Session Musicians post-Wrecking Crew

[NateRuvin]

It is quite common knowledge that the Wrecking Crew played many (most, even) BBs backing tracks in 65-66. Carol Kaye has claimed that she didn't play for the BBs after the SMiLE sessions. So with her saying that, I assume most of the WC didn't play for the BBs after that very much either.

Albums like Smiley Smile-Holland are often seen and describes as albums made by the band, as a band- mostly without session players. I am not sure how true that is.
It's also pretty common knowledge that the BBs didn't play most of their backing tracks from KTSA and onwards...

But am I getting wrong info? Were there many session players from 67-73 and did the BBs play any of their 80's and 90's tracks?

[wantsomecorn]

They didn't use The Wrecking Crew as a cohesive unit much after Smile, but they still hired individual members depending on what songs were being done.

Really, it varied a lot from album to album. Friends had a lot of studio musicians on it, but Surf's Up had almost none.

A few tracks from 15 Big Ones used a large component of the Wrecking Crew, like Blueberry Hill (off the top of my head).

[c-man]

From my extensive research, I can tell you that Carol Kaye did indeed not play another session for Brian after SMiLE (until 1996, that is, when she played on EVERYTHING I NEED - which Brian produced for Carnie & Wendy). And it's true that Smiley Smile and Wild Honey were largely cut by the Boys as a band (with only a few WC members here and there on the latter). However, for Friends, 20/20, and Sunflower, Brian and the other Boys relied heavily on the WC members and other session players to provide instrumentation (while still playing a fair amount themselves). They even included a special "Thank you" to these musicians on the back cover slick of Friends. For the next three studio albums (Surf's Up, Carl And The Passions, and Holland), though, it was back to the group playing most of the instruments, along with a few friends and close associates (like Charles Lloyd, Mike Kowalski, and the Dragon brothers).

For the '80s and '90s stuff - that was mostly session players, but if one of the BBs (other than Mike) wrote a song, he would almost always play on the track. Credits are included in the '85 album inner sleeve, so you can see for yourself there. I think the same is true on Still Cruisin'. Note: although none of the Boys play on the KOKOMO track, both Jeff Foskett and Van Dyke Parks are on there! For Summer In Paradise, Bruce is the only Boy credited as an instrumentalist, and my ears tell me he's only playing on the song he wrote, plus maybe UNDER THE BOARDWALK. For the April '95 attempt at a reunion (DANCIN' THE NIGHT AWAY and possibly GRACE OF MY HEART), Brian had Carl overdub guitar. But for the November '95 sessions (SOUL SEARCHIN' and STILL A MYSTERY), it seems it was all Don Was' people, although Andy played on the latter, and the released version of SS reinstates Andy's original backing track.

[NateRuvin]

From my extensive research, I can tell you that Carol Kaye did indeed not play another session for Brian after SMiLE (until 1996, that is, when she played on EVERYTHING I NEED - which Brian produced for Carnie & Wendy). And it's true that Smiley Smile and Wild Honey were largely cut by the Boys as a band (with only a few WC members here and there on the latter). However, for Friends, 20/20, and Sunflower, Brian and the other Boys relied heavily on the WC members and other session players to provide instrumentation (while still playing a fair amount themselves). They even included a special "Thank you" to these musicians on the back cover slick of Friends. For the next three studio albums (Surf's Up, Carl And The Passions, and Holland), though, it was back to the group playing most of the instruments, along with a few friends and close associates (like Charles Lloyd, Mike Kowalski, and the Dragon brothers).

For the '80s and '90s stuff - that was mostly session players, but if one of the BBs (other than Mike) wrote a song, he would almost always play on the track. Credits are included in the '85 album inner sleeve, so you can see for yourself there. I think the same is true on Still Cruisin'. Note: although none of the Boys play on the KOKOMO track, both Jeff Foskett and Van Dyke Parks are on there! For Summer In Paradise, Bruce is the only Boy credited as an instrumentalist, and my ears tell me he's only playing on the song he wrote, plus maybe UNDER THE BOARDWALK. For the April '95 attempt at a reunion (DANCIN' THE NIGHT AWAY and possibly GRACE OF MY HEART), Brian had Carl overdub guitar. But for the November '95 sessions (SOUL SEARCHIN' and STILL A MYSTERY), it seems it was all Don Was' people, although Andy played on the latter, and the released version of SS reinstates Andy's original backing track.

Wow thanks! Do you know what Bruce's involvement was on the Friends album?

[Andrew G. Doe]

On one hand CK states she never played on any post-Smile sessions, yet on the other she claims she played bass on "I Was Made To Love Her". Dilemma. Not. 

[NateRuvin]

On one hand CK states she never played on any post-Smile sessions, yet on the other she claims she played bass on "I Was Made To Love Her". Dilemma. Not. 

Hmmm... I think she has a habit of re-writing history...
Then again, none of us were in the studio (With the exception of a few members) with the band, so none of us REALLY know who did what.

[bgas]

On one hand CK states she never played on any post-Smile sessions, yet on the other she claims she played bass on "I Was Made To Love Her". Dilemma. Not. 

Hmmm... I think she has a habit of re-writing history...
Then again, none of us were in the studio (With the exception of a few members) with the band, so none of us REALLY know who did what.

That's Idiotic

[c-man]

From my extensive research, I can tell you that Carol Kaye did indeed not play another session for Brian after SMiLE (until 1996, that is, when she played on EVERYTHING I NEED - which Brian produced for Carnie & Wendy). And it's true that Smiley Smile and Wild Honey were largely cut by the Boys as a band (with only a few WC members here and there on the latter). However, for Friends, 20/20, and Sunflower, Brian and the other Boys relied heavily on the WC members and other session players to provide instrumentation (while still playing a fair amount themselves). They even included a special "Thank you" to these musicians on the back cover slick of Friends. For the next three studio albums (Surf's Up, Carl And The Passions, and Holland), though, it was back to the group playing most of the instruments, along with a few friends and close associates (like Charles Lloyd, Mike Kowalski, and the Dragon brothers).

For the '80s and '90s stuff - that was mostly session players, but if one of the BBs (other than Mike) wrote a song, he would almost always play on the track. Credits are included in the '85 album inner sleeve, so you can see for yourself there. I think the same is true on Still Cruisin'. Note: although none of the Boys play on the KOKOMO track, both Jeff Foskett and Van Dyke Parks are on there! For Summer In Paradise, Bruce is the only Boy credited as an instrumentalist, and my ears tell me he's only playing on the song he wrote, plus maybe UNDER THE BOARDWALK. For the April '95 attempt at a reunion (DANCIN' THE NIGHT AWAY and possibly GRACE OF MY HEART), Brian had Carl overdub guitar. But for the November '95 sessions (SOUL SEARCHIN' and STILL A MYSTERY), it seems it was all Don Was' people, although Andy played on the latter, and the released version of SS reinstates Andy's original backing track.

Wow thanks! Do you know what Bruce's involvement was on the Friends album?

Piano on MEANT FOR YOU, probably keyboard on PASSING BY. And vocals, of course.

[NateRuvin]

On one hand CK states she never played on any post-Smile sessions, yet on the other she claims she played bass on "I Was Made To Love Her". Dilemma. Not. 

Hmmm... I think she has a habit of re-writing history...
Then again, none of us were in the studio (With the exception of a few members) with the band, so none of us REALLY know who did what.

That's Idiotic

Who me? Or Kaye changing history?

[Andrew G. Doe]

On one hand CK states she never played on any post-Smile sessions, yet on the other she claims she played bass on "I Was Made To Love Her". Dilemma. Not. 

Hmmm... I think she has a habit of re-writing history...
Then again, none of us were in the studio (With the exception of a few members) with the band, so none of us REALLY know who did what.

I'm guessing you've never heard The Smile Sessions, The Pet Sounds Sessions, Hawthorne CA or the Sea Of Tunes tapes. Or seen an American Federation of Musicians Local 47 contract sheet.

[NateRuvin]

On one hand CK states she never played on any post-Smile sessions, yet on the other she claims she played bass on "I Was Made To Love Her". Dilemma. Not. 

Hmmm... I think she has a habit of re-writing history...
Then again, none of us were in the studio (With the exception of a few members) with the band, so none of us REALLY know who did what.

I'm guessing you've never heard The Smile Sessions, The Pet Sounds Sessions, Hawthorne CA or the Sea Of Tunes tapes. Or seen an American Federation of Musicians Local 47 contract sheet.

Fair enough. I have seen those things. But if things were so set in stone, why would there always be arguments over personnel?

[c-man]

On one hand CK states she never played on any post-Smile sessions, yet on the other she claims she played bass on "I Was Made To Love Her". Dilemma. Not. 

Hmmm... I think she has a habit of re-writing history...
Then again, none of us were in the studio (With the exception of a few members) with the band, so none of us REALLY know who did what.

I'm guessing you've never heard The Smile Sessions, The Pet Sounds Sessions, Hawthorne CA or the Sea Of Tunes tapes. Or seen an American Federation of Musicians Local 47 contract sheet.

Fair enough. I have seen those things. But if things were so set in stone, why would there always be arguments over personnel?

Not aware of any arguments, except from a certain legendary female bassist/guitarist, and from the occasional "expert" fan (not so much on this board) who read in a book once-upon-a-time that Brian began using Los Angeles session musicians in 1963, and therefore believes none of the guys played on the records after that point.

[NateRuvin]

OK, my main question was, and maybe this wasn't clear, but who were the session players that played on BBs records after the WC?

[c-man]

OK, my main question was, and maybe this wasn't clear, but who were the session players that played on BBs records after the WC?

Too many to list here. But the massive list of credits I put together for the "yearbook" included in the MIC box set listed all that I knew of at the time.