From: pobbard@bellatlantic.net
"Brad Hague" wrote in message
news:dUh9d.8691$M05.5043@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> The simple truth is, Brian's voice in 1966 is quantum leaps better than it
> is now. There is no way to compare the two. Granted, I haven't heard
Brian
> sing as well as he does now, since at least 1985 and I'm very proud of him
> doing as good a job as he did. But the vocal tracks don't compare. The
> Beach Boys had a natural vibe and complementary vocal harmony, perhaps due
> to their familiar ties, that elevated everything they sang above the norm
to
> the heavens. Even Mike, in his bass parts blended very well with Brian,
> Carl, Dennis, Al and Bruce.
That's what I thought when I heard the new SMILE, too. Part of the appeal of
the voices of the Beach Boys is that they are so *different* - no-one could
mistake Carl for Mike, or Mike for Brian. During his heyday, Brian did a
beautiful job of knowing which member of the group to use for which song, or
which line, or which harmony. The Wondermints sound great, but their voices
do not contrast nearly as well as the Beach Boys did.
Also, I occasionally feel as if the individual Wondermints are trying too
hard to emulate "classic" Brian when they sing their parts on the new CD -
adding to the vocal uniformity of some of the songs.
FWIW, I think Brian sounds pretty good on the new SMILE (which I propose we
refer to as BRIAN WILSON PRESENTS SMILE, or BWPS, so we can keep references
to the '66 vs. '04 SMILE distinct). I agree that it's the best his voice has
sounded since 1985 - maybe since the early 70s, actually. It was probably
the aspect of re-recording SMILE that I worried about the most, and was
pleasantly surprised at the outcome!
--Phil
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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