Friends

[bossaroo]

it sounds like the guys were just sitting around in Brian's lounge dicking around on whatever instrument was to hand

thanks so much for sharing your impressions  

[Loaf]

I've mentioned it before on here but I didn't explain it very well and i'm not sure that I can any better now, but albums like "Friends" to me are much more personal, intimate Beach Boys albums.  it gives off this feel that they were all friends (literally), working together, trying to make good music, growing a little older, etc.  So it's one of their albums that almost every moment of it is appreciable, if Bruce is singing in the background my mind notices it and kind of checks off "Hey!  Bruce was there the day they recorded this!" or if I hear a neat lyric I know Dennis wrote, I think "Hey!  They were probably really proud of Dennis pulling that off!" or if I hear a lot of reverb on something, "Hey!  Brian or Stephen (on the later albums) probably worked on that for an hour to get it just right...."

It's hard to explain, but when I listen to a lot of the 70's albums (and late 60's) it's almost like you're there in the room with them while they record it.  I feel like i'm sitting in the control room watching...

This is exactly how i feel. Like i'm a witness to the whole ambience and recording process.

[Loaf]

"dicking around on whatever instrument was to hand"

thanks so much for sharing your impressions 

Isn't that describing the recording session for the a cappella All I Want to Do tag?

[metal flake paint]

Craig's Friend's sessionography in Vol. 20, issue 4 of ESQ lists "Wake The World" and "Be Here In The Morning" as featuring Mike vocals, along with his two leads.

[Mike's Beard]

How much of Mike is present on this album? Wasn't he absent for most of its creation and recording, despite some exceptions? Is this the BB album with the least Mike involvement?

Mike was in Rishikesh, then stopped off in London on the way back. Pretty sure the only tracks he's on are "Meant For You", "Anna Lee, The Healer" and "Transcendental Meditation", all recorded in early April.

And yes, I know the album is awash with session players. I was illustrating an impression, not stating an historical fact.

Mike's on "Transcendental Meditation"? I swear I can only hear Brian and Al - what parts are Mike singing?
I'm certain I hear him on "Be Here in the Morning", the second line on each verse.

[Alan Smith]

Craig's Friend's sessionography in Vol. 20, issue 4 of ESQ lists "Wake The World" and "Be Here In The Morning" as featuring Mike vocals, along with his two leads.

Mike is rather audible on Wake the World - the accentuations on ...dawnin' & ...mornin', especially on the last chorus are he.

[phirnis]

How much of Mike is present on this album? Wasn't he absent for most of its creation and recording, despite some exceptions? Is this the BB album with the least Mike involvement?

Mike was in Rishikesh, then stopped off in London on the way back. Pretty sure the only tracks he's on are "Meant For You", "Anna Lee, The Healer" and "Transcendental Meditation", all recorded in early April.

And yes, I know the album is awash with session players. I was illustrating an impression, not stating an historical fact.

Mike's on "Transcendental Meditation"? I swear I can only hear Brian and Al - what parts are Mike singing?
I'm certain I hear him on "Be Here in the Morning", the second line on each verse.

Just an idea, but maybe he played some sax on TM.

[Stephen W. Desper]

COMMENT:  I hate to sound like an old record (pun intended) but I speak to the recording times of Friends in the first 14 pages of my book Recording The Beach Boys, which can be found at http://swdstudyvideos.com. However, you have to read the book and not just listen to the Sunflower songs. Part of 20/20 is the segway from Friends production efforts -- of which I was involved --- to 20/20 production efforts -- involved with that too and on to Sunflower. As I read some of your comments, I think a few of you would gain a better perspective of those times by referring to the study-video Recording The Beach Boys -- Part One.  ~swd   

[FFS]

God....wish I had SD's book. And his life and expertise......
 Anyhow, my impression of Friends is that it was one inclusion off from being an absolute classic - Diamond Head. This unnecessary pile of childish kitsch prevents this god like album from being 5*. A good album has to represent an ace experience through every track, and this has always killed it stone dead. Still, its vastly superior to 20/20....






 I've always deleted this childish piece of Americana to stop the rest of the album being ruined. With this off the album becomes one of the great experinces of  its time.

[bossaroo]

a lot of folks would disagree with you... there's really nothing else like it in the catalog. Brian was reportedly very involved in creating the atmospheric sound effects, although the song itself appears to have been composed basically on the spot by Al Vescovo, the steel guitarist... which likely explains why the tune doesn't "fit" with the rest of the album for some.

[Emdeeh]

I put together a Hawaiian/ island themed mix CD for a party that had "Diamond Head" as one of the tracks. It fit in beautifully.

[bossaroo]

I love it so much I include it in my personal SMiLE mix, along with Little Pad. the two merge nicely:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGyhIL0mRJ4

Brian also included it in a list of songs he associated with SMiLE, when the proposition of performing SMiLE was first discussed in the early 00's

[NateRuvin]

Everyone claims Bruce wasn't present at these sessions, but I think he was. I can hear his harmony singing built into many songs. Also, Bruce has a very signature (sort of amateur) style of bass playing, that can be found all over Wild Honey, that seems present on Friends.

[Ovi]

Friends, to me, is Pet Sounds part II. The hopeless romantic teenager has grown up, now has a family, he has friends that get him and accept him for all his eccentricities, he has a house which he can give good directions to, a spiritual way of life (TM). The kid finally found his way in the world, he has grown up but still has that wide-eyed wonder about everything.

Aside from the concept, musically it is incredibly beautiful. As someone mentioned before, this is a pretty low-key album in terms of vocals, but the stunning Beach Boys harmonies are still there. The crazy chord changes and Brian's trademark songwriting style are all over this album. Dennis' contributions are so damn good. And it doesn't get much better than hearing a snippet of CIFOTM fit so perfectly in Little Bird.

5/5 one of the best albums the Beach Boys ever made.

Beautiful, fully agreed.

[sockittome]

God....wish I had SD's book. And his life and expertise......
 Anyhow, my impression of Friends is that it was one inclusion off from being an absolute classic - Diamond Head. This unnecessary pile of childish kitsch prevents this god like album from being 5*. A good album has to represent an ace experience through every track, and this has always killed it stone dead. Still, its vastly superior to 20/20....






 I've always deleted this childish piece of Americana to stop the rest of the album being ruined. With this off the album becomes one of the great experinces of  its time.

Diamond Head is pretty harmless in my book.  It's a pleasant little atmospheric ditty that would have made a fine album closer.  But then you have the mood-killing Transcendental to muck everything up.   Sorry, and I know there are a number of folks here who like Transcendental, but I can't get into it.  Lop that one off, and we'll have world peace.

[bossaroo]

Transcendental Meditation is a bit jarring at the end of an otherwise mellow laid-back album, but I think it's also a good example of Brian's sense of humor set to music. and like Busy Doin Nothin and Diamond Head, there's really nothing else like it in the band's catalog. the discordant wall of horns is too cool, and the instrumental track on MiC is a real treat.

why end there, though? tack on I Went To Sleep and Old Man River. maybe Celebrate the News and Time to Get Alone. Friends is far too short of a record.

[SBonilla]

... I've always deleted this childish piece of Americana...

Americana? It's a blues with substitute chords. And childish? Yikes. Such crankiness.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

... I've always deleted this childish piece of Americana...

Americana? It's a blues with substitute chords. And childish? Yikes. Such crankiness.

I see a great deal of blues intersecting with what can be called Americana though granted all these terms are somewhat arbitrary. But if Charley Jordan or Papa Charlie Jackson aren't Americana, I don't know what is.

[bossaroo]

the Beach Boys are about as Americana as it gets if you ask me

[Mike's Beard]

Diamond Head is pretty harmless in my book.  It's a pleasant little atmospheric ditty that would have made a fine album closer.  But then you have the mood-killing Transcendental to muck everything up.   Sorry, and I know there are a number of folks here who like Transcendental, but I can't get into it.  Lop that one off, and we'll have world peace.

We'd also be left with a 23 minute long album.

[Ebb and Flow]

Hated Transcendental Meditation passionately until the instrumental on MiC.  I think it works way better without the dissonant vocals and TM lyrics.  It reminds me of the Doc Severinsen era Tonight Show band or something.  Still don't think it really belongs as an album closer though.  Aside from that Friends is one of their most solid albums.

[sockittome]

Diamond Head is pretty harmless in my book.  It's a pleasant little atmospheric ditty that would have made a fine album closer.  But then you have the mood-killing Transcendental to muck everything up.   Sorry, and I know there are a number of folks here who like Transcendental, but I can't get into it.  Lop that one off, and we'll have world peace.

We'd also be left with a 23 minute long album.

Like bossaroo said, tack on I Went to Sleep.  Personally, I'm not sure about the other suggestions, but IWtS would fit in perfectly with the vibe of the album....and give it some closure.

[c-man]

Friends is probably the last time the band released an album that didn't include tracks from the vault or recorded before the album sessions proper.

How about BB85?

I think the Carl songs were recorded several months before the album sessions proper. So under the strict definition Andrew laid out, it may not qualify. Still, I think it's the closest since Friends.

Wrong - true, Carl's songs on BB '85 were the first to be recorded, but only by a few weeks. Carl flew to London and laid down tracks for his songs with Levine from June 20-25, then returned home for a few shows (including the Tonight Show appearance and the big Washington D.C. Fourth of July concert), after which it was Brian's turn to fly to London to lay down tracks, from July 6-24. Then vocals and additional tracks were recorded in L.A. that fall, followed by vocal sweetening from Al and Bruce in London during January and mixdowns in L.A. during March. So the whole timespan for doing the album stretched over nine months. It wouldn't be accurate to say that any part of this process was before the album sessions proper, as it was ALL part of the sessions proper.

The same thing is true for TWGMTR - while several songs or parts of songs were written years before the rest (that is also true with BB '85), the whole thing was recorded within the same timeframe of about a year or so. See, the difference is, in the '60s these guys really would knock out an album in a couple months, tops - so the Pet Sounds and first half of the SMilE eras, and the second half of the SMiLE eras plus the Smiley Smile and Wild Honey eras all took place in the timespan of one year each ('66 and '67, respectively). But since the '80s, they (like most artists) have spent upwards of a year recording a single album. So sessions for BB '85 spanned '84-'85, BW spanned '87-'88, TWGMTR spanned 2011 (or 2010) to 2012, and NPP spanned 2013 (or late 2012) to late 2014! Several groups of sessions, to be sure, constitute an entire album project these days

[c-man]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but were any of the 20/20 songs recorded during whatever is considered the Friends sessions?
I always associate "I Went to Sleep" and "We're Together Again" with Friends because of the gentle laid-back vibe and the instrument/arrangement choices.

Close, but not quite - although not released until June 17, the Friends sessions wrapped up in mid-April. "We're Together Again" (the finished version) was cut in late May, and "I Went To Sleep" in early June....OK, close enough that I won't quibble! 

[c-man]

How much of Mike is present on this album? Wasn't he absent for most of its creation and recording, despite some exceptions? Is this the BB album with the least Mike involvement?

  Not sure about that, but aural evidence and songwriting credits suggest Bruce was at the nearest faraway place. He's simply nowhere to be found on FREINDS.

Wrong - he's on there instrumentally (piano on "Meant For You", probably Rock-Si-Chord or clavichord or something similar on "Passing By") and vocally (high voice in several places).