Preview No Pier Pressure On Google Play!

[Mike's Beard]

The third one sounds a little more 'upfront' or 'punchier', while the last one sounds weirdly distorted. The other three sound exactly the same to these untrained ears. You have a nice voice BTW Billy.  Pure guess; I'm going to say take two?

[Micha]

Now THIS is interesting.

The 5th is the most obviously processed one. The third one sounds bad too, but in a way completely different from the others, that's probably the unaltered one. I can't tell 1 and 2 apart at all, I think there is some slight pitch corection on number 4.

Can't wait for the solution!

[SinisterSmile]

I'm gonna take a punt and say the second take.

Smooth voice, btw 

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Here's a bit of something... the fifth one is actually not pitch corrected at all...I used a plug in that simulates the guitar effects used by Robert Fripp! I threw that in as a ringer, because it sounded like the 'T Pain ' effect.

But yeah, I'll answer this one later tomorrow...

BTW...I used to have a decent voice pre cigarettes. I'm trying to quit by the end of this weeek so we'll see how I sound in a few months!

[Autotune]

When I thought yet another sterile recording had been produced, these samples appear and I'm stunned. This sounds like a mature, fully developed version, of BW+JT's style 17 (!) years after Imagination. A lot has gone by, including the C50 reunion, which must have boosted Brian's creative ego. The songs sound rich, thought out, developed; no one records Brian's vocals better than JT, I think. They also seem to have found a working dynamic for composition: away from the music room at home and into the studio... the results are different, more spontaneous perhaps; it is slick-sounding, but not dry; and the production touches and overall sound do not suggest commonplace as Imagination's nylon guitars, ror instance. This is also a departure from BW-by-default productions of the past in his solo career, when everything was a patchwork of clip clops and other nods to his sounds of 1966. I do not hear one half-arsed song either: there is no "A friend like you" here; or a "Dream baby"; or a "Where has love been". These songs seem elaborated, thought-out; they are statements from a pop king claiming his crown and scepter.

[Loaf]

I won't listen to the samples so i can save the album for when it's released in full, but i wouldn't be unhappy if this were Imagination II.

I really like Imagination. It's probably my favourite BW solo album.

[Yorick]

This album is gonna get slaughtered by the critics!

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

To prove a point.... here's five versions of the exact same vocal lines I did. One of these has autotune, one of these has a different pitch correction unit, and the rest of them don't. How well can you *really* pinpoint this? Same reverb and compression are used to make it fair.

Which has the autotune?

One, two, three, four, or five? The answer may surprise you. And to REALLY throw you off, one is totally 'dry' apart from the reverb.


https://www.sendspace.com/file/4k90yp

Answers tomorrow...I'm very interested to see if anyone correctly guesses.

I'm going with 3 actually.
My reasons for guessing that may give it away though... But I can tell you I'm pretttttty sure that's the auto tune...

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

This album is gonna get slaughtered by the critics!

Oh yes. Because love you was slaughtered for being too "Brian Wilson" and too "weirdly creative"

Seriously? I know you're trolling but even a troll would know that's wrong.

[HeyJude]

This album is gonna get slaughtered by the critics!

I don’t necessarily see the album getting “slaughtered”, but I don’t think this will be his most acclaimed work either. Makes no particular difference to me; I like the idea of simply continuing to produce the stuff. If there are some gems, then it’s worth it to me. Even “Gettin’ in Over My Head” was worth it for the little gems here and there, even it meant suffering through “Saturday Morning in the City” and whatnot.

This album is pretty exciting in that, while Brian has indeed put out a lot of stuff since 1998, we haven’t had a ton of “new” albums with mostly or all “new” material (as in, not covers or remakes of previously released material).

I think it’s also noteworthy that this is, probably, the first solo Brian release with contributions from Al. It’s the first for David as well apart from that weird random “Sweet Insanity” session years ago.

[HeyJude]

This album is gonna get slaughtered by the critics!

Oh yes. Because love you was slaughtered for being too "Brian Wilson" and too "weirdly creative"

Seriously? I know you're trolling but even a troll would know that's wrong.

But did "Love You" get rave reviews all around back in 1977? I honestly don't know. My perception has always been that it didn't perform super well on the charts, and that both critics and fans have found the album to be rather divisive in terms of agreeing on how good or bad it is.

Keep in mind, how "critics" absorb a new BW album may have little to do with how even the most objective, non-fanboy-ish fan might feel about it.

I think a new BW album is more likely to get a positive review in, say, Mojo or Rolling Stone than in, say, Entertainment Weekly (if they even bother to review it).

As much as Jeff Beck being a tool in regards to Brian and the Brian tour, I think a few weird Beck instrumentals with wordless vocals from Brian and Al may have theoretically garnered better reviews than an easy listening/AOR sort of sound. But we'd never know, and we don't know exactly how the new album sounds yet anyway.

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[RiC]

Am I the only one who loves those synth horns?

[Paul J B]

Based on those snippets it sounds good and I'm looking forward to it.

Don't get the negativity especially the people that were not "expecting" this. What were you expecting? There are a block of people out there that have been waiting for either Pet Sounds 2 or the real Smile since the first "Brian's Back" campaign in the 70's. When an artist creates a masterpiece in his/her creative peak it doesn't happen again. That's what makes it a masterpiece. Otherwise Pet Sounds would be just another cool Beach Boys album. EVERY time Brian puts something out, there seems to be a lot of misguided disappointment. Just like when TWGMTR came out ...tons of enthustastic anticipation....and now when people bring it up more times than not it's "aside from a few tracks it's kinda lousy".  It gets really old. TWGMTR is the best BB album since LA. No Pier Pressure just MIGHT be Brian's best solo work to date and at the very least has the potential to be a good album.

Oh , and I love the goofs on that google site already RATING the album as low as 2 stars from those snips. Priceless.

[HeyJude]

Oh , and I love the goofs on that google site already RATING the album as low as 2 stars from those snips. Priceless.

I'm always puzzled why places like Amazon (and Google, etc.) even allow ratings or reviews prior to release date. Sure, a small smattering of folks may have received review copies, and/or the full item can leak. But generally speaking, most pre-release reviews (good or bad, and I see some comically AWESOME! reviews of stuff that are just as invalid) are not going to be informed properly.

[Tomorrowville]

Based on those snippets it sounds good and I'm looking forward to it.

Don't get the negativity especially the people that were not "expecting" this. What were you expecting?

I can't speak for everybody, but honestly, this was exactly what I was expecting when I heard Joe Thomas was involved.  I'm disappointed, but not surprised.

I like a lot of the songs, from what I can hear.  I just don't like the easy listening/adult contemporary instrumental production (or the more sort of mainstream super-processed pop production of the more contemporary-style tracks).  I'd like the album a lot more if the tracks were more, for lack of a better descriptor, organic and punchy, and/or more flat-out Love You-esque weird.  Basically, the same way I felt about "Imagination" - some good songs that I can't stand to listen to because I don't like the production style.

It's OK - I don't expect Brian to put out stuff I'm going to universally adore every single time.  There's plenty of Brian solo tunes and Beach Boys songs that are well-liked here that I don't like at all, just as I'm sure there are ones I like that plenty of people on the forum don't like at all.  And it's OK for the forum for people to disagree.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

For those  who are still playing the game...here is another clue. #3 is not it. I did use a de-esser and messed with the eq though

[SMiLE Brian]

That post is autotuned!

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Well my phone DOES have autocorrect...

[SMiLE Brian]

 

[guitarfool2002]

To prove a point.... here's five versions of the exact same vocal lines I did. One of these has autotune, one of these has a different pitch correction unit, and the rest of them don't. How well can you *really* pinpoint this? Same reverb and compression are used to make it fair.

Which has the autotune?

One, two, three, four, or five? The answer may surprise you. And to REALLY throw you off, one is totally 'dry' apart from the reverb.


https://www.sendspace.com/file/4k90yp

Answers tomorrow...I'm very interested to see if anyone correctly guesses.

Good point! I'd also suggest doing a follow up "Doubletrack Challenge" where you take a vocal phrase and do 5 different methods of doubletracking it, manual and simulated. Since that is also coming up as a question regarding NPP's vocal sounds and methods of recording.

For me, I've about had it with the whole ball of wax, but everyone knows that by now. I'm sticking to challenges where I can get a cool button if I guess correctly. Although I could twist the logic of even the Pepsi Challenge in order to get a free button if I tried...
Q: Coke or Pepsi?
A: RC Cola! Give me a button.
Q: But RC Cola isn't even an option, it's Coke or Pepsi...
A: I taste RC Cola, I know what I tasted and that's RC Cola. Give me a button.
Q: If I give it to you, will you take the button and go away?
A: Yep.
Q: Here ya go, sport.

[SMiLE Brian]

RC Cola is not an option!!!

[guitarfool2002]

RC Cola is not an option!!!

10 out of 10 soda drinkers who chose RC Cola also chose Autotune. 

[guitarfool2002]

That post is autotuned!

Funny thing is the board really does have a filter that could be set like Autotune. Every time someone types the word "autotune", it could be set to appear in the post as "mustard" for example. You'd get posts like "I don't like the way they put mustard on that lead vocal". It could be a lot of fun and laughs for April Fools Day.

[SMiLE Brian]

please do that today!!!!!