Beach Boys Reunion!

MAYBE?!
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/11/grammys-is-a-beach-boys-reunion-in-the-works-.html
Hope they do a double bill with Sabbath next summerrrrr!

can't imagine the trainwreck that Al, Brian and Mike's combined voices would be today

Real question is whether Stamos will come out of retirement.

at the grammys no less! a beach boys reunion WITH FOSTER THE PEOPLE AND ANTHONY KIEDIS! man, i cannot wait.

god, i'm hoping for greatness at the grammys
maybe david lee roth does a walk on ... with katy perry ... kanye drops in w/ a little cameo ... dave grohl plays drums. and it's all conducted by phil spector ... from his prison cell via satellite!

that reminds me I finally saw that George Harrison doc and the Spector portions (what I could make out despite my uncle-in-law talking over it) was awesome/bonkers. he looked positively inhuman, so strange.

maybe stamos can work out a tour with Low

there's something so pleasing, just as a facet of the narrative of brian wilson's life/career, about him not joining in with, him vigorously opposing the idea of, participating in a beach boys reunion. it suggesting that he is refusing to entertain the transparently false impression it would have to create of there being like 'water under the bridge', or of mike love not being an asshole he hates. like it's nice that he so obviously thinks he has better things to do. hi-5, brian.

Maybe we can get David Lee Roth and the Beach Boys to do "California Girls" together.

hi-5, brian.

agree about this fwiw

Last time I saw all the beach boys together, they were doing backing vocals for Status Quo!

there's something so pleasing, just as a facet of the narrative of brian wilson's life/career, about him not joining in with, him vigorously opposing the idea of, participating in a beach boys reunion. it suggesting that he is refusing to entertain the transparently false impression it would have to create of there being like 'water under the bridge', or of mike love not being an asshole he hates. like it's nice that he so obviously thinks he has better things to do. hi-5, brian.

I wish Beach Boys fans wouldn't attribute thoughts and feelings to Brian Wilson they think he should be thinking and feeling. As Mark G points out above, Brian did sing backing vocals for Status Quo so he's not exactly as noble and high-minded as some of you would like to think. And when did Brian ever say Mike Love was "an asshole he hates", I've never read Brian saying anything like that about Mike Love, he's usually about a million times more complimentary about him than Beach Boys fans are!

Mike Love has been more right than wrong, in my mind:

Brian should have done his 'thing' independant of the Beach Boys brand, certainly using the guys to do it yes. But ML could have done the 'keep on with the formula until it's done' at the time, and then Bri could have actually finished "Smile".

Also, ML slowed down the "Pet Sounds box" because there was no mention of the guys and a lot about the session musicians and writers. So, an additional booklet was inserted and it's a good addition.

Did ML 'prevent' VDParks' 'inclusion' in the interviews for the Smile set? Again, it was probably not necessary as Brian's contribution covers the guy in complimentary tones, and his pic is in the booklet too. (I believe VDP hated the creation of the fire track(s) and the 'daffy' bits. Should his opinions be included? Dunno)

There's a lot of stuff 'wrong' about Mike Love, but hey.

And when did Brian ever say Mike Love was "an asshole he hates"

he's definitely said this

not sure if there are direct quotes in Heroes and Villains (I'll have to look) but I do recall him saying in recent years something to the effect of he "never wants to work with Mike Love again"

He might have but I've certainly never read him saying anything like that, don't know, seems like Brian's not the kind of guy who generally goes round saying he hates people (unlike Mike Love!)

I wish Beach Boys fans wouldn't attribute thoughts and feelings to Brian Wilson they think he should be thinking and feeling.

yeah i mean i agree with this, & know i'm doing it!, but still i feel like it's just a satisfying display of someone who maybe potentially according to one reading of events got burned, later saying 'no i won't take you back' kinda thing - i'm sure a lot of shit has happened since but i just think it's a cool part of like 2000s era BW doing his thing - finishing smile, kicking out some gershwin jams, &c&c&c, being selective & seeming to make varied prioritised decisions

I think he's pretty much looking forward to retiring!

I wish I shared your confidence that Brian is (or has been) in control of his career

That Sean O'Hagan story in whatever ILX thread it was on disavowed me of that idea

But, yeah, being "guided" towards making an album of Gershwin songs beats singing backup for Status Quo

i have no insight into wilson's mental state, but that o'hagan story is now close to 20 years old isn't it? looks like (from the outside) wilson is surrounded by more supportive people these days? could be totally wrong, I don't know. and he seemed genuinely into the gershwin record.

But, yeah, being "guided" towards making an album of Gershwin songs beats singing backup for Status Quo

yeah see I think this is the key thing. whoever's helping him with his career now just has better ideas than Mike Love.

It's not the same dude working for Lou Reed is it, now?

Love. Reed. Two Legends. Together. At last.

Has Mike heard "Who Loves the Sun", perfect for the 'Boys'

And Freddie and the Dreamers, but hey.

I don't think Brian was goaded into making the Gershwin record - he's cited Gershwin as an influence and favorite from the early days, much like the Disney songs he covered recently. I think he's just singing the songs he likes now.

he's always said the first piece of music he can remember hearing is Rhapsody in Blue

i saw the Beach Boys in april of 2010. but it might as well have been the John Stamos show, as he was there that night playing drums and guitar, and Love kept parading him out on stage, even performing "Forever" with Jesse singing lead as he did on Full House with the Rippers.

Alternatively, Brian Wilson at the Bridge Benefit a few years ago was everything you'd want a Beach Boys concert to be. Fucking glorious.

I have an irrational hatred for Mike Love except when he's singing on old Beach Boys songs that I love. Seems like such a massive douchecanoe to me. Even just looking at him, I'm like, ugh.

xp This post is how quotes should be used

Love. Reed. Two Legends. Together. At last.

― Tony Hart land (Deep in the Tony Hart land), Friday, 2 December 2011 16:53 (Yesterday) Bookmark Permalink

this is the best record i ever made. it's from another universe. in fact you could even say it's from another *cue Mike Love raring up the synth notes of Solar System*

I don't think Brian was goaded into making the Gershwin record - he's cited Gershwin as an influence and favorite from the early days, much like the Disney songs he covered recently. I think he's just singing the songs he likes now.

Well yes, no doubt he loves Gershwin but in his (rather uncomfortable) interview on Britain's legendary The One Show (don't ask) I'm sure he said it was either his record company or his manager's idea to do the album. Not that it matters anyway, I say again, beats singing backup for Status Quo!

More unconfortable than how Brian looked, singing for SQ on (iirc) the Des O'Connor show?

has everybody seen these?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XXoDkZlxg9c

Wow. Made straight for the one with Mike Love in it!

lol Brian "we were taking drugs... and drugs... and drugs"

THE BEACH BOYS ANNOUNCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION, NEW ALBUM AND TOUR

Legendary Band’s Golden Anniversary CELEBRATION to Include a New Capitol Album
And Commemorative Catalog Releases, a Major International Tour and More!


Hollywood, California – December 16, 2011 – The founding members of The Beach Boys, one of the world’s most legendary bands in popular music history, will reunite for a global 50th Anniversary CELEBRATION in 2012. Beach Boys Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks will come together for a new studio album and commemorative catalog releases with Capitol/EMI and a 50-date international tour to begin in April with a headlining performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (“Jazz Fest”) as well as other exciting events to be announced.

Brian Wilson says, “This anniversary is special to me because I miss the boys and it will be a thrill for me to make a new record and be on stage with them again.”

Mike Love says, "We got together at Capitol Records and re-recorded ‘Do It Again.’ Brian and I wrote that song which went to number 1 in Great Britain, Australia and elsewhere some 44 years ago. Brian paid me a compliment saying, ‘How can a guy sound that great so many years later?’ Later on, while working out some harmonies on a new song Brian had written, I got a chance to return the compliment. It was a thrill to be around a piano again with Brian, Alan and Bruce and experience firsthand the brilliance of Cousin Brian's gift for vocal arrangements. I am very much looking forward to David Marks joining us and thrilling with his surf guitar licks. Music has been the unifying and harmonizing fact of life in our family since childhood. It has been a huge blessing that we have been able to share with the world. Wouldn't It Be Nice to Do It Again? Absolutely!”

Al Jardine says, “The Beach Boys were recently inducted into the California Hall of Fame. From our humble beginnings as brothers, cousins and friends, we have been honored to sing the praises of California, and I'm really excited for our fans to be able to see us again in concert on the world stage, and to celebrate our 50th anniversary together with a new studio album.”

Bruce Johnston says, "I will be looking forward to singing Brian Wilson's melodies and Mike Love's lyrics once again in concert with many of the original band members, but imagine what we all could come up with vocally in a recording studio atmosphere under Brian's musical direction."

David Marks says, "I'm really looking forward to celebrating this important milestone in The Beach Boys’ history with the other guys, and with Capitol Records - where it all began 50 years ago. It means a lot to me that we can all reunite and pay tribute to the fans who have kept the music alive."

The Beach Boys have already recorded several songs for their new album, to be released in 2012 by Capitol/EMI, with more tracks to be recorded before its completion. The as-yet-untitled album, the first to feature all of the band’s surviving original members in decades, is being produced by Brian Wilson and executive produced by Mike Love.

The Beach Boys and Capitol/EMI have also teamed up for a 50th Anniversary campaign spotlighting the band’s entire catalog, with several new commemorative releases planned for 2012, including a new hits collection and a career-spanning box set.

Roger Faxon, CEO of EMI Group commented: “It's no exaggeration to say that The Beach Boys are one of the greatest and most loved bands that the world has ever produced, and true American icons. We are incredibly proud to take this next step with them as our partnership enters its fiftieth year, and I can't wait to see the band back together doing what they do better than anyone else."

Colin Finkelstein, COO of EMI Music North America said: "We’re honored to continue Capitol/EMI’s historic partnership with The Beach Boys as they celebrate their fiftieth anniversary. The Beach Boys bring the best of California’s sun and surf culture to people all over the world with their music, and we're really looking forward to working with the band on the new album and commemorative catalog releases - a real CELEBRATION of fifty years!"

Quint Davis, producer/director, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival says, “It’s an honor to present the original Beach Boys reunion at Jazz Fest 2012. Hosting the greatest artists of our era has always been the primary mission of Jazz Fest, and certainly The Beach Boys are unsurpassed as an iconic American musical and cultural institution. Every spring Jazz Fest is the number-one destination for good vibrations and fun, fun, fun; on April 27th, when The Beach Boys reunite on our biggest stage, it’s going to feel like a thrilling homecoming for everyone lucky enough to be there. We’re all looking forward to experiencing the magic and the joy.”

Founded in Hawthorne, California in 1961, The Beach Boys were originally comprised of the three teenaged Wilson brothers: Brian, Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and school friend Al Jardine. In 1962, neighbor David Marks joined the group for their first wave of hits on Capitol Records, leaving in late 1963, and in 1965, Bruce Johnston joined the band when Brian Wilson retired from touring to focus on writing and producing records for the group. For five decades, America’s first pop band to reach the 50 year milestone has recorded and performed the music that has become the world’s favorite soundtrack to summer.

The Beach Boys signed with Capitol Records in July 1962 and released their first album, Surfin’ Safari, that same year. The album spent 37 weeks on the Billboard chart, launching the young group known for its shimmering vocal harmonies and relaxed California style into international stardom. The Wilson/Love collaboration resulted in many huge international chart hits, and under Brian Wilson’s musical leadership, the band’s initial surf-rock focus was soon broadened to include other themes, making The Beach Boys America’s preeminent band of the 1960s.

In 1966, The Beach Boys were one of the first bands to found its own record label with the launch of Brother Records, Inc. (BRI), with the band’s members as its shareholders and Capitol Records as its distribution partner. BRI continues to manage The Beach Boys’ intellectual property, including the band’s catalog with Capitol/EMI and other label partners, as well as its name, logos, image and likeness.

The Beach Boys continue to hold Billboard / Nielsen SoundScan’s record as the top-selling American band for albums and singles, and they are also the American group with the most Billboard Top 40 chart hits (36). ‘Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys’ is fast approaching triple-Platinum sales status, and ‘The SMiLE Sessions,’ released to worldwide critical acclaim in November, has been heralded as 2011’s #1 Reissue of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and recipients of The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY Award, The Beach Boys are an American institution that is iconic around the world.

I am very much looking forward to David Marks joining us and thrilling with his surf guitar licks.

Classic Mike

"We got together at Capitol Records and re-recorded ‘Do It Again.’ Brian and I wrote that song which went to number 1 in Great Britain, Australia and elsewhere some 44 years ago. Brian paid me a compliment saying, ‘How can a guy sound that great so many years later?’ Later on, while working out some harmonies on a new song Brian had written, I got a chance to return the compliment. It was a thrill to be around a piano again with Brian, Alan and Bruce and experience firsthand the brilliance of Cousin Brian's gift for vocal arrangements. I am very much looking forward to David Marks joining us and thrilling with his surf guitar licks. Music has been the unifying and harmonizing fact of life in our family since childhood. It has been a huge blessing that we have been able to share with the world. Wouldn't It Be Nice to Do It Again? Absolutely!”

i want this whole thing on a baseball cap

I am very much looking forward to David Marks joining us and thrilling with his surf guitar licks. and can I sack him again plz?

"We got together at Capitol Records and re-recorded ‘Do It Again.’ Brian and I wrote that song which went to number 1 in Great Britain, Australia and elsewhere some 44 years ago.

Powerpoint presentation to follow

Yes. They are playing the New Orleans Jazz Fest next year (TBA), and I think the Grammys. A tour should follow in Summer.

Music has been the unifying and harmonizing fact of life in our family since childhood.

It's really helped keep that family together and functional

Imagine how fighty they'd have been without it!

David Marks! He's been waiting for this call for 49 years!

So is the new album going to be better or worse than Summer in Paradise?

I wonder how many lawsuits are going to result from this

Stamos has already filed suit.

there we go - http://www.nola.com/jazzfest/index.ssf/2011/12/the_reunited_beach_boys_to_kic.html

Stamos has already filed suit.

misread this as Stamos has already filled suit

curious about what reissue projects they have in mind

Wrinkles deluxe 45 I hope

wrinkles deluxe is obvious. solo demo version, vocals only version, kanye remix. gonna buy the hell out of it on record store day.

David Marks! He's been waiting for this call for 49 years!

Actually, Marks came back in '97 to replace Carl in the road band, but he himself got sick two years later and resigned.

ha, had no idea. what a strange thing for a dude -- how long was he in the band? a year?

yeah he briefly replaced Al iirc. But he's been milking it for decades, wrote a book, etc.

played with Gary Busey!

This whole thing feels wrong. Wasn't Brian planning to retire?

I might have been interested in this if Carl and Dennis were still around. As it is, meh....

yea not stoked for this at all

whadayaknow, the wife got me the Smile box set for Hannukah

on first cursory listen the most interesting thing is noticing the odd bits and pieces that got recycled later on, like some brief melody in an outtake from Heroes & Villains popping up in American Spring's "Sweet Mountain"

in some ways it's reminiscent of Lou Reed - huge burst of drug-fueled creativity within a brief period that got thoroughly mined (and re-mined) over the succeeding decades

oof, i hope someone in my family got me the smile box. otherwise they can all go to HELL.

I didn't even ask for it! I asked for a t-shirt!

honestly think my favorite thing about these so far is the two 7" singles

is one of those just all heroes & villains? i like the idea of that.

yeah one is Heroes and Villains Pt 1/Heroes and Villains Pt 2 and the other is Surf's Up/Vega-Tables. The mixes/edits for each are great and had some new bits I had not heard (or maybe noticed) before

it's weird to me how that Leonard Bernstein special is so "legendary"/constantly referred to, and yet no one I know has ever seen it and it isn't on youtube

i've seen a youtube clip of the surf's up segment...but a quick search suggests its been taken down from youtube? what's weird is that I think the whole "bernstein says surf's up is the greatest song ever" or whatevs is misattributed. i think it's someone else on the show who says it, not bernstein.

unsuccessfully trying to find the thread we were discussing Smile on on real ILM fyi

Brian's piano demo of Vega-Tables is really interesting - never noticed how truly bizarre that piano part is

Did Brian tour with the Beach Boys in the late 90's?

no

he hasn't toured with the Boys since the early 80s iirc`

Good to know. Beach Boys were the first concert I ever went to and I went with my parents. I think they assumed Brian was a part of the tour

I kind of want to start a hash tag #SuggestionsForTheBeachBoys and try to help them not fuck up their next album

what year was this... Carl toured with them pretty much until he died in '98, I think? maybe they mistook him for Brian.

My parents probably didn't know anything about what the BB looked like. And I was really young. We had a blanket on the lawn and I fell asleep before the concert was over. I imagine that we saw them before '98 because I wasn't in high school yet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tPs5f3kkFY

ah, yeah that's what i had seen. would be fun to see that whole uncut show, though!

looks like CBS is pretty aggro bout keeping that out of circulation, unfortunately.

not that the smile box set needs to be any bigger (or more expensive) but it might've been nice to include a dvd of the various clips and things that were made during the sessions. some funny stuff.

kinda surreal that mike love is approvingly quoting van dyke park lyrics on the facebook

I remember as a kid being at the traditional 4th of July free Beach Boys concert on the National Mall in DC in 1980 or '81. Brian wasn't there, but Dennis was (I taped it). A couple of years later, then-interior secretary James Watt infamously banned the rock bands like the Beach Boys from playing on the mall on Independence Day, claiming they encouraged drug use and alcoholism and had attracted "the wrong element" to the picnics, instead substituting Las Vegas crooner Wayne Newton. This was widely criticized, including by President Reagan who was a Beach Boys fan himself. The ban was lifted the next year and the Beach Boys returned; some fans in the audience were holding up signs proudly proclaiming themselves to be "The Wrong Element".

What was Leonard Bernstein doing hosting a rock and roll TV special? This guy was a classical composer and conductor who to my knowledge never dabbled into rock any other time.

Bernstein championed anything in music he felt was important or noteworthy (cf. seeing Ornette Coleman at the Five Spot, standing up and declaring, "This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to jazz!")

His hosting a TV special about rock was no doubt a bid to convince John Q. Squaresville of the "legitimacy" of this damn hippie racket, but nothing suggests Bernstein wasn't sincere about his affection for the music.

(also, was West Side Story "classical"? I'm not saying it was or it wasn't; I've just never heard it referred to as such)

This guy was a classical composer and conductor who to my knowledge never dabbled into rock any other time.

this isn't strictly true. there's youtube clips of him playing the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" on piano for schoolchildren

I'm far from familiar with Bernstein's work, so I checked out his wiki page and didn't see any references to him liking rock, and when I've heard him mentioned IRL he was usually conduction an orchestra. I put "to my knowledge" in my earlier post for that reason though - he obviously did dabble in rock occasionally.

I can't find that youtube clip - do you have a link?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygn7ORgPbEE

thanks....

I'm a big fan of "modal" music too (keys other than the usual major or minor).... "Along Comes Mary", which of course is all about smoking weed, was written by Tandyn Almer who was friends with Brian and co-wrote "Sail On, Sailer" and "Marcella".

http://www.leonardbernstein.com/educator.htm

by Jamie Bernstein

"It may have been delightfully silly to hear my father squawk his way through those pop songs, but it also signaled to the audience that Leonard Bernstein listened to contemporary pop music — and liked it. That meant a lot in those days, when parents were turning up their noses at Elvis, Motown and the Beatles, and so-called experts would criticize popular music as brainless and even harmful. But hey: Leonard Bernstein thought the Beatles were great! And the Supremes too, and the Stones, and Latin American music, and African war chants and Louis Armstrong and Balinese gamelan and... well, that was exactly it: Leonard Bernstein loved music. ALL of it. And he gave a clear signal to his audiences that it was OK to love all music — and not to put a value judgment on one genre over another. He was the unsnobbiest person you could ever hope to meet. He loved people and was curious about everything."

The only (extremely brief) clip I can find from his 1967 TV special is at 4:54 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWriMsTALF4

scored the big Smile box today unexpectedly! exciting!

oof did not get the big smile box. my family and I are through.
i did get that fahey set tho, so i guess i shouldn't complain.

Those close-ups of ancient analog tape decks in the last segment with George Martin are giving me the warm-and-fuzzies

Smile Sessions LP/CD boxset for Christmas you guys! :-D :-D

honestly think my favorite thing about these so far is the two 7" singles

― aesthetic partisan (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 22 December 2011 20:36 (6 days ago) Bookmark Permalink

is one of those just all heroes & villains? i like the idea of that.

― tylerw_sandbox, Thursday, 22 December 2011 21:01 (6 days ago) Bookmark Permalink

yeah one is Heroes and Villains Pt 1/Heroes and Villains Pt 2 and the other is Surf's Up/Vega-Tables. The mixes/edits for each are great and had some new bits I had not heard (or maybe noticed) before

― aesthetic partisan (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 22 December 2011 21:06 (6 days ago) Bookmark Permalink

Ah, so these 7" versions are different to the LP/CD versions?