The final aborted Beach Boy's album

[Howie Edelson]

In a 2005 interview I conducted with Bruce Johnston, I asked him to shed some light on the aborted reunion sessions.

Here's a direct quote from Bruce: "That was a courtesy to Brian for us to be there. Brian certainly wasn't at any kind of peak in those days, but we respected his history and achievements for us to go and record with him and see what it might sound like. We were just trying to support someone who had been successful and good for us. I think if you use your ears, you'll hear that those tapes don't really lift off. It's fine -- but not fine enough."

[Wirestone]

Stars and Stripes, though -- that really hit the spot!

[Jay]

"Brian certainly wasn't at any kind of peak in those days, but we respected his history and achievements for us to go and record with him and see what it might sound like".

Geesh, I wonder why Brian doesn't want anything to do with Mike and Bruce now? 

[phirnis]

Too bad the Beach Boys' best album material in nearly two decades turned out to be not fine enough for Bruce Johnston. That said, theoretically I can even see where the guy's coming from, as there is a bit of an underwhelming quality to some of the Paley sessions material just in terms of it being new "hit material" for the Beach Boys. Then again, most of BB85 was lame and embarrassing while Johnston (as far as I remember) called it their most important record since Sunflower. So all that stuff might not have too much to do with the actual quality of the music... quelle surprise!

[XY]

Are we sure that Carl really walked out of that "Dancing The Night Away" session? Where does this quote come from?

From a commerical standpoint, I doubt this material would have been very lucrative in the mid 90's. Rerecording hits in a country-style was certainly safer and good promotion for the BB catalog. I regularly hear "Don't Worry Baby" with Lorrie Morgan or "I Can Hear Music" with Kathy Troccoli on the radio.

[Alex]

Too bad the Beach Boys' best album material in nearly two decades turned out to be not fine enough for Bruce Johnston. That said, theoretically I can even see where the guy's coming from, as there is a bit of an underwhelming quality to some of the Paley sessions material just in terms of it being new "hit material" for the Beach Boys. Then again, most of BB85 was lame and embarrassing while Johnston (as far as I remember) called it their most important record since Sunflower. So all that stuff might not have too much to do with the actual quality of the music... quelle surprise!

Bruce has said that 'Til I Die was Brian's last great song, and has pretty much had nothing good to say about anything Brian's done since the early 70s. Nothing but putdowns for any of Brian's latter-day work (someone please correct me if I'm wrong), all the while he's kissing Mike Love's ass, and along with Love, would be cheapening the Beach Boys' name and legacy if it weren't for Brian's tours.

[Peter Ames Carlin]

I'm nowhere near my office or notes now, but my recollections of the research I did into the mid-90s project for 'Catch A Wave' are that it stemmed from Brian's collaboration with Andy Paley. The demos they made were ultimately intended to fuel a new Beach Boys project that Brian would produce, or they would co-produce. Then Don Was got involved, probably due to the attention/success of his documentary and his industry-wide rep for being able to draw popular new works out of older artists. I think O'Hagan was more of an outlier, probably a brainstorm of Bruce's or something, but Brian was never particularly interested in him. (I think). And it was all fine and dandy and they started doing sessions, but then Carl suddenly pulled the ripcord. Brian said he didn't know why. Mike said the same thing -- that they were willing to cooperate, even if they weren't wildly enthusiastic about it, but then things went awry and he had no idea when or why or how. That's what he said, anyway.

My conclusion (sketched out in more detail in the book) was that it had nearly nothing to do with the music (which was obviously head and shoulders above BB85 and don't even ask about the Summer in Paradise disaster) and everything to do with ongoing dysfunction between the guys, and particularly between Carl and Brian.

That's what I recall, anyway.

[peerke]

For the Steve Hoffman forum I wrote an overview of the Beach Boys recording carreer. Here is the story of Stars and Stripes album and the surrounding sessions in the period 1994-1996.

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=2702935&postcount=958

[Rocker]

I wonder if Carl had bad feelings about playing those songs live. I guess stuff like "Soul searchin'" would've been too "big" for the band to recreate. Plus they probably would've had to change a big part of the setlist to include the new songs in a fitting way.

I can not see how anyone can't like that "somewhere near Malibu"-background part of "Dancin' the night away", 'cause it sounds so awesome !

[Smilin Ed H]

And didn't Mike call O'Hagan a Limey f****t?  And you wonder why he lost his job with the State Deparrtment...

[c-man]

Stars and Stripes, though -- that really hit the spot!

Yuk yuk yuk!   

The "Dancin' The Night Away" session was held in early '95...Brian, Carl, and Mike were the only Beach Boys involved, with the Paley Brothers and Michael Andreas on sax.  Al and Bruce possibly never even heard it.  Carl reportedly had a disagreement with Brian during the sessions, thus the song was never finished.  Reports at the time said they also started a second song, "Grace Of My Heart", which maybe was intended for the movie of the same name (which had a Brian/Dennis-like character in it).  That one's never been booted, and maybe never even made it to tape.

The Wilson/Paley/Was-produced sessions for "Soul Searchin'" and "Still A Mystery" were much later in the year (October or so).  Brian, Andy, and Don cut new tracks using the Was "wrecking crew" (Waddy Wachtel, Benmont Tench, Jim Keltner, etc.) and that's what the Boys (plus Matt) sang too.  My understanding is Carl deemed THOSE results unsatisfactory, and sometime later (possibly a year or more) Mark Linett pasted the group's vocals from that session onto the original Wilson-Paley tracks, producing the versions that were booted.  From what I've been told, Carl may never even have heard the results.  If he had, he might have thought "Soul Searchin'", at least, worthy of release.  Personally, I think it could have been a significant hit for them, and a VH1 heavy roatation clip, especially if the deal with Richard Branson's V2 label, and the associated bucks for promotion, had come together.  Instead, they decided to follow the Eagles' model and record an album of their classics with country artists, a move that ultimately proved unsucessful. 

[Dancing Bear]

Wow, a Beach Boys' imbroglio where Mike can't be blamed. 

But seriously... I've said it before, someone would walk out sooner or later. Those people had so many issues between them that it would take just a well-intentioned comment or a pint of criticism to trigger all the repressed troubles. Brian's and Carl's way of expressing their dissatisfaction was going through the motions (Carl since BB85, Brian since God knows when). This time Carl did leave the studio. Mike's way is verbal abuse. You gotta love those guys.

I really don't think the material was SO great. In the field of bluesy ballads, i prefer "Goin' On" to "Soul Searchin'". "Still a Mistery" is fine, up to par with Brian's best tracks in his first solo album. The rest is a mixed bag. But as Carlin said, the failure of the project probably had nothing to do with the songs.

[doc smiley]

Stars and Stripes suffered the most from being the opposite of what the band really needed at the time...

If they had put together a cd of country rock songs by other artists... ( letting those artists perform the music) with solid Beach Boy lead and backing vocals.. then the band may have had some success on the charts and some sales....

sort of like "Wilson Phillips - California"  cd but many years earlier.. (a different time (96)  it might have worked...)

could you imagine the Eagle's 'Tequila Sunrise' or REM's 'Don't go back to Rockville' ( this song would sound great with a  M. Love  lead.......... )

who knows??? 

[Awesoman]

I wonder if Carl had bad feelings about playing those songs live. I guess stuff like "Soul searchin'" would've been too "big" for the band to recreate. Plus they probably would've had to change a big part of the setlist to include the new songs in a fitting way.

I can not see how anyone can't like that "somewhere near Malibu"-background part of "Dancin' the night away", 'cause it sounds so awesome !

So how do I go about hearing this song?

[onkster]

Sorry if this has been answered before--but has this stuff all been collected to a boot, designated as "The Last Abortive BB Album" or something similar?

[c-man]

Sorry if this has been answered before--but has this stuff all been collected to a boot, designated as "The Last Abortive BB Album" or something similar?

No, but it circulates as part of the "Wilson Paley" sessions...

[Peter Ames Carlin]

I'm confused. What's difficult about playing "Soul Searchin'" onstage? It's got, like five chords in it. An extremely straightforward -- in the best way -- rock 'n' soul tune. Coulda been a terrific statge number, and, as someone else pointed out, a tremendous video/radio comeback tune. As were so many of the songs Brian wrote with Paley. Some very sweet and romantic ("Still a Mystery"); some quirky and funny ("Slightly American Music") some 'Pet Sounds'-like autobiography ("It's Not Easy Bein' Me"). And on and on. The problem here, despite Bruce's absurdist comments to the contrary, had nothing to do with music. As per so many....nay, virtually ALL...of the hideous errors in judgment made by the Beach Boys and their various helpmates, the conflicts boiled down to money, power, age-old intra-family disgreements and emotional dysfunction so deep and profound no one dares speak its name. Instead, they file lawsuits and bicker over whatever's left.

It's a lovely story, isn't it. Surf's up!

[Rocker]

I'm confused. What's difficult about playing "Soul Searchin'" onstage? It's got, like five chords in it. An extremely straightforward -- in the best way -- rock 'n' soul tune. Coulda been a terrific statge number

It could have been terrific on stage, but I just don't think the '97/'98 band would've done such a good job. Even Brian's band can't recreate the great (wall-of-)sound of that song, which surpirses me every time I hear them doing that song.

[the captain]

I'm confused. What's difficult about playing "Soul Searchin'" onstage? It's got, like five chords in it. An extremely straightforward -- in the best way -- rock 'n' soul tune. Coulda been a terrific statge number

It could have been terrific on stage, but I just don't think the '97/'98 band would've done such a good job. Even Brian's band can't recreate the great (wall-of-)sound of that song, which surpirses me every time I hear them doing that song.

I'm with Mr. Carlin: I don't see what there is not to do a good job with on "Soul Searchin'." It's probably among the easiest songs Brian Wilson has written, a very typical 50s style chord progression. Nothing even remotely vocally challenging for the Beach Boys.   

[Howie Edelson]

Does anyone know either where, or with whom, the whole "Carl walked out of the '95 sessions" story came about? While talking with Mike Love about the sessions, he seemed to me to have felt very positive towards the working arrangement. The only negativvity towards the project was from what I've read/heard of Carl bailing, and of course Bruce's downplaying of the material and importance of the sessions. There was a photo taken of the group during the Don Was sessions, that's been around for a while, although some have said it's actually fron the S&S sessions (the guys around Brian at a piano) -- any clarification on which sessions that was taken at? I've ALSO read that Carl had wanted "Run Don't Walk" to be included in any future project with the band. My question again; where and to whom are these "facts" (first) attributed to?

[c-man]

Does anyone know either where, or with whom, the whole "Carl walked out of the '95 sessions" story came about? While talking with Mike Love about the sessions, he seemed to me to have felt very positive towards the working arrangement. The only negativvity towards the project was from what I've read/heard of Carl bailing, and of course Bruce's downplaying of the material and importance of the sessions. There was a photo taken of the group during the Don Was sessions, that's been around for a while, although some have said it's actually fron the S&S sessions (the guys around Brian at a piano) -- any clarification on which sessions that was taken at? I've ALSO read that Carl had wanted "Run Don't Walk" to be included in any future project with the band. My question again; where and to whom are these "facts" (first) attributed to?

Can't answer all your questions, but if the "group photo" you speak of is just Brian, Carl, and Al, with Brian wearing what looks like a leather jacket...that's from neither the Wilson/Paley nor Stars 'n' Stripes sessions.  Rather, it's from a "history of rock 'n' roll" TV/video series produced in the mid-'90s (filmed in '94 I believe).  If on the other hand Mike and/or Bruce are in the picture...it's a pic I'm not aware of.  The only photo I've seen from these Wilson/Paley/Was sessions was in Billboard in '95, and it's from the instrumental tracking sessions, so the only BB in it is Brian, plus it's got Was, I think Paley, and guys like Waddy Wachtel and Benmont Tench.

[Howie Edelson]

No. The picture is definitely '94 - '96, with Brian at a grand piano, and Al, Mike (wearing a loud sweater), Carl and Bruce surrounding him. Definitely in a studio.

[c-man]

No. The picture is definitely '94 - '96, with Brian at a grand piano, and Al, Mike (wearing a loud sweater), Carl and Bruce surrounding him. Definitely in a studio.

Care to post it?  Or is there a link? 

[Howie Edelson]

Sadly, I don't have it, and can't find it in an image search. It was small and in color with the photographer's name on the side.

[Peter Ames Carlin]

Howie: My sources for that version of events were Brian, Mike and Andy Paley.