I welcome any kind of re-formation of the group...


[www.examiner.com]

What would you like to see happen for the Beach Boys' 50th anniversary?

I would like to see us doing the Grammys this year as a Lifetime Achievement-type situation, but unfortunately that’s not gonna happen because the group would rather start next year, so that gives me a year to prepare [Author's Note: The Beach Boys received an official Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2001].

So, for 2012 we hope to kick-off the Grammys, then a worldwide tour. I think you’ll get a chance to see us live, because it will be quite a coming-out party.

Brian’s team has been very encouraging; we just have to figure out how to do it, you know, who will the players be and who will be involved, but everyone has agreed in principle to do it.



Are there plans for a new Beach Boys archival project?

Capitol Records plans to issue a Beach Boys version of Smile sometime this summer to begin the celebration of The Beach Boys’ anniversary. Smile is the Holy Grail for Beach Boys’ fans, so it will be good.

I don’t have many details on it, although we didn't do any new recording. I'm happy to see it finally come out. Brian’s changed his mind about releasing the material, but it was inevitable, wasn’t it? (Al chuckles).

I would be more excited about this if Brian and his band hadn't already released it. If this is true, I wonder how similar it will be to his solo version?

Aren't some of them sort of...dead?

yeah, and they were arguably the 2 best singers in the group (before their voices got shot in the 70s)

A version of Smile without Carl? Who will sing "Wind chimes"?

Forget it, Brian's version is dissapointing in the fact that it will be amazing to hear Smile, but with THOSE voices, not with "anybodys" voices, and Brian as an old man, who lost almost all of the beauty of his voice.

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"I'm gonna walk... before they make me run"

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Justin

Are there plans for a new Beach Boys archival project?

Capitol Records plans to issue a Beach Boys version of Smile sometime this summer to begin the celebration of The Beach Boys’ anniversary. Smile is the Holy Grail for Beach Boys’ fans, so it will be good.

I don’t have many details on it, although we didn't do any new recording. I'm happy to see it finally come out. Brian’s changed his mind about releasing the material, but it was inevitable, wasn’t it? (Al chuckles).

All of the worthwhile unreleased Smile outtakes were released on the "Good Vibrations" 4-CD box set in 1993. The rest have been available on bootlegs.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-02-04 02:35 by tatters.

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theimposter
yeah, and they were arguably the 2 best singers in the group (before their voices got shot in the 70s)

Yep, Carl sang like a bird.

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theimposter
I would be more excited about this if Brian and his band hadn't already released it. If this is true, I wonder how similar it will be to his solo version?

Brian reworked it considerably with his own band. I think the original versions would be quite different. But what exactly would they release? The album was never really completed as a Beach Boys project. Some of the finished songs were used for Smiley Smile, and others were never finished at all.

I'd imagine it'd be much like the Pet Sounds box set they released. I don't think they're hoping to recreate an album from the scraps they have. If anything the goal is probably just plop all the cuts and outtakes into one set after years of dancing around the subject. If they have songs unfinished or without vocals...don't think anyone cares nor does anyone have any interest in "finishing" especially since Brian already revisited that part of his life some years ago.

I'd be happy to have the material in official form. I'm sure it'd be a nice package.

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Justin
If they have songs unfinished or without vocals...don't think anyone cares nor does anyone have any interest in "finishing" especially since Brian already revisited that part of his life some years ago.

I think Al Jardine is saying that it was already finished but that Brian did not want to release it and apparently he has changed his mind.

It's not that impossible to release Smile, I've already got a Beach Boys version off the album. So they just have to remix it and get it out there.

I saw Al perform with Brian's band back in 2006 and it was great -- but, for me, any sort of larger reunion at this point would only serve to emphasize Carl's absence.

And, for the record, Carl still had a wonderful voice all the way until the end...I have some boots from his last concerts in August 1997, and even though he had to sit during most of the shows that summer and often needed oxygen after each song (due to his illness), he'd always stand to sing "God Only Knows." When you hear him sing on those recordings, you'd never know he was sick.

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lsbz

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Justin
If they have songs unfinished or without vocals...don't think anyone cares nor does anyone have any interest in "finishing" especially since Brian already revisited that part of his life some years ago.

I think Al Jardine is saying that it was already finished but that Brian did not want to release it and apparently he has changed his mind.

Well I'm not sure Al is saying that. Most of the tracks contain the music but with no vocals ever recorded. And we'll most likely be getting those unfinished tracks as they are. The label and the band knows that, that alone would satisfy many fans out there who have waited for some kind of release (or acknowledgement) for this lost album.

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theimposter
yeah, and they were arguably the 2 best singers in the group (before their voices got shot in the 70s)

brian wilson was the best singer in the beach boys

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Justin

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lsbz

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Justin
If they have songs unfinished or without vocals...don't think anyone cares nor does anyone have any interest in "finishing" especially since Brian already revisited that part of his life some years ago.

I think Al Jardine is saying that it was already finished but that Brian did not want to release it and apparently he has changed his mind.

Well I'm not sure Al is saying that. Most of the tracks contain the music but with no vocals ever recorded. And we'll most likely be getting those unfinished tracks as they are. The label and the band knows that, that alone would satisfy many fans out there who have waited for some kind of release (or acknowledgement) for this lost album.

So then Brian Wilson would have been hesitant about releasing the unfinished tracks mainly?! Possible, but some of them seem to have surfaced in bootleg releases of e.g. Purple Chick; I doubt that there would be much interest for an official release considering that. But maybe they still have other finished or unfinished material.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-02-04 04:19 by lsbz.

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keefriffhard4life

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theimposter
yeah, and they were arguably the 2 best singers in the group (before their voices got shot in the 70s)

brian wilson was the best singer in the beach boys

Again, what I said is highly arguable. Brian had the best falsetto I would say, but to me Dennis and (especially) Carl had the nicest voices.

From the bootlegs I have heard, to 71Tele and everyone else, I get the feeling that Brian's official solo version of 'SMiLE" isn't that different from what he intended for the Beach Boys to release. Either way, that album meant a lot to me. I wasn't alive when they were working on the original back in the 60's, but I got Brian Wilson's version in 2004, and I saw him perform it live in Chicago. I loved the record, I loved the performance and I still listen to it at least a few times a year.

I look forward to hearing a Beach Boys version if it actually happens, but I still feel the one that Brian put out a few years ago is valid and honest - it was his vision after all.

I agree that something like this would serve to accentuate the absence of Dennis and especially Carl.

"God Only Knows" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. My emotions are stirred every time I hear it, and nobody could sing it like Carl.

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DaveG
I agree that something like this would serve to accentuate the absence of Dennis and especially Carl.

"God Only Knows" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. My emotions are stirred every time I hear it, and nobody could sing it like Carl.

Yep, and Brian specifically wanted Carl to sing it. I think he had originally planned to do the vocal himself, but he wanted a "sweeter" voice to give it life, hence choosing Carl. how's about that for surrendering your ego? Having written this song and already possessing a terrific voice, but giving it to somebody else to sing even though you don't have to? That is an artist.

Well, Brian is a brilliant artist, and that story simply displays pure artistry.

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DaveG
I agree that something like this would serve to accentuate the absence of Dennis and especially Carl.

"God Only Knows" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. My emotions are stirred every time I hear it, and nobody could sing it like Carl.

I remember reading that Paul McCartney said he loves the song and it made him cry.

From Wiki:


Brian Wilson originally intended to sing lead vocal on "God Only Knows" but in the end sacrificed the lead vocal to his brother, Carl: "Well, I thought I was gonna do it. As the song progressed, I said, 'Hey, I feel kind of natural doing this.' But when we completed creating the song, I said my brother Carl will probably be able to impart the message better than I could, so I sacrificed that one. But he had a good time singing it."

Carl Wilson later described how lucky he felt being given the opportunity to sing "God Only Knows": "I was honored to be able to sing that one. It is so beautifully written, it sings itself. Brian said something like, 'Don't do anything with it. Just sing it real straight. No effort. Take in a breath. Let it go real easy.' I was really grateful to be the one to sing that song. I felt extremely lucky."

Bruce Johnston explains that "Brian really worked a lot on 'God Only Knows', and at one point, he had all the Beach Boys, Terry Melcher and two of the Rovell sisters [Brian's wife Marilyn and her sister Diane] on it. It just got so overloaded; it was nuts. So he was smart enough to peel it all back, and he held voices back to the bridge, me at the top end, Carl in the middle and Brian on the bottom. At that point, Brian's right move was to get subtler. He had a very tender track here. 'God Only Knows' is a very small masterpiece with a major heartbeat, and he was right to peel everybody back and wind up with the three parts. In fact, it's probably the only well-known Beach Boys track that has just three voices on it."

Great, if it happens. I hope they put out a box set, like Pet Sounds.

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lsbz

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Justin

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lsbz

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Justin
If they have songs unfinished or without vocals...don't think anyone cares nor does anyone have any interest in "finishing" especially since Brian already revisited that part of his life some years ago.

I think Al Jardine is saying that it was already finished but that Brian did not want to release it and apparently he has changed his mind.

Well I'm not sure Al is saying that. Most of the tracks contain the music but with no vocals ever recorded. And we'll most likely be getting those unfinished tracks as they are. The label and the band knows that, that alone would satisfy many fans out there who have waited for some kind of release (or acknowledgement) for this lost album.

So then Brian Wilson would have been hesitant about releasing the unfinished tracks mainly?! Possible, but some of them seem to have surfaced in bootleg releases of e.g. Purple Chick; I doubt that there would be much interest for an official release considering that. But maybe they still have other finished or unfinished material.

Well yeah, if you know the history behind SmILE you'll know that Brian for decades wanted absolutely nothing to do with the tapes. The tapes represented the pain, heartbreak and the breakdown he went through. So yes, he was hesistant about releasing unfinished songs for all those reasons. It wasn't until he finally completed the album on his own that he faced all those dark demons.

Regardless of how many versions a fan could get SmILE---an official box set would be most welcome by any big Beach Boys fan. It would represent an official acknowledgement from the group (and the label) that the album did once exist. Getting the material mixed and mastered properly would be very special to have.

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Justin
Regardless of how many versions a fan could get SmILE---an official box set would be most welcome by any big Beach Boys fan. It would represent an official acknowledgement from the group (and the label) that the album did once exist. Getting the material mixed and mastered properly would be very special to have.

Yes, but since they apparently did not even overdub anything for the release, I also doubt that they remixed. I got the impression of existing masters. They could have loads of unsurfaced stuff, like the Good Vibrations Various Sessions that I have on a 1990 reissue of Smiley Smile, but if we are dealing with known songs only it would be probably more a "Smile Sessions" type of release than the definitive Smile.

i thought alot of the session tapes were missing?

on the Smile dvd there's a fantastic documentary on the history and making of Smile. highly recommended. i love Brian and the Beach Boys. seeing him 7th row on the Smile tour was one of the highlights of my life. i still think that if he had released it when he was supposed to, it would have surpassed anything the Beatles ever did.

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ineedadrink
i still think that if he had released it when he was supposed to, it would have surpassed anything the Beatles ever did.

It would have equaled Peppers...no doubt...and changed music history in the process. As much as I love Brian Wilson's SMILE I always feel while hearing it that his voice is just too mature for many of the songs...rendering some of the songs a bit twee and precious rather than pure and joyful...the Beach Boys singing this material in '66 and '67 would have made it one of the greatest recordings of 20th Century music.

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Turd On The Run

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ineedadrink
i still think that if he had released it when he was supposed to, it would have surpassed anything the Beatles ever did.

It would have equaled Peppers...no doubt...and changed music history in the process. As much as I love Brian Wilson's SMILE I always feel while hearing it that his voice is just too mature for many of the songs...rendering some of the songs a bit twee and precious rather than pure and joyful...the Beach Boys singing this material in '66 and '67 would have made it one of the greatest recordings of 20th Century music.

While I do agree w/you, t is what it is and I accept it for that. Besides, his band recreated this music so gloriously, it makes me forget his aged voice.

I look forward to hearing a finished Beach Boys version if it actually happens, but something tells me that Brian Wilson's solo version will remain the one closest to my heart, just because I hear it first.

Is there a more gorgeous song than "Don't Worry Baby"? Brian is the lead vocal on that one. A few years ago I saw Brian with his large band and did not miss Mike Love, at all. Al Jardine joined him on stage with a warm welcome from the audience. We were hit with a monstrous wall of sound when those songs hit their groove. My heart goes out to Brian anyway, but it was an impressive show.