The tour this summer, a 50th anniv. run by the Beach Boys, will be far more interesting if the Stones mount one, too - (remember Mike Love's weird, bitter attack on Jagger at the Hall of Fame induction?)

I saw Brian Wilson recently for a piece I am writing - personally, i wonder how he will fare on the tour - he has a lot going on - and he did sit down at NAMM recently with just a couple of dozen folks around and play a few songs - here's a short clip I shot - he was literally no more than five feet away - and was *focused* on getting his songs right

Thanks for posting this, Chris. Today marks the 14th anniversary of Carl's passing, so it's cool to hear that song.

I heard that the Beach Boys reunion will feature virtually all of Brian's band, so hopefully he'll be comfortable in that environment. My niece works at the Grammy Museum and she and my brother got to meet him a few months ago - they said he was in good shape and they had a nice conversation with him.

Looking forward to seeing him this summer with the boys...just wish Carl would have been around for it.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming Beach Boy tour more than the supposed Stones tour.

In another thread about Madonna's horrible Super Bowl halftime show, more than a few people defended her lip syncing, saying she was under pressure to deliver a "spectacle" or a performance, and it didn't matter if she lip syncs her shows. I offered Brian Wilson as an example of someone who, warts and all, is still out there doing his own songs live instead of lip syncing to Good Vibtrations or Don't Worry Baby. If Brian Wilson is willing to put himself out there, live, so should she. Yet another reason why Brian Wilson is a God in this business.

Hard to imagine a more inapt comparison: Brian Wilson sits behind a keyboard all night. Madonna's the centerpiece of a massive spectacle and is constantly in motion.

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Long John Stoner
In another thread about Madonna's horrible Super Bowl halftime show, more than a few people defended her lip syncing, saying she was under pressure to deliver a "spectacle" or a performance, and it didn't matter if she lip syncs her shows. I offered Brian Wilson as an example of someone who, warts and all, is still out there doing his own songs live instead of lip syncing to Good Vibtrations or Don't Worry Baby. If Brian Wilson is willing to put himself out there, live, so should she. Yet another reason why Brian Wilson is a God in this business.

I saw the Beach Boys perform at the Superbowl (pre-game) in 1987 (granted, post Brian Wilson), they lipsank to the record, not even a re-recorded track.

The E Street band synched at Superbowl. And Daltrey, Most of the National Anthems. Making that a measure of credibility seems a lost cause - the technical requirements just don't seem to allow - all the more reason the Stones were so good.

I never thought of Madonna as a singer as much as she is a performer, so as far as she goes i could care less.

As far as Brian - Jah, great comment, thanks, i echo all you said - i'm looking forward to seeing him this year

Bluz--i remember seeing them at the Super Bowl in San Diego, 98 - they were part of a lamish tribute to california music along with the fifth dimension and lee greenwood

fear the beard

It's difficult to see how this tour is going to work out. Mike Love is used to being the center of attention. That's how it was in the 80s, which I think was the last time Mike and Brian toured together. Back then, Brian was in bad shape, pushed off to the side, propped up at a piano. But now, Brian is healthy, and front and center with his own band. Just can't see how Mike is going to deal with having to share the spotlight. Maybe, for the right amount of money, he can grit his teeth and bear it. But can he? Really?



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-07 16:07 by tatters.

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ab
Hard to imagine a more inapt comparison: Brian Wilson sits behind a keyboard all night. Madonna's the centerpiece of a massive spectacle and is constantly in motion.

You're kidding, right? I'm talking about SINGING. If Madonna chooses to put herself "in motion", that's no excuse for not singing live. Hell, Jagger moves all over, he doesn't lip sync. Is that comparison not "inept" enough?

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BluzDude

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Long John Stoner
In another thread about Madonna's horrible Super Bowl halftime show, more than a few people defended her lip syncing, saying she was under pressure to deliver a "spectacle" or a performance, and it didn't matter if she lip syncs her shows. I offered Brian Wilson as an example of someone who, warts and all, is still out there doing his own songs live instead of lip syncing to Good Vibtrations or Don't Worry Baby. If Brian Wilson is willing to put himself out there, live, so should she. Yet another reason why Brian Wilson is a God in this business.

I saw the Beach Boys perform at the Superbowl (pre-game) in 1987 (granted, post Brian Wilson), they lipsank to the record, not even a re-recorded track.

Any group fronted by Mike Love without Brian Wilson isn't the Beach Boys.

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Long John Stoner

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BluzDude

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Long John Stoner
In another thread about Madonna's horrible Super Bowl halftime show, more than a few people defended her lip syncing, saying she was under pressure to deliver a "spectacle" or a performance, and it didn't matter if she lip syncs her shows. I offered Brian Wilson as an example of someone who, warts and all, is still out there doing his own songs live instead of lip syncing to Good Vibtrations or Don't Worry Baby. If Brian Wilson is willing to put himself out there, live, so should she. Yet another reason why Brian Wilson is a God in this business.

I saw the Beach Boys perform at the Superbowl (pre-game) in 1987 (granted, post Brian Wilson), they lipsank to the record, not even a re-recorded track.

Any group fronted by Mike Love without Brian Wilson isn't the Beach Boys.

Unless he has Brian's blessing to do so... When Brian's anxiety flared in the sixties he removed himself from the road and live shows so he could stay in LA and work on writing and recording tracks so the rest of the band could come back and record the vocals. There's a long history of the Beach Boys existing without Brian at his request. Now when it comes to the past decade or so with all the egos & lawsuits flying, etc... I'm with you... No Brian endorsement, no Beach Boys.

Peace,
Mr DJA

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tatters
It's difficult to see how this tour is going to work out. Mike Love is used to being the center of attention. That's how it was in the 80s, which I think was the last time Mike and Brian toured together. Back then, Brian was pushed off to the side, propped up at a piano. But now, Brian is healthy, and front and center with his own band. Just can't see how Mike is going to deal with having to share the spotlight. Maybe for the right amount of money, he can grit his teeth and bear it? But can he? Really?

The million dollar question. I'd like to say I know this will all turn out fine, but I really have no idea. Love has done so much to cheapen the Beach Boy legacy, leading these ersatz Beach Boy bands over the years, suing Brian Wilson over incredibly petty things, while Wilson has literally risen from the ashes to reclaim a large portion of his artistic credibility and become a viable musical force again despite it all. Who would have thought Brian would be the surviving Wilson brother? No one, that's who. I think it's fantastic his backing group will be with him, especially Jeffrey Foskett (he's to Brian's immediate left in the picture), who has a foot in both camps, having been a replacement Beach Boy and now leading Brian's band for the last 12-13 years or whatever it is. He can lean on them all if necessary. They have a chance to do something very special here. I hope they don't blow it.

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mr_dja

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Long John Stoner

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BluzDude

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Long John Stoner
In another thread about Madonna's horrible Super Bowl halftime show, more than a few people defended her lip syncing, saying she was under pressure to deliver a "spectacle" or a performance, and it didn't matter if she lip syncs her shows. I offered Brian Wilson as an example of someone who, warts and all, is still out there doing his own songs live instead of lip syncing to Good Vibtrations or Don't Worry Baby. If Brian Wilson is willing to put himself out there, live, so should she. Yet another reason why Brian Wilson is a God in this business.

I saw the Beach Boys perform at the Superbowl (pre-game) in 1987 (granted, post Brian Wilson), they lipsank to the record, not even a re-recorded track.

Any group fronted by Mike Love without Brian Wilson isn't the Beach Boys.

Unless he has Brian's blessing to do so... When Brian's anxiety flared in the sixties he removed himself from the road and live shows so he could stay in LA and work on writing and recording tracks so the rest of the band could come back and record the vocals. There's a long history of the Beach Boys existing without Brian at his request. Now when it comes to the past decade or so with all the egos & lawsuits flying, etc... I'm with you... No Brian endorsement, no Beach Boys.

Peace,
Mr DJA

I hear ya. The BB purist in me said the remark about no Brian, no BB. Brian did give permission back in the 60's of course, and as a result of the various Love lawsuits over time, Love got permission from settlements to lead a band under the BB name. On a positive note, it kept the BB name out there, and most people aren't like us and split hairs over whether it's the real group. Because if we really want to get picky, as much as Mike Love's voice is an iconic BB symbol, Brian's writing and falsetto is what made it all go, a group without Carl Wilson is still missing a large part of the BB soul.

Sorry for the spate of BB posts. Obviously I'm a big BB guy.

I saw Brian a few years ago in Oakland and there was a lot of Love in the audience for the great musician and fragile and good hearted man. It did not matter what he was doing at the keyboards or while he was holding a bass. The sound and vision was his. Al Jardine was there and much appreciated. When a song hit the chorus with those harmonies you were hit with a wall of sound. It was wonderful. Mike Love was not missed. He makes me uncomfortable.

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pmk251
I saw Brian a few years ago in Oakland and there was a lot of Love in the audience for the great musician and fragile and good hearted man. It did not matter what he was doing at the keyboards or while he was holding a bass. The sound and vision was his. Al Jardine was there and much appreciated. When a song hit the chorus with those harmonies you were hit with a wall of sound. It was wonderful. Mike Love was not missed. He makes me uncomfortable.

so well said - spot on

advance to 2:10

And Dylan's classic response at 0:56...

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hbwriter
The E Street band synched at Superbowl. And Daltrey, Most of the National Anthems. Making that a measure of credibility seems a lost cause - the technical requirements just don't seem to allow - all the more reason the Stones were so good.

I never thought of Madonna as a singer as much as she is a performer, so as far as she goes i could care less.

As far as Brian - Jah, great comment, thanks, i echo all you said - i'm looking forward to seeing him this year

Bluz--i remember seeing them at the Super Bowl in San Diego, 98 - they were part of a lamish tribute to california music along with the fifth dimension and lee greenwood

Chris,howmany times do we have to tell you. Springsteen did not lip synch at the Super Bowl.He also had more enrgy at 58 then Madonna did at 53. get over it.

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Long John Stoner
Sorry for the spate of BB posts. Obviously I'm a big BB guy.

Good to see some BB fans on the board!

I think we're going to see a great tour from them. As far as Mike Love, I think balancing the spotlight with Brian will be something he can adjust to pretty well. In his regular lineup with Bruce, there are many songs that Mike sits out on while either Bruce, his son Christian or other members of the band take lead on. So, it shouldn't be too hard to let "Cousin Brian" take the spotlight on a few songs. The distribution of attention will be spread evenly I think.

We are all right to be nervous on Brian's behalf but something tells me that is up for the challenge today. We never imagined in a million years that he'd even come within 10 feet of the SMiLE tapes and what happened? He re-recorded and performed it in 2004 and they finally released the actual session tapes last year. Brian has made some huge leaps in the last decade. I think he'll be able to come out of this tour successfully in one piece.

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Justin

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Long John Stoner
Sorry for the spate of BB posts. Obviously I'm a big BB guy.

Good to see some BB fans on the board!

I think we're going to see a great tour from them. As far as Mike Love, I think balancing the spotlight with Brian will be something he can adjust to pretty well. In his regular lineup with Bruce, there are many songs that Mike sits out on while either Bruce, his son Christian or other members of the band take lead on. So, it shouldn't be too hard to let "Cousin Brian" take the spotlight on a few songs. The distribution of attention will be spread evenly I think.

We are all right to be nervous on Brian's behalf but something tells me that is up for the challenge today. We never imagined in a million years that he'd even come within 10 feet of the SMiLE tapes and what happened? He re-recorded and performed it in 2004 and they finally released the actual session tapes last year. Brian has made some huge leaps in the last decade. I think he'll be able to come out of this tour successfully in one piece.

I'm quite optimistic as well regarding Brian being up to the challenge. When I saw him solo for the first time at The Wiltern in L.A. in 1999 (on his first solo tour), no one knew what to expect...everybody was on pins and needles wondering if he could even get through an entire concert. Well, he was in fine form and it turned out to be a great show.

Since then, I've seen him since perform Pet Sounds and SMiLE as well, and he's been engaging and in good voice and seems to really dig it up there...I think he's really comfortable and in his element performing with his band, which bodes well for the Beach Boys tour. Just my speculation, but I'm guessing Brian's involvement was probably contingent on using his band...so I'm not too concerned about the "Mike" factor.

I'm not a Mike Love fan at all, but I think this tour will be okay because it will be Brian's backing band and they'll all have opportunity to share the spotlight. I saw Brian play at Royce Hall at UCLA a few years ago (performing Pet Sounds) with Al as a special guest...you could tell Brian really enjoyed having him there and the show was great...Al had several lead vocals and it was fun seeing both of them together. I'm hoping for the same kind of vibe this time around with Al, Mike, Bruce and David.

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hbwriter
advance to 2:10

At the very least, we're sure to hear some very strange between-song patter on this tour. Mike says some pretty strange stuff even when Brian's not around.

Beach Boys to reunite at Grammys


Story by Tjames Madison
SoundSpike Contributor

Published February 8, 2012 02:42 PM

The surviving members of the Beach Boys will reunite for the first time in 20 years at the Grammy Awards Sunday (2/12) in Los Angeles.

The band, who will appear during a live performance with Foster the People and Maroon 5, will include the same lineup -- Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks -- that will hit the road this year for a comeback tour before recording a new album.

Wilson, Love and Jardine are the band's remaining original members; Johnston joined in 1965, and Marks played with the band in 1962 and 1963, appearing on the first four Beach Boys albums before taking a nearly 50-year break. Founding member Carl Wilson died in 1998, and another founding member, Dennis Wilson, drowned in 1983.

Although the group announced plans to stage a major comeback tour this year, so far the only U.S. date is an April 27 appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, although a pair of German dates -- Aug. 3 in Berlin and Aug. 4 in Stuttgart -- have recently surfaced.

Also added to Sunday's Grammy bill were performances by singer/songwriter duo (and current nominees) The Civil Wars, two-time past winner Diana Krall, six-time winner Joe Walsh, and funk/jazz saxophonist Maceo Parker.

Will be interesting to see how things go on the Grammys. The article neglects to mention David Marks actually returned to the band in late 1997 (after Carl became too ill to perform) and stayed for about 18 months...so he only took a 35-year break!

Jah - if ya would - shoot me your email?

chris@chrisepting.com

Beach Boys tour dates to be announced Wednesday, February 15th.
[www.thebeachboys.com]

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tatters
Beach Boys tour dates to be announced Wednesday, February 15th.
[www.thebeachboys.com]

Thanks for posting!

The reunion last night was a mighty fine moment. I wished the BB had more time alone on stage but I suppose this was the only way to do it for the ADD-Grammy crowd. Mike actually killed it: strong performance and he kept the corny to a minimum. Brian looked a little nervous but he had a couple smiles here and there. I believe Jeff Foskett was filling in on Brian's lead vocal during that verse though. Bummer but I understand that they needed a strong vocal for the performance.

It was a fantastic part of the show and defintiely got great vibes in the air for the tour. Cannot wait!

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tatters

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hbwriter
advance to 2:10

At the very least, we're sure to hear some very strange between-song patter on this tour. Mike says some pretty strange stuff even when Brian's not around.

5.21 is the best bit!!!!