Documentary!

[Rocker]

So, any evaluations? I would love to hear how the documentary was.

[guitarfool2002]

Well, even if the documentary doesn't cut it for some of us, we can be entertained by a moderately surly Al Jardine during the Q&A:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7SZc7BApKI&t=2s

Al did seem a little passive aggressive in that first question, did I hear it right that he got in a dig about them playing instruments related to the topic mentioned here earlier?

Just a nit-pick, Mike tells the story about the car sounds on 409 as Dennis revving up his 409 and driving down their street while Brian recorded it on his reel to reel...I thought that was Gary Usher revving up and driving his Chevy with a 348 engine, because the 409 had just come onto the market and they wanted one but couldn't afford it yet. Just a nit-pick there, but I don't think it was Dennis or his car, and it wasn't a 409 Chevy on that tape.

[Zenobi]

Well, even if the documentary doesn't cut it for some of us, we can be entertained by a moderately surly Al Jardine during the Q&A:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7SZc7BApKI&t=2s

But... is it really so hard to ask shorter questions which actually make sense? "I'll pretend to have understood what you said', indeed Al!

[Zenobi]

Brian and Marilyn at tonight’s premiere.

Very moving message from Carnie on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7QlQr9O9XF/

Ambha took this picture.

[juggler]

So, any evaluations? I would love to hear how the documentary was.

Haven't seen any reviews yet, but my expectations are low.  If it's aimed at the Disney Plus audience, this likely isn't going to be any sort of "deep dive" aimed at the sort of people who read this board.  And I understand that.  Irving Azoff's Iconic invested a lot of money in taking a stake in BRI/The Beach Boys, and they're now monetizing in mass-market products like this documentry.  They're casting a wide net, so I assume the idea is to tell the BB story in a very straightforward to a new audience.  And that's fine, but I'd be truly shocked if they unearthed anything in the vaults that's going to truly blow us away (e.g., previously unseen/unheard footage of the Smile sessions or something like that)

[HeyJude]

Well, even if the documentary doesn't cut it for some of us, we can be entertained by a moderately surly Al Jardine during the Q&A:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7SZc7BApKI&t=2s

Al did seem a little passive aggressive in that first question, did I hear it right that he got in a dig about them playing instruments related to the topic mentioned here earlier?

Just a nit-pick, Mike tells the story about the car sounds on 409 as Dennis revving up his 409 and driving down their street while Brian recorded it on his reel to reel...I thought that was Gary Usher revving up and driving his Chevy with a 348 engine, because the 409 had just come onto the market and they wanted one but couldn't afford it yet. Just a nit-pick there, but I don't think it was Dennis or his car, and it wasn't a 409 Chevy on that tape.

If you read that interview Al gave a few weeks ago where he didn't seem too hot on the documentary, and then see his surliness here, I think a potential idea of Al's opinion of this documentary project may become a bit clearer.

[HeyJude]

Al also a bit surly on the press junket, complaining in this interview right to Marshall's face that they cut the Paradise Cove singing out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsnRgc_Dvk8

[guitarfool2002]

Well, even if the documentary doesn't cut it for some of us, we can be entertained by a moderately surly Al Jardine during the Q&A:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7SZc7BApKI&t=2s

Al did seem a little passive aggressive in that first question, did I hear it right that he got in a dig about them playing instruments related to the topic mentioned here earlier?

Just a nit-pick, Mike tells the story about the car sounds on 409 as Dennis revving up his 409 and driving down their street while Brian recorded it on his reel to reel...I thought that was Gary Usher revving up and driving his Chevy with a 348 engine, because the 409 had just come onto the market and they wanted one but couldn't afford it yet. Just a nit-pick there, but I don't think it was Dennis or his car, and it wasn't a 409 Chevy on that tape.

If you read that interview Al gave a few weeks ago where he didn't seem too hot on the documentary, and then see his surliness here, I think a potential idea of Al's opinion of this documentary project may become a bit clearer.

It was a rhetorical question, Al's opinion is pretty clear! Yes I was referring specifically to the interview in that Maui news article where Al also said the line about the project being the narrative according to Mike, so yes he doesn't seem as keen about this film as the producers and backers probably hoped he would be. I will say there is a difference between saying something in a print interview and saying something when the guy who made the editing decisions is right there in front of you, so kudos to Al for speaking up "live" as he did.

[HeyJude]

Al's still out there, promoting his ass off for this film. He's got some brand/band loyalty I guess.

Poor Al, always ending up marginalized, confused as to how things ended up the way they did.

I guess we'd have to see more of this Paradise Cove footage to know for sure, but unless the singing and everything was like the most awful trainwreck of all time, I can't imagine why they wouldn't put even a bit of it in there.

[rab2591]

Just want to take a moment to appreciate what amazing people these two are, and what an amazing moment that was captured at the premiere^. After all they have both been through, through the decades, they are still able to love and appreciate one another.

The photo(s) above make me sad in a way - just as it clearly shows all that time that has gone by. It still floors me how Brian has been able to beat all the odds and fight through the demons all these years later. I hear that Brian has a heart of gold, I think it's truly apparent in the way that most of his friends, band, and family interact with him and love him.

[Pretty Funky]

Al makes his case again at about the 55 sec mark on what’s been left out.

https://youtu.be/dEeSkxz_7cI?si=mvd2Hxq3kf6H5-Yy

Always like it when Dave gets a spot in front of a camera. So eloquent and humble. I haven’t seen Carrie for some time and such a shame if they have parted. We never did hear the outcome of Dave’s arrest a few years back but I hope they are both doing ok.

https://youtu.be/H4dSzNrh_pA?si=Cpq76Z9HPuGavax7

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

Well, even if the documentary doesn't cut it for some of us, we can be entertained by a moderately surly Al Jardine during the Q&A:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7SZc7BApKI&t=2s

Honestly, by Beach Boys standards Al is pretty chill here. 

I actually like this interview. Nothing groundbreaking, sure, but it's nice to see Mike and Al together here talking about the early days.

[Bedroom Tapes]

In regards to the cutting room floor footage Al mentioned, I'm hoping we will get a Blu-ray/DVD release with a bunch of bonus features.  🤞🤞🤞

[juggler]

I guess we'd have to see more of this Paradise Cove footage to know for sure, but unless the singing and everything was like the most awful trainwreck of all time, I can't imagine why they wouldn't put even a bit of it in there.

Yeah, I don't get it.  If they sang beautifully, great!  Even if they were completely off key, wouldn't that be poignant too, i.e., that they're alive and singing just for the hell of it??  

[Toursiveu]

I'm not surprised about Al's frustration with the documentary.
Frank Marshall also directed the Bee Gees documentary (The Bee Gees : How Can You Men a Broken Heart), released in 2020, and it was the exact same deal : way too short. It stopped after the disco era and plenty of great material was not in the film. Very frustrating for the fans.

[HeyJude]

I've been watching a bunch of the red carpet interviews, press junket interviews, etc. with the guys and Frank Marshall.

Frank Marshall has produced ten billion tentpole blockbuster movies. He and his wife (Kathleen Kennedy) have both produced a zillion all-time box office smashes, and they're both surely rich beyond all belief.

Marshall's actual *director* resume is much less impressive. He's done a few action/drama/horror films, and a few documentaries.

But more to the point, in watching the guy and listening to him, he seems like a rich old dude you'd see in a premium box at a Mike "Beach Boys" show at a winery. He's the same age as the BBs (Carl's age to be specific), and in every interview he talks about how he grew up listening to Dick Dale, etc., had his own failed band, and so on. Whatever, but I get the vibe that Frank Marshall does not regularly spin "Carl and the Passions" or "Holland", and I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't name a song from the era between "Sail on Sailor" and "Kokomo."

I'll cut the red carpet interviews a bit of slack because it was apparently hooked into the "Visit California" organization, so everybody just kept blathering on and on about *CALIFORNIA*. "This is really the story of California." No, stop it. You're not Timothy White. Yes, obviously California is a part of the story and sometimes it even works to kind of weave some themes through the band's story.

Everybody seems in polite zombie mode promoting this thing. I watched one of the press junket interviews with Al, and he clearly is trying to not explicitly just be extra cynical and grumpy about the doc, but he's sitting there at 81 years old and being asked "What's your favorite Beach Boys song?" And he's got nothing. Like, he can barely muster a few obvious titles. I'm not saying he can't name them all. He'll talk about "Santa Ana Winds" and "Holland" if you ask him. But this whole thing is a bit like the Twilight Zone. There's a weird absurdity to it that's fascinating for not all the right reasons.

Not trying to be overly dramatic; we'll all survive and hopefully soon enough we'll be back to the next archival music release.

And hey everybody, 8mm home movies at least, right?

[Toursiveu]

Marshall's actual *director* resume is much less impressive. He's done a few action/drama/horror films, and a few documentaries.

Well, Arachnophobia was cool.
Congo not so much.

[Bedroom Tapes]

Soundtrack is out.  Nothing new or previously unreleased though...😴

[HeyJude]

Soundtrack album "cover":

[HeyJude]

"Soundtrack" Track Listing: (As mentioned awhile back, this is essentially a Spotify playlist, heavy on Sounds of Summer of course, plus the awful new track from the Disney guy):

1. Don’t Go Near the Water (A Cappella) (2:36)
2. Fun, Fun, Fun (Live/Remastered 2000) (3:13)
3. Their Hearts Were Full of Spring (Demo / Mono / Remastered 2013) (2:37)
4. Surfin’ (With Session Intro/Mono/Remastered 2013) (2:26)
5. Surfin’ Safari (Original Long Version / Mono / Remastered 2013) (2:17)
6. Surfin’ U.S.A. (2021 Stereo Mix) (2:27)
7. Little Deuce Coupe (1:40)
8. Surfer Girl (2021 Stereo Mix) (2:28)
9. In My Room (2021 Stereo Mix) (2:17)
10. Please Let Me Wonder (2007 Stereo Mix/Remastered 2012) (2:48)
11. Don’t Worry Baby (2021 Stereo Mix) (2:51)
12. Girl Don’t Tell Me (Remastered 2012) (2:20)
13. Do You Wanna Dance? (2021 Stereo Mix) (2:34)
14. I Get Around (2021 Stereo Mix) (2:13)
15. Help Me, Rhonda (2021 Stereo Mix) (2:48)
16. California Girls (Mono / Remastered 2001) (2:46)
17. Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Remastered 2012) (2:33)
18. God Only Knows (Remastered 1996) (2:55)
19. Good Vibrations (2021 Stereo Mix) (3:43)
20. You’re Welcome (2011 Smile Version) (1:07)
21. Vegetables (Remastered 2012) (2:10)
22. I Can Hear Music (2:36)
23. Forever (2:44)
24. Long Promised Road (3:32)
25. Don’t Go Near the Water (Remastered 2009) (2:40)
26. Here She Comes (2022 Mix) (5:10)
27. Wild Honey (Live at Carnegie Hall) (5:38)
28. California Saga (Big Sur) (Remastered 2000) (2:56)
29. Surfin’ U.S.A. (Live) (2:48)
30. Don’t Worry Baby (Live) (3:12)
31. Good Vibrations (Live) (4:48)
32. Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Live) (2:43)
33. A Day in the Life of a Tree (Track & Backing Vocals) (2:56)
34. Darlin’ (2021 Stereo Mix) (2:14)
35. Baby Blue Bathing Suit (Bonus Track) – Stephen Sanchez (3:15)

http://filmmusicreporter.com/2024/05/23/soundtrack-album-for-disney-documentary-the-beach-boys-to-be-released/

[Rocker]

35. Baby Blue Bathing Suit (Bonus Track) – Stephen Sanchez (3:15)

What the hell is that? 

Pretty good tracklisting imo. It's certainly not your typical best of and I think newcomers will be pleasantly surprised. Nothing new for the hardcore fans but that's probably to be expected after all the rare stuff we got during the last years and - may I say - decades.



Mike Love talks new documentary, 'The Beach Boys'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhsXlOwaTfo&pp=ygUKYmVhY2ggYm95cw%3D%3D

[bossaroo]

Everybody seems in polite zombie mode promoting this thing. I watched one of the press junket interviews with Al, and he clearly is trying to not explicitly just be extra cynical and grumpy about the doc, but he's sitting there at 81 years old and being asked "What's your favorite Beach Boys song?" And he's got nothing. Like, he can barely muster a few obvious titles. I'm not saying he can't name them all. He'll talk about "Santa Ana Winds" and "Holland" if you ask him. But this whole thing is a bit like the Twilight Zone. There's a weird absurdity to it that's fascinating for not all the right reasons.

Al seems a little annoyed by much of the proceedings not to mention the finished product itself, and I feel him.
to be fair: "What's your favorite Beach Boys song?" is such a lame question, but he comes right out with California Girls and explains why (at 1:45 here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG3dub9aunM)

of course I'm looking forward to watching but many aspects, from the art they chose to the non-BBs track on the soundtrack, are just awful moves in my opinion.

[Zenobi]

Now, I'm no prude, not at all, but... BABY BLUE BATHING SUIT?

REALLY ?

[Zenobi]

Sure it is not a Stamos/McGrath collaboration? 

[Zenobi]

I've been watching a bunch of the red carpet interviews, press junket interviews, etc. with the guys and Frank Marshall.

Frank Marshall has produced ten billion tentpole blockbuster movies. He and his wife (Kathleen Kennedy) have both produced a zillion all-time box office smashes, and they're both surely rich beyond all belief.

Marshall's actual *director* resume is much less impressive. He's done a few action/drama/horror films, and a few documentaries.

But more to the point, in watching the guy and listening to him, he seems like a rich old dude you'd see in a premium box at a Mike "Beach Boys" show at a winery. He's the same age as the BBs (Carl's age to be specific), and in every interview he talks about how he grew up listening to Dick Dale, etc., had his own failed band, and so on. Whatever, but I get the vibe that Frank Marshall does not regularly spin "Carl and the Passions" or "Holland", and I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't name a song from the era between "Sail on Sailor" and "Kokomo."

I'll cut the red carpet interviews a bit of slack because it was apparently hooked into the "Visit California" organization, so everybody just kept blathering on and on about *CALIFORNIA*. "This is really the story of California." No, stop it. You're not Timothy White. Yes, obviously California is a part of the story and sometimes it even works to kind of weave some themes through the band's story.

Everybody seems in polite zombie mode promoting this thing. I watched one of the press junket interviews with Al, and he clearly is trying to not explicitly just be extra cynical and grumpy about the doc, but he's sitting there at 81 years old and being asked "What's your favorite Beach Boys song?" And he's got nothing. Like, he can barely muster a few obvious titles. I'm not saying he can't name them all. He'll talk about "Santa Ana Winds" and "Holland" if you ask him. But this whole thing is a bit like the Twilight Zone. There's a weird absurdity to it that's fascinating for not all the right reasons.

Not trying to be overly dramatic; we'll all survive and hopefully soon enough we'll be back to the next archival music release.

And hey everybody, 8mm home movies at least, right?

F.M.? Based on what I saw/heard, I'd pleasantly surprised if he could name 4 Beach Boys songs if suddenly asked... maybe 3.
And yes, it's all weirdly absurd, and absurdly weird, like everything in the current millennium.