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THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

post #1 of 14
6/5/08 at 7:57pm
Thread Starter 
I always knew that Dennis Wilson was the drummer for his brother's band, The Beach Boys, and was shocked to notice that session musicians were brought into the studio to record drum tracks - Dennis was not used for songs like Sloop John B., Wouldn't It Be Nice, and California Girls, to name a few. Hal Blaine performed on drums.

What, didn't Brian Wilson like his brother's drumming? It seems to me that The Beach Boys were marketed as a "family group" (with little brother Carl in there, too, doing backing vocals), but it was just a facade. It must have made Dennis feel like sh*t, knowing he wasn't a part of the hits that played on the radio.

***
(side-question)
In 1975, Beach Boy Bruce Johnston wrote "I Write The Songs", which became a #1 hit for Barry Manilow. It would have been a real pretty song if The Beach Boys had recorded it...it might have rejuvinated their stalled career, so why on Earth didn't Johnston try and record it with the band?
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post #2 of 14
6/6/08 at 9:56am

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

I think by the mid '60s, Brian Wilson's musical ambitions were outstripping the musicianship of the Beach Boys, so he had to bring in studio musicians for his recordings. Also, Brian wasn't touring, so he was back in LA in the studio creating while the rest of the band played concerts.
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post #3 of 14
6/6/08 at 10:58am

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim Tucker
I think by the mid '60s, Brian Wilson's musical ambitions were outstripping the musicianship of the Beach Boys, so he had to bring in studio musicians for his recordings. Also, Brian wasn't touring, so he was back in LA in the studio creating while the rest of the band played concerts.

Especially at that time, 2 out of 3 of those are all "Pet Sounds" session numbers. The session outtakes to those are amazing to hear, I recommend the 4 disc boxset.
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post #4 of 14
6/6/08 at 5:17pm

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

Perhaps that's why Dennis had time to go surfing....the only member of The Beach Boys to actually surf.
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post #5 of 14
6/7/08 at 9:15am

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

Quote:
The session outtakes to those are amazing to hear,

Yes, definitely. The background vocal tracks are mind-blowing when you hear them in isolation.
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post #6 of 14
6/7/08 at 9:56am

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

Some of their background vocal tracks (and others similar in texture to them) were much influenced by The Four Freshmen. Wilson's remarks concerning The Four Freshmen are what prompted me to purchase a CD of the music of The Four Freshmen a year or so ago. I also own an LP or two of theirs. It's great stuff, for sure.

As for The Beach Boys, I really do like their 1963-64 material. Surfer Girl is my favorite album, with Pet Sounds (1966) a close second. I think In My Room and Surfer Girl (and a little later, Sloop John B) are my all-time favorite tracks by them. In Sloop John B, I am floored by the segment where the instruments cut out and that awesome 'agitated homophonic' passage takes over--it almost strays into polyphony at that point. How I wish they would have continued that passage--you only get it for a few seconds! It occurs at around 1:52. IMO, Astonishing.

YouTube - The Beach Boys - Sloop John B (Original Video)

And check this out. It is an awesome clip, IMO. What a great contrast in texture, too--the rich harmonies with the monophony. The altering of the textures really makes the piece for me.

YouTube - The Beach Boys - In My Room (instrumental backing)

Edited 6/10/08
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post #7 of 14
6/7/08 at 10:12am

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

Even though it goes without saying, I'm going to say it anyway. Pet Sounds on DVD-A is also incredible.
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post #8 of 14
6/8/08 at 7:56pm

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

It's amazing what trouble I can get into just browsing these threads.
I've decided I need more versions of, "Surfer Girl".
Jan & Dean, who probably recorded it first, are already in the collection.
There's a version by Shelby Lynne on a DVD.
Got to have that since I already own all her CDs.

It's a full life.
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post #9 of 14
6/9/08 at 5:40am
Thread Starter 

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Gale
I've decided I need more versions of, "Surfer Girl".
Jan & Dean, who probably recorded it first, are already in the collection.

I doubt it, since it was a Brian Wilson original. The only song that Brian gave away (much to his father Murry's chagrin) was Surf City in 1963, which went to No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
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post #10 of 14
6/9/08 at 3:05pm

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

Quote:
Originally Posted by buttmunker
I doubt it, since it was a Brian Wilson original. The only song that Brian gave away (much to his father Murry's chagrin) was Surf City in 1963, which went to No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Yeah, that was sloppy and I just made it up, which is why I threw in the word "probably".
But, who did Brian give Surf City to???

Jan & Dean, and Dean wrote some of those lyrics.
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post #11 of 14
6/10/08 at 5:27am
Thread Starter 

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

Its amazing that, of all the Wilsons, Brian is the one that is still alive. Brian was the first to have severe problems - not just with drugs, but with his mental health, yet his brother Dennis died in 1983 in a drowning accident (there's not much that was revealed about that one), and his brother Carl died of cancer in the 1990's (too much smoking).

Al Jardaine, Mike Love, and Brian Wilson remain. However, Brian Wilson still will not join his cousin Mike Love when he tours as The Beach Boys. Brian remains solo, despite the fact that he is The Beach Boys. Ah, well...
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post #12 of 14
6/10/08 at 6:52am

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

BTW, Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue, which has been out of print for the last 10 years, is going to be reissued with extras on June 17th.

More info on the reissue: DENNIS WILSON :: PACIFIC OCEAN BLUE
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post #13 of 14
6/10/08 at 6:55am
Thread Starter 

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

The problem I have with that album is that Dennis himself has panned it, saying essentially it was not that good, but that his later album would be ten times better.

I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I think I will have to read some reviews by customers of that album to be sure it is worthy of a listen.
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post #14 of 14
6/10/08 at 6:56am
Thread Starter 

Re: THE BEACH BOYS - Dennis Wilson not used as drummer on studio recordings!

I heard a song with Dennis on vocals - a Beach Boy song from the old days: a cover of Do You Wanna Dance, and while the vocal was interesting from the perspective that it was Dennis himself singing, I thought it was sub-par compared to Mike Love or even Carl or Brian himself.
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