Brian's 1975 recording of "In the Back of My Mind" is being released...

[petsite]

I LOVE Brian Wilson. Everything about him, good and bad, I take at face value. But we must remember that this song was cut during the time seen below. No matter where you come down on this tune, the times and situation color the outcome!

[Mikie]

1975 was also the year Brian was hospitalized. Not a lot is known about it - it was a surprise to me when I read about it recently.

[seltaeb1012002]

Listening to this again. Man, this is so sad. It just hit me that this is probably the last time any shed of his original voice was recorded.

Check out 1:11. His young emotive voice shines through for a brief moment on "what would I doooo" https://youtu.be/mI2rq0uGFqQ?t=71

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I didn't know that , Mikie.

[Rocky Raccoon]

Now that I think of it, 1975 was pretty much empty of any new Beach Boys material.  Which makes this recording even more of an oddity.  But regardless of Brian's mental state at the time, it's a sincere and beautiful performance and I'm glad it's out there.  Are there any other 1975 recordings from Brian in circulation?

[seltaeb1012002]

Back Home was recorded in late '75.

Other than that, there's that demo of "Lucy Jones" from earlier in the year which supposedly features Brian & Stephen Kalinich both singing lead.

[Ron]

Hmmm... I kind of surprised that this got a negative reaction, I think it's a great recording but I've always liked the recording of Still I Dream Of It, too... 

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Now that I think of it, 1975 was pretty much empty of any new Beach Boys material.  Which makes this recording even more of an oddity.  But regardless of Brian's mental state at the time, it's a sincere and beautiful performance and I'm glad it's out there.  Are there any other 1975 recordings from Brian in circulation?

He did (awful) back ups on Johnny Rivers's version of Help Me Rhonda, and did the backups towards the end on something called Boat to Sail. Both were after ITBOMM but before Back Home. Both are still up on YouTube, I think.

[Jim V.]

Back Home was recorded in late '75.

Other than that, there's that demo of "Lucy Jones" from earlier in the year which supposedly features Brian & Stephen Kalinich both singing lead.

I hate being that guy, but "Lucy Jones" was actually recorded the same day as the "California Feelin'" demo, in November '74, and not in early '75.

And as far as other 1975 recordings of Brian, well obviously there's "Back Home" as seltaeb1012002 said. But he also does contribute vocals to Johnny Rivers recording of "Help Me Rhonda" which is also from 1975. And from the little bit that I can hear Brian on there, it definitely sounds more 15 Big Ones-ish. And then there's also Jackie DeShannon's "Boat to Sail" which also dates from 1975. And on this one it's even harder to make out Brian's part. I guess he's in those harmony stacks. But anyways, there's at least those three. And Brian also recorded Van Dyke Parks' song "Come to the Sunshine" but apparently the tape for that has been lot. Apparently this was recorded closer to the end of the year so it wouldn't be interesting to hear how he sounded on it.

[Jim V.]

Ah Billy, you beat me to it!

[seltaeb1012002]

Back Home was recorded in late '75.

Other than that, there's that demo of "Lucy Jones" from earlier in the year which supposedly features Brian & Stephen Kalinich both singing lead.

I hate being that guy, but "Lucy Jones" was actually recorded the same day as the "California Feelin'" demo, in November '74, and not in early '75.

And as far as other 1975 recordings of Brian, well obviously there's "Back Home" as seltaeb1012002 said. But he also does contribute vocals to Johnny Rivers recording of "Help Me Rhonda" which is also from 1975. And from the little bit that I can hear Brian on there, it definitely sounds more 15 Big Ones-ish. And then there's also Jackie DeShannon's "Boat to Sail" which also dates from 1975. And on this one it's even harder to make out Brian's part. I guess he's in those harmony stacks. But anyways, there's at least those three. And Brian also recorded Van Dyke Parks' song "Come to the Sunshine" but apparently the tape for that has been lot. Apparently this was recorded closer to the end of the year so it wouldn't be interesting to hear how he sounded on it.

Oh really? My bad. Thought I read it was cut in '75.

I've also never been able to make out Brian's part in "Boat To Sail". Great track though.

Something tells me there's a whole lot more that exists from this era that we don't know about.

[Eric Aniversario]

I didn't read the whole thread....but I have to say that this is pretty amazing and should have been on MiC.

[Shady]

I didn't read the whole thread....but I have to say that this is pretty amazing and should have been on MiC.

I agree.

Pretty strange putting it on NPP but I'm glad we have it.

[Joel Goldenberg]

After my umpteenth time listening to it, I'm getting a Ray Charles vibe from the demo in terms of some of the vocalization. Brian said on that '80s Beach Boys (25th anniversary?) TV special that he had Ray in mind when he wrote Sail On Sailor. Maybe he had Ray on his mind this time as well.

[Wirestone]

Don't care for it. Don't understand why Brian cut it. Don't understand why folks here care about it. Don't understand this desire to wallow in Brian's darkest days. Don't understand why it's a bonus track on NPP.

Give us Run James Run or Metropolis or even Danny Boy. Any day.

[drbeachboy]

I could be wrong, but wasn't the damaging of his voice his choice?

I wouldn't go as far to call it that. Brian's always been insecure about his voice. He often mentions wanting to redo 'Let Him Run Wild' because he hated how he sounded "like a girl" when he sang it (despite it being one of the greatest vocal performances of his life). He's also mentioned wanting to sound manlier around the "15 Big Ones" era, which you can see while listening to songs like "Back Home" that show how even though his voice has deteriorated, he's still going a little overboard trying to sound gruff.

But the effect drugs had on his voice are still too strong for it to have been a conscious decision. It's a lot like Dennis' voice; they both deteriorated in between Holland and 15 Big Ones, when their substance abuse began to escalate, and Dennis for sure wasn't trying to sabotage his voice.

All three brothers wound up with husky sounding voices as they aged. The difference with Carl was he took better care of his voice by quitting smoking in 1985, and hiring a vocal coach to keep his voice as healthy as possible.

[Mikie]

I could be wrong, but wasn't the damaging of his voice his choice?

I wouldn't go as far to call it that. Brian's always been insecure about his voice. He often mentions wanting to redo 'Let Him Run Wild' because he hated how he sounded "like a girl" when he sang it (despite it being one of the greatest vocal performances of his life). He's also mentioned wanting to sound manlier around the "15 Big Ones" era, which you can see while listening to songs like "Back Home" that show how even though his voice has deteriorated, he's still going a little overboard trying to sound gruff.

But the effect drugs had on his voice are still too strong for it to have been a conscious decision. It's a lot like Dennis' voice; they both deteriorated in between Holland and 15 Big Ones, when their substance abuse began to escalate, and Dennis for sure wasn't trying to sabotage his voice.

All three brothers wound up with husky sounding voices as they aged. The difference with Carl was he took better care of his voice by quitting smoking in 1985, and hiring a vocal coach to keep his voice as healthy as possible.

Yeah, Carl quit smoking in 1985 and look where it got him.

Actually, I don't see a point where Carl's voice was ever "gruff", at least not on purpose. Nowhere's close to Brian and Dennis, where their vocal chords were ravaged by smoke and coke. Please point me in the direction where Carl was "gruff" or "raspy".

[Mikie]

Don't care for it. Don't understand why Brian cut it. Don't understand why folks here care about it. Don't understand this desire to wallow in Brian's darkest days. Don't understand why it's a bonus track on NPP.

Give us Run James Run or Metropolis or even Danny Boy. Any day.

Klay, it's a timely piece. A little bit of a mysterious track as it was a pivotal point in time where his voice was in permanent transition. I don't see it as morbid or dark really; maybe emotional, but not a guy who's really in trouble. I think it's nice that we have it to listen to.

But I also wonder who's idea it was to include it as a bonus track, unless they missed the boat with it being included on MIC. Maybe it wasn't available at the time for inclusion on the "GV box set, ""Endless Harmony" and "Hawthorne". I'm a little surprised Brian OK'd it for this solo release. But he OK'd "Still I Dream Of It" for his other solo album (which also seemed out of place). I can see including maybe "Love & Mercy", but this track really belongs on a comp.

[drbeachboy]

I could be wrong, but wasn't the damaging of his voice his choice?

I wouldn't go as far to call it that. Brian's always been insecure about his voice. He often mentions wanting to redo 'Let Him Run Wild' because he hated how he sounded "like a girl" when he sang it (despite it being one of the greatest vocal performances of his life). He's also mentioned wanting to sound manlier around the "15 Big Ones" era, which you can see while listening to songs like "Back Home" that show how even though his voice has deteriorated, he's still going a little overboard trying to sound gruff.

But the effect drugs had on his voice are still too strong for it to have been a conscious decision. It's a lot like Dennis' voice; they both deteriorated in between Holland and 15 Big Ones, when their substance abuse began to escalate, and Dennis for sure wasn't trying to sabotage his voice.

All three brothers wound up with husky sounding voices as they aged. The difference with Carl was he took better care of his voice by quitting smoking in 1985, and hiring a vocal coach to keep his voice as healthy as possible.

Yeah, Carl quit smoking in 1985 and look where it got him.

Actually, I don't see a point where Carl's voice was ever "gruff", at least on purpose. Nowhere's close to Brian and Dennis, where their vocal chords were ravaged by smoke and coke. Please point me in the direction where Carl was "gruff" or "raspy".

Almost anything live late 80's onward. Now, I am not saying he sounds anything close to Brian or Dennis, but you can hear the change in his voice. He is my favorite singer, so I take notice when I hear stuff from that era.

[bossaroo]

Don't care for it. Don't understand why Brian cut it. Don't understand why folks here care about it. Don't understand this desire to wallow in Brian's darkest days. Don't understand why it's a bonus track on NPP.

Give us Run James Run or Metropolis or even Danny Boy. Any day.

please.

it's an absolutely beloved Brian Wilson composition sung by the man himself. probably just for fun. off the cuff. it's heartbreaking but humorous at the same time. not sure if the bridge lyrics were improvised on the spot, but I certainly suspect it. there's really nothing like this in the Beach Boys catalog. it's brilliant.

[CenturyDeprived]

I could be wrong, but wasn't the damaging of his voice his choice?

I wouldn't go as far to call it that. Brian's always been insecure about his voice. He often mentions wanting to redo 'Let Him Run Wild' because he hated how he sounded "like a girl" when he sang it (despite it being one of the greatest vocal performances of his life). He's also mentioned wanting to sound manlier around the "15 Big Ones" era, which you can see while listening to songs like "Back Home" that show how even though his voice has deteriorated, he's still going a little overboard trying to sound gruff.

But the effect drugs had on his voice are still too strong for it to have been a conscious decision. It's a lot like Dennis' voice; they both deteriorated in between Holland and 15 Big Ones, when their substance abuse began to escalate, and Dennis for sure wasn't trying to sabotage his voice.

All three brothers wound up with husky sounding voices as they aged. The difference with Carl was he took better care of his voice by quitting smoking in 1985, and hiring a vocal coach to keep his voice as healthy as possible.

Yeah, Carl quit smoking in 1985 and look where it got him.

Actually, I don't see a point where Carl's voice was ever "gruff", at least on purpose. Nowhere's close to Brian and Dennis, where their vocal chords were ravaged by smoke and coke. Please point me in the direction where Carl was "gruff" or "raspy".

Almost anything live late 80's onward. Now, I am not saying he sounds anything close to Brian or Dennis, but you can hear the change in his voice. He is my favorite singer, so I take notice when I hear stuff from that era.

Especially Soul Searchin'.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Don't care for it. Don't understand why Brian cut it. Don't understand why folks here care about it. Don't understand this desire to wallow in Brian's darkest days. Don't understand why it's a bonus track on NPP.

Give us Run James Run or Metropolis or even Danny Boy. Any day.

please.

it's an absolutely beloved Brian Wilson composition sung by the man himself. probably just for fun. off the cuff. it's heartbreaking but humorous at the same time. not sure if the bridge lyrics were improvised on the spot, but I certainly suspect it. there's really nothing like this in the Beach Boys catalog. it's brilliant.

Agreed.

And personally, I never cared for the original!

[Wirestone]

Ugh.

I have less than no interest in Brian's "mysterious" vocal change of the mid-70s. He smoked a bunch of cigarettes and snorted a bunch of cocaine.

What a mystery! Who would have thought those things changed your voice?

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

I think it's an interesting curio, but not something I'll need to listen to more than a handful of times.

[SMiLE Brian]

Ugh.

I have less than no interest in Brian's "mysterious" vocal change of the mid-70s. He smoked a bunch of cigarettes and snorted a bunch of cocaine.

What a mystery! Who would have thought those things changed your voice?

I love the 2015 BW voice, but i miss the golden falsetto.