The Ones That Got Away...

During their lifetime, the average rock band might release ten, maybe fifteen albums (from 1963-70 the Beatles, for example, released eleven studio albums, one compilation and one movie soundtrack). By virtue of their greater longevity, the Beach Boys have released 27 studio sets, four live sets and compilations beyond measure… but to add to this, there are another astonishing thirty titles attached to unreleased or unrealized album-length projects by either the band or individual members, in vary stages of completion ranging from finished masters handed in to the record company to a list of tentative tracks (which may, or may not, have ever been recorded) attached to an alleged title (which equally may, or may not, be accurate). The list below is not intended to be anything more than the briefest survey of these gray areas of Beach Boys history, collating the titles, tracks (where known) and any other information known or inferred. As before, the basic information was culled from the sources listed on the discography main page, and no blame should be laid at the door of the authors of these volumes for any conclusions I may draw, for they are mine alone. The projects are listed in chronological order, as far as is possible to ascertain. Warning - this is one very long page ! (Note: several people have questioned the exclusion of the so-called Wilson/Paley sessions from this list. My reasoning is that I've yet to see anyone - including Brian or Andy - state that they were recorded with an album release in mind. Hence their absence.)

Remember The Zoo Recorded early 1964-late 1965 projected release date early 1966 produced by Brian Wilson (track sequence not known) In The Back Of My Mind - Let Him Run Wild - Summer Means New Love - The Little Girl I Once Knew - Trombone Dixie* - In My Childhood - Pet Sounds* - I'm Waiting For The Day - I'm In Great Shape - Teeter-Totter Love - Tones - Remember The Zoo ? [tracks noted * had lyrics]      As a working title for Pet Sounds, Remember The Zoo probably lasted all of an afternoon… but according to an article in the July 1994 issue of the highly regarded Beach Boys Australia fanzine, it was in fact the title of an album set to have been released between Party and Pet Sounds itself but, for reasons unspecified, shelved. Penned by someone sheltering behind the pen name 'The Correct Perspective' (someone who claimed to be a confidante of Brian's from the earliest days), the article was full of fascinating information: "I'm In Great Shape" predated its commonly held Smile origins - as did "Tones" -  and eventually mutated into the B side of Brian's 1988 "Love & Mercy" single… both "Trombone Dixie" and "Pet Sounds" had lyrics written for them (by Brian)… and so on. All fascinating stuff.      And, of course, all complete twaddle. The holes in this particular fantasy are numerous, the most obvious being the total lack of documentation for certain songs being recorded - or even written - during the period in question, and the extreme unlikelihood of including three songs released in 1965 on an album alleged to have been slated for spring 1966. It's a testament to the esteem in which BBA was held that this gibberish wasn't immediately dismissed out of hand, but the story soon unraveled; yet even today, every now and then, the topic resurfaces. Possibility of release: as a transparent hoax, none whatsoever.

Smile Capitol T2580 projected release date December 1966, then January 1967 recorded September 1966-May 1967 except * February-September 1966 produced by Brian Wilson (exact track listing & sequence unknown) These twelve tracks were listed on the back cover: Do You Like Worms - Wind Chimes - Heroes And Villains - Surf's Up - Good Vibrations* - CabinEssence - Wonderful - I'm In Great Shape - Child Is Father To The Man - The Elements -Vega-Tables - The Old Master Painter The following tracks have also been associated with the Smile period: Barnyard - You're Welcome - Holidays - Look - Tones - I Ran - Bicycle Rider - Our Prayer - You Are My Sunshine - Friday Night/I Wanna Be Around      The Big One… the most famous unreleased rock album of all time and, like all first-rate mysteries, one that refuses to go away. Everyone has their own ideas as to what, how, where and why, but only one person ever really knew (or did he ?…) and Brian's not talking. For many, the defining moment in Beach Boys history, for some, a subject so baffling as to be irritating. Concisely, Brian sought to apply the modular method of recording he'd developed during the creation of "Good Vibrations" to a full-length album project, at the same time transcending The Beach Boys perceived image as a surfin-cars-girls-good times band by delivering "a teenage symphony to God" comprised of highly advanced musical and lyrical themes (hence his recruitment of Van Dyke Parks as resident wordsmith). Initially, all was fine as the tracks were recorded and some early group vocal sessions successfully completed. The first turning point seems to have been the departure of the band on a European tour and their subsequent return. Perhaps they'd had time to reconsider where he was taking them… perhaps Brian himself had begun to find his chosen method showing sign of being unworkable… perhaps he'd begun to lose the plot. Whatever, the pace of recording slowed and cracks began to appear in Brian's confidence as band members questioned the lyrics. The famous "Fire" incident further undermined his self-belief… the projected release date of December came and passed… January found Brian obsessively recording and re-recording one song, "Heroes And Villains" while the remainder of Smile languished in varying stages on completion, ignored. Van Dyke left and the pace of recording slowed even further until, in mid May 1967, the great project expired of, in the final analysis, Brian's inability to sustain his concentration over such an extended length of time. The June release of Sgt. Pepper did little more than drive the final nails in the coffin.      And yet, in one sense Smile never died, and continued to cast a long shadow over the rest of the band's history, for it seemed that whenever they lacked material for a new album, they returned to the motherlode for rough gems to refine into new songs. From Smiley Smile to Surf's Up, each 'new' Beach Boys album carried a resonance of Smile, be it a complete song or merely a riff. Of the original Smile era recordings (as opposed to the minimalist remakes found on Smiley Smile), "Heroes And Villains" made Smiley Smile, "Cabin Essence" and "Our Prayer" were released in slightly amended form on 20/20, Sunflower's "Cool, Cool Water" included an original water chant and, of course, "Surf's Up" (combined with "Child Is Father To The Man") featured on the album of the same name. The 1985 videobiography An American Band included a good portion of the semi-mythical "Fire" music from "The Elements" while the 1990 2fer Smiley Smile/Wild Honey sported an alternate mix of "Heroes And Villains" that included the legendary 'cantina' section. The centerpiece of the 1993 box set was a clutch of original - if newly edited - Smile material, comprising "Wonderful", "Wind Chimes", "Do You Like Worms", "Vega-tables", "I Love To Say Da Da" and some seven minutes of "Heroes And Villains" fragments. The 'bonus' 5th CD further included original instrumental tracks for "Heroes And Villains", "Surf's Up" and "Cabin Essence" (this latter an absolute revelation). Finally, the archival releases Endless Harmony and Hawthorne, CA included (respectively) a "Heroes" demo and stereo remixes of the "Heroes" single mix and "Vegetables". And, of course, in September 2004, Brian Wilson Presents Smile was released. However, this contains no original recordings, has newly written material and is, of course, not Smile. It is, nonetheless, majestic. Possibility of release: as it stands, not only unreleased but unreleaseable, as many of the tracks remained incomplete when the project was abandoned in May 1967. The November 2011 release of The Smile Sessions, a deluxe box set comprising 5 CDs, 2 vinyl albums, 2 vinyl singles and a 60 page hardback book, whilst possibly the single most important archival release in rock history, only served to further underline this.

Smile (2) projected release date ? fall 1967 recorded September 1966-May 1967 produced by Brian Wilson (track sequence unknown) Do You Like Worms - Wind Chimes - Surf's Up - Cabin Essence - Wonderful - I'm In Great Shape - Child Is Father To The Man - The Elements - Vega-Tables - The Old Master Painter      Following the release of Smile's replacement Smiley Smile, Capitol memos intriguingly suggest that, even then, the release of a 10-track version of the album, excluding the two single A sides included on Smiley Smile, was being considered by both the record company and the band. Of course, this may have just been Brian being his usual agreeable self and telling people what they wanted to hear, or Capitol trying to make the best of a bad situation concerning about 400,000 potentially unused album sleeves, or a simple misunderstanding. But the memos do exist… Possibility of release: in this format, non-existant. Burn your own.

Lei'd In Hawaii Brother 9002 projected release date ? fall 1967 Recorded August 25th & 26th, 1967 produced by Brian Wilson 25th - The Letter/Hawaii/You're So Good To Me/Surfer Girl/Surfin'/Getting' Hungry/Sloop John B/California Girls/Wouldn't It Be Nice/Heroes And Villains/God Only Knows/Good Vibrations/Barbara Ann 26th - Hawthorne Boulevard/Hawaii/You're So Good To Me/Help Me Rhonda/California Girls/Wouldn't It Be Nice/Gettin Hungry/Surfer Girl/Surfin'/Sloop John B/The Letter/God Only Knows/Good Vibrations/Heroes And Villains/Barbara Ann     In the wake of the disintegration of Smile, the relative failure of the "Heroes And Villains" 45 and the fiasco of the band's no-show at Monterey Pop, desperate measures were obviously required. Smiley Smile was due to be released in September, and much can be deduced of its perceived commercial potential that these two shows were set up in distant Hawaii with the set intent of producing a live album (and possibly film), to be released on Brother if the press of the time is to be believed (in 2006 it emerged that not only had the album been assigned a catalog number - 9002 - but a cover had been prepared). However, there were considerable problems bedevilling the project from the outset: at least two of the band were operating with decidedly altered perceptions, a state of affairs hardly helped by the refusal of Bruce to travel to Hawaii ("it had all got too weird" he later explained; that he was about the only one not doing some form of drugs is sufficient reason…). Somehow, Brian was cajoled into making the gig, but further complicated matters by insisting on taking his beloved Baldwin organ with him, and staying behind it for the shows, thus forcing Carl or Alan to handle the bass duties that Bruce's absence left vacant, despite neither of them being used to regularly playing it live. Chronically under-rehearsed, the band performed poorly, both instrumentally and vocally (although this could partly be down to them performing such unfamiliar live material as "The Letter", "Heroes And Villains" and "Getting' Hungry", the latter doubtless as it was the upcoming 45, as announced during the show), although the audience didn't seem to mind too much. The continual presence of Brian's organ is particularly annoying as the show unfolds, Dennis' drumming is (even for him) basic in the extreme, and the tempos vary wildly. However, there are points of interest: during "Surfin'" Brian played a riff ('borrowed' from "Underwater", a #44 hit by former Candix labelmates The Frogmen) that later surfaced prominently on "Do It Again"… and the second show, opened by Dino, Desi & Billy, was prefaced by "Hawthorne Boulevard", an instrumental never heard before or since.   After all this, on return to Los Angeles it transpired that the tapes of both shows were unusable: the show of the 26th was simply badly recorded (allegedly), whilst the previous day's gig would require extensive overdubbing before release. However, in a move that still baffles all BB historians, instead of doctoring the existing tapes the band - including Bruce - decamped to Wally Heider's studio in mid-September and basically attempted to re-record the whole show 'as live', doubtless with the intention of overdubbing an audience response track later. While these performances were a decided improvement on the August shows, they were also very laid-back and, with six tracks on tape, the whole idea was quietly (and wisely) abandoned in favor of recording a new studio album. The intervening years have somewhat clouded the events of late summer 1967, thus the Heider sessions have often been mistakenly presented as rehearsals for the Hawaii shows. While the whole first show (plus the Heider sessions) is available on the Aloha From Hawaii (And Hollywood) bootleg, legal releases of this material have been piecemeal. "The Letter" was included on the 1983 Capitol Rarities album (swiftly withdrawn and unavailable on CD except as an expensive import), "Heroes And Villains" on the 1990 Concert/Live In London 2fer, "Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring" (from a real rehearsal) on the Smiley Smile/Wild Honey 2fer, "Surfer Girl" (also a true rehearsal) on the 1993 box set, "God Only Knows" (a Heider recording) on  1998's Endless Harmony and "Good Vibrations" (again a true rehearsal) on Hawthorne, CA in 2001. Possibility of release: technically, it has been, as all the tracks listed above were included on 2017's outstanding Sunshine Tomorrow copyright extension release

Wild Honey Brother 9003 projected release date ?December 1967 Recorded October & November 1967 except * September 1967 Produced by The Beach Boys except **, Brian Wilson Wild Honey* - Here Comes The Night - Let The Wind Blow - I Was Made To Love Her - The Letter - Darlin': A Thing Or Two - Aren't You Glad - Cool, Cool Water** - Game Of Love - Lonely Days - Honey Get Home      This album was originally scheduled to be the third release on Brother, with the track listing as above: why it was transferred to Capitol with a revised lineup is still unknown. The songs that didn't survive the move are a mixed bag as regards what is known about them: "The Letter" is almost certainly the Heider recording, while "Cool, Cool Water" is recognizable as the first section of the version as released on Sunflower and is available in (presumably) its original form on the 1993 box set. A fragmentary version of "Lonely Days" appeared on Hawthorne, CA and its unfinished state, and the fact that no finished version has yet been located, would appear to indicate that the Brother 9003 Wild Honey never existed as a finished master. "Game Of Love" is a cover of the Clint Ballard Jr. classic, a 1965 US #1 hit for Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders (lead vocal Mike) and "Honey Get Home" is merely a very basic track. Possibility of release: to what end ?

untitled Charles Manson album recorded ?early 1969 produced by Brian & Carl Wilson      Although the band have frequently - and strenuously - denied the existence of any such project, the fact is that Brian and Carl  - and not Dennis, as has often been stated - co-produced several tracks for Charles Manson at Brian's home studio in the Bellagio Road house: according to Manson himself, "we did a pretty fair session, putting down about ten songs". Steve Desper, who engineered the session, concurred, considering that some of the material was "pretty good... he had musical talent". Again, contrary to percieved BB history, these were not demos but completed songs - or as completed as Charlie wanted. Reportedly he rarely took more than one pass at a vocal. What titles were recorded isn't known, but it's a safe enough supposition that the songs that later appeared on the Lie album (released after Manson's arrest but recorded in 1968/69) numbered amongst them. The tracks on that album were: "Look At Your Game Girl/Ego/I Am A Mechanical Man/People Say I'm No Good/Home Is Where You're Happy/Arkansas/Always Is Always Forever/Garbage Dump/Don't Do Anything Illegal/Sick City/Cease To Exist/Clang Bang Clang/I Once Knew A Man/Eyes Of The Dreamer". Very important point - the songs on the Lie album are not the Bellagio recordings. Possibility of release: not a hope in hell.

The Fading Rock Group Revival Loop De Loop - Deirdre - Break Away - The Lord's Prayer - Forever   Reverberation Capitol ??? Projected release date ?summer 1970 Recorded January-August 1969 except *November 1963, #November 1969 Produced by The Beach Boys except *Brian Wilson, **Alan Jardine, +Brian & Murry Wilson Cotton Fields (45 version)** - Loop De Loop** - All I Wanna Do - Got To Know The Woman (mono mix) - When Girls Get Together (track only)# - Break Away+ - San Miguel - Celebrate The News - Deirdre  - The Lord's Prayer* (stereo remix) - Forever      That these two titles are related is evident from the common songs. For many years it was assumed that The Fading Rock Group Revival was Bruce having fun with a UK interviewer in 1969, as in later years he denied that any such album ever existed. However, research in the late 1990s revealed that while the title was indeed an off-the-cuff remark, the band did have an album in the works at the time that included those five titles, four of which were recorded by April 1969, the remainder by November. The band got as far as preparing a master tape - labelled 'Last Capitol album' and dated June 19th 1970 - before deciding to hand in Live In London instead. All the titles have since been released on subsequent albums and compilations, although it should be noted that the alleged stereo remix of "The Lord's Prayer" here is actually Duophonic. Possibility of release: No point - if you really want to hear what it would have sounded like, it's easy enough to compile a tape or burn a CD.

Sunflower (original) projected release date early 1970 recorded  January & February 1970 except  * January 1969, ** July 1969, + November 1969 produced by The Beach Boys except Ø Brian Wilson, # Bruce Johnston, § Dennis Wilson, † Alan Jardine Slip On Through** - Walkin' - Forever* - Games Two Can Play - Add Some Music To Your DayØ - When Girls Get Together+ - Our Sweet Love - Tears In The Morning+# (original version) - Back Home - Fallin' In Love§  - I Just Got My Pay - Carnival - Susie Cincinnati † - Good TimeØ (track sequence not known) Add Some Music Brother-Reprise 6382 projected release date ?May 1970 recorded January & February 1970 except * July 1969, ** November 1969 produced by The Beach Boys except Ø Brian Wilson, ‡ Brian & Carl Wilson, # Bruce Johnston, † Alan Jardine, § Dennis Wilson Susie Cincinnati· † - Good TimeØ - Our Sweet Love - Tears In The Morning**# - When Girls Get Together**  - Slip On Through* - Add Some Music To Your DayØ - Take A Load Off Your Feet -This Whole World** ‡- I Just Got My Pay - At My Window* - Fallin' In Love§     The story of The Beach Boys first release for Warner-Reprise is one that has undergone changes over the years before the diligent research of Brad Elliott finally nailed down the true facts. Concisely, the accepted view was that the original version of Sunflower (above) was submitted to Reprise, rejected, reworked and resubmitted as Add Some Music, rejected again, revised once more and finally accepted as the released Sunflower. In fact, the presumed first lineup was nothing more than one of two reference tapes of titles under consideration for the first Warner's album - doubtless its being pictured in David Leaf's Brian Wilson biography caused the confusion - and Add Some Music was the first album offered to Reprise, who rejected it for the perceived lack of a strong single.      Almost all the tracks listed above not included on Sunflower have seen subsequent release, although not all in their original form. The version of  "Back Home" here is a completely different recording to the 15 Big Ones release (and also to the 1962 Wilson/Usher demo), Dennis' "Fallin' In Love" (nee "Lady") remains criminally unavailable since its original release on 45 in 1970 while "Take A Load Off Your Feet", "Susie Cincinnati", "Good Time", "When Girls Get Together", "I Just Got My Pay" and "Games Two Can Play" saw release on Surf's Up, 15 Big Ones, The Beach Boys Love You, Keepin' The Summer Alive and the 1993 box set respectively. "Carnival", a wordless vocal rendition of  the standard "When You Are In Love (It's The Loveliest Night Of the Year)", remains unreleased, as does "Walkin'", once thought to be an alternate title for "Take A Load Off Your Feet" but apparently a completely different song. Possibility of release: see comments for Reverberation.

Cows In The Pasture (Fred Vail) recorded April 17th-29th 1970 produced by Brian Wilson Bethany Ann* - There's Always Something There To Remind Me* - Kittens, Kids & Kites - Lucky Billy - Black Man In Georgia - One Woman Won't Hold Me - Why Don't You Give Her To Me - If You're Not Loving, You're Not Living - All For The Love Of A Girl* - Only The Lonely* - Carolina On My Mind - My Way Of Life - A Fool Such As I* - You Pass Me By - I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You [titles noted * had vocals recorded]      Fred Vail's connection with The Beach Boys began as a teenager in May 1963 when he staged a show in Sacramento, and continued as their promoter until they severed links amid some acrimony in the mid-seventies (although he remained especially close to Dennis). Exactly why Brian decided to embark on this particular project - a country album - is yet another minor BB mystery (unless, of course, Brian was making an oblique point; however it's more likely that he was merely doing a favor a friend). At four sessions over the course of twelve days in Wally Heider's studio, Brian, with Fred & Dian Rovell (as contractor) produced tracks for the fifteen titles listed above, using the following country luminaries:   piano: Glen D. Hardin guitar: James Burton, Fredyy Weller & Glen Keener bass: Keith Allison (electric) & Red Wooten (upright) drums: Dennis St. John fiddle: Gordon Terry steel guitar: Buddy Emmons, Red Rhodes & JD Maness bottleneck guitar: Gib Guilbeau   As might have been expected, Brian then lost interest in the project, but not before vocals had been recorded for five songs. For pretty well all its known existance, the album was simply referred to as "Fred Vail's country album", but Kurt Ackerman recalls Bruce giving it this title at a Carnegie Hall gig just before he left the band. however, when questioned directly, Fred himself stated that the album had no title. Possibility of release: given that a) the album is incomplete and b) Vail's voice has been described (by Brian) as "far out", exceedingly slim… but it would be interesting to hear Brian's sole foray into the country field.

'Landlocked' recorded August 1970 except * January 1969, **March 1969, +November 1969, #January 1970 produced by The Beach Boys except §Alan Jardine, †Dennis Wilson, ØBrian Wilson, ‡Brian & Carl Wilson Loop De Loop**§ - Susie Cincinnati*§ - San Miguel*† - HELP Is On The Way - Take A Load Off Your Feet#  - Carnival (aka Over The Waves)* - I Just Got My Pay# - Good Time# Ø - Big Sur* - Lady#† - When Girls Get Together+ - Lookin' At Tomorrow - 'Til I Die ‡     There never was going to be a Landlocked album. At best, it was the working title for Surf's Up, but a series of coincidences and misunderstandings led to the strongly rooted belief that the tracks listed above comprised Landlocked. Following the August 1970 sessions, engineer Steve Desper compiled a tape of tracks in the can that might be suitable for the second Reprise album (curiously omitting "Seasons In the Sun"). The later discovery of this tape, labeled "2nd Brother album", coupled with the tracks common with Surf's Up caused many to jump to the obvious conclusion, later disproved by the research of Brad Elliott (although as far back as February 1971, during a WLPJ interview, the band stated that the acetate they were playing "isn't an album… it's tracks that might be on an album"). Another factor in the longevity of the Landlocked myth was the printing in David Leaf's biography of Brian of an alleged advert for the album, complete with this track listing: "Big 'T' Water/I Was Born In Kentucky/Sally (Was A Gentle Woman)/Sneakin' In The Back Door Of Love/Statue Of A Fool/Mountain High/Long Lonesome Highway/Tie Me To Your Apron Strings/There's Been A Change In Me/Sing That Song Again". Leaf wisely remarked upon the possibility of a hoax, and many BB historians noted the decidedly country slant of all the titles. And so it proved, for the track listing was lifted wholesale from the 1971 MGM album The Best Of Michael Parks. Of the tracks not previously dealt with, "San Miguel" was first released in 1981 on the Ten Years Of Harmony compilation, also turning up, along with "HELP Is On The Way", on the 1993 box set. The version of "Big Sur" here is a completely different recording to the Holland track, and "Lookin' At Tomorrow" and "'Til I Die" were, of course released on Surf's Up. Possibility of release: none, of course, but it's interesting to compile a tape/burn a CD.

Poops/Hubba Hubba recorded spring 1971-1972 produced by Dennis Wilson & Darryl Dragon It's a New Day - Behold the Night - Ecology - Baby Baby - Wouldn't it Be Nice to Live Again - Old Movie - Slow Song - Make It Good - Barbara (track sequence not known)      Despite his lack of material on Surf's Up (reportedly due to a falling out with Carl over sequencing), it's undeniable that in the early seventies, Dennis was the major creative force of The Beach Boys, and equally hardly surprising that he gave serious thought to forging a solo career, to which end he worked intensively in Brian's home studio with the pre-Captain & Tennille Darryl Dragon and band engineer Steve Desper. The results of theses sessions were a precursor to his only released solo album five years hence, richly textured soundscapes imbued with considerable passion. Although the sessions continued into early 1972, the fate of the album was effectively sealed when he offered "Make It Good" and "Old Movie" (a Surf's Up outtake reworked as "Cuddle Up"... and also as "4th of July": apparently "Old Movie" was a catch-all title used by Dennis back then) to round out Carl And The Passions - So Tough - where they naturally stuck out like a pair of sore thumbs ! (A demo of "Barbara" was released in 1998 on Endless Harmony). Some further points - the title(s) of the album were tentative, the Beach Boys reportedly played "Baby, Baby" during their 1972 fall tour, "It's A New Day", a collaboration with Stanley Shapiro, was recorded (at Sunset, with a Blondie Chaplin lead) for possible use in a hair grooming product promo, upon which The Beach Boys expressed an interest in cutting it. However their version was never completed, foundering in a legal morass.  "Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again", another magnificent Wilson/Shapiro opus, was another Surf's Up outtake (and ws slated to be included on the proposed DVD-A of the album). One final interesting observation from Steve Desper: not only does he contend that "90% of [the album] was 90% done", but that a lot of Pacific Ocean Blue had its origin in these sessions. Hmmmmmm… Possibility of release: wouldn't it be great to hear this as part of a Dennis Wilson box set ?  Realistically, unlikely in the extreme… but stranger things have happened.

Smile (3) projected release date fall 1972 Child Is Father To The Man - Surf's Up - You Are My Sunshine  - The Old Master Painter - Barnyard -Cabin Essence (incorporating Who Ran The Iron Horse) - I Love To Say Da Da (incorporating Cool, Cool Water) - Vega-Tables - Wind Chimes - Wonderful  - 'the Fire suite' - Heroes And Villains (12-minute version) (track sequence not known)      When The Beach Boys signed to Reprise, they took with them the rights to all their post-Party Capitol albums, and also, reportedly, to Smile. In London in early 1972, the band further announced that the album would be released in the fall, pieced together and overdubbed where necessary. In fact, although Carl and Steve Desper did review the tapes, and the band announced at several of their summer shows that Smile would be out in the fall, that was the extent of the work done on the project (nonetheless, when the master wasn't delivered to Reprise by January 1st, 1973, $50,000 was deducted from the band's next advance, as per the contract signed in 1970). Smile remains unreleased to this day.

Holland (original version) projected release date November 1972 Recorded June-September 1972 Produced by Carl Wilson except * Carl & Dennis Wilson, ** Carl & Brian Wilson, + Carl Wilson & Alan Jardine, § Ricky Fataar, #Dennis Wilson Steamboat* - California Saga/Big Sur+ - California Saga/The Beaks Of Eagles+- California Saga/California+ - We Got Love§: The Trader - Leaving This Town§ - Only With You# - Funky Pretty**      Not so much unreleased as an alternate version rejected by Reprise as lacking a strong single (sound familiar ?). Enter Van Dyke Parks waving the famous cassette… and you know the rest. Yet, somehow, when the master was sent to Germany for pressing, someone sent the wrong one, minus "Sail On Sailor", retaining "We Got Love", and between 200 and 600 copies were pressed before the frantic phone call from LA telling them to stop ! Here's a handy hint; as the versions of Holland including "We Got Love" sport the correct lineup on the label, the only way to tell - apart from playing it, of course - is to check the banding. If there's one thick band next to the label preceded by three thin ones, you've hit the jackpot. Just to complicate things further, some Canadian and French sleeves include "We Got Love", even though the actual disc doesn't. Possibility of release: it was… sort of. Realistically, "We Got Love" rates inclusion on a future rarities collection.

The Beach Boys In Concert (single album) projected release date spring 1973 Recorded summer-fall 1972 Produced by the Beach Boys Wouldn't It Be Nice* - Leavin' This Town -Heroes & Villains - Marcella* - You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone: Let The Wind Blow* - Do It Again - Wild Honey - Fun, Fun, Fun - Jumpin' Jack Flash.      Once again, The Beach Boys had an album rejected by Reprise, although most fans would find the above listing highly listenable. There's an acetate of a rough mix dated January 30th 1973. It's unclear if all the six titles that made the transition to the released version are the same recordings, but according to the liners of Endless Harmony, the recording of "Heroes & Villains" on that compilation is from the single album configuration, and different to the track on In Concert. It's possible that the titles noted * did. Possibility of release: probably only as part of a hypothetical live box set.

'Caribou Album' projected release date ?January 1975 recorded  fall 1974 produced by The Beach Boys except *Brian Wilson Battle Hymn Of the Republic* - Good Timin' - California Feelin' - Don't Let Me Go - You're Riding High On The Music - Ding Dang - Our Life, Our Love, Our Land - Lucy Jones (track sequence not known)      During fall 1974, sessions were held at Jimmy Guercio's Caribou Ranch studio at Nederland in Colorado, and later at Brother Studio in Santa Monica for an album set to be released in early 1975. Brian was said to be actively involved in the proceedings but, to no-one's great surprise, no release occurred, and as time went by it leaked out that the sessions produced only incomplete tracks and that the album was never much of a reality. Many of the tapes were allegedly destroyed when the studio suffered a serious fire, only the tapes taken to Brother surviving (allegedly - there's now good reason to doubt this tale). "Good Timin'" surfaced on L.A. (Light Album) in a revised form but based on the 1974 tape while "Ding Dang" (also referred to as "Rolling Up To Heaven") was released on The Beach Boys Love You, albeit in a completely re-recorded version. A completely new  (2001) recording of "California Feelin'" appeared on the 2002 compilation The Beach Boys Classics Selected By Brian Wilson. The legendary "Battle Hymn Of The Republic" was included on an initial lineup of Endless Harmony - that is, until the compilers actually heard it, whereupon it was swiftly dropped. The charitable opinion is that Brian was having one of his musical jokes and making lead vocalist Mike look a complete idiot in the process: it is truly, truly awful. Possibility of release: neither possible nor desirable.

'Beachago' live album projected release date ?fall 1975 recorded May-June 1975 produced by The Beach Boys & James William Guercio      The musical event of the summer of 1975 was the 'Beachago' tour, a 12-city SRO event that paired the harmonies of Beach Boys with the horns of Chicago to great effect. The previous fall Carl, Dennis & Alan had supplied signature harmonies to Chicago's top 20 hit "Wishin' You Were Here", thus Jim Guercio, with a foot in both camps (and cash till doubtless ringing in his ears), engineered the joint tour, which was recorded at several shows for possible release. The format was that each band did a set before combining in a joint finale (although each occasionally performed one of the others songs - for example Bobby Lamm sang "Surf's Up"), as follows: Wishin' You Were Here (Chicago w/ BB backups) God Only Knows (w/ the Chicago horn section) Darlin (as above) Saturday In The Park (Chicago w/ BB backups) California Girls (w/ the Chicago horn section) Fun, Fun, Fun (as above) Feelin' Stronger Every Day (lead vocals Mike Love & James Pankow) Jumpin' Jack Flash (lead vocal - Mike Love) Why the album was never released is unclear, although it's possible the tapes were thought lost in the Caribou fire - if so, erroneously, as some - but not all - of them were rediscovered in late 2002 in the possession of Jim Guercio. Possibility of release: not only possible, but highly desirable.

'New Album' projected release date unknown recorded fall 1976 except * April 1965 (track), ** November 1969, + 1970, #January-May 1976 produced by Brian Wilson My Diane - Marilyn Rovell - Hey Little Tomboy - Ruby Baby - You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' - Sherry She Needs Me* - Come Go With Me# - Mony Mony# - On Broadway# - Sea Cruise# - H.E.L.P Is On The Way+ - Games Two Can Play+ - When Girls Get Together** (track sequence unknown)   Adult/Child projected release date fall 1977 recorded  early 1977 except * 1970, **winter 1973, + January-May 1976 produced  by Brian Wilson except * The Beach Boys Life Is For The Living - Hey Little Tomboy+ - Deep Purple - H.E.L.P. Is On The Way* - It's Over Now - Everybody Wants To Live: Shortenin' Bread** - Lines - On Broadway+ - Games Two Can Play* - It's Trying To Say - Still I Dream Of It      Although Brian had found the 15 Big Ones sessions tedious, by fall 1976 his appetite for studio work had returned, so much so that by the year's end he'd completed two new albums. Brian Loves You was released in May 1977 after undergoing a minor change of title, but of 'New Album' little is known bar the title and tracks to be included. As indicated above, eight of the fourteen tracks had histories ranging from a few months - the 15 Big Ones outtakes - to several years (in the case of "Sherry…", an eleven year-old instrumental track overdubbed with a 1976 Brian vocal). The remainder are largely Brian solo recordings, ranging from the near-banal ("Marilyn Rovell") to the sublime ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"). For whatever reason, the album was never released and here it should be noted that some BB historians hold that the title itself is highly suspect - it's possible that someone misunderstood Brian's reference to "a new album". That said, there is reportedly a handwritten list on a 1976 Brother document that comprises the following titles (as written, with apparent side break:   Lazzie Lizzie H.E.L.P. Sherry, She Needs Me Tom Boy Two Can Play Marilyn   Ding Dang I Wanna Pick You Up Good Time Ruby When Girls Get Together On Broadway Sea Cruise.      Early the following year, Brian hit the studio again, the result being an album entitled (reportedly by Gene Landy) Adult/Child, yet another confection of new recordings and five tracks from the archive, four of which were recycled from 'New Album', the other being the 1973 American Spring recording of "Shortenin' Bread" (with Brian on bass vocal) completed by a Carl lead. Of the new material, four - "Life Is For The Living", "Deep Purple", "It's Over Now" & "Still I Dream Of It" - saw Brian reunited with Dick Reynolds, the arranger for the 1964 Christmas Album, who handled the role again here. The album was widely publicized as the next Beach Boys release, but fell foul of a serious group fall-out, centered on the 'big band' tracks: it's possible that Reprise also rejected the master. Of the titles not covered previously, "My Diane", "Come Go With Me" and "Hey Little Tomboy" were released on  M.I.U. Album, "Come Go…" almost entirely re-recorded, the latter thankfully shorn of some embarrassing voice-overs in the middle eight. "Sea Cruise" appeared on Ten Years Of Harmony, "Shortenin' Bread" on L. A. (Light Album) (completely re-recorded, with Dennis on bass vocal) while the 1993 box included "Still I Dream Of It" and "It's Over Now". Possibility of release: artistically interesting, but commercially not viable.

California Feeling projected release date ? summer 1978 Recorded November  & December1977 except *  fall 1976 Produced by Alan Jardine & Ron Altbach except *, Brian Wilson Executive producer: Brian Wilson Match Point Of Our Love - Pitter Patter - Sweet Sunday Kinda Love - Belles Of Paris - My Diane*: She's Got Rhythm - Our Team - Hey Little Tomboy* - Kona Coast - Won'tcha Come Out Tonight - How's About A Little Bit Of Your Sweet Lovin'   Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys projected release date November/December 1978 Recorded November & December 1977 except * August-September 1970, ** 1970 (basic track), § 1974 (basic track), # November 1974, + January-May 1976, ++ January-May 1976 (basic track), ‡ fall 1976 (basic track), ^ November 1977 Produced by Alan Jardine & Ron Altbach except * Terry Jacks, **, §, +, ++ and ‡  , Brian Wilson, ^ Dennis Wilson Christmastime Is Here Again++ - Child Of Winter# - Winter Symphony§ - Michael Row The Boat Ashore+ - Seasons In The Sun*: Morning Christmas^ - Christmas Day  - Go And Get That Girl - Santa's On His Way**- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa‡ - Xmas Carol Medley       In April 1977, The Beach Boys signed an $8 million deal with Caribou Records. Unbeknownst to them, they still owed Reprise one more album and, when this inconvenient fact was pointed out, sought to redress the problem by decamping to the Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa and recording a new album… or rather, Mike & Alan did. Brian went along for the ride, Carl paid a fleeting visit and Dennis never left Los Angeles.     Now, for the longest time, it was accepted that the band recorded the seasonal set first and when that was (rightly) rejected, they reworked some of the tracks into another album, California Feeling (which evolved into M.I.U. Album), but research into the sessions held at MIU reveals that songs from both albums were recorded in tandem, often at the same session, and that the California Feeling album was assembled at the end of 1977 back in Los Angeles. Confusing, to say the least.   Whatever, as was now the custom, the album(s) comprised new recordings bolstered by tracks from the vaults: California Feeling recycled "My Diane" and "Hey Little Tomboy" from the New Album project and "Bells Of Christmas" and "Melekalikimaka" became "Belles of Paris" and "Kona Coast", while for Merry Christmas, "Seasons In The Sun" and "H.E.L.P Is On The Way" from 1970 were pressed into service (the latter reworked as "Santa's On His Way"), as were the 15 Big Ones outtakes "Michael Rowed The Boat Ashore" and "Peggy Sue", transformed via a new lyric into "Christmastime Is Here Again" while "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa" used a 1976 track known as "Hey There Moma". The ultra-rare 1974 45 A side "Child Of Winter" underwent an insipid remix, and an instrumental track from the same year became "Winter Symphony". The new material was in general uninspired, with the shining exception of Dennis' shimmering "Morning Christmas", far and away the best track on the album - and not even recorded at MIU !  The 1998 release Ultimate Christmas, a compilation of the 1963 album and the 1977 sessions, included "Christmastime Is Here Again", the original 45 mix of "Child Of Winter", "Winter Symphony",  "Morning Christmas", "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa" and album outtakes "Bells Of Christmas", "Melekalikimaka" (aka "Kona Christmas") and "Santa's Got An Airplane", otherwise 1969's "Loop De Loop" with a seasonal lyric. "Go And Get That Girl" turned up, re-recorded, on the eponymous second album by Celebration. California Feeling, curiously titled for a song Brian insisted not be included, was slated for a summer release, eventually coming out in the fall as M.I.U. Album (after a brief existence as Winds Of Change) with "Our Team" and "How's About…" replaced by a completely new recording of "Come Go With Me" and the 15 Big Ones outtake "Peggy Sue.  "Our Team" was eventually released on the 1993 box set, while "How's About…" turned up on Celebration in a form so similar to the Beach Boys version that one wonders… Possibility of release: the brighter moments of Merry Christmas... have been: California Feeling can easily be reconstructed by anyone with a CD burner and the right bootlegs.

Bambu (Dennis Wilson) projected release date unknown recorded fall 1977- fall 1978 produced by Dennis Wilson Baby Blue Eyes - All Alone - Constant Companion - He's A Bum - (I Found Myself In A) Wild Situation - Love Surrounds Me - New Orleans - School Girl - Under the Moonlight - It's Not Too Late - 10,000 Years - Morning Christmas - Love Remember Me - Common - Are You Real - Cocktails - I Love You - Time For Bed - 'Album Tag Song' (track sequence unknown)     Conceived as the follow-up to Pacific Ocean Blue, Bambu (the newly discovered correct spelling) fell foul of both The Beach Boys need for tracks for their new album and Dennis' deteriorating personal situation. Of the tracks listed above, "School Girl" was a POB outtake (albeit almost completely re-recorded) but all the others were new recordings, with many of the tracks being either collaborations with Carli Munoz or Munoz originals, although "10,000 Years" - existing as only a track - is a Wilson/Love collaboration. Whether or not "Morning Christmas" would have been on Bambu is debatable, but it was certainly recorded during the sessions. "Baby Blue Eyes" and "Love Surrounds Me" both appeared on L.A. (Light Album) in re-recorded form (and here's a good place to point out that Dennis offered the tracks to the band - there was no arm-twisting) while "All Alone" featured on the Endless Harmony soundtrack CD. For further information on this album, and all things Denny, try Dan Addington's excellent Dreamer site at ttp://www.danaddington.com/denny/index.htmlPossibility of release: the 2008 reissue of Pacific Ocean Blue featured a second CD comprising all the Bambu tracks listed above except "Baby Blue Eyes", "10,000 Years" and "New Orleans", although the track for the latter was recycled into "Time For Bed" (just as part of "Common" became the fade of "Morning Christmas").

First Love (Mike Love) projected release date unknown recorded October-November 1978 produced by Paul Fauerso First Love - Too Cruel - You're Looking Better - Little Darlin' - I Don't Wanna Know: Brian's Back - Viggie - The Right Kind of Love - Sumahama - Daybreak Country Love (Mike Love) projected release date unknown recorded October-November 1978 produced by Al Perkins Today I Started Lovin' You Again - Dallas - Beth On The Mesa - Brand New Start - Baby I'm A Changed Man: Rock 'N' Roll Country Bride - Everything I Touch Turns Into Tears - Wrinkles - My Side Of The Bed - Everyone's In Love With You - Some Sweet Day      During the late fall of 1978, Mike made his first attempt at a solo career by the novel method of recording two album simultaneously, each with a different producer. The least said about Country Love, the better ("Wrinkles" has become legendary, and rightly so, for its sheer awfulness), but First Love, with several obvious vocal assists from cousin Carl, turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable, and certainly deserved to be afforded a release. In the eighties, the whole album was remixed in an attempt to secure a release, but to no avail. To date, the only track released has been "Brian's Back" on Endless Harmony (the L.A. (Light Album) version of "Sumahama" is a complete rerecording) and also, in a completely re-recorded form, on Mike's still unreleased 2nd solo album, Mike Love, Not War. Possibility of release: First Love is apparently a legal hostage of a lawsuit between Mike and the album's backers. Country Love deserves to be buried, not released

untitled Love-Jardine/Beach Boys concept album Santa Ana Winds/Monterey/Song Of The Whale - Poly-Peptide - 10,000 Years Ago - Earthquake Time - Loop De Loop (new lyrics) - Canyon Summer (track sequence unknown)      During The Beach Boys 1980 UK tour, Alan was interviewed for Beach Boys Stomp, the long-running British fanzine, and he revealed his plan for an ecological concept to be recorded either with the band or just Mike Love including the titles listed above. Needless to say, no such album resulted, and in more than one later interview Alan denied any knowledge of  "Poly-Peptide". Possibility of release: as it was never recorded or compiled, highly unlikely !

'The Wilson Project' projected release date ? 1987 recorded June 1986-March 1987 produced by Gary Usher & Brian Wilson I'm Broke - Christine - He Couldn't Get His Poor Ol' Body To Move - So Long [a.k.a. Turning Point] - Little Children - Heavenly Bodies - I'm Tired - Spirit Of Rock & Roll - Walkin' The Line - A Little Love - Magic - Christmas Time - All Over Me - Let's Go To Heaven In My Car - Magnetic Attraction - Just Say No (track sequence unknown) It's possible, even probable that while Gary Usher considered these sessions as the prelude to an album release, the good Dr. Landy was merely using him to get Brian in shape for recording. The titles listed above very from finished master to basic demo, and recently Gary Usher Jr. has publically described them as 'high class demos'. The full and terrible story of Usher's renewed collaboration with Brian (and of Brian's virtual enslavement to Landy's ambition) is recounted Stephen McParland's superlative book The Wilson Project, drawn from the journals and tape diaries kept by Usher throughout the duration of the project. Ultimately, these documents would play a major part in freeing Brian from Landy's invidious grasp, but sadly Usher didn't live see this, succumbing to lung cancer on May 25th 1990, aged 51. The material itself ranges from pedestrian to occaisionally inspired. "Let's Go To Heaven..." was released as a single, and on the Police Academy 4 soundtrack, and also turned up on the expanded 2000 reissue of the Brian Wilson album, which also included a rerecorded version of "Poor Ol' Body. "The Spirit Of Rock & Roll", which exists in at least three different versions, was performed as the finale of The Beach Boys 25th Anniversary spectacular - the band lipsynched to a new studio recording that used the Usher version as a basis. Most bizarrely of all, "Christine" underwent a complete lyrical revision and was 'released' as "Livin' Doll"... as a flexidisc included with the California Dream Barbie doll at Christmas 1987. Credited to the Beach Boys, it is, of course, a Brian Wilson solo performance. In 2004, "You've Touched Me", a heavily revised version of  "So Long", appeared on Gettin' In Over My Head. Possibility of release: Gary Usher Jr. has voiced the possibility of these tracks being released at some point. It would be interesting...

Smile (4) projected release date ?1989 Heros  & Villains [2.57] - Heroes & Villains [6.59] - Do You Dig Worms  - Barnyard ? - Wind Chimes - Fire intro - Fire - George Fell... - Surf's Up trax - Surf's Up vox - Child Is Father - My Only Sunshine - Love To Say Da Da - Look - Vegetables - Wonderful - Cabin Essence - The Prayer - Holiday - Well You're Welcome - She's Goin' Bald - I Wanna Be Around - Been Way Too Long (track sequence as per the tape box label)     The listing above is taken directly from a tape box label dated 6/28/88: reportedly this was a rough compilation tape assembled by Mark Linett to show Capitol what was available for a Smile project. In the wake of Brian's first solo album, there was much talk, some of it semi-official, about an immenent release. In fact, the closest the tape came to seeing the light of day was in fall 1989 as the bulk of the second ever Smile CD boot, with the addition of 15 minutes of "Good Vibrations" fragments and a three minute version of the Wild Honey "Cool, Cool Water".

Brian (Brian Wilson) projected release date ?1990 recorded 1989-1990 except * August 1986-January 1987 produced by Brian Wilson & Eugene Landy except *, by Brian Wilson & Gary Usher        Someone To Love - Water Builds Up - Don't Let Her Know She's An Angel - Do You Have Any Regrets ? - Let's Stick Together - Spirit Of Rock And Roll* - Brian - Make A Wish - Concert Tonite - Rainbow Eyes - Save The Day - Smart Girls Sweet Insanity (Brian Wilson) projected release date 1991 recorded 1989-90 except * 1987-8, + August 1986-January 1987 produced by Brian Wilson & Eugene Landy except * by Brian Wilson & Russ Titleman +, by Brian Wilson & Gary Usher Concert Tonite [intro only] - Someone To Love - Water Builds Up - Don't Let Her Know She's An Angel - Do You Have Any Regrets ? - Brian - Hotter* - Spirit Of Rock And Roll+ - Rainbow Eyes - Love Ya* - Make A Wish - Smart Girls - Country Feelin's   The recording of the follow-up to the critically-acclaimed but commercially mediocre Brian Wilson began almost as soon as the dust had settled from that release. This time round, the good Doctor Landy decreed that Brian would produce his own album - under his direction, of course. That Sire completely rejected the product that was turned in was hardly surprising, for with Landy's hand on the tiller, the album - tentatively titled Brian - was something of a dog's dinner, the few worthwhile compositions swamped under an inept production. Smarting from this rebuke, Landy prevailed upon Brian to revise the tapes, now retitled with outstanding sensitivity and tact, Sweet Insanity. The result, despite a campaign by Landy that included the mailing out of the dreadful "Smart Girls" rap as a promo cassette and promising journalists access to Brian in return for a positive review of the album (and astonishingly, some took the bait), was a scarcely improved product that was once more rejected. Shortly thereafter, Landy and Brian were legally separated and no more was heard of the project. the 2004 release of Brian's Gettin' In Over My Head saw the release - in newly recorded form - of the following songs: "Make A Wish", "Rainbow Eyes", "Save The Day" (with new lyrics,  retitled "Fairy Tale") and "Let's Stick Together" (new lyrics, retitled "The Waltz"). Possibility of release: None, for two reasons: one, it's plain bad product… and two, according to Brian, the master tapes have been stolen.

Smile (5) projected release date September 26 1995   The February 4th 1995 issue of Billboard carried the somewhat startling news that Capitol were preparing a 3CD set of Smile material, to be tentatively called The Smile Era and released that fall. Apparently the critial and commercial success of the Good Vibrations box set was a considerable spur. Two discs would comprise Smile sessions while the third, described as a bonus, would be devoted exclusively to "Good Vibrations". Why the project was dropped is unknown, but possibly it could have been simply postponed  in favour of the Pet Sounds Sessions box.

Smile (6) projected release date ?1997      The reception afforded The Pet Sounds Sessions gave rise to hope of further, more esoteric archive releases... and if various 'insiders' are to be believed - and many do - the original gameplan was for a subsequent single "Good Vibrations" CD followed by a Smile box, tentatively said to be a 3CD set: one CD would comprise solely "Heroes And Villains" material, the other two covering the rest of the sessions. Sadly, the year-long delay in the release of the Sessions box effectively killed all such hopes.

untitled Jardine family album projected release date spring 1999 recorded spring-summer 1998 produced by  The Jardines & Michael Utley Islands In The Sun - A Pirate Looks At Fifty - Wish - California Saga:California - Tell Me - Shooting Star - Beauty Day - Middle Of Nowhere (track sequence unknown) Big South projected release date ?2001 recorded spring-summer ?2000 produced by  Alan Jardine California Feeling - Looking Down the Coast (trilogy) - Don't Fight The Sea - California Saga: California - Crumple Car - Highway 101 - Wishing You Were Here - Good Feelings - California Energy Blues (track sequence unknown)      The only band member never to have released a studio solo album to date nonetheless announced the recording of one such in a June 1998 press release from Brown & Dutch, The Beach Boys publicists. The project was reported to have been inspired by a public service ammouncement by Jimmy Buffett concerning the endangered Floridian manatee... and nearly five years later, we're still waiting. "Islands In The Sun", an uptempo, "Kokomo"-styled ballad written by all three, features a lead vocal by Matt and was partly recorded at Jimmy Buffett's studio in Key West, The bulk of the tracks listed were recorded at Alan's Red Barn studio in Big Sur: "A Pirate Looks At Fifty" is a rewrite of a classic Buffett song, "Wish" is a collaboration between Alan and Larry D'Voskin, a ballad inspired by Jardine's wish to fulfill the band's relationship with Brian when he decided to cease touring with the band in 1966 and it's possible that a small portion of the rerecording of "California" was featured in the Endless Harmony documentary of 1998. The last four titles listed are songs by Adam, except "Middle Of Nowhere", a collaboration between Matt and BB sax player Ritchie Canata.     About a year later, Endless Summer Quarterly reported that in addition to completing a new song, Alan had plans to put an album together "very soon" with his sons Matt and Adam. Presumably recorded at Red Barn,  tracks mentioned for possible inclusion were "California Feeling", the "Looking Down the Coast" trilogy, "Don't Fight The Sea" (a collaboration with Terry Jacks dating from late 1980), "Highway 101" (featuring the late Steve Douglas on sax, thus recorded before April 1993), "California Saga: California" (recorded in 1996 for the Stars & Stripes Volume 1 album), "Good Feelings" (featuring a Matt Jardine lead vocal), "Crumple Car", "Wishing You Were Here" (presumably the Chicago song) and "California Energy Blues". Only this last title saw eventual release, as a 'bonus' track on the Family & Friends Live In Las Vegas CD of 2001.   Finally, after years of false alarms, Alan released his solo album, A Postcard From California, in summer 2010, and among the tracks were "California Feeling", "Looking Down The Coast" and "California Saga: California" (all newly recorded versions) plus "Don't Fight The Sea", which not only contained elements dating back to 1978 but also proved a Beach Boys reunion of sorts in that Carl, Brian, Mike & Bruce all contributed vocals (again, recorded over the decades). And you know something ? It wasn't half bad !   Possibility of release: well, he finally got one out. Maybe in another six years or so ?

Created by Andrew G. Doe, February 11th 2003: last updated May 20th 2022 Home