Did Brian bring his falsetto back in mid-70s?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Other examples of the similar good quality Brian vocal leads I've heard are this alternate mix "It's Like Heaven" where Brian sings the bridge/middle 8 part at the end (not sure where it came from but I have it on mp3) and he sounds similar to on MIU.

Um... how to put this... that's not Brian: it's Rocky Pamplin.

[Rotat]

Other examples of the similar good quality Brian vocal leads I've heard are this alternate mix "It's Like Heaven" where Brian sings the bridge/middle 8 part at the end (not sure where it came from but I have it on mp3) and he sounds similar to on MIU.

Um... how to put this... that's not Brian: it's Rocky Pamplin.

Wow I didn't know that.. Strange. Sounds just like Brian on that part. Makes sense as Rocky was a Spring member at the time I guess. Glad you corrected me.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

The song he did on Ringo Starr's 1998 album was ace.
'Without Understanding'.

[Amy B.]

Wow, I have to go back and listen to Winter Symphony again. I always thought he sounded like a muppet on that one. A muppet who could sing, but still.

[startBBtoday]

Wow, I have to go back and listen to Winter Symphony again. I always thought he sounded like a muppet on that one. A muppet who could sing, but still.

Uhh yeah, I agree with your assessment. There are some rough vocal moments on "Winter Symphony".

[Rotat]

There are nice moments on Winter Symphony.. At least the first few lines remind me of that "smooth" sound of Matchpoint Of Our Love. It's not perfect, but similar.

[Pretty Funky]

Pumkinhead.

When Brian calls you on Christmas eve could you just god@mn ask him about 'Getcha Back' for the sake of this board please?

[Gertie J.]

yay ! !

[Mr. Wilson]

Well BW did a lot of nice vocals 77//78 just not in the style that we are used to.. Its over now.. Still I dream of it...Winter Symphony .. Match point..  Nite was so young.. But there are  a lot of rough vocals 76//77 .. Sure has improved hasn't he.. Im enjoying his XMAS cd lately ..

[Mayoman]

Speaking of falsetto, is this Brian doing the high parts at about 3:10 of this version of Carl's "Heaven"? Doesn't sound like Foskett.

https://soundcloud.com/#brianwilsonlive/heaven-with-intro-from-brian

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I'm at work so I can't play it but if its the one from BrianWilson.com. then yes it's BW

[Jim V.]

I don't know about anybody else, but I think they shoulda used some of Brian's vocals on L.A. (Light Album). I played The Beach Boys version of "California Feelin'" right after "Winter Symphony" on iTunes, and I gotta say he sounds pretty much the same, if maybe a bit more high pitched. I know that if "California Feelin'" had been released in '79 it woulda likely had a full Carl lead, but I really think the way the officially released version sounds is great. And Brian sounds pretty pleasing to the ear.

However, it seems that he may have even shredded his vocal cords during the course of the L.A. sessions, since that's when "Drip Drop" comes from. And he sounds pretty growly there. And by KTSA he almost sounded like totally hoarse, especially on "Goin' On", where, although he sounds cool to me, sounds like his throat hurts. The only other relatively new leads from him were kinda falsetto-ish things like "Sunshine", where he definitely once again sounds like his "She's Got Rhythm" self, which to me ain't that great. But who knows. Maybe he was still capable of doing a clean, commercial vocal. Because even during eras where you wouldn't think he could, he does. For instance, the 1988(?) performance of "God Only Knows" he sounds absolutely amazing. Now, I didn't hear anything like that again for a while, at least until his live stuff '99, where he sounds utterly perfect on stuff like "Please Let Me Wonder". I think what's happened over the years is that he lost his ability to just throw a great vocal performance out there just by being there. Probably around '72 or so. But since then, he's still capable, and he just has to work a bit at it. And when he does, we get the live "Please Let Me Wonder", the '88 "God Only Knows", and "Summer's Gone", amongst others.

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[Micha]

Well BW did a lot of nice vocals 77//78 just not in the style that we are used to.. Its over now.. Still I dream of it...Winter Symphony .. Match point..  Nite was so young.. But there are  a lot of rough vocals 76//77 .. Sure has improved hasn't he.. Im enjoying his XMAS cd lately ..

Doesn't Carl sing "The Night Was So Young"?

[Jay]

Brian is quite audible on the "Is somebody gonna tell me..." lines. I think he also does the high part in the background of those parts of the song.

[adamghost]

I don't know about anybody else, but I think they shoulda used some of Brian's vocals on L.A. (Light Album). I played The Beach Boys version of "California Feelin'" right after "Winter Symphony" on iTunes, and I gotta say he sounds pretty much the same, if maybe a bit more high pitched. I know that if "California Feelin'" had been released in '79 it woulda likely had a full Carl lead, but I really think the way the officially released version sounds is great. And Brian sounds pretty pleasing to the ear.

However, it seems that he may have even shredded his vocal cords during the course of the L.A. sessions, since that's when "Drip Drop" comes from. And he sounds pretty growly there. And by KTSA he almost sounded like totally hoarse, especially on "Goin' On", where, although he sounds cool to me, sounds like his throat hurts. The only other relatively new leads from him were kinda falsetto-ish things like "Sunshine", where he definitely once again sounds like his "She's Got Rhythm" self, which to me ain't that great. But who knows. Maybe he was still capable of doing a clean, commercial vocal. Because even during eras where you wouldn't think he could, he does. For instance, the 1988(?) performance of "God Only Knows" he sounds absolutely amazing. Now, I didn't hear anything like that again for a while, at least until his live stuff '99, where he sounds utterly perfect on stuff like "Please Let Me Wonder". I think what's happened over the years is that he lost his ability to just throw a great vocal performance out there just by being there. Probably around '72 or so. But since then, he's still capable, and he just has to work a bit at it. And when he does, we get the live "Please Let Me Wonder", the '88 "God Only Knows", and "Summer's Gone", amongst others.

I think you're right about Brian shredding his voice, Jim.  Once a while back I got a chance to hear a number of unreleased Brian vocals around this era (including the "California Feelin'" one) and they almost all were pretty bad...my impression was that Brian just didn't seem to be able to get through a whole vocal in this period.  The little bit of Brian's opening vocal that made it on MIC is a good example -- yes, it's pleasant enough for what it is, but his pitch is all over the place.  I got the sense from what I heard that they were trying to get Brian vocals that worked, and that they just gave up on it as undoable.  That, and of course Brian being instutionalized for a good deal of the L.A. sessions.

Heaven only knows what was going on during that time.  I don't imagine mental hospital stays are helpful to your voice!

[Jim Rockford]

I think Brian's capable of more than what he's willing to do.

[Mr. Wilson]

I totally agree with you ..!

[Mayoman]

Spent a lot of time watching the full Wembley video from last year's tour. Brian's ON in that, both physically animated and vocally there. I think that on a good day, he's still capable of a lot.

[Joel Goldenberg]

I kinda like Brian's vocals on Stevie. Not totally smooth, but not too growly either. Isn't that from '80 or so?

[Jim V.]

I kinda like Brian's vocals on Stevie. Not totally smooth, but not too growly either. Isn't that from '80 or so?

I'm pretty sure that "Stevie" is from early '81. And yeah, I think it's a pretty nice vocal, all things considered. The song is also probably one of the best unreleased Beach Boys songs still in the vault. I definitely think it deserves release.

[Gabo]

I love Brian's Love You rasp. It adds a lot of character to the recordings.

[c-man]

I kinda like Brian's vocals on Stevie. Not totally smooth, but not too growly either. Isn't that from '80 or so?

I'm pretty sure that "Stevie" is from early '81. And yeah, I think it's a pretty nice vocal, all things considered. The song is also probably one of the best unreleased Beach Boys songs still in the vault. I definitely think it deserves release.

Me too!

[Gabo]

i don't know about Getcha Back, but Wipe Out with the Fat Boys is all Brian on bgv's

i wouldn't call Brian's gruff 70s voice a put-on as much as a calculated and intentional attempt to sound more manly or macho. he was trying his best to get away from his falsetto and squeaky clean vocals of the 60s. but songs like Matchpoint, Winter Symphony, and Wontcha Come Out Tonight are proof that he could still deliver the vocal goods at least into the late 70s.

Matchpoint sounds like Love You Brian trying to sound smooth. He sounds different there than he did in the 60s.

[runnersdialzero]

While I'll agree that his Love You/15 Big Jobs voice is indeed probably put on a bit, I think there was something that happened there that was starting to "heal" by the time he did his "Matchpoint"/"Wontcha Come Out Tonight" etc. vocals. Once he got back into drugs and started putting weight back on, the permanent damage began to set in.