Paul McCartney said this was 'the best song ever written'. So I'm trying an RnB version in a different key.


Thinking about a Brian May-ish ending with the various parts in rounds and harmonies.
The middle part I wanna try going all vocal and an acoustic. A perfect section to use the acoustic IRs I found recently scouring the internets.

 

Wou;dn't really call it RnB, more like pop/rock/jazz/funk/fusion. neway, ok job, reminds me of Sukima Switch. BTW, i think the lead gtr cud b 1 8ve higher. Sounds a bit buried.

 

In my opinion, this is one of the few songs that should never try to be covered. It's such a perfect song, no matter what anybody does it's always going to pale in comparison. Bravo for giving it a go, though.

 

I changed the key so I can try three octaves with the melody? With those clunkers I had to bury it a little. Never heard of Sukima Switch. Pretty cool stuff. Anime stuff huh? I reworked Yuki no Hana the ballad into what sounds like an anime anthem. I need to finish that too......


Yuri,
It's a sentimental song for me. I was a keyboard roadie for the Beach Boys for 4+ years. Without fail God Only Knows gave me a chill every time watching Carl Wilson sing this perfect song.
The Brian chords are beautiful. It's also a lesson in how to connect a transposed bridge back to the third verse.......genius.

This is my first day with it. My first lead pass.....obviously. Everything needs attention.
Hopefully you will see some progress in the future.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 3, 2017

Tell us about it? ;) Oh do, please?

 

Did you want a novel?
I started out on a six week Northern Europe tour with three days off in Amsterdam waiting for gear to arrive in Rotterdam. In Europe most caterers travel with you for the whole tour, which is nice.
It was a three semi tour of the smaller towns. Towns small enough we could usually call ahead and trade backstage passes for rounds of golf. Towns small enough we had to specify to some caterers in the US, 'FOOD WITH NO EYES'. for the vegetarian meals.
As a joke the tour manager put in the rider:
- MUST PROVIDE NEW TUBE SOCKS FOR ENTIRE CREW.
I think we got socks at close to half the shows. That would be the first item most promoters in larger cities would cross out. The per diem in Europe was $100, which was double normal rates. I was making $350 a show, the backup musicians were making $750. About 100 shows in about 6 months out of the year.

The crew had two tour buses the whole band flew. I had the easiest job. Band gear guys wake up about 10 - 11 am, riggers call time is 6am, lights about 7am, then sound about about 8:30 I'm guessing........ I never woke up early enough to see. Guess what goes first in the truck after show? There was a backup keyboard for every keyboard on stage except for the B-3. How often does a synth break?

Two years in I gave Carl Wilson one of my cassettes. A few weeks later Carl invited me to play on the last 9 songs of the night. One was a 24 bar solo for Barbara Ann in F#. The band had just bought a Roland VG-8 so I programmed it to transpose two semitones up.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 6, 2017

Hah, small world. I know Al's youngest (I believe) twin sons, Robbie and Drew.

 

@dragonhill i am a big Brian Wilson fan so i agree with @Yuri that it is brave to cover such a classic. However saying that many have people have tried it so why not you Anyway I enjoyed your version..thank you for sharing!

Here's an interesting vid i found of Carl singing it at a friends private event....kinda cool to see him standing in front of the kitchen with the chef preparing the food in the background, plates rattling etc...a good version too!

 

Here is another short interesting one for anyone who likes the track......with Brian and George Martin at the mixing desk in the studio listening to the original master tapes. Its from about 3 mins 07secs into the vid. Fascinating !

 

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Paul was showing a little humility by being generous.

 

Carl would always take 15 mins to warm up his voice. One show things were so delayed the band showed up at show time. We're all frantically looking for Carl. He was diligently warming up his voice. 'I have to give them a great show even though we are late' is how he explained it later. A true professional, his voice was flawless for close to 500 shows.

When Dean Martin, Carl's father-in-law passed away, I filled in for Carl for an entire show. After that sound check, one of the original members came up to me and said ' show me the intro notes for Good Vibrations, i never learned them'.

 

You were a Beach Boy,... albeit for a day ! How cool is that

 

Hey, were you working when Dennis Dragon was playing keys? He was a friend of mine on Maui. Nice fellow from an incredibly musical family, you would know if you knew him. Dad was Carmen and his brother "The Captain".

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2017

atreehaseyes,
I lived on Al's property for close to a year. Please say hi to Robbie and Drew they might remember me. Tell them its the family with a motorhome that parked next their 2" 24 tk studio.

Beth,
I guess I'm barely not lying if I say 'I played for the Beach Boys'.

SuperLiquidSunshine,
This was the mid 90s. Doug Dragon was not on keys. Although Mike Love had a side project:
Mike Love and the Endless Bummer Band...... I mean Endless Summer Band.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2017

I guess Dennis was in the band in the late 70's, early 80's.

 

Thanks for posting what you did, very interesting. These guys are legends and it's always fascinating to hear first hand accounts. Thanks again. ;)

 

The groove is clocked pretty good. The drums need more compression to tighten and warm them up. The back guitar needs several chord changes or removals. As of now it's not friends with your lead guitar and doesn't follow your bass line on several changes.

 

This is work in progress? Everything needs attention. The lead is nowhere close to done.
But I would appreciate if you pointed to which chords are wrong on the rhythm guitar, by the minute and seconds. I thought I was pretty close with those chords.
Thanks.

 

Never had the pleasure of meeting Dennis.
Of the close to 500 shows I worked, Brian was only present for maybe 5. Ones that were close enough to drive from LA. He refused to fly, at least back then. At one of the shows, as I was handed him a set list for the 4 or 5 songs he sang mid set, his wife came running up to us yelling, 'WHAT ARE YOU GIVING BRIAN'? I believe she thought I was handing him something to get a signature on a contract or something.
Whatever drugs he was prescribed, by the doc that started appearing as a co-songwriter with Brian, did irreparable damage to a genius.

Just remembered a what-are-the-odds fact. Carl, a veteran backup keyboard player and a veteran sound engineer passed away from brain tumor complications . Al's wife and the tour manager both survived the same diagnosis.
Did they perform at a nuclear power plant grand opening?

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 5, 2017