BW's work on MIU-LA-KTSA

[punkinhead]

It seems these are the albums that are mediocre and are really not cohesive. I feel that brian only did so much but i cant tell through credits, i would like to know what he did vocally (lead/backing), instrumentally, and production.
I'm pretty sure on MIU he wasnt in the producers chair but only a 1/4 of the time.
She's Got Rhythm- lead vocals and produced?
Come and Go with Me- he just did his version for 15 Big Ones and didnt touch this one (i think)
Why don't you come out tonight- lead vocals and produced i believe
My Diane- original lead vocal but replaced with Denny's for MIU and reproduced from the original?
Matchpoint- lead vocals & production

LA (pretty sure that brian being producer was just for that BB promo of Good Timin')
Good Timin'- backing vocal
Shortenin' bread- I'd love to know what brian did on this...when i see that pic of him with the bass, sunglasses, and open shirt from the LA Lp, I'd like to think of him playing SB. Great Jam!

KTSA (i wasnt sure if Bruce produced the whole thing or just most of it)
Oh darling- producer? backing vocal?
Goin' On- One of Brian's best works in the late 70's/early 80s. produced i assume...perhaps an original version from DUmb Angel Rare produced by him and reproduced by Bruce or Carl on KTSA.
Sunshine- I love this one...produced and lead vocal?
Santa Ana Winds- wrote?

Other stuff he did between 78-81:
I'm begging you Please- wrote/lead vocal
California Feeling- wrote/produced?
Stevie- lead/produced or denny produced...
Did he do any backing vocals for POB?
any others?

[RobtheNobleSurfer]

[

quote author=punkinhead link=topic=438.msg9912#msg9912 date=1138242108]
It seems these are the albums that are mediocre and are really not cohesive. I feel that brian only did so much but i cant tell through credits, i would like to know what he did vocally (lead/backing), instrumentally, and production.
I'm pretty sure on MIU he wasnt in the producers chair but only a 1/4 of the time.
She's Got Rhythm- lead vocals and produced?

MIU was Al's baby. I think he assumed the role Carl had earlier in "finishing Brian's work, if Brian started anything at all!

Come and Go with Me- he just did his version for 15 Big Ones and didnt touch this one (i think)

This was was all Al.

Why don't you come out tonight- lead vocals and produced i believe

My Diane- original lead vocal but replaced with Denny's for MIU and reproduced from the original?

Perhaps.

LA (pretty sure that brian being producer was just for that BB promo of Good Timin')

Didn't produce it at all. He was hospitalized during much of the sessions.

Shortenin' bread- I'd love to know what brian did on this...when i see that pic of him with the bass, sunglasses, and open shirt from the LA Lp, I'd like to think of him playing SB. Great Jam!

Dervied, I believe from New Album/Adult Child/Brian(Beach Boys) Love You track.

KTSA (i wasnt sure if Bruce produced the whole thing or just most of it)

He only started a few of the tracks. The game plan was to get him in Western Studios, use vinatge 60's gear  and get him back in 60's mode. Didn't  work out.

Sunshine- I love this one...produced and lead vocal?

Or at least co-produced. This was one of the tracks he cut at Western in '79, only it started out being a Spector cover.

Did he do any backing vocals for POB?
any others?

He was at a few POB sessions, but whether anything he contribuited made the cut or not is anyone's guess.

BTW, AGD might be able to expand/correct/fill in the holes.

[I. Spaceman]

Some Of Your Love is Brian too.

[Jason]

Brian's involvement in MIU, LA, and KTSA? Put simply - overstated and overrated.

[punkinhead]

yeah, i agree with you...i think we all think did a lot, but really, put all 3 albums together of the stuff he did and you'd have a little under a full album is my guess

[Jason Penick]

Brian's involvement in MIU, LA, and KTSA? Put simply - overstated and overrated.

I don't think anyone's ever over-rated Bri's work on any of those albums.

[donald]

I like I'm So Lonely off of The Beach Boys (85).  Classic smoky voiced fat brian music.  And the sax just seems to fit.

[c-man]

On "MIU", you're right, several of the cuts were started by Brian  during sessions for "15 Big Ones" and "New Album" in '76, then finished off by Al and Ron Altbach.  Have you seen the "Our Team" video?  Brian looks pretty good, a little scary, but good and trim.  Wouldn't say he was "producing", but he was there, on top of the game, at least while the camera was rolling.

On "L.A.", Carl gets the credit for producing the track to "Good Timin'", cut years before at Caribou in Colorado.  Brian probably played piano & harpsichord on that.  They added the vocals in the fall of '78, but according to Bruce, Brian didn't even sing on it (probably in the hospital at the time).  He DID, however, sing backup on "Angel Come Home", and probably at least a little on "Baby Blue" and maybe "Love Surrounds Me".  They recut the track for "Shortenin' Bread", either at Brother, Caribou, or Criteria, depending on who's telling the story. That one's a Brian production thru and thru (and he played piano & probably Moog bass), although Curt Becher said he did the mix.  I don't think Brian's on the rest of the album at all. 

On "KTSA", Brian wrote "Goin' On" as a samba, but it was rearranged & produced by Bruce.  Brian did an original partial lead vocal on "Oh Darlin'", and Bruce said it was a "near" Brian Wilson production.  Of course, "When Girls Get Together" was produced by Bri back in the day.  Brian did produce the basic tracks for "School Day" and "Sunshine" (the latter as a cover of Spector's "Little Girl"), but they got finished off by Al and Bruce respectively. 

Interesting, the mention of "I'm So Lonely"...anyone here ever hear the rough mix with an ealier Brian vocal?  Different lyrics, and man he sounded great compared to the version that got released!
The early version was featured on a UK TV Show called "Ear Say", I think.

Craig

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

The original version of "My Diane" has Dennis singing. The only changes were the additions of strings and the tempo being raised slightly.

[punkinhead]

could someone upload the our team video? how'd you get your hands on that?

[HeyJude]

As I understand it, every copy of "Our Team" floating around looks pretty crummy overall. Certainly there are watchable copies floating around, but it sure seems like whatever copy leaked out years ago already looked iffy, and then since then it's been copied a million times on VHS. Since the BB's produced the documentary themselves (or I imagine I should say they contracted some company to make it), I would imagine the BB's have the master in the Brother vaults, although I'm sure Alan Boyd would be able to answer whether this is the case or not.

What is strange about the documentary is that it presumably was made to air on TV to promote the album, yet there are at least two songs prominently featured in the documentary ("Mike Come Back to L.A." and "Our Team") that were not even put on the album. So even if the thing had aired, people might have bought the album only to find out that those two songs aren't even on the album!

They did a similar thing with the Rolling Stone "Going Platinum" special featuring the making of KTSA when they showcased "Goin' To the Beach." But at least in that instance, they clearly discuss that the song was dropped from consideration. Presumably, they are showing this as part of the "process" of recording; songs are often dropped at various points.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Have you seen the "Our Team" video?  Brian looks pretty good, a little scary, but good and trim.  Wouldn't say he was "producing", but he was there, on top of the game, at least while the camera was rolling.

One of the greatest pieces of Beach Boys' video EVER is the part of the Our Team video where Brian is arranging "Mike Come Back To LA". I have NEVER seen Brian look like that - laughing, playing rocking piano, singing, directing - it gives you a glimpse of the power that the man possessed. The eyes!

If you watched just that part, you'd swear he was back...

[MBE]

The docs about MIU and KTSA are really interesting. He seems almost like 60s Brian in the MIU and KTSA he looks bad but seems in good sprits. I know he was in worse shape then but he didn't slur or stare off back then.

[Denny's Drums]

As far as any involvement in POB I think Brian sang falsetto on Moonshine.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

I like MIU, and I like “Our Team”, the MIU doc. You see Brian looking very alert and with it there. He dishes out harmonies for “Mike Come Back To L.A.” and it could be 1966. It gives you a chill. It’s so easy for him. His pitch was flawless. He just churned out all the parts. Incredible. Al was surely in charge of production, but the material is still mostly Wilson/Love, since all Al could come up with is “Come Go With Me” and “Peggy Sue”. Mr. Cover-Song. But as far as entertainment value, the album is quite good. Brian’s voice is nice and smooth, Mike’s singing strong, the songs are mostly acceptable. Pitter Patter and Belles of Paris are great. Rhythm and Come Out Tonight are sharp. The only let down is a lack of participation from Carl and Dennis, but what can you do? Still, MIU, in my mind, does not deserve the reputation of being the piece of crap everyone makes it out to be. It’s a solid record. Better than So Tough and KTSA, eh? I prefer it to Surf’s Up too. Yeah, I said it. Surf’s Up is as overrated as MIU is underrated. Yes, Disney Girls and Til I Die are fantastic, and Carl’s contributions are his best, but maybe if the album was held together with Dennis’ glue like Sunflower was there’d be more enjoyment found in it by me. As it is, it’s got some great tracks, but as a whole, it leaves me unsatisfied. It doesn’t feel right, you know? Maybe it’s just sequenced wrong. I know I’m in a minority here.

I like LA a lot too. It’s in the same vein as Holland. It doesn’t seem to be relying so much on the formula. It’s a fresh sounding record. I wish they had kept going in that direction, but I guess the loss of Dennis took it’s toll. I don’t see much evidence of Brian on the record. In fact, the song that he is most responsible for (Shortin’ Bread) is the weakest link in the album.

[Leo K]

I like MIU, and I like “Our Team”, the MIU doc. You see Brian looking very alert and with it there. He dishes out harmonies for “Mike Come Back To L.A.” and it could be 1966. It gives you a chill. It’s so easy for him. His pitch was flawless. He just churned out all the parts. Incredible. Al was surely in charge of production, but the material is still mostly Wilson/Love, since all Al could come up with is “Come Go With Me” and “Peggy Sue”. Mr. Cover-Song. But as far as entertainment value, the album is quite good. Brian’s voice is nice and smooth, Mike’s singing strong, the songs are mostly acceptable. Pitter Patter and Belles of Paris are great. Rhythm and Come Out Tonight are sharp. The only let down is a lack of participation from Carl and Dennis, but what can you do? Still, MIU, in my mind, does not deserve the reputation of being the piece of crap everyone makes it out to be. It’s a solid record. Better than So Tough and KTSA, eh? I prefer it to Surf’s Up too. Yeah, I said it. Surf’s Up is as overrated as MIU is underrated. Yes, Disney Girls and Til I Die are fantastic, and Carl’s contributions are his best, but maybe if the album was held together with Dennis’ glue like Sunflower was there’d be more enjoyment found in it by me. As it is, it’s got some great tracks, but as a whole, it leaves me unsatisfied. It doesn’t feel right, you know? Maybe it’s just sequenced wrong. I know I’m in a minority here.

I like LA a lot too. It’s in the same vein as Holland. It doesn’t seem to be relying so much on the formula. It’s a fresh sounding record. I wish they had kept going in that direction, but I guess the loss of Dennis took it’s toll. I don’t see much evidence of Brian on the record. In fact, the song that he is most responsible for (Shortin’ Bread) is the weakest link in the album.

Great post.  Agree with every letter.