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Author Topic: Brian's most active late-70's period on tour  (Read 16271 times)
GoodVibrations33
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« on: June 12, 2019, 06:46:17 PM »

Haven't picked up Ian and John's In Concert book in a while, but was wondering what you all thought was Brian's most active late-1970's period touring with the band.  Were there a block of shows when he played bass for more than just a few songs or contributed to songs vocally, more than just the token lead vocals ("Sloop John B.", "Surfer Girl" bridge, etc.)?  Audio from the '77 Seattle show sticks out in my mind with him being more active vocally (example "Catch A Wave").  There's a clip in the Endless Harmony doc I think of the band playing "In My Room" live with Brian on bass and singing his original vocal part.  I never could ID that show or year.

I remember reading/hearing recollections of Brian wanting to play bass full-time around this time, and Carl more or less put a kibosh on that saying Brian wasn't ready or more practice was needed).

Anyone have memories from seeing the band live around that time?  Any shows that stick out in your mind seeing Brian on bass the entire time?  Wish the show that had a "lively" Brian on bass during "Roller Skating Child" (?) was still on YouTube!
« Last Edit: June 12, 2019, 06:47:20 PM by GoodVibrations33 » Logged
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« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2019, 12:10:53 AM »

Brian played bass for most of the show throughout 1978 (the exception being a 4 or 5 song stretch mid-show). Videos from the Australian tour are a good way to catch that. He missed shows in August of that year due to his well-documented hospitalization that month. He toured with the band throughout most of the following three years, too, but hardly played bass at all (if at all) on those tours. But in '81 and early '82, he was covering Carl's leads, so I'd say that was a pretty active time for him with the band.
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« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2019, 03:29:28 AM »

I always thought that possibly one of the reasons Carl decided to come back to the beach boys band was their performance without him. As we all remember from some of those televised shows the band was far from Stellar without Carl Wilson. Vocally Brian was not up to the challenge of covering Carl's lead vocals. The band itself was under rehearsed and not performing well either. I always sort of felt that Carl believed their Legacy was really hurt and maybe that was one of the reasons why he decided to come back. Who knows. But while it was sad to see Brian try to cover Carl's leads it was good to see him actually on stage at least contributing.
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« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2019, 04:31:43 AM »

The in my room clip is in the 1985 American band documentary and I mentioned in the book that it was filmed at the April 1978 show in Houston. However the filmmakers did fool with some of the footage such as adding vocals from other times to footage if it sounded better-so I can’t 100% say he sounded like that on that night without seeing the raw footage-that was from the Jumbotron footage. I agree with Craig that 1978 and 1981 were two years where chances were high you’d catch Brian if you were at a show
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« Reply #4 on: June 13, 2019, 06:15:19 AM »

My recollection is that the 1978 "In My Room" live footage from "An American Band" has an old track overlaid (maybe with extra reverb?); it's definitely not live '78 audio.

Brian was pretty active as well in very late 1976 and into 1977. Check out the Largo, MD footage from January 1977. He sings a number of leads (with an extra gravelly voice), and comes up and plays bass and sings as well (e.g. the infamous "Back Home" performance where he can't get the mic stand to adjust and smacks it and yells at it).



He was indeed active in much of 1978 as well. This is a '78 show:



1978 was the last tour where he was regularly active on bass. In 1979/1980, he was less engaged, spent most of the show to the side of the stage on piano, and usually only took a few lead vocal cameos, such as the bridge on "Surfer Girl", the opening lines to "Sloop John B", a joined partial lead on "Wouldn't It Be Nice" with Al, and a quick call and response at the very end of "Good Timin'"

He was more involved vocally in 1981 and into early 1982, taking over Carl's leads on "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations" (which he often sounded okay on), and continuing the little lead bits he did in 79/80, and also regularly attempted to sing "Don't Worry Baby" in its original key, which didn't tend to go well.

It was ironically when Carl returned in mid-1982 that Brian was less involved in the live shows, and also started missing more shows, culminating of course in his second episode with Landy late in the year.
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« Reply #5 on: June 13, 2019, 06:24:54 AM »

I always thought that possibly one of the reasons Carl decided to come back to the beach boys band was their performance without him. As we all remember from some of those televised shows the band was far from Stellar without Carl Wilson. Vocally Brian was not up to the challenge of covering Carl's lead vocals. The band itself was under rehearsed and not performing well either. I always sort of felt that Carl believed their Legacy was really hurt and maybe that was one of the reasons why he decided to come back. Who knows. But while it was sad to see Brian try to cover Carl's leads it was good to see him actually on stage at least contributing.

I think Carl returned in April/May 1982 mostly because he never intended to leave permanently in the first place. While more was going on with his departure in 1981 than simply doing his solo album and touring behind it (he had issues with the stale setlist, the lack of rehearsals, some of the type of venues the band was booking, and lack of willingness from the band to record another album), I’ve spent a lot of time examining the band’s comments during that time, and have found that nobody much seemed to feel Carl was gone for good. While some posters for the ’81 Doobie Brothers tour where Carl was opening act did bill him as “formerly of the Beach Boys”, I think that had more to do with simply indicating his connection with the BBs and that he wasn’t *at that time* touring with the BBs.

If Carl had an impulse to return because he felt Brian wasn’t doing well, or the band wasn’t doing well without him, he didn’t seem to be in a rush about it. He was interviewed right after watching the July 5th, 1981 Queen Mary show that had been televised and, as I recall, called it “painful” and said something along the lines of “a little rehearsal would help a lot.” He knew early on that the band wasn’t doing well, and that Brian was having mixed results at best singing more leads. Yet Carl didn’t even do his “dry run” return until April 1982, and then left again for a bit before returning in May 1982.

My guess is that Carl returned because he wanted to be back in the band, and probably also wanted to share in the lucrative revenue the tours were still bringing, and back in 1982 he also still had enough clout that he could come back with a series of demands, which included a more interesting setlist, more rehearsals, and some changes in the touring band (which was necessitated anyway by Carl returning and the band needed one less bass player when Ed Carter moved back to bass). Carl also, at least in the very short term upon rejoining, supposedly got the band to agree to not book any additional casino shows beyond what was already booked. That particular request didn’t last very long based on subsequent tour schedules, but he was successful in getting a more interesting setlist and a tighter band sound.
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« Reply #6 on: June 13, 2019, 08:24:55 AM »

My recollection is that the 1978 "In My Room" live footage from "An American Band" has an old track overlaid (maybe with extra reverb?); it's definitely not live '78 audio.

Brian was pretty active as well in very late 1976 and into 1977. Check out the Largo, MD footage from January 1977. He sings a number of leads (with an extra gravelly voice), and comes up and plays bass and sings as well (e.g. the infamous "Back Home" performance where he can't get the mic stand to adjust and smacks it and yells at it).



He was indeed active in much of 1978 as well. This is a '78 show:



1978 was the last tour where he was regularly active on bass. In 1979/1980, he was less engaged, spent most of the show to the side of the stage on piano, and usually only took a few lead vocal cameos, such as the bridge on "Surfer Girl", the opening lines to "Sloop John B", a joined partial lead on "Wouldn't It Be Nice" with Al, and a quick call and response at the very end of "Good Timin'"

He was more involved vocally in 1981 and into early 1982, taking over Carl's leads on "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations" (which he often sounded okay on), and continuing the little lead bits he did in 79/80, and also regularly attempted to sing "Don't Worry Baby" in its original key, which didn't tend to go well.

It was ironically when Carl returned in mid-1982 that Brian was less involved in the live shows, and also started missing more shows, culminating of course in his second episode with Landy late in the year.


Also, Brian sang the falsetto on "Hawaii" live in '79...but not the show I saw. When I saw them on the L.A. (Light) tour, they were still doing "Heroes And Villains", but shortly afterwards they dropped that one for awhile (it was added back in the following year for the European tour), and added "Hawaii". Of course, when they did "Hawaii" IN Hawaii for the Mike Douglas show toward the end of 1980, Brian was absent, and so Bruce handled the falsetto on that one. Interestingly, at that '79 show I saw, Brian was absent for not only "Heroes And Villains", "Lady Lynda", "Sumahama", and of course "I Write The Songs", but also "Surfer Girl", so Al sang the bridge on that latter one. He came back onstage for "Help Me Rhonda" and the "home stretch", and the complete crowd freakout that ensued.
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« Reply #7 on: June 13, 2019, 09:36:46 AM »

My recollection is that the 1978 "In My Room" live footage from "An American Band" has an old track overlaid (maybe with extra reverb?); it's definitely not live '78 audio.

Brian was pretty active as well in very late 1976 and into 1977. Check out the Largo, MD footage from January 1977. He sings a number of leads (with an extra gravelly voice), and comes up and plays bass and sings as well (e.g. the infamous "Back Home" performance where he can't get the mic stand to adjust and smacks it and yells at it).



He was indeed active in much of 1978 as well. This is a '78 show:



1978 was the last tour where he was regularly active on bass. In 1979/1980, he was less engaged, spent most of the show to the side of the stage on piano, and usually only took a few lead vocal cameos, such as the bridge on "Surfer Girl", the opening lines to "Sloop John B", a joined partial lead on "Wouldn't It Be Nice" with Al, and a quick call and response at the very end of "Good Timin'"

He was more involved vocally in 1981 and into early 1982, taking over Carl's leads on "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations" (which he often sounded okay on), and continuing the little lead bits he did in 79/80, and also regularly attempted to sing "Don't Worry Baby" in its original key, which didn't tend to go well.

It was ironically when Carl returned in mid-1982 that Brian was less involved in the live shows, and also started missing more shows, culminating of course in his second episode with Landy late in the year.

This is pure speculation on my behalf.... it could easily be due to the nose candy and party favours... but my guess is that in the first gif, Brian is actually getting zapped by an improperly grounded microphone.  Which totalllllly sucks. 
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« Reply #8 on: June 13, 2019, 09:46:22 AM »

Would that still happen with a foam windscreen on the mic?
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« Reply #9 on: June 13, 2019, 10:29:24 AM »

My recollection is that the 1978 "In My Room" live footage from "An American Band" has an old track overlaid (maybe with extra reverb?); it's definitely not live '78 audio.

Brian was pretty active as well in very late 1976 and into 1977. Check out the Largo, MD footage from January 1977. He sings a number of leads (with an extra gravelly voice), and comes up and plays bass and sings as well (e.g. the infamous "Back Home" performance where he can't get the mic stand to adjust and smacks it and yells at it).



He was indeed active in much of 1978 as well. This is a '78 show:



1978 was the last tour where he was regularly active on bass. In 1979/1980, he was less engaged, spent most of the show to the side of the stage on piano, and usually only took a few lead vocal cameos, such as the bridge on "Surfer Girl", the opening lines to "Sloop John B", a joined partial lead on "Wouldn't It Be Nice" with Al, and a quick call and response at the very end of "Good Timin'"

He was more involved vocally in 1981 and into early 1982, taking over Carl's leads on "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations" (which he often sounded okay on), and continuing the little lead bits he did in 79/80, and also regularly attempted to sing "Don't Worry Baby" in its original key, which didn't tend to go well.

It was ironically when Carl returned in mid-1982 that Brian was less involved in the live shows, and also started missing more shows, culminating of course in his second episode with Landy late in the year.

This is pure speculation on my behalf.... it could easily be due to the nose candy and party favours... but my guess is that in the first gif, Brian is actually getting zapped by an improperly grounded microphone.  Which totalllllly sucks. 

If you watch the full video, just before that animated .gif starts, he's trying to adjust the mic stand. He can't get it to slide up, and then gets frustrated and gives up and slaps it (mouthing something that as I recall includes "f***ing microphone!").
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« Reply #10 on: June 13, 2019, 10:51:24 AM »

My recollection is that the 1978 "In My Room" live footage from "An American Band" has an old track overlaid (maybe with extra reverb?); it's definitely not live '78 audio.

Brian was pretty active as well in very late 1976 and into 1977. Check out the Largo, MD footage from January 1977. He sings a number of leads (with an extra gravelly voice), and comes up and plays bass and sings as well (e.g. the infamous "Back Home" performance where he can't get the mic stand to adjust and smacks it and yells at it).



He was indeed active in much of 1978 as well. This is a '78 show:



1978 was the last tour where he was regularly active on bass. In 1979/1980, he was less engaged, spent most of the show to the side of the stage on piano, and usually only took a few lead vocal cameos, such as the bridge on "Surfer Girl", the opening lines to "Sloop John B", a joined partial lead on "Wouldn't It Be Nice" with Al, and a quick call and response at the very end of "Good Timin'"

He was more involved vocally in 1981 and into early 1982, taking over Carl's leads on "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations" (which he often sounded okay on), and continuing the little lead bits he did in 79/80, and also regularly attempted to sing "Don't Worry Baby" in its original key, which didn't tend to go well.

It was ironically when Carl returned in mid-1982 that Brian was less involved in the live shows, and also started missing more shows, culminating of course in his second episode with Landy late in the year.

This is pure speculation on my behalf.... it could easily be due to the nose candy and party favours... but my guess is that in the first gif, Brian is actually getting zapped by an improperly grounded microphone.  Which totalllllly sucks. 

If you watch the full video, just before that animated .gif starts, he's trying to adjust the mic stand. He can't get it to slide up, and then gets frustrated and gives up and slaps it (mouthing something that as I recall includes "f***ing microphone!").

I watched that full video (with Brian smacking the mic) awhile back, and it sure is sad to see him in that shape. I may be misremembering, but I seem to recall (or maybe I just recall reading this in a Youtube comment by someone at the time) that Brian was getting an inadvertent electrical jolt through the mic or some of his equipment, and that was the cause for his painful grimacing (and the resultant hitting of the mic in anger). Maybe that's totally wrong though.
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« Reply #11 on: June 13, 2019, 11:45:08 AM »

On the "Back Home" video, I obviously can't say anything for sure. It seems like an awfully mild yet *long* shock if that's what it is. Mike is holding on to the mic just moments before Brian steps up.

It sure looks to me like he's trying to adjust the mic stand down below to make it taller, as he's taking over someone else's and he's taller. After he smacks the mic, he then proceeds to instead tilt the mic upwards more toward him (it also then moves up just a bit).

Hardly an intense mystery. But to me it's a case of Brian just being kind of weird and easily frazzled and probably wired. Just before the song, he sings "Airplane" and seems kind of wired and pretty much *screams* his lead vocal.
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« Reply #12 on: June 13, 2019, 02:04:02 PM »

Brian really had no interest in touring as a BeachBoy at that time. He was told he needed the money, primarily by all the people on his payroll.

That's one of the reasons I used to get into trouble here. Apparently, it's not okay to say that people on Brian's payroll wanted to keep their jobs (the majority of them did, with the exception of a few good guys). Or that people who write a book about Brian/BBa want to sell a book, or whatever. (Fine with me, but tell the truth about it, please. I'm not accusing anyone of not caring, just admit there's an additional motive).

Also, at that point in time there had to be a Wilson performing for it to be a legitimate Beach Boys show. Brian wasn't happy and it showed.

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« Reply #13 on: June 14, 2019, 10:56:29 AM »

Great points Debbie. As I rea=call when Carl left, and Dennis was consistently absent, it was either get Brian on stage every day, or contracts may be voided because of the "1 Wilson" requirement
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« Reply #14 on: June 14, 2019, 11:12:30 AM »

Brian really had no interest in touring as a BeachBoy at that time. He was told he needed the money, primarily by all the people on his payroll.

That's one of the reasons I used to get into trouble here. Apparently, it's not okay to say that people on Brian's payroll wanted to keep their jobs (the majority of them did, with the exception of a few good guys). Or that people who write a book about Brian/BBa want to sell a book, or whatever. (Fine with me, but tell the truth about it, please. I'm not accusing anyone of not caring, just admit there's an additional motive).

Also, at that point in time there had to be a Wilson performing for it to be a legitimate Beach Boys show. Brian wasn't happy and it showed.



Thanks Debbie. Let me chime in and say that the line "tell the truth about it, please" is and should be one of the guiding principles of any valid look at the history of this band. Sadly that principle too often falls by the wayside, and people who do know and tell the truth get labeled as the troublemakers when in fact those doing the labeling can be the real offenders. Anyway, it's good to get the truth out there in all cases, isn't it?  Smiley

I think it was the late, great Hal Blaine who said in an interview "Brian was the goose that laid the golden eggs..." for a lot of people, and if anyone interested in getting deeper into this band's history would look at that one notion and apply it to the earliest days as a band in Hawthorne through all the turmoil, they will see a common thread. Anyone who has seen "Love & Mercy", specifically the Kubrick tribute scene near the end when Brian's life flashes by and he's visited by various figures from his past, has seen several specific examples.

The names and faces changed, the expectations and behaviors did not for decades. Imagine the pressure of being held responsible for carrying, supporting, and forwarding an enterprise and numbers of people waiting for the golden eggs, and either not wanting to do it, saying "I don't want to do it", or simply not being physically or mentally up for doing it...and then feeling browbeaten into doing it anyway. Who would be happy in those cases?

No wonder the guy looked unhappy at various points.
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« Reply #15 on: June 14, 2019, 01:07:51 PM »

On the "Back Home" video, I obviously can't say anything for sure. It seems like an awfully mild yet *long* shock if that's what it is. Mike is holding on to the mic just moments before Brian steps up.

It sure looks to me like he's trying to adjust the mic stand down below to make it taller, as he's taking over someone else's and he's taller. After he smacks the mic, he then proceeds to instead tilt the mic upwards more toward him (it also then moves up just a bit).

Hardly an intense mystery. But to me it's a case of Brian just being kind of weird and easily frazzled and probably wired. Just before the song, he sings "Airplane" and seems kind of wired and pretty much *screams* his lead vocal.
In looking at the footage, seconds before the Brian vs. microphone incident, Mike is either arguing with Brian or being very expressive about something at the 8:10 mark:

https://youtu.be/NhQnELrh9a4?t=490

As Bruce was out of the band at the time, perhaps proper mic adjustments were something the band was lacking.

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« Reply #16 on: June 14, 2019, 02:08:21 PM »

On the "Back Home" video, I obviously can't say anything for sure. It seems like an awfully mild yet *long* shock if that's what it is. Mike is holding on to the mic just moments before Brian steps up.

It sure looks to me like he's trying to adjust the mic stand down below to make it taller, as he's taking over someone else's and he's taller. After he smacks the mic, he then proceeds to instead tilt the mic upwards more toward him (it also then moves up just a bit).

Hardly an intense mystery. But to me it's a case of Brian just being kind of weird and easily frazzled and probably wired. Just before the song, he sings "Airplane" and seems kind of wired and pretty much *screams* his lead vocal.
In looking at the footage, seconds before the Brian vs. microphone incident, Mike is either arguing with Brian or being very expressive about something at the 8:10 mark:

https://youtu.be/NhQnELrh9a4?t=490

As Bruce was out of the band at the time, perhaps proper mic adjustments were something the band was lacking.


The band needed a Mike adjustment more than a mic adjustment   LOL
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« Reply #17 on: June 14, 2019, 02:42:59 PM »

On the "Back Home" video, I obviously can't say anything for sure. It seems like an awfully mild yet *long* shock if that's what it is. Mike is holding on to the mic just moments before Brian steps up.

It sure looks to me like he's trying to adjust the mic stand down below to make it taller, as he's taking over someone else's and he's taller. After he smacks the mic, he then proceeds to instead tilt the mic upwards more toward him (it also then moves up just a bit).

Hardly an intense mystery. But to me it's a case of Brian just being kind of weird and easily frazzled and probably wired. Just before the song, he sings "Airplane" and seems kind of wired and pretty much *screams* his lead vocal.
In looking at the footage, seconds before the Brian vs. microphone incident, Mike is either arguing with Brian or being very expressive about something at the 8:10 mark:

https://youtu.be/NhQnELrh9a4?t=490

As Bruce was out of the band at the time, perhaps proper mic adjustments were something the band was lacking.



That exchange between Mike and Brian has always seemed a little weird. My best guess is that Mike is giving Brian some sort of mock half serious pep talk and Brian is responding in a sort of half serious intense fashion.
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« Reply #18 on: June 27, 2019, 01:54:13 AM »

I've seen footage (privately, perhaps the Houston one) from a '78 show where Brian is THE bass player, basically. It's a bit shocking to see, and he's also very animated, running around in the back. He was functioning more as an integral part of the band, and he even nailed the tricky bass part on WIBN. Didn't sing much though.
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« Reply #19 on: June 27, 2019, 06:25:39 AM »

I've seen footage (privately, perhaps the Houston one) from a '78 show where Brian is THE bass player, basically. It's a bit shocking to see, and he's also very animated, running around in the back. He was functioning more as an integral part of the band, and he even nailed the tricky bass part on WIBN. Didn't sing much though.

The Houston '78 show is one of the shows in the BB vault; a few bits popped up in "An American Band" and "Endless Harmony" (the latter included that quick shot of an energetic Brian on bass on stage).

These uncut pro-shot shows should be released by BRI, but beyond publishing clearances needed for releasing videos, there are other issues with a lot of the footage like this. It's interesting to *us*, but sometimes pretty tough to see/hear (imagine releasing Brian's *screaming* lead on "Airplane" from the Largo '77 show), and also in some cases the only extant audio on these shows is arguably not of releasable quality (e.g. the Seattle '83 show with audio that sounds like it's coming from an AM transistor radio).
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« Reply #20 on: June 27, 2019, 09:35:19 AM »

I've seen footage (privately, perhaps the Houston one) from a '78 show where Brian is THE bass player, basically. It's a bit shocking to see, and he's also very animated, running around in the back. He was functioning more as an integral part of the band, and he even nailed the tricky bass part on WIBN. Didn't sing much though.

The Houston '78 show is one of the shows in the BB vault; a few bits popped up in "An American Band" and "Endless Harmony" (the latter included that quick shot of an energetic Brian on bass on stage).

These uncut pro-shot shows should be released by BRI, but beyond publishing clearances needed for releasing videos, there are other issues with a lot of the footage like this. It's interesting to *us*, but sometimes pretty tough to see/hear (imagine releasing Brian's *screaming* lead on "Airplane" from the Largo '77 show), and also in some cases the only extant audio on these shows is arguably not of releasable quality (e.g. the Seattle '83 show with audio that sounds like it's coming from an AM transistor radio).

Yeah, I remember seeing another one from that tour where some of the band, Carl in particular are clearly in bad shape. He was playing "The Trader" behind a Wurli looking very hungover, glared at the camera and forcefully gestured the cameraman to get out of his face and shoot elsewhere. Might've been Largo I think? But I think the Brian bass one was probably the Houston one.
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« Reply #21 on: June 27, 2019, 11:40:10 AM »

I've seen footage (privately, perhaps the Houston one) from a '78 show where Brian is THE bass player, basically. It's a bit shocking to see, and he's also very animated, running around in the back. He was functioning more as an integral part of the band, and he even nailed the tricky bass part on WIBN. Didn't sing much though.

The Houston '78 show is one of the shows in the BB vault; a few bits popped up in "An American Band" and "Endless Harmony" (the latter included that quick shot of an energetic Brian on bass on stage).

These uncut pro-shot shows should be released by BRI, but beyond publishing clearances needed for releasing videos, there are other issues with a lot of the footage like this. It's interesting to *us*, but sometimes pretty tough to see/hear (imagine releasing Brian's *screaming* lead on "Airplane" from the Largo '77 show), and also in some cases the only extant audio on these shows is arguably not of releasable quality (e.g. the Seattle '83 show with audio that sounds like it's coming from an AM transistor radio).

Yeah, I remember seeing another one from that tour where some of the band, Carl in particular are clearly in bad shape. He was playing "The Trader" behind a Wurli looking very hungover, glared at the camera and forcefully gestured the cameraman to get out of his face and shoot elsewhere. Might've been Largo I think? But I think the Brian bass one was probably the Houston one.

Yeah, I think the Carl keyboard moment was "All This Is That" from the Largo, MD 1977 show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tVqBT5I1WE

From what I recall, both nights of a two-night stand were captured on video from Largo in 1977. Only one of the shows circulates and has been for years, and that's the one linked above. I think it's the second of two nights. I think tiny bits of the other show are seen in "Endless Harmony" (Brian in a different shirt at the piano). But both are supposedly in the BRI vaults.
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« Reply #22 on: June 27, 2019, 02:26:19 PM »

31 year old Carl on stage, yaya-ed out of his gourd, wearing a Mickey Mouse sweater, and slaughtering a song about TM, is such a fantastically lewd scene.
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Debbie KL
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« Reply #23 on: June 27, 2019, 04:02:57 PM »

Brian really had no interest in touring as a BeachBoy at that time. He was told he needed the money, primarily by all the people on his payroll.

That's one of the reasons I used to get into trouble here. Apparently, it's not okay to say that people on Brian's payroll wanted to keep their jobs (the majority of them did, with the exception of a few good guys). Or that people who write a book about Brian/BBa want to sell a book, or whatever. (Fine with me, but tell the truth about it, please. I'm not accusing anyone of not caring, just admit there's an additional motive).

Also, at that point in time there had to be a Wilson performing for it to be a legitimate Beach Boys show. Brian wasn't happy and it showed.



Thanks Debbie. Let me chime in and say that the line "tell the truth about it, please" is and should be one of the guiding principles of any valid look at the history of this band. Sadly that principle too often falls by the wayside, and people who do know and tell the truth get labeled as the troublemakers when in fact those doing the labeling can be the real offenders. Anyway, it's good to get the truth out there in all cases, isn't it?  Smiley

I think it was the late, great Hal Blaine who said in an interview "Brian was the goose that laid the golden eggs..." for a lot of people, and if anyone interested in getting deeper into this band's history would look at that one notion and apply it to the earliest days as a band in Hawthorne through all the turmoil, they will see a common thread. Anyone who has seen "Love & Mercy", specifically the Kubrick tribute scene near the end when Brian's life flashes by and he's visited by various figures from his past, has seen several specific examples.

The names and faces changed, the expectations and behaviors did not for decades. Imagine the pressure of being held responsible for carrying, supporting, and forwarding an enterprise and numbers of people waiting for the golden eggs, and either not wanting to do it, saying "I don't want to do it", or simply not being physically or mentally up for doing it...and then feeling browbeaten into doing it anyway. Who would be happy in those cases?

No wonder the guy looked unhappy at various points.

Thanks, GF - you summed it up well.

(So sorry it took so long to reply. My husband is in home hospice, so mostly my life is wrapped around that.)

I think that period was so tough for all of them that most of what we see isn't pretty.  Brian was the guy who was never allowed a solo career for so long while others got to do theirs, he was the guy who brought Redwood/Three Dog Night to Brother Records, but was shut down (think about how that could have saved the day during that period). Carl brought Flame, so his taste was exquisite, too. Mike brought the Pickle Brothers. Let that sink in and consider that Brian might have been frustrated.

What I would say about one thing, and I may be absolutely wrong, is that one thing Carl wouldn't have wanted was to be remembered as a saint, as some people want to paint him. I honestly didn't know him terribly well, but better than many who speculate about him. He had a sense of humor that was occasionally wicked, oddly subtle, yet hilarious in a charming sort of way and always something that you wouldn't notice was funny, but he did. I wonder if their common sense of humor brought Brian and Carl back together as much as the music and family love (also, I talked to Melinda about this and she was a huge advocate of bringing them close again).

I understand why people are fascinated by that time period. I left in the middle of it because I wasn't tough enough, nor was I in the position to be Brian's advocate, so I left it to others. I think everyone did the best they knew to do, but somehow "Landy II" was considered to be the best answer by those in power. David Leaf had already found Brian's team at UCLA that brought him back to health a decade later, but I was the one who recommended them on David's behalf. No one was interested, so that's on me. They "knew better." I guess my meek presentation contributed to how things went pear-shaped. Life is full of these sad stories when people are all compromised by their own issues (in my case, lack of confidence).

The fact that Brian and the music lived on is nothing less than a miracle of love. I'd rather focus on that than the flip-side. Both are human and maybe useful stories in their own ways. People as brilliant as Brian and brothers could soar to the heights and hit rock-bottom. If the stories help others, great.
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« Reply #24 on: June 28, 2019, 03:41:52 AM »

(So sorry it took so long to reply. My husband is in home hospice, so mostly my life is wrapped around that.)

Very sorry to hear that, Debbie.

Quote
I think that period was so tough for all of them that most of what we see isn't pretty.  Brian was the guy who was never allowed a solo career for so long while others got to do theirs, he was the guy who brought Redwood/Three Dog Night to Brother Records, but was shut down (think about how that could have saved the day during that period). Carl brought Flame, so his taste was exquisite, too. Mike brought the Pickle Brothers. Let that sink in and consider that Brian might have been frustrated.

What I would say about one thing, and I may be absolutely wrong, is that one thing Carl wouldn't have wanted was to be remembered as a saint, as some people want to paint him. I honestly didn't know him terribly well, but better than many who speculate about him. He had a sense of humor that was occasionally wicked, oddly subtle, yet hilarious in a charming sort of way and always something that you wouldn't notice was funny, but he did. I wonder if their common sense of humor brought Brian and Carl back together as much as the music and family love (also, I talked to Melinda about this and she was a huge advocate of bringing them close again).

I understand why people are fascinated by that time period. I left in the middle of it because I wasn't tough enough, nor was I in the position to be Brian's advocate, so I left it to others. I think everyone did the best they knew to do, but somehow "Landy II" was considered to be the best answer by those in power. David Leaf had already found Brian's team at UCLA that brought him back to health a decade later, but I was the one who recommended them on David's behalf. No one was interested, so that's on me. They "knew better." I guess my meek presentation contributed to how things went pear-shaped. Life is full of these sad stories when people are all compromised by their own issues (in my case, lack of confidence).

The fact that Brian and the music lived on is nothing less than a miracle of love. I'd rather focus on that than the flip-side. Both are human and maybe useful stories in their own ways. People as brilliant as Brian and brothers could soar to the heights and hit rock-bottom. If the stories help others, great.

I love reading what you have to say. You paint a wonderful, unvarnished (no pun intended) picture of those days. But you shouldn't blame yourself for anything--we're all weak mortals, after all.
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