Soul Searchin'-Lets set the facts straight!

[TdHabib]

OK, so in the vein of the investigating threads on the Labour Day weekend and the like, I'm very curious about some of the situations surrounding "Soul Searchin'." AGD said it best when he mentioned the whirled of Wilson, and I doubt we'll get to any conclusions set in stone here (heck the only real conclusion set in stone in BB land is once upon a time in a faraway land---some good music was made), but I'm so damned curious I need to state this:

"Soul Searchin'" we know the chronology. Andy Paley starts this song as a tune for Carl to sing, Brian gets enthused and follows Andy to England where Paley was producing another artist and they finish the song in a hotel room. The pair set to work on a stompin track for the tune and Andy lays down a rough scratch vocal (some ruffians thought this was Brian, I was one and now can't see what the foda I was thinking). Sometime in the middle Mike and Brian start working again and Brian does some gigs with the BB. Now Brian's working with the Beach Boys again, IJWMFTT is released and Don Was and he are collaborating with Paley in a secondary role. Brian and Was re-record the backing track anew. THEN the BB are brought in to lay down vocal tracks in a well-documented session (Cindy something or another covered it way back when). After this session, so the story goes, Carl announces he doesn't like the song and the work grinds to a halt. Mike Love instigates a horrible project with right-wing country artists, everybody ambles along for that hoping it will bring in money and it flops big time financially (musically, let the fans debate that). Then in 2003 Brian records a new bridge vocal over the track and redoes (horribly) the BB backing vocals himself.

But here's some of what I don't get:
1) First of all WHY re-record the backing track at all? It was a spiffy one to begin with?
2) The widespread story is that the Don Was backing tracks were dull and what we hear on the boots are the BB vocals synced up to the Andy Paley/BW track. BUT that doesn't make entire sense to me for a few reasons: Carl's vocal and the backing are amazingly in time on the bootlegs for being "flown in" from another track. That would mean the Don Was track was recorded at a very nearly exact tempo to the BW/Paley track to which the vocals are flown into. The BB vocals sound so good over top the "wrong" backing it's just toooooo perfect for me to believe it.
3) When Brian re-released the track on GIOMH, he uses the ORIGINAL PALEY/WILSON backing track. AND FURTHERMORE dubs in Carl's original vocal. BUT why not use the Don Was backing track if it was deemed superior in 1995? Whose decision was that? And for Carl's vocal to be "flown in" over the "wrong" backing track for a professional, major label release seems...well...original I'd say. And Carl's vocal, again, syncs in perfectly. Something just isn't clicking here...
4) I still don't understand why Carl rejected the song. Obviously Mike and Al were willing participants. Bruce griped on the Beach Boys Britain board that he didn't think the songs were something special BUT he would not have been the one to stop them from being finished/released. Bruce never made that critical of a decision in his life, at least with the BB. And he Bruce sings very well on the bootleg version. But why CARL, such a dedicated fan of rhythm and blues would reject such a rootsy track is beyond me. ESPECIALLY one with the commercial potential this had (with good BB vocals, an impassioned Carl lead, the right promotion, some Mike Love hyping and all that jazz this could've been a VH1 hit for sure). AND MOST PUZZLING is the reason we've been given: the Don Was tracks were dull, subpar. Well, WHY didn't they improve THOSE? Add some more guitar, some more rocking drums, some more percussion, ANYTHING? There's been more Beach Boys "sweetening" sessions then there have been bad Mike Love jokes! I still think Carl was ill and either didn't know it, was hiding it or wasn't it is right mind when all of this went down.

I'm probably making too much of this, but there has to be an answer to some of these questions somewhere, somehow, in some universe. And now I'm going to bed, see you tomorrow!

[Wirestone]

TD -- I can fill in a few bits.

1.) Don Was wanted to do it with his session guys. I think he was treating the Paley/Wilson recordings as de facto demos.

2.) I don't think it was simply cut-and-pasted. I seem to recall that Mark Linett did it, and he did it back in the mid-90s. A professional engineer / producer can do necessary fiddling to make tracks match like that. What's more, IIRC, Carl's vocals on the booted version are not _precisely_ in sync. Close, though.

3.) I don't think the Was track was deemed superior in 1995. I think that's why they tried the syncing experiment, to see if it might sound better.

4.) I think the reason the Was tracks weren't "improved" is because of how fluid and changing events were at the time. The Was sessions didn't end -- they merely morphed into Stars and Stripes, which then morphed into Imagination and Carl falling ill. The syncing could be seen as a last-ditch attempt to revive the project, to show that the tracks were workable.

I think it's pretty simple.

-- Track and scratch vocal recorded.
-- Was session and Carl / BB vox recorded.
-- Sessions disintegrate / evolve.
-- Alternate, "synced" version made by Mark.
-- Carl dies, album project ends.
-- Soul Searchin is considered for the Endless Harmony soundtrack.
-- Brian records new vocals for track in 04, in a project engineered by Mark.

It has its odd points, but that's how I've always understood it.

[Andrew G. Doe]

First, some dates that are set in stone.

    3/3/95 - session: Dancin' The Night Away/? Grace Of My Heart [Your Place Or Mine]

  10/5/95 - Stars And Stripes Vol. 1 session: The Warmth Of The Sun [Pedernales, Austin TX]
  10/6/95 - Stars And Stripes Vol. 1 session: The Warmth Of The Sun [Pedernales, Austin TX]
  10/7/95 - Stars And Stripes Vol. 1 session: The Warmth Of The Sun [Sound Stage, Nashville TN]

  11/7/95 - session: Must Be A Miracle/Soul Searchin'/Turn On Your Love Light/It's Not Easy Being Me/You're Still A Mystery [Oceanway]
  11/8/95 - session: Must Be A Miracle/Soul Searchin'/Turn On Your Love Light/It's Not Easy Being Me/You're Still A Mystery [Oceanway]
 11/16/95 - session: Soul Searchin' [vocals] [Oceanway]
 11/17/95 - session: Soul Searchin' [vocals] [Oceanway]: the session where Carl said "enough", it would seem.

 12/14/95 - Stars And Stripes Vol. 1 session:  Little Deuce Coupe [River North, Chicago IL]

As can be seen, the Was sessions actually interrupted the early stages of Stars & Stripes rather than being a precursor.

Regarding the original Wilson/Paley tracks used on GIOMH, listen to them through headphones. Notice something ? A few stray percussion overdubs aside, they're mono... That indicates to me that, unlike the title track, Brian didn't have access to the original multitracks and had to use a mono master. If anyone can think of a better reason for this, I'm more than willing to hear it.  

As to why Carl walked on such a cracking good song... no idea. Maybe he wasn't thrilled with the Was tracks (which have been described to me as "turgid")... maybe there was a group situation we're not aware of... maybe he was distracted by the first symptoms of the illness that claimed him. Fact is, the vocals we have from these sessions - "SS" and "Mystery" - are just superb for the BB in 1995, especially the chorus of "Mystery": imagine an album built around those two songs.

BTW, S&S wasn't exactly a flop: it hit #101 on the Billboard album chart and had a total run of eight weeks, and in the country chart it peaked at #12 and was in the lists for a total of 28 weeks.

PS - Cindy Lee Berryhill, Paul William's partner (wife ?) who is also now his carer.

[hypehat]

One reason I think Carl might have walked is Brian's somewhat bizarre attitude. Whilst obviously a world away from Landy, I still feel a bit unsettled watching him in I Just Wasn't Made For These Times.... He was still obviously not well, and I wonder how well that would have translated into a session with the BB's, a high pressure situation that seems to put him on edge.

[TdHabib]

Okay, thanks Clay and AGD for filling me in on some things. This was a very weird time for the BB, some much excitement was in the air...and in the end we didn't get much anyway.

One thing still doesn't click with me, and thats Carl's vocals on GIOMH: they're still synced perfectly to what is ostensibly the wrong backing track for them. Puzzling. Thanks for everyones help tho. Maybe Linnett can chime in here.

[Blake Alan]

If the band used a click track (basically a recorded metronome) to record the drums to and used the same bpm setting, both tracks would be the exact same speed which would make flying in and syncing the vocals a very simple task. I can't say for certain if or how often the boys used click tracks, but it's a pretty standard practice.

As for why Carl didn't like the material, that's something we'll probably never be able to answer. I, too, can't imagine why anyone wouldn't absolutely love SS (especially considering some of the then-recent songs the Beach Boys had released), but if there's one thing I've learned hanging around these forums, it's that for every track someone swears by, there's someone else who would be happier if it had never existed. Likewise, every time a track is pegged as complete rubbish, someone else will chime in saying how much they love the song in question and how they listen to it on a daily basis. The moral, I suppose, is that some songs just appeal (or don't) to people for reasons that can't necessarily be explained on paper. Music's not an exact science, but that's the beauty of it. Having said all that, I would venture to guess there was just something about the material that, sadly, didn't appeal to Carl. If it were simply the Was produced track, I think he would've just moved on to the next song (or used the Paley track), not walk out on the sessions altogether.

[Wirestone]

The mystery isn't really about SS.

Yes, there are some oddities -- I think AGD probably hits at the key point, which is that for whatever reason BW only had access to a mixed-down track when recording GIOMH. (Another way to hear this -- the song's organ solo is still audible, it's just that a saxophone is overdubbed clumsily on top of it. If they had the multitracks, surely they would just ax the previous solo for the latter one.)

But the real mystery is Carl and his reaction. And the fact that Mike and Al and Bruce were all willing (if, as Mike said, not exactly enthusiastic), and Carl was not. I think there are at least a half-dozen reasons.

1.) Brian and Carl's personal relationship was strained.
2.) Carl had been the band's musical leader for decades, and wanted to have more of a voice and say in the material.
3.) Carl didn't like Brian's then-current situation (Paley, Melinda, the whole nine yards).
4.) Carl didn't think Brian could handle an entire album and subsequent tour and appearances (around this time he nixed the idea of doing a Pet Sounds tour with Brian because he thought BW would embarrass himself).
5.) Carl simply didn't like the material. Listen to Beckley-Lamm-Wilson. Listen to BB85. Carl's head was in a different place.
6.) Carl knew he was ill and couldn't handle a fully new album project and the years' worth of work it would entail.

I think if you throw all of those things together, as well as a simple, human desire to not see things change too much or too quickly, it's understandable. Not the choice that some of us would make. But, even if Carl knew he was sick, I'm sure he didn't expect this would be the last chance he had to work with his brother on a record.

I think everyone would have behaved differently if they knew that.

[pobbard]

Regarding the original Wilson/Paley tracks used on GIOMH, listen to them through headphones. Notice something ? A few stray percussion overdubs aside, they're mono... That indicates to me that, unlike the title track, Brian didn't have access to the original multitracks and had to use a mono master. If anyone can think of a better reason for this, I'm more than willing to hear it.  

I'll confess that I haven't spent a lot of time listening to GIOMH at all, much less through headphones where I might have noticed this, but it's a very interesting observation! Similarly, I've always found it interesting (and generally unremarked upon) that "This Song Wants to Sleep With You", another product of the Wilson/Paley sessions, is only available in mono (on the "Do It Again" CD single). I had always taken this as a sign of Brian's high-level of involvement with producing this track -- he favors mono, thus a track he truly produced is in mono -- but perhaps it has more to do with the access available to the producers of the "Do It Again" single (from the IJWMFTT soundtrack) to the original multitracks from those sessions.

[BJL]

I find it pretty easy to see where Carl was coming from.  He wanted the band to be able to hang out in the studio, put together an album project, begin to mend some bridges.  Perhaps he wanted to begin to repair his own and the band's relationship with Brian.  All of this is a pretty delicate project, and it's not hard to understand why the last thing you'd want to throw into the mix would be artistic ambition, that elusive factor that had led to so many interpersonal problems in the past for the BBs.  Were I in Carl's place, I think I would have picked stars and stripes too.  As sad as it can seem in retrospect, wouldn't you pick family over art in the end too?

[LeeDempsey]

It may be in the interview with Paley I did in ESQ, but he told me that, as a disciple of both Brian Wilson and Phil Spector, he intentionally mixed Brian's stuff to mono in homage to the two of them. 

Lee

[Ron]

What's Right-Wing about Willie Nelson?  Lorrie Morgan?  Anybody? 

Second, why would you comment politically about a Beach Boys album?  Do you not see anything outside of your political viewpoint?  Who gives a sh*t if they're right wing or left wing?  The album was about Beach Boy music. 

Some people. 

[pobbard]

It may be in the interview with Paley I did in ESQ, but he told me that, as a disciple of both Brian Wilson and Phil Spector, he intentionally mixed Brian's stuff to mono in homage to the two of them. 

Interesting! Makes sense. Thanks for letting me know.

[rab2591]

What's Right-Wing about Willie Nelson?  Lorrie Morgan?  Anybody? 

Second, why would you comment politically about a Beach Boys album?  Do you not see anything outside of your political viewpoint?  Who gives a merda if they're right wing or left wing?  The album was about Beach Boy music. 

Some people. 

Unfortunately some people actually believe that political parties will lead us towards a better tomorrow...and thus they will try to infuse their beliefs into everyday conversations to raise awareness about how great "their side" is or how evil the "other side" is. I subscribe to the political belief that 5 guys in candy-striped shirts singing 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' have made more people happy than any Communist/Capitalist political leader ever has.

[adamghost]

I think it has less to do with political parties than idealogy per se.  My personal belief is that slavery to an idealogy is a bigger danger than supporting a particular political party, since parties by definition tend to have to be more inclusive, so I don't like to see that distinction left unmade!

[Chris Brown]

I think Wirestone nailed it.  Carl's reaction went beyond simply not liking the material - maybe he wasn't crazy about it, but this was a guy who had most recently participated in the recording of Summer In Paradise.  Bringing Brian back into the fold and putting him in charge of completing an artistically ambitious project brings a whole host of new complications into the mix.

[adamghost]

Agreed.

Something that we don't always think about...if you are a musician at that level starting on an album project, you are talking a big commitment of time, resources and psychic energy.  Not just the actual recording time, but the intrapersonal compromises to get the job done, hashing out arrangements and material, etc.  And THEN you have to go promote and tour the thing.  Yes, he was touring anyway, but in a manner that he was already accustomed to.  Less hassle.  You're talking about a disruption of your life for a year to a year and a half.  We can be certain that Carl went into the sessions, assessed where things stood as best he could, and did the math to assess where he thought it was going to wind up going.  It may be that with Brian in the mix as an X factor, and the pressures that Carl anticipated both on Brian and on himself, it just wasn't how he wanted to spend the next (and as it turns out, last) phase of his life.

[HeyJude]

TD -- I can fill in a few bits.

I think this answers the questions quite nicely! I recall when first reading years ago on the net (perhaps on this board?) about Carl’s vocals being grafted onto the older backing track that I came away with the impression that it was done almost as a second effort to get the song released or make the project viable again somehow.

I recall reading that it was done before Carl was gone, but he may well have never heard it. But the impression I got was that Carl’s issue was with the backing track, so this was an attempt to demonstrate for him (and/or others) how the song could sound with a different (arguably better) backing track without any actual BB involvement in any new recording. Obviously, the ideal situation would have been to either have Carl and the group add new vocals on the old backing track, or just cut a totally new version to his and their liking. But this struck me as the best attempt to salvage the song when the group couldn’t or wouldn’t actively participate in any new sessions.

[urbanite]

Man I wish there was a way to be able to listen to the Beach Boys version of Soul Searchin'.

[onkster]

OK, wait...so all those songs AGD mentions are from the aborted BB final album? I thought there were only 2 songs. Forgive me since I've asked about this before...but what's the complete song list for this unfinished project? (I'm so confused!)

[southbay]

Agreed.

Something that we don't always think about...if you are a musician at that level starting on an album project, you are talking a big commitment of time, resources and psychic energy.  Not just the actual recording time, but the intrapersonal compromises to get the job done, hashing out arrangements and material, etc.  And THEN you have to go promote and tour the thing.  Yes, he was touring anyway, but in a manner that he was already accustomed to.  Less hassle.  You're talking about a disruption of your life for a year to a year and a half.  We can be certain that Carl went into the sessions, assessed where things stood as best he could, and did the math to assess where he thought it was going to wind up going.  It may be that with Brian in the mix as an X factor, and the pressures that Carl anticipated both on Brian and on himself, it just wasn't how he wanted to spend the next (and as it turns out, last) phase of his life.

I remember reading an interview with Justyn after Carl's death (seems it may have been in an ESQ, may have even been by Billy Hinsche).  In any event, he was discussing spending time with his Dad and talked about when Carl came over a couple of times in the years just prior to his death "after some pretty stressful Beach Boys recording sessions" (or words VERY similar to that) and would jam with Justyn on guitar to relax.  It wasn't stated, but I always thought it may have been the Was sessions.

[hypehat]

OK, wait...so all those songs AGD mentions are from the aborted BB final album? I thought there were only 2 songs. Forgive me since I've asked about this before...but what's the complete song list for this unfinished project? (I'm so confused!)

Brian, after being 'freed' from Landy in 1991, started writing songs with Andy Paley and struck up a semi-working relationship being produced by Don Was. The idea was that the mulitude of tunes they were demoing would ultimately become part of a new Beach Boys project. The kicker is that these demos are actually ornate productions with full bands, orchestral arrangements and Brian providing complex vocal arrangements, no doubt to be replaced by the boys.

Also during this period, possibly as a 'test' for a full collaboration, Brian gets together with Mike and writes 'Dancin' The Night Away'. This song is deemed unusable (because it is dreadful, apparently), and the pair do not collaborate again.

(As an somewhat obvious aside - does 'How Can We Still Be Dancin'' have any relation to this aborted collaboration?)

As AGD's session list states, the band worked on 4 original songs (5 if 'Turn on Your Love Light' isn't the Bobby Bland tune), all of which have roots in Brian & Andy's 'demo' project. Indeed, most of exist as BW solo vocals, with the exception of You're Still A Mystery and Soul Searchin', which have vox from the band & Carl respectively on boots. This, as the session info suggests, is all the work they were willing to do on these songs before focussing wholly on Stars & Stripes.

So these originals were mostly focussed on by BW, Paley, and Was (written, produced, arranged, etc), not by the band, and as such are not seen as one of their 'projects', even though this was BW's intention for these songs.

Others will no doubt correct me, but that's my understanding of events

[Jay]

I'm curios about "Turn On Your Love Light". Imagine if it would have been a cover of the Bobby "Blue" Bland song, with Carl on vocals. So, we have "Soul Searchin'" and an R&B cover song with Carl belting out the music he was always best at. This quite possibly would have been the best Beach Boys album since Sunflower.

[Andrew G. Doe]

(As an somewhat obvious aside - does 'How Can We Still Be Dancin'' have any relation to this aborted collaboration?)

None, as far as I know - first mention of it I can recall is slightly post-Imagination.

[adamghost]

I'm curios about "Turn On Your Love Light". Imagine if it would have been a cover of the Bobby "Blue" Bland song, with Carl on vocals. So, we have "Soul Searchin'" and an R&B cover song with Carl belting out the music he was always best at. This quite possibly would have been the best Beach Boys album since Sunflower.

That's the tough part of this to swallow.  I think this is very true.  All the elements were in place to make a very good career-capping album.  But anyone who knows our lads knows...probably was never in the cards as an achievable goal.  Too many conflicting agendas and egos.  No wonder Bruce of all people flipped out at the time that the band had blown a golden opportunity (I think he may have been mostly venting about Brian, but plenty of blame to go around, I would say).

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I know Carl wasn't too heavily involved with Summer In Paradise, but maybe he was bruised by it's failure and wasn't very excited about setting the group up for another miserable embarrassment. At that time, The Beach Boys were regarded pretty much as jokes: Brian being involved or not! The Beatles Anthology show had been on and those albums sold billions and it was the height of having to deal with hearing "Yeah, but they're not as good as The Beatles" if you had the nerve to mention The Beach Boys.