What can you glean from Al Jardine?

[Pretty Funky]

http://www.rockandrollexperience.com/

Any answers please list below.

[The Shift]

"Hey Al, tell us how Sloop John B came about... again?"   

[Eric Aniversario]

Does anyone have an extra $7999 I can have?

[astroray]

Some people might have questions about their teeth?
Others might wanna know about the car engine sounds placement in 40 versions of "Susie Cincinnati"
Keeping it clean ,with Al Jardine

[Mr. Cohen]

Al Jardine's Mysterious Masterpiece
By Dada

"Susie Cincinnati" and "Loop De Loop" were supposed to be the bookends to Al Jardine's unreleased magnum opus Brush 'Em Like Crazy, which he worked on feverishly from '68-'72, but it was never to be. Principle to the album's collapse was the difficulty of recording satisfactory engine sounds using the technology of the time. By the late 60s, Jardine had become renowned, some say dreaded, for his exacting perfectionism. "Susie Cincinnati", a rollicking tune about a cab driver, was supposed have the sounds of a revving engine. And Jardine felt "Loop De Loop", a fanciful old-time good-time song about airplanes,  was not to be released until he had found just the right biplane to record. The Beach Boys thought "Loop De Loop" was a smash hit as is and couldn't understand why Jardine was delaying it. Jardine had become increasingly eccentric from years of suffering from a Napoleonic complex and it seemed there was no pleasing him.

"It's all I remember Al doing. He'd be out in the driveway for 10... 12 hours a day recording the sound of all these planes and cars," says ex-wife Mary Ann. "It was his only outlet."

Al Jardine's garage at the time was so full of acetates with different automobile and biplane sounds that his wife could not even park her Oldsmobile in it, she claims.

"Well, Al would tell us how he could hear the most amazing engine sounds in his head. I'd tell him, what good is that if you can't get the sounds on tape? Let's just write music like we used to. But he'd say no, he's moved on, these sounds are the new thing. We thought he was losing his mind, but what could we do? We needed new material and Jardine was writing the strongest material at the time," explains Beach Boys frontman Mike Love.

 
"Susie Cincinnati" and "Loop De Loop" would be widely bootlegged and are now looked at as cult classics. No one is more aware of what was lost by those songs staying unreleased then Al Jardine.

"We were really doing something special, weren't we? But recording those engine sounds... we were ahead of the times. They were supposed to go with the music, like an avant-garde sound collage. But we couldn't get it right. The notes and the sound effects had to be just right, and it just wasn't. It just wasn't," Jardine laments.

Jardine would be redeemed. "Susie Cincinnati" would be released on 15 Big Ones, the highest selling Beach Boys album of the seventies. "Loop De Loop" would be released on the compilation Endless Harmony. "Susie Cincinnati" would be released without engine sounds, which is why Jardine claims it wasn't a hit. "Loop De Loop" would have engine sounds, after Jardine found the perfect biplane.

"Ain't she a buet'?," he asked, arms wide in front of the biplane used on "Loop De Loop".

[A Million Units In Jan!]

That was great! 

[The Heartical Don]

 

[Pretty Funky]

I've heard that story about another artist I think?

[Wrightfan]

What are the finer points of dentistry?

[Ed Roach]

                                                                                                Keeping it clean ,with Al Jardine

[the captain]

That photo is approx. 98.9% better than anything else posted on this board in the past year. Oh lord...

[Ed Roach]

                            Thanks, Luther

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I find it interesting that Mike believed that Al Jardine was the best artist for the Beach Boys at the time. Also, Al believed that having engine sounds on tape was original when the Beach Boys did the same thing on 409 on their very first album! Having said that, I do like both SC and LDL. Nothing amazing, but they are catchy. Those songs would've made 20/20 better in place of Cotton Fields and Bluebirds.

[Custom Machine]

Al Jardine's Mysterious Masterpiece
By Dada

"Susie Cincinnati" and "Loop De Loop" were supposed to be the bookends to Al Jardine's unreleased magnum opus Brush 'Em Like Crazy, which he worked on feverishly from '68-'72, but it was never to be. Principle to the album's collapse was the difficulty of recording satisfactory engine sounds using the technology of the time. By the late 60s, Jardine had become renowned, some say dreaded, for his exacting perfectionism. "Susie Cincinnati", a rollicking tune about a cab driver, was supposed have the sounds of a revving engine. And Jardine felt "Loop De Loop", a fanciful old-time good-time song about airplanes,  was not to be released until he had found just the right biplane to record. The Beach Boys thought "Loop De Loop" was a smash hit as is and couldn't understand why Jardine was delaying it. Jardine had become increasingly eccentric from years of suffering from a Napoleonic complex and it seemed there was no pleasing him.

"It's all I remember Al doing. He'd be out in the driveway for 10... 12 hours a day recording the sound of all these planes and cars," says ex-wife Mary Ann. "It was his only outlet."

Al Jardine's garage at the time was so full of acetates with different automobile and biplane sounds that his wife could not even park her Oldsmobile in it, she claims.

"Well, Al would tell us how he could hear the most amazing engine sounds in his head. I'd tell him, what good is that if you can't get the sounds on tape? Let's just write music like we used to. But he'd say no, he's moved on, these sounds are the new thing. We thought he was losing his mind, but what could we do? We needed new material and Jardine was writing the strongest material at the time," explains Beach Boys frontman Mike Love.

 
"Susie Cincinnati" and "Loop De Loop" would be widely bootlegged and are now looked at as cult classics. No one is more aware of what was lost by those songs staying unreleased then Al Jardine.

"We were really doing something special, weren't we? But recording those engine sounds... we were ahead of the times. They were supposed to go with the music, like an avant-garde sound collage. But we couldn't get it right. The notes and the sound effects had to be just right, and it just wasn't. It just wasn't," Jardine laments.

Jardine would be redeemed. "Susie Cincinnati" would be released on 15 Big Ones, the highest selling Beach Boys album of the seventies. "Loop De Loop" would be released on the compilation Endless Harmony. "Susie Cincinnati" would be released without engine sounds, which is why Jardine claims it wasn't a hit. "Loop De Loop" would have engine sounds, after Jardine found the perfect biplane.

"Ain't she a buet'?," he asked, arms wide in front of the biplane used on "Loop De Loop".

Here's the rest of the story from Brian Wilson's perspective ...

When asked comment on Al Jardine's exacting perfectionism, Brian Wilson responded, "I guess it's time for the true story to come out.  Al actually began working on 'Susie Cincinnati' in late 1964.  I recognized almost immediately that 'Susie Cincinnati' was so good that Al was on the verge of becoming the new leader of the group, causing my first nervous breakdown in December of that year.  My Dad threatened to take his glass eyeball out in Al's presence if Al didn't shelve the song. This caused Al to back off for a few years, but by late 66 and early 67 Al again began grumbling that it was time for 'Susie Cincinnati' to see the light of day.  The pressure was so intense that I became dysfunctional and was unable to complete the album I was working on at the time, Smile.  The other guys got on Al's case and he once again backed off, but the pressure from Alan had taken a permanent toll on my overall desire to create music and act as the leader of the group. 

"And, I'm sorry to say," Brain lamented, "that Al could not be stopped.  He completed Susie Cincinnati in early 1970, sneaking it on the flip side of our first Brother/Reprise single, 'Add Some Music to Your Day'.  Although 'Add Some Music' was a great song, it tanked on the charts, with the fortunate result that virtually no one bought the single and heard 'Susie Cincinnati' on the flip side.  The other guys and I made sure that 'Susie Cincinnati' was not included on our next album, 'Sunflower'. 

I was just about ready to rest easy, when Al threatened again, stating he was ready to complete and release yet another masterpiece, 'Loop De Loop'.  When Al began work on this song a few years prior, Carl and I decided to become involved by volunteering to help Al write 'Loop De Loop', hoping to draw attention away from him and towards us, but we knew in our hearts that the song's exceptional creativity, especially the unsurpassed placement of engine sounds, would be seen in no uncertain terms as coming from the genius of Al Jardine.  In assisting Al in writing the song, Carl and I intentionally dragged our feet so long that we were, in fact, able to keep 'Loop De Loop' away from the public at that time, but the knowledge that it might someday see the light of day ultimately caused me to retreat to my bed for a number of years.

Brian continued, "In 1976, during the 'Brian's Back' campaign when I was finally forced out of bed, Dr. Landy and the guys told me I had to face my demons head on, saying they planned to put 'Susie Cincinnati' on our upcoming album, '15 Big Ones'.  My dad was no longer there to protect me from Al, and sure enough, the song did appear on our next album.  But, Al had forgotten one thing - he failed to account for the public's changing automotive tastes.  The engine sounds in 'Susie Cincinnati' were based on those of the 60's muscle car era, which still made sense in 1969 - 70, but by 1976 we had gone through an oil embargo and gas crisis, and the muscle car era was over.  Al failed to update the engine sounds for mid-seventies audiences, which completely altered the song's mojo in the public's mind, and 'Susie Cincinnati' went from being an absolute masterpiece six or seven years earlier to just an average sounding song in 1976.

Upon finishing this revelation, Brian lowered his head and sighed, "You know those voices I've heard in my head for decades?  I've never told anyone this before, but the voices in my head are those of Al Jardine.  He's the only Beach Boy small enough to fit inside."

[Ed Roach]

Here's the rest of the story from Brian Wilson's perspective ...

When asked comment on Al Jardine's exacting perfectionism, Brian Wilson responded, "I guess it's time for the true story to come out:  Al actually began working on 'Susie Cincinnati' in late 1964.  I recognized almost immediately that 'Susie Cincinnati' was so good that Al was on the verge of becoming the new leader of the group, causing my first nervous breakdown in December of that year.  My Dad threatened to take his glass eyeball out in Al's presence if Al didn't shelve the song. This caused Al to back off for a few years, but by late 66 and early 67 Al again began grumbling that it was time for 'Susie Cincinnati' to see the light of day...."   

"And, I'm sorry to say," Brain lamented, "that Al could not be stopped.  He completed Susie Cincinnati in early 1970, sneaking it on the flip side of our first Brother/Reprise single, 'Add Some Music to Your Day'."

Brian continued, "In 1976, during the 'Brian's Back' campaign when I was finally forced out of bed, Dr. Landy and the guys told me I had to face my demons head on, saying they planned to put 'Susie Cincinnati' on our upcoming album, '15 Big Ones'.  My dad was no longer there to protect me from Al, and sure enough, the song did appear on our next album!"

 
Upon finishing this revelation, Brian lowered his head and sighed, "You know those voices I've heard in my head for decades?  I've never told anyone this before, but the voices in my head are those of Al Jardine.  He's the only Beach Boy small enough to fit inside."

[SurfRiderHawaii]

Aloha Ed - I'm assuming you and Al are not on good terms???  What's the scoops?

From an outsiders perspective, Jardine seems to be the most quiet, reserved, stable of the bunch.

Comment?

[Eric Aniversario]

I find it interesting that Mike believed that Al Jardine was the best artist for the Beach Boys at the time. Also, Al believed that having engine sounds on tape was original when the Beach Boys did the same thing on 409 on their very first album! Having said that, I do like both SC and LDL. Nothing amazing, but they are catchy. Those songs would've made 20/20 better in place of Cotton Fields and Bluebirds.

That was not an actual article; it was meant to be comedy.  (I thought it was great!)

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

Brilliant!

Al Jardine's Mysterious Masterpiece
By Dada

"Susie Cincinnati" and "Loop De Loop" were supposed to be the bookends to Al Jardine's unreleased magnum opus Brush 'Em Like Crazy, which he worked on feverishly from '68-'72, but it was never to be. Principle to the album's collapse was the difficulty of recording satisfactory engine sounds using the technology of the time. By the late 60s, Jardine had become renowned, some say dreaded, for his exacting perfectionism. "Susie Cincinnati", a rollicking tune about a cab driver, was supposed have the sounds of a revving engine. And Jardine felt "Loop De Loop", a fanciful old-time good-time song about airplanes,  was not to be released until he had found just the right biplane to record. The Beach Boys thought "Loop De Loop" was a smash hit as is and couldn't understand why Jardine was delaying it. Jardine had become increasingly eccentric from years of suffering from a Napoleonic complex and it seemed there was no pleasing him.

"It's all I remember Al doing. He'd be out in the driveway for 10... 12 hours a day recording the sound of all these planes and cars," says ex-wife Mary Ann. "It was his only outlet."

Al Jardine's garage at the time was so full of acetates with different automobile and biplane sounds that his wife could not even park her Oldsmobile in it, she claims.

"Well, Al would tell us how he could hear the most amazing engine sounds in his head. I'd tell him, what good is that if you can't get the sounds on tape? Let's just write music like we used to. But he'd say no, he's moved on, these sounds are the new thing. We thought he was losing his mind, but what could we do? We needed new material and Jardine was writing the strongest material at the time," explains Beach Boys frontman Mike Love.

 
"Susie Cincinnati" and "Loop De Loop" would be widely bootlegged and are now looked at as cult classics. No one is more aware of what was lost by those songs staying unreleased then Al Jardine.

"We were really doing something special, weren't we? But recording those engine sounds... we were ahead of the times. They were supposed to go with the music, like an avant-garde sound collage. But we couldn't get it right. The notes and the sound effects had to be just right, and it just wasn't. It just wasn't," Jardine laments.

Jardine would be redeemed. "Susie Cincinnati" would be released on 15 Big Ones, the highest selling Beach Boys album of the seventies. "Loop De Loop" would be released on the compilation Endless Harmony. "Susie Cincinnati" would be released without engine sounds, which is why Jardine claims it wasn't a hit. "Loop De Loop" would have engine sounds, after Jardine found the perfect biplane.

"Ain't she a buet'?," he asked, arms wide in front of the biplane used on "Loop De Loop".

[Ed Roach]

Aloha Ed - I'm assuming you and Al are not on good terms???  What's the scoops?

Oh, no, not at all.  Just joining in the fun here.

[Dove Nested Towers]

I heard a story from a reliable source that Al once approached David Leaf at some function soon
after the publication of "California Myth" and said "You know, you've got it all wrong, there are
5 geniuses in this group!"

[MBE]

Bumping this to show the light hearted side of the board. "Keepin' it clean". If Al did that to Leaf I think it's fantastic!

[Micha]

Also, Al believed that having engine sounds on tape was original when the Beach Boys did the same thing on 409 on their very first album!

Well, the sound of torturing the gear mechanism sure was original!