Currently obsessed with the Sweet Insanity sessions..

[SamMcK]

I can't help it! Something about that 80s sounding production mixed with Brian's 80s/90s voice is irresistible! Where were you when you first discovered it, and where does it stack up in the solo canon?

I honestly think this has some of Brian's best solo material to this day. I particularly love the likes of 'Concert Tonight', 'Thank You (Brian)', 'Water Builds Up', 'Spirit of Rock 'N' Roll', 'Don't Let Her Know (She's An Angel)'. Much more endearing and completely Brian than almost anything on No Pier Pressure.

Smart Girls is of course awful and embarrassing but I love the novelty factor of it all. "I love hips and legs and breasts!"

I think if they released official versions of Sweet Insanity and The Wilson-Paley sessions they would honestly both be in my top 5 solo releases.

*I think some years ago a switch must have went off in my brain when I discovered I loved essentially everything Beach Boys/Brian Wilson related with a few exceptions (SIP of course) I even somewhat dig Salute Nascar, please call for help.

[Bittersweet-Insanity]

Sweet Insanity is Brian at his purest and most eccentric. It fills my ears with some very catchy melodies. Not to everyone's liking, of course. I put my mp3 player on the speakers at work one nite and a manager turned it off cause the song that was playing (Brian/Thank You) was too weird Lol.

I found it online like 5 yrs ago when I was getting seriously into Brian and the Boys. Some of it sounded a bit garish and very much of its time. Most of it tho became favorites, like the raucous blasts that are Hotter (luv the surf guitar licks during the chorus) and Love Ya.

Fun to listen to the 2 different mixes and see what was changed.

[SamMcK]

Sweet Insanity is Brian at his purest and most eccentric. It fills my ears with some very catchy melodies. Not to everyone's liking, of course. I put my mp3 player on the speakers at work one nite and a manager turned it off cause the song that was playing (Brian/Thank You) was too weird Lol.

I found it online like 5 yrs ago when I was getting seriously into Brian and the Boys. Some of it sounded a bit garish and very much of its time. Most of it tho became favorites, like the raucous blasts that are Hotter (luv the surf guitar licks during the chorus) and Love Ya.

Fun to listen to the 2 different mixes and see what was changed.

Oh man, that's my favourite song on the album! Haha. I think its got about 8-10 tracks that would have made a fantastic sequel to the s/t album.

[Jesse Reiswig]

Worth it for "Do You Have Any Regrets?" aka "I Do," in my opinion. There's the core of a great song in "Thank You." Too bad the lyrics are so disturbing to listen to.

[37!ws]

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

Trust me on that link.

[Jukka]

I trusted, and I don't regret. This is the first time I realized how great this song is. The chorus still isn't quite as killer as I'd hope it to be, but so not.

[Bicyclerider]

I find it depressing to listen to and the production . . . disturbing.  There are a few decent songs destroyed by inane lyrics or horrible production. 

[Lonely Summer]

Somehow, through the years, I gained a reputation among my friends as some kind of 50s/60s rock purist. I guess that's because, while they were digging Def Leppard, Van Halen, REO Speedwagon, Journey and Styx....or Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, etc, I was collecting Beach Boys, Beatles, Byrds, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Lovin' Spoonful, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Elvis, etc. But I didn't completely shut out contemporary music during the 80's and 90's, I heard all the stuff that was popular on CHR or AOR radio, and I liked a fair amount of it. I understand why Brian and the Boys recorded in the styles they did during those years. They wanted to put out music that could compete with all the other hot sounds on modern radio. So I find myself now defending records like the BB85 and BW88 albums. I enjoy the sound of those records. I do think Brian went a bit over the top on producting Sweet Insanity. Ditto for Terry Melcher on Summer in Paradise. Sweet Insanity definitely has the better songs, though. The lyrics are a bit embarrassing at times, but I like the sound of Brian's voice on these songs, and in fact, one of my favorite songs on the album is "Thank You (Brian)". I can't write melodies like that, I will never be able to come up with those kinds of chord changes. He might be considered "damaged goods", but IMO, Brian never lost his musicial gift. "I Do (Do You Have Any Regrets)" is another favorite, and this version of "Spirit of Rock 'N' Roll" is much better than the one that finally got released. I think it's easy to hate these recordings because of who his main collaborator was, and it's not up to the standard of the 1988 album, there's no "Rio Grande" here, but I like it.

[Lean Back Now Listen]

Man alive, Sweet Insanity is fantastic! I suppose I'm not a big fan of "Power of Love," but other than that, I like every track on both mixes plus bonus tracks of the era! "Country Feelin'" really captures the hilarity of "Barnyard" at a faster pace with the rhythmic goat noises and other sound effects. That's definitely one of my favorite tracks from the project. I just started relistening to this stuff a few weeks ago, and I noticed how cool the instrumentation in "Someone To Love" is too. I'm pretty sure there's an oboe in there?

But yes, I love Sweet Insanity! It was the first thing I listened to in my car when I got my driver's license and could drive by myself, for whatever reason. I also recently listened to the entire Slightly American Music bootleg of Paley Sessions material, and that stuff equally blows my mind! As usual, The Beach Boys (together or separately) leave some of their best stuff in the vault.

Side note: I'm a huge fan of both "Smart Girls" and "Summer of Love." Those lyrics are straight cheese, and I get a huge kick out of singing them, showing them to other people, or imagining The Beach Boys singing them (which makes the "Summer of Love" music video that much better!!). I think they're catchy songs, too!

[CenturyDeprived]

Could Sweet Insanity have been released at the time? I know it was rejected twice, but did every proper record company in town turn it down?

I'm wondering:  after being rejected... what release options were available to Brian/Landy at the time that could have given the album the highest profile release possible, given the era that it was?

[c-man]

I agree, I've mostly dug "Sweet Insanity" since I first heard a cassette dub back in '92. Brian's vocals are WAY better than on his '88 solo debut, and the songs use mostly organic instruments, compared to its predecessor. Are some of the lyrics daft? Sure, but isn't that true of MOST BBs-related endeavors? I've said it before, "Water Builds Up" is pure genius...who but BW would write a happy, cheerful song about being pissed off? Incredible song, incredible singing, incredible production.

As for an official release...last I heard, the master tapes were still mysteriously "missing". We DO have the official promo-only cassette release that turned up at Rockaway Records a few years ago...

[Douchepool]

Well...it's a MAJOR step down from the self-titled album. If the self-titled was a grand slam, Sweet Insanity was a foul ball. Other than a couple songs it's really not all that good and parts of it are just plain embarrassing. Smart Girls is terrible in a bad joke type of way, Brian (the song) is just uncomfortable to listen to, and the vocals just don't measure up to what was achieved a mere two years before. At times I feel like this is more of a Landy album than a Brian effort; the lyrics are among the worst Brian has ever performed.

It's unreleased for very good reason.

[Lonely Summer]

I agree, I've mostly dug "Sweet Insanity" since I first heard a cassette dub back in '92. Brian's vocals are WAY better than on his '88 solo debut, and the songs use mostly organic instruments, compared to its predecessor. Are some of the lyrics daft? Sure, but isn't that true of MOST BBs-related endeavors? I've said it before, "Water Builds Up" is pure genius...who but BW would write a happy, cheerful song about being pissed off? Incredible song, incredible singing, incredible production.

As for an official release...last I heard, the master tapes were still mysteriously "missing". We DO have the official promo-only cassette release that turned up at Rockaway Records a few years ago...

Mostly organic instruments? Are you sure? I hear a lot of synths - the disc I have is called the Millennium Edition. I don't know how that compares with others.

[petsoundsnola]

Well, we did get four Sweet Insanity tracks  (some altered slightly, some altered considerably) with organic instruments in 2004 with Gettin' In Over My Head was released:

Make a Wish
Fairy Tale
Rainbow Eyes
Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel

Perhaps they will mine the unreleased Sweet Insanity archives again for the next album. 

[37!ws]

It's unreleased for very good reason.

According to Brian, the "very good reason" is that the tapes were stolen. Said he went into the studio and found that the tapes were gone. In the interview he said something like "All that hard work we did, and nothing to show for it."

David Leaf was present for the interview and mentioned that the album had been bootlegged. "Really? Do you have a bootleg of it?" "Yes, Brian." "Well, bring it over some time! I'd like to hear it!"

[mikeddonn]

It's unreleased for very good reason.

According to Brian, the "very good reason" is that the tapes were stolen. Said he went into the studio and found that the tapes were gone. In the interview he said something like "All that hard work we did, and nothing to show for it."

David Leaf was present for the interview and mentioned that the album had been bootlegged. "Really? Do you have a bootleg of it?" "Yes, Brian." "Well, bring it over some time! I'd like to hear it!"

Maybe they were 'burned' like the SMiLE tapes! 

[Douchepool]

It's unreleased for very good reason.

According to Brian, the "very good reason" is that the tapes were stolen. Said he went into the studio and found that the tapes were gone. In the interview he said something like "All that hard work we did, and nothing to show for it."

David Leaf was present for the interview and mentioned that the album had been bootlegged. "Really? Do you have a bootleg of it?" "Yes, Brian." "Well, bring it over some time! I'd like to hear it!"

Whomever stole the tapes did the world a great service; Landy's psychobabble does not deserve to be aired in any form.

[HeyJude]

I'm not sure how likely it is that someone stole all of the multi-track masters and final mix masters for the entire project. That would amount to boxes and boxes of material. I dunno, maybe it was all digital recordings, but even then it seems odd that the tapes were *all* stolen, and I've never heard any indication that there was some sort of "Eddie and the Cruisers" situation where everybody badly wanted to release the album but just couldn't find the tapes.

[Matt H]

It's unreleased for very good reason.

According to Brian, the "very good reason" is that the tapes were stolen. Said he went into the studio and found that the tapes were gone. In the interview he said something like "All that hard work we did, and nothing to show for it."

David Leaf was present for the interview and mentioned that the album had been bootlegged. "Really? Do you have a bootleg of it?" "Yes, Brian." "Well, bring it over some time! I'd like to hear it!"

Whomever stole the tapes did the world a great service; Landy's psychobabble does not deserve to be aired in any form.

Isn't it possible if they were really stolen, it was Landy?

[SMiLE Brian]

It's unreleased for very good reason.

According to Brian, the "very good reason" is that the tapes were stolen. Said he went into the studio and found that the tapes were gone. In the interview he said something like "All that hard work we did, and nothing to show for it."

David Leaf was present for the interview and mentioned that the album had been bootlegged. "Really? Do you have a bootleg of it?" "Yes, Brian." "Well, bring it over some time! I'd like to hear it!"

Whomever stole the tapes did the world a great service; Landy's psychobabble does not deserve to be aired in any form.

you have them?

[Douchepool]

If I did I'd burn them! 

[SMiLE Brian]

Real Beach Boy sanity!

[Douchepool]

I just want the innocence. Sweet Insanity is an atrocity against man, beast, and Love alike.

[CenturyDeprived]

It's unreleased for very good reason.

According to Brian, the "very good reason" is that the tapes were stolen. Said he went into the studio and found that the tapes were gone. In the interview he said something like "All that hard work we did, and nothing to show for it."

David Leaf was present for the interview and mentioned that the album had been bootlegged. "Really? Do you have a bootleg of it?" "Yes, Brian." "Well, bring it over some time! I'd like to hear it!"

Whomever stole the tapes did the world a great service; Landy's psychobabble does not deserve to be aired in any form.

Isn't it possible if they were really stolen, it was Landy?

I could conceive of the possibility that maybe, Alexandra Morgan has them buried in boxes in a closet/storage unit somewhere?

I can only imagine what types of weird Brian-related artifacts, music tapes, alternate mixes, and otherwise, that Landy probably took with him when he exited the picture. Maybe the Sweet Insanity tapes exist in the same place where the Brian VHS tapes are, the creepy Landy goon-filmed documentation of nearly a decade of his life.

[PhilSpectre]

All I have to say on the matter is ...

'Metal ... Beach!'