Paley Sessions, your opinions...

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Problem I have with these sessions is that, with very few exceptions, they all sound like they were recorded on the same day, with the same instruments and the same board settings (excluding the Was fly-ins, of course). Some great stuff, but also some clunkers.

I noticed you've never really commented on these sessions until now, apart from calling them overrated in your book.  I'm torn on it. Honestly, Brian's during that time period was pretty bad. But, man, I love GIOMH, and It's not Easy being green...er...Me.  The opening part of the latter reminds of "All in the Family" for some reason, and I almost expect to hear Edith Bunker screeching. Yet, the lyrics are good, Brian sounds like he's singing from the heart, and it's my favorite song he's done solo. If those are his lyrics, good job Brian. If they're not, well...someone know's Brian well.

[Andrew G. Doe]

The big problem with The Paley sessions was the write-up they got from Dom Priore in Kingsley which promised something only slightly less than Pet Sounds II. On the whole they were good, but not that good. If I may appropriate Jasper's list, here's my view of them:

Keepers:
Getting In Over My Head
You're Still A Mystery
Soul Searchin'
It's Not Easy Being Me
Slightly American Music
My Mary Anne
This Could Be The Night
This Song Wants To Sleep With You Tonight

borderline;
Desert Drive
What Rock'n'Roll Can Do
God Did It
Some Sweet Day
I'm Broke
Must Be A Miracle
Elbow '63
Goin' Home
Frankie Avalon

Clunkers;
Dancing The Night Away
Proud Mary
Market Place
Chain Reaction of Love

[Amy B.]

I thought asking publicly was a no-no.....

I didn't think I was asking any more obviously than anyone else has with other recordings, but cart me off to jail, I guess.      . I figure if everyone is talking about it as if they own it, that's just as bad, in a way. 

Oh well, I'm sure I'll hear it some day, some way. 

[Roger Ryan]

If we're including "This Could Be The Night" in this list, then let me add that I love the "Sweets For My Sweet" cover from this era that was released on the Doc Pomus tribute album. It's one of the stronger rock arrangements that Brian's pulled off in the past twenty years.

[TdHabib]

Here's my version of Jasper's list:

1. Getting In Over My Head *****
2. You're Still A Mystery *****
3. Soul Searchin' *****
4. It's Not Easy Being Me ****
5. Slightly American Music ***** (an extra star for all of the quotes it has, which are so much fun!)
6. My Mary Anne ****1/2
7. This Could Be The Night  ****
8. This Song Wants To Sleep With You Tonight *****
9. Desert Drive ****
God Did It **
Some Sweet Day ***
I'm Broke  ***
10. Must Be A Miracle  ****
Goin' Home **
11. Frankie Avalon ***1/2
Dancing The Night Away **
Proud Mary *** (an extra star because it's kinda a guilty pleasure)
Market Place *
12. Chain Reaction of Love **** 1/2

Needless to say, if a album would've been a tracklisting like one I've just given, with cleaned-up recordings of a few, I would call it Brian's best at least Love You, if not the Sunflower era, but a match for Pet Sounds is pushing it...a bit, although I'm one to say that "Everything I Need" from 1996 could've easily been on PS with the BB singing it...

[SurfRiderHawaii]

A lot of good material here.  Funny about 'Proud Mary'.  People love it or hate it.  I love it but it might be the 'Barbara Ann' effect.  If you heard the CCR/Tina turner versions a million times, you don't want to hear another.

I have questions about these sessions:

1) Brian's vocals sound 'DIFFERENT'.  Were they using pitch correction on them?

2) 'Desert Drive' - was this intended as an instrumental or was it recorded as a backing tracking for a Mike Love vocal on the abandoned last Beach Boys album?  Agree it would have been a great single with ML singing lead.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Problem I have with these sessions is that, with very few exceptions, they all sound like they were recorded on the same day, with the same instruments and the same board settings (excluding the Was fly-ins, of course). Some great stuff, but also some clunkers.

I noticed you've never really commented on these sessions until now, apart from calling them overrated in your book.  I'm torn on it. Honestly, Brian's during that time period was pretty bad. But, man, I love GIOMH, and It's not Easy being green...er...Me.  The opening part of the latter reminds of "All in the Family" for some reason, and I almost expect to hear Edith Bunker screeching. Yet, the lyrics are good, Brian sounds like he's singing from the heart, and it's my favorite song he's done solo. If those are his lyrics, good job Brian. If they're not, well...someone know's Brian well.

Sorry to quote my own post, but I meant Brian's VOCALS were bad at that time.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

The big problem with The Paley sessions was the write-up they got from Dom Priore in Kingsley which promised something only slightly less than Pet Sounds II. On the whole they were good, but not that good. If I may appropriate Jasper's list, here's my view of them:

Keepers:
Getting In Over My Head
You're Still A Mystery
Soul Searchin'
It's Not Easy Being Me
Slightly American Music
My Mary Anne
This Could Be The Night
This Song Wants To Sleep With You Tonight

borderline;
Desert Drive
What Rock'n'Roll Can Do
God Did It
Some Sweet Day
I'm Broke
Must Be A Miracle
Elbow '63
Goin' Home
Frankie Avalon

Clunkers;
Dancing The Night Away
Proud Mary
Market Place
Chain Reaction of Love

You don't like "Chain Reaction"?! That's one of my favorites.

[37!ws]

Just a few comments...

"Gettin' In Over My Head" -- good tune. Released version is too long, though.

"Soul Searchin'" -- I love the stroll rhythm, Carl's vocal delivery, but NOT the E Street Band style production that was released.

"You're Still A Mystery" -- a great, mature production that shows how awesome the Beach Boys could have sounded had they let Brian do his thing.

"Saturday Morning In The City" -- extremely dippy; belongs with some of the worst songs from The Beach Boys Love You (an album that I love, btw). This song deserves to be shot with an uzi.

"Elbow '63" -- sounds like a Nerf commercial I used to hear in the late '70s when I watched Saturday morning cartoons. I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, though.

"Frankie Avalon" -- I can take or leave.

"Desert Drive" -- only the sax riff is a "rip-off" of "Salt Lake City," but as I saw someone else point out years ago, the song is actually more of a rip-off of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down." But a good tune. I much prefer the more gritty, up-tempo unreleased version than the slower version on GIOMH.

"It's Not Easy Being Me" -- yet another "sometimes it sucks to be me" song by Brian. This time it didn't work; "Midnight's Another Day," on the other hand...

"In My Moondreams" -- nice instrumental, but the only thing Brian contributed was the vocal backing.

"This Song Wants To Sleep With You Tonight" -- I used to love this song, but for personal reasons I can't listen to it any more. I'm not saying it's not great, but I just can't listen to it.

[TdHabib]

Problem I have with these sessions is that, with very few exceptions, they all sound like they were recorded on the same day, with the same instruments and the same board settings (excluding the Was fly-ins, of course). Some great stuff, but also some clunkers.

I noticed you've never really commented on these sessions until now, apart from calling them overrated in your book.  I'm torn on it. Honestly, Brian's during that time period was pretty bad. But, man, I love GIOMH, and It's not Easy being green...er...Me.  The opening part of the latter reminds of "All in the Family" for some reason, and I almost expect to hear Edith Bunker screeching. Yet, the lyrics are good, Brian sounds like he's singing from the heart, and it's my favorite song he's done solo. If those are his lyrics, good job Brian. If they're not, well...someone know's Brian well.

Sorry to quote my own post, but I meant Brian's VOCALS were bad at that time.

I can see why you'd think that, because I thought that for a while; but for some reason I'll take the unrestrained, high and whiny voice of the mid-1990s to his voice from 1997 up to 2008 (I'm putting that last bit because I think TLOS will have very good vocals)...

And by the way, to Mr. Doe, is that just your impression or do you really think they were all recorded in one day? (We know they were mostly all done in November 1995...)

[Andrew G. Doe]

No, i don't really think they were all cut in one day.    Just sounds like that... I'm willing to bet they were all done in a very concentrated period, though.

[TdHabib]

Yeah, I didn't think so...or and sorry...kinda dozed off during your post...was distracted trying to find that painting of "gullible" on the ceiling...

[Wirestone]

No, i don't really think they were all cut in one day.  Grin  Just sounds like that... I'm willing to bet they were all done in a very concentrated period, though.

The vocals, sure. It sounds like the backing tracks were worked on a slightly more long-term basis. But that's just my ears talkin', and they've been wrong before.

[Swamp Pirate]

Hindsight is always 20/20, but if you took the best of the Paley music...

Gettin' In Over My Head
It's Not Easy Being Me
This Song Wants to Sleep With You Tonight
Soul Searchin'
Desert Drive
My Mary Anne
Slightly American Music

...and combined it with the best of the Imagination material...

Your Imagination
She Says That She Needs Me
South American
Where Has Love Been
Cry
Lay Down Burden
Dream Angel

...the result would have been a pretty nice CD.

[brianc]

I'm a big fan of the Wilson/Paley sessions. I like that Brian's vocals sound different, but not forced or all polished up. Is this a set of sessions as pure as the Rick Rubin/Johnny Cash sessions? No. Is it as tight as the 1997 Dylan/Lanois album, "Time Out of Mind"? No. But it's a great album, on the level of some of Alex Chilton or Ray Davies's '90s and '00s solo albums, which is a total compliment.

Keepers:
Soul Searchin'
Gettin' in Over My Head
Marketplace
You're Still a Mystery
It's Not Easy Being Me
Slightly American Music
My Mary Anne
This Could Be the Night
In My Moondreams
This Song Wants to Sleep with You Tonight
Desert Drive
Proud Mary
Chain Reaction of Love
Some Sweet Day
I'm Broke


Take It or Leave It:
Must Be a Miracle
Elbow '63
Goin' Home
Frankie Avalon


Leave It:
Dancing the Night Away
What Rock'n'Roll Can Do
God Did It

[jeffcdo]

It's worth noting that many of these recordings commonly circulating are at the wrong speed - they're too fast.  This might account for many people's reaction that Brian's voice sounds "different"

[SurfRiderHawaii]

It's worth noting that many of these recordings commonly circulating are at the wrong speed - they're too fast.  This might account for many people's reaction that Brian's voice sounds "different"

That would explain things.  Are just the vocals sped up or the entire track?  I should play with the speed in 'Peak Pro' and see if that improves things.

[jeffcdo]

In my opinion the entire tracks are sped up.  I brought them into Goldwave and through trial and error slowed them down until they sounded correct to my ear in terms of pitch and tempo.

Here's an example, "Slightly American Music' as it appeared on Landylocked and a slowed down version.  My choice of speed was entirely subjective it just sounded "right" to my ears...


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EDIT: no downloads with illegal content (not even if modified) here please! Please check out the rules.

[37!ws]

From what I heard, the speeded-up thing was actually kind of a bootleg trap -- apparently the recordings were given to a couple of folks (whose names we apparently have heard of!), with the "don't give this to ANYONE" warning...and so that way if they leaked out, they could be tracked to the leaker. I think one copy was intentionally sped up, while the other had a bit of additional hiss -- both intentional modifications but unknown to the recipients.

[Jay]

The thing that always amazed me is the original version of Soul Searchin'.  Those backing vocals starting at the second verse are terrific! Hearing that for the first time was a jaw dropping moment. It was like finding out that the beatles backing vocals on the alternate "Anthology" version of Strawberry Fields Forever had been edited out of the commercial release. When I heard the bootleg of it I was amazed.

[Bean Bag]

I remember a time in the mid-90s when people idolized the Sweet Insanity sessions. It's true!

I have to whole-heartedly disagree with you -- this album was cool!!!  (Sure the rappin' on "smart girls" was over the top...but I think its nuts!!!!)   

But  I love the Sweet Insanity stuff.  There's a life to it.  There's enthusiasm and pep and it actually sounds like he's having fun and inspired.  More so than on BW88.  BW88 might have been more stressful and "eventful" given it was his big "solo album" debut and all.  But with that behind him, he sounds relaxed and excited and inspired on Sweet Insanity.

His voice also sounds great, very uninhibited and natural.  Whoever rejected this is/was a mo'ron.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I remember a time in the mid-90s when people idolized the Sweet Insanity sessions. It's true!

I have to whole-heartedly disagree with you -- this album was cool!!!  (Sure the rappin' on "smart girls" was over the top...but I think its nuts!!!!)   

But  I love the Sweet Insanity stuff.  There's a life to it.  There's enthusiasm and pep and it actually sounds like he's having fun and inspired.  More so than on BW88.  BW88 might have been more stressful and "eventful" given it was his big "solo album" debut and all.  But with that behind him, he sounds relaxed and excited and inspired on Sweet Insanity.

His voice also sounds great, very uninhibited and natural.  Whoever rejected this is/was a mo'ron.

There's a man at the door called Seymour Stein who would like a word with you... 

[Bean Bag]

  Well...if Mr Stein is here to "sign me," he's too late.  I'm retired.  Or I burned all my master tapes.  I forget.

[carl r]

to these ears, the sessions are a curate's egg. Not only that they cover a lot of old ground and there's a bit too much rehashing of old sounds. but Market Place and Slightly American grate on my nerves in a way that very other Wilson songs do. Very rotten to these ears. I like Chain Reaction of Love - if it had made it onto any release then I can imagine it being picked up by Austin Powers or another 60s themed film. In fact, there's a classic 60s-in-the-90s album lurking here, I think everyone here agrees on that

[brianc]

Well said, even if I disagree with your assessment of "Market Place." But each person hears things differently.