Uncanny

SUNDAY MAIL

“Maverick Radio Networks Presents: Brian Wilson – Gettin’ In Over My Head Radio Special” was a radio special focusing on the release of “GIOMH.” (The narrator, Mark Wilson, can be heard saying that the album was ”released this month.”) It was created by something called the Maverick Radio Networks. A simple Google search turned up very little information about this outfit. MRN either no longer exists or was gobbled up through corporate acquisition. It must have been distributed solely to radio stations affiliated with MRN. Probably no more than a few hundred sets were printed. The set consists of two CD-Rs and a cue sheet. Unlike the record company advance CD-Rs, the printing on the top of these discs is closer to what you’d expect from an “official” release, but still basic and bland. Here’s my transcription:

DISC 1
TT- 47:57

CUT 1

After a brief cue, BW and band play the Barenaked Ladies’ song “Brian Wilson” for about 45 seconds; then the narration by Mark Wilson (no relation) begins. Mark Wilson says the radio special will include the “world premiere” of a new BW song recorded with his daughters Wendy and Carnie. Next is a short medley of classic Beach Boys songs and some BW solo songs.

And then we hear the first of several excerpts from an interview with BW.

BW: “I’m really pumped about my album. It’s been six years since I’ve done a solo album. It’s called GIOMH, and I have three guest artists on it. Paul McCartney, Elton John and Eric Clapton. This album’s been in my head for about 6 years and it took us about 4 months of hard work, to make it and create it and do it."

Mark Wilson narration, stock BB/BW history

“Surfin’” plays, ‘60s version, entire

Mark Wilson narration

“Surfin’ Safari” & “409” both play, ‘60s version, entire

“Surfer Girl” & “In My Room,” BW live at the Roxy version, entire

CUT 2

BW: “I met Elton John in 2001 in Radio City Music Hall in NY. He came there to sing ‘God Only Knows’ with me. He sang a verse and I sang a verse. He was fantastic. We had a good time together. We hit it off real good. We hit it off really, really good. I wrote a song a few years ago called ‘How Could We Still Be Dancin’.’ And I thought about it. I thought Elton John would be a perfect guy to sing the verses and I would sing the choruses. We sent him a demo of the song and he rehearsed it and practiced it. And when we got to the studio he did it perfectly in 3 takes. It was a real kick.”

Question: Does Elton John play piano on it?

BW: “He played Little Richard kind of scat piano, like Billy Joel. I told him, I said, ‘Play a little bit like Billy Joel.’ He goes, ‘What do you mean Billy Joel? I’ll play it like Elton John!’”

Q: Can you play a little bit for us?

BW plays piano & sings intro of the song for about 10-15 seconds, then it fades into the studio version of “HCWSBD,” entire.

Mark Wilson narration

BW: “The studio has always been a way for me to get away from the world. My solace. It’s always been a place of sanctuary for me to go and create music.”

“Help Me Rhonda” plays, ‘60s version, entire

“California Girls,” “I Get Around,” “Barbara Ann,” and “All Summer Long” play, live at the Roxy, entire

CUT 3

BW: “’City Blues’ is all about how nothing ever seems to come to no good. The city’s so gritty it’s a pity. It’s not really a really bluesey blues kind of song. It’s more of an electric blues that brought a lot of energy to the album, you know. I wrote the song not for him, I wrote the song for me. Melinda and I both thought he would be great for the guitar part on it. I asked him, I said, “Would you like to play guitar on a song called ‘City Blues?’ And he goes, ‘Well sure. I’d love to.’ So I brought the tape to England and we went in the studio. And it took him a half and hour. He kept experimenting, he kept trying one thing, and then he’d try up high, down low and he’d try everywhere. And I kept saying, ‘You’re almost there. We’re almost there.’ And he goes, ‘Wait. I can get it better. I can get it better.’ So he kept working and he finally got it perfect."

“City Blues,” album version plays, entire

BW: “Andy Paley, my collaborator wanted Carl to sing the lead on the song. So Carl sang the lead. And after he died I replaced the bridge. I got tears, because my brother Carl, I was very close to him. And when he died I felt very bad and so I sang the bridge in place of Carl. It keeps him alive, in a way, in a way it keeps Carl alive and happening. Carl was a gentle soul, he was a very good person. He was probably one of the better singers in the business. He was a really good singer. Carl had a very special, beautiful voice. He had a very versatile voice. He could sing sweet, he could sing funky, he could sing rock n roll, he could sing blues. And he took directions beautifully in the studio. He learned songs very quickly. And he did a very good job on them. So I tell you what, I’ll do ‘Soul Searchin’' the song Carl Sang.”

BW voice & piano, 10-15 seconds, then fade into album cut, entire

DISC 2
TT- 48:08

CUT 1

Intro, Mark Wilson, stock history

“Sloop John B,” “Pet Sounds,” and “God Only Knows,” live at the Roxy, entire

CUT 2

BW: “I just always wanted to have Paul McCartney do a duet with me. So we called up his manager and we asked him if he’d be interested and Paul said yeah, he’d like it. So we flew out and we did a song together."

Q: Did he record his part in LA?

BW: “Yeah, he recorded his part in LA and he did a song called ‘A Friend Like You.’”

Q: Why did you choose that song?

BW: “I chose that song because I had a perfect little part for him. (sings) ‘A friend like you/a friend like you/you mystify me/you lullaby me.’ A simple little part like that. He did that like three times in the song.”

Q: Did you have to produce his vocal?

BW: “Yeah, absolutely. I said Paul, ‘You’re going flat.’ And he goes, ‘What do you mean, flat?’ I go, ‘You’re going flat, Paul.’ And he goes, ‘Alright.’ And he corrected his flatness."

Q: Did he taken any offense at your telling him he was flat?

BW: “No, no, no. He loved it. He loved every minute of it.”

Q: Did Paul play guitar on the record?

BW: “He played guitar on the introduction of the record. He played box guitar. He goes, ‘bbbbbrrrrruuuuummmmmmmm!’ His box guitar sounded like an autoharp to me a little bit.”

Q: I wonder if you’d play a little bit of the song “A Friend Like You.”

BW solo piano & voice intro, 10-15 seconds, fades into album cut, entire

Mark Wilson narration

“Good Vibrations,” “Until I Die” and “Add Some Music” play, Roxy version, entire

CUT 3

Mark Wilson narration

BW: “Having a wife and 3 beautiful kids has inspired me so much, so deeply in my soul that it reflects itself in the way I sing on my album. It really does. It makes me sing better, it makes me feel better, it makes the album better, it makes everything better."

“World premiere” of BW song with Wendy & Carnie Wilson, new version of “Don’t Worry Baby” plays, entire

BW: “This year we’re going to take the new album all over Europe, England, Scotland, Sweden. My favorite city is London; because I like the people there. I like the people of London. There’s a great energy and a vibe there when we play there."

“Be My Baby,” and “Lay Down Burden” play, Roxy version, entire

CUT 4

“Darlin’” and “Kiss Me Baby” both play, Roxy version, entire

Mark Wilson outro

I like “Gettin’ In Over My Head” and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

Today I went over to the Smiley Smile message board for the first time in ages, and one of the first messages I came across is by Andrew G. Doe ; he cringes at the mere thought of having to listen to “GIOMH” again for the updated web version of his wonderful book, “Brian Wilson & the Beach Boys: The Complete Guide To Their Music.” AGD is one of the Beach Boys/Brian Wilson scholars I most admire. When it comes to dates, locations, names, studios, musicians, etc. I always defer to his research and scholarship. He also has excellent taste when it comes to sorting out the good from the bad Beach Boys/Brian Wilson recordings. I usually concur with his aesthetic opinions. One topic where we differ is “GIOMH.” For some reason, AGD heaps particularly vicious scorn upon “GIOMH.” While I’m the first to admit that “GIOMH” is far from Brian Wilson’s best solo album, I don’t think it’s quite as bad as AGD feels.

My thoughts/opinions/feelings about the album were formed solely from listening to the music. I know little, and care even less, about any of the behind the scene machinations that may have conspired to prod the release of “GIOMH.” I just remember how excited I was when this album came out. I think the release of any new Brian Wilson album is cause for celebration. To be sure, “GIOMH” loses a ton of points for having no real new material. Most, if not all, of the songs were re-treads of old songs that never ended up on official releases. Some of the songs were previously available on bootlegs like ”Sweet Insanity” and the Andy Paley sessions. Nevertheless, there are a few gems. I love the songs “Soul Searchin’,” “GIOMH,” “City Blues,” and “Desert Drive.” “Soul Searchin’” and “GIOMH” in particular are two of my favorite solo Brian Wilson tunes.

Moreover, the tunes themselves hold up well when performed by other musicians. Solomon Burke’s version of “Soul Searchin’” was particularly soul stirring. I usually detest all things Bon Jovi related, but I did enjoy watching Richie Sambora perform “City Blues” at the Musicares tribute to Brian Wilson. It’s also cool how other music industry legends, e.g. Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Elton John, showed up to support BW.

As for the disc scanned above, this was the advance version sent to music journalists. It’s just a simple CD-R. There are some markings that are unique to this kind of advance disc, such as “RESTRICTED RELEASE, WATERMARKED DISC!” And in case you weren’t paying attention, they put another exclamation point in a triangle. The disc is even individually numbered, “THIS CD BELONGS TO 600 14499.” Presumably, only the record company knows how this numbering system works. All the little printing is just legal mumbo-jumbo and gobbledygook whereby the record company attempts, in vain, to overcome the storied legal first sale doctrine.

RECORD COLLECTOR article detail #1
RECORD COLLECTOR article detail #2

As promised, here’s Vol. 1 of my Beach Boys/Brian Wilson Promo CD Extravaganza. First up is a simple CD-R printed by Nonesuch in conjunction with the 2004 release of “Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE.” I first blogged about this disc at UNCANNY MARK 1. The picture on the old blog was pulled from the web. I did the scan on this blog. The shadow somewhat hides the Nonesuch symbol, but otherwise is a fair reproduction. Given the printing on the top of this disc, "Non Commercial Version, For Broadcast Only, Not for Sale," I assume that this disc was sent mostly to radio and other broadcast media outlets. Below are the notes I posted back in 2005.

"A Celebration Of Brian Wilson's SMiLE" combines narration of Brian’s life story by someone named Dennis Elsis (sp?) with excerpts of interviews from the Beautiful Dreamer documentary, various Beach Boys tracks, ’04 Smile studio tracks, a few live recordings from the live Smile premier, and an interview with David Leaf. The text read by Elsis contains nothing new.

The interview w/ David Leaf is more interesting. While Leaf divulges no new revelations, he succinctly summarizes the Smile story. This promo CD was produced by Paul Rapport, Mitch Macatansky and Jim Fahey. (Do these guys work for Nonesuch?)

There is one very interesting tidbit. Before the studio ’04 version of Wonderful, we hear Brian (from ’67?) say, "I’m all set. 1….2….3….4", as he counts down the beginning of the song for the musicians. Judging from the sound of Brian’s voice, I’m willing to bet that this brief session excerpt comes from 1967.

This is my transcription of the promo:

1. Intro by Dennis Elsis (sp?)– "We’ve been waiting for this for most of our lives; Brian Wilson’s Smile."

2. Our Prayer – Gee – Heroes & Villains – Roll Plymouth Rock

3. Brian Wilson (from Beautiful Dreamer) on learning the boogie-woogie

4. California Girls

5. David Leaf – "The release of Rubber Soul in the fall of 1965 really inspired Brian both creatively & competitively. And the 1st result of that sense of competition he was having with the Beatles was Pet Sounds. In response, the Beatles raised their game and Revolver came out. Good Vibrations was the next production from Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, and that in turn let the Beatles know that there was a guy in town who was making records that were blowing their minds and they knew they needed to make something that would blow the world’s minds too. And their next production was Sgt. Pepper. Unfortunately, Brian never finished Smile in 1967 and released it. So we have no way of knowing how that would have effected the world at that time. But at the time, in ’65, ’66, ’67, there’s no question that Brian in America and the Beatles in England were producing the most important records."

6. Brian Wilson (from Beautiful Dreamer) on the Beatles

7. David Elsis

8. David Leaf – "Because Brian worked w/in the context of a group, meaning the Beach Boys, his family band, people didn’t think of him as a singer songwriter. But he really was. And what he did that was incredible, from the very beginning, is that he took what was going on in his life and he expressed it in beautiful, heartbreakingly sweet and harmonious and sometimes melancholic art."

9. Wouldn’t It be Nice

10. David Leaf – "Growing up in the music business in the 1960s, all the great artists who had commercial success, the Beatles & the Beach Boys, later on groups like the Bee Gees; part of how they knew they were being successful, was that people were buying their records, that people were hearing their records on the radio. And there’s no way for artists who grew up in that environment to separate the success of the artistic achievement from the success of the commercial achievement. And I think that’s one of the biggest challenges facing all artists who work ion the record industry, is satisfying themselves in the studio but also satisfying the demands of the marketplace."

11. I Just Wasn’t made For These Times

12. David Leaf – "Humor has always been extraordinarily important to Brian. And during the Smile era he had the power and persistence to indulge all of his whims. What he was trying to do was create an environment of fun so that environment would then be reflected in the music. And so when he would do things like build a sandbox around his piano or have a tent to have meetings in, he was just having fun."

13. Brian Wilson (from Beautiful Dreamer) on meeting Van Dyke Parks

14. Van Dyke Parks (from Beautiful Dreamer) questioning why Brian chose him

15. David Leaf – "In ’66 the British Invasion was in its 3rd year, and American groups, American artists, really were almost under siege. And in part, Smile was designed as a response. Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson created Smile, or parts of Smile, to be an American journey. And that journey was to take place from Plymouth Rock to Diamond Head. Essentially from the eastern most portion of the United States to the western most. When you listen to Cabinessence, you can really hear the Americana theme of Smile really coming through. The 1st piece of Cabinessence, where we’re hearing banjos and other instruments that clearly are American. The second piece is called Who Ran The Iron Horse section, which is about the rail roads and how they changed the country. And the 3rd piece refers to the dams and the harnessing of water & power that allowed this country to grow and become what it is. So Cabinessence really wraps up in one incredible piece of music a big part of the history of this country."

16. Cabinessence

17. Brian Wilson (from Beautiful Dreamer) on why Smile as a title

End of part 1

18. Brian (from ’67?) "I’m all set. 1….2….3….4" -> Wonderful -> Song For Children -> CIFOTM

19. Van Dyke Parks (from Beautiful Dreamer) on Leonard Bernstein

20. David Leaf – "In the early ‘70s, I read an article in Rolling Stone magazine about Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and a big part of the article as about the myth of Smile. And at the same time I read that article, I heard an album called Surf’s Up. And Surf’s Up was a song that had performed only once by Brian on a Leonard Bernstein special in 1967. And that had really let the world know that Brian Wilson was doing something very special. When I heard that song, I was blown away and one of the things that’s so special about the documentary is we actually have that original appearance by Brian on the Leonard Bernstein special. And it’s the first time it will have been seen in a long, long time. And I think when you see that you understand why Smile became this mythic piece of art."

21. Surf’s Up

22. David Leaf – "The simplest way to look at what happened and why Smile didn’t come out is that Brian Wilson had a breakdown. And he put the tapes on a shelf. There was an unbelievably complicated set of circumstances which are all laid out and explained in the movie, which may or may not have contributed to the breakdown. But ultimately he did stop working on Smile. In 1966 when the beach Boys 1st heard the tracks that Brian Wilson had recorded for pet Sounds there was some concern that this might not be the right direction for the Beach Boys to go in. That concern was expressed again during the Smile era. But at no point did anybody say anything other than this music is incredible, how did you do this Brian, this is amazing, this is mind blowing. There was only one concern, is this right for the beach Boys and their fans? Bits and pieces of the Smile music have leaked out in one way or another since it was originally created back in ‘66/’67, but the first time I heard it all stitched together, the 1st time I heard the sequence that Brian created, was in late 2003 when I went over to his house and sat in the music room and heard how he had finally figured out the way to make this music flow in a completely natural way. And ironically, one of the challenges that Brian faced in 1967 was that non-linear technology didn’t exist. So if he had dozens and dozens of pieces of music and he wanted to hear how one sounded next to another he would have to take a tape reel down and put another tape reel up or physically cut the tape and splice it together. It was an enormously slow & tedious process, and he would have needed 6 months, a year or so to finally figure out the sequence. Given the world that we now live in, it was a relatively simple matter to load all of those pieces into a computer and then play w/ the sequence until he had a sequence he was happy with. And that’s what I heard in December 2003 and when I heard that I said that’s Smile."

23. Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow (excerpt from live Smile premier) -> In Blue Hawaii

24. Our Prayer/Good Vibrations (from live Smile premier)

GENESIS PUBLICATIONS is the publisher
EMEDIAWIRE has the press release

UNCUT "Brian Wilson played an intimate eight song acoustic set in London on Thursday (July 2), to mark the launch of a new collector's book based on recent album That Lucky Old Sun.

The cloth-bound hand-numbered book of original collages by iconic artist Sir Peter Blake is published by Genesis Publications also contains reproduced handwritten sheet music and lyrics for the album track 'Midnight’s Another Day.'

Brian Wilson last night played a secret gig at a London private members club to mark the release of a new book of illustrations based around his recent album That Lucky Old Sun.

Wilson, backed by three members of his touring band, performed That Lucky Old Sun album tracks as well as Beach Boys classics at the private launch at members bar 1 Alfred Place in London's West End.

Brian Wilson's secret gig set list was:

Roll Around Heaven
California Girls
Don't Worry Baby
Surfin USA
Do It Again
In My Room
God Only Knows
Midnight's Another Day
Going Home
Southern California"

MUSICWEEK has more information.

PREFIXMAG
UK DAILY EXPRESS
FESTIVALWISE
GIGWISE
CONTACT MUSIC

Al Jardine's notable quote: ”[Fleet Foxes are] awesome. They kind of have the Beach Boys vibe, too — very beautiful harmonies. They’re just taking the world by storm, and without any singles.”

ROLLING STONE ”[Fleet Foxes are] awesome. They kind of have the Beach Boys vibe, too — very beautiful harmonies. They’re just taking the world by storm, and without any singles.” Rolling Stone also reports that Fleet Foxes plan on recording on their own at Jardine's Big Sur studio and offered to appear on Jardine's long planned solo album.

OK, so “extravaganza” may be a bit much, but it’s a great, eye catching word, so what the heck? As I mentioned in a previous blog, I’ve been fortunate enough to come across several Beach Boys/Brian Wilson promo only CDs. For some reason I’m oddly drawn to these scarce discs. It’s a weird fetish. When I first got into the Beach Boys, ca. 2000, I was only dimly aware of such things as promo only releases. Around the same time I began to do some freelance music writing- record reviews, musician interviews, concert previews, etc. Since most of the deadlines for the record reviews I was assigned were tied to the record’s release date, record companies would send me advance copies of the records. More often than not, the advance copies I would receive were just the standard release with the bar code marked out. For albums I was especially keen on reviewing, e.g. Beach Boys/Brian Wilson, I also managed to obtain the advance, promo only pressing.

The allure of these advance pressings was that they enabled me to hear wonderful music well before the street date. Once the record is officially released to the masses, they lose some of their appeal, particularly because most of them are pretty bare bones. These advance promo discs are almost always pressed in the CD-R format with minimal, or no packaging. The tops of the discs usually have very rudimentary printing- just basic information like the name of the artist and the album’s title.

Nevertheless, these discs are collectable, and covetable, because of their unavailability- for the most part only record company insiders, musicians’ family and friends and select members of the press and radio are sent such discs. They’re even scarcer because only very limited amounts are pressed, usually no more than 350-500. Some journalists are uninterested in the advances they are sent, or tire of the album after they finish their reviews, so many of these discs invariable end up in the trash. All in all, they are hard to come by.

Another unique aspect of these promo discs is that they are pressed at a different date, time, and likely location, than the officially released pressing. This difference has led some collector’s websites to refer to these discs as “CD-R acetates.” I think this term is misleading. Even worse, it’s inaccurate. In my mind, acetates are discs actually pressed on acetate, not silicone CD-Rs. The special pressing/manufacturing of these promo discs lends them a mystique, albeit a limited mystique, since the actual music/sounds are identical to the official pressing. One more distinctive thing is that the discs are often individually watermarked; copies are digitally marked so they can be traced back to the source disc.

Adding to their desirability is the vaguely illicit aura surrounding them. Some record companies insist that even after they give promos away they still retain control over them. These companies contend that they can stop people from selling, trading or giving these discs away. One guy was even sued for selling promo discs on e-bay. Luckily, the federal district court judge properly applied the law and promptly threw out the music company’s frivolous lawsuit. As the district court judge wrote, “Looking to the economic realities of the transaction, [the record company’s] distribution of Promo CDs provides the recipient with many critical rights of ownership, including the right to perpetual possession and the freedom from obligations to [the record company]. Accordingly, [the record company’s] distribution of Promo CDs to the music industry insiders is properly characterized as a gift or sale, not a license, and title to the CDs transferred to the insiders.”

Unfortunately, the pig headed company appealed the trial court’s decision. A decision from the appellate court is still months away. In the meantime, the district court’s decision is the only ruling on the matter, so my promos are mine, free and clear. I can use them the same way I could any other disc I obtain though more traditional methods.

Over the up-coming 4th of July holiday I plan on scanning my discs, writing reviews, notes, thoughts, etc. and posting them on the blog. Stay tuned!

JAMBASE

I can assure Beach Boys vinyl fans that the vinyl re-issues of "Sunflower" & "Surf's Up" are definitely in stores now, despite one comment to the contrary posted on this blog. I saw both re-issues at two separate stores this week. I have not yet purchased them myself, but I plan on doing so sometime soon.

On a side note, stay tuned for an up-coming blog project I've been thinking about for a long time. Hopefully over the 4th of July weekend I'll finally get around to my Beach Boys/Brian Wilson Promo CD Extravaganza. I've managed to pick up several promo CDs released by different record companies to promote up-coming Beach Boys and/or Brian Wilson albums. I've scanned one or two of these on the blog over the years, and I've written about a few others, but I've never put them all together. My plan is to put up scans and reviews of all of the promos I've come across. I especially love collecting rare, hard-to-find, promo only Beach Boys/Brian Wilson discs and I thought there may be a few other obsessives out there who'd like to see what I've picked up.

POB/BAMBU PROMO
THAT LUCK OLD SUN PROMO (Look for an improved version of this post in the up-coming extravaganza)
BEACH BOYS 7" PROMOS

Buy "Sunflower" vinyl re-issue at AMAZON
Buy "Surf's UP" vinyl re-issue at AMAZON

Edit: I first saw these listed on the LAREGHEARTEDBOY blog.

BLOGCRITICS has a review
THE BEACH BOYS.COM has some information
AMAZON has ways to purchase

Beach Boys – “Live in London” (His Master's Choice HMC 007)

This bootleg release consists of an audio CD and a DVD housed in a small hardback book. The book is roughly 6 inches tall and 5.5 inches wide. The liner notes are ripped from Keith Badman’s book “The Beach Boys: Definitive Diary.”

The CD has twenty-five tracks from two live shows- December 1, 1968, the Palladium, London and December 8, 1968, the Astoria, Finsbury Park, London. One track from the December 1 show, “All I Want To Do,” was officially released on the ”Rarities” album.

All of the tracks from the December 8 show were released on the “Beach Boys ‘69/Live in London” album.

The HMC boot has the “raw” live recording. The officially released version had some overdubs, additional mixing, sweetening, etc. The “raw” version has been booted before.

A thorough examination of the audio disc will require more time than I have now. But, I have two CD players hooked up to my amplifier and I intend to do a close A/B analysis of the boot version versus the officially released version in the future.

Part one of my review of “LIL” will focus on the DVD. The entire 54 minute DVD consists solely of David Morse’s Beach Boys 1968 tour film. I’m not sure of the exact title of the film because it doesn’t ever appear, except on the added intro mentioned below. I could not find any details about David Morse or any of the rest of the crew listed in the end titles.

This movie was previously booted on “Video Archives Vol. 2: 1968-1969 Not For Broadcast” (Hang Ten Media HTDVD-001)

The following comments are based on the notes I made while watching the movie. I think I caught most of the highlights and the lowlights. I might have missed a few minor things, but this covers it pretty well.

There are no menus and the film just starts right up. This version has a short, 30 sec., intro not found on “NFB.” The intro doesn’t seem to have been made with the rest of the film and was probably made much later by whomever put this DVD together. It’s very simple, short edited bits from the film with some instrumental music. It ends with a title card: “Beach Boys 1968 European Tour, directed by David Morse.” The “NFB” version also has some “film lead” that’s been edited here.

Both films start with a view of a fire truck driving across the tarmac at a UK airport (Heathrow?). The song “Friends” plays in the background as the BBs get off the plane and greet the cheering fans. The BBs sign a few autographs as the fans and press fawn all over them. And here we notice the first major draw-back of the film- none of the sound is synched up with the images. The film and sound were recorded separately. Even the fan noise, and other ambient noise throughout the film, seems to have been recorded after the fact to give the appearance of “live” sound. This type of sound/image pairing was not uncommon for the time. It’s unfortunate, but bearable.

The BBs pile into limos as the title “Beach Boys” appears in small, white print and grows in size and seems to be coming out of the screen. It’s a cheap effect, but the only titles on the original film.

The BBs arrive at their hotel and greet more members of the press. Some of the shots are very dark and it’s hard to make out who’s doing what. “I Was Made to Love Her” plays. Again, the press’ voices do not seem to have been recorded at the same time as the film was made.

The structure of the rest of the film bears a similarity to the much more well-known Led Zeppelin film “The Song Remains The Same” from 1976. Interspersed between footage of the band performing on stage and traveling between countries are short “portraits” of each member of the BBs. Here we get an intimate opportunity to learn more about each member and what they’re thinking. Of course, the BB version is much more simplistic and lacks many of the special effects, etc. found in “TSRTS.”

The first BB we get to meet is Bruce. We see him coming out of the tube and onto the street for some sightseeing; Big Ben can be seen in the background. Bruce buys a newspaper and then chills with some fans before taking a stroll in Hyde Park. In Bruce’s voice-over we hear him discuss how he’s been in the UK 12 times over the past 3 years, how it’s his favorite place and that he hopes to run Brother Records from the UK in the future. The last shot has Bruce in the park’s band shelter playing music maestro make believe.

Next we move to outside of the Palladium where we seem clambering fans “talking” about their favorite BB song they hope to hear in concert that night. Then we go inside to see the band on-stage for what looks like a sound check. Then we go backstage and see the BBs changing into their stage outfits- colored shirts with the famous white suits. Al takes his pants off and gives the camera a full moon. “Bluebirds Over the Mountains” begins to play as we see the band performing on stage. We also hear “Barbara Ann.” Behind the band a five-man horn section is visible. Once the clips from the show end “Sloop John B” plays and we go backstage again to watch the BBs change back into their street clothes. Dennis dances across the camera clapping his hands in a clip that’s often been excerpted for use in other films and TV programs. As Dennis changes his clothes we get to see his bare ass too and Mike in his tighty whities.

The next portion of the film takes us to a wharf on a river (Thames?). “Be With Me” plays and we see the BBs getting rowed around in a boat.

Shots of the crew loading equipment, instruments, etc. onto a truck.

Radio 1 Club, in Manchester (?), crazy fans, more signing of autographs.

“Our Prayer” plays and repeats a few times. Now we’re at a Scottish castle, it’s time for Al’s feature on the parapet roaming amongst the cannons.

Next we go inside and see Bruce playing the piano at a bar/restaurant and Al does the voice-over. Al joins Bruce at the piano and says he composed some songs at this castle last tour- “Cottonfields” and Bruce “Nearest Faraway Place.” Then we see the BBs eating mushroom soup.

We go backstage once more, we see the band getting ready, shaving, combing hair, tuning guitars, white suits and then another on-stage performance while “Fun Fun Fun” plays.

Another restaurant, more soup, they eat in their white suits, “I Can hear Music” plays. The band goofs for the camera and then poses on a balcony.

Now we’re on a train, “Busy Doin’ Nothin’” plays. It’s time to meet Dennis who’s relaxing in a sleeping compartment on the train. It’s a pretty short portrait, we see him lighting a cigarette and picking boogers from his nose.

“Bluebirds” plays as we see the band now in Germany signing even more autographs for adoring fans. A sign on a building reads: “Messe-Hallenverwaltung,” which I think means administration building. The BBs run around some trees and do some more goofin’.

Another on-stage performance while “I Get Around” plays. I should note that none of the scenes of the BBs performing on stage in this film are complete, and of course are not in-synch. Also, the whole film seems to have been filmed with a single camera, so no elaborate edits, just simple cuts. The camera is often not placed near the stage or at a good angle so the BBs are hard to see.

On the bus, on the road, an instrumental song plays, bluesy rock, I’m not sure if this is even a BBs track.

“Darlin’” plays and we’re now at the Beat Club TV show. Behind the scenes during recording, see the station’s screens with the TV director. “Good Vibrations” plays and dancers gyrate in long capes.

Walking outside, frozen lake, BBs w/out skates, “California Girls” plays.

Carl in bed loves a “nice relaxing breakfast.” Carl then goes outside to get some air, looks out the window, “God Only Knows” plays, puts on coat, outdoors in Bremen, Germany.

City, revolving door, “Do It Again” plays, outside hotel, stores, off to airport, we meet Mike drinking while waiting for the plane. Then cut to Paris with Mike walking to the Louvre as he passes a street-side public toilet. “Country Air” plays as Mike wrinkles his nose at the smell. Mike looks at stores, goes to a café and watches people, rides in a cab, and then a very-long close-up of Mike as no music plays, just car noise.

At a night-club, drinks, ladies dancing, Dennis signs a “Friends” LP, “All I Want to Do” plays.

“Friends” plays as we see the entire band on a spiral staircase. The end titles run:

Camera- Vic Kettle;
Sound- Peter Webb;
Editor- Roy Watts;
Director- David Morse

*all scans and photos courtesy of the world wide web