Beach Boy Blunders...

[donald]

I salute voxnut for having the courage to speak out about Carls vocals on Wild Honey.

Not my favorite Carl material.  Does sound a bit strained in places.   He rocks on Youngblood without sounding so strained........although that might be attributed to maturity.....

[Sheriff John Stone]

With triumphs like "Long Promised Road", "Feel Flows" and "The Trader" behind him (heck, even "Angel Come Home" and "Full Sail" are pretty strong), I eagerly purchased Carl's first album when it came out. I found it disappointingly bland with little melodic invention and uninspired production. Basically, sub-Christopher Cross material. Say what you want about Brian's solo work, but he never delivered anything as dull as Carl's debut. I admit that I never purchased the follow-up "Youngblood" which many claim is better, but such was the effect of hearing that debut...

Roger,
      I agree with your assessment. What was disappointing to me was the fact that Carl LEFT THE BEACH BOYS to record his solo albums. And among the various reasons for leaving was the desire to take a step AWAY from Beach Boys' music and explore some different types of music. He obviously didn't do this enough.

Brian's solo stuff is only marginally better than Youngblood IMO. Brian left the Beach Boys for some of the same reasons as Carl - to step outside of The Beach Boys' circle and create HIS music. After releasing Brian Wilson 1988, Imagination, and Getting In Over My Head, I just have to say - HE LEFT THE BEACH BOYS TO DO THAT?

[voxnut]

"Brian's solo stuff is only marginally better than Youngblood IMO. Brian left the Beach Boys for some of the same reasons as Carl - to step outside of The Beach Boys' circle and create HIS music. After releasing Brian Wilson 1988, Imagination, and Getting In Over My Head, I just have to say - HE LEFT THE BEACH BOYS TO DO THAT?"

Yeah, I mean coming off the heels of such stellar Beach Boys releases like L.A. and Keepin' The Summer Alive, what was he thinkin'?! 

Seriously, in 1988 Landy was kind of the puppetmaster behind that, wasn't he? Wasn't it at the height of control and isolation from family and friends?

I would imagine that by the time the other two CDs came down the pike the working relationship with the Beach Boys was stressful enough to merit just doing his own thing -with gentle coaxing of course. Plus I think doing GIOMH was a good idea to legitimize the Brian Wilson band by giving them something original to work and put their stamp on rather than nailing what was laid down before, even if the results are uneven. All said, I can only imagine it must've been a much emotionally easier recording experience for him than anything done with the BB's from at least Sunflower-on. Considering that I don't think any recording artist has been consistently great over a 30+ year period, there is a lot to be said for Brian just doin' his thing. Much like the Stones from a song standpoint, I think most folks are going to be more interested in what he's done already than what he's doing now -Smile excepted, and even now that is in the "done" column.

As usual, this is just my opinion- feel free to disagree at will with nary a protest from me.

Dean

[Sheriff John Stone]

No disagreements here, Dean. Just some more thinking out loud...

Yes, Landy was absolutely "pulling the strings" from 1983-1991, but I still have some unanswered questions about that time frame.

Why did Brian really go solo in that period? I followed BW/BB's very closely during those years and I'm still scratching my head. In 1985, Brian was a Beach Boy, recording the Beach Boys 1985 album, doing a fairly prominent vocal on "Getcha Back", and appearing with the group at Live Aid.

In 1986, he records "Rock And Roll To The Rescue" with The Beach Boys, and in 1987, does the same with "California Dreaming", complete with videos.

In 1988, Brian releases a solo album (which he doesn't really produce), and you figure he's going to pursue the solo thing for awhile. But, no, after missing out on "Kokomo", he returns to the group to film a TV series, and he contributes a song to the Beach Boys 1989 album, Still Cruisin'.

So now, Brian's back with The Beach Boys, right? No, he records Sweet Insanity as a solo project, but he can't get a record company to release it. Now what? The Beach Boys get a deal to record Summer In Paradise, Landy is being pushed out, so you figure Brian will return to The Beach Boys. No, Summer In Paradise is released with no Brian.

Now for the most confusing part. You figure since Brian sat out Summer In Paradise, the first Beach Boys' album that he had nothing to do with, that Brian was finished with The Beach Boys. But in 1996, Stars And Stripes is released, and guess who is listed as one of the producers - Brian Wilson! The accompanying documentary features Brian and Mike getting along splendidly, and Brian even joins the group on a couple of videos and TV shows to promote the album.

So Brian's back in the group, right? Wrong. It's 1997, and Imagination is released as a solo Brian Wilson album. So I guess he's a solo artist again.

And that's pretty much how it's been since then. Brian's marriage to Melinda clouds the water even more.

Can anybody make any sense out of this?

[Surfer Joe]

That's a good question [*i.e., what happened in the late eighties?] that hasn't been fully answered as far as I know.  As someone who had an eye on them throughout that period, here's what I recall from the time, off the top of my head:

They were in the news a lot in the mid to late eighties- "Getcha Back" and "Kokomo" happened, Brian appeared in the video for (and  I think also sang on) the Wall Of Voodoo cover of "Do It Again", Brian's first-ever solo album got a lot of attention through numerous delays in its release, and of course SMiLE was announced for the umpteenth time.

Brian was said to have been annoyed that he wasn't called for "Kokomo".  Although the interminable delay in releasing Pet Sounds on CD was apparently blamed to some degree on Dennis' estate, it seems that Landy was holding out big time for an executive producer title, which would have added to the impressive list of sixties recordings he wasn't present for, but produced (see: "Eve Of Destruction").  In a 1988 (or early '89) Rolling Stone interview, Brian stopped to call Landy and ask his permission to remove a picture of the Beach Boys from a wall of his house- it was bothering him.  In a 1989 television interview that a friend taped and showed me later, Mike was asked about "Kokomo" 's success the previous year and at the end of his response, smiled at the camera and added "Meanwhile, Brian's album came out and laid a great big turkey egg."

So there was something goin on between Brian's camp and the band around then, for sure.  Yet Brian was onstage with them when I saw them in Tampa, Florida on July 4, 1987.

My personal theory, then and now, was that it was a Landy thing.  Not to oversimplify, but I think that in his bid for total control of Brian he chased the family and the band far away and probably made their business dealing pretty unpleasant, too.  And then think about what he was probably feeding Brian about the other guys....

[Sir Rob]

I think Melinda was the decisive break with The Beach Boys in the late 90s.  Before that, I think a gradual disaffection with the group was taking place partly influenced by Landy.  To be perfectly honest, I think Brian's separation from the group has been good for him and good for us as fans.  Mike's 'turkey' quote says it all.  BW88 was far superior to anything that the fag end of The Beach Boys career had to offer, as has Brian's solo offerings in general in my opinion, and I think it's only BB sentimentalism that says otherwise.  My view is that the group just dragged Brian down.  If Melinda never happened and he'd remained with them I think we'd still be seeing him demeaning his talent and status in dumb nostalgia projects with the likes of Status Quo, rather than things like touring PS and Smile and releasing a version of Smile.  People seem to take these things for granted now but a few years before they could only have dreamt of them.

[Sir Rob]

Meant to modify but ended up quoting here!  No 'delete' option available, so I've just deleted the text which was the modified post above.  Oh dear... 

[Roger Ryan]

Apart from Carl's decision to leave the band for a year or two, I don't think any of the group's solo albums were meant to suggest that the respective performer had "left the group". Mike, Dennis & Brian all released solo albums (and singles in some cases) while they still considered themselves Beach Boys. Certainly Landy affected the group dynamic during the years he was involved, but until Carl passed away, I think Brian still considered himself a Beach Boy and sought to participate in group projects. His non-involvement in SIP could be due to the lengthy legal problems he encountered during the time of its recording.  Maybe I'm misremembering, but doesn't Brian show up in one of the SIP music videos? After the failure of "Stars & Stripes", Brian is steered back to a solo career which, in effect, becomes permanent after the death of Carl.

[Surfer Joe]

I don't think Brian was considered an active Beach Boy at all at the time of any of his albums, especially not in 1988 (although, tragically, he had appeared on "Wipe Out" the year before).  I think Carl was officially gone for at least one if not both releases.  I remember a blurb in the paper about one of his albums, containing his remark about being gone from the band "until they care as much about 1981 as 1961."

I'll never forget the shock of sitting on the couch watching "Solid Gold" ( don't ask) and Carl making a solo appearance...

[Rocker]

  Maybe I'm misremembering, but doesn't Brian show up in one of the SIP music videos?

Don't know for sure, but he appearedr with them on Baywatch singing to "Summer of love". BTW, Brian and Carl look very cool on that one...

[Roger Ryan]

I don't think Brian was considered an active Beach Boy at all at the time of any of his albums, especially not in 1988 (although, tragically, he had appeared on "Wipe Out" the year before). 

...And his underrated contribution "In My Car" appeared as a Beach Boys track on 1989's "Still Cruisin'". If we consider his appearance in the "California Dreamin'" video, that "Surfin'" thing shot on the beach, the twenty-five year anniversary special ("Spirit Of Rock And Roll"), the Fat Boys' "Wipeout" video and then the production of "In My Car", it appears that Brian was still a "Beach Boy" during the recording of his solo album and after its release. Granted, the band was not much of a going concern during this period beyond the "Kokomo" aberration and the touring, and Landy certainly pushed for Brian's independence from the band, but I tend to think that Brian didn't think that having a solo career meant he wouldn't still contribute to the group. I agree with you completely that by "Imagination" and beyond, Brian did not consider himself an active Beach Boy. My point being that when Brian released "Caroline, No" as a solo single, or when Dennis released "Sound Of Free" under the name Rumbo or "Pacific Ocean Blue" as a solo album, or when Mike Love released "Looking Back With Love", they weren't "leaving the band" to go solo; it happened concurrently with their band commitments. In the same sense, I'm not certain that Brian saw his '88 release as much different. It's just that without being a touring member and without the band doing very much of anything in the studio, Brian's contributions were minimal.

[Surfer Joe]

Roger, your points are well made and I wouldn't dig in on it.  I guess it's really pretty subjective.

Although I hadn't given it any thought before, I definitely didn't perceive Brian as an active Beach Boy in 1988.  He and the band had high profiles that year, but separately.  He had quietly released a solo single the year before- "Let's Go Heave In My Car"/"Too Much Sugar", and had been conspicuously absent from "Kokomo".  It seems like he was referred to as "former Beach Boy" or "erstwhile Beach Boy" in a lot of the publicity at the time, but I wouldn't swear to it.  It seems like the tone of the interviews on his publicity tour (anyone have the interview disc handy?) were all pretty clear on that, and had him fielding questions about whether he would record with the band again, etc., but again, I definitely wouldn't swear to it. 

It seemed like his appearances with them much after the '85 album were usually more of an aberration.  I travelled to Tampa in 1987 to see them just because Brian's special appearance with them had been publicized.  Prior to that, in the early eighties, it was unclear when you went to see them whether he'd be there or not.

I guess there's no right or wrong answer- he was and he wasn't.

But I do think the "Kokomo" snub triggered a slight rift, because Brian sort of indicated it in the press at the time.

[Mitchell]

"Let's Go Heave In My Car"

Best typo ever.

[voxnut]

Agreed! I about died when I read that!

[Surfer Joe]

I've always called it that.  Never been into that song, or the flip.

[Aegir]

You know what the funny thing is? I'm not familiar with the original title so I just figured "Let's Go Heave In My Car" was the actual title.. I was thinking to myself, "Typical Brian.."

[Glenn Greenberg]

Mike claims in the "Endless Harmony" documentary that the Beach Boys DID try to contact Brian to have him take part in the recording of "Kokomo," but Landy blocked it from happening.  Apparently he wanted an Executive Producer title and a songwriting credit or something like that.

[Surfer Joe]

That would have been incredibly typical for around then- Landy holding Brian hostage and negotiating for personal ransom.  Strange, though, that it didn't come out at the time.  Brian's camp alleged a snub, and the Beach Boys didn't reply.  If that was the case, they'd have served themselves well to make it clear what was going on, as they did with the Pet Sounds CD release.