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Post by Kapitan on Jun 23, 2019 18:07:09 GMT
What, if any, of Brian Wilson's solo material do you think will or could stand the test of time. By that, I mean that it could pop up again in a movie, in a commercial, be covered, etc., and be broadly enjoyed or successful.
Obviously nothing he has done has been a true hit upon release (though Smile got a lot of press), but that's not really what I mean. I'm thinking more like how Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" could be beloved when it's in a Volkswagen commercial around 2000, or how some Beach Boys tunes were reinvigorated through movie appearances like "Almost Famous": people hear it and don't even necessarily know it's an old song; they just hear a good song.
Is there anything that in 20 years will be considered alongside his Beach Boys canon in stature? What?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 23, 2019 19:40:06 GMT
What, if any, of Brian Wilson's solo material do you think will or could stand the test of time. By that, I mean that it could pop up again in a movie, in a commercial, be covered, etc., and be broadly enjoyed or successful.
Is there anything that in 20 years will be considered alongside his Beach Boys canon in stature? What?
I think very few will be covered and be broadly enjoyed or successful. Oh, there's always a chance an artist will have a personal favorite that isn't necessarily one of Brian's best that they choose to cover, but that's a fluke. I feel the same way about anything being considered alongside his Beach Boys' canon. Very few.
Not to turn this into a "what song from each album is the best" thread, but I view Brian's solo albums roughly the same. With each album there is usually one ace, a couple of good/very good songs and a bunch of average material.
So, using that breakdown, I would say:
Brian Wilson - "Love And Mercy" Imagination - "Lay Down Burden" Gettin' In Over My Head - "City Blues" (maybe "Don't let Her Know She's An Angel") That Lucky Old Sun - "Midnight's Another Day" No Pier Pressure (IMO his best solo album; this gets three) - "Whatever Happened", "Tell Me Why", "One Kind Of Love" ("Saturday Night" is a dark horse)
What say you?
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Post by B.E. on Jun 23, 2019 19:42:57 GMT
Well, I think "Love And Mercy" has already stood the test of time. I think it is (and will be) remembered alongside his Beach Boys canon. I also think, in time, "One Kind Of Love" may be remembered as his swan song. I wouldn't be surprised if those two songs end up defining his solo career. It's neat - they act as bookends. And they are worthy compositions with positive, highly accessible messages.
Other songs that I think have a chance of standing the test of time are "Melt Away", "Good Kind Of Love", "Midnight's Another Day", and "Sail Away". There are other quality songs that I think are more than worthy, but I'm really trying to limit my selections to songs that I think have the most commercial appeal and I'm operating from the point of view that in order for a song to have mass appeal (especially over time) that the vocalist usually must sound youthful. There are exceptions, but I think that's the rule. Whether it's the original versions or cover versions that propel these songs forward is anybody's guess.
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 23, 2019 21:19:25 GMT
I definitely don't mean to imply either way with the question. I just meant it as that, a question. Maybe my fandom is showing, but there are a handful that I imagine could, if they happened to be presented in the right context, pop in this or that way, extending their lives (and his).
In rough chronological order, I could see L&M, Melt Away, Your Imagination, Lay Down Burden, Midnight's Another Day, Goin Home (or, honestly, almost anything from TLOS in the right context...it's very movie-friendly), One Kind of Love, Saturday Night on Hollywood Boulevard. Maybe even a few of the better GIOMH tunes, if covered well. (To be honest, I think there are a few good albums' worth of material in there that would be much better had they just been Wondermints releases. Written and maybe arranged by BW, but without substantial audible participation from him.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 23, 2019 21:58:57 GMT
To be honest, I think there are a few good albums' worth of material in there that would be much better had they just been Wondermints releases. Written and maybe arranged by BW, but without substantial audible participation from him. I think 90% of Brian's solo songs would've been better with lead vocalists other than him.
Mostly because of the popularity and quality of the Beach Boys' catalogue, which in turn usually leads a path to Brian Wilson, Brian's solo material will always be listened to and dissected by all kinds of musicians. So, really, several songs, whether we think they are good/great or not, are going to be "in the game", probably consistently.
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Post by kds on Jun 26, 2019 12:25:24 GMT
I'm not really sure if Brian's solo material really registers with anyone other than Beach Boys diehards like us. There's no question that, while it can be a mixed bag of sorts, there's plenty of good material in the BW catalog, some of it much better than songs that The Beach Boys had hits with in the late 70s / 80s. But, because Brian started his solo career so late (and even the BW88 album was a bit of a false start considering he wouldn't release another proper solo album for ten more years), I'd be surprised if any of his solo songs really seep into pop culture the way the Beach Boys classics have.
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jun 29, 2019 23:56:09 GMT
I don't think any of his songs are popular enough to be covered or be put in a movie unless whoever is in charge of a project happens to be a big fan. There was a relatively obscure Dennis song put in a movie a while back, so I figure whoever did the soundtrack had to be a fan of Dennis' work. A couple years ago Love and Mercy was featured in The Walking Dead, but it wasn't even sung by Brian. On Spotify there Brian's most popular song, Love and Mercy, currently has close to two million streams. To put that in perspective, that puts it on par with songs like Here She Comes and Long Promised Road.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 2, 2019 12:28:52 GMT
Mostly I agree with all this but my one quibble is, I don’t think it’s popularity is really relevant. We KNOW his solo music isn’t popular. My question/thought was more whether anyone could imagine it being used later, getting new life.
For example, I’d never heard nor heard of Nick Drake until the Volkswagen commercial. Then the doc, the reissues etc followed.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 4, 2019 14:05:16 GMT
We've already had a couple of tribute albums such as Smiles, Vibes, & Harmony, Caroline Now!, and Making God Smile. Then there's the other kind of interpretive albums such as the ones by Trio Rococo, and the Jazz Portrait Of Brian Wilson one, and even the old Hollyridge Strings albums. All of these featured, not just the hits, but some deeper album tracks. I would think there will be a few more of these down the road featuring Brian's solo music.
We still haven't gotten the Brian Wilson Solo Years boxed set yet, but it'll come. It's just a matter of when. I'm curious to see how it'll be represented. Will they include the entire albums or just selected cuts? I'm sure there are many live tracks available, especially from the BWPS shows, and there are plenty of bonus tracks available from the various album configurations (Best Buy, Target, etc.).
Of course, there's always the ever popular movie soundtracks. There's no telling what songs could be selected by creative directors.
Finally, like I mentioned above, there will always be artists who are influenced by Brian Wilson, and there's no telling what BW solo songs struck a chord with them that they would love to cover - see above tribute albums.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 4, 2019 14:09:57 GMT
I recognize how awful this is to say, but it's going to be after he dies that we (eventually) get a treasure trove.
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Post by kds on Jul 5, 2019 12:25:36 GMT
Brian Wilson is such a niche artist, that I'm not sure we'll ever get a physical solo boxset.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 5, 2019 12:46:13 GMT
Brian Wilson is such a niche artist, that I'm not sure we'll ever get a physical solo boxset. But that's the dichotomy or contradiction (or whatever word I'm looking for ) with Brian Wilson's solo career. With every solo release, interview, or article, there are words thrown around like genius, one of the greatest songwriter/producer, Pet Sounds, and x number of records sold. But that is all in the past. Ancient history. Brian hasn't geniused around for a long, long time. People keep assuming or expecting his solo recordings to be of a certain caliber, and it all has fallen short. After 30+ years as a solo artist, he HAS become a niche artist.
However, and again like I posted above, obviously there is always going to be this link to his great Beach Boys' work, which will eventually LEAD the listener directly to his solo work. So, there will always be some demand. And as long as the demand is there, there will be more releases, product if you will. The boxed set will come. And I (you?) will probably buy it.
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Post by kds on Jul 5, 2019 13:11:55 GMT
Brian Wilson is such a niche artist, that I'm not sure we'll ever get a physical solo boxset. But that's the dichotomy or contradiction (or whatever word I'm looking for ) with Brian Wilson's solo career. With every solo release, interview, or article, there are words thrown around like genius, one of the greatest songwriter/producer, Pet Sounds, and x number of records sold. But that is all in the past. Ancient history. Brian hasn't geniused around for a long, long time. People keep assuming or expecting his solo recordings to be of a certain caliber, and it all has fallen short. After 30+ years as a solo artist, he HAS become a niche artist.
However, and again like I posted above, obviously there is always going to be this link to his great Beach Boys' work, which will eventually LEAD the listener directly to his solo work. So, there will always be some demand. And as long as the demand is there, there will be more releases, product if you will. The boxed set will come. And I (you?) will probably buy it.
For my money, Brian stopped writing genius material long before he became a solo artist. But, he also went solo relatively late in his career, unlike many of his peers. I hope your right, and I would buy it, as long as it's not ridiculously overpriced (looking at you, Pink Floyd!!). But, lately, even Beach Boys archival releases have been digital only.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 5, 2019 14:32:09 GMT
I think Brian kept putting out music with bits of brilliance throughout much of his solo career. It's just that there has been--really since the early '70s--a smaller and smaller percentage of it. For my money, almost all of his released songs contained a spark of greatness even when he wasn't contributing many songs. But certainly by the mid-to-late 70s, as his output increased, I'd say the ratio decreased.
But whether just really solid songs or brief moments of genius, I think there are still very good things in his solo work. Just less than, say, 1964-73. Which, considering his age, doesn't surprise me much. Not many pop stars peak in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, or (God willing) 80s.
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Post by kds on Jul 5, 2019 15:22:24 GMT
I also think that there's a lot of good material in Brian's solo catalog. And it's definitely unfair to compare that to his Beach Boys hey day. But, for whatever reason, I think some fans new to the game are unfairly expecting to hear some "genius" moments in Brian's solo material, and wind up being very underwhelmed as a result.
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