Waves of Love 3.0 Ocean Mix (He did it again!).

[alanjames]

So here it is!
“Waves of Love 3.0 (Ocean Mix)” was released today on digital platforms.
Now we have I think…5 versions of the song?

https://open.spotify.com/track/5sCVIant0TTdLIpWOD9Evl?si=hqUVOFUiReGk_m1kiEP00Q

[Jim V.]

This. Is. Absolutely. Insane.

Let me say it, I love Al Jardine. Seems like one of the most wonderful people in the rock n' roll game. Seems like a great family man, a great band member, a great friend to Brian. But what he's been up to with this song is just crazy. Especially this last one. It's a slight remix of the 2.0 version with some obvious "remix" moves added on.

So where are we now with this?

A Postcard from California CD version (released 2012): has the saxophone and Carl mixed out a little bit on the chorus. Sounds to me to be more of a standard studio recording. Honestly, despite Carl being mixed lower, I think this is the best version out there.

A Postcard from California download version (released 2012): this one has a more of an ambient "live" sound in my opinion, with Carl mixed much higher and the organ playing a kind of obvious "Help Me Rhonda" type riff.

Alternative take (released 2012): this is a slightly alternate version of the aforementioned download version. I can't really remember the difference and it seems I don't have a copy of this anywhere. This version was only made available on the 2012 Japanese version of Postcard.

A Postcard from California "West Coast version" (released 2022): this is another version/mix of the download version. I'm pretty sure this was made available on iTunes, Spotify and the like when the Postcard album was reissued on CD in 2022. Is this version (which is still available online in the aforementioned places) the same version that is on the '22 CD? Anybody know?

"Waves of Love 2.0": this was released as both a CD single and on online single. This was considered the "East Coast version" cuz it had elements re-recorded apparently by Al's collaborator Larry Dvoskin.

"Waves of Love 3.0 Ocean Mix": I don't even know. I think there is some organ that I don't hear on the original "saxophone" version or the 2.0 mix, but maybe I'm wrong. I don't know.

I will point out as others have, this kinda thing is what Al does, although usually not to this extent. He re-recorded "Cotton Fields" of course and he re-recorded the lead vocal of "Loop de Loop" nearly 30 years after his original falsetto vocal on there. Not to mention how long it took him to get his first solo studio album out. But a funny one people forget is the CD release of "PT Cruiser" in '02 or '03 or whenever. I'm pretty there was a version for the a cappella and the track, but I think there were a few remixes as well. No offense to Al, but who on earth needs however many remixes of "PT Cruiser"?

[Emdeeh]

Larry Dvoskin is apparantly responsible for several of the latter-day remixes.

[Rocky Raccoon]

I will point out as others have, this kinda thing is what Al does, although usually not to this extent. He re-recorded "Cotton Fields" of course and he re-recorded the lead vocal of "Loop de Loop" nearly 30 years after his original falsetto vocal on there. Not to mention how long it took him to get his first solo studio album out. But a funny one people forget is the CD release of "PT Cruiser" in '02 or '03 or whenever. I'm pretty there was a version for the a cappella and the track, but I think there were a few remixes as well. No offense to Al, but who on earth needs however many remixes of "PT Cruiser"?

Don't forget about his absolute need to re-edit Beaks of Eagles on the Sail on Sailor box set (and the entire California Saga medley being repeated on the last disc just to showcase that one pretty inconsequential edit).

And I guess it never changed that much but also the fact that Susie Cincinnati appeared on the B-side of three different singles throughout the 70s (though I'm also guessing it was Al's decision to remix it for the Made in California set).

[Jim V.]

I will point out as others have, this kinda thing is what Al does, although usually not to this extent. He re-recorded "Cotton Fields" of course and he re-recorded the lead vocal of "Loop de Loop" nearly 30 years after his original falsetto vocal on there. Not to mention how long it took him to get his first solo studio album out. But a funny one people forget is the CD release of "PT Cruiser" in '02 or '03 or whenever. I'm pretty there was a version for the a cappella and the track, but I think there were a few remixes as well. No offense to Al, but who on earth needs however many remixes of "PT Cruiser"?

Don't forget about his absolute need to re-edit Beaks of Eagles on the Sail on Sailor box set (and the entire California Saga medley being repeated on the last disc just to showcase that one pretty inconsequential edit).

And I guess it never changed that much but also the fact that Susie Cincinnati appeared on the B-side of three different singles throughout the 70s (though I'm also guessing it was Al's decision to remix it for the Made in California set).

Wasn’t the 1970 b-side mix different from the 15 Big Ones mix as well? And I think it was the b-side of “Child of Winter” before that? Was that the same mix as the version on the b-side of “Add Some Music to Your Day”?

[FreakySmiley]

This may be better placed in either the 2023 Al Jardine tour thread, or a dedicated thread of its own, or perhaps some other buried thread I'm not aware of... But it seems as good a place as any at the moment to ramble about how I just came home from seeing Al Jardine and His Endless Summer Band at Septemberfest in Shaumburg, IL -- what a fantastic time. Al and the band blew me away from start to finish -- Al is such a cool, charismatic presence on stage, and Matt has really grown into much more of an impressive vocalist than I think even most serious fans realize. I left with the impression that he was almost directing the show, giving cues to the rest of the band and sound crew such. The band was tight and still had fun, I could go on about the individual members, but it's late, and the adrenaline is finally starting to wear off.

But anyway, as quirky as Al's history with song production may or may not be, he put on a (day after) birthday show to remember! (The audience did sing him "Happy Birthday" at one point, and he was offered a cake. He said he also had several cupcakes.) I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir for many of you when I say how grateful I am to have actually been able to sing along with a Beach Boy in my lifetime! I wish Al as much health and happiness as humanly possible! And I wish Matt the recognition for his immense talent and hard work!

Al Jardine is the man!

Edit: In my grogginess, I neglected to mention a small highlight of the evening -- at the end of the show I was also lucky enough to be given a setlist and a fist-bump by drummer/icon of the Beach Boys inner-circle Bobby Figueroa. Truly a wonderful band of gentle souls!

[HeyJude]

Of course the now-decade-plus string of remixes/alternate versions is comical. But as Emdeeh pointed out, I suspect this is more Larry Dvoskin than Al Jardine. He seems to be behind continuously futzing with this song, to the point now where it sounds like essentially (probably one of several) full remakes of the song. They've evidently stopped trying to push the vintage Carl vocal angle.

I don't want to be unkind, but while Dvoskin and Al are clearly long-time good friends and collaborators, it seems that after DECADES of friendship and collaboration, they've never turned out much actual material. "Waves of Love" is mostly it. They apparently did a few other things, like that "Jenny Clover" track. But either the total number of songs they've done together are *very few* in number, or Dvoskin for some reason is ignoring tons of songs to keep trying with "Waves of Love."

"Waves of Love" is a nice song. Al and the Beach Boys solo and collectively have made far worse songs. It doesn't really hurt anybody to remix it over and over I guess.

I can't speak to what else Dvoskin may have done with Al. What I *can* say with pretty firm certainty is that *Al* has TONS of tracks in the vaults that he could be messing with. He could easily do another "Postcards" type album. But I think even Al realizes that he tinkers with stuff and takes too long. I recall an interview in recent years where he was asked about doing another album after "Postcards", and he seemed to acknowledge it took him forever to do that one, and that he might not have it in him to do another.

I've long contended Al needs some kind of outside producer/fixer to come in, go through his vaults, and *make* another album out of that. To either not involve Al much at all, or to at least hand pick an album's worth of material and then guide Al to make some minimal overdubs to finish songs/polish them. He needs someone to do this, and to tell him to *not* do more re-recordings (no more "Rhonda", no more "Runaway", which he has actually threatened to record *again*).

[Rocky Raccoon]

Someone I would like to see Al emulate in terms of his solo music is Micky Dolenz, another artist whose songwriting talent may be limited but whose last few albums of cover songs have been really good. He did one of all Carole King songs which I thought was great and one of Michael Nesmith solo songs (I can definitely see Al doing something similar to that, Jardine sings Wilson? I’d buy it!)

[HeyJude]

Someone I would like to see Al emulate in terms of his solo music is Micky Dolenz, another artist whose songwriting talent may be limited but whose last few albums of cover songs have been really good. He did one of all Carole King songs which I thought was great and one of Michael Nesmith solo songs (I can definitely see Al doing something similar to that, Jardine sings Wilson? I’d buy it!)

I don’t want to be cynical or fatalistic, but at this point Al is 81 years old and seems pretty set in his ways as far as how prolific he is or isn’t in releasing material, and what type of material he chooses. I hope he hits some weird productive streak and releases 10 albums. But I don’t see it likely happening.

It’s perhaps even more frustrating, because he clearly sees value in staying active and doing these live gigs he’s been doing, where he’s making little to no money off of the gigs and *has* to be doing it for the love of doing it and to stay active. So I’m not sure why he hasn’t been able to translate that to recording and releasing material. Just a raid of his vaults of a dozen tracks for a “new album” would be possible if he had the inclination. And as I’ve said many times, it’s all the more frustrating because he has had a fully-functioning professional recording studio literally steps from his front door for over 40 years now.

So, he has a bucket full of songs (of likely varying degrees of quality and completeness, but still…), a recording studio he can use at any moment as much as he needs, and lots of spare time, but he’s not really doing anything but letting Larry Dvoskin remix “Waves of Love” over and over. This doesn’t scream to me “new albums are imminent!”

But again, I’m the biggest Al fan and I hope he proves me wrong and announces an album tomorrow and actually releases it. And I hope it’s either all new material, or, if he’s inclined to do a “covers” album, that it’s a unique, thoughtful selection and not more “Rhonda” and “Runaway” and “Sloop John B – A Pirate’s Tale.”