Herein this live performance by The Beach Boys lies one of the greatest solos ever recorded!! 2:43 – 4:55 !! 

The early 1970s may be my favorite live period for The Beach Boys.  Live In Concert, their live album from 1973 pictured above, is an absolute MONSTER.  At this time, the official members of the band were Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, and two band members they had absorbed from a powerful group called The Flame, Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar. With the absence of Bruce Johnston and the addition of two new members, the group would never sound this way again. Their presence effects the performing and recording, from vocal blend to instrumentation.

(Blondie appears furthest right. Ricky appears behind Al Jardine, next to Blondie)

Brian Wilson very rarely appeared live with the group during this era, and Carl had become a stabilizing force for the group, a band leader for most live concerts.  Dennis had hurt his hand in mid-1971, and Ricky Fataar was holding down the drums many nights.  The Boys’ augmented their talents onstage with many out-of-this-world musicians, including Robert Kenyatta, Billy Hinsche, Mike Kowalski, Ed Carter, and the man responsible for the Hammond B3 solo, Carli Muñoz .

Imagine just going with the music and seeing where it takes you, off the top of your head, and that’s where it takes you!!  Check out 3:48-3:58, which is maybe my favorite moment.  Hear how in synch the drummer (Fataar or someone else?) is with Carli.  Truly beautiful and awe inspiring.  Here’s a comment Carli left about a year back on one of Youtube uploads -

Thanks for your kind words. I must admit it is a really hot solo – I still get excited and get a lot of pleasure when I hear it!

and another…

yeah… I always had a lot of fun with this song… I kind of re-discovered myself – it’s only been 37 years since I did that recording!

Thank you to Carli Muñoz for committing this performance to tape way back in the early Seventies.  You are forever immortalized as a result, and that’s just one solo from one night of your many performances, with The Beach Boys and others!

Here’s Carli later on in the Seventies in Christine McVie (of Fleetwood Mac)’s backyard.  At this time, Dennis Wilson was dating Christine McVie.  Carli himself was kind enough to share the video on Youtube.

(Dennis Wilson and Christine McVie)

Gregg Jakobson, producer and friend of Dennis Wilson, once commented on the heart of roses pictured above -

He had the gardner plant this very large heart in the lawn with all different colored flowers.  And of course it went on Christine’s gardner bill (laughs), but that’s Dennis for you.

As for the You Are So Beautiful video, here’s what Carli had to say on it:

Carli Muñoz on piano, rehearsing “You are so beautiful” with with a chamber orchestra directed by Jimmy Haskell at the backyard of Christine McVie’s (Fleetwood Mac) home in Beverly Hills, California. Dennis Wilson sang it for Christine as a surprise birthday party present.

You can hear what sounds like Dennis’s voice at the beginning, 0:07 in, telling Carli to play slower.  Unless I’m going crazy, Dennis is audible (but very low) at 0:53-0:58 singing “You’re everything I hoped for…”

(Dennis in early Seventies with injured hand)

Here’s the studio version of Leaving This Town, from the Holland album.  Ricky Fataar plays the Moog Synthesizer for the mellower solo on this one.  It begins 2:34 in -

(excerpt from The Beach Boys Holland: The Making Of The Album)

And here’s some more early Seventies pictures of the Boys:

Run, don’t walk, and grab The Beach Boys Live In Concert !

By the mid-Seventies, both Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar would depart from The Beach Boys.  By the end of the decade, Bruce Johnston would rejoin the group.  He remains a member to this day.

I’m looking for more live versions of Leaving This Town.  Can anybody point me in the right direction?