Can Brian still do falsetto?

[MBE]

Not trying to put down anyones opinion but his hearing never stopped him from perfect pitch in his 20s. He has an unusually good ear and I think he proves it as an arranger and as a performer. The problem is that his voice is damaged. Before 75 he was a terrific singer. From 76-82  once in a while he was better then he is now but often far worse. His vocals from 83-95 annoy me overall as they are kinda whiney. He was fairly good at times (Let It Shine, Getcha Back) but at other times (Daddy's Little Girl) horrid. Around the 95-6 he began to markedly improve and by 98-99 he sounded quite professinal. Since then I have been pleased with his voice but not knocked out. The last vocals of his that really knock me out were done in 1974 and as much as I like his voice now I don't LOVE it.

[absinthe_boy]

AGD, Darian (as Nimrod suggests) is probably referring to "columnated ruins domino"...Brian certainy sang "while at port" when I saw him in portsmouth two years ago.

I have unusually good ears, and am trained musically. I can pick out who is singing. I also know what it is like to hear your voice alongside an instrumental accompaniment, detect that you are off-key and correct (or at least attempt to). Sometimes I've heard recordings of Brian where he doesn't correct himself - therefore I assume he is unable to hear that he is out of tune.

Perhaps doing a gig with the other Beach boys in the 60's is a bit different from singing with the backing of 19 other musicians in your 60's ?

I'll have to check the PS DVD for a shot of Brian changing shirts mid-song...nevertheless we know he nailed the vocals on at least one of the four nights

As I said summing up, Brian *can* still sing falsetto but not consistently.

If you listen to the earliest SMiLE concert recordings, he's attempting a few falsetto phrases that are altered (transposed) in later concerts...and in other instances his vocals are doubled in earlier concerts while later he sings them solo - indicating that his voice and confidence got better.

[Sheriff John Stone]

The title of this thread is "Can Brian still do falsetto?" Well, yes, he can. He can still hit the notes. But, hell, so can most of us.

There is a big difference between just hitting notes - whether they be falsetto or bass - and singing them with emotion and expression.

I believe this is THE BIGGEST distinction between Brian's vocals with The Beach Boys and his solo years. Yes, Brian (or somebody) makes sure he hits the correct notes on his recent recordings; well, most of them. But there is something missing in his solo career vocals that is keeping his music from reaching its potential. I'm not a musician, so I don't know the term. Phrasing? Inflection?  But I know when I don't hear it...

[Chris Brown]

His phrasing is definitely different than it used to be...mostly I notice that he can't sing a long line with one continuous breath anymore, which I'm guessing is more due to his age than anything else.  Good example is H&V '04.  He sings "I've been in this town so long that back in the city I've been taken for lost and gone *breath* and unknown for a long long time."  On the old versions he went right through.  It's not a huge thing but maybe that's part of what you're not hearing Sheriff.  His emotion, on the other hand, is definitely still there, on stuff like Surf's Up, especially the "laughs come hard" section.  His weathered voice fits the song very well I think, and it makes hearing it all the more special.  I think that in general though, what is missing is that we all want to hear the Brian of old singing these songs, just because we know that if he were still 24 he'd knock them out of the park.  That's how I feel at least...sometimes it's hard to remember that the old guy coming out of my speakers is the same guy who had the voice of an angel once.  But there are still times when you hear that old voice creep in, if just for a moment.

And Andrew I certainly do understand where you're coming from, but the point I was trying to make is that he hit the note on whatever evening it was, and what's more is he had the guts to even attempt it.  In the IJWMFTT version (which as I recall was in the same key as the concert on the DVD), he didn't even try, he just went down the octave.  Brian seems to have a good sense of what he can and can't do vocally at this point.  If he has the confidence, he'll usually nail it.  As others have said, in live performances his hearing difficulties may be a factor, and of course everyone has off nights.  I'd love to see him nailing falsetto parts in concert, but the time for it has passed, and Brian knows it.  And he seems perfectly happy to hand off those parts to others now, and just stick with his leads and bass singing. 

[Aegir]

I don't like Brian's bass vocal that much, it makes me laugh sometimes. Especially in "Little Saint Nick"; he sounds so silly.

[Andrew G. Doe]

AGD, Darian (as Nimrod suggests) is probably referring to "columnated ruins domino"...Brian certainy sang "while at port" when I saw him in portsmouth two years ago.

Well, hey - I was there too ! Small world, huh ?

[MBE]

He does nail it some nights and other nights no. Te point of my original Caroline No stroy was that I was sad that the note I heard him hit so well personally was not attempted on the concert chosen for the dvd. I think Chris is right on about this. We wan't to hear "Brian" again and have to accept that it won't happen. I personally think he didn't emote enough on the SI sessions and many of the Beach Boys 85 tracks. The last three LPs may not be perfect but both in vocals and in production I have no real issues.

[Ron]

One thing I want to mention is, the live shows aren't entirely fair to judge because you're judging what he's doing live against what he did in the studio 40 years ago.  If you judge what he does in the studio now against what he did in the studio then, there's a few moments here and there where he approaches what he once was... but Brian singing off key in concert isn't something he just does now, he screwed up all the time back then too.  I'm not saying his voice is as good now, it's clearly not... but it sure is magic to hear him every once in a while be great again, even if it's just a couple notes.

I was listening to the live version of "Hushabye" from the GV box set today, and noticed Brian sing the wrong line in the first Chorus.  You can listen to lots of the old demos and things too, and hear Brian sing off key all the time! Nowhere near as much as he does now, but we're talking about a man who's a recovered alcoholic, drug addict, and has severe mental disorders.... he shouldn't even be alive right now.  If he sings "all the flowers dieeeeeeed" off key on "Fairy Tale".... well, maybe he'll get it right next time, god bless you Brian, right?

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

His falsetto is leaving him. His bass notes can sound funny sometimes. Yet, his mid-range voice is stronger than ever.That's why I wish he would actually do  a ROCK album. Sometimes he has this *edge* to his voice.

Oddly enough, he sounds really good singing Mike's old parts, but they would've sounded terrible back when he had his "good" voice...

[MBE]

His falsetto is leaving him. His bass notes can sound funny sometimes. Yet, his mid-range voice is stronger than ever.That's why I wish he would actually do a ROCK album. Sometimes he has this *edge* to his voice.

Oddly enough, he sounds really good singing Mike's old parts, but they would've sounded terrible back when he had his "good" voice...

You know I agree that his mid range voice is really nice again but I got say he always nailed Mike's parts, Wouldn't It Be Nice and California Saga come to mind. I also think his singing on Friends but also the 66-74 period in general has a lot of nice mid range singing.

[Andrew G. Doe]

His falsetto is leaving him. His bass notes can sound funny sometimes. Yet, his mid-range voice is stronger than ever.That's why I wish he would actually do a ROCK album. Sometimes he has this *edge* to his voice.

Oddly enough, he sounds really good singing Mike's old parts, but they would've sounded terrible back when he had his "good" voice...

You know I agree that his mid range voice is really nice again but I got say he always nailed Mike's parts, Wouldn't It Be Nice and California Saga come to mind. I also think his singing on Friends but also the 66-74 period in general has a lot of nice mid range singing.

When did he do "California Saga" live ? I'd like to hear that one.

[MBE]

The original 1972 and on the single 1973 On My Way To Sunny Californ I-A lines are what I was refering to.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

His falsetto is leaving him. His bass notes can sound funny sometimes. Yet, his mid-range voice is stronger than ever.That's why I wish he would actually do a ROCK album. Sometimes he has this *edge* to his voice.

Oddly enough, he sounds really good singing Mike's old parts, but they would've sounded terrible back when he had his "good" voice...

You know I agree that his mid range voice is really nice again but I got say he always nailed Mike's parts, Wouldn't It Be Nice and California Saga come to mind. I also think his singing on Friends but also the 66-74 period in general has a lot of nice mid range singing.

But not the "Lonely Sea" era Brian.

[Chris Brown]

I think Brian could have done a pretty darn good bass vocal back in the day...of course the only evidence we really have is that "Don't Talk" vocal snippet from the PS Box.  But the bass voice he does there is quite good I thought.  I think at that point Brian could pretty much do whatever he wanted with his voice, whether it be a beautiful falsetto, a powerful mid-range lead, or a solid bass part.  Too bad age has taken that away from him, but he had such a special voice back in those days.

[MBE]

His falsetto is leaving him. His bass notes can sound funny sometimes. Yet, his mid-range voice is stronger than ever.That's why I wish he would actually do a ROCK album. Sometimes he has this *edge* to his voice.

Oddly enough, he sounds really good singing Mike's old parts, but they would've sounded terrible back when he had his "good" voice...

You know I agree that his mid range voice is really nice again but I got say he always nailed Mike's parts, Wouldn't It Be Nice and California Saga come to mind. I also think his singing on Friends but also the 66-74 period in general has a lot of nice mid range singing.

But not the "Lonely Sea" era Brian.

Agreed. His mid range vocals on the first album are pretty average.  Lonely Sea is one of my favorites. 

[absinthe_boy]

AGD, Darian (as Nimrod suggests) is probably referring to "columnated ruins domino"...Brian certainy sang "while at port" when I saw him in portsmouth two years ago.

Well, hey - I was there too ! Small world, huh ?

It certainly can be. Perhaps you saw me...I was in the 4th row fairly close to the middle...I'm a very large guy and I had a big camera with me.....Brian - to my surprise - would look straight at me and grin whenever I pointed it at him

Shame nobody seems to have a recording of that concert. Do you recall his one rocky moment was when he was about to sing the intro to "Getting In Over My Head" and somebody shouted "I love listening to your new CD". I shall assume that wasn't your good self...

There was at least one guy in my row who seemed unaware that Brian and band were going to give a full rendition of SMiLE. How strange is that?

[Wyndham]

On Orange Crate Art there is some fantastic falsetto singing, especially in San Francisco.

[Rocker]

My dad (Mike) has always loved Brian's falsetto voice. He told me this little story about his visit with Brian while at the Capitol Records building last week: He and Brian were chatting while in the background Pet Sounds was playing. My dad interrupted Brian at one point to listen to a song (I neglected to ask which song, sorry!) and asked him, "Can you still sing like THAT?" Brian just laughed and said "No, man!"

I bet it was "Don't talk".

BTW re: brian's falsetto: you can watch the promo-video for "GIOMH" and you'll hear him doing the "look so fine"-part from Rhonda. He hits the notes, but it doesn't sound really good.

[Ron]

I like in "saturday morning in the city" how he sings falsetto when he starts talking about the little kids in his neighborhood and it sounds so funny.  Lotta heart in that guy

[Pretty Funky]

Can Brian still do falsetto?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMWhfqVTMN4


But Dennis made up for it on the skins IMO.

[Chris Brown]

Ouch that was pretty rough to hear...I give him credit for attempting though.  Interesting how at the end of the 2nd verse he starts improvising and changing the melody so that its in a more comfortable range.  Probably a smart move on his part; so sad that only 15 years before that (hell, even 10 years before that) he had he most gorgeous falsetto. 

[Don_Zabu]

Can Brian still do falsetto?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMWhfqVTMN4


But Dennis made up for it on the skins IMO.

Video's been taken down - does anyone know what it was?

[Jim V.]

Probably "Don't Worry Baby" from 1981. Not one of Brian's top moments.

[Chris Brown]

Probably "Don't Worry Baby" from 1981. Not one of Brian's top moments.

Yep that's what it was...he tries singing it in the original key and it's just awful.  He tried improvising the melody from the chorus onward, but his voice was not in any kind of shape at that point to attempt that song in its original key.  Trust me, you're better off not hearing it!

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Yeah, it was pretty craptastic.