Favourite obscure vocal part?

[PMcC]

Brian's understated and totally gorgeous falsetto lead in the early song, "Lana"....in 2nd place, Mike's 'I got the pink slip daddy' (not really that obscure)  ..3rd place, the original Dennis vocal on "You are my sunshine"

[Alan Boyd]

In "Ballad of Old Betsy" I love the texture of Dennis' voice in the harmony stack on "Betsy was a lady, and that she will remain..."

"Doo Ron Day Ro Day, Doo Ron Day Ron!" from "In The Parkin' Lot"

[smile-holland]

tough one....

but after several days of thinking on this subject, I'd say the (high) BW/CW-vocals on the fade out of Till I Die. That is: I think it's Carl (with Brian). I've heard this outtake last year. Carl and Brian share the highparts in the fadeout and when you hear just the 2 of them singing the "aaahs" and "ooohs" (without the ("These things I'll be) until I die" lyrics) that really moves me everytime I hear it. Totally fits the mood of that song.... haunting....

[jmc]

I agree with so many of these already posted. 

"Find a ride!" from It's Ok (Dennis)

"Kiss a little bit fight a little bit, Kiss a little bit, whoa baby...."

I've always thought there were some great and 'obscure' background noises (voice effects) from the Smile era.  Wonderful's unreleased tag in particular.  "Oh pretty baby wont'cha walk with me Henry..."   and the associated background vocals for that piece.

Brian sounding like a kazoo on the (unused) tag of Vegetables.

I'd have to say the lyrics and delivery from 'Good Time' always make me chuckle.....

"My girlfriend Penny she's kinda' skinny, so she needs her falsies on......"  too funny and at the very end of the outro you can hear Brian say...."hey?" 

Lastly, I love Stevie....one of my favorite Brian leads with his rougher voice.  Such a great song, shame it wasn't released at the time.

[pixletwin]

tough one....

but after several days of thinking on this subject, I'd say the (high) BW/CW-vocals on the fade out of Till I Die. That is: I think it's Carl (with Brian). I've heard this outtake last year. Carl and Brian share the highparts in the fadeout and when you hear just the 2 of them singing the "aaahs" and "ooohs" (without the ("These things I'll be) until I die" lyrics) that really moves me everytime I hear it. Totally fits the mood of that song.... haunting....

Yeah, the harmony bit at the end of Break Away (I think its labeled in some Boots as Harmony Frie) is probably one of my favorites for the same reason.

[SloopJohnB]

Yeah, the harmony bit at the end of Break Away (I think its labeled in some Boots as Harmony Frie) is probably one of my favorites for the same reason.

Harmony Friends  . Great harmony indeed!

[bossaroo]

i like the spanish vocal on "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times"... O Cuando Sere, Un Dia Sere... gorgeous.

Lastly, I love Stevie....one of my favorite Brian leads with his rougher voice.  Such a great song, shame it wasn't released at the time.

i've never heard Brian's version of this. can someone help me out? i will return the favor.
thanks

[mikeyj]

tough one....

but after several days of thinking on this subject, I'd say the (high) BW/CW-vocals on the fade out of Till I Die. That is: I think it's Carl (with Brian). I've heard this outtake last year. Carl and Brian share the highparts in the fadeout and when you hear just the 2 of them singing the "aaahs" and "ooohs" (without the ("These things I'll be) until I die" lyrics) that really moves me everytime I hear it. Totally fits the mood of that song.... haunting....

Yeh that is incredible. Shows the amazing ability of both their voices. In Til I Die though (although its not really obscure) my favourite part is when Brian says "Until I Die" before the tag. Just the way he says it...

[Alex]

Carl singing "and that makes all the difference to me" in All This Is That

Blondie Chaplin's background parts in "He Come Down"-I'm not a religious person, but I love the singing on that song, and Blondie's voice sort of gives it some authenticity

Brian's falsetto "oh oh oh" in the instrumental break on "Forever"

Though its not that obscure, Brian singing the bridge on the vocal-only version of "Wouldn't It Be Nice"

Brian singing Frankie Valli's "oooh oooh oooh" falsetto line from "Walk Like A Man" at the end of "Surfer's Rule" after the boys sing "4 Seasons you better believe it, surfer's rule"-to me it seems like the BB's are calling the 4 Seasons out for a fight

Dennis' vocal at the beginning of "Thoughts of You"

I also like Dennis' vocal on "Its Trying To Say"-I think its a horrible song, but some reason that I can't really explain, I really dig Dennis' singing

[Magic Transistor Radio]

Brian singing the verses on Wake the World.

Dennis singing 'fast gas' in Cabinessence

Carl singing just about anything! I don't know if I have a favorite, but I like his intoxicated vocal    on Its Over Now

Mike singing 'bad luck, no more no bad luck' on Celabrate the News

Al singing 'a childeren's song...' at the end of Surfs Up

Bruce's vocal on Lonely Days

Van Dyke singing 'trees like me...' on Life of a Tree

The black choir singing back up on Dennis' River Song

I could go on Forever. If every thing they sing could feel my heart with joy I'd listen forever.

[Beach Boy]

The boys on "Endless Harmony", Brian's voice on "Surf's Up" and perhaps my favourite: Background vocals on "Sloop John B".

[Christoph]

Talkin about God only knows, I love the version from Carnegie Hall where Dennis sings the tag, much more soulful than Bruce and a great contrast to Carl.

[Al Jardines Bagpipes]

All the vocal parts on Fairy Tale music from Holland, also, the Lovester's bass vocals on The Girl From NYC, duh duh duh da dah.......!!!

[Jukka]

My favourite is Brian's "I'm on my way to sunny California" from Holland. It's such a joy-filled announcement, the way he sings it, with the rhythm sounding like someone strolling happily into the sunset. And it's the last officially released example of his old, golden voice. Gotta love it.

[runnersdialzero]

2007: The year most people forgot what the word "obscure" meant.

2012: The Meaning Of "Obscure" Being Forgotten Strikes Back

[Freddie French-Pounce]

My favourite is Brian's "I'm on my way to sunny California" from Holland. It's such a joy-filled announcement, the way he sings it, with the rhythm sounding like someone strolling happily into the sunset. And it's the last officially released example of his old, golden voice. Gotta love it.

That's Al isn't it?

[kiwi surfer]

More of a guilty pleasure but I love the fade on "Winds of Change".

[Cabinessenceking]

Dennis - It's Tryin' To Say (Baseball), dat lead guys, dat lead...

[RadBooley]

Van Dyke singing 'trees like me...' on Life of a Tree

When I read "obscure" vocal part, this was the first one that came to mind for me-- great choice.

[Eric Aniversario]

Not sure what qualifies as "obscure", but here's what comes to mind.

The falsetto in the last part of "Surf's Up" the 1971 version
The falsetto in the last part of "Love Surrounds Me"
The "boat" in "No Go Showboat"
The first few bars in "Don't Worry Baby" on Stars & Stripes
The "mmmmm close to me" in "Cuddle Up"
The "just for youuuuuu" in "Barbara"
The chorus in "Full Sail"
The "dididit dit dit" vocal interplay between Bruce & Mike in "Here Comes The Night" from LA Light Album
The "I love you" in "Please Let Me Wonder"
Mike's verse in "Isn't It Time", you expect to hear Bruce but Mike comes in instead and brings his flavor to the song
The "ahhhh ahh ahh ahhhh ah ah ah ah COOL COOL COOL WATER (water)" in "Cool Cool Water"
The "lay down in the sun, watch the stars go by" portion "Keepin The Summer Alive"
The fadeout on "The Trader"
Dennis' "The sun in her hair, the warmth of the air" on "Girls On The Beach"

These are just a few, I could write all day about them.

[Sie W]

Blondie's "Keep on tryyyyyyyeeeeeyyyyyiiiiinnnnnggg" from Hard Time love that.

And the "Hey now's" from Rock'n'Roll To The Rescue, get stuck in my head everytime I hear it.

[seltaeb1012002]

"I write em all dooown" from Busy Doin' Nothing.

The "ahh's" from that unreleased uptempo section of Can't Wait Too Long. (Would love to hear that in high quality.)

All of "Maybe I Don't Know". The vocals sound amazing in that song. Should've been a smash.


edit:

"I-I love you Diane, I-I miss you Diane" from My Diane.

Especially in the alternate mix where the vocals are dry and much louder.

[runnersdialzero]

Obscure = hidden or difficult to notice, or in this case, difficult to hear in the mix. Brian's "OOOOOOOOOOO FUNKY" in "Funky Pretty" is an example as it's somewhat difficult to hear. That would be an obscure vocal part, and it's also one that I enjoy.

JUSTSAYIN' ^_^ not trying to be an asshole aboot it or anything.

[Emdeeh]

Just for a start: I love Brian's way-over-the-top lead on "Spirit of America."

[startBBtoday]

Mike's entire vocal on "I Do"