God Only Knows - The Beach Boys, a cappella

My favorite Beach Boy...singing my favorite Beach Boy song.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• beach boys
• god only knows
• carl wilson

[plojka1]

Was the music removed from this or was this originally recorded a capella? It's abosolutely flawless!

[Stuckinthe6Ts]

@plojka1 This was the vocal track from the master tape. This and other vocal tracks can be heard on the Pet Sounds Sessions box set, a must have for any BB fans.

[AbeGrimes]

In response to ShadesOfRapture, I've been a BB/BW fan for 45 yrs + now. I like the Fleets, and yes, there are artists around today who compare/compete for vocal excellence on a BB/BW scale. Hell BW has taken the Wondermints on as his backing group based on their vocal capabilities, and having heard them in their own right I can see, or rather hear why. I think the point made by most people of a certain age is, WE revere BW and the BB as representative of vocal excellence from "then", our youth.

[Stuckinthe6Ts]

@AbeGrimes I'm with you on that.

[nakifool]

This is magical, almost impossibly beautiful yet slightly tragic as no human being will ever create something with this kind of musical sophistication and spiritual innocence again.

[jilliebean111]

@lmacorp Oh ok. You never know when you're on youtube...

[tripleJ1955]

Only a genius, ...no wait, strike that. Only Brian Wilson could conceive and create a vocal arrangement so intricate, so beautiful. Thank you Brian.

[lmacorp]

@jilliebean111 yes

[jilliebean111]

@lmacorp That's a joke right?!

[misterdirtyknees]

I done died and went to heaven.

[showtime951]

At 9:25pm, this day has become unforgettable. This song is so important to me. This version, I have only dreamed about for 30 years. I never knew it existed. Harmonies. Multi-layered harmonies. Absolute beauty. Heaven. Whenever anyone uses the word "talent" or "talented", measure it against this remarkable yardstick. Thank you for this post.

[lmacorp]

@nakifool What about Jay-Z?

[GHR1227]

@peterp21 Yep. That makes sense. It sounds too close to be isolated then mixed.

[peterp21]

@GHR1227 I think the earlier Beach Boys stuff was sung all together around one or two microphones, live to the backing track, rather than overdubbed one at a time.

[peterp21]

@Stuckinthe6Ts I heartily second this. The PS Sessions box is great. One of the discs is a little boring since it's just repeated takes of the instrumentals. But there's also a disc with alternate takes with different vocalists from the final LP versions, as well as at least 2 alternate versions of God Only Knows. One with a saxophone solo and one that ends with some acapella harmonizing. Interesting stuff.