistically meritable to boot in lieu of this sloppy mess, for f***'s sake.

I can't imagine what other music forums will have to say about this monstrosity considering we're the band's apologists  

I sadly must concur, they have plucked defeat from the jaw's of victory yet again.. It is really like a bad dream. I am sure some in the band will be mortified!!

[phirnis]

Unfortunately, much worse than I expected. I'm wondering if this still bears the BW production credit...?

[Phoenix]

Much prefer the album version.

Ditto.

[stack-o-tracks]

i absolutely hate the lyric change in the bridge. other than that it's cool. brian sings great on it and it's got some nice harmonies. but wow, clunky lyrics.

[stack-o-tracks]

the melody in the bridge stinks, too compared to the album version.

"isnt it time isnt it time isnt it time to be lover"

seriously? terrible. and those wouldn't it be nice related clone words.