Conference mr1pst::music

    Brian's bio showed me that the brilliance of the Beach Boys was indeed
    Brian and just how screwed up he became as a result of his sick father,
    the pressures of stardom, drugs, and having to cranking out more 
    sun/surf/car/girls hits when he knew/felt they should be moving on.
    
    Also, just how much of a jerk the others (especially Mike Love) the
    rest of them are.
    
    _stew-

    Thanks for putting that in, Joyce. I'm now reminded once more that I
    must buy it. I've always enjoyed the Beach Boys. What a great sound they
    had. I saw them in 1965 or '66 but Brian wasn't doing the tour thing
    then. They had some guy named Glen Campbell fill in on bass and vocals.

    Does anyone know if they have a boxed set out?

    --Ron

    Yes - this past month a boxed set was released.  Lots of studio
    outtakes, alternate versions + all the hits.
    
    _stew-

>    Yes - this past month a boxed set was released.  Lots of studio
>    outtakes, alternate versions + all the hits.

  Well, almost all the hits.  At Brian's request (insistence?), "Let Him Run
  Wild" was left off...

    Joyce,
    
>    I've been listening to Brian Wilson's CD "Pet Sounds" and just thought
>    I'd state its one of my all time favorites.  
    
    It is one of Paul McCartney's all time favorites too. I think everybody
    knows that Sergeant Pepper's was inspired by Pet Sounds. In one
    interview Paul McCartney goes on and on praising this album. He says
    it is the album he wanted his kids to listen to. The Pet Sounds CD
    I have has McCartney's quotes all over it.
    
    Btw, have you ever listened to Barenaked Ladies' "Brian Wilson" song ?
    In that song there is a reference to a sandbox. What is the story
    behind the sandbox ? Does anybody know ?
    
    Lale

    If you are any kind of a fan, get the boxed set.
    
    Also IMHO :-) the mastering job on the original Pet Sounds CD wasn't quite
    done right. To me (and this is MHO) somehow the intonations of the 
    instruments sound off. I can't explain it. On the boxed set everything
    sounds ok. 
    
    Jay

    re .5 - Brian Wilson's sandbox
    
    Lale,
    
    If I'm not mistaken, Brian Wilson had his grand piano standing in a
    sandbox installed in his home.
    Allowing him the comfort and inspiration of the beach in the privacy
    of his own living-room... 
    
    Henrik

So...since we're on the topic...

Does anyone know what is up with Brian now ?  In his Autobiography,
he stated that he had a commitment from his record company to release
his second solo album, but I have not seen it anywhere. I suspect
that it has something to do with the rest of the Beach Boys (more
specifically, Mike Love's brother Stan) getting a court order giving
them control over much of Brian's personal/professional affairs 
(I forget the legal term).

To those who saw the Beach Boys in the last 2-3 years, was Brian
with them ???? Has he put any of that weight back on ?

Also, speaking of Brian's solo albums...if you are a real Brian fan,
I definitely recomemend his album. Granted, it is very raw, and his
voice is very bad (my how things change), but you the harmonies are
still great....

	Tim

    RE: the sand box....
    
    Yup, a huge sandbox was built in his home and the piano was placed in
    it - It was finally dismantled when the various pets he had used it as
    a giant litter box....eewww yuck!  But that was also in Brian's very
    poor hygiene days.  The idea for the sandbox kind of puzzled me since
    Brian was not exactly a beach person.  I don't remember him ever really
    going to the beach.  And he never did surf.
    
    
    Also, regarding touring...Brian never liked to tour - it kept him away
    from the piano and thats where he found his solitude and where he could
    put the tunes he heard in his head into music.  He did go through a
    phase of having a fear of flying (or a combination fear of
    touring/flying).  He hated being away from his piano.
    
        
    Joyce
    
    

    
    BTW, does anybody know where the version of "Help Me Rhonda" with the
    guitar lead can be found on CD?  The greatest hits CD I have has the
    version with no guitar break, just a harmonica.  Which version is in
    the new boxed set?  Also, does the set include "Do It Again"?
    
    len.
     

  I'm interested in the "Help Me Rhonda" question as well.
  
  The "Endless Summer" CD has the harmonica (=useless) version.

  "Best of the Beach Boys Vol.2" and "Beach Boys: 1962-1967" both had the
  guitar version, but the former dropped out of print (it was a pathetic
  subset of the old LP), while the latter is a great disc but only available
  by mail-order from Time/Life.

  I hope the box has the "guitar" version...   - Jay  

    The boxed set has the guitar version. 
    
    jay

    
     RE .8
    
     His solo album was raw? What turned me off about it most was 
    the overly slick production of it.  I guess it's a question 
    of taste.
    
     One of my favorite Saturday night Live sketches was the time 
    Ackroyd and Belushi want to Brian Wilsons house in police
    uniforms and arrested him for "failure to surf". They then
    took him to the ocean and threw him in the surf.
    
     Paul W.

re: .13

I guess I was really refering to Brians vocals..they
were pretty raw sounding...but I agree completely that
it was very over produced. No surprise that Jeff Lynne
produced at least one of the tracks.

re: Belushi/Ackroyd skit, it was not actually a Saturday
Night Live skit. It was on some TV Beach Boys special
that Lorne Michaels (from SNL) produced. I know, it is
a nit.

	Tim

    I found alot of the material on his solo album was kinda weak and
    'out of it' kinda. That one horrible song about crusing in the car
    or whatever just does not work, and its way too dated and corny. Just
    like 99% of the crap on the Beach Boys last few albums. (My apologies
    if you like this material, I respect that, hey I loved the Carl and
    the Passions album! :-) )
    IMO, albums like Friends was kinda 'out of it'
    for the times but the difference is it had good material. I think
    Brian as completly lost it. Thats probably why his second album 
    didn't come out. The record company probably dropped the contract. 
    In his book he comes across like he has it together, but I saw him on
    an interview last year, he has some real problems. I feel sorry for
    him. All that talent ruined by drugs and the disfunctional horrible
    family life he had. But, thats show biz folks!
    
    
    
    

>    Also, does the set include "Do It Again"?

  Doesn't look like this ever got answered.  "Yes."    

  (The box doesn't have "Let Him Run Wild" or the live "Marcella" -- but it
  does have "Do It Again".)   - Jay

    Very strang mix on "Do It Again".
    
    To me, the 5th disk with outtakes from Beach Boys Concert and the other
    things like vocal only California Girls or the one of the songs where they
    leave the vocals up all during the song and you hear someone say
    "I need a ride home" during the song almost makes that disk alone worth
    the price of the set. Real collectors stuff. 
    And some of the other songs that didn't get released (for good reason!)
    are interesting to listen too. Gotta be in the mood though.
    Does anyone know what album 'Baby Blue' is off of, I don't think it
    says it is unreleased.
    Songs like "we are on the same team", "I just got my pay" are kinda
    like...why? Makes me feel better about my own music!!  :-)

    Baby Blue is off of the "L.A Light" Album
    
    Mike

    rer:-1 thanks.
    do you know if that is that Carl singing the verse and Dennis on the 
    middle part?
    
    I noticed that before the boxed set came out, all the albums they did
    for warner/reprise ect. like Sunflower,Holland,So Tough, were suddenly
    out of print. I'm sure partly because they might not of been selling,
    but if you look at the boxed set, you see no 'under license from'
    blurbs, So either Brother Records owns the stuff or Capitol bought
    the stuff back. Anyone know about this?

    Dennis W. sings the entire song.
    
    Thanks,
    Mike

    I'm suprised that that is Dennis. 
    I didn't know he still had it in him at that point. I sometimes get
    them mixed up. Another thing I learned from the boxed set is that
    Surfs up had both Carl and Brian singing. I never noticed part of it
    was Carl singing. Interesting story how they dreged up the tape of
    Brian singing the initial  solo version of the song that was canned and 
    they just kinda added on their pieces after the fact. Brian has some
    interesting/negative comments on it in his book.
    I now regret not buying Pacific Ocean Blue on CD when it was in print.
    
    jk

    Minor side track - we needed to name a new workstation...I put out a
    list for folks to choose from (since the group has to share it) and the
    name most popular was PETS...they chose it due to their ownership of
    furry critters but everytime I hear it I think of Pet Sounds - Awesome
    CD!
    
    Jt just ramblin'

Found this on the 'net. Thought it might offer a glimmer of hope for the
    next BB release.
    
    	Ann
    
>This is from Billboard magazine:
> 
> 
>Brian Wilson, Mike Love reunite; Beach Boy songwriters collaborate again
>    
>By CRAIG ROSEN
>Billboard
>    LOS ANGELES -- With their long-running legal matters resolved, Beach
>Boys Brian Wilson and Mike Love have reunited to work on new material.
>    The reunion could lead to the first Beach Boys album of new material
>featuring Wilson in nearly 15 years.
>    On Feb. 27-28, the duo met at Mike Love's home overlooking Lake Tahoe
>to work on two new songs. On March 3, Wilson and Love were holed up in a
>Malibu hotel speaking about their reunion, prior to entering a Glendale,
>Calif., studio that evening to cut demos of two untitled tracks. At the
>sessions, the duo was joined by Beach Boy Carl Wilson, on backing vocals
>and guitar, and several studio musicians.
>    One of the two tracks will be submitted for the closing credits of the
>``Baywatch'' spinoff, tentatively titled ``Baywatch Nights.'' A second
>song was planned as a possible title song for a film called ``Grace Of My
>Heart.''
>    Meanwhile, Capitol Records is to pay tribute to the group's glory days
>with ``20 Good Vibrations _ The Greatest Hits,'' due April 4.
>    While the Wilson-Love reunion is still in the early stages, both sound
>enthused about the possibilities.
>    On March 3, a TV crew from ``Entertainment Tonight'' taped the duo at
>the piano of a Malibu restaurant, appropriately performing the 1968 hit
>``Do It Again,'' but after the lights and cameras were turned off, Wilson,
>with Love looking over his shoulder, continued to work at the piano on one
>of the new songs. ``I can't wait to do this vocal,'' Wilson said to Love.
>``It's going to be so good.''
>    Both are excited about their new collaboration. Love says that after
>he mentioned the possibility of a track for the new ``Baywatch'' series,
>Wilson sat down at the piano and went to work.
>    Of the track, Love says, ``I couldn't believe how reminiscent it was
>of the earlier days. It has a lot of the classic elements of a Beach Boys
>hit. It has a combination of the surf guitar feel to it, along with the a
>cappella intro. It's a cross between `Do It Again' and `Surfin' U.S.A.' ''
>    Adds Wilson, ``Michael has always been one of my idols. It took him to
>get a little of the energy going and get some of the creative aspects
>going.''
>    Yet, Wilson says he has mixed feelings about ``20 Good Vibrations''
>and the possible release of the boxed set ``The Smile Era.''
>    ``Record companies like Capitol get off on putting out those `best of'
>compilation albums,'' says Wilson. ``Not only do they make money, but they
>are proud of us. They are proud to have once been our record company. From
>that aspect it is good, but it's not so good to me to put out `I Get
>Around' or `Help Me, Rhonda.' Some of the Beach Boys stuff we did I hate.
>Back then, when I was 24 it was fine, but now we're early 50s guys. Some
>days I look back and really wish I would have taken the time and cut the
>track a little slower and watched for sharps and flats and singers, but I
>wanted to get out of there.''
>    Love says his partner is being too hard on himself: ``Everyone else
>thinks the songs are great, but he's Mr. Critical.''
>    Wilson is also dubious about a planned ``Smile'' box. ``The `Smile'
>tapes aren't enough in themselves to stand alone as an album,'' he says.
>``They're just short strips and pieces of stuff that I recorded when I was
>using drugs. I was sort of out of it. I couldn't think past 20 or 30
>seconds of music because I was so screwed up and so stoned.
>    ``If I had a say, I would say, `junk it, don't do it,' but if it is
>done, so what? It won't hurt us.''
>    Love says, ``There was a lot of musical brilliance in what he was
>doing. It just didn't have the coherence of a whole project like `Pet
>Sounds' did.''
>    Nonetheless, Wilson marvels at the fact that young musicians know his
>unreleased material. At the recent tribute concert to Wilson held in
>November in Santa Monica, Calif., Wilson performed and watched a young
>generation of artists interpret his songs. ``Some of the bands were doing
>songs that we never released,'' he says. ``I couldn't figure out how they
>did that. They must have got a bootleg copy.''
>    Wilson is also open to possibly performing live with the Beach Boys.
>The group is tentatively scheduled to perform in Atlantic City, N.J.,
>April 5-9; Las Vegas, April 28-29; and San Diego, May 5-7.
>    ``I would love to play keyboards and smile and watch Mike do his
>thing,'' Wilson says. Love adds that Wilson could sing lead vocals on
>``Don't Worry Baby'' or ``Surfer Girl.''
>    But Wilson says Matt Jardine, the son of Beach Boy Al Jardine, who
>joins the band on tour singing Wilson's part, may not like the company.
>``I hear him from behind the stage,'' Wilson says. ``His voice is stronger
>than mine, and he can actually hit those high notes.''
>    It was only two months ago that Wilson and Love resolved their
>long-running legal battle over the songwriting credits on 35 of the
>group's songs. But even before the resolution of the lawsuit, Love was
>hopeful that Wilson would rejoin the group to record new material.
>    Love says Wilson moved to settle the lawsuit three years ago. ``But
>now it's done,'' Love says. ``It's over, everything is resolved, and we
>are going straight ahead. There is no barrier to us working together.''
>    The two new songs are the first step in what may lead to a full Beach
>Boys album. ``We have some long-term plans to do a bunch of songs and work
>with (Wilson's producer) Don Was,'' says Love. ``We have been having talks
>with him.''
>    Was is in Japan with the Rolling Stones. Upon his return, Love and
>Wilson hope to meet with the Grammy-winning producer.
>    Love says the two new songs will serve as a catalyst for future
>projects: ``We are going to work on two songs specifically (tonight), but
>Brian has a ton of songs to develop, and I have several songs that I have
>been fiddling around with independent of Brian. What we have to do in the
>next couple of weeks is go through a bunch of songs and maybe create some
>new ones. If Don Was likes the songs and wants to record them, we will see
>what (Was) thinks is the right place for a record deal.''
>    Under Was' guidance, Wilson has been at work on the soundtrack from
>the soon-to-be-released Wilson documentary ``I Just Wasn't Made For These
>Times.'' Another project Wilson has been working on is ``Orange Crate
>Art,'' a collaboration with Van Dyke Parks.
>    ``Orange Crate Art'' includes versions of George Gershwin's ``Rhapsody
>In Blue'' and George David Weiss and Bob Thiele's ``What A Wonderful
>World.''
>Warner Bros. president Lenny Waronker says the album ``is a couple tracks
>shy of completion'' and has yet to be scheduled for release.
>    Following the Grammys, Was said that a theatrical, home video, and TV
>deal for the Wilson documentary was imminent. A soundtrack album, which
>includes live versions of Beach Boys classics and Wilson's solo
>recordings, is tentatively set for release on Was' MCA-distributed
>Karambolage label during the first week of July.
>    The songs featured in the film are ``Meant For You,'' ``Still I Dream
>Of It,'' ``Warmth Of The Sun,'' ``Till I Die,'' ``Love And Mercy,'' ``Do
>It Again,'' ``Orange Crate Art,'' ``Caroline No,'' ``Wonderful,'' ``Good
>Vibrations,'' ``God Only Knows,'' ``This Whole World,'' ``Finders
>Keepers,'' ``Surfer Girl,'' and ``In My Room.''
>    With all the renewed activity and his recent marriage, Wilson is
>optimistic. ``It's going to come together tonight, I know it will,'' he
>says. ``We have so much momentum, professionally and personally. This is
>ironic, because we are right here on the beach, but it's like surfing a
>wave. When you feel a wave going, you don't stop and say, `What is this?'
>When you feel that positive wave hitting . . . it's like God is waving a
>flag, saying, `Go man go!' This whole thing I'm talking about is because
>(Mike) is here with me. My whole life is starting to perk up now, there is
>no stopping.''
>    
>    -end-

    Have any of my fellow Beach Boy fans seen the music book "The Beach
    Boys Anothology"? it includes guitar tab. I'd like to know what songs
    are on it if possible.
    
    thanks
    j