"Beach Boys: An American Band" documentary on DVD

Re: "Beach Boys Lost Concert" on DVD

I agree 100%! That Concert DVD captures the vibes back then fully...
Dennis looks likes he's havng a ball!

 

Brian, IMO slightly out-of-pitch falsetto is exactly what made this Brian Wilson trademark sound. But I'm glad you like it. By the way I have no problem with his normal voice. It's quite nice.

 

Well according to my wife, who is a Singer and has perfect pitch, says Brians Falsetto is flawless, I'm a Musician for 30+ years and I agree with her. You are entitled to your own opinion and I respect that! Without Brians falsetto there is no Beach Boys signature sound, I agree with ya on that one...

 

I also have 25+ experience as a musician and music collector and each time I hear Wilson's falsetto it hurts me with a slightly wrong pitch. I'm glad you can enjoy Beach Boys music not having this problem.
IMO perfect falsetto work is what Bee Gees have made on their 1979 Spirits Having Flown record. I would say their falsetto singing is flawless regardless of what you think about the music. As for me I believe it's a very good record although not exactly my piece of cake.

 

I disagree with you on that one...The Bee Gees, (Whom I love!) falsetto parts have a "helium" kinda sound...Not as natural and smooth as Brian...

 

No, I'm not talking about timbres, which are very much dependent on the quality of recording. Just pitch.
Ok, let's find a compromise
What about the final part of All of these nights by the Eagles? I don't know was it Henley or Frey but this final part falsetto (actually one note) sounds good to me. What do you think?

 

Hi,
I believe your referring to "One Of These Nights"? The final falsetto note is sung by Randy Meisner and I enjoy Randy's falsetto work...

 

Hi, Michael. O-ops! Sure One of These Nights. Sorry! I didn't know it was Randy. Excellent work! I always loved the track, especially this falsetto at the end. Finally we have found a common ground regarding falsetto works. Good! Enjoy the music.
Resuming the initial issue, it seems I'm the only one who has problems with Brian Wilson falsetto. Or, at least, nobody wanted to publicly discuss it. OK. Beach Boys records are an occasional listening for me so I really don't care too much.

Regards - Sergei

 

Sergei,
If you have not heard the Beach Boys SEA OF TUNES boot Cee Dee's...Try to listen to a few, I believe your opinion of Brian's Falsetto will be completely different. That series really shows what those Guys were made of! An incredibly talented bunch! Their vocal abilities in the STUDIO were amazing!

 

Thanks for the advice, Michael. I'll give it a try. Currently I'm waiting for Surf's Up orig. LP to arrive. I expect more mature vocals on it than on Pet Sounds. Although many people believe the latter is their best record, actually I'm not that much impressed with it.

Regards - Sergei.

 

Well ... Just don't listen to "A Day in the Life of a Tree."

Brian's falsetto, while still usable, was already hitting the skids by the time the Surf's Up album was made. Even on the album before, Sunflower, while it's still very much in evidence, it's noticeably thinner and a little more harsh than it had been before ... For me Brian has never sung better than in the 1965-68 (roughly from the Today! through Friends albums) era.

 

BW didn't sing the lead vocal on "A Day in the Lift of a Tree," thank goodness!

 

I picked it up today at Best Buy for $12.99. I think it's quite a good deal. I thnk both docs are very good particularly the Wilson one. There are a couple of cheesy moments in the BB's doc, specifically when a member of the band talks to the camera. Al Jardine's spot on the football field is pretty silly. Also, Carl's car fixation could have cut down to under a minute. Still, a lot of the footage is priceless. Overall I think it's better than Endless Summer primarily because it is "narrarated" by the BB's themselves and close colaborators like VDP. I think they could have picked better people to pick (similiar to IJWMFTT) instead of Jackson Browne & Sean Lennon, who probably wouldn't have been interviewed if his name was Sean Jones. I do enjoy ES though for the most part.

BTW, the Wilson doc IS in Widescreen on my version.

 

Yes, someone working on the American Band documentary copied the tapes in the Beach Boys archive - someone with the initials RF who has worked on many Capitol/EMI projects - and these copies were later sold to Sea of Tunes/Midnight Beat and were released. By the way, only 4 Smile discs were released by Sea of Tunes (SOT 16, a single disc, and SOT 17, a three disc set) although if you include Good vibrations, another three discs (SOT 15) would be added to the total.

 

Yup! I've heard that one too...Quite a few rumors floating around..All I know is I'm a happy camper and thrilled with them!

 

Great info Lou--thanks! Welcome to the board. I hope you check in often with information and opinions.