Can't Wait Too Long
{{short description|1990 song by the Beach Boys}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Can't Wait Too Long
| cover =
| alt =
| type =
| artist = the Beach Boys
| album = Smiley Smile/Wild Honey
| released = September 1990
| format =
| recorded = {{Start date|1967|10|28}}–{{Start date|1968|07|26}}
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Rhythm and blues, psychedelic pop
| length = {{Duration|m=5|s=33}}
| label = Capitol
| writer = Brian Wilson
| producer = Brian Wilson
| misc = {{Audio sample
| type = song
| file = Can't Wait Too Long.ogg
}}
}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Can't Wait Too Long
| cover =
| alt =
| type =
| artist = Brian Wilson
| album = That Lucky Old Sun
| released = {{Start date|2008|09|02}}
| format =
| recorded = April 2008
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = {{Duration|m=0|s=54}}
| label = Capitol
| writer = Brian Wilson
| producer = Brian Wilson
}}
"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.{{cite web |first=John |last=Bush |title=Review: That Lucky Old Sun - Brian Wilson |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r532370|pure_url=yes}} |publisher=Macrovision Corporation |access-date=23 August 2009}}
Composition
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".{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=Paul|author-link=Paul Williams (Crawdaddy! creator)|title=Back to the Miracle Factory|date=2010|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-1-4299-8243-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=COfUbzOvmmkC}} 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|date=January 2015}} It was recorded throughout 1967 and 1968, well after the sessions for Smile ended. On February 11, 1980, overdubs were attempted on the original late 1960s recordings.{{cite web|last1=Doe|first1=Andrew G.|title=GIGS80|url=http://esquarterly.com/bellagio/gigs80.html|website=Bellagio 10452|publisher=Endless Summer Quarterly|access-date=October 30, 2015}}
Brian Wilson sings lead vocals.{{cite AV media notes| title = Smiley Smile/Wild Honey | others= The Beach Boys| year = 1990| first = David| last = Leaf|authorlink=David Leaf|publisher=Capitol Records|type=CD Liner|url=http://www.albumlinernotes.com/Smiley_Smile_Wild_Honey.html}} 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. 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 inline|date=January 2015}}
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.'"
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.{{cite web |first=Bruce |last=Eder |title=Review: Smiley Smile/Wild Honey - The Beach Boys |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1476|pure_url=yes}} |publisher=Macrovision Corporation |access-date=23 August 2009}} 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.{{cite web |first=Richie |last=Unterberger |title=Review: Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys - The Beach Boys |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r189381|pure_url=yes}} |publisher=Macrovision Corporation |access-date=23 August 2009}} 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.{{cite web |first=John |last=Bush |title=Review: Hawthorne, CA - The Beach Boys |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r532370|pure_url=yes}} |publisher=Macrovision Corporation |access-date=23 August 2009}} 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.
Sources
{{Reflist}}
{{Wild Honey}}
{{The Beach Boys main}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Brian Wilson