Why So Few Lead Vocals With Al Jardine?

[urbanite]

I was wondering why Al didn't have more lead vocals on TWGMTR as he clearly had the best singing voice of the group.  And that's been the case for a very long time.  Taking nothing away from Mike Love, why wasn't Al given more lead vocals to sing over the years?  If there is another album, I hope Al is given the majority of the leads. 

[punkinhead]

I was wondering why Al didn't have more lead vocals on TWGMTR as he clearly had the best singing voice of the group.  And that's been the case for a very long time.  Taking nothing away from Mike Love, why wasn't Al given more lead vocals to sing over the years?  If there is another album, I hope Al is given the majority of the leads. 

Honestly, that's kinda the way its always been on BB albums, right? Right now, I'm tryin to the think of what albums have Al featured quite frequently...the Love You album has him on Honkin' Down the Highway, Good Time (kind of a co-lead with Brian, I think), and Love is a Woman (he has some of the lines towards the end)(as a separate but interesting note, there's an unreleased version of Al singing lead on LIAW). Then there's 15 Big Ones, he sings TM Song, Susie Cinci, and parts of A Casual Look. Granted, he does have smaller parts on other songs like Had to Phone Ya, Back Home, and It's OK (I think). MIU, he actually has a lot: Come Go with Me, Peggy Sue, Winds of Change, parts of Kona Coast, and it seems like there's another I'm missing.

So with that in mind, he kinda had a lot more in the 70s but that's about his height, kinda short in areas (yeah, pun intended) 

[Phoenix]

I think, at least around the first few years of his tenure, he wasn't given as much in the way of recorded lead vocals because he covered most of Brian's songs in concert, which made it all balance out in some ways.  Over time, I guess that's just how things "went" when putting an album together; maybe like a "quota" of sorts.  I don't know...obviously.

[Aegir]

Brian leads = "BRIAN'S BACK!"
Al leads = "this song is good, but I bet they put Brian's name on this but he had nothing to do with writing the song. I doubt he's even on the recording."

[Jim V.]

As great as Al sounds, I think it just comes down to the fact that The Beach Boys "lead singers" were/are: Mike, Brian, and Carl. In the beginning, say, from Surfin' Safari to Pet Sounds, you were most likely to hear a Brian or Mike lead with an occasional Dennis lead, and very rarely maybe Carl or Al. Then during Smiley Smile through Friends you had Carl stepping up to the plate, with Mike and Brian still having their share. From 20/20 through Holland things got much more spread out, with Dennis and Carl very much having lead parts, with Brian and Mike still around, and the Al vocal here and there, depending on the album. After "Brian's Back", Brian made a bit of a resurgence as far as lead vocals, with Carl also leading the way. As Brian vocally kinda disappeared on L.A. (Light Album) and Keepin' The Summer Alive, Carl and Mike kinda became the co-frontmen, and things basically stayed that way until Carl died. Carl took Brian's place from the early days, as far as having that lovely high, yet commercial voice to go along with Mike's nasal, rock and roll kinda thing.

So anyways, leading back into TWGMTR, I think the group tried to go back to being the "classic" Beach Boys, with Brian Wilson producing, and Brian and Mike singing most of the leads, a la Pet Sounds and most of the stuff from before that. I think that's just the way history has played out. Carl and Mike were the '80s and on "lead guys", and especially without Carl up front, Brian's basically had no choice but to step back into that role that Carl took over in the late '60s. And Al just remained Al, doing his part, probably wishing for more (both vocally and artistically). He's in an odd place. He's basically considered an original, but with less clout than the obvious leader (Brian Wilson) and less clout than the main singer (Mike Love). And he is part of BRI, which puts him ahead of Bruce Johnston and David Marks, which I'm sure also contributes to the fact that Al is featured more vocally on the album than Bruce.

[tpesky]

I think part of it is that Al sang so many of Brian's parts live, even when Brian was there in later years even though he didn't have as many leads on albums. Al lost out on some leads in 2012 because Brian was there and he was singing a lot of the stuff Al would sing. Awesome to have Brian do them don't get me wrong, but also disappointing cause you missed some Al leads.

[Don Malcolm]

I guess the question that should be asked here is...what tunes in the BB canon does anyone think would be better if Al had sung lead?

The brilliance of having Al in the band was that he could blend in so well, which made it possible for Brian to create differing vocal textures by using Al (and, to a lesser extent, all the others) in various locations.

It strikes me that one of the reasons why Brian gave Al the lead on "Help Me Rhonda" was to boost him into a position of greater prominence. He my have wanted to boost his confidence because he knew that Al would need to do more leads in the live shows. There seems to be some subtext in the infamous "Murry" tape that makes me think that Al was more deferential about his position in the band in the early days, being (until Bruce came in) the lone "non-family" member. It seemed that everyone was supporting someone who hadn't quite the same level of confidence (even Murry, in the midst of his strange behavior, is being supportive).  As other posters have noted, when Brian went into his post-Smile tailspin it was Carl who stepped up to take his place, evolving quickly into a singer with an incredibly diverse range.

I always get the sense that Brian has done a really good job of knowing when Al is best matched to a song in terms of being the lead singer. That extends right up to the present. As Al began to write his own material, he found his own voice, and he's a lot more playful and relaxed with his later leads than he was in the 60s.

[Cam Mott]

Since Brian was producer and bandleader, I guess he didn't groove on Al's voice for leads so much.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

Al had quite a few leads on Post Card to California  

[Shane]

Okay, I've just had my mind blown.  Al shares some of the lead on "Good Time"??  I always thought it was all Brian.  Is that Al on the choruses?  Please fill me in.

[Shady]

That's a really good question.

You don't really notice how few leads Al had until you think about it.

He killed every lead he got though, what a voice.

[Awesoman]

I was wondering why Al didn't have more lead vocals on TWGMTR as he clearly had the best singing voice of the group.  And that's been the case for a very long time.  Taking nothing away from Mike Love, why wasn't Al given more lead vocals to sing over the years?  If there is another album, I hope Al is given the majority of the leads. 

Al's voice works best when given the right material.  He can knock a "Help Me Rhonda" or "Cottonfields" out of the ballpark, but I prefer his lead vocals in small doses.  His singing voice is kind of on the "plain" side, and it doesn't work well for all kinds of music.  But I agree his vocals have held up better than the rest of the group.  And for what it's worth, he got to sing lead on the best song off of TWGMTR.

[Aegir]

And for what it's worth, he got to sing lead on the best song off of TWGMTR.

Spring Vacation?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Okay, I've just had my mind blown.  Al shares some of the lead on "Good Time"??  I always thought it was all Brian.  Is that Al on the choruses?  Please fill me in.

The lead of "Good Time" is Brian. No Alan.

[hypehat]

I mean, Al's so unassuming he doesn't even get all of the leads on his solo album!

The nice thing about From There To Back Again was that Brian was reportedly so chuffed with the way Al sang the first line, that he got him to record the second. And then the third.... until he'd sang the entire front section!


(can't remember where I read that!)

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

I guess the question that should be asked here is...what tunes in the BB canon does anyone think would be better if Al had sung lead?

I think he'd have done a better job on the lead vocal of "Isn't It Time" and perhaps some other songs on That's Why God Made the Radio than Brian did.  On a somewhat related topic, I was wondering why Bruce didn't get any lead vocals on That's Why God Made the Radio.  In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Bruce has never had a lead vocal on a song that Brian was the primary songwriter of (since Bruce was the primary writer of "Deirdre" and I think Al was the primary writer of "At My Window").

[urbanite]

If there is to be another album, let's hope that Al gets most of the lead singing chores.

[KittyKat]

Al sounds amazing now. He really should get more leads on any future recordings because his voice is the best of all of them at the present time.  He blends so well on the harmonies, too, because he sounds similar to a Wilson, with a brighter edge.  Yet he has his own unique sound that is a Beach Boys' signature.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Why so few ?  They kept losing the box.

[KittyKat]

Why so few ?  They kept losing the box.

Al Jardine, the Alan Ladd of pop music.

[Eric Aniversario]

I guess the question that should be asked here is...what tunes in the BB canon does anyone think would be better if Al had sung lead?

California Saga: California

[Aegir]

Mike had to sing lead. California is both nostalgic and contemporary at the same time, lose Mike's lead (and the California Girls bassline) and you've got a completely different song.

[Alex]

I think Al should have rang Heroes with the more upbeat 70s live arrangement on the tour. Brian`s the man, but in 2012 Al just sounds better.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I guess the question that should be asked here is...what tunes in the BB canon does anyone think would be better if Al had sung lead?

California Saga: California

Yeah, but that's such a classic Mike Love lead on the record. SOOOOOO Beach Boys.

This is the great thing about these guys. It never seemed to be an ego thing about who had the BEST voice, but rather who worked best for the song. Even Mike, for all his legendary Myke Luhv-ness, was not above singing "Bad luck, no more" over and over again on Celebrate The News. I think, in the end, Al worked out as mainly a utility type of guy and provided that great and VERY Beach Boys strength in the harmony blend. I think it's pretty inarguable that Al had the strongest voice. I don't mean the best voice, but the one with the most consistent tone, timber, attack. He created a firm and powerful foundation for the more expressive and emotional voices to join themselves to.

[Ziggy Stardust]

And for what it's worth, he got to sing lead on the best song off of TWGMTR.

Spring Vacation?

He said "best" tho.

I guess the question that should be asked here is...what tunes in the BB canon does anyone think would be better if Al had sung lead?

California Saga: California

Yeah, but that's such a classic Mike Love lead on the record. SOOOOOO Beach Boys.

This is the great thing about these guys. It never seemed to be an ego thing about who had the BEST voice, but rather who worked best for the song.

Mmmh i think i like more Al on Californ-i-a and since Mike Love got so much leads.. but that is actually very true, i guess why we never got a Carl or Dennis version of Sail On Sailor because it probably just didn't work or fit the song, and that in the end Blondie was da man.