50th Anniversary live double CD up for pre-order on Amazon

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

Actually, I'd quite like to have decent-quality live recordings of Darian singing Darlin' and Scott singing Let Him Run Wild. I'm thinking more in terms of what they're likely to do -- none of the other live albums have ever had a non-Beach Boy lead vocal, the DVD last year didn't include any, and all the official live video footage, from whatever era, cuts away as much as possible so you can't tell someone else is covering the falsetto parts. I think they'll want to keep to just songs with Beach Boy lead vocals for their own egos' sake.

I don't know about "Darlin'" or "Let Him Run Wild," but I would be very surprised if "Don't Worry Baby" with the Jeffrey Foskett lead vocal weren't on the album, both because it's a song that they played at every performance (I think) and because it's one of their definitive songs to the general public.  I am assuming (dangerous, I know) that the live disc will include most of the songs that formed their main setlist for the tour last year, but that brings up another question: will "The Ballad of Ole Betsy" with the Scott Totten lead be on it?  One would generally think it's not their most essential track, but it did appear on the majority of their set-lists.

[Rocker]

That, or something like it, is the one criticism of last year's tour I can see. Not Jeff, per se, but the number of vocalists on stage meant that the harmonies were dominated by the backing band --

I don't agree totally. I had a seat that gave me the opportunity to have a look at each guy on stage and what he was doing (vocally and instrumentally). And I was very surprised at how much of the parts the Beach Boys themselves were handling; as on TV appearances stuff like "Surfer girl" and "In my room" were done only by the Boys (plus Jeff). Of course the band did contribute but the "blend" was definitely there and that is also obvious if you compare recordings by Mike&Bruce or Brian shows. A lot of times they were just doubling the Boys' voices. When it came to songs like H&V, etc. is when the band was really in the spotlight so to speak.

[AndrewHickey]

That, or something like it, is the one criticism of last year's tour I can see. Not Jeff, per se, but the number of vocalists on stage meant that the harmonies were dominated by the backing band --

I don't agree totally. I had a seat that gave me the opportunity to have a look at each guy on stage and what he was doing (vocally and instrumentally). And I was very surprised at how much of the parts the Beach Boys themselves were handling; as on TV appearances stuff like "Surfer girl" and "In my room" were done only by the Boys (plus Jeff).

Absolutely those two were (and they were the only ones where David was in the mix at all, vocally, as far as I could tell, apart from his one lead vocal per show). I'm definitely not saying they weren't singing their parts -- that would be an absurd suggestion, and if my post read that way then I didn't express myself very well.
What I meant was that on a typical song, you'd have, say, Mike taking the lead, and then ten other vocalists (assuming David wasn't in the vocal mix and Paul was playing sax rather than singing). Of those ten, three were Beach Boys, and two of those (Brian and Bruce) don't have the kind of strong voices that really cut through a mix any more. With them being doubled or in some cases tripled, the effect to my ears sounded less like "the Beach Boys" and more like "the Brian Wilson band".
That wasn't always the case -- Surfer Girl and In My Room were obvious exceptions, and the vocals on something like Don't Worry Baby were vastly improved by having Mike at the low end (the big problem with Brian's band has always been the lack of a really good bass singer). And obviously all the solo lines in the backing vocal parts (like Bruce singing "wish they all could be California" or Al singing "you need good timin'") weren't doubled. But it was the case as often as not.
And I'm not saying that was a bad thing *at all*. Last year's shows were, bar none, the best-sounding representation of the Beach Boys' music I've ever heard live -- better in that respect than either Brian's band or Mike's have ever sounded. I'm just saying that since some people on this board have made no secret of their dislike for the harmonies of Brian's band, they might reasonably have found that problematic.

[c-man]

I think he might mean that certain songs were a mess, where it was not clear who was singing what part: Kiss me baby is a prime example; it's a great favorite, but it sounded like they were throwing it together without a vocal arrangement.

Hardly! Everyone sang that perfectly...the arrangement was the same one that Brian's band had been playing for years.

He might also refer to how Jeff doubled everybody all the time (well, it seemed like that).

That, or something like it, is the one criticism of last year's tour I can see. Not Jeff, per se, but the number of vocalists on stage meant that the harmonies were dominated by the backing band -- for all people were talking about how great it was to hear 'the blend' again, it was in effect the Brian Wilson band with guest lead vocaists. Personally, I don't see that as a bad thing, though...

As for the guitarists: was it not an attempt to reproduce the records, demanding an orchestra of guitars at times? Or were there just too many? Al was never heard on guitar--not a note.

Well, Nick departed fairly quickly, so that meant the only guitarists were Jeff, David, Al, Probyn and Scott T -- and there were a lot of rumours that Jeff's guitar wasn't actually in the mix (and there were many songs where he didn't play it), while Probyn of course played a lot of other instruments. I suspect the main reason for Jeff and Al playing guitar was to make them more comfortable on stage rather than to add to the sound.

Oddly, Al's guitar *was* in the mix -- at the two Italian shows I was in the front row, and could see who was playing what. On a couple of songs, most notably California Saga, Al was playing parts that no-one else was playing, and that were clearly audible.

Plus, Al played a lead part on "Sail On Sailor" (as did Dave, of course).  Check out the video from "Doin' It Again".

[c-man]

What the hell is Mike talking about

You mean the "But Ian Fleming taught us to 'never say never'" bit?  Yeah, it was actually Sean Connery's wife who came up with that title - Mike should know that! 

[Autotune]

1- that the bulk of the harmony-singing fell on the main guys'  is obvious to anyone present at the shows.
2- that five other guys, Jeff most notably, doubled or added parts is also obvious
3- the issue of too many guitarists was addressed on this very forum last year
4- as was the ever-present demand for a more stripped-down approach

[the professor]

Mike Love sends us scratching around to deconstruct what we saw and heard and pretty much loved majestically. I love Mike and cherish him in every way, but he doe shave the ability to say "one thing" and create a negative wave.

I'll set it aside myself for now, though I have learned from all your notes in the thread here.

I listened to 5 hours of BB yesterday, sitting right on the surf at Redondo Beach, LA, and I can conclude that there is no difference between listening to the BB and listening to the sound of the sea: they are one and the same. Further, I found no difference between doing that and attending church or yoga or meditating and chanting in the Christian, Buddhist or Hindu traditions. Further, every image and thought I heard in song I saw in reality: surfer girls, Dennis's car, the lonely sea, time and infinity themselves. If they don't do another album (which is as likely as Bruce-- or I--supporting Obama, as the Dude says), I will go to the beach and pray until summer's gone forever.

For now, I have my amazon order in for the rockin new live album.

[Jim V.]

Hey. I was thinkin'....


Since this live set is coming out, there will likely be a press release for it. Isn't it possible that the status of Made In California was be unveiled.

Or even more crazy, maybe they'll announce both at once. I'm not saying I know anything at all about this stuff, but I suppose that might make sense.

[Pretty Funky]

This is really great news.  Can't wait for it.

But I'm NOT looking forward to hearing all the auto-tuned/overdubbed stuff they'll no doubt put on top of the performances.  Sigh....

I hear ya. If it is anything like the DVD that came out then this will be the only Live BB album not in my collection. The sound grates that much to me. Like most here, I caught the band in concert last year and have listened to the Chiba concert online, and the world did not end due to any so called inferior sound.

Please Capitol...don't mess this up!

[Rob Dean]

This is really great news.  Can't wait for it.

But I'm NOT looking forward to hearing all the auto-tuned/overdubbed stuff they'll no doubt put on top of the performances.  Sigh....

I hear ya. If it is anything like the DVD that came out then this will be the only Live BB album not in my collection. The sound grates that much to me. Like most here, I caught the band in concert last year and have listened to the Chiba concert online, and the world did not end due to any so called inferior sound.

Please Capitol...don't mess this up!

Blimey what is everyone's problem , don't you all know that the double CD release is an audience recording bootleg of the Mike & Bruce Show at Sea World earlier this year  with bonus tracks from the rehearsals for the BAD 'Zoo' Gig

[HeyJude]

Blimey what is everyone's problem , don't you all know that the double CD release is an audience recording bootleg of the Mike & Bruce Show at Sea World earlier this year  with bonus tracks from the rehearsals for the BAD 'Zoo' Gig

And it's actually going to be another Hallmark Store exclusive, with more awkward "we couldn't stand to be in the same room" solo studio bonus tracks. Sadly, it's going to include yet another remix of "PT Cruiser." 

[SurfRiderHawaii]

 

Hey. I was thinkin'....


Since this live set is coming out, there will likely be a press release for it. Isn't it possible that the status of Made In California was be unveiled.

Or even more crazy, maybe they'll announce both at once. I'm not saying I know anything at all about this stuff, but I suppose that might make sense.

Good thinkin   

[Eric Aniversario]

In the article, "when he says it's not just Brian, that's all I care to say about that." Is he referring to Melinda or Al or both?

This can be read so many ways.  If Mike doesn't want to be viewed negatively, he should stop making statements like this...just saying.

[AndrewHickey]

This is really great news.  Can't wait for it.

But I'm NOT looking forward to hearing all the auto-tuned/overdubbed stuff they'll no doubt put on top of the performances.  Sigh....

I hear ya. If it is anything like the DVD that came out then this will be the only Live BB album not in my collection. The sound grates that much to me. Like most here, I caught the band in concert last year and have listened to the Chiba concert online, and the world did not end due to any so called inferior sound.

I suspect there'll be less of that. Last year's DVD was from a single performance, and so they 'had to' fix a ton of errors -- and could do so while they were still working together.
This, though, will presumably be selected from multiple performances, so they'll have the best possible take of every song from the entire tour, and the band aren't working together any more so probably won't go into the studio and mess with it.

[Jim V.]

In the article, "when he says it's not just Brian, that's all I care to say about that." Is he referring to Melinda or Al or both?

This can be read so many ways.  If Mike doesn't want to be viewed negatively, he should stop making statements like this...just saying.

Right on Eric. You definitely don't have an agenda to push, and you've been pretty supportive of Mike from what I've seen. You even like Summer In Paradise! Which means when even you take issue with what he says, he must be doing something wrong.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

In the article, "when he says it's not just Brian, that's all I care to say about that." Is he referring to Melinda or Al or both?

This can be read so many ways.  If Mike doesn't want to be viewed negatively, he should stop making statements like this...just saying.

Mike is being  Mike. We shouldn't expect him to change his act at this point. He loves to say he is about good vibrations,  Fun, Fun, Fun, and Kokomo positvity while hurling veiled insults at the same time. Good and bad,  the man is a legend.

[RONDEMON]

It's obvious Mike doesn't want to have a HUGE band or HUGE production/traveling costs behind the scenes.

That's a lot of money coming out of everyone's pockets as incredible as the C50 tour was.

I get why he made that comment about "it's not just Brian...." as sneaky as it is but he's got a point.
Playing devil's advocate here but the C50 thing was magic on all levels and the band was perfect but there doesn't need to be like 5 guitar players. Scale the band down to maybe 6 or 7 dudes and it'd be fine and a lot cheaper.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

It's obvious Mike doesn't want to have a HUGE band or HUGE production/traveling costs behind the scenes.

That's a lot of money coming out of everyone's pockets as incredible as the C50 tour was.

I get why he made that comment about "it's not just Brian...." as sneaky as it is but he's got a point.
Playing devil's advocate here but the C50 thing was magic on all levels and the band was perfect but there doesn't need to be like 5 guitar players. Scale the band down to maybe 6 or 7 dudes and it'd be fine and a lot cheaper.

Wasn't one of those extra guitar players brought in from Mike's band? And how many keyboard players did they need? Mind you, Brian and Bruce didn't play a ton.

[Dave Modny]

This is really great news.  Can't wait for it.

But I'm NOT looking forward to hearing all the auto-tuned/overdubbed stuff they'll no doubt put on top of the performances.  Sigh....

I hear ya. If it is anything like the DVD that came out then this will be the only Live BB album not in my collection. The sound grates that much to me. Like most here, I caught the band in concert last year and have listened to the Chiba concert online, and the world did not end due to any so called inferior sound.

I suspect there'll be less of that. Last year's DVD was from a single performance, and so they 'had to' fix a ton of errors -- and could do so while they were still working together.
This, though, will presumably be selected from multiple performances, so they'll have the best possible take of every song from the entire tour, and the band aren't working together any more so probably won't go into the studio and mess with it.

That, and the luxury of being able to "fly" stuff in from those multiple performances in order to create an even more ideal version.

Thus, I too realize that there will be fixes and sweetening. I just hope it's fairly organic in nature. Personally, I thought some elements of the live DVD were brutal in the "polish" department -- namely Brian's and Mike's leads -- and I would hope we get something a little more natural and "live" sounding here. Backing vocals I come to expect to be sweetened. But, let's keep the leads fairly real.

Still...pretty cool that we're getting a 2-CD set. Looking forward to it.

[GoofyJeff]

Anyone willing to bet that they will make this 2-CD set 50 tracks (to tie in with the fact that it was the C50 tour)?  We'd still be missing about 11 or 12 songs from all the songs they did on the tour, but that should give us the vast majority of the material.

[Rocker]

Mind you, Brian and Bruce didn't play a ton.

Wrong

[alanjames]

Mike's band only have 5 sidemen, but they really can make a GREAT show and only with 2 guitars. I saw them here in Brazil in 2009 I was thinking how poorly it would be, and I had to shut up and changed my mind when I saw them playing the songs with so much power, even the Pet Sounds stuff.
Brian's band is great, they can play all songs from all Beach Boys eras, even the most complicated stuff, but 4 or 5 guitars live...
I think the difference is: if you want to dance and sing the songs, Mike's band. If you want to feel and appreciate the songs, Brian's show. They aren't better or worse: just different.

[Pretty Funky]

Anyone willing to bet that they will make this 2-CD set 50 tracks (to tie in with the fact that it was the C50 tour)?  We'd still be missing about 11 or 12 songs from all the songs they did on the tour, but that should give us the vast majority of the material.

While that would be great, I think a few threads have touched on the cost per song on a live album. I think Andrew Hickey is the go to guy for info on this. Andrew....?

[Generation42]

Anyone willing to bet that they will make this 2-CD set 50 tracks (to tie in with the fact that it was the C50 tour)?  We'd still be missing about 11 or 12 songs from all the songs they did on the tour, but that should give us the vast majority of the material.

If I had to wager a guess, I'd say this sounds about right.  In spite of my doubts, I'm holding out hope that "Summer's Gone" makes an appearance on this double live album as one of those fifty.  To me, it's hands-down one of the greatest Beach Boys numbers in, well, years, and in acknowledgement of this, I sure would like to see a live rendition made available officially, for posterity's sake, if nothing else.

[SonoraDick]

Anyone willing to bet that they will make this 2-CD set 50 tracks (to tie in with the fact that it was the C50 tour)?  We'd still be missing about 11 or 12 songs from all the songs they did on the tour, but that should give us the vast majority of the material.

While that would be great, I think a few threads have touched on the cost per song on a live album. I think Andrew Hickey is the go to guy for info on this. Andrew....?

I'm not Andrew, but I believe those discussions covered costs for a live video performance. It was mentioned that costs for audio only are considerably lower.