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Author Topic: Who is your favorite singer in Brian's band (excluding Bri)?  (Read 2950 times)
TdHabib
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« on: December 21, 2010, 06:39:22 PM »

I'm always curious as to what people think on this subject, (a warning that if you post that Brian's band sounds like a boy band or some variation I may get a bit testy), Brian's band is made up of great singers, and we've heard a bit from most of them over the years, I'm curious as to who each person's favorite is and who he or she thinks is the strongest/weakest singer. Just a refresher:
Here's the ones I'm familiar with
Darian Sahanaja-unquestionably the most BB influenced of the singers, and just a master of staying on pitch and phrasing. Did an absolutely terrific "Darlin" on the 2009 tours and most of his Wondermints recordings are very good indeed. I have it on good authority that he can wail like a madman. Much like Carl, he keeps most of his singing to the mid-range, but has a large range (A reminder that he sang the "columnated ruins" and "brother John" parts on Surf's Up).
Scott Bennett-the most modern sounding vocalist of the band, and remember he was hired to sing before anything else. Another one that's dead-on in pitch and intonation. Has several stand-out moments on TLOS, most notably the first few verses on "California Role" and the third verse of "Good Kind of Love". Sang a beautiful demo of "Southern California."
Nick Walusko-a mid-range and low voice, as most of his Wondermints recordings show, he hasn't been featured a lot in Brian's band, his solo spot on "Cabinessence" notwithstanding. Has a very pleasant voice, but not my favorite.
Probyn Gregory-by his own admission he does not have a "rock" voice, but a very high voice that is usually used for the higher end of the harmonies; he's a dead ringer for Bruce on "California Girls." Had a brief spot singing "Wouldn't it Be Nice" with Darian on a couple of gigs, sounded great and should've lasted longer. Always a good singer, just don't expect Little Richard.
Taylor Mills-the ever-present female voice, very strong singer of course and has had several bits like a solo spot on "Marcella" and "Salt Lake City." Her solo record is cheezy but has great singing.
Jeff Foskett-you can always hand it to him and he gives you the best, sings beautifully and always on pitch; he sounds best now on the higher chest stuff like "Don't Worry Baby" and "Wouldn't it Be Nice," though he still does fine in the falsetto range (you have to admit, he has to be pressing mid-fifties at least and Brian lost the power of his falsetto somewhere north or thirty, though he still uses it well sometimes, so you can't be too harsh on him.
Nelson Bragg-the low bass, listening to some bits from his solo album he has a fine mid-range. Always sings well, just not a terribly special voice.

Whadya think?
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« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2010, 06:58:58 PM »

I love Taylor on the Hawaiian chant of Roll Plymouth Rock and her duet with Brian on You Are My Sunshine 
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« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2010, 07:04:24 PM »

Man was I tempted.
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Chris Brown
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« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2010, 08:18:16 PM »

I would have to say Darian, only after having heard him do "Darlin" - he didn't do much for me as a harmony singer, but after I heard him wail like that, I was sold.
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hypehat
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« Reply #4 on: December 22, 2010, 01:48:22 AM »

Darian, i think.

The lack of bass in the groups vocal arrangements always gets me though. What with three singers doing the lower parts, the arrangements still sound way too thin and high.
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« Reply #5 on: December 22, 2010, 03:33:29 AM »

Darian, i think.

The lack of bass in the groups vocal arrangements always gets me though. What with three singers doing the lower parts, the arrangements still sound way too thin and high.

It's a most remarkable thing, but the best bass voice in Brian's band is currently Brian.  Shocked
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Jim McShane
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« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2010, 12:52:31 PM »

I think a lot of the difference in the lower range is mix differences. I can tell you that as I lost some of my high frequency hearing as I got older (I'm 59 now) I found I either reduced the bass a bit or added more highs to compensate. I suspect that's a good part of the "lighter" tone of Brian's band, changes in the mix that occur as the people working on it age.  Undecided

Favorite singer - damn, that's hard... probably Darian, he has such an expressive voice and can do an awful lot with it. Second would be Jeffrey.
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« Reply #7 on: December 22, 2010, 01:27:50 PM »

Darian is not really a rocker by preference or personality, but as a rock singer, he's terribly underrated.  If you've heard him sing Cheap Trick on one of the early Wondermints demos (I think it got released later on CD), you'll know what I mean.  He also does a lead vocal on one of my albums, same kind of deal there, great projection.  His preference is more for loungey exotica stuff, but man, the guy can sing a rock tune like nobody's business if he puts his mind to it.

I've gotten to sing with Probyn many times and it's true he doesn't have a balls-out rock voice, but he has wonderful pitch and tone.  A master blender.
« Last Edit: December 22, 2010, 01:29:00 PM by adamghost » Logged
shelter
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« Reply #8 on: December 22, 2010, 02:17:27 PM »

I think the guys and girl in Brian's band are technically at least as skilled as the Beach Boys were, and while they're singing the same parts, somehow it just doesn't have the same kind of magic. And I don't mean that as a disqualification of Brian's band, vocally they're one of the best bands around at the moment, but to me this is the best possible proof of just how unique the original Beach Boys' vocal blend was. It was so much more than just the sum of a bunch of good voices. It somehow just had that like bit of magic that no other group ever had.

On topic: I've got Taylor's solo CD, it's one of the dullest albums I've ever heard, but I love how she sounds with the band. Ever since I heard her taking the "running running running" part on a live version of 'Your Imagination', I miss it every time I listen to the original.
« Last Edit: December 22, 2010, 02:26:50 PM by shelter » Logged
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« Reply #9 on: December 22, 2010, 05:39:30 PM »

I think part of the magic (if magic can ever be explained) is the wealth of personality in the individual Beach Boys voices/blend. The voices fit together so well as to blend into a unified instrument yet still retaining the personality of the individual components. It didn't hurt that you had three brothers (possessing similar yet distinct voices) a close friend who sounded a lot like one of the other singers (Brian) and then the really unique, strange, different, yet comforting voice of a cousin. Brian's band is certainly as skilled but don't share the unique qualities/compatibility of three brothers, a close friend, and cousin. But they are a great vocal unit and should be embraced as such!

We need to also consider that by the time the Beach Boys were out there singing on records and on TV/public, they'd been singing together for years! Also, each Beach Boy sang lead allowing us to get to know the individual voices/personalities even better, so when they all sang together is was like audio 3-D!
« Last Edit: December 22, 2010, 05:42:02 PM by Erik H » Logged
Wirestone
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« Reply #10 on: December 22, 2010, 09:31:19 PM »

The "Beach Boys blend" as we know it is also a very studio-bound thing -- they sounded pretty thin live in the 60s (by the 70s, you had a few singers added onstage). Brian's band was really created for concert performance -- where they nearly always sound awesome. In the studio, they can actually be a bit too meticulous and perfect -- they're nearly all studio pros, which none of the original band were.
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« Reply #11 on: December 22, 2010, 09:58:45 PM »

I might suggest that's an unfair assessment. Brian's band has only performed in this modern day n age of perfect/pristine concert sound. The Beach Boys were battling with PA systems designed for Bingo games in hollow halls/gyms/TV studios that weren't up to snuff for sound. Not to mention the hordes of screaming girls. By the 70's the extra singers were necessary to cover the additional vocal layers the Beach Boys were adding in the studio.
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« Reply #12 on: December 22, 2010, 10:17:22 PM »

I think the guys and girl in Brian's band are technically at least as skilled as the Beach Boys were, and while they're singing the same parts, somehow it just doesn't have the same kind of magic. And I don't mean that as a disqualification of Brian's band, vocally they're one of the best bands around at the moment, but to me this is the best possible proof of just how unique the original Beach Boys' vocal blend was. It was so much more than just the sum of a bunch of good voices. It somehow just had that like bit of magic that no other group ever had.

On topic: I've got Taylor's solo CD, it's one of the dullest albums I've ever heard, but I love how she sounds with the band. Ever since I heard her taking the "running running running" part on a live version of 'Your Imagination', I miss it every time I listen to the original.

there's a lot of live stuff with his band that i love their parts
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"Someone needs to tell Adrian Baker that imitation isn't innovation." -The Real Beach Boy

~post of the century~
"Well, you reached out to me too, David, and I'd be more than happy to fill Bgas's shoes. You don't need him anyway - some of us have the same items in our collections as he does and we're also much better writers. Spoiled brat....."
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"in this online beach boy community, I've found that you're either correct or corrected. Which in my mind is all in good fun to show ones knowledge of their favorite band."- punkinhead
shelter
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« Reply #13 on: December 22, 2010, 10:20:51 PM »

The "Beach Boys blend" as we know it is also a very studio-bound thing -- they sounded pretty thin live in the 60s (by the 70s, you had a few singers added onstage).

I suppose that is because singing is harder when you have to focuss on playing an instrument as well. And of course Brian wasn't an experience bass guitar player yet and Carl was still in his teens, you can't really blame them for struggling a bit on stage. On the a capella songs they sounded just as great as in the studio.
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hypehat
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« Reply #14 on: December 23, 2010, 04:46:51 AM »

Another factor to consider, however obvious it is, is the sheer number of vocalists in Brian's band - 8, including the BW himself. When used well, their sh*t can get so intricately awesome (Nothing But Love springs to mind), but i suppose this all depends on how much Brian brings to the table. If he's not bothered, sure he can just have 3 voices doing the same thing and another 4 doubling their part and so forth..... At the very most, Brian only had 6 BB's to deal with, and even then they weren't all guaranteed to show up like his band now. Lots of voices doing the same part - very slick, which is what people hate about them.
I mean, the sheer number was obviously for duplicating doubled BB's harmonies onstage, but even for a BW in his prime, having to write vocal parts for 8 voices can't be easy.



Just thinking out loud, btw.
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« Reply #15 on: December 23, 2010, 01:49:46 PM »

I think Shelter hit it on the head when he mentioned that Carl was a mere 16 when he was out there playing electric guitar and singing in crappy rooms with merda sound equipment. I mean these guys were teens and barely out of their teens who threw together a band (forcing Dennis to take up drums: which he did quickly and astonishingly well) and were suddenly professionals! There's a giant difference between singing/harmonizing in the back of your parent's car and in your living room and suddenly being out there in front of increasingly huge screaming audiences and on national TV. I mean, it would have been an insane achievement to merely sing in tune, let alone sound like The Beach Boys.

Brian's band, in contrast, were all much much older and had been playing music and singing live and in the studio for many many years and were used to singing in all sorts of environments with all sorts of proper mics/monitors. All in all, they were all seasoned, professional musicians well before Brian ever rang them up. Therefore, I think there's really no comparison with the original Beach Boys as far as sounding "thin" live in the 60's.
« Last Edit: December 23, 2010, 01:51:51 PM by Erik H » Logged
donald
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« Reply #16 on: December 23, 2010, 07:37:39 PM »

They all have great vocals, amazingly Brian is a real player vocally, even in this deep pool of talent.

I am ready for a Best of Brian  Live.   Culled from various venues, with minimal retooling.   He and the band are much bettter than the first couple of years they performed when they did the Roxy album.   I want Desert Drive live.
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« Reply #17 on: December 24, 2010, 12:38:53 AM »

They all have great vocals, amazingly Brian is a real player vocally, even in this deep pool of talent.

I am ready for a Best of Brian  Live.   Culled from various venues, with minimal retooling.   He and the band are much bettter than the first couple of years they performed when they did the Roxy album.   I want Desert Drive live.

agreed. the GIOMH tunes are better, his version of Your Imagination is better....some of the re-imagining of rarities are better.
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To view my video documentation of my Beach Boys collection go to www.youtube.com/justinplank

"Someone needs to tell Adrian Baker that imitation isn't innovation." -The Real Beach Boy

~post of the century~
"Well, you reached out to me too, David, and I'd be more than happy to fill Bgas's shoes. You don't need him anyway - some of us have the same items in our collections as he does and we're also much better writers. Spoiled brat....."
-Mikie

"in this online beach boy community, I've found that you're either correct or corrected. Which in my mind is all in good fun to show ones knowledge of their favorite band."- punkinhead
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