When they are together, in private and certainly in public, as I said in another thread, they rarely have many contentious moments. But I think it's a stretch to assume they all actually get along fine, as if the contention has just been misperception from fans. They may get along fine when they are face to face, but there are still issues between them that they usually air via lawsuits, or interviews, etc.

I don't mean they hate each other, but through the years and to this day there is still some strain. Not so much on a personal level. I think today they are all a bit like John Lennon and Paul McCartney were in John's last years. As long as they didn't talk about the bad times, or the Apple business mess, and just talked about raising kids, baking bread, etc., they got along fine.

But there is surely still some resentment, jealousy, hurt feelings in regards to previous lawsuits and the sordid history of the group, etc.  Some of the guys feel it more than others. Again, I'm not saying their warm meeting yesterday was "fake". We can wait and hear what Jon Stebbins and any others who were there say about what was discussed, but I would imagine the guys got along because they didn't dredge up old painful stuff.

I think this is as warm and conciliatory as they will likely ever get, and the fans are not in the wrong by being warmed a bit by seeing such a meeting. I don't pretend the meeting means a reunion, or even that they don't still have some major issues with each other. But it is warming to see them put that stuff aside and not only do an obligatory photo op, but actually get along on a basic level and maybe even elicit some of the old spark that got them together in the first place.

Brian apparently didn't sing on it, but he's in the video for "Somewhere Near Japan." He also sang on the Spanish verson of "Kokomo" of course.

Another news story with more quotes. I'm not sure how to interpret Mike's response to a question about whether the hatchet had been buried by saying the hatchets are in his back.

The also indicates that the previously heard-of CD "The Warmth of the Sun" is indeed a follow-up to "Sounds of Summer", and that it apparently will be released next spring (no doubt to usher in the summer). Here's the link:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2006-06-14-beach-boys_x.htm?csp=34

Some interesting excerpts:

"It's always good to do this while we're living," Jardine quipped to reporters before the event, in which band members were presented with framed plaques each containing two platinum vinyl records.

The reunion of the Beach Boys came after decades of animosity between Love and Wilson, who are cousins.

Love sued Wilson in November, saying Wilson "shamelessly misappropriated (Love's) songs, likeness and the Beach Boys trademark, as well as the Smile album itself" when Wilson was promoting 2004's Smile. Love previously sued his cousin in the mid-1990s, seeking more songwriting credit on the band's back catalog.

The two shared a friendly rapport Tuesday, standing side by side and patting each other on the back. In thanking his bandmates, Love lauded "my cousin Brian Wilson, for his incredible abilities that gave us all this amazing life."

When asked if all hatchets have been buried, Love pointed to his back.

"The hatchets are right here," he said with a laugh.

Loved added that between the band members "there's issues that arise, and you resolve them over time."

Of the reunion, he said: "We've been together, just in different configurations and different situations. But this is a great one because everybody's in a celebratory mood, everybody's on their good behavior and everybody's enjoying the fact that our records have been recognized even 40 years after we first put (them) out."

Great comments, Jon. Thanks for sharing them. Can we expect a more detailed report soon, or is there much more to tell about the event? Any exchanges directly between Al and Mike? Did you hear anything relating to what Bruce talked about on the BB Britian board about he and Al discussing a reunion, if only in a theoretical sense? Were you able to talk to the other BB's besides David?

I'm glad to see that it appears they all genuinely were getting along. Given their history, I'm sure they never will have a perfect, buddy-buddy relationship. But perhaps they all have finally just run out of steam when it comes to the contention. I don't think we'll see Mike drop his lawsuit tomorrow simply because they all got along. But whatever happens, I'm glad to hear that this was a bit more of a proper reunion-ish gathering than, say, the grammy thing from a few years ago.

Hope to hear more details, Jon, if you have any!

Here is a news story from Yahoo that includes a few quotes. Seems a possible reunion is not neccesarily the most far-fetched thing in the world. It also sounds like the upcoming "Pet Sounds" reissue is going to be some sort of package that includes the CD and DVD-Audio. I certainly hope they either include a lot of substantial "new" material, or they simply stick the CD and DVD-Audio into a box without anything new so recording completists don't have to buy it again. Yeah, right.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060614/people_nm/beachboys_dc_2

Some excerpts from the story:

The three original band members have not performed together in years. But, asked about the possibility of sharing the stage again, Wilson replied, "There's a chance of that."

Added his cousin, Love, with whom Wilson was often at odds in later years: "We've got tough management."

"I want to thank everybody involved that helped us get that album ... going and going," said Wilson. "And I thank the Beach Boys themselves for being great, great artists to produce. I'd rather produce those guys over any other artists in the whole world."

Johnston, who became part of the group when Wilson quit touring to focus on studio work, paid tribute to Wilson's brothers and fellow founding band members, Dennis, who drowned in 1983, and Carl, who died of cancer in 1998.

"I wish Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson could be here with us," Johnston said, to which Love added, pointing up at the sky: "They probably are, because this is pretty close."

Organizers said the last time the original Beach Boys appeared together in public was around the time that "Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1," a collection of Beach Boy covers performed by various country music artists, was released in 1996.

Capitol Records, a unit of EMI Music Group, also announced plans for a 40th-anniversary release June 27 of a deluxe CD single of "Good Vibrations," featuring five versions of the band's seminal 1966 hit and its original U.S. B-side.

In late August, Capitol also plans a 40-year commemorative reissue of the band's landmark "Pet Sounds" album in a CD/DVD package that includes mono, stereo and digital Surround Sound mixes of the music, plus previously unreleased promotional and documentary footage.

Reuters/VNU




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Well, the "duophonic" fake stereo mix would be something new, technically when it comes to CD. Perhaps Capitol has been motivated by the Beatles "Capitol Albums" sets, which include some of the fake stereo/duophonic type material. I have to admit I am actually mildly interested in hearing what the "duophonic" version sounded like.

If they are only doing "Pet Sounds" again to push it for a 40th anniversary, then maybe they should just take the current CD and stick it in a new "40th Anniversary Edition" slipcase. That way, recording completists won't have to shell out again for it.

We have some details about the GV CD single, but do we have any more info on the 40th anniversary "Pet Sounds" release, or what some recent news stories termed some sort of new compilation album as well as some vinyl reissues?

Will there be any cross-promotion between these upcoming Capitol releases and the material at the beachboyscentral.com website?

I'm interested to see, since Capitol is apparently hyping the GV CD single as well as some sort of additional Pet Sounds reissue, how they could possibly come up with something else for yet another "Pet Sounds" reissue, apart from the possibility of a better generation tape for the mono mix (which could be substantial, or not).

Wasn't there one alternate mix of one track on the 1999/2001 single disc PS CD reissue that hadn't been released before? Can somebody refresh my memory on that? I know the 2001 version had the Mike bridge on WIBN added back in, but wasn't one of the bonus tracks an alternate/new mix?

The "Rarities" version is the first thing I thought of, but I assumed the wording would then be "first time on CD in the US", since of course it was issued on vinyl (and cassette) in the US.

It's very true that this may not be a completely accurate tracklisting, as they often change from what first appears on Amazon.

Not to be a downer, but these guys don't neccesarily get along at all. How often to ex band members get together for these sorts of things and actually really make a big negative scene? I remember Jeff Beck did that when the Yardbirds were inducted into the R&R hall of fame. But these pics in and of themselves simply means these guys put on the smiles for the cameras. Mike and Al were together at that grammy luncheon in 2001, but Al indicated afterwards that it wasn't a pleasant experience, at least in terms of being there with Mike.

As others have said, apart from any reunion talk, I hope they can come to some real peace with each other. But the pics without any stories don't mean much. Hopefully Jon Stebbins will have some details about what if anything substantial that was said.

The fact that it states it is unreleased in the US suggests it has been released elsewhere. Can anybody thing of an alternate take that has been released in other countries but not the U.S.?

Ya know, those fake-ish gold record award things you see on Ebay aren't usually much to look at, but I wouldn't mind having one of those framed award things on the wall.

Apparently, this was also an opportunity to push the "Good Vibrations" reissue CD single (the tracklisting of which I posted a few minutes ago on another thread), another "Pet Sounds" reissue, and, according to prevoius news stories, there is some sort of other compilation album coming out as well as vinyl reissues or something or other.

According to Amazon.com, this is the tracklisting for the upcoming CD single reissue of "Good Vibrations":

1. Good Vibrations (original 45 RPM single version) 
2. Good Vibrations (various sessions) 
3. Good Vibrations (alternate take, unreleased in the U.S.) 
4. Good Vibrations (instrumental) 
5. Good Vibrations (live concert rehearsal, 8/25/67) 
6. Let's Go Away For Awhile (original B-Side) 

More from Yahoo News. A better shot of all five, and one of Brian and Mike.

Two more pics from Yahoo News, including one of all five together, and one of Brian and Al.

More picks from Yahoo News. No pics yet of all five together.

There are some pics up at Yahoo News from the Capitol thing. Here's the link that will get you the latest pics:

http://news.search.yahoo.com/news/search?p=beach+boys&c=news_photos

And here's one of the pics:

Does anyone know if Al, Brian, Bruce, David, and Mike have been in the same room at the same time?

Andy...that's a great question.

The answer is yes...but the period will probably surprise most people. All those guys were together at Brian's house during vocal sessions for "Long Promised Road" in '71. Other than that I think one was usually missing from the puzzle. The other occasion I can think of as a possibility was John Stamos' wedding in '99...I know Brian, Mike, Bruce and Dave were there...not sure about Al. Carrie Marks can answer this question definitively.  Bottom line...its only been a few times if its more than one.

Jon, I'm pretty sure Al was at that Stamos wedding. I recall hearing that he was there. I recall reading some sordid story on the internet, and I have no idea if this part is true, that Mike Love was sitting at Stamos' table while Al was stuck somewhere in the back of the room. I have no idea if it's true or not, and I would imagine even it's true in the slightest, it has probably been exaggerated.  What wouldn't suprise me the slightest is that even if all those guys were at that wedding, they may not have all ever actually stood together or all talked to every other member.

Looking forward to seeing some pics from the Capitol event. Try to take note of how they all interact (which will probably be the only interesting thing to watch apart from what I would imagine would be obligatory speeches about Al's mom loaning them money, Brian liking the Four Freshman, etc.). I'm interested to see how Al and Mike interact, and how close Brian is kept to any of them (perhaps the fact that Brian warmed up to David and Al to some degree at the Hawthorne event will show Brian's handlers that he can handle being in the same room with these guys). I recall seeing pics of the grammy luncheon that Mike, Bruce, Al and some of Dennis' and Carl's family attended, and the group pic had Mike at one end and Al at the other end!

Can somebody get an audio recording or a camcorder or something into this Capitol event? On the one hand, this could be the beginning of some ill-fated "Stars and Stripes Vol. 2" reunion. But on the other hand, this could well be the last time all of these guys are together. Even if they do some sort of reunion thing, I would think it would be questionable as to whether David would be involved, or whether he would want to be involved. Hopefully this won't be like the last time John Lennon and Paul McCartney were photographed together and all we have is a polaroid snap shot of it.

It's so strange that because of the touring group, the BB's often get lumped in with other bands where there's like one guy still even living. Yet, tomorrow there will be FIVE actual official BB's appearing together (with two other short-term members still living out there). It gives me a bit of hope that if they were interested enough, they could actually do a half-way decent reunion thing of some sort.

How often have any of the BB's appeared together in public post-1998, not counting Mike and Bruce (and David into 1999) in the touring band? I can think of the following:

1. Stamos wedding (All five supposedly, and not really a "public" appearance)
2. Grammy luncheon (Mike, Al, Bruce)
3. Grammy ceremony (Mike, Brian, Al, Bruce, not seated together, but all in the same room)
4. Hawthorne Landmark (Brian, Al, David)

Apart from some pics of David seperately with Al or with Brian or with Mike and Bruce taken in the last few years, and of course Mike and Bruce at shows, I'm trying to think of any times other than those listed above that any two BB's have been even photographed together since 1998. I vaguely recall hearing that there was a pic of Brian and Mike from a meeting they had that was published in ESQ, but I could be remembering that incorrectly.

[ANY]

'The last time ANY surviving Beach Boys would be at the same place at the same time.'

So does this mean Bruce and Mike won't be keeping each other company any more?


or does he mean ALL of the surviving Beach Boys together at the same time? Which would mean the Mike and Bruce show continues.

I was about to point out the same thing. Based on Bruce's comment, we will apparently never see Mike and Bruce appear in public again, let alone play music together. I highly doubt he means this. There are a few possible explanations for Bruce's statement, some more likely than others:

1. He simply meant to say "all" instead of "any". I don't think this is it, though.

2. He is joined at the hip with Mike to the point that he considers he and Mike to be one Beach Boy.

3. He is simply using hyperbole to convey the trouble it takes to get all five of these people together  in one place at the same time, what with such "busy" schedules.

4. The only reason they are all getting together is because this is the easiest way to serve each other with a wide variety of lawsuits, thus they'll all walk away even more disgruntled and will never show up together again.

5. Despite the unclear probability of any Al-Brian live gigs or other joint projects as have been rumored/reported, perhaps Mike and Bruce are becoming a bit nervous that Al and Brian might do somethint together without Mike/Bruce, thus there is an attempt to try to convince fans that any Al-Brian activities have no chance of happening, thus the comment suggesting these guys will never again even be in the same place at the same time. I mean, assuming Bruce is counting he and Mike as a single BB, how would Bruce have any idea when or how any combination of Brian, Al, and David might show up somewhere together?

I think (1) is unlikely. (4) is pretty much a joke (I hope). So I think the reasoning behind Bruce's comment is perhaps mostly (3) with a bit of (2) mixed in and, perhaps, a tiny bit of (5) as well if you're into a bit of conspiracy theory.

Okay, I've confused myself now. I'm of course totally guessing/joking with all of the above. I have no clue about any of this. I thought I read just a day or two ago that David Marks hadn't been invited to this thing. (In which case Capitol inviting him is a good move).

...still hoping for mp3s, as my crappy computer seems to hate torrents...

I'm still very much hoping for actual CD releases! Some people are still on dial-up which would make even MP3's a hassle to download when we're talking about albums worth of material, let alone lossless formats. Plus, many of those who even have high speed connections would like the CD quality of actual CD's. Plus there's the whole "having the finished product to hold in your hands" thing.

I hope everything made available is made available on CD. If downloads are made available in addition, that would be great for those that are into that. I just hope that there aren't any "download exclusives" or material distributed exclusively on ITunes or anything like that.

In another thread, somebody mentioned this program might be something like a label called "FTD" that issues Elvis material. I don't know much about this Elvis program, but that program appears to consist of actual physical CD releases, which is how I hope the BB material would be done. I realize doing physical CD releases might be cost prohibitive compared to just putting the stuff up for download given the relatively small audience these releases might have. But I'd gladly pay a premium for these CD's. I know one thing: I know many other fans who are on dialup connections and/or aren't technically inclined enough to deal with a download system who would gladly pay a premium price for actual CD releases, but who probably wouldn't bother paying for downloads and instead just let more technically inclined fans get the download files into CD format and get a burned copy.

I've been hearing very definitive yet conflicting comments from fans. Some say these will be CD releases, but even more say it will be download-only. I would imagine the wheels are already in motion on this project and it has already been decided how it will work. But if anybody is listening and can still change anything, please release this BB material on actual CD's! You can even do it on burned CD's like the "Instant Live Recordings" company that follows bands on tour and burns the show to CD and then sells it right after the show. Talk to Al Jardine about "Disc Makers", they are a company that does high quality short runs of real, glass mastered CD's. These days, doing it on CD can't be that cost prohibitive. Okay, enough of my lobbying.

I'm not neccesarily opposed to Brian working with a collaborator or even another producer to co-produce or produce Brian. I'm not even neccesarily opposed to a collaborator being the majority part of some of those collaborations, as long as the material is good.

Brian clearly has produced hit-and-miss quality material as a solo artist in recent years, "Smile" aside (especially since we're talking about "new" material). After Joe Thomas made "Imagination" cringe-worthy for some fans (a possible example of a collaborator not bettering Brian's music), many fans called for Brian to just record and produce himself, perhaps even just take fairly recent unreleased songs and put them together for a new album. Well, we got exactly that on "Gettin' In Over My Head." While I don't dislike that album nearly as much as, say, Andrew G. Doe has said he does, I think many fans will agree that that album indicates that Brian is both short on new song ideas and unable or unwilling to really craft a high quality album of new songs.

I've always hoped Brian would work with Jeff Lynne again. The one song they did together on the '88 album, "Let It Shine", is one of the best songs on that album. Yes, a potential collaboration with Lynne in terms of songwriting and production would mean we'd be getting more Lynne than Brian in some ways. But again, I don't think it's a bad thing if Brian works with somebody else and lets the other person carry much of the weight, so long as the material and production is good. It doesn't have to sound "Smile-esque" or even overtly "Beach Boys-like." I'd much rather hear something like "Let It Shine" even if it sounds like Brian performing a Jeff Lynne song, than hear something contrived like "South American."

As much as I do like seeing "Produced by Brian Wilson" on Brian's recent and present projects, I don't think it has to be that way. I think perhaps BB/Brian fans are scared off from outside producers controlling things on an album based on some rather iffy results in the past (Steve Levine, Joe Thomas). It's a bad idea to let somebody else run the show instead of Brian, but only if the person running the show isn't producing quality material. I would not be the slightest bit put off by somebody else coming in to produce Brian and perhaps even write or co-write for him, if the material is high quality. Brian's place in history as a producer and songwriter is secure, so I don't see a problem with having a new album with, say some co-writes with Andy Paley, Jeff Lynne, etc. and a "Produced by Jeff Lynne and Brian Wilson" tag.

I'm not suggesting Brian sell out. I don't want to see a "duets" album, nor do I want to see Brian trying to get contemporary (i.e. "Smart Girls"). The material can sound retro, 60's, poppy, whatever, and still have a lot of imput from somebody else.

Maybe if Brian is working with this new guy Pack, the material will be good. If, on the other hand, Pack is simply being brought in to make Brian "contemporary", or if he's being brought in to write "Beach Boys-esque" material, or if he's being brought in simply to slightly re-write lyrics to old unreleased songs (i.e. "She Says That She Needs Me", "You've Touched Me"), then I can't imagine that has a high chance or producing high quality results. But who knows?

Bring on the live and studio outtakes via the new BB website. That's where the high quality material remains in terms of the BB's.

we'll see more BB stuff through this new website.

That's the idea....

Think Elvis/FTD....

I'm not at liberty to discuss what was said, but I seriously doubt we'll be disappointed by what is in store for us...... in fact I think I was almost drooling at some of the stuff he mentioned.... and if you were paying attention at Hodadfest, Mike Meros let something slip he probably shouldn't have....

Now if I could only hurry up and get a job so I could pay for all the goodness coming our way soon....

The only thing I knew about FTD was that it is a flower delivery company. A quick search shows that FTD is a label that issues all sorts of "speciality" releases of Elvis music (live soundboard recordings, studio outtakes), and this sounds precisely like what I'd love to have the BB's do. It seems as though the FTD thing for Elvis consists of real CD releases, not download-only. Can I assume the BB project will be the same? I certainly hope it isn't download only. Not only would CD releases of course sound better, but for people who are still on dialup, it is the only real option.

If the BB's are doing something similar to this FTD label for Elvis, it will be interesting to see if it consists mostly of live recordings (which would still be great), or if the various BB's will be convinced to allow release of Brother-era studio material.

As for the Mike Meros comment, I too would love to hear what it was. I wasn't there either. For that matter, I'd like to hear any interesting comments he made.

He still kinda sounds like his young self there.

How weird to here a clip of Carolyn Williams...

This is indeed rather strong evidence that the slurring started later on. However, I think this tape is running way too fast. So while Brian does sound very energetic and is not slurring, I think his voice probably didn't sound quite that high-pitched in 1981. He sounds like his 18 year old voice there, and other examples I've heard of his voice circa 1981 have his voice a bit deeper than that.

Soundscan monitors sales, but they only monitor sales at certain places, thus a "non-traditional" outlets (like grocery stores, I believe) that sell CD's or DVD's don't get counted in sales. I would tend to doubt that Hallmark sales are monitored.

Apparently, a few past Hallmark-exclusive releases sold quite well. Somebody once said that the McDonald Christmas CD or whatever it was sold over a million copies. So perhaps that one would have charted had it been monitered; I don't know if it charted or if it was monitered.

While a lot of these Hallmark CD's apparently sell quite well, and while I'm sure the BB CD will sell fairly well to captive audiences at these stores, I wouldn't be surprised if the BB CD is one of the lesser-selling of recent Hallmark releases. Most of the previous Hallmark stuff I've seen tends to be sort of Adult-Contemporary type music. But who knows, maybe the BB CD will sell well and we'll see more BB stuff either through Hallmark or at least through this new website.

In one of the very early press releases about the CD, I recall Hallmark mentioning that they might attempt a mainstream release of the CD after its exclusive turn at Hallmark stores. I can't imagine the CD really selling that well as a standalone mainstream release, unless it is sold for $5-$8, so I don't know what exactly Hallmark is thinking.

Now watch, later this year they will announce a mainstream, worldwide release of "Songs from Here & Back", with one EXTRA bonus track or something.

The DVD on Amazon listed as "1961-1973" appears to simply be a private seller selling a copy (an overpriced one at that) of this DVD that was released in the UK. It hasn't been released in the US thus far, and it doesn't appear as if this listing is indicating a forthcoming US release. I wouldn't lose sleep over it, as most reviews of this were pretty negative. This appears to be one of a series of "Music in Review" DVD "documentaries" that use a bit of footage under the guise of the DVD being a "critical review" and then add in a bunch of interviews with random and seemingly unknown music journalists, "experts", etc. I've seen on of these on ELO, and it's not very impressive.

The "Summer Dreams" DVD does appear to be a forthcoming official DVD release of the infamous 1990 TV movie. It's listed at only $5.98, and as bad as the movie is, it might be worth $6 to buy it if you don't have it on videotape, if only to see the infamously bad fake facial hair and classic lines like "you're out of the band Buckwheat!", "I can't have music in my head if I'm always on the road!", and "Duh, Al." The guy who plays Murry is actually pretty good. I haven't a clue if he's at all accurate to how Murry really was, but this character in the movie is pretty entertaining.

A reviewer said back in 2000 when ABC aired the Stamos 2-part movie something along the lines of "ABC apparently makes a Beach Boys movie once every ten years", so now that we're at 2006, somebody is probably in the process of working up another script for the 2010 attempt!