"Can't Wait Too Long" (also known as "Been Way Too Long") is a song written by Brian Wilson for the American rock band the Beach Boys. The song dates from 1967, and remains unfinished by the group. In 2008, a newly recorded "Can't Wait Too Long" was released for Wilson's solo album That Lucky Old Sun.[1]
The Beach Boys version consists of an elaborate collection of vocal and instrumental tracks comparable to the group's earlier compositions "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes and Villains".[2] It includes a melody line played instrumentally without sung lyrics, a bass line bearing resemblance to the Smile sessions' version of "Wind Chimes", plus several sections of chorus and a vocal middle section.[citation needed] It was recorded throughout 1967 and 1968, well after the sessions for Smile ended.[3] On February 11, 1980, overdubs were attempted on the original late 1960s recordings.[4]
Brian Wilson sings lead vocals.[3] There are very few lyrics. The title phrase is sung several dozen times, sometime alternating with "been away too long baby". Elsewhere is a simple couplet: "I miss you darlin' / I miss you so hard" which was evidently meant to be followed with "So come back baby / and don't break my heart", as Wilson can be heard instructing the other Beach Boys.[2] The final arrangement of the tune segues into an R&B inspired arrangement, and towards the end of the master outtake, there is a bass riff that had been labeled for years as an edit piece that is part of the "Heroes and Villains" suite — consult the bootleg album, Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 17.[original research?]
Reception
Biographer David Leaf said: "[the song] needs no analysis or description other than to say that it’s an incredible piece of music ... sections of it are complete enough to be a terrific example of how Brian, in Van Dyke Parks's words, used to 'saturate the tape with music.'"[3]
Releases
The song was eventually released in a sound collage form in September 1990, as a bonus track on a CD reissue compiling two Beach Boys albums onto one disc—Smiley Smile/Wild Honey.[5] A shorter form of the song was also released in June 1993 on the group's 5-disc anthology, Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys.[6] On the latter version, Brian Wilson is heard instructing brother Carl on some other lyrics which were never recorded. In May 2001, a 51-second a cappella version of the song was issued on disc two of the Beach Boys rarities compilation album Hawthorne, CA.[7] This same version reappears on the 2013 Made in California box set. An early version of the track can be found on 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow, released June 30, 2017. A longer version, titled "Been Way Too Long (Sections)", appears on I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions, released in December 7, 2018. Another edit was released for the 2022 compilation Sounds of Summer: Expanded Edition.
Smiley Smile is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 18, 1967. Conceived as a simpler and more relaxed version of their unfinished Smile album, Smiley Smile is distinguished for its homespun arrangements, "stoned" aesthetic, and lo-fi production. Critics and fans generally received the album and its lead single, "Heroes and Villains", with confusion and disappointment. The album reached number 9 on UK record charts, but sold poorly in the U.S., peaking at number 41—the band's lowest chart placement to that point.
Wild Honey is the thirteenth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on December 18, 1967, by Capitol Records. It was the group's first foray into soul music and was heavily influenced by the R&B of Motown and Stax Records. The album was the band's worst-selling at that point, charting at number 24 in the US. Lead single "Wild Honey" peaked at number 31, while its follow-up "Darlin'" reached number 19. In the UK, the album peaked at number seven.
Friends is the fourteenth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 24, 1968, through Capitol Records. The album is characterized by its calm and peaceful atmosphere, which contrasted the prevailing music trends of the time, and by its brevity, with five of its 12 tracks running less than two minutes long. It initially sold poorly, peaking at number 126 on the Billboard charts, the group's lowest U.S. chart performance to date, although it reached number 13 in the UK. Since its release, fans have generally come to regard the album as one of the band's finest.
20/20 is the 15th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released February 10, 1969 on Capitol Records. The LP was named for being their 20th overall release when factoring in live albums and compilations. Much of 20/20 consists of outtakes from earlier albums. It reached number 3 on UK record charts and number 68 in the U.S. Brian Wilson was absent during most of the album's recording after admitting himself into a psychiatric hospital, requiring brothers Carl and Dennis to retrieve several outtakes he had recorded years earlier. While Brian does not appear on the front cover, the inner gatefold of the original vinyl release features him alone, behind an eye examination chart.
"Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966, and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record charts in several countries including the United States and the United Kingdom. Characterized by its complex soundscapes, episodic structure and subversions of pop music formula, it was at the time the most expensive single ever recorded. "Good Vibrations" later became widely acclaimed as one of the finest and most important works of the rock era.
"Heroes and Villains" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, Wilson envisioned the song as an Old West-themed musical comedy that would surpass the recording and artistic achievements of "Good Vibrations". The single was Brother Records' first release. While it failed to meet critical and commercial expectations, it was nevertheless a hit record, peaking at number 12 in the U.S. and number 8 in the UK.
"Wonderful" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, it was their only collaboration that resulted in a love song, telling the story of a young girl's sexual awakening and its disruption of her devotion to God and her parents.
"Cool, Cool Water" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. It was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love and later issued as an A-sided single in March 1971.
"Whistle In" is a song written by Brian Wilson for American rock band the Beach Boys. It is the eleventh and final track on their 1967 album Smiley Smile.
"Gettin' Hungry" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile. Credited on the label to Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was released as a single on August 28, 1967, the second and last released on the original iteration of Brother Records.
"Wind Chimes" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, it was inspired by wind chimes hanging outside Wilson's home and was one of the first pieces tracked for the Smile sessions.
"With Me Tonight" is a song written by Brian Wilson for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on their 1967 album Smiley Smile. The piece has been characterized as "psychedelic doo wop" and the similar descriptor "do it yourself acid casualty doo-wop".
"Vegetables" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, the song was conceived by Wilson as a tongue-in-cheek promotion of organic food. Another reported inspiration for the song was a humorous comment Wilson heard about the effect of marijuana turning him and his friends into a "vegetative" state.
"Let the Wind Blow" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Wild Honey. Written by Mike Love and Brian Wilson, the song is a ballad with lyrics that metaphorically relate nature to the essence of love.
"You're Welcome" is a song written by Brian Wilson for American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on July 24, 1967 as the B-side of the "Heroes and Villains" single. It later appeared as a bonus track on the compilations Smiley Smile/Wild Honey (1990) and The Smile Sessions (2011).
The Smile Sessions is a compilation album and box set recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on October 31, 2011, by Capitol Records. The set is the follow-up to The Pet Sounds Sessions (1997), this time focusing on the abandoned recordings from the band's unfinished 1966–1967 album Smile. It features comprehensive session highlights and outtakes, with the first 19 tracks comprising a hypothetical version of the completed Smile album.
The Very Best of the Beach Boys is a compilation album released by the American rock and roll band the Beach Boys. The album was released by EMI in 2001 and features 30 of their greatest hits digitally remastered. It is the first compilation of the Beach Boys that makes a full retrospective of their career. Other compilations had already been released throughout the years, but only focusing on certain time periods of the band, or focusing on their complete career, but with several volumes.
Smile is an unfinished album by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was intended to follow their 1966 album Pet Sounds. It was to be an LP of twelve tracks assembled from modular fragments, the same editing process used for their "Good Vibrations" single. Instead, after a year of recording, the album was shelved and the group released a downscaled version, Smiley Smile, in September 1967. Over the next four decades, few of the original Smile tracks were officially released, and the project came to be regarded as the most legendary unreleased album in popular music history.
Lei'd in Hawaii is an unfinished live album by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was produced shortly after the completion of their 1967 studio album Smiley Smile. It was initially planned to include the band's first live concert performances since their tour of Europe in May 1967.
"Holidays" is an instrumental by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson for their never-finished Smile album. In 2003, it was rewritten with new lyrics by Van Dyke Parks as "On a Holiday" for the project Brian Wilson Presents Smile (2004).
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