Uncanny

BILLBOARD "A newly recorded version of the group's 1968 hit 'Do It Again' will be featured on a disc that accompanies The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Commemorative 'ZinePak, a special product that will be sold exclusively at WalMart. The package includes a 72-page magazine featuring rare photos and new interviews with Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine and David Marks, plus collectible postcards and an 11-track CD."

DAILY MAIL "As the Beach Boys sang the U.S. national anthem before a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game on Tuesday, the contrast with their Sixties heyday could hardly have been greater."

PASADENA STAR NEWS "The Beach Boys, marking their 50th year making music, ushered in the home opener Tuesday at Dodger Stadium -- celebrating its 50th anniversary -- by singing 'Surfer Girl' and the national anthem."

LATIMES "A doctor who co-wrote a popular 1960s song performed by the Beach Boys has surrendered his medical license after medical authorities accused him of prescribing medications for himself. Dr. Donald Jay Altfeld ... co-wrote the song 'The Little Old Lady From Pasadena,' which was performed by the Beach Boys and included in their No. 1 album “Beach Boys Concert” from 1964. The song was first recorded by the duo Jan & Dean and reached No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart."

PITCHFORK "This June, the Bella Union label will reissue three classic records from the songwriter, arranger, and producer VAN DYKE PARKS: 1968's Song Cycle, 1972's Discover America, and 1975's Clang of the Yankee Reaper. "

NEW YORK TIMES "Q. I’m very curious about the new album. How is that going?

A. Mike Love: It’s going really well. Brian has worked on some great tracks, great melodies, great harmonies, and he’s been dealing it out to all of us. It’s really sounding good.

Q. Is it close to complete?

A. Brian Wilson: Well, not really. It’s about halfway done.
Love: There’s a couple of songs that are close and the rest of them are a work in progress, and we plan on going back into the studio in another couple of weeks and keep going until we’ve got it finished."

BILLBOARD "Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, [Bruce Johnston, David Marks] and the rest of the gang will reunite for their 50th anniversary tour starting April 24 in Tucson, AZ, and wrapping three long months later on July 15 in Stateline, NV."

First Uncanny's web host was hacked and we were down for awhile. Then I splurged on all of the SMiLE goodness that was unleashed unto the world and I was too burned out on Beach Boys to blog about them. My mind (and pocket book) turned to other record collecting interests: avant-garde jazz, experimental music, acid-folk, free improvisation, etc. Then today I see that the Beach Boys reunion tour is kicking off in Tucson, AZ, the town where I live! So, I guess that means that the BBs are back on my musical radar screen.

Technically, this concert is NOT happening in Tucson. In fact it's not happening in Arizona or even the United States of America. In reality, it's taking place at the Anselmo Valencia Tori Amphitheater which is on the Pascua Yaqui Tribe's Reservation, which is sovereign territory. Not to worry, the reservation, and the amphitheater, are right next door to my current home Tucson. And if you really have too much fun, fun, fun and get in trouble with the tribe's police, I'm an attorney authorized to practice in the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Court.

Are there any other Beach Boys fanatics planning on attending the Tucson show? If there's enough interest, perhaps we can set up a pre-show meet and greet to begin the festivities early? Drop me a line if you are so inclined: uncannybeachboys@yahoo.com. Hope to see you all there!

Please give us time to reorganize; more soon

MICHAEL MORGAN

FLUSH THE FASHION "When I was asked the question ‘Do you want to cover Brian Wilson at the Royal Festival Hall?’ Pet Sounds started to flicker in front of my eyes. Like a musical ticker tape in neon yellows, sunrise oranges, deep atlantic blues. Without missing a heartbeat I said ‘YES’. I then went back to shivering at my desk in my 60 deniers debating what soup to have for lunch."

FROM DISC TILL DAWN "A week ago today I rushed from work down to The Royal Festival Hall to review Brian Wilson for FLUSH THE FASHION. I was unprepared and disorganised (which is very ridiculous for a PA). At 33 it’s actually refreshing to feel inexperienced at something when so much in my life seems to be a matter of routine. Writing for a website is new territory for me, it’s exciting and terrifying. I get so excited about music that I skipped off without a care in the world. Then my thought process kicked in….."

"...I realised just how uncomfortable I was, and the discomfort was all down to having had my bra on for thirteen hours. Not that I needed the encouragement, Twitter persuaded me to take it off. As the lights went down and Brian Wilson shuffled on to the stage I slipped it off. First one strap craftily slipped over one shoulder and over my arm and then zooommmmm, it was whipped off at lightning speed from the other strap. It makes you think whether that first pair of pants thrown at Tom Jones was really just someone in ill-fitting underwear?"

BEATLES COLLEGE "Em 1966, Brian Wilson (líder dos Beach Boys) trabalhou durante seis meses em um single, usando uma técnica de gravação modular até então inédita, que consistia em registrar vários trechos e depois montar uma música só no formato que se quisesse. O resultado foi 'Good Vibrations' que, ao ser lançada, rapidamente virou nº1 nas paradas e fez com que Wilson vislumbrasse um álbum inteiro neste formato. Nascia 'Smile.'"

RED BULL "[Van Dyke Parks] has been shaping American pop culture in stealth mode, operating in its canyons at night like a superhero. Hear the Beach Boys and Ry Cooder collaborator in a Fireside Chat on Red Bull Music Academy Radio..."

ICON FETCH "It's the most famous unreleased album in history - the Beach Boys' SMiLE was supposed to come out way back in 1967, but the project fell apart amidst a cloud of drugs and self-doubt by leader Brian Wilson. Now, some 45 years later, those legendary tapes are finally seeing the light of day in the SMiLE Sessions, a five-CD boxset containing a 'finished' version of the would-be album, plus several discs of alternate, bonus material. Mark Linett, the long-time Beach Boys engineer, worked closely with Wilson on this monumental project, and he sits down with Icon Fetch to discuss piecing the many parts together, some of the difficulties in making everything fit, and some of the great, never-before-heard footage."

EXPRESS MILWAUKEE "Jon Stebbins marshals the band's troubled history for inspection in The Beach Boys FAQ: All That's Left to Know About America's Band (Backbeat Books). While it could have been better organized—the blurby roster of the act's numerous part-timers, guest stars and sidemen should have been relegated to an appendix instead of occupying Chapter 2, once the narrative gets under way, the story gathers interest."