Wow...Extreme denial regarding Wrecking Crew replacing Beach Boys

[Mikie]

I just used the Pet Sounds title track as an example of Leslie'd guitar because that was the topic. Remember too that Brian used the guitar through a Leslie for the intro hook of the song "Girl Don't Tell Me", which beat Emerick and the Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows" by a good margin of time.

Brian used the Leslie effect a good time before "GDTM". 

"She Rides With Me" being an obvious example.  Then "Good Vibrations".

[DonnyL]

I just used the Pet Sounds title track as an example of Leslie'd guitar because that was the topic. Remember too that Brian used the guitar through a Leslie for the intro hook of the song "Girl Don't Tell Me", which beat Emerick and the Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows" by a good margin of time.

Brian used the Leslie effect a good time before "GDTM". 

"She Rides With Me" being an obvious example.  Then "Good Vibrations".

I can't hear it on 'girl don't tell me', maybe Craig meant 'you're so good to me' ?

of course the leslie was used on organ from day 1 ('county fair', 'cuckoo clock', etc.)

anybody ever notice the clavinet through leslie on 'good time' ?

[Al Jardine: Pick Up Artist]

I just used the Pet Sounds title track as an example of Leslie'd guitar because that was the topic. Remember too that Brian used the guitar through a Leslie for the intro hook of the song "Girl Don't Tell Me", which beat Emerick and the Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows" by a good margin of time.

Brian used the Leslie effect a good time before "GDTM". 

"She Rides With Me" being an obvious example.  Then "Good Vibrations".

I can't hear it on 'girl don't tell me', maybe Craig meant 'you're so good to me' ?

of course the leslie was used on organ from day 1 ('county fair', 'cuckoo clock', etc.)

anybody ever notice the clavinet through leslie on 'good time' ?

Leslie speaker on a guitar on GDTM?

Yes, it's fairly far up in the mix.

[Mikie]

I just used the Pet Sounds title track as an example of Leslie'd guitar because that was the topic. Remember too that Brian used the guitar through a Leslie for the intro hook of the song "Girl Don't Tell Me", which beat Emerick and the Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows" by a good margin of time.

Brian used the Leslie effect a good time before "GDTM". 

"She Rides With Me" being an obvious example.  Then "Good Vibrations".

I can't hear it on 'girl don't tell me', maybe Craig meant 'you're so good to me' ?

Don't look at me - I can't hear it either!

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

To me that has never sounded like bongos on the breakdown of Pet Sounds and especially not with Hot Rods. It sounds like some sort of log/tongue drum playing all on the same pitched tongue with barely padded mallets.

Well, of course I don't know if hot rods existed then?  And the thing is, it doesn't sound right on really good bongos, only crappy, unadjustable-headed ones.  A tongue drum with mallets is an interesting possibility, but I still feel like I hear some sort of drum head attack.  I guess there's really no way to know for sure.

[DonnyL]

I just used the Pet Sounds title track as an example of Leslie'd guitar because that was the topic. Remember too that Brian used the guitar through a Leslie for the intro hook of the song "Girl Don't Tell Me", which beat Emerick and the Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows" by a good margin of time.

Brian used the Leslie effect a good time before "GDTM".  

"She Rides With Me" being an obvious example.  Then "Good Vibrations".

I can't hear it on 'girl don't tell me', maybe Craig meant 'you're so good to me' ?

of course the leslie was used on organ from day 1 ('county fair', 'cuckoo clock', etc.)

anybody ever notice the clavinet through leslie on 'good time' ?

Leslie speaker on a guitar on GDTM?

Yes, it's fairly far up in the mix.

are we listening to the same song?!? All I hear is a 12-string guitar w/ a touch of reverb, most prominently featured around 1:20 ... maybe it could be through a leslie on a really subtle, slow setting. but certainly not the pronounced fast effect as heard on 'pet sounds' and 'youre so good to me'.

[DonnyL]

To me that has never sounded like bongos on the breakdown of Pet Sounds and especially not with Hot Rods. It sounds like some sort of log/tongue drum playing all on the same pitched tongue with barely padded mallets.

Well, of course I don't know if hot rods existed then?  And the thing is, it doesn't sound right on really good bongos, only crappy, unadjustable-headed ones.  A tongue drum with mallets is an interesting possibility, but I still feel like I hear some sort of drum head attack.  I guess there's really no way to know for sure.

how about a set of car keys taped to a coke bottle hitting a fender jaguar with the mute on !?!

[guitarfool2002]

I totally f***ed that up, I meant to say "You're So Good To Me" had the guitar through Leslie. There is absolutely, positively, no Leslie'd guitar on Girl Don't Tell Me.

My bad.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

Honest mistake, it's OK.   

Let's not forget, in all of this, that the Wrecking Crew was pretty fucking awesome.  I just found this photo today and by god it makes me want to be in the studio.  Apparently it's a photo Donna Loren posted, from Capitol Studio A.



I was born at the wrong time.

I'm still offering a huge cash reward for anybody who can produce a great heretofore unseen photo of a Beach Boys instrumental session.  Particularly with the Boys on the instruments.

[DonnyL]

They've gotta be out there. There are countless photos I've seen from NY sessions at Mira Sound ... mostly taken by engineer George Schowerer I think.  They're fascinating but it ain't California !!!

And maybe if we were alive then, it wouldn't be fascinating because it would have been 'normal'.

[Mikie]

Who are the three guys on guitars? I recognize Don Randi on the piano.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

From L-R, Tedesco, Strange, Pitman on the Danelectro 6-string bass.  De Lory's way over there on the left.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

...

And maybe if we were alive then, it wouldn't be fascinating because it would have been 'normal'.

Well, perhaps not, but to me the appeal seems sort of timeless.  There might be some golden age thinking there, but I feel that I would be equally fascinated even if today it were still "normal" to use great analog equipment, to have a bunch of great musicians in a room together playing cool 12-strings and Dano basses, and mixing it all down live.  It's just a great process.

They did dress better though.

[Mikie]

From L-R, Tedesco, Strange, Pitman on the Danelectro 6-string bass.  De Lory's way over there on the left.

I thought that might have been Tedesco, but wasn't sure if that was a goatee or part of something hanging off the stand! And didn't even see DeLory on the left. Thanks, Josh.

I had not seen some of these pictures before until last night:

http://www.wreckingcrewfilm.com/media/

[bgas]

get more recent photos here:  http://www.wreckingcrewfilm.com/photos.html

[DonnyL]

...

And maybe if we were alive then, it wouldn't be fascinating because it would have been 'normal'.

Well, perhaps not, but to me the appeal seems sort of timeless.  There might be some golden age thinking there, but I feel that I would be equally fascinated even if today it were still "normal" to use great analog equipment, to have a bunch of great musicians in a room together playing cool 12-strings and Dano basses, and mixing it all down live.  It's just a great process.

They did dress better though.

I'm with you there too. I've gone back & forth on this and spend WAY too much time thinking about it over the years. I think maybe you're right about that (the timeless/quality/style aspect). But I can't help but feel there's a little bit of rose-colored glasses. I often ponder the irony of the digital age being partially responsible for allowing me to acquire all of the analog equipment I have.

But it's true. Things were generally better-made then, there was a market and appreciation for musicianship. And I do believe people were more disciplined and unique. And the clothes were way way better. I get all of my clothing from this thrift store in San Francisco called 'Clothes Contact' that sells stuff for $10 a pound.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

I mean, just look at their shoes!

[DonnyL]

I was listening to 'Today' on a train back home today, and I noticed timbales are very present on 'Please Let Me Wonder' (good example is the fill around 2:25). I think maybe 'In the Back of My Mind' as well, and maybe more !

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

I was listening to 'Today' on a train back home today, and I noticed timbales are very present on 'Please Let Me Wonder' (good example is the fill around 2:25). I think maybe 'In the Back of My Mind' as well, and maybe more !

What's interesting about Please Let Me Wonder and Timbales is that the timbales are actually explicitly mentioned on the AFM sheet.

[DonnyL]

I was listening to 'Today' on a train back home today, and I noticed timbales are very present on 'Please Let Me Wonder' (good example is the fill around 2:25). I think maybe 'In the Back of My Mind' as well, and maybe more !

What's interesting about Please Let Me Wonder and Timbales is that the timbales are actually explicitly mentioned on the AFM sheet.

Maybe they listed them as a separate instrument if they were overdubbed or not part of the drum kit? For union/payment reasons?

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

If I remember correctly it might have been because Earl Palmer was given a double payment, yeah.

[c-man]

To me that has never sounded like bongos on the breakdown of Pet Sounds and especially not with Hot Rods. It sounds like some sort of log/tongue drum playing all on the same pitched tongue with barely padded mallets.

Well, of course I don't know if hot rods existed then?  And the thing is, it doesn't sound right on really good bongos, only crappy, unadjustable-headed ones.  A tongue drum with mallets is an interesting possibility, but I still feel like I hear some sort of drum head attack.  I guess there's really no way to know for sure.

how about a set of car keys taped to a coke bottle hitting a fender jaguar with the mute on !?!

Reviving this topic b/c I'm trying to determine where the famous Coca-Cola can percussion is on the song "Pet Sounds"...could it be the much-discussed bongos through a leslie overdub in the breakdown, which to Josh sound more like tongue drums than bongos, are actually the Coke cans banged together or with sticks? And on the basic track, it's definitely bongos, right? One of them sounds too deep and hollow to be Coke cans there...and, while we're at it, what about the clackety percussion overdub on "That's Not Me"...doesn't sound like the normal temple blocks (way to shallow-sounding)...sounds more like roller skates or horse shoes clip-clopping down a cobblestone road...

[job]

Thing is the Beach Boys themselves seem to have hazy memories about it all...

I have only hazy memories of what I had for dinner last night.

[groganb]

Hey, since we're partially on the subject of weird PS percussion, I've wondered for decades what the metallic "chik" sound is on the front of and throughout "Caroline No." The one that alternates with the Sparkletts bottle. It kinda sounds like two halves of the top of a metal music stand being clacked together. It's certainly not a tambourine because there are no jingles in the sound.
I will now perform the relevant intro :-)
chik-chik-chik, bubbabubbabubba, chik-chik-chik, bubbabubbabubba, chik-"Where did your long hair go..."
Don't forget to tip your waitress.
Anyone?

[c-man]

Hey, since we're partially on the subject of weird PS percussion, I've wondered for decades what the metallic "chik" sound is on the front of and throughout "Caroline No." The one that alternates with the Sparkletts bottle. It kinda sounds like two halves of the top of a metal music stand being clacked together. It's certainly not a tambourine because there are no jingles in the sound.
I will now perform the relevant intro :-)
chik-chik-chik, bubbabubbabubba, chik-chik-chik, bubbabubbabubba, chik-"Where did your long hair go..."
Don't forget to tip your waitress.
Anyone?

I've always thought it was a tambourine being struck with a woodblock (or vice-versa). The tambourine can be held and struck in a certain way as to not rattle. But I'll listen again...