''Cows in the Pasture'' is an upcoming country and western album recorded in 1970 by former Beach Boys' talent manager and promoter Fred Vail and produced by

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

. The album is now in the works to be completed, along with a docuseries which will trace Vail's life story and the resurrection of the country record.

Background

In the early months of 1970, Brian Wilson held a meeting with Fred Vail, at the time the manager of Wilson's band

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

, in a Los Angeles hotel room. Wilson proposed the idea of recording a country music album, with Vail on lead vocals and Wilson overseeing production. The proposal, even by Wilson's standards at the time, was perceived as unconventional, primarily due to Vail's lack of formal singing experience. Five recording sessions unfolded at

Wally Heider Studios Wally Heider Studios was a recording studio founded in San Francisco in 1969 by recording engineer and studio owner Wally Heider. Between 1969 and 1980, numerous notable artists recorded at the studios, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jeff ...

in Hollywood, California, between April 4 to April 17, 1970. These sessions coincided with the Beach Boys' recording of ''

Sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...

'' nearby in Hollywood. Throughout these recording sessions, Wilson and Vail collaborated to lay down the foundational tracks, complete with

scratch vocal A scratch vocal is a vocal performance that a singer records to provide a reference track that music producers and audio engineers can use as they craft other pieces of the recorded song. Most of the time, the singer ultimately re-records the vo ...

s, for a total of 14 songs. Musicians such as James Burton on guitar,

Glen D. Hardin Glen Dee Hardin (born April 18, 1939) is an American piano player and arranger. He has performed and recorded with such artists as Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, and Ricky Nelson. Career Hardin was born in Welling ...

on piano, and Red Rhodes on steel guitar contributed to the project. Halfway through the recording process, before Vail could finalize the vocals, Wilson lost interest, abandoning the record. The master tapes were subsequently shelved for over five decades. This unfinished album eventually gained significance in Beach Boys lore, with fans colloquially naming the previously untitled project ''Cows in the Pasture''.

Completion

Circa 2014, the Beach Boys' management contacted Fred Vail to inform him that they had discovered five rolls of two-inch tape with his and Brian Wilson's names on them. Vail requested that they be sent to him rather than being disposed of. Around the same time, Vail befriended concert producer Sam Parker, a Beach Boys fan who was eager to hear Vail's stories about his time with the band. After learning that Vail had the ''Cows in the Pasture'' tapes in his garage, Parker decided to finish the album and tell Vail's story in the form of a documentary. As of 2024, the plan is to record new vocals by Vail and an assortment of guest singers, including one song featuring Wilson who is also involved as executive producer, with

T Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in film ...

participating as well. A camera crew has been present at the new studio sessions, with the footage to be turned into a four-part documentary on Vail that will also be executive produced by Parker and Wilson. Both the album and docuseries are scheduled for release in 2025.

Fred Vail

Frederick Vail (born March 24, 1944) has held various roles including concert promoter and co-manager for the Beach Boys. Vail began his career in Sacramento, CA, commencing as a radio announcer and teenage news announcer at the age of 12. During his high school years, he spearheaded the committee responsible for orchestrating the arrival of various bands at school dances. Among these musical talents was The Beach Boys, who, at the time, were gaining traction on the charts but limited their performances mainly to the Los Angeles area. Vail successfully secured the band for an event, marking the beginning of a prosperous collaboration. His involvement in promoting and booking The Beach Boys continued to play a crucial role over the ensuing years. His roles at

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

and

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

as a promotion and marketing manager gave him the opportunity to move to Nashville in 1974. In 1980, Vail founded Treasure Isle Recorders, Inc., the first Nashville studio to become all-digital, remaining busy over the years due to the spacious tracking rooms, which many engineers and musicians claim to be among the best acoustics they've encountered. Artists like

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

, and

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

have recorded in the studio. Vail's friendship with The Beach Boys spans 59 years. He came up with the concept of the '' Beach Boys Concert'' album and arranged the group's 1983 White House concert. Vail's journey with the band also included moments like witnessing the mastering of '' Pet Sounds'' in the studio. Reflecting on his interactions with the band, Vail shared, "A lot of times when I'd pick the Beach Boys up I'd have country stations on, and I'd sing along sometimes and they'd be teasing me. And then they'd put on the pop music stations and I'd put it back on the country stations. We were just fooling around. So they knew I sang and liked country music."

Track listing

Per Badman: # "Bethany Ann" # "

(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" is a song written in the 1960s by songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally recorded as a demo (music), demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963, "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me ...

" # "Kittens Kids & Kites" # "Lucky Billy" # "One Woman Won't Hold Me" # " If You're Not Lovin'" # "All for the Love of the Girl" # " Only the Lonely" # "

Carolina in My Mind "Carolina in My Mind" is a song originally written and performed by American singer-songwriter James Taylor. It was Taylor's second single from his 1968 self-titled debut album. Taylor wrote ''Carolina in My Mind'' while overseas recording for ...

" # "My Way of Life" # "

(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" is a popular song written by Bill Trader and was published in 1952. Recorded as a single by Hank Snow it peaked at number four on the US country charts early in 1953. Since the original Snow version, "F ...

" # "You Pass Me By/ I Can't Help It If I'm Still in Love with You"

Personnel

Per Badman: * Brian Wilson – production * Fred Vail – vocals * James Burton – guitar * Buddy Emmons –

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

– piano * Red Rhodes – steel guitar * Keith Allison – bass guitar (

Fender Precision Bass The Fender Precision Bass (often shortened to "P-Bass") is a model of electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrum ...

) * Gordon Terry –

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

* Jay Dee Maness – steel guitar * Dennis St. John – drums * Freddie Weller – acoustic guitar * Gib Guilbeau – electric and bottleneck guitar * Red Wooten –

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

References