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Author Topic: Sweet Mountain (1974)  (Read 5482 times)
shangaijoeBB
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« on: July 10, 2019, 04:58:43 PM »

This is my definitive version fanmix of an unmade 1974 follow-up to the Beach Boys' Holland album. I reassembled previous tracks of versions of my mixes Sweet Mountain, California Feeling and Caribou Ranch albums into a cohesive, 10-track LP that would come up to about the same length as Holland. This LP would have been released in late 1974, The Boys still with Blondie & Ricky, and no Endless Summer released. Instead on working on the failed Caribou Ranch sessions, the group (now led by both Carl & Dennis) would have worked on outtakes from previous albums (Hard Times, We Got Love, Sweet Mountain, Out in The Country, Carry Me Home) and new songs (Good Timin', The River Song, Shortenin' Bread, Rainbows, Holy Man).

Of course, what may be most controversial about this mix is the lack of real Beach Boys vocals on 3 tracks. I tried to keep the same kind of mood created on the Carl & The Passions and Holland albums, so with the limited songs we have from this era, I selected Don Goldberg's Out in The Country remake (which has a original Beach Boys backing track and could have been sung by Mike), Spring's Sweet Mountain (to me one of the greatest "lost" Brian production after SMiLE, which could have been sung by Carl, Mike and Brian) and Taylor Hawkins' wonderful remake of Dennis' Holy Man (which could have been sung by Carl). I you can get past this weird "no Beach Boys on this track" effect, just try to enjoy this LP as is.

Cheers!
https://youtu.be/8H2quqJcF_0

Side A

1. Good Timing (Brian Wilson/Carl Wilson)
2. The River Song (Dennis Wilson/Carl Wilson)             
3. Hard Times (Blondie Chaplin/Ricky Fataar)                   
4. Out in The Country (Brian Wilson/Al Jardine)       
5. Carry Me Home (Dennis Wilson/Gregg Jakobson)         

Side B

6. Shortening Bread ( arr. by Brian Wilson)
7. Rainbows (Dennis Wilson/Stephen J. Kalinich/Carl Wilson) 
8. We Got Love (Blondie Chaplin/Ricky Fataar/Mike Love)
9. Sweet Mountain (Brian Wilson/David Sandler)
10. Holy Man (Dennis Wilson/Taylor Hawkins/Gregg Jakobson) 
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c-man
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« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2019, 07:38:49 PM »

Great lineup of songs, but it could never have been an actual album lineup, even with Blondie and Ricky still in the band - due to the lack of ANY Mike Love leads. Not even one partial lead! Despite Pet Sounds being Brian's show, Mike at least still had a few leads there...
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« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2019, 07:49:07 PM »

Too bad Big Sur had already been out at that point because the outtake version would’ve fit very well in this lineup
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MrRobinsonsFather
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« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2019, 12:28:21 AM »


Side A

1. Good Timing (Brian Wilson/Carl Wilson)
2. The River Song (Dennis Wilson/Carl Wilson)             
3. Hard Times (Blondie Chaplin/Ricky Fataar)                   
4. Out in The Country (Brian Wilson/Al Jardine)       
5. Carry Me Home (Dennis Wilson/Gregg Jakobson)         

Side B

6. Shortening Bread ( arr. by Brian Wilson)
7. Rainbows (Dennis Wilson/Stephen J. Kalinich/Carl Wilson) 
8. We Got Love (Blondie Chaplin/Ricky Fataar/Mike Love)
9. Sweet Mountain (Brian Wilson/David Sandler)
10. Holy Man (Dennis Wilson/Taylor Hawkins/Gregg Jakobson) 

Would of made an interesting album.

Didn’t Don Goldberg write Out In The Country?
From memory Don said Brian was playing bass on a number of his songs.
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Cabinessenceking
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« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2019, 01:40:44 AM »

Surely an album from this period would include the commercial "It's O.K"? Gives Mike something to do also!

My 1974/75 album is quite similar actually:

1. River Song
2. Good Timin'
3. Barnyard Blues (any reason you left out this one?)
4. Hard Times
5. Out in the Country (original version)
6. Carry Me Home

7. It's O.K
8. Rainbows
9. San Miguel (Carl needs another lead)
10. We Got Love
11. Holy Man
« Last Edit: July 11, 2019, 01:45:46 AM by Cabinessenceking » Logged
Cabinessenceking
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« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2019, 01:47:48 AM »

Surely an album from this period would include the commercial "It's O.K"? Gives Mike something to do also!

My 1974/75 album is quite similar actually:

1. River Song
2. Good Timin'
3. Barnyard Blues (any reason you left out this one?)
4. Hard Times
5. Out in the Country (original version)
6. Carry Me Home

7. It's O.K
8. Rainbows
9. San Miguel (Carl needs another lead)
10. We Got Love
11. Holy Man

In an ideal world, Carl would sing Holy Man and Mike would have another lead - Pacific Ocean Blue perhaps?
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shangaijoeBB
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« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2019, 08:07:35 AM »

Surely an album from this period would include the commercial "It's O.K"? Gives Mike something to do also!

My 1974/75 album is quite similar actually:

1. River Song
2. Good Timin'
3. Barnyard Blues (any reason you left out this one?)
4. Hard Times
5. Out in the Country (original version)
6. Carry Me Home

7. It's O.K
8. Rainbows
9. San Miguel (Carl needs another lead)
10. We Got Love
11. Holy Man
Great lineup of songs, but it could never have been an actual album lineup, even with Blondie and Ricky still in the band - due to the lack of ANY Mike Love leads. Not even one partial lead! Despite Pet Sounds being Brian's show, Mike at least still had a few leads there...

I agree that this mix needs more Mike lead vocals, but here's the thing. The songs and order I chose was more aesthetic choices than logical/"must have one of each Beach Boys leads on every songs", etc. Plainly, I wanted to recapture the kind of mood created on listening to full LPs like Holland and Carl & The Passions - 'So Tough'. Also, I wanted to keep the lenght to about 36-38 min, which was the usual duration of those albums. Also, to keep a similar sound, I wanted to keep outtakes from the Blondie & Ricky-era (1972-1974), so no Sunflower/Landlocked outtakes used here.

I toyed with the idea of adding Sweet & Bitter to the list to have a Mike song but, to be honest, it's not one of my favorites and the mood was too much uplifting and "Sunflower-esque" compared to the rest of the tracks. The same can be said for It's OK and Barnyard Blues. I absolutely love both songs, but aesthetically my cutoff point was all session work done before the release of Endless Summer. "My Love Lives On" was another one who didn't make the cut because it sounded too much like a demo or Dennis solo and not enough backing vocals. In this timeline, the Caribou Ranch sessions never happened.

So, let's just pretend that for this 1974 "Sweet Mountain" LP alternate-universe, Mike would have left the band (due to creative conflict with the band being too progressive and not commercial enough) to become a full-time TM teacher and Al went on a kind of semi-retirement to his country home. Carl and Dennis (with a little help from Brian) would try to make the best of creating the LP, much like the remaining Byrds did back in 1968 on "The Notorious Byrd Brothers".

So, no Endless Summer and no "Brian Is Back" and 15 Big Ones, the LP is released in late 1974 to great critical acclaim but poor sales. The band then decides to break up and go on solo careers and albums in the next couple of years (Brian's "Brian Loves You", Dennis' "Freckles", Mike's "First Love", Blondie Chaplin's self-titled album, Al's "Postcard from California" and Carl's self-titled LP). Ricky join the Rutles and...voilà!



 
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Cabinessenceking
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« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2019, 08:17:17 AM »


So, no Endless Summer and no "Brian Is Back" and 15 Big Ones, the LP is released in late 1974 to great critical acclaim but poor sales. The band then decides to break up and go on solo careers and albums in the next couple of years (Brian's "Brian Loves You", Dennis' "Freckles", Mike's "First Love", Blondie Chaplin's self-titled album, Al's "Postcard from California" and Carl's self-titled LP). Ricky join the Rutles and...voilà!
 

Would've been the best thing really.
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shangaijoeBB
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« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2019, 06:25:45 AM »

Here's another fun little mix I worked on at the same time. Using the original unreleased single album's tracklist, I remade the In Concert album as more Carl-centric, less oldies-oriented collection of the new progressive sound they had back then. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/RcbofOtzyWo

The Beach Boys In Concert: Long Promised Road
Released fall 1973
Recorded summer 1972-spring 1973
Produced by the Beach Boys

1. Long Promised Road
2. Leaving' This Town
3. Heroes & Villains
4. Marcella
5. California

6. Let The Wind Blow
7. Help Me Rhonda
8. Wild Honey
9. Wonderful/Don't Worry Bill
10. It's About Time
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BananaLouie
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« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2019, 06:52:13 AM »

This is a fantastic collection you’ve compiled shangaijoeBB, thanks for sharing and great set list for the live album, too. I’ve always loved Dennis’ bluesy, bar rock rendition of Help Me Rhonda from the New Jersey Show in 72, would’ve fit nicely on In Concert. Cool
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« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2019, 07:36:20 AM »

This is a fantastic collection you’ve compiled shangaijoeBB, thanks for sharing and great set list for the live album, too. I’ve always loved Dennis’ bluesy, bar rock rendition of Help Me Rhonda from the New Jersey Show in 72, would’ve fit nicely on In Concert. Cool

Agreed, that recording of Dennis singing Rhonda is one of my favorite live BB tracks. Just pure, raw energy, warts and all. Would have loved to have seen the band do that live with Dennis.

Great live comp too! The Jack Reiley era made them a viable live rock and roll act, got Blondie and Ricky in the mix for a boost of rock and roll, and allowed the Wilsons to come to the fore.
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« Reply #11 on: July 12, 2019, 07:57:03 AM »

Agreed, that recording of Dennis singing Rhonda is one of my favorite live BB tracks. Just pure, raw energy, warts and all. Would have loved to have seen the band do that live with Dennis.

Mine too, it seems criminal to not include that version of Rhonda on In Concert or any songs with Dennis on lead, Forever, Slip On Through, It’s About Time or Lady would’ve brought the house down. Further criminal considering he’s the only Beach Boy on the cover.
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♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇
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« Reply #12 on: July 12, 2019, 11:42:18 PM »

I’ve never understood why that is
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« Reply #13 on: July 13, 2019, 12:43:08 PM »

Too bad Big Sur had already been out at that point because the outtake version would’ve fit very well in this lineup

Didn't stop Elton John with Grey Seal.
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♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇
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« Reply #14 on: July 13, 2019, 04:20:05 PM »

Good point
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Magic Transistor Radio
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« Reply #15 on: July 13, 2019, 10:06:28 PM »

https://youtu.be/dNmx3TaHfCY

Here is the one I made for that period. I called it California Feeling. I do like your Sweet Mountain album as well. Though realistically,  Mike and Al would get some leads.
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"Over the years, I've been accused of not supporting our new music from this era (67-73) and just wanting to play our hits. That's complete b.s......I was also, as the front man, the one promoting these songs onstage and have the scars to show for it."
Mike Love autobiography (pg 242-243)
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« Reply #16 on: July 13, 2019, 11:29:02 PM »

Here's another fun little mix I worked on at the same time. Using the original unreleased single album's tracklist, I remade the In Concert album as more Carl-centric, less oldies-oriented collection of the new progressive sound they had back then. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/RcbofOtzyWo

The Beach Boys In Concert: Long Promised Road
Released fall 1973
Recorded summer 1972-spring 1973
Produced by the Beach Boys

1. Long Promised Road
2. Leaving' This Town
3. Heroes & Villains
4. Marcella
5. California

6. Let The Wind Blow
7. Help Me Rhonda
8. Wild Honey
9. Wonderful/Don't Worry Bill
10. It's About Time

You do good work, Joe! That said, I don't think any of those 74/75 LPs stood much of a chance in real life, as much as most of us would dearly have liked to see something happen during that long interregnum. They really needed something to get out there in the late summer of '74 to capitalize on the phenomenon of ENDLESS SUMMER. I think an 45 was about all they really had in them at that point in time:

RIVER SONG/GOOD TIMIN'

With the massive sales of ENDLESS SUMMER, DJs would have tried to make one or the other of these songs into a hit. It is sort of an ideal 45 for the time, because it could represent both the old sound and the new sound, which would have gotten each side a good amount of airplay.

Problem is that I don't think they really had either song in its final state at the time.

The fact that they didn't do it in '75 when the comeback kept rolling along is one of those career missteps that folks have documented in another thread.

For the live stuff, I like your choices and track order, but I'm still holding out hope that we'll eventually see an expanded set of tracks originally considered for the single LP--which would include my fave MESS OF HELP TO STAND ALONE, which was darned good live and is one of the rarities I've been waiting for 'lo these many years.
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Sound of Free
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« Reply #17 on: July 14, 2019, 09:01:18 PM »

Too bad Big Sur had already been out at that point because the outtake version would’ve fit very well in this lineup

Didn't stop Elton John with Grey Seal.

Or the Boys with Help Me Ronda and Help Me Rhonda. :-)
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