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Post by Mikie on Oct 2, 2022 16:14:13 GMT -5
In the Summer of 1990, at the ESQ Beach Boys convention in San Diego, Brian performed “Spirit Of Rock & Roll”. I was there, and approached Gene Landy who was standing alone observing Brian. After thanking him for essentially saving Brian’s life, I asked him about the rumored follow-up solo album of Brian’s. He told me that the new album would “blow Brian’s first album away”. Around early 1991, I received a cassette entitled “Brian” in the mail. Later in 1991 or '92, a DJ in Sacramento gave me a promo cassette called “Sweet Insanity”, distributed by Brains and Genius (a.k.a. Brian and Gene). The first cassette was the original version of the album. As I understand it, the first version was rejected by Sire, so they went back into the studio to edit and spruce up the tracks for a second version of the album. Of course the second version would be bootlegged extensively on CD, beginning around 1992.   For this comparison, the original “Brian” mix (Version 1) that circulated in 1991 was compared to the “Sweet Insanity” mix (Version 2). I stole absconded borrowed from a nice write-up here en.everybodywiki.com/%22Brian%22-Unreleased_album_by_Brian_Wilson_(1990) on the comparisons and edited it down to the brief analysis below. Both versions can be found in the 1994 release “Sessions Vol.1 & 2 Sweet Insanity” (Please don’t ask). “Concert Tonight” (aka “Intro”) – Full song, Version 1 (4:51). Only 16 seconds of the song from Version 1 is used on Version 2 and titled “Intro”. Otherwise, Version 2 is an identical mix to Version 1. “Someone To Love Verse” – Slight lyric differences – Version 1 lyrics are answered with Brian speaking in suggestive tones - words like "Oh baby, let me come inside". Version 2 lyrics are answered with singing. Version 1 is 28 seconds longer than Version 2. "Water Builds Up" - Very slight lyric differences. Brian’s vocal is lower on Version 1, and the bass and tea kettle whistle sounds are more pronounced. Brian's new lead vocal is mixed higher on Version 2. Version 2 is 13 seconds longer than Version 1. "Don't Let Her Know She's An Angel" - Lyric differences in first and second verses. Horns are mixed louder in verses on Version 1. Choruses identical on Version 1 and Version 2 except for drum machine changes. About 10 seconds difference between Version 1 and Version 2. "Do You Have Any Regrets" (aka "I Do") - Slight lyrical and musical differences, the bass is louder on Version 1 and the fade has more echo on Version 2. "Brian" (aka "Thank You") - Intro starts with bass on Version 1, synths on Version 2. Lyrics are identical and bass is louder in Version 2. “Hotter” (Version 2 as a bonus track). "The Spirit Of Rock And Roll" - Brian sings all the lyrics on Version 1, Bob Dylan sings the verses on Version 2. Lyrics are the same. More musicians are brought in to play for Version 2. "Rainbow Eyes": Slight lyric differences, bass is much more prominent on Version 1. Six-second fade in Version 2 that is not on Version 1. Version 2 is 23 seconds longer than Version 1. “Love Ya” (Version 2) "Make A Wish" - Slight lyric differences on the verses. Different lyrics in the bridge on Version 2. Louder instrumental track on Version 1, overall louder mix on Version 2. Music stops on the bridge on Version 2 except the synths. "Smart Girls" - Slightly different lead vocal on Version 2 compared to Version 1. Beach Boys song references are sung in multi-part vocal by Brian on Version 1, and the sampling is more inferior on Version 2. Many prefer the Version 1 over the Version 2 mix. “Country Feelin” – (CD bonus/ with B-side “Hotter”) * Rewritten and recorded versions of "Rainbow Eyes", "Make a Wish", and "Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel" were later included on Brian’s 2004 solo album, “Gettin’ In Over My Head.” Musicians:Brian Wilson - lead and background vocals, musical arrangements Michael Bernard - keyboards, percussion, special fx, programmer Rob Wasserman - Clevinger 4-string bass Guest musicians:Tim Weisberg - flute, piccolo "Weird Al" Yankovic - accordion Fred Katz - cello Scott Page - saxophone John Stamos - backing vocals Paula Abdul – backing vocals Guest musicians on "The Spirit Of Rock And Roll":Brett Tuggle - piano, keyboards Steve Hunter - guitar Gregg Bissonette - drums Other possible guests: David Marks, Glen Campbell, Waddy Wachtel, Eugene E. Landy. |
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Post by lonesurf on Oct 2, 2022 21:32:47 GMT -5
Mikie, thanks for this. I was there in SD too … exciting times.
Good reminder to dig out Sweet Insanity again. I haven’t listened to it in a while.
I prefer version 1 to version 2, especially because I got all of Concert Tonight and the better version of Smart Girls (which had more contemporary BW vocals instead of jarringly flying in the sore thumb original BB vox like they did on the second version).
I also personally prefer the original Someone To Love. Has a bit of a Jerry Lee Lewis vibe with Brian’s spoken asides.
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Post by newbbfan on Oct 2, 2022 22:15:55 GMT -5
What incredible archivists. What if someone ,say just like the average fan, never heard this album and it's really curious about what can be heard here? Where is it available?
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Post by lonesurf on Oct 2, 2022 22:34:35 GMT -5
Here’s a link to version number one:
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Post by Rick Bartlett on Oct 3, 2022 3:14:20 GMT -5
This would make a wonderful official reissue.
Brian's 'lost' album, it's a 'missing piece' of Brian's slow but sure return to music.
This is boxset worthy too IMHO, yep yep, me and my Brian boxsets!
2 versions of SI, a disc worth of demo's/outakes, a detailed written analysis of Brian/Landy
and The Beach Boys around this time, 86 - 92?ish.
Would be a compelling read in itself if it could be written without upsetting anybody.
Call Mark Linett back in and Darian Sahanaja, and let loose with the tracks.
This whole thing about the 'tapes were stolen', is that really true?
I find it hard to be true.
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Post by jk on Oct 3, 2022 3:38:48 GMT -5
“Hotter” (Version 2 and bonus track). Fascinating OP there! I assume you mean "AS bonus track"... Version 2 is the one I know and love so I'll be sticking with it.  |
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Post by Awesoman on Oct 3, 2022 7:05:08 GMT -5
What song did Paula Abdul sing on...?
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Post by jk on Oct 3, 2022 7:19:46 GMT -5
What song did Paula Abdul sing on...? According to Mr Hickey, it was... The Spirit of Rock & RollAnother track which originally dated from the Usher sessions, this was co-written by Tom Kelly, who also co-wrote "Like a Virgin", "True Colors", and "Eternal Flame". This is another of the many songs that prove the adage that any song with "rock and roll" in its title written after about 1960 will have nothing to do with actual rock and roll. This is, instead, one of those horrific pieces of Boomer nostalgia which polluted the airwaves for much of the eighties, as a generation realised it was becoming middle-aged and went through a collective mid-life crisis. This is an "all star" recording, with Bob Dylan singing two lines of the lyric, and with Belinda Carlisle and Paula Abdul (among others) on backing vocals, but the backing track is substantially identical to an earlier version which had been used for a TV special celebrating the Beach Boys' twenty-fifth anniversary together. That version had been produced by Usher, and it's likely that the same backing track was used here. [ Source] |
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Post by Awesoman on Oct 3, 2022 7:30:07 GMT -5
Interesting. I vaguely recall her participation on that album. Never really got the appeal over "TSoR&R" though; despite Dylan's appearance it always felt like a mediocre or at least average song. You could have blamed the overblown production but the song sounded even 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒 when he re-recorded it back in the early 2000's.
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Post by ironhorseapples on Oct 3, 2022 7:38:38 GMT -5
I always thought of version 1 as Love You part 2. The arrangements are pure Brian, and as a result this album is unique in his solo catalogue and should be cherished. Some great vocals too.
Version 2 is the 'too many cooks' mix, I've only spun it once.
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Post by John Manning on Oct 3, 2022 8:58:58 GMT -5
I always thought of version 1 as Love You part 2. The arrangements are pure Brian, and as a result this album is unique in his solo catalogue and should be cherished. Some great vocals too. Version 2 is the 'too many cooks' mix, I've only spun it once. I appreciate you making that distinction, actually, and will give both versions a spin now, listening with that in mind. Thank you! |
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Post by ironhorseapples on Oct 3, 2022 9:08:52 GMT -5
Ha, don't ever trust my opinion John!
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Post by lonesurf on Oct 3, 2022 10:03:51 GMT -5
I seem to remember that Paula Abdul appeared on Make A Wish.
I agree that Version 1 does have a bit of a Love You vibe to it. Probably why I prefer it.
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Post by newbbfan on Oct 3, 2022 10:05:35 GMT -5
Really fascinating and so wonderful to learn about this album and this material which I had only known about theoretically. But let me ask a question, how much of this is Landy influenced or under the control of landy? I think I've always subconsciously or consciously avoided anything associated with that character because of his abusive history. so is this material tarnished by his Svengali control and desire to get credit for writing and that sort of thing or is this completely separate and removed from that and just Brian's own thoughts and creativity at that time, or is it some mix of the two. Is this material from the period between the two regimes of landy? I just don't know anything about it. One might say these questions don't matter because if you're interested in Brian Wilson then this is Brian Wilson's music and of historical value either way, either as evidence of his independence from or subjection to landy's tyranny. And I would agree with that argument if made. This would make a wonderful official reissue. Brian's 'lost' album, it's a 'missing piece' of Brian's slow but sure return to music. This is boxset worthy too IMHO, yep yep, me and my Brian boxsets! 2 versions of SI, a disc worth of demo's/outakes, a detailed written analysis of Brian/Landy and The Beach Boys around this time, 86 - 92?ish. Would be a compelling read in itself if it could be written without upsetting anybody. Call Mark Linett back in and Darian Sahanaja, and let loose with the tracks. This whole thing about the 'tapes were stolen', is that really true? I find it hard to be true. |
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Post by Mikie on Oct 3, 2022 11:21:20 GMT -5
Landy had a LOT of influence on Sweet Insanity - much more than the first album. Little to no resistance this time from WB guys or outsiders (co-writers). Most, if not all of the lyrics were his (and Alexandria Morgan's). He insisted that "Smart Girls" be included and Sire rejected the second version too and released Brian from their contract.
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Post by lonesurf on Oct 3, 2022 13:17:24 GMT -5
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Post by lonelysummer on Oct 3, 2022 15:38:38 GMT -5
I have Sweet Insanity Millennium Edition on Happy and Lucky cd. "Brian's chorus is sounding larger". I had it on a couple nights ago. It's not as good as his solo debut, but it's better than I remembered it being. People say it's full of Landy's psychobabble - I'm not hearing that. The lyrics aren't great, certainly not up to Bob Dylan standards, but they don't detract from my enjoyment of the material.
"Smart Girls" is stupid. Wipe that and replace it with "Country Feelings" or "Daddy's Little Girl" or "Being with the One You Love".
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Post by boogieboarder on Oct 3, 2022 18:05:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the link to this old thread. It appeared before I joined this board, and has a lot of great posts. I also picked up the ebook of the Wilson Project mentioned in the thread, even though I still have the original pink cover printing. |
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Post by newbbfan on Oct 4, 2022 13:35:53 GMT -5
I have to read this thread in Greater detail but I'm appreciative of this link and I just listened to the album and I don't know what the critical consensus is but what I heard when clicking this link was I thought absolutely fantastic. With some exceptions here and there if the Beach Boys themselves with Dave and Al with Scott playing guitar and John cowsill on drums and all the Beach Boys singing and Al playing bass and Brian and Bruce on piano and with different lead singers I would consider this to be a great great Beach Boy album and really just enjoying the song quality and the energy and even the production though of course there are many markers of the 80s here that could be updated. So this era and Landy and all those Horrors notwithstanding and whatever generated this, just as an album, appreciated with a kind of Arnoldian disinterestedness I must say the album brought me pleasure. quote author=" lonesurf" source="/post/59915/thread" timestamp="1664768075"]Here’s a link to version number one: |
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Post by ironhorseapples on Oct 7, 2022 7:40:01 GMT -5
I've been mishearing the lyrics for 'Water Builds Up' for many years. I'm slightly disappointed to read that its 'there's a dam bursting in my soul'. I always thought it was 'there's a dead person in my soul'  Admittedly, the former makes more sense, but the latter has a far more poetic ring, (at least when that poet is Mr BD Wilson) |
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Post by jk on Oct 7, 2022 10:56:53 GMT -5
I've been mishearing the lyrics for 'Water Builds Up' for many years. I'm slightly disappointed to read that its 'there's a dam bursting in my soul'. I always thought it was 'there's a dead person in my soul' Admittedly, the former makes more sense, but the latter has a far more poetic ring, (at least when that poet is Mr BD Wilson) I love it! It reminds me of Beefheart's remark at the Royal Albert Hall in '72 that "A psychiatrist is a man who wants to die in your other life".  Know the feeling, iha. I had it when I learned that the money John was singing about in "Baby, You're A Rich Man" was kept in a big brown bag inside the zoo, when I had always heard big brown bat, which would have been a lot more Lennonesque. |
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Post by ironhorseapples on Oct 7, 2022 11:39:08 GMT -5
I've been mishearing the lyrics for 'Water Builds Up' for many years. I'm slightly disappointed to read that its 'there's a dam bursting in my soul'. I always thought it was 'there's a dead person in my soul' Admittedly, the former makes more sense, but the latter has a far more poetic ring, (at least when that poet is Mr BD Wilson) I love it! It reminds me of Beefheart's remark at the Royal Albert Hall in '72 that "A psychiatrist is a man who wants to die in your other life". Know the feeling, iha. I had it when I learned that the money John was singing about in "Baby, You're A Rich Man" was kept in a big brown bag inside the zoo, when I had always heard big brown bat, which would have been a lot more Lennonesque. Ha ha, yes. And people would wonder if it was a zoological bat or the bashing variety. Knowing Lennon and his anger issues, I'd plump for the latter. I leave you with the image of Lennon attacking Landy with a baseball bat. |
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tante
Kahuna
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Post by tante on Oct 12, 2022 10:17:51 GMT -5
Hello, I'm Tante, and I wrote the original article on the "Brian" project that Mikie summarized in this thread. I'm a longtime lurker and shy internet guy, but I'm happy to be here!
I have a few more things to share about this album, but first I have questions about the "Brian" cassette Mikie received from Landy. As far as I know all the existing copies of "Brian" come from the same source, which has slight distortion on the right channel mostly. Is this cassette different? Is the quality better? Has it been digitized? Sorry for all the questions Mikie, but you may have a very rare gem in your possession if it's in superior quality. Anyway just curious, and nice to meet you all!
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Post by Mikie on Oct 12, 2022 10:48:40 GMT -5
Hello, I'm Tante, and I wrote the original article on the "Brian" project that Mikie summarized in this thread. I'm a longtime lurker and shy internet guy, but I'm happy to be here! I have a few more things to share about this album, but first I have questions about the "Brian" cassette Mikie received from Landy. As far as I know all the existing copies of "Brian" come from the same source, which has slight distortion on the right channel mostly. Is this cassette different? Is the quality better? Has it been digitized? Sorry for all the questions Mikie, but you may have a very rare gem in your possession if it's in superior quality. Anyway just curious, and nice to meet you all! Hi, Tante. Thanks for the article! It's been about 25 years since I listened to the ("Brian") cassette, and it's now in a box somewhere. I remember that it's not very good quality and somewhat distorted. No, my source was not Landy, but probably one of the fellow Beach Boys collectors that I traded tapes with. Tell us more about what you know about Sweet Insanity! And if you wouldn't mind introducing yourself here, we'd appreciate it. Thanks! endlessharmony.boards.net/board/26/new-member-introductions |
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tante
Kahuna
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Post by tante on Oct 12, 2022 11:46:10 GMT -5
Hi Mikie! Pleasure to meet you. I went back and realized I misread what you wrote about the Brian cassette. Sorry bout that! Some great info came out from other posters on the SSMB about "Brian" and Sweet Insanity that enhanced my original article, so this ends up being a pretty good read (actually more informative and correct than the SI Wiki) smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,27917.msg675370.html#msg675370 The YouTube post of the project above is actually one of the cleanest I've heard, so I took it into my studio and played around with it. First things first, I corrected the pitch and speed so it matches the Sweet Insanity version (they match because the base of the tracks are the same) It is hard to achieve though because the original source was tape, and a possibly inferior one at that, so there is some very slight warpage. I also shifted the mix slightly to the left to minimize the distortion. Anyway this one sounds pretty darn good but not perfect. I'm always scouring the internets looking for a better copy but it's been thirty years now so not sure it's happening. Part of my studio fun with "Brian" was "oopsing" the cuts to bring out different instruments. Wow, those saxes on "Someone To Love", you can actually hear them breathe! Oh, I have to go and don't have the link, but if you guys want an interesting window into this period, find that 90 minute Landy interview on YouTube, where many topics of interest are discussed, including Landy having a tape of SMiLE in his bag (!) and Alexandra Morgan also being interviewed. So this is what it was like to be around these two. So long for now, nice to meet you and...."ah-oooou" |
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