Pet Peeves - The small things that grinds your gears listening to The Beach Boys

[Emdeeh]

This one might be more than a small thing -- the orchestra on the Christmas album. Yuck!

(Your mileage may vary and probably will.)

[CenturyDeprived]

Oh.... and as much as I like Spring Vacation on TWGMTR, what's with that section at 2:10 when everyone appears to forget the lyrics ?!!!

I've always felt the vocals in that section were totally unfinished and way unacceptably sloppy, probably to meet a deadline of releasing the album. It's like Joe Thomas had some partial takes and just chopped up some incomplete autotuned vocal waveform chunks to make try and make it sound finished. Totally bugs me too.

Odd thing is, wasn't there a single version that came out with an intact (or more complete) middle-eight? I swear there's a version floating around that doesn't have this problem. Or maybe the single version was even worse than the album version

Single version of Spring Vacay? Aren't you thinking of the alternate single version of Isn't It Time?
Or is there a SV version I'm unaware of?

[B.E.]

Mikes off key vocals on Santa Claus is coming to town. Right when he enters. I think he had a cold or something but sheesh. Brian just do it or give it away!

In case you haven't heard it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhPwQYNYwhc

[Matt H]

Oh.... and as much as I like Spring Vacation on TWGMTR, what's with that section at 2:10 when everyone appears to forget the lyrics ?!!!

I've always felt the vocals in that section were totally unfinished and way unacceptably sloppy, probably to meet a deadline of releasing the album. It's like Joe Thomas had some partial takes and just chopped up some incomplete autotuned vocal waveform chunks to make try and make it sound finished. Totally bugs me too.

It does sound bad there, almost like someone finally decided that it wasn't working and pulled the faders down on all the vocals, it is like they trail off there.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

Mikes off key vocals on Santa Claus is coming to town. Right when he enters. I think he had a cold or something but sheesh. Brian just do it or give it away!

In case you haven't heard it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhPwQYNYwhc

No, I hadn't heard this until now. Such a shame they went with the Mike Love infested take. I can imagine him raising all kinds of hell about it.

[Shane]

The stereo mix of Fun, Fun, Fun.  You can't even hear the backing track.  That thing needs to be buried. 

[dellydel]

Pretty much the entirety of Pacific Ocean Blue is about four things: rock n' roll, girls, Jesus, and nature, sometimes all in the same song, which, to me, is a deadly combination of rock and roll cliches.  (which is not a deal breaker, as I think this album is much about about the soundscape than the lyrics.  But still.)

Hats off to the drummer's little lady,

Dellydel 

[Sound of Free]

The Beach Boys have some great lyrics and some bad lyrics, but the one that REALLY bugs me is "Christmas comes this time each year." Yeah, no sh*t, Sherlock. I love "Little Saint Nick," but that part could have easily had a lyric to fit that melody line, like "Christmas is my favorite time" or "Christmas time is gettin' close" or "I'm so glad it's Christmas time" or "How I love this time of year" or something that takes four seconds to write, like it just did for me.

And so this isn't taken as a just "bash Mike" post, "I don't know where but she sends me there" may be my favorite Beach Boys lyric, and, in a differing opinion from another person in this post, I really like his vocal on "That's Not Me."

[UEF]

I think God Only Knows ends badly. That repeating coda thing seems to come in too soon and as a bit of a cop-out from finishing the song in a better way

[RubberSoul13]

I've said this before and gotten flack for it, but the "guitar solo" on Don't Worry Baby … chord-chord … chord-chord … chord-chord (repeat)

The genius that is Brian Wilson had nothing else to say there? It's such a lackluster section of such a firecracker of a record.

[CenturyDeprived]

I've said this before and gotten flack for it, but the "guitar solo" on Don't Worry Baby … chord-chord … chord-chord … chord-chord (repeat)

The genius that is Brian Wilson had nothing else to say there? It's such a lackluster section of such a firecracker of a record.

That part is sooo perfect and makes my heart melt every single time I hear it.

Oddly enough I think that part is conceptually pretty similar to the bridge in Johnny Carson - but that bridge feels boring and unfinished by comparison. Which i think it kinda was...

[Cabinessenceking]

rock n' roll, girls, Jesus, and nature, sometimes all in the same song, which, to me, is a deadly combination of rock and roll cliches.  

Isn't this also a pretty accurate summary of Dennis Wilson's life?  

[Cabinessenceking]

I think God Only Knows ends badly. That repeating coda thing seems to come in too soon and as a bit of a cop-out from finishing the song in a better way

This must be the most controversial one here I think! Personally I consider that record perfection, but that's just these layman's ears 

[B.E.]

I think God Only Knows ends badly. That repeating coda thing seems to come in too soon and as a bit of a cop-out from finishing the song in a better way

This must be the most controversial one here I think! Personally I consider that record perfection, but that's just these layman's ears 

I don't think GOK ends badly, but I have noticed how soon the coda comes in. It represents over 30% of the song.

[feelintheflows]

On the fade out on the song Surfs Up. Cuts off a couple seconds too soon.

[Love Thang]

Mike Love.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

Mike Love.

 

[HeyJude]

On the fade out on the song Surfs Up. Cuts off a couple seconds too soon.

I'd have to listen to all the masterings of the song to hear if this is a problem across all versions.

What I do know is that the version of the song on the 2013 "Made in California" set *does* cut off a couple seconds too soon, because there was a mastering/manufacturing error with that disc in the set where the last two seconds or so of each track were cut off and then appended to the front of the next song. So each song cuts off a couple seconds early, and then each song has two seconds of near-silence at the beginning. Corrected discs were soon offered.

[HeyJude]

Oh.... and as much as I like Spring Vacation on TWGMTR, what's with that section at 2:10 when everyone appears to forget the lyrics ?!!!

I've always felt the vocals in that section were totally unfinished and way unacceptably sloppy, probably to meet a deadline of releasing the album. It's like Joe Thomas had some partial takes and just chopped up some incomplete autotuned vocal waveform chunks to make try and make it sound finished. Totally bugs me too.

That part of the song is indeed truly peculiar. Most online sources for lyrics literally give up trying to figure out the rest of the words, simply showing the "every night's a special occasion" and nothing more.

I recall someone back in 2012 somehow finagling some additional lyrics (I can't remember if they were semi-guessing or talked to someone who worked on the album); I think the second line was supposed to be something like "another dance won't take much persuasion."

But yeah, this bit in the song come across like they accidentally issued like an "underdub" version of the song before some new vocal punch-ins were added or something.

While "Spring Vacation" otherwise sounds pretty slick and polished, I do wonder if this was one of the songs that required extra patchworking and glue and scotch tape and some sonic smoke and mirrors to make work, as the finished product is drenched in autotune in many spots, and the small bit of studio footage of Brian and Mike attempting some vocals on the song that was released prior to the album came out sounds *very rough* (and I recall had slightly different lyrics, something like "we *like* to get around, get up and hit up *every* hot spot in town).