Was Bruce's departure in the early 70s good for the band?

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

I DID think of Bruce as a prolific songwriter. He seemed to be gathering momentum and building a nice catalog - "The Nearest Faraway Place" > "Deidre"/"Tears In The Morning" > "Disney Girls" > "I Write The Songs". A Grammy, hit singles, recordings by Barry Manilow & Francis Albert Sinatra.

Agree 100% ... this is what bugs me too about just saying 'eh, he wasn't that good'. And honestly, I think Disney Girls is one of the BBs best-written 70s songs, with evocative lyrics rich with detail and emotion. It makes me wish for so much more from Bruce, whether in that vein or not.

[clack]

Maybe Bruce has problems coming up with songs from scratch, writing by himself. Still, he was the best lyricist in the band, and second only to Brian (and maybe Dennis) as a pop melodist. It's a mystery why those gifts were so seldom tapped by the other writers in the band -- maybe Carl, for instance, might have been more prolific in the 70s if Bruce had still been with the band, and if he had Bruce writing lyrics and coming up with hooks. Al for sure could have used a collaborator to help with the melodies.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Discounting the early '60s sound-a-like material, dude has probably only released somewhere around 20 songs in about 45 years. And I'm gonna assume he didn't write many more besides what's out there, because we know Bruce loves money, and if he coulda gotten some more songs covered back in the day he would have.

I know of at least three more - "Brand New Old Friends", "If There Were Time" and "Let's Visit Heaven Tonight", all from the 70s/80s.

[Moon Dawg]

  If Bruce had remained in the band, "I Write the Songs" might have been a Number One hit for The Beach Boys. Then again, maybe not.

[the captain]

Unlike Brian and Dennis, Bruce is clearly someone for whom music is just a hobby - albeit a lucrative one - rather than something he absolutely needs to do and struggles to live without.  

I don't think that's at all fair to say. Maybe you have a solid point if you amend the statement to say that Writing music is just a hobby..., but the man has been professionally involved in music for more than half a century. I think it's safe to say music is more than a hobby for him. Writing isn't the only valid musical endeavor.

[donald]

a lot of people who were not the "original" Beach Boys have contributed to the band over the decades. IMO Bruce has contributed the most overall. enough said I think.

[Jim V.]

Discounting the early '60s sound-a-like material, dude has probably only released somewhere around 20 songs in about 45 years. And I'm gonna assume he didn't write many more besides what's out there, because we know Bruce loves money, and if he coulda gotten some more songs covered back in the day he would have.

I know of at least three more - "Brand New Old Friends", "If There Were Time" and "Let's Visit Heaven Tonight", all from the 70s/80s.

I counted "If There Were Time" and "Let's Visit Heaven Tonight" when I mentioned:

And then after his solo album tanked, he had like one or two songs that went to Captain and Tennille

"Brand New Old Friends", yeah I didn't remember that one. That was written for California Music right?

I'm pretty sure my point still stands. About 20 songs in 45 years. Hardly a songwriter. Which makes his sidekick role to Mike make a whole lot more sense. Cuz he ain't gonna be doing anything else. Surely not songwriting.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Unlike Brian and Dennis, Bruce is clearly someone for whom music is just a hobby - albeit a lucrative one - rather than something he absolutely needs to do and struggles to live without.  

I don't think that's at all fair to say. Maybe you have a solid point if you amend the statement to say that Writing music is just a hobby..., but the man has been professionally involved in music for more than half a century. I think it's safe to say music is more than a hobby for him. Writing isn't the only valid musical endeavor.

True. There's also grinning, waving and hand claps to take into consideration...

[Joel Goldenberg]

BTW, I happen to like Tears in the Morning, the sound is sweet, but the lyrics are quite angry.

[Cabinessenceking]

Bruce is kind of a non-issue. His membership in the band was neither good nor bad in my opinion. He's just kind of there. He holds down his parts, but he is not personally vital to the end result. He's a glorified extra hand.

word 

[Bill Ed]

Leaving the band for several years was certainly good for Bruce. He wrote a Grammy-winning song and did production/arranging work for far more successful artists than the group he departed. I love his vocal arrangement on Art Garfunkel's version of Disney Girls and his work on the background vocals of Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me.

I also give him a lot of credit for pegging Jack Rielly as a snake oil salesman. And a few years later the Beach Boys reached out to him for help.

[bossaroo]

lotta help he was. Here Comes the Night ('78) is possibly the worst thing in the BBs catalog.

missed the disco boat by a mile and may be the most bloated cliche unmusical thing ever.


one of my favorite Brian tunes too.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I don't think that's at all fair to say. Maybe you have a solid point if you amend the statement to say that Writing music is just a hobby..., but the man has been professionally involved in music for more than half a century. I think it's safe to say music is more than a hobby for him. Writing isn't the only valid musical endeavor.

Bruce has gone on record stating that playing with the Beach Boys is nothing more than a job to him, and has stated so several times (most notably in the Peter Ames Carlin book).

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I don't think that's at all fair to say. Maybe you have a solid point if you amend the statement to say that Writing music is just a hobby..., but the man has been professionally involved in music for more than half a century. I think it's safe to say music is more than a hobby for him. Writing isn't the only valid musical endeavor.

Bruce has gone on record stating that playing with the Beach Boys is nothing more than a job to him, and has stated so several times (most notably in the Peter Ames Carlin book).

I love it, but agree it was unnecessary.

The original is quite great though. What a mean rhythm track. Fat, pounding piano/bass .... Bruce and Brian are the one's credited with playing piano/organ, so whatever Bruce is doing on the track is awesome.

What a great Brian lead vocal too. In fact, I can only really hear him on the backing vocals as well.

[Kurosawa]

They got a lot better after Bruce left and apart from Love You they haven't been nearly as good as they were with Blondie and Ricky. And Love You is more of a Brian album that Carl had to finish because Brian can't finish things. It's all been downhill from 15BO to the present.

They got a lot better with Carl and the Passions you mean? Wow... Or do you mean as a live band?

Discounting Love You, I don't think much of anything they've done since C&TP and Holland. I like about half of LA, and a few tunes here and there. But apart from Love You, they haven't done a whole album that I liked much since Holland. And as a live band they were never better than with Blondie and Ricky. The early days with Brian are close just for pure energy, however.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

I don't think that's at all fair to say. Maybe you have a solid point if you amend the statement to say that Writing music is just a hobby..., but the man has been professionally involved in music for more than half a century. I think it's safe to say music is more than a hobby for him. Writing isn't the only valid musical endeavor.

Bruce has gone on record stating that playing with the Beach Boys is nothing more than a job to him, and has stated so several times (most notably in the Peter Ames Carlin book).

I love it, but agree it was unnecessary.

The original is quite great though. What a mean rhythm track. Fat pounding piano/bass .... Bruce and Brian are one's credited with playing piano/organ, so whatever Bruce is doing on the track is awesome.

What a great Brian lead vocal too. In fact, I can only really hear him on the backing vocals as well.

I've always adored the HCTN '67. Such a great, insanely catchy tune. I remember playing Wild Honey one time in the presence of family and friends; it was just kind of on in the background as people chatted. Then HCTN came on and my mum's fella suddenly announced 'what a great song' and played it again. And again. And again. And again. Pretty much for the remainder of the evening. And thus a new Beach Boys convert was formed