Review - "The Right Time" - Brian Wilson (Featuring Al Jardine & David Marks)

“The Right Time” is the first non-single single to be officially issued from Brian’s “No Pier Pressure” album. That is, it is the first track to be available for purchase. There are few physical single releases these days (and sadly at this stage indie vinyl singles seem more common than CD singles). As it is, it doesn’t appear that “The Right Time” is even a “download” single. It’s not flagged as a “single” on iTunes as some other “singles” are.

In any event, you can buy the thing as a download on iTunes and Amazon, and, if you “pre-order” the album digitally, it allows immediate access to the track. Being the schlub I am, I bought this track as a digital download even though I’ll be buying it again as a physical CD release.

“The Right Time” is billed as “Featuring Al Jardine and David Marks.” The former is much more prevalent and discernable. In fact, the track surprisingly features Al singing most of the lead vocal, with Brian only popping in occasion on answering bits on the choruses. For all intents and purposes, this is a new Brian-penned Al Jardine track.

The song is a laid-back, mid-tempo pop track. It opens with a slightly weird organ riff, sounding for a few seconds like the opening of a Santana song or something. It then immediately moves into a slightly jazzy, light sound that for better and worse is a bit evocative of 70s easy listening. Al’s voice sounds great on the track. An epic “is it autotune?” debate/war broke out online, with no clear answer. Whatever the answer, the effect on the vocal is far less prevalent or annoying as compared to something like “From There to Back Again.” Al may just be double tracked with some additional effects. Or slightly autotuned. If we can’t tell for sure, then it must not be too bad.

Another item less up for debate is that, yes, the chorus on this song pretty much lifts the chords from the chorus of 1998’s “Lay Down Burden” off Brian’s “Imagination” album. The melody over those chords is similar too. This will only be distracting to those familiar with the older Brian track. That Al is singing “The Right Time” instead of Brian helps in terms of avoiding the track sounding too similar. The track has the expected layered, lush harmonies. It sounds like Matt Jardine doing the falsetto bits, which is quite refreshing, especially the soaring falsetto bits during the vocal breakdown in the middle section. Dave’s guitar licks sound fine; they fit in with the sort of 70s jazzy easy listening vibe of the song. As with his work on “That’s Why God Made the Radio”, the guitar work is impeccable and also probably indiscernible as Dave to all but those who are specially attuned to his playing style.

Ultimately, the track is enjoyable but not mind-blowing. Which is okay. I think the quality and tone of Al’s voice turns a rather middle-of-the-road song into something more interesting.
It’s also worth noting that a slightly more organic, less processed sound can be heard on the live take of the song from the PBS “Soundstage” special. That clip is available online on YouTube.



"No Pier Pressure" Album News and Tour News, Future Plans for the Blog

Hello those who are still reading! As per the usual, the lack of posts here has more to do with posting over on the Smiley Smile board and losing steam in posting essentially very similar (if hopefully more planned and formatted) thoughts here.

I’m working up some sort of Facebook page for this blog so I can perhaps use both in tandem in a more effective way; perhaps posting shorter thoughts and news bits on Facebook and posting essays and reviews here. Please keep an eye out here, as I’ll hopefully have a Facebook link here very soon.
In the meantime, Brian’s album is close to release. You’ll definitely be seeing a review of the album here. As you can see above, Target is going to be offering an “exclusive” version of the “deluxe” version that adds two tracks. This will mirror that bonus tracks found on the Japan pressing and apparently the Canadian pressing. Assuming one can track the Target version down, the headline here is that the Target version is the one and only US fans will need to track down. The two bonus tracks, as reported around the net ages ago, will be an unknown version of “Love and Mercy” (best bets among fans is that it will be some sort of new version, perhaps a stripped down version similar to his live renditions, to tie into the upcoming movie), and oddly but tantalizingly the 1975 recording Brian made of “In the Back of My Mind.”

Brian’s PBS “Soundstage Special Event” will be airing in April. Dates vary from market to market. Several tantalizing clips have been released on YouTube. It looks like it will exceed my expectations quite a bit.

There's also a rumored/tentative April 2 date for an appearance by Brian on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

Several songs from the album have also been released/previewed online. “The Right Time” and “Runaway Dancer” are available for purchase, and “Sail Away” has just been previewed as well. It looks like “Saturday Night on Hollywood Boulevard” has also just been aired as well. I may try to do a sort of “pre-album” album review touching on the songs we’ve heard so far.

As you all probably know well by now, Brian has a North American tour set up for June and July. He will be joined by Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin. As I write this, it now appears Brian also has UK dates set for September (whether Al and/or Blondie or anybody else will be on that tour us unknown). Here are the dates (the UK dates in particular are rumored/tentative as I write this):

JUNE
18    Saratoga, CA –The Mountain Winery
19    San Diego, CA – Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay
20    Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre           
23    Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center
24    Dallas, TX – Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
26    Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
27    Nashville, TN – Carl Black Chevy Woods Amphitheater       
29    Philadelphia, PA – The Mann Center for the Performing Arts
30    Wantagh, NY – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater

JULY
1    Holmdel, NJ –PNC Bank Arts Center
2    Boston, MA –Blue Hills Bank Pavilion   
4    Toronto, ON –Sony Center
5    Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
6    Chicago, IL – Ravinia Festival       
8    Denver, CO – 1STBANK Center   
10   Las Vegas, NV – Chelsea Theater at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas   
12   Seattle,  WA – Benaroya Hall - S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium

SEPTEMBER
18    Liverpool Echo Arena
19    Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
20    London The O2
22    Birmingham Barclaycard Arena
23    Nottingham Capital FM Arena       
25    Leeds First Direct Arena   
26    Manchester Arena
27    Glasgow The SSE Hydro



Brian's "No Pier Pressure" Announced (Sort of), Brian PBS "Soundstage" Episode, New Brian Guest Spots

Finally announced a little while back was the official title (with accompanying cover art) for Brian Wilson’s upcoming new studio album, which will indeed be titled “No Pier Pressure.” The cover art looks just fine, and probably helps a bit to soften the title’s rather ham-fisted pun. Fans are still debating the “meaning” of the title, and if indeed it is a jab at some other Beach Boys.

The good news is that a title and cover make it highly unlikely the album will fail to materialize. The bad news is that Brian has stated the album is due “Spring 2015”, which means in even the best of scenarios we won’t see the album released until April or May of next year.

No other details have emerged as far as song titles, although it seems highly likely we’ll get the Zooey Deschanel and Lana Del Rey tracks. In the case of the former, they have apparently already filmed a “music video” for it. In the case of the latter, the “Last Song” track with Del Rey has received some mention in a few articles, with a rumored release date near the end of this year (the date has likely been moved to some time in the early months of 2015 I would imagine).

Meanwhile, Brian has popped up on a few releases.

 



Most interesting is an actual track credited solely to Brian, a cover of Paul McCartney’s “Wanderlust”, which appears on “The Art of McCartney”, an expectedly mixed bag of covers of McCartney tracks. The album is being released in about 87 different configurations. No worries though, Brian’s track is on any and every edition. The best bang for your buck is the Amazon-exclusive 2 CD/1 DVD version which gives you two bonus tracks and of course a DVD; meanwhile six other bonus tracks are being spread among various other outlets. Most elaborate is a big boxed set going for around $200 which includes a bunch of swag, a vinyl copy, a CD with *all* eight of the bonus tracks, the aforementioned DVD, and some sort of audio documentary.

As for the track itself, it’s an inspired and refreshingly unexpected pick (whether Brian or the album’s producer Ralph Sall picked it; it sounds as though Sall picked most of the tracks for the artists). It was likely recorded at some point in the last five years, and Brian comes off well. A+ for track selection, and a solid B+ for execution (including keeping the song in its original key).

Fans have been trying to do some deduction and figure out when the track was recorded, as Sall has been working on compiling the album since around 2003. The track credits include Brian's backing band. Most interestingly, former members Jeff Foskett, Jim Hines, and Taylor Mills are credited. This likely dates the track to some time in the pre-2007 era, and perhaps as early as 2003 or 2004.

A bit of a warning: If your only interest in the tribute album is Brian's track, then it's worth noting that the nearly 90-minute-long documentary on the DVD in the Amazon "Deluxe" edition makes not one mention of Brian, nor shows any footage of Brian.

Not sure how much folks would like a full review of the album, but as I mentioned, it's a mixed bag. It's a bit of a case of Ralph Sall having put about a million times more effort into the album than most tribute albums get, yet only getting about 50% better quality. Opening both discs in the set with rather bland, key-lowered Billy Joel covers (who I usually like; at least his back catalog) of familiar songs doesn't help. Jeff Lynne's cover of "Junk" is nice. It may not be a coincidence that, while many of the tracks on the album feature McCartney's touring band as backing musicians, both Brian's and Jeff Lynne's tracks do not. The album has too many old fogeys to lure in a lot of younger, new prospective fans. Sall produces or co-produces most of the tracks on the album, and most of the tracks have a rather bland, muted, softened quality; lacking punch. Still, with 34 (or more) tracks to choose from, there are always going to be some interesting bits.

Less interesting and a bit head-scratching are a few tracks by other artists with Brian popping in for some vocals. Previous reports of Brian’s album indicated a possible collaboration with Frank Ocean on a track titled “Our Special Love.” However it happened, what we have instead is “Our Special Love” on the new album from Peter Hollens, with some backing vocals from Brian. Cut immediately to Brian Wilson fans researching who Peter Hollens is. A quick bit of research indicates he’s most recently famous for a long series of a Capella YouTube videos. Whatever his background, the track and performance aren’t terribly impressive. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Hollens has gotten off his ass and done more than I’ll ever do. But whatever singing skill he has is mitigated by a sh*t-ton of autotune and an uber-bland composition, which Brian apparently had some hand in as well. I’m not a typical Brian Wilson fan living in a vacuum who will always say Brian’s contribution to something is the best element. But in this case, by far the only reason to seek the track out is to hear some warm and familiar stacked Brian vocals (likely also run through autotune).

Brian has also popped up on a track along with Andrew Wyatt titled “Falling Apart” by Emile Haynie. Cut once again to Brian Wilson fans looking these folks up and trying to find out who they are. I honestly haven't had a chance to listen to this one yet. But I wanted to mention that it's out there if you need a Brian fix. I'll hopefully have some thoughts on it soon. As you can tell, I'm not terribly super interested in these Brian guest spots.

Meanwhile, Brian has two shows currently scheduled. There is a show in Tulsa, OK scheduled for December 4th. Al has not been mentioned in relation to this show, so I'm not sure if he will be attendance. It appears so far this year that Al has played all of Brian's California dates, and the only show he has missed thus far is the benefit gig Brian did in Canada in October.

A more high profile Brian gig is scheduled for December 12 in Las Vegas, where Brian will be shooting an episode of the PBS series "Soundstage." Surely not coincidentally, this show is produced and/or directed by Joe Thomas. More interestingly, Brian will be premiering some stuff from the new album and will have a few guests from the album appear. This will include Al Jardind as well as Blondie Chaplin *and* Ricky Fataar. It's unclear whether Fataar is actually on the album. Either way, Brian will have no less than four Beach Boys on stage for this gig. Is this meant as a little mini-"FU" towards Mike? Perhaps, although all involved have to be aware that it accomplishes nothing beyond being a little "FU" moment. Mike continues to tour. The "BAD" tour in 2013 didn't change anything. One interesting question is whether Brian will have David Marks appear, as Marks did apparently play on some sessions for Brian's album at some point.

The "Soundstage" episode will air next year, no doubt in time to promote the new album.

Meanwhile, Mike and Bruce have already booked some shows for early 2015. That, coupled with Brian's biopic and new album coming out around the middle of next year, make the already unlikely prospect of more "reunion" activity for the group virtually impossible. Please don't mistake this for me having been delusional enough to think it was at all likely for something like this to happen. A few "sources" have been quietly suggesting that, despite some acrimonious moments between the camps in 2014, some sort of reunion in the future is not completely out of the question. But it appears that if by some chance that does happen, 2016 would be the earliest we would see it. Some fans have already been speculating on a "Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary Tour." I'm not sure how likely that concept is. But another tour would be nice, right?

Brian Album News & Recent Interview Tidbits

 



Plenty of Beach Boys-related news, interviews, and commentary to catch up on….

I'm not sure how many read the blog here, and I'm even more skeptical that there are many who read the blog who don't also read the Smiley Smile message board, but a quick explanation for why I end up not posting as many updates here as I'd like: Simply put, I read and discuss these things to death on the Smiley Smile board. So by the time it's time to report recent news and opinions here on the blog, I'm burned out writing about most of it! But I'll try to be better about posting here, as I do like the idea of opining here first and in most detail.

Most importantly, it appears we *may* finally have a new Brian studio album very soon. A few weeks ago, word got out that the title may be “No Pier Pressure” (a title which hasn’t been met with exactly resounding enthusiasm, but how much should we care about the title?). A November 4th date was rumored.

A quick interview blurb from Brian/Joe Thomas collaborator Jim Peterik suggested a January release.
However, Amazon and some other retailers had the album up for pre-orders with the title “No Pier Pressure” and a November 4th release date. It has since disappeared from Amazon, but is still up on some other sites. It looks like either November or January are the most likely possibilities. We shall see…..

Less musically interesting, but sadly still intriguing are not one, but three interviews that have recently been published that give us some interesting information to chew on, one each from Al Jardine, Jeff Foskett, and David Marks.

Least interesting first: Publicizing one of his gigs with Dean Torrence for 9/27, David Marks touched on mostly familiar early days stories in his interview with The Beach Reporter:

http://m.tbrnews.com/lifestyle/always-a-beach-boy-david-marks-an-original-member-of/article_e8928950-4421-11e4-9f7c-4b2c9a19d6c3.html 

But, shockingly perhaps for the first time in two years since the end of the reunion tour, Marks commented (a bit) about its demise:

In 2012, Marks reunited with Brian Wilson, Jardine, Love and Johnston for The Beach Boys 50^th anniversary tour. They also recorded “That's Why God Made the Radio,” the first album Marks had made with The Beach Boys since 1963. Following the 50-date tour, the five went on their separate tours, including Love and Johnston together. Rumors were rampant that Love had fired Wilson from the tour, but Marks said that was not true.

 “Mike, at the beginning, said, 'I have other stuff booked after the tour that I have to do with The Beach Boys name,' because he has the license,” Marks said. “So there was a misunderstanding about Mike firing Brian and all that bull ... but it was the way it was all planned. He was going to leave after the tour and back to business as usual. We all understood that.”

 Marks recently did some shows with Wilson and Jeff Beck and another month-long tour with Wilson and Jardine last year. He also continues to work with Love. But is there any chance the five will perform together again?

 “Nothing is impossible,” Marks said. “We used to say we’d never get back for a reunion, that was totally out of the question, it would never happen. We were wrong about that, so under the right circumstances and depending on what mood everybody is in, I’m sure it's possible we would do something again before one of us dies. You know there’s not much time left.”

Marks’ words don’t offer a great deal of new information, but it does seems to more strongly support the supposition that Mike Love was always planning to go straight back to his own band after the reunion tour, going so far as booking post-reunion shows either before or during the reunion tour.

More interesting is that Dave has been doing gigs with Mike's Beach Boys lately, including an extended run of shows that will run at least through mid-late October. What this means, if anything, is anybody's guess. Billy Hinsche and Mike D'Amico from Brian's band even popped up during a recent show that Dave did with Mike's band.

Al Jardine provided an interview to publicize his gig with Brian in Paso Pobles, also on 9/27:

http://music-illuminati.com/interview-al-jardine/


His interview also touched on mostly familiar topics. The reunion tour demise was brought up again, but no new information arose. Al still seems bummed Mike didn’t want to continue. But most intriguing was an odd exchange during the interview wrap-up that the interviewer chose to print, involving an exchange between the two that also involved Al’s wife. As the interviewer no doubt made sure to mention, Al appears to have wanted this all printed, but it provides a bunch of vague clues about just what might be going on:

First, a quick "C50" exchange:

JM: I saw the 50th anniversary show a couple of years ago in Santa Barbara. What are your reflections on that tour?

AJ: It was great, and unfortunately came to a close too soon. I would have loved to have seen it go into another year, which is so pragmatic, so logical. But due to certain members of the band it just wasn’t to be. We kind of were hobbled. We added dates, we added up to 74 dates – we added 24 extra dates. It was great while it lasted. We were just getting our motors going, you know, and I would have loved to have seen it continue.

JM: Do you think there’s any chance that the group of you will get back together to tour or record any more?

AJ: I don’t know. It was great working with Mike, when we were on tour. It was just great. It was complete, you know. It’s really up to him [laughs].

Then, the interview ended like this:

[JM: Thanks AJ for doing the interview]

AJ: My wife wants me to add something and I don’t know if I should.

JM: I usually listen to my wife, but it’s up to you [laughs].

AJ: What was that other question you asked me, that I didn’t really answer, did I? [about setting the record straight] It’s just not very well known by the general public. I’m not allowed to use The Beach Boys name in my own way. I’m legally – what’s the term – injuncted from using The Beach Boys name. Did you know that?

JM: I didn’t know that, no.

AJ: So Brian and I [laughs] are both under suspicion. This concert, even.

JM: I noticed how it was billed, as Brian Wilson with Al Jardine. So I guess that explains that.
 
AJ: Well, Mr. Love has imposed an injunction that prohibits either of us, but mostly me. We’re kind of a threat because we do look like The Beach Boys [laughs].

JM: There’s a resemblance, actually [laughs].

AJ: Yeah, there’s a resemblance [laughs]. “So watch out you guys, you’d better not call yourselves The Beach Boys.” It’s very strange. I don’t know if you want to publish that or not. But maybe it’ll bring people in?

JM: You tell me, if you don’t want me to publish that I won’t.
[Mary Ann in the background: Write that - "Don't call us The Beach Boys"]

AJ: Your article should say, “Don’t call us The Beach Boys”. You’re right, Mary Ann. It’s a strange oxymoron, is that the right term?

Mary Ann: He fired you, remember?

AJ: No…

Mary Ann: Oh yeah…

AJ: Oh you mean the reunion? He claims he didn’t, that he fired us after the reunion…

Mary Ann: During…

AJ: Or during, whatever, but that’s not even the point. You asked me a poignant question and I evaded it. And, you know, there’s nothing wrong with the truth.

JM: Well, as far as I know I can still use The Beach Boys name. Of course, I won’t say it’s a Beach Boys concert, but obviously you and Brian are from The Beach Boys, and you’ll be singing songs from The Beach Boys.

AJ: We are the founding members, yeah.

JM: It’s too bad that you guys aren’t getting along better.

Mary Ann: He [Mike Love] loves legal tactics.

AJ: He’s a brilliant songwriter, and unfortunately he has brilliant lawyers. We wish him all the best, but doggonit, you know, we’d like to be Beach Boys, too. There you go.

JM: I feel that the natural place is for all of you to be together. 
 
AJ: OK, well maybe we’ll get some positive results. Who knows?

JM: Well, I’m sure that this upcoming show will be wonderful. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me.

AJ: You’re very welcome. My pleasure.

This exchange is of course open to plenty of interpretation. What seems most interesting is that there seems to be an implication that something has occurred recently as far as Brian and Al being warned against how they advertise their shows together.

In advance of his October 9th show with Brian in Modesto, Al was also interviewed:

http://www.modbee.com/2014/10/02/3569033_brian-wilson-al-jardine-bring.html?sp=/99/2628/&rh=1

An interesting tidbit from that one:

In 2012, Wilson, Jardine, Love and David Marks (who has played with group since 1962) joined forces again for the 50th anniversary reunion tour of the Beach Boys. But after the tour ended, Love announced he would go on with the Beach Boys name without Wilson, Jardine and Marks.
Jardine said playing together with all the surviving early members was a breeze.

“It was just like riding a bike. It’s perfect and we have a ball. It’s an amazing ride, but an altogether too short ride,” he said. “But Mike Love owns the license to the Beach Boys and decided to call it quits. He wanted to go back to business as usual, which is ironic.”

Jardine said he and Wilson would love to return to the group. Their reunion was a special moment for them, he said.

“How often do you get a chance to revisit the best music ever written in terms of us and our success?” he said “I think the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And, by golly, that whole was pretty darn full of music. It had a wonderful resonance; I think our voices are richer now. We were wonderful. And I’ve got my hopes that we can do that again sometimes.”

Still, he praised Love’s current band, which includes longtime contributing member Bruce Johnston and carries on under the Beach Boys moniker. And he said he understands Love’s reasoning, even if he doesn’t agree.

“It’s like being divorced and you have a new family. Will you go back to your old family and live with them? No. I imagine that’s what happened for (Mike),” Jardine said.

“Mike has a wonderful band and great guys. But it’s a reasonable facsimile. You want the real thing, don’t you? Why settle for anything less than the best? I think the fans deserve to have the authentic representation of the music.”

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2014/10/02/3569033_brian-wilson-al-jardine-bring.html?sp=/99/2628/&rh=1#storylink=cpy

Finally, someone finally got Jeff Foskett to blab a bit about leaving Brian’s band and joining Mike’s (mostly commenting on the former):

http://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/music/2014/09/22/beach-boys-brian-wilson-jeffrey-foskett/16070181/

While going to great lengths to remind that he has no ill feelings towards Brian in any way, his gripe seems to be that he was being overworked and given too much responsibility. Apparently, not only was he serving as the guitarist and vocalist in Brian’s band, but was essentially acting as his personal assistant. This was apparently too much stress and wasn’t allowing him to enjoy the elements of life on the road that he had previously enjoyed, especially when coupled with how he somehow got caught between the Wilson and Beck camps during last year’s tour. Foskett goes light on detail, but he makes it sound like he apparently knew folks in the Beck camp and may have been a part of getting Brian and Beck together, and this in turn led to Foskett getting caught in the middle when relations between the Wilson and Beck camps soured.

Foskett doesn’t discuss too much about his entry back into Mike’s band, other than to say that he was offered the gig, had to work though some things with Mike first, and then joined up.

The interview evades the issue of the obvious overt political/personal implication it has for Brian's right-hand-man of 15 years to not only leave, but specifically jump to Mike Love's band. To not even acknowledge this is not surprising, but unfortunate.

Brian & Al - Indio, CA 8/30/14

Brian and Al's show in Indio, CA seems to have gone over well enough. The strangest aspect of the show was that, for some reason as yet unknown, Matt Jardine was not able to make it at the last minute and the band found a stand-in in the form of Chad Odhner of "The Fendertones." Reviews suggest he did a good job for a last-minute stand-in. Keeping in mind this was the entire band's first gig in nearly two months (and they only did the two gigs in July previously this year), and this was Odhner's first ever gig with the band and done with little prep time, it appears they pulled it off quite well.

 

The setlist saw nothing shocking added, following a similar pattern to the 2013/14 setlists. It's easy to be come jaded about the depth of setlists. This was still a pretty decent setlist for a one-off show done at a casino-type venue:

 

1. California Girls

2. Dance Dance Dance

3. Catch a Wave

4. Hawaii (Brian & Al?)

5. Shut Down (Al)

6. Little Deuce Coupe (Al)

7. Cottonfields (Al)

8. In My Room

9. Surfer Girl

10. Please Let Me Wonder

11. Girl Don't Tell Me

12. Then I Kissed Her (Al)

13. Pet Sounds

14. Heroes and Villains

15. Darlin' (Darian)

16. Do You Wanna Dance?

17. Don't Worry Baby (Chad?)

18. Do It Again

19. Marcella

20. Sail on Sailor (Scott)

21. Wouldn't It Be Nice (Chad?)

22. Sloop John B (Brian & Al)

23. God Only Knows

24. Good Vibrations

Encore

25. All Summer Long

26. Help Me Rhonda (Al)

27. I Get Around

28. Barbara Ann

29. Surfin' USA

30. Fun Fun Fun

 

The lead vocalists are not necessarily 100% accurate, as elements of this setlist are taken from the useful but far from reliable "Setlists.fm" website.

 

In any event, I can't say I wouldn't have been a bit bummed to catch this show with no Matt in attendance, and with a nice but predictable setlist.

 

But at this stage, Brian's band is a bit like Al's band has been over the past decade-plus. When you only do one-off shows or short spurts of shows, you have to rely on the "meat and potatoes" numbers that don't require intense additional rehearsals. Lucky for us, a "standard" Brian setlist still has some relative "rarities." But they could certainly (and hopefully will) make things more interesting on future shows. They will presumably have some "new album" stuff to work in at some point (latest rumor/indication is an October release for Brian's new album), and I would hope they could perhaps switch out a few tired selections like "Do You Wanna Dance" or "Hawaii" or "Shut Down" for something more interesting. Al always sounds stellar on things like "Then I Kissed Her" and "Cottonfields", but he's been doing these tracks at nearly every C50 or Brian show since 2012. How about "Lookin' at Tomorrow?" Even varying small things would be cool. Let Darian sing "This Whole World" perhaps. Let Matt Jardine sing "Surf's Up."

 

We of course don't know what the future holds as far as the live shows, and whether Matt Jardine will return. The next scheduled show is the recently added September 27 date in Paso Robles, CA. 

Al Confirmed for All Three Brian Gigs, The "Stamosgate" Controversy, etc.

 

 

Most interesting and important news first: According to Brian Wilson's website, Al is confirmed for all three of the Brian tour dates announced thus far:

 

8/30/14 - Indio, CA

10/9/14 - Modesto, CA

10/11/14 - Long Beach, CA

 

The header for these tour dates listed on Brian's site also specifically mentions: "Stay tuned as new tour dates are posted. Brian will be performing with his great band and Al Jardine in what promise to be unforgettable shows." This makes me hopeful that Al will be joining Brian at any (or all) other shows that are scheduled in this timeframe.

 

Brian tours have often been announced a bit piecemeal, but he has also been know to simply books sporadic tour dates; sometimes only a few at a time. So it's still unclear if these three dates are dates that will be contained within a larger tour schedule that we don't know about, or if Brian simply plans to do a few shows here and there this year. He still presumably will have an album out, so hopefully we may at least get a one or two-month tour as Brian has often done in the past.

 

I haven't offered much news here on Brian's album, despite scattered reports about what *might* be on it. Fans have lately been rather poopy about the prospects of some "guest stars" duetting with Brian on a few tracks. Names floated include Zooey Deschanel (a ten-second off-line snippet of her track with Brian has been posted online), Lana Del Rey, and Kasey Musgraves. Wiki them if you'd like. I'll wait until I hear the tracks. I just hope Jardine and Chaplin's stuff still makes it on there. I'll no doubt have *plenty* to say about the album once we can listen to it.  

 

Interestingly, no word of any involvement from David Marks on the Brian tour dates. Marks never seems to have an axe to grind with any of these guys, so we can finally (hopefully) assume for once that his non-inclusion isn't due to any falling out with Brian.

 

In an item that may or may not be related, David Marks has joined Mike's "Beach Boys" for another string of shows in late July-early August. It's unclear how many dates Marks has played (or will play), as reports from Mike's never-ending tour are more sporadic.

 

Mike has given a few interviews lately, but they have revealed little that we didn't already know. Two interviews found most prominently are a radio/audio interview and a print interview, both of which cover the usual bases Mike covers in interviews. Just to recap for those who weren't aware: The Wilsons did a lot of drugs and alcohol, and Mike didn't. Mike finds TM of key importance in life. Mike got screwed on some songwriting credits. The anniversary tour had a set amount of dates they agreed to, and now they're all "doing their own thing." And so on. It almost starts to become a philosophical question in terms of who we blame for these uber-repetitive interviews. Is in the interviewer, or the interviewee? I would say both. The same questions, often vague and/or open-ended, are asked. But it's also clear Mike has the same stock answers at the ready. He also comes across in these interviews as super defensive and insecure. He's still bringing up the songwriting lawsuit situation without specific prompting in interviews, even though that situation was settled nearly 20 years ago in favor of Mike. He got his name on those songs, as even BB fans who aren't big fans of his will admit is the right thing. For nearly 20 years now, every CD or sheet music song book, and so on, has had Love's name on the songs he co-wrote.

 

The audio/radio interview was a bit telling only in that it reinforced that Mike doesn't have much positive to say about the 50th anniversary tour. When simply asked by the interviewer if the tour was a good time (no pointed or accusatory questions about who ended the tour, etc.), Love can barely muster much to say about it and immediately goes into describing the lineup of his current band. It's not particularly a good sign I would say that as time goes by, Love's comments about the reunion tour become less positive and less time is spent even discussing it.

 

Meanwhile, when BB fans have nothing new to discuss, and something inflammatory if rather inconsequential happens, we end up with something like the recent "Stamosgate" epic controversy. Head over the Smiley Smile board to learn more. It's too long, involved, and mired in backbiting from touring band members and fans alike. The brief story:

 

One of the members of the "C50" band made a random, abrupt post on Facebook describing the 2012 tour "Stamos Incident" where the "Forever" video/audio presentation with Dennis' vocal malfunctioned and Stamos stepped in later in the song to pick up the lead vocal. This incident was discussed at length by fans back in 2012, and as usual it fell into the two camps with little compromise in between. If you're a fan of Mike's leaner, light, sometimes slightly campy stage presentation where Stamos can sometimes be found hamming it up, then you probably had no problem with his brief foray into guesting on the 50th anniversary tour. If you find his stage presentation to be tacky, then the "incident" was, well tacky and objectionable. This speaks not one bit to the guy on a personal level. Unfortunately, some fans can't see this distinction, and need to tell us how great of a guy Stamos is, and imply that those who don't want him on stage don't like him personally.

 

I can only speak for myself, but I think Stamos seems like a nice guy. He'd probably be great fun to hang out with. I'll still watch episodes of "Full House" (and no, I don't mean that sarcastically). But he has no place on stage with the Beach Boys, certainly not the 50th anniversary tour. Allegedly, many on the "C50" team agreed, and perhaps Stamos didn't realize this was a different operation he was dealing with as compared to Mike's typical tours.

 

Which leads us into the Facebook comment. You can go to the Smiley Smile board to read the particulars, but one C50 band member said some unflattering things about Stamos regarding the "Forever" incident, and then another band member responded with equally unflattering things about the first person posting, and then even after the two involved in this silliness removed their posts from Facebook, everything had been reprinted and spilled over onto the Smiley Smile board.

 

All I can say is to reiterate the point that many, if not most who object to Stamos, simply don't feel he belongs in any musical proceedings relating to the band. They don't know Stamos, so don't judge him personally. All the Facebook stuff appeared to be over the line, which was probably why it was all deleted.

 

Hopefully all involved will get onto to better things.

 

In the meantime, we hopefully will have a new Brian album and tour dates with Al to look forward to.

 

Should I still keep a watch/vigil for another reunion? What do you all think? (and that is not a rhetorical question!)....



The 5th of July Non-Bloodbath.........

Well, it appears all involved in the Beach Boys universe made it out of the 4th/5th of July holiday unscathed. Brian played his two European gigs with Al, to good overall reviews.

Al as always appears to have brought his pristine voice to the proceedings. The group played a setlist not terribly unlike those of 2013, which isn't a bad thing. Al was given his usual recent leads on European-centric hits like "Then I Kissed Her" and "Cottonfields." The main point of interest, as far as something visually and sonically new, was the debut of Matt Jardine in Brian's band.

These two Brian gigs were noteworthy not only for the debut of Matt in Brian's band, but also as pretty much the first solo gig Brian has done without Jeff Foskett by his side (I can't say with certainty that there has never been a full Brian show without Jeff; there may be a few one-offs I'm forgetting).

Stage setup wise, it appears they are going with the route of simply having Matt sing up front standing, with no instrument (other than a tambourine). No apparent bongos are present as in the case of Matt's 90's shows with the Beach Boys and sometimes with Al's band. I think it speaks to the emphasis they are willing to place on Matt's voice (both in terms of cost and stage presentation) that they are having him up front and there solely to belt out his falsetto and a few leads.

They haven't wasted any time in getting Matt out there, as he was even handed several leads during the show, including "Don't Worry Baby" and apparently "Wouldn't It Be Nice." Fans lately have been having a weird "falsetto debate" discussing the pros and cons of Matt versus Jeff Foskett.

I've said all along, since the band splintered in 1998, that I've always felt Matt's falsetto was the most pleasing to the ears (other than Brian's 60's original), and also works best in the "Beach Boys mix" of harmonies. Matt also has a good lead voice, and his voice at times can indeed sound like a weird hybrid of Brian and Al. He's pretty versatile, often singing Beach Boys classics at Al's shows by handling both the "Mike" and "Brian" parts.

I've never had a problem with Jeff Foskett's voice, and he has handled the falsetto parts just fine. He tends to bend up notes to hit them sometimes while doing falsetto parts, whereas Matt hits them straight on. (Comparing their takes on "I Get Around" is perhaps the easiest way to hear this). It's simply a stylistic difference; but I prefer Matt's voice. In fact, if I could dig through every internet post going back 15 years, I know somewhere at some point I actually made a futile wish for Matt to be the falsetto in Brian's band.

In any event, the big question now as far as Brian's shows are concerned is whether Al (or any other guests) will be added to future shows. It seems pretty 50/50 now. Having Al there makes sense. He clearly won't be in Mike's band anytime soon. Having Matt in the band makes having Al there make even more sense. But it also appears they didn't originally plan to have Al at these two July Brian gigs. Al also referenced touring with his own band later this year. I certainly hope Brian keeps Al in his band. His voice needs to be heard, and it would make even more sense if in fact they are going to be promoting an album that Al also sings on.

 

 

Meanwhile, David joined Mike and Bruce's "Beach Boys" for the Jones Beach gig. Also in attendance was everybody's favorite Uncle, John Stamos. It it perhaps telling that, flipping through a photo album that the Jones Beach venue has posted on their Facebook page, there are seemingly over a dozen shots of John Stamos, and precisely one shot of David Marks. I couldn't even find a shot of David with the other band members.

 

Reviews indicate the show was just fine. It was a shortened setlist due to time constaints. Dave's one lead vocal was apparently "Do You Wanna Dance." Even staunch supporters of Mike's "Beach Boys" seem to feel Stamos was a nuisance as usual at the show, hamming it up and stealing the spotlight, and singing the lead to "Forever", which apparently is a Dennis tribute unless Stamos is present to sing it.

 

It appears Dave was pretty low key at the show, with his one lead vocal and otherwise staying back and letting the band Stamos ham it up. While I don't like the idea that there will be some bad interpersonal fallout from Al's non-appearance at the show, I can't say this show format would have afforded much input from Al. He would have been in the background like Dave, and likely wouldn't have had but the few requisite leads on "Rhonda" and perhaps one or two others.

 

If they had been inclined to get it all lined up and get four Beach Boys on stage, this wasn't the show to do it. It was a shortened show due to multiple bands on the bill as well as a local sound curfew, and they had Stamos stealing the spotlight anyway. David was not announced as a special guest, and many noted that if you didn't know who he was, you would have never known he was even there.

 

Aside from the reunion lineup getting back together, I'd love to see Dave *and* Al back on board with Brian's band. We shall see.

In any event, everything apparently went off relatively well for both camps. Everyone survived, and the audiences enjoyed the shows. No snide comments from either camp during the show. Ironically, Stamos was reportedly the only person to namecheck the Wilsons and Jardine during a quick comment thanking them for the music. Coolest thing by far Stamos seems to do at these shows.