IN EARLY 1970, Brian Wilson called Beach Boys manager Fred Vail to a Los Angeles hotel room to propose an idea that was outlandish even by his wild standards: a country music album with Vail on lead vocals that he’d produce. The fact that Vail was a businessman without any formal singing experience didn’t strike Wilson as any sort of obstacle.
“I said to him, ‘Have you written any country songs?'” Vail recalls to Rolling Stone. “And he said, ‘Well, no.’ I said, ‘Do you have any idea who you’d like to use as musicians?’ He said, ‘Well, no. I’ve only worked with the Wrecking Crew for the most part. You find the songs. You select the musicians. We’ll go into Wally Heider’s Studio. We’ll start working on the album.'”
For a couple of weeks in April 1970, while the Beach Boys cut Sunflower at a nearby studio, that’s exactly what happened. Working alongside studio legends like guitarist James Burton, pianist Glen D. Hardin, and steel guitarist Red Rhodes, they recorded basic tracks for 14 songs. But midway through the process, before Vail had the chance to record anything but scratch vocals, Wilson lost interest and abandoned the project.
“He was dealing with a lot of issues,” Vail, now 79, says. “He had gained a lot of weight and was sleeping late in his big bed. There was a lot of things going on with him personally, and he didn’t have any interest in finishing it at that point, so the tapes went into the vault at the Beach Boy office.”
Sam Parker and Fred Vail in the recording studio. Together, they’re reviving Vail’s long-lost country album with Brian Wilson. JASON LEE DENTON*
As the years ticked by, the aborted album became part of Beach Boys lore, taking on the name of Cows in the Pasture for reasons that not even Vail can recall. (It was nameless when they cut it.) Many Beach Boys aficionados dreamed of one day having the chance to hear what country music would sound like with Wilson behind the mixing desk, ace musicians in the studio, and an untrained singer on lead vocals.
