Discuss & Rate Beach Boys Songs Day by Day

4.5/5

Imagine this sung by Al or Carl?

 

This is a good one. A fully finished version would have been worthy of any Beach Boys album. 4/5

 

GIOMH is one of about a half dozen Brian solo songs that rank up there with his work with the band.

4/5 for the reasons others have outlined.

 

Gettin' In. This is an incredible song that I've always been keenly drawn to. In agreeing with Lance and Lou I, for one, can't pick apart nor find any fault with it. And again as Lance stated, definitely Pet Sounds material and quality. I've always wondered exactly when this was actually written. Is it of the time of the recording or was it a leftover of some sort? Regardless, this is stunning! A solid and strong 5/5.

 

Andy Paley wrote most of it. Brian wrote the “Middle 8: No one can ever change my mind, I’ve Gotta see it for myself this time, I guess I’ll never come back from this.” The rest is all Paley according to the big interview with Andy in ESQ Winter 2015.

 

GIOMH - 4/5 much much better than the remake, which sounds robotic and horribly AOR

 

Yea I don't know what they did there, sterile is the word the comes to me.

 

One sweet dream, pick up the bags and get in the limousine! It's a banged up limo, but it's our limo.

Twenty years into Brian's solo career, and "Here We Are"* in 1995. For me, Brian's voice was in and
out of wonderful. Some of the songs need more work. Wish they would have found the time. I really
do like "Proud Mary" - I would have given that a 4/5, Strong 7/10.

Actually a rough year for me in Beach Boys-land. Maybe if I had heard more of these tracks I would
have felt differently. 1995, Concord, California was the last time I saw The Beach Boys with Carl. It
looked like Carl was struggling with something personal. Thought at the time it must be the tired old
set-lists. Or having to share the stage with Stamos. With all the group was going thru in the early
'90s, no telling what was on Carl's mind. Don't see how the material Brian and Andy was writing could
be at the core.

That's the way sometimes. A new Beach Boys album with an invite to Andy would have been very nice.

I love this version of "Gettin' In Over My Head". I give this a 4/5, Strong 8/10. Love the arrangement,
but I love the re-worked 2004 version, as well.

*original title for "One For the Boys"

 

Aside from the song, the great thing about the original GIOMH is Brian's vocal which is tender and nuanced - and he'd not been heard like that for years and years.
The remake has a more straight double tracked (?) vocal - which makes Brian sound more like a post-2000 Ozzy with a horrid Joe Thomas backing track which I assume is from the Imagination sessions.

 

A nice bit of info. I don't have that ESQ, so if you can post any further nuggets as we discuss relevant songs it will be appreciated.

 

I will do. By the way just so that my post isn't misunderstood Brian wrote more than the lyric: the full quote is that Brian wrote the entire bridge, music and lyric. I'll try to quote more directly at the next song.

 

Here's some quotes from stuff we've already covered. I have to say it's one of those issues that really are worth owning, he goes into a lot about the Landy madness and also talks about some songs that I for one have never heard. there'also some cool anecdotes about his time with Brian and about meeting the Beach Boys in the 70s, etc. The below is just confined to songs that Andy Paley co-wrote, but he played on several other songs from the era and usually has something to say about each one.


Night Time
Brian had more of a mellow style recording....F sharp minor, E, back to Fshap minor. I told him that is sounded more like a Motown style recording and suggested peddling the E-bass and then to a D chord....Brian loved it! So the point was to make more spooky, scary, that was the point of those changes.

Meet Me In My Dreams
I started the song. He liked the premise of it.....he really dug the idea that they could only get together was to meet in their dreams. That was kind of a 50/50 collaboration. Brian thought the song should have more of a pounding sound on the melody which made it more commercial.

Gettin' In Over My Head
[the bridge info that I've already written about] I used to write songs and not finish them on purpose. I would write something that I knew he was going to like, leave out the bridge, play him the bridge and he'd go "Wow!"He'd flip.

 

Your ratings for Gettin' In Over My Head:
1-0 vote
2-0 vote
3-1 vote
4-6 votes
5-4 votes

 

Today's song is You're Still a Mystery:

 

You're Still a Mystery:
....I had the piano lick, and Brian came up with the top part, ("Tell me your secrets/don't try to hide...") and I had written the counter-melody ("It's happening again, I thought you were my friend"). Brian came up with the entire bridge --music and lyrics.....

Carl and Don [Was] were pretty blown away.....They all thought it was a hit.

Bruce said "you might want to ask Brian about that opening lyric. I don't know about that." I totally respect Bruce...but I never said anything.....

"You're Still a Mystery" has more chord changes in it but the guys completely understood where that was coming from, because it had a vibe somewhere between Pet Sounds and Sunflower.

There's also a fair bit from both him and Matt Jardine about the recording sessions though no real bombshells. He seems to think that perhaps the track has elements that he produced with Brian along with elements that Don Was produced.

Apparently the Brian vocal was recorded in 1999. (We've all heard the other vocal on bootleg, I'm sure.)

 

The highlight, for me. Even in this state: 5

 

I think "You're Still a Mystery" is gorgeous and makes me ache for the Beach Boys album that never happened with the Paley songs.

I love hearing Brian, Mike, Bruce and Al's voices on this (along with Matt, I guess). Subject matter is timeless, of course, but melodically it's just so pretty and tangy, like the best of Brian Wilson songs. It gets me. 5/5

 

Yes. Hearing the others is wonderful. Wish they's stuck this on TWGMTR

 

Do you mean the vocal on the version released in 2013? I prefer the original vocal. The song is great though 4/5

 

Yes

Yes.

 

I like the song - and like hearing the Boys on backing vocals - but I don’t love it. The melody is OK but not exceptional. I certainly don’t see this as a “hit,” not even close - Don Was and Carl were way off there. Not a song I want to hear that often. 3/5

 

Best Beach Boys track of the 90s. 4/5

 

Well written, produced and sung indeed. Provocative structure makes it even more interesting. No complaints whatsoever on this. 5/5

 

It's a solid song, and it is nice to hear it sung by what there is of the band, but I don't hear anything great. It would have been a usable album track but nothing more to me.3/5

 

YSAM - this one has grown on me. Originally, I might have been inclined toward a 3 but I consider it, now, a solid and strong 4.