Backing Vox 'Let's go away...'

[mike moseley]

Who is it..?  So faint but I think it sounds like Carl..?

[Andrew G. Doe]

It's nobody. No vocals were ever recorded.

[CenturyDeprived]

Who is it..?  So faint but I think it sounds like Carl..?

Did you mean to say "Don't Run Away"?

[joshferrell]

or "Don't Talk"? 

[jiggy22]

Who is it..?  So faint but I think it sounds like Carl..?

I believe it was Rocky!

[Rocky Raccoon]

Who is it..?  So faint but I think it sounds like Carl..?

I believe it was Rocky!

Who was singing in tribute to Lorren Daro's wife.

[Kurosawa]

OP, do you mean "We'll Run Away"?

[mike moseley]

on the fadeout I'm 99% sure there are 'do do' backing vox - listen closely

could be instruments I guess but to me sounds like a voice

isn't it possible the track was worked on at a session for another tune, so not logged..?

It's nobody. No vocals were ever recorded.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Where, exactly  ? From when to when ?

Eh, never mind - just listened in mono, stereo, on speakers, with cans, Spotify, CD.

Nothing. Nada. Rien. Zilch. Zippo.

[AndrewHickey]

Where, exactly  ? From when to when ?

Eh, never mind - just listened in mono, stereo, on speakers, with cans, Spotify, CD.

Nothing. Nada. Rien. Zilch. Zippo.

I've always thought I heard something that sounded like a vocal there too -- the new melodic "doo doo do do" part that comes in at 1:54 and stays til the end. It's not on the mix without the string overdub on the box, but it is on both mono and stereo mixes, so that suggests that whatever it actually is, it's part of the string overdub.
I wouldn't swear there's a vocal there -- and I'm more than happy to believe there isn't given the utter absence of any documentary evidence for it -- but there's something on there that sounds vocal-ish, if you see what I mean. I'd even go so far as to say that something about it makes it sound specifically like *Marilyn's* voice -- even though I can't swear it's there at all.
But I wouldn't put it past Brian's abilities at all at that point to be able to create a string part that sounded like a voice...

[bringahorseinhere?]

I hear the da doo da doo.
it's called a snare drum 

[AndrewHickey]

I hear the da doo da doo.
it's called a snare drum 

No, I'm not talking about the snare.
Between 1:42 and 1:50 there's a bit of musical material -- horn melody, strummed guitar, snare drum and timpani. Some other stuff as well, but those are the major instruments.
From 1:54 onwards, that musical material repeats, but with the addition of the strings, and with an additional countermelody -- a countermelody that isn't on the mix without strings, as I said -- and the snare drum clearly *is* on that mix. *That countermelody* is what we're talking about. It sounds to some of us like there might be a vocal part in the mix there.
Perhaps rather than assuming other people are so stupid they don't know what a drum is, you might try paying attention to what's being said.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I listened from before then. No vocals.

[bringahorseinhere?]

i'll have another go and put my dog ears on

edit: I meant my comment in humour

[Bill M]

I hear it.  And I always assumed it was a female singer.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

Flute.

[c-man]

I just listened to the stereo mix through good headphones - the flute would be a good guess, but I hear that doubling the oboe on another line. I believe the part in question is played by the two violas. Violas can sometimes sound "vocal-like".

[Cristian Kiper]

It's the same instrument/sound that appears between 1:22 and 1:24, right?

EDIT: BTW, I just noticed that the soundwave for the stereo mix of Let's Go Away For Awhile is inverted when compared to the mono mix (and to the backing track that's missing the string overdub.) I wonder if the other stereo mixes in the PS sessions box are also inverted...

EDIT #2: Wouldn't It Be Nice and You Still Believe In Me are inverted as well (meaning that in the soundwave the peaks become valleys and vice-versa). Interesting...

EDIT #3: And... the SACD stereo mix has the same polarity as the mono mix.

[mike moseley]

Yeah that's it - I've always heard it as vox from the very first time I heard it in mono 20 odd years ago: 'doo doos' - to me it sounds like Carl.

I hear the da doo da doo.
it's called a snare drum 

No, I'm not talking about the snare.
Between 1:42 and 1:50 there's a bit of musical material -- horn melody, strummed guitar, snare drum and timpani. Some other stuff as well, but those are the major instruments.
From 1:54 onwards, that musical material repeats, but with the addition of the strings, and with an additional countermelody -- a countermelody that isn't on the mix without strings, as I said -- and the snare drum clearly *is* on that mix. *That countermelody* is what we're talking about. It sounds to some of us like there might be a vocal part in the mix there.
Perhaps rather than assuming other people are so stupid they don't know what a drum is, you might try paying attention to what's being said.

[mike moseley]

But I can hear the 'd' on the 'doo doos'.

I've never heard it as anything but vox.

Flute.

[c-man]

But I can hear the 'd' on the 'doo doos'.

I've never heard it as anything but vox.

Flute.

Best guess would then be a wind instrument, of which flute and oboe were the two present on the overdub. If the line which I previously described as flute doubling oboe is actually the sax section from the basic track, then that would mean that they mystery line COULD be the flute or oboe on the overdub. I think the "doo doo" effect could reasonably be achieved by the woodwind player "enunciating" that hard percussive consonant sound on the first note of each line, at Brian's direction. Whatever it is, it's bathed in echo, which can make it sound altogether different than what it would normally sound like.

EDIT: on comparing the basic track to the overdubbed track, I'm gonna say at least one of the woodwinds is definitely playing a separate line on top of the sax section (most noticeable between 1:28 and 1:32), and that sounds like an oboe to me, so if it is a woodwind playing the "doo doo" line in the background, then it is likely the flute, as Josh suggested - perhaps an alto flute, which would sound "mellower" than a normal concert-pitch flute. But I would think it could still sound the way it does if the player enunciated it with a hard "d".

[mike moseley]

Cheers - interesting thoughts.  I know odd things can happen in mixes but to me it sounds so much like a voice that I think its a voice

I can't think of an example of a woodwind that sounds like that.

I stand to be corrected but wouldn't a simpler explanation be that its a vox mixed low..?

But I can hear the 'd' on the 'doo doos'.

I've never heard it as anything but vox.

Flute.

Best guess would then be a wind instrument, of which flute and oboe were the two present on the overdub. If the line which I previously described as flute doubling oboe is actually the sax section from the basic track, then that would mean that they mystery line COULD be the flute or oboe on the overdub. I think the "doo doo" effect could reasonably be achieved by the woodwind player "enunciating" that hard percussive consonant sound on the first note of each line, at Brian's direction. Whatever it is, it's bathed in echo, which can make it sound altogether different than what it would normally sound like.

[Cristian Kiper]

According to wikipedia, the track for Let's Go Away For Awhile was recorded on 1/18/1966, and the string overdubs were recorded the next day. And according to the internet, the (touring) Beach Boys were in Japan from 1/7 to 1/23. So, assuming no further recordings were done for the song, it's impossible that any of them are singing or playing on the track.

[mike moseley]

Thanks Cristian.  Could have been Brian.  Could have been Carl at a later date - or I could be wrong

The reason I'm convinced though is purely because to me it sounds like a human voice.

According to wikipedia, the track for Let's Go Away For Awhile was recorded on 1/18/1966, and the string overdubs were recorded the next day. And according to the internet, the (touring) Beach Boys were in Japan from 1/7 to 1/23. So, assuming no further recordings were done for the song, it's impossible that any of them are singing or playing on the track.

[The Old Master Painter]

Guys, Brian was just humming something..