The Hallmark Beach Boys CD "Songs From Here And Back"

[c-man]

I much prefer the "Spirit" without the Dylan vocal. His couple of lines become an intrusion, then a quick annoyance. (nothing against Dylan's singing, just the wrong somg for him) I feel the dame way about Terrance Trent D'Arby trying "Walkin the line...I'm glad they didn't use that one either...IMO

One reviewer of "Sweet Insanity" actually thought it was Landy singing those lines, that's how awful he thought that singing was.  Hysterical, huh?  And I'm  huge Dylan fan, especially his later stuff.

[PMcC]

Now....on the other hand, I DIG Paula Abdul with Brian on "Make a Wish".. Puts the version on GIOMH to shame....

[Fire Wind]

yeah there was a version with Dylan doing a vocal. I'll see if I can find it when I get to my room. I think I like the Sweet Insanity attempts of the Spirit of R&R better.

I think I have that version somewhere too, but cheers.  Never got around to listening much to that era.  I probably have at least one other version too, so I'll check that out.

[Wirestone]

There are five versions of Spirit of R&R.

There is the more-or-less original version, demoed up by Brian and Gary Usher. You can hear it, with some audience applause, in the tapes from a TV appearance BW did with Dion (I think). Brian is obviously lip-syching the tune. This is on one of the Vigotone boots.

The second version is that same track, more or less, with extra BB voices added. That was lip-synched by Brian for the Beach Boys' Live in Hawaii special.

The third version is the first Sweet Insanity attempt, without Dylan.

The fourth version is the second SI attempt, with some Dylan and slightly different instrumental solos.

The fifth version is this new one. I'm very curious to hear it, as "Spirit" has always been one of the defining songs of Brian's 80s output (to me). That's not to say it's one of the best, but it, along with "Water Builds Up" and DLHKSAA, sum up the period.

[Fire Wind]

I too would be interested in hearing the new one.  Listening now (to the Dylan one).  Thanks for the descriptions.

[Lorenschwartz]

There are five versions of Spirit of R&R.

There is the more-or-less original version, demoed up by Brian and Gary Usher. You can hear it, with some audience applause, in the tapes from a TV appearance BW did with Dion (I think). Brian is obviously lip-syching the tune. This is on one of the Vigotone boots.

The second version is that same track, more or less, with extra BB voices added. That was lip-synched by Brian for the Beach Boys' Live in Hawaii special.

The third version is the first Sweet Insanity attempt, without Dylan.

The fourth version is the second SI attempt, with some Dylan and slightly different instrumental solos.

The fifth version is this new one. I'm very curious to hear it, as "Spirit" has always been one of the defining songs of Brian's 80s output (to me). That's not to say it's one of the best, but it, along with "Water Builds Up" and DLHKSAA, sum up the period.

please forgive me...but i think i've heard another version that is only Brian, drenched in Synths from beginning to end fade. No others w/ gtr solo and bridge..a complete tune all the way.
its the 1st song on the 26 big ones  boot. am i right or wrong?? is this the G. Usher version??

[Awesoman]

I tried looking around for this CD at several of the local Hallmark shops in my area (Kennesaw, GA) and could not find it.  I asked several of the employees there about it and they said it would probably be out after Mother's Day is over.  Anyone in the Atlanta area find this CD?

[Surfer Joe]

I'm in Atlanta; I'll let you know.

[HeyJude]

I tried looking around for this CD at several of the local Hallmark shops in my area (Kennesaw, GA) and could not find it.  I asked several of the employees there about it and they said it would probably be out after Mother's Day is over.  Anyone in the Atlanta area find this CD?

Keep in mind that the CD's release date is supposed to be May 15. So there supposedly shouldn't be any copies being sold anywhere. So there's nothing wrong with stores that aren't selling it. It's really just a case of some stores screwing up and putting it out early (I'm assuming they aren't doing it on purpose), which of course is a plus for fans. I've called at least 7 or 8 stores within a reasonable driving distance, and none of them have it. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I've been surprised to see that many of the stores are on the ball in the sense that they seem aware of the CD and many of the stores specifically knew about the May 15th release date. Of course, I wish they would have broken the release date, but it's at least good to know that I won't go into the store on May 15th only to find that they have no idea what I'm talking about when I ask about the CD.

There are tons of copies up on EBay. By the time I found the copies on EBay, I've passed figuring that by the time I put in a bid, pay, and wait for it be shipped and arrive, it will probably be on or after May 15th. I start to get pretty motivated to hear this CD, but then I remember that we're not talking about an Endless Harmony-style archival package. It's still a neat little release, but I certainly hope the new website has some even more interesting material to buy on CD and/or DVD.

[Nathan Snyder]

Well, I live near Harrisburg, PA and our Hallmark Store did sell me a copy.  I asked for one and one older lady did make the effort to go to the stock room and pull one out for me while noting they are not for sel yet.  Its enjoyable for one or two listens but not much else.  The live songs are nice.  Dance, Dance, Dance is alright. Wouldn't It be Nice is pretty tight and I really like Al's lead from '73.  Kokomo is not as good as the original and Mike's batter is old.  LDC is taken too slow and IGA is in its normal live version. Good Vibs is also nice from '73. Its funny to hear IGA with the same falsetto of Jeffrey Foskett as on Live at Roxy.  At first I had to make sure Live at Roxy wasn't playing.  Now, I had purchased Al's PT Cruiser single as soon as it was released several years ago, so that wasn't new to me.  It is still a nice tune, but has already worn on me. Mike's new cut is pretty catchy and does have nice vocals.  I have his album via the internet and the only unfortunate thing is that it is one of the 'highlight' tracks.  Brian's new track is however a 'bit' of a disappointment.  I mean, I DO like it, but I may still like the Sweet Insanity version better.  'Not that either version is magnificent'   The song sounds like it would have fit perfectly on GIOMH.  The song would have benefited from more studio time to develop an all around better backing track, but Brian seems these days less and less interested in doing that.  Overall, its a nice little release, but maybe not something to quite get your hopes up for.  Sorry if that sounds negative.

[Joanne]

Sorry jumping in on this one late - Mike Kowalski was not touring with the band in 1974, only 1989 on those tracks. Bobby Figueroa was with them on the 1974 tour.

[Jeff Mason]

OK, courtesy of a friendly clerk and Mothers' Day, I have the CD and I have spun the live tracks once or twice.  WIBN is absolutely a 1974 track, as Al's lead is so reminiscent of the In Concert CD.  GV is harder to tell; it certainly doesn't match the other songs vocally, but the synth part for the Tannerin line is strange -- I haven't heard that particular set of settings before.  But as I said, vocally it is not 1989.  And yes, it was very strange on Kokomo to hear Brian singing in the BGVs.  But Foskett may actually be the most prominent non-Mike singer of the bunch.

[donald]

To answer someones question, Ricky WAS with the band in 74 as I recall. 

Today is the 15th.  I guess I should call the mall store and see if this thing is in yet.  Sounds ...not too bad...to get some unreleased material for around 10 US dollars.  From the sound of it, I don't think I'd want to pay much more.


And damned if I'm not getting real curious about the mike love album.

Am I alone in detecting the pendulum swinging away from Brian a bit and toward Mike a little?  (I'm still pissed about the Al lockout)

[Don't Back Down]

I just called Hallmark and they have it, as said earlier buy 3 cards and it's $7.89. hopefully I'll have time to swing by today and pick it up

[Sheriff John Stone]

Just picked up the CD (they had to dig it out of a carton on the floor) and listened to it a few times...

- Alan Boyd and Mark Linett did a tremendous job in making the songs sound clear. It's easily the best sounding "live" batch of songs in their history. I would love to hear a full Beach Boys' concert CD that sounds like this one - Sounds Of Summer Live! 

- The 1974 songs must've been recorded differently than the 1973 In Concert album because they sound so much better, unless, again, Alan and Mark cleaned them up significantly. I miss Rikki Fataar.

- I listened very intently and I do not hear Brian Wilson on the live cuts. I don't think he was present for four reasons:  1) I don't hear him in the mix. He's usually good for a couple of off-key or flat yells  2) If these songs were taken from the concert that was featured on the 1989 Endless Summer TV shows, Brian was not on stage with the group,  3) On "Surfer Girl", Al sings the bridge. I don't recall a Beach Boys concert where Brian was present and DIDN'T sing the bridge, and  4) The inside CD jacket lists Additional Musicians, but for some reason DOES NOT list the individual Beach Boys' names. Why? Are we to assume that everybody knows their names? No. Or would the fact that Brian Wilson's name would be omitted be too much of a negative? Are they (The Beach Boys, Inc.) still trying to make it appear that Brian was then/is still a Beach Boy?

- When you listen to the solo songs, you almost wonder if the credits are mixed up. Shouldn't Mike have written "PT Cruiser", Brian "Cool Head, Warm Heart", and Al "The Spirit Of Rock And Roll".

- As a solo "artist" who hasn't really written much since "Santa Ana Winds" and the infamous "Crack At Your Love" almost 20-25 years ago, doesn't Al have anything to say musically? I don't ever want to hear Al complain about Mike Love again.

- Brian Wilson needs a producer. Badly...

[Jeff Mason]

Oh, listen closer, he's especially clear on Kokomo.  I can certainly hear Brian.  And I liked the way that the 1973 album was recorded.  What I was impressed with was how seamlessly the two shows were knit together.  Alan, did you have to overdub extra applause to get it to sound that good?

[punkinhead]

I think Al has written since KTSA/BB (85)...Island Girl, didn't he write that? pretty sure he wasn't too present on Summer in Paradise...but I was pretty sure he wrote more for a project called 'big south?' or that's what AGD called it on his site.     http://www.btinternet.com/~bellagio/

[Alan Boyd]

To be fair to Al, Hallmark chose "PT Cruiser," (and all of the other titles as well, from a number of choices that we presented to their representatives).

Al had a couple of works-in-progress that would have been wonderful from our perspective, but the Halllmark folks just loved "PT Cruiser" since it sounded "so much like classic Beach Boys."  And I have to say, I can't really disagree with them.

From time to time I have to remind myself that there are several different types of Beach Boys fans and audiences out there, and it's all good.... for totally different reasons.  I think that's why we're still all here, you know?

What a catalog....

[peerke]

Is this album available in Europe?
Or will it be released there?

[HeyJude]

I've got the CD and finally gave it a listen. The first thing I've noticed is that I can't really hear Brian on the '89 tracks. Are we sure he's actually on these tracks?

Come to think of it, if these '89 tracks are taken from the Univeral show that is shown in segments on the syndicated "Endless Summer" TV show, then I'm pretty sure Brian can't be on most or perhaps any of these tracks. I'm almost positive, for instance, that the "Endless Summer" TV show showed the Universal Amphitheater performance of "Kokomo", and Brian was not on stage during that song as I recall. This seems to be supported by the fact that I don't really hear Brian on the CD either. There is a high, slightly nasal voice, but that sounds more like Jeff Foskett in the harmonies, not Brian. (You can hear what Brian sounds like on "Kokomo" by watching that dreadful episode of "Full House" that the band did together).

As I recall, while there were other bits of the group with Brian shown during the "Endless Summer" show (the fireside bits, a few "Club Kokomo" performances), I don't think any live tracks featured from the Universal show featured both the group and Brian. There were a bunch of group performances, and a couple of Brian solo without the other BB's.

Interestingly, I recall other shows from '89 when Brian would come on stage for a few songs with the group and then do a few solo songs, and I recall that Brian joined them for "Surfer Girl" and sang the bridge. On the new CD, the '89 live version of "Surfer Girl" has Al singing the bridge, which I would think indicates Brian was not on stage during that song.

Some folks have mentioned that some of the live tracks sound almost too polished. I would imagine it is possible some post-production work was done on the '89 live tracks back in '89 for the "Endless Summer" TV show. The BB's have often done this for TV specials and the like. It sounds more or less like live stuff I've heard from the time period, so I don't think there are any drastic alterations. Mike's lead vocal on "Dance Dance Dance" sounds a bit too polished and up front, like it could have been re-recorded in the studio back then, but I'm just guessing on that. If there is any post-production work on these songs, it isn't much, and almost surely any work that would have been done would have happened back in 1989 when they were prepping these live tracks for that TV show. The only thing that was done in 2005/06 was to mix the stuff I'm sure.

The '74 tracks are blended in quite well with the '89 tracks, and I would imagine most casual fans who pick this up would never know that they are taken from shows 15 years apart. It particular, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" sounds like the drums have been mixed to sound as close to the '89 tracks as possible. Maybe that's just how the drums came out on that '74 show, but it usually seems like live stuff from back then had the drums sounding a bit less echoey and snappy and a little more dry and thick. All of the live tracks are a bit wet/echoey, a bit more than my personal tastes dictate (I'm probably in the minority in that I actually enjoy rather dry, up front, up close-sounding mixes for live stuff, which some say totally negates the whole live/ambient sound of live recordings), particularly the '74 stuff, but it all sounds really great from a sound quality point of view. Certainly, this is evidence of the huge amount of live material that the BB's could release.

As for the solo tracks, I was a bit shocked originally that the Al solo track was "PT Cruiser", given that the song isn't really "new", and while it's neat for what it is, it isn't the most substantial thing Al could have included. But given the explanation that Hallmark chose it, I can apparently safely remove any blame from Al's shoulders (other than perhaps to suggest he shouldn't have offered it up as a possibility, but I don't think that is a very fair criticism). The track sounds good from a recording standpoint; it sounds very warm, and Al's lead vocal is excellent. His voice has held up amazingly well. Too bad the song is such a novelty sort of a thing.

The Mike track is not bad at all, probably better than anything I've ever heard released under his solo name. The backing vocals, especially the intro vocals, have a bit of that really sharp, yet sterile, Beach Boys copycat-ish sound heard on other stuff from the past like the Adrian Baker-produced tracks or "Looking Back With Love." But the song itself is catchy, quite reminiscent of the more catchy stuff on "Summer in Paradise", yet with much more laid-back, organic sounding production than what was heard on "Summer in Paradise." I'm not big on sax solos; unless they are done in certain styles in certain circumstances, they otherwise always make songs sound to me like an overblown 80's ballad, so I think the song could have done without that. But that's just my lack of preferences for saxophones in general.   

Brian's track is somewhat disappointing. I thought I would enjoy it more. Comparisons to the 27 prior versions of the song are inevitable. In that sense, the biggest problem with the new version is that the key has been lowered noticeably, which right off the bat makes the song sound less energetic. The whole production seems a bit lethargic. The mix is way too wet/echoey, which is something I've noticed with a lot of Brian's recent productions (including another one-off compilaton re-recording, "California Feeling"). The near Spector-ish ambience at times makes the song lack a bit of crispness which is heard on the other two solo tracks. The arrangement itself is not too dissimilar to previous versions, although I don't like the altered drum beat added under the first line of the verses. Brian's lead sounds a bit lethargic as well. The rest of the backing vocals aren't bad. The a capella ending redeems the song a bit. I could do without the saxophone solo, although in fairness I can't say I would have wanted to hear the over-the-top 80's sounding electric lead guitar heard on some of the old versions either.

I certainly hope this CD is a sign of more CD releases through the new website, or by whatever means. If Alan Boyd can talk about the website at all, I'd like to know if the possibility of archival material being presented on the website would only be confined to downloads. I'm not big on downloading (more than anything because I'm still on dialup!); I'd rather get the stuff on CD, so I'm hoping that whatever might be offered on the website would be offered on CD. The website doesn't say anything about downloads, I've just heard a few fans mention this as if it was common knowledge that the website was going to be all about downloads. Of course, I'm sure I'm getting away ahead of the whole website project, which I'm sure is still being worked out.

[Alex11]

All it takes is to look and hear: If you compare "Kokomo" from the Endless Summer TV Show and the Hallmark CD you'll find:

IT'S THE SAME RECORDING.

On the Endless Summer TV Version, Mikes intro (that IS on the hallmark version) is editet out almost completely. On the hallmark CD version the introduction of sax player Michael Brecker is missing (that IS on the tv version), maybe some legal rights issues or something...
So, if you think you're hearing Brian on Kokomo (I don't think I'm hearing him, but I'm confused...) he must have been put in afterwards, he wasn't on stage during that song.

[Rocker]

Like Jasper said, Brian is clearly audible in the background on "Little deuce coupe"

[Sheriff John Stone]

To be fair to Al, Hallmark chose "PT Cruiser"

My issue is not Hallmark's choice of "PT Cruiser", but Al Jardine's choice to compose the song in the first place.

Over the last few years, Al has taken some shots at Mike Love for issues such as employing cheerleaders, the Beach Boys' set list in general, the "Car Medley" specifically, and the basic direction that Mike wanted to take the band. This comes from Al Jardine, artist!

I find his statements a little hypocritical when, as soon as Al forms his own band, the Endless Summer Former Beach Boy Family & Friends Beach Band, his set list, with the exception of 3-4 songs, sounds very similar to Mike and Bruce's.

Didn't the reason for Al writing "PT Cruiser" have something to do with a magazine article about the car? Hey, Al can do whatever he wants. But when he sat down and said to himself, "I think I'll write a 60's style car song that lifts directly from "Little GTO" and "Hey Little Cobra", I wonder if he was thinking about his comments about Mike Love's Beach Boys.

I'm also curious what Al thinks about Brian's "Let's Go To Heaven In My Car", "In My Car", "Desert Drive", and the re-recording of "Little Saint Nick". If Mike would've recorded/re-recorded  those songs...

The other night I was watching the video of The Beach Boys' 1965 appearance on Shindig. They were playing "Help Me, Rhonda", and right near the instrumental bridge, a bunch of cheerleaders came out and started dancing around the stage. And guess who's singing along, smiling proudly from ear to ear? Alan Jardine!

[Alan Boyd]

FYI - For what it's worth, Al seems to have been the driving force behind the group's late 1993 "unplugged" tour and setlist...

[Sheriff John Stone]

FYI - For what it's worth, Al seems to have been the driving force behind the group's late 1993 "unplugged" tour and setlist...

Alan, I haven't had the opportunity to see Al's post-Beach Boys' band live. Are you aware of any of his shows where he performed an "unplugged" set?