I sleep Alone

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Heard this track for the first time the other day... any info on who the song was originally written for? I mean, obviously this was written for a female singer, or at least I'd hope, judging by the lyrics.
Also, are Brian's vocals sped up for the high parts?

[Andrew G. Doe]

According to Brian - granted, never the most reliable first-hand source - it was written for Sarah Brightman. Vintage 1986.

[matt-zeus]

Though I love this song, the live version of it (which can be found on youtube) has a preferable chorus in that he sings it all an octave lower and only goes to the high part on the last line which makes it more effective to my ears.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I've heard the live version before, and I agree. Really, the high part on the studio version is kinda grating, if I'm being honest here. Still though...is it sped up? It really does sound unnatural, and other tracks during the Landy era were similarly sped up ( Too Much Sugar, the demo version of "Don't Let Her Know", ect.)

[Aegir]

I think the last line of the chorus in the live version shows that he could sing that high at that time, so I don't see why they'd need to speed it up.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Still sounds unnatural to me.

Andrew, what say you?

[matt-zeus]

I don't think it was sped up, there's a lot of singing in that era which sounds a bit odd but I think it's Brian trying very hard to sing like he did in the 60s to some degree, however due to the change in his voice it was harsher, shriller and pardon the expression but a bit 'madder' sounding!
Some of the isolated Sweet Insanity vocal tracks sound high but natural too, I know this era really divides opinion and it's hard to separate the art from the circumstances but if you get the BW88 album, Sweet Insanity and all the outtakes and then creamed it off you have some of Brians best songs of the last 40 years - In my opinion of course.
I think the 80s production suited Brians music (unlike lots of other 60s and 70s artists who succumbed to dabbling in technology in the 80s) in that Brian primarily was a pop songwriter and the shiny, sparkly 80s sound doesn't sound too bad with it.
However, I mean this more in reference to his solo work than to the Beach Boys stuff of the same period - Brians solo work is a lot more 'quirky' than the Beach Boys stuff (BB85, Still Crusing, SIP) so for me it fits.