The Beach Boys Network

California Wildfires Impact Al Jardine [Uncanny]

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NY TIMES “One local celebrity, the Beach Boys’ guitarist Al Jardine, said he had loaded up a trailer with musical equipment on Monday night, and was hoping to hold out before the evacuation order came. ‘It’s depressing,’ Mr. Jardine said. ‘People are walking around like zombies.’”

Bands pay tribute to Beach Boy Dennis Wilson at London night [Uncanny]

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NME "A host of bands played tribute to Dennis Wilson in London this week (June 30). The acts gathered at The Social's Pacific Ocean Blue night, covering the former Beach Boy's songs. Starsailor's James Walsh – who was celebrating after becoming a father for the second time earlier that day – covered 'River Song' and 'You Are So Beautiful', along with playing his own 'Lullaby'. The Loose Salute took on 'Pacific Ocean Blue' and 'Time', and were then joined by Pete Greenwood on their own track 'Death Club'. Jersey Budd played 'Rainbows'. Ed Harcourt performed 'Forever' and 'Carry Me Home', while The Magic Numbers covered 'Thoughts Of You', 'He's a Bum' and then played their own song 'I See You, You See Me'. The organisers of the Dennis Wilson tribute night will stage a similar evening at the venue later in the summer."

Andrew Perry reviews Brian Wilson at the Albert Hall [Uncanny]

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TELEGRAPH

Brian Wilson Newsletter [Uncanny]

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"We and Capitol Records are considering hosting some local events to celebrate the release of "That Lucky Old Sun", and we need your feedback! As you know, Brian, his band and a select group of hand-picked classical musicians performed the full album live in the legendary Capitol Studios A and B a few weeks ago, and Capitol shot the whole performance in HD. We're thinking of giving you, the fans, the chance to see this special performance in a town near you, BEFORE the album comes out, and to meet and hang out with other fans of Brian. We see this as being like little pre-release parties in cities across America. Pretty cool, huh?"

"What we need to know from you is, if we brought the HD video concert to a movie theater near you (say, within 10-20 miles) would you come? Bringing this to theaters would be a logistically time-consuming and expensive process, so we want to gauge interest first, to determine if we will do it. We're envisioning a screening of the full performance of TLOS, plus a brief Q&A session with Brian, (live via satellite!) where he'll answer YOUR questions. The ticket price for the night would probably be in the $10-$15 range, and with proof of purchase of a ticket, you would also get to pre-order TLOS at a discount, via brianwilson.com"

"In addition to getting to be the first to see this intimate performance from Capitol's legendary Studios, we think these events could be a great chance for fans to meet up coast-to-coast. Maybe you could take your kids to the show, have a night out with friends and neighbors, turn one of your co-workers with bad musical taste on to some great music...the possibilities are endless!"

Click HERE to give your feedback.

The Beach Boys Perform for Thousands on the Atlantic City Beach July 4, 2008 [Uncanny]

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BUSINESS WIRE

The Other Wilson Genius [Uncanny]

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TELEGRAPH JOURNAL Dennis Wilson's longtime friend and co-writer Gregg Jakobson, says, "I always felt that, sooner or later, it would manifest, it would come out of the archives, come out of the vaults," he says. "Because it was too good. It hasn't changed, it's kinda timeless."

"He never did verse-chorus-verse-chorus stuff anyway. It was much more flow-of-consciousness music."

"I really wasn't surprised, because after all, I knew him as a teenager, as all those kids were. With Dennis, I couldn't help but notice he really was getting more sophisticated and writing better, his vocabulary had come up. I thought it was just great, he was writing some beautiful music."

"And, mind you, I was working with some of the great composers and writers, and there's no question that, had Dennis not met his unfortunate end, he probably would have been ranked up there with many of those writers. He was great."

"He had a teacher, his mentor was a musical genius: his brother. And all that stuff kept going in, and all the music and all the shows. All of a sudden, all that music, all that DNA that was in there, just surfaced He literally almost could sit down at the piano and play whole passages, whole arrangements, as if they, I'm sure, had been there all along. It's just that he never did it. They just finally surfaced."

"If Dennis had been alive these last 30 years, I can't imagine where he would have gone, 'cause he was just starting to scratch the surface with the studio and music when he left, when he passed away. Like his big brother, he really used the studio as an instrument."

"I think it'll wash away some of that stupid gossip that's out there, and a lot of it is stupid gossip. But yeah, Dennis was Dennis, he was always the kid who lit the empty lot next door on fire when he was 10. He's always been that."

Beach Boy sends out good vibrations [Uncanny]

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EADT "Former Beach Boy Brian Wilson appeared at the Ipswich Regent as part of a brief three-date UK tour and thrilled the audience with note-perfect renditions of some of the finest songs of the last 50 years."

EVENING STAR "In the words of football pundits, it was a show of two halves; the first full of three minute slices of classic pop and the second packed with the longer, later Beach Boys classics that allowed the band to show off their harmonising skills. And they were absolutely spot on, with the arrangements so close to the originals. "

Beach Boys Promo 7" Singles from the '70s [Uncanny]

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I recently stumbled across a small cache of Beach Boys promo 7" singles from the '70s. I have never seen any of these before. On all but one of the singles, one side has the stereo version of the song and the flip has the mono version. On the one single from the '80s here, "Goin' On," both sides have the stereo version, so I only scanned one side. To the best of my knowledge, these mono versions were only available on these singles.

Ringo Starr was once a member of The Beach Boys [Uncanny]

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BEATLES ANECDOTES "It is not widely remembered that Ringo Starr was also a member of the Beach Boys, albeit for a short period of time. After the tragic death in December 1984 of Dennis Wilson, the Beach Boys’ wild and charismatic drummer, Ringo was asked to fill in on drums for several concert dates as well as for the studio album The Beach Boys. Ringo played concert dates in the summer of 1984, including the widely remembered July 4th concert in Washington, D.C. He also lent his talents in the studio for The Beach Boys, which was released in 1985."

Dennis the (Soulful) Menace: An Interview With Stephen John Kalinich [Uncanny]

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SONICBOOMERS

MetaCritic Rates Pacific Ocean Blue [Reissue] [Uncanny]

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METACRITIC

Beyond Playlist: Dennis Wilson and More [Uncanny]

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WESTWORD

8+ “Rio Grande” by Brian Wilson [Uncanny]

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EARFARM

Music Review: Dennis Wilson [Uncanny]

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BND "Cynics will say, with some accuracy, that when an artist dies, his previously dismissed work becomes overpraised. One could make that case for Dennis Wilson's 1977 solo album 'Pacific Ocean Blue,' now hailed as the first and the best solo album by a member of the Beach Boys. It briefly appeared on CD in 1991 but quickly went out of print. Sony Legacy's lavish, remastered two-CD reissue (or triple-vinyl LP) includes cuts in various states of completion that would have made up 'Bambu,' a proposed follow-up album Wilson never finished (he drowned in 1983). As such, 'POB' is worth a reappraisal. It would be easy to dismiss this music based on Wilson's singing. Years of cocaine and alcohol abuse, plus cigarettes, had turned his already raspy voice even raspier, out of tune, strained and wobbly. As a time capsule, 'POB' deftly captures the hedonistic West Coast ambience of the late '70s. Wilson's challenging melodies, layered harmonies and widescreen arrangements are darker than big brother Brian's optimistic pop tunes. They aren't instantly accessible. Yet much of this project rewards repeat listens. His subjects range from the ecology ('River Song') to the declining state of his marriage to actress Karen Lamm ('Thoughts of You') and a eulogy ('Farewell My Friend'). Sony has done a fantastic job of repackaging this lost album by including lyrics, insightful essays with links for more information online, period pictures and studio notes"