Slightly American Music (Wilson/Paley) - Update

Hey again everybody. I figured since "Some Sweet Day" was getting its debut on an official release later this year I'd share an updated Slightly American Music, with an only marginally rejigged tracklist and the dodgy tape sounds edited out for easier listening.

01. Proud Mary
02. Slightly American Music
03. I'm Broke
04. Chain Reaction of Love
05. Soul Searchin'
06. Desert Drive
07. This Could Be the Night
08. Mary Anne
09. You're Still a Mystery
10. Gettin' in Over My Head
11. Some Sweet Day

Bonus tracks
12. It's Not Easy Bein' Me
13. Saturday Morning in the City
14. Sweets For My Sweet
15. Marketplace
16. This Song Wants to Sleep with You Tonight
17. Must Be a Miracle
18. Frankie Avalon
19. Elbow '93
20. God Did It
21. Goin' Home
22. What Rock 'n' Roll Can Do
23. In My Moondreams

Download here (mp3)

More Goodies (Brian and Mike)

Continuing on from the previous set, here are an additional two of Brian and Mike goodies!

The Brian Wilson goodies offers some very interesting rarities: duets with Jan Berry and Rocky Pamplin, an early version of "Being with the One You Love" entitled "Doin' Time on Planet Earth" (presumably intended for the film of the same name), and some terrific-quality Sweet Insanity backing tracks and a capellas. After that it's the Andy Paley tracks, not presented in the best quality available but with alternate mixes included.

Next, the Mike Love goodies(?) contains a variety of outtakes, alternate mixes of tracks from his withdrawn First Love and Country Love albums, duets with Dean Torrence, Beach Boys covers/originals with Adrian Baker, and a few radio spots (a Looking Back with Love promo and the hilarious Arbor Day message in three versions).

Get 'em here.

Brian Wilson - Royal Festival Hall, 2002

Here's a Brian show from 2002 with an incredible setlist - "Busy Doin Nothin'", "Cabinessence", "The Night Was So Young", "Melt Away", and the entireity of Pet Sounds - all here, just to name a few. Audio quality isn't the best, but nothing that'll put you off hearing all these deep cuts live.

Download here (150mb, 160kb/s mp3s)

Brian Wilson Sessions (FLAC)

Here's a lovely boxset from 1994 of Brian Wilson tidbits, mostly Landy-era. Some of these tracks aren't as great-sounding as you'd find on more recent boots (especially the case with Sweet Insanity), but this is worth having for anyone wanting to hear this stuff in flac.

Disc 1: Sweet Insanity + more Landy productions
Disc 2: Sweet Insanity outtakes
Disc 3: Outtakes (incl. alternate versions and Adult/Child tracks)
Disc 4: Demos + London '77 and LA '85 live tracks
Disc 5: Still I Dream of You: The Rare Works of Brian Wilson
Disc 6: Radio interview + more BW productions
Disc 7: 'Words and Music' promo CD + radio and TV interviews

Download here

Brian: The Complete Productions

Happy holidays! Here's an attempt at a collection of Brian Wilson productions. I was mostly going off this nice list here. I tried for the best quality I could get (stereo used where it sounded good) - Pet Projects, The Big Beat 1963, Still I Dream of You, and the lovely Visions 2CD set were the main sources. Come to think of it, this is pretty much just a rip-off of Visions. Oh well.
Also, the "Guess I'm Dumb" used here is a stereo remix by runnersdialzero. It's amaaaazing.

Download here (mp3, 314mb)

Disc 1:
01. The Honeys - Surfin' Down The Swanee River
02. The Honeys - Shoot The Curl
03. The Honeys - Pray For Surf
04. The Honeys - Hide Go Seek
05. The Honeys - Rabbit's Foot
06. The Honeys - The One You Can't Have
07. The Honeys - From Jimmy With Tears
08. The Honeys - Funny Boy
09. The Honeys - You Brought It All On Yourself
10. The Honeys - Make The Night A Little Longer
11. The Honeys - In The Still Of The Night
12. The Honeys - Raindrops
13. The Honeys - He's A Doll
14. The Honeys - The Love Of A Boy And Girl
15. The Honeys - I Can See Right Through You
16. The Honeys - Tonight You Belong To Me
17. The Honeys - Goodnight My Love
18. Brian and the Honeys - Marie
19. Kenny and the Cadets - Barbie
20. Kenny and the Cadets - What Is A Young Girl Made Of
21. Rachel and the Revolvers - The Revo-Lution
22. Rachel and the Revolvers - Number One
23. Bob and Sheri - The Surfer Moon
24. Bob and Sheri - Humpty Dumpty
25. Bob and Sheri - The Big Beat
26. Bob and Sheri - Ride Away
27. The Survivors - Pamela Jean
28. The Survivors - After The Game
29. Sharon Marie - Run-Around Lover
30. Sharon Marie - Summertime
31. Sharon Marie - Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby
32. Sharon Marie - Story Of My Life
33. Glen Campbell - Malibu Sunset
34. Tri-5 - Come And Get It
35. Tri-5 - Like Chop

urgh this is painful
Disc 2:
01. The Sunsets - My Surfin' Little Woodie
02. Ron Wilson - If It Can't Be You
03. The Castells - I Do
04. Gary Usher - My Only Alibi
05. Gary Usher - One Way Road To Love
06. Gary Usher - Sacramento
07. Gary Usher - That's The Way I Feel
08. Larry Denton - Endless Sleep
09. Paul Petersen - She Rides With Me
10. The Hondells - My Buddy Seat
11. Glen Campbell - Guess I'm Dumb
12. Dick Reynolds - How Deep Is The Ocean
13. Dick Reynolds - Stella By Starlight
14. Bob and Bobby - Twelve-O-Four
15. Bob and Bobby - Baby, What You Want Me To Do
16. Ron Wilson - I'll Keep On Loving You
17. Ron Wilson - As Tears Go By
18. The Laughing Gravy - Vegetables
19. Redwood - Time To Get Alone
20. Dino, Desi and Billy - Lady Love
21. The Honeys - Come To Me
22. The Honeys - Slip On Through
23. The Honeys - Snowflakes
24. The Honeys - Shyin' Away
25. The Honeys - Fallin' In Love
26. The Honeys - Don't Be Cruel
27. The Honeys - Sweet Sunday Kinda Love
28. The Honeys - She's Just Out To Get You
29. The Honeys - Do Ya
30. The Honeys - It's Like Heaven
31. The Honeys - Had To Phone Ya

Sweet Insanity (deluxe edition?)

I thought I'd make my own Sweet Insanity disc - there are a countless amount of them about already and it's horrifically confusing, so here's another one. I like this album, I'm sorry to say. The obligatory defensive paragraph follows:

Sweet Insanity is more of a mixed bag than Brian Wilson '88, and definitely 'poppier' than its predecessor. There's certainly nothing here that scales the heights of "Melt Away", but it's a different beast altogether - the lead-off track, "Someone to Love", is an utterly infectious pop tune (with a chord progression inspired by Dennis Wilson's excellent "San Miguel"), and most everything else here has a similar sense of hook-filled fun. What lets this album down are the lyrics; where 1988 saw the presence of Andy Paley and David Leaf to prevent Landy's timeless words of "love attacks" from sabotaging the songs, this time around there was no-one to stop him, and as a result we must endure Brian singing of the "crazy beatings" he received from his father, ruining what is otherwise a fine composition ("Brian"). Two versions of this album exist (both were rejected by the label); this is the superior revised cut.

Regarding the bonus tracks, obviously not everything could be squeezed into one disc, so I ensured the stuff I left out was really the material that absolutely no-one should ever be forced to listen to (i.e. "Living Doll", "Spirit of the Forest" - you can find all that elsewhere...) - and trust me, I would've loved to have "Smart Girls" wiped, but since it's part of the 'official' tracklist I couldn't do that. Ah well.

01. Concert Tonight
02. Someone to Love
03. Water Builds Up
04. Don't Let Her Know (She's an Angel)
05. Do You Have Any Regrets (I Do)
06. Brian (Thank You)
07. The Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll (with Bob Dylan)
08. Rainbow Eyes
09. Love Ya
10. Make a Wish
11. Smart Girls

Bonus tracks:
12. Hotter
13. Country Feelin'
14. Daddy's Little Girl
15. Metal Beach
16. Goodnight Irene
17. Turning Point
18. Heavenly Bodies
19. Fantasy is Reality/ Belles of Madness
20. Concert Tonight (First Version)
21. Someone to Love (First Version)
22. Don't Let Her Know (She's an Angel) (Demo)
23. Sweetie (Demo)
24. Black Widow (Demo)
25. Harmonies

Download here (320kb/s mp3s)

Come Back, Brian!

I'm sorry you had to see that cover.

This is a Vigotone boot from 1994. It's got alternate versions of Brian Wilson '88 tracks (including the horrendous Landy-penned 'love attack' version of one of my absolute favourites from that album, "Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight"), a few highlights from the first version of Sweet Insanity, and other assorted live performances, outtakes, and demos (plus a very underrated Brian demo, "Black Widow").

01. Intro

02. Turning Point

03. Heavenly Bodies

04. Black Widow

05. In The Nighttime

06. Love and Mercy (live)

07. Walkin' the Line (live)

08. Melt Away (live)

09. Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long

10. Little Children

11. One for the Boys

12. Up in the Sky

13. Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight

14. He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body to Move

15. Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel (demo)

16. Someone to Love

17. Water Builds Up

18. Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel

19. Let's Get Together

20. Smart Girls

21. We Love You

22. Fantasy is Reality/ Belles of Madness

23. Outro

Download in mp3

Download in flac

Still I Dream of You: Rare Works of Brian Wilson

An out-of-print collection of early Brian Wilson productions, including lesser-known versions of Beach Boy-related tracks (including "I Do" by the Castells, "Thinkin' Bout You Baby" by Sharon Marie, and "Vegetables" by Laughing Gravy), the excellent Glen Campbell track "Guess I'm Dumb", and a few cases of Brian singing lead (as in "Pamela Jean" by the Survivors and "Barbie" by Kenny & the Cadets, the latter of which features the man struggling to pull off the falsetto).

01. Kenny & the Cadets - Barbie
02. Kenny & the Cadets - What is a Young Girl Made Of
03. Rachel & the Revolvers - The Revo-Lution
04. Rachel & the Revolvers - Number One
05. Bob & Sheri - The Surfer Moon
06. Bob & Sheri - Humpty Dumpty
07. Timers - No-Go Showboat
08. Sharon Marie - Run-Around Lover
09. The Survivors - Pamela Jean
10. The Castells - I Do
11. Paul Peterson - She Rides with Me
12. Nodaens - Beach Girl
13. The Honeys - He's a Doll
14. Gary Usher - Sacramento
15. Gary Usher - That's Just the Way I Feel
16. Sharon Marie - Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby
17. Sharon Marie - The Story of My Life
18. Hale & the Hushabyes - Yes Sir, That's My Baby
19. Basil Swift & the Seegrams - The Farmer's Daughter
20. Annette Funicello - The Monkey's Uncle
21. Glen Campbell - Guess I'm Dumb
22. The Blossoms - Things are Changing
23. Bob & Bobby - Twelve-O-Four
24. Bob & Bobby - Baby, What You Want Me to Do
25. Laughing Gravy - Vegetables
26. Ron Wilson - I'll Keep on Loving You
27. Ron Wilson - As Tears Go By
28. Dino, Desi & Billy - Lady Love

Bonus tracks:
29. Kenny & the Cadets - Barbie (Take 2)
30. Dante & His Friends - Miss America
31. Joey & the Continentals - She Rides with Me
32. The Beach Boys - Surfin' Safari (ARIOLA Version)
33. Various Artists - Karen

Download in 320kbps mp3
Download flac

The Lost Hotel Tapes

Here's a hotel room jam session from (apparently) April 1990, with Brian, Bruce, and some friends playing various covers and Beach Boys songs. They do some surprisingly deep cuts too.

01. This Could Be The Night
02. Rhapsody In Blue, Caroline No, Shortenin' Bread, I'm Broke, Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll, Little Honda
03. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', Proud Mary
04. Rainbow Eyes, Sherry She Needs Me, Sail On Sailor
05. Palisades Park, So Long, Ding Dang, Caroline No, Disney Girls
06. Caroline No, Shortenin' Bread, Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll, Brian, Please Let Me Wonder
07. Papa-Om-Mow-Mow, Be My Baby, Darlin', Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love, I'm So Lonely
08. Down In L.A., Someone To Love, God Only Knows, Caroline No
09. This Whole World, Add Some Music, Cool Cool Water, Unknown Cover, I Can Hear Music

Download here

Bedroom Tapes & Brian/Piano

Cover by Judd

A new article has been published in LA Weekly that shines a light on one of Brian's more ambiguous periods. It gives details into songs not very well documented, some not known to have existed, and is an intriguing read all the way through. If you haven't read these yet, check 'em out here:

First, introductory article

Tracklisting of the Bedroom Tapes

Reading these two articles inspired me to go and collect what was available of these tapes. After I collected everything that was 'out there,' I then had to prune it down to only the unreleased tracks because posting officially released songs would be naughty/illegal.

Track listing goes like this (arranged chronologically, as best I could):

1. "Walkin'" - Incomplete, 1970 take.

2. "Back Home" - A piano demo from 1970 with Al and Brian.

3. "Add Some Music" - An alternate lyric version.

4. "Won't You Tell Me" - A rather awkward song with Carl and Brian sharing lead. 

5. "My Solution" - An infamous song Brian cut on Halloween.
6. "Awake" - An 1971 demo of the Spring song.
7. "Daddy Dear/Susie Cincinnati" - A rather rare demo that Brian recorded in Holland circa 1972.
8. "Good Timin'" - The incomplete track cut in 1974 - track and lead vocal.

Cover by Judd

Compiling the previous collection inspired me to collect this one. 

I've always had a love for piano demos, not entirely sure why. To do my best to explain it: it's like hearing a master craftsman using their favorite tool to convey their work. Pianos were Brian's instrument of choice and it gives you the chance to understand and see exactly how he wrote it and how it evolved into the song it became.

There's also an air of rawness and honesty to these demos. It's Brian being himself, singing the songs he wrote. What's not to love?

Track listing goes like this (also arranged chronologically, as best I could):

01. "Little Red Book" - A song cut in 1968, originally thought to be for Smile, but it's now believed to have been a gift for Marilyn. 

02. "Awake" - A 1971 demo for the Spring song. 

03. "Daddy Dear/Susie Cincinnati" - A rather rare demo recorded by Brian circa 1972 in Holland.

04. "Fairy Tale Music" - A demonstration performed for a journalist who stopped by to talk to Brian.

05. "That Special Feeling" - A demo recorded by Brian for his supposed first solo album.

06. "It's Over Now" - This song's details are unknown to me.

The Love You Auditions:

07. "It's Over Now" - A tad subdued in delivery, this is the first song Brian delivers, and the band responds with silence.

08. "They're Marching Along" - The purported second song auditioned and first one to elicit a response.

09. "Still I Dream of It" - Brian's soul-bearing wonder of a song again lands in silence.

10. "Love Is a Woman" - Another song to fall flat on its face.

11. "Mona" - Interesting to hear Brian sing this, but, once again, SILENCE.

12. "Airplane" - The first song to finally get some praise. Mike sounds excited as Brian croons through this song.

13. "Let's Put Our Hearts Together" - Mike really shows approval at the end of this one, and that probably made Brian a tad more confident.

14. "I'll Bet He's Nice" - Brian really settles in and absolutely nails this one. Goddammit, that bridge gives me goosebumps. 

15. "I'm Begging You Please" - A demo recorded in 1978 for L.A. (Light Album). One wishes he could have finished it and had a larger presence on the album. 

If nothing else, you should download one of these for the rare, disappeared-from-the-internet 1972 demo of "Daddy Dear/Susie Cincinnati." His falsetto is pretty great on it, but he seems to struggle through both as he can't really remember how either song goes. A fascinating listen, nonetheless.

Bedroom Tapes: this is a link

Brian/Piano: this is another link

21 Little Ones

Some Brian material.

01. The Spirit of Rock and Roll
02. Turning Point
03. Just Say No
04. Heavenly Bodies
05. Christmas Time
06. Walkin' The Line
07. Save the Day
08. Concert Tonight
09. Barbie
10. This Could Be The Night
11. Sweets For My Sweets
12. Too Much Sugar
13. Goodnight Irene
14. California Girls (live)
15. God Only Knows (live)
16. Surfer Girl (live)
17. The Spirit of Rock and Roll (live)
18. Let's Go To Heaven In My Car
19. I'll Bet He's Nice (demo)
20. That Special Feeling (demo)
21. Still I Dream of It (demo)

Download here

Live in Seattle, 1970

Hello, again.

This is sort of an infamous show and quite hard to find nowadays. 

Mike Love took ill with his apple juice diet and wasn't able to make it to the show. So, little ol' Brian Wilson was there to step in for him. 

The set list is great, as are most from this time frame (maybe it's just my preference) and I find the performances are pretty good, too. Although, the recording is quite shoddy and detracts from the quality. However, it is quite the oddity in their concert performances and it's interesting to hear Brian live while still in good form.

So, this is another you may not always want to come back to, but it's great that this recording actually exists and I'm happy to finally have it for myself and be able to spread it along to others who may want to hear this.

Here it be.

01. Intro

02. Do It Again

03. Darlin'

04. Surfer Girl

05. Sloop John B

06. Help Me, Rhonda

07. I Can Hear Music

08. Wouldn't It Be Nice

09. Add Some Music To Your Day

10. Cottonfields

11. God Only Knows

12. Barbara-Ann

13. The Nearest Faraway Place

14. Good Vibrations

That Lucky Old Sun - Demos

That Lucky Old Sun studio demos.

01. That Lucky Old Sun
02. That Lucky Old Sun 2
03. Morning Beat
04. Narrative: Room With A View
05. Good Kind Of Love
06. Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl
07. Narrative: Venice Beach
08. Live Let Live
09. Mexican Girl
10. Narrative: De Mayo
11. California Role
12. Narrative: Between Pictures
13. Oxygen To The Brain
14. Been Too Long
15. Midnight's Another Day
16. Lucky Old Sun
17. Goin' Home
18. Southern California

Download here

Wilson/Paley

The Brian Wilson/Andy Paley sessions from 1996.

01. Gettin' In Over My Head

02. You're Still A Mystery

03. Chain Reaction of Love

04. Soul Searchin'

05. It's Not Easy Bein' Me

06. Desert Drive

07. Saturday Morning in the City

08. This Song's Gonna Sleep With You

09. Marketplace

10. I'm Broke

11. Must Be A Miracle

12. In My Moondreams

13. Mary Anne

14. Slightly American Music

15. Proud Mary

16. Proud Mary

17. Proud Mary

18. Soul Searchin'

19. Everything I Need

20. Everything I Need

21. Untitled

Download here

Sweet Insanity

I've been having some issues with Mediafire recently so I've temporarily moved to Rapidshare. Apologies for the lack of recent updates...

:-/  Mediafire's working again. Updating all the download links now...

Here's Sweet Insanity, Brian Wilson's intended follow-up to his self-titled first solo album. General consensus is that the album isn't really all that good (though it has had some praise; some have even called it brilliant), and as a result the album was rejected by the record label. Controversial psychologist and attention whore Eugene Landy had a strong part in the album's creation - at the time he was on a quest to scam as much money as he could off of Wilson by bringing him back into the mainstream, which explains the more... notorious songs on the album. *cough*

01. Intro (Concert Tonite)

02. Someone To Love

03. Water Builds Up

04. Don't Let Her Know (She's An Angel)

05. Do You Have Any Regrets

06. Brian

07. The Spirit of Rock & Roll (with Bob Dylan)

08. Rainbow Eyes

09. Love Ya

10. Make A Wish

11. Smart Girls

12. Country Feelin' (bonus track)

13. Hotter (single B-side)

Download here

Landylocked

Collection of rare Brian Wilson material.

01. Proud Mary
02. Getting In Over My Head
03. You're Still A Mystery
04. Chain Reaction Of Love
05. Soul Searchin'
06. It's Not Easy Being Me
07. Desert Drive
08. Saturday Morning In The City
09. This Song Wants To Sleep With You
10. Market Place - Brian Wilson
11. I'm Broke
12. Must Be A Miracle
13. In My Moondreams
14. My Mary Anne
15. Slightly American Music
16. Saturday Morning In The City
17. Soulful Old Man Sunshine
18. Out In The Country
19. Back Home (Track 1)
20. Back Home (Track 2)

Download here

Brian Loves You (v.2)

So it seems there are two Brian Loves Yous, the previous one being the more famous and this one having more tracks. I DONT GETS IT EITHER LOLZ

This Brian Loves You is split into two parts, the first part carrying alternate versions of the tracks found on Love You and the second carrying a load of demos and live performances. Enjoy!

PART 1

01. Roller Skating Child (alternate)

02. Mona (alternate)

03. Honkin' Down The Highway (alternate)

04. Ding Dang (alternate)

05. The Night Was So Young (alternate)

06. Let's Put Our Hearts Together (alternate)

07. I Want To Pick You Up (alternate)

PART 2

08. Mona (demo)

09. I'll Bet He's Nice (demo)

10. Let's Put Our Hearts Together (demo)

11. Airplane (demo)

12. Love Is A Woman (demo)

13. Roller Skating Child (live)

14. Honkin' Down The Highway (live)

15. Airplane (live)

16. Love Is A Woman (live)

17. Ding Dang (It's OK NBC rehearsal)

18. Ding Dang (Saturday Night Live)

Download here

Brian Loves You (v.1)

Here's another bootleg that seems to have vanished from the internet recently. This is Brian Loves You, which showcases demo versions of the tracks found on the Love You album, plus a few extra demos. Enjoy!

01. That Special Feeling (demo)

02. It's Over Now (demo)

03. It's Over Now (demo 2)

04. They're Marching Along (Little Children) (demo)

05. Still I Dream Of It (demo)

06. My Diane (demo)

07. Love Is A Woman (demo)

08. Mona (demo)

09. Airplane (demo)

10. Let's Put Our Hearts Together (demo)

11. I'll Bet He's Nice (demo)

12. I'm Bugged At My Old Man (TV rehearsal)

13. I'm Bugged At My Old Man (TV special performance)

Download here

The Cocaine Sessions

 

Here are the Cocaine Sessions (circa 1981-82), (aka the Hamburger Sessions or Things We Used to Get Brian to Show Up for Practice), recorded by Brian and Dennis (while apparently stoned out of their minds) at Village Recorders during a particularly dark period of both men's lives - Brian was on a long hiatus and Dennis' tragic death was only a year and a bit away. Undoubtedly the most famous track on the bootleg is "Oh Lord", a haunting demo that really embodies the darkness of this period. The tape hiss just makes the whole experience all the more bleak. Also included is a 12-minute interview with Brian.

Download Here

Adult/Child

After the kooky but endearing Love You, Brian began work on a follow-up album called Adult/Child. This album would have had an eccentric quality similar to its predecessor, but since the studio (Reprise Records) did not think the album would sell well, they rejected the idea and instead M.I.U. Album was hastily recorded in September that year.

Here's what could have been put out - a deeply flawed but oddly charming little album that, if cleaned up and fully realised, would have been right up there with Love You. There are definite weak spots ("HELP Is On The Way" is rather alienating and the cover of "On Broadway" is near-lifeless), but for sure more of the tracks easily surpass some of those on Love You - listen for "It's Over Now", "Everybody Wants To Live", and "Still I Dream Of It", three absolute gems in the band's catalog.

Also, there are a bajillion different covers for this album, so I'm not sure which one is the definitive. These two are my personal faves though.

01. Life Is For The Living
02. Hey Little Tomboy
03. Deep Purple
04. HELP Is On The Way
05. It's Over Now
06. Everybody Wants To Live
07. Shortenin' Bread
08. Lines
09. On Broadway
10. Games Two Can Play
11. It's Trying To Say
12. Still I Dream Of It

Download here

Click here for lyrics!