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Post by kds on Aug 21, 2019 20:37:54 GMT
To be fair, The Beach Boys didn't really have a lot of hits with Brian's name on it prior to his solo debut either. Rock and Roll Music and Come and Go with Me were covers. Getcha Back was Terry Melcher and Mike. So, he wasn't lighting up the charts prior to BW88. Why would there be any expectation that he would have a hit as a solo artist when he largely couldn't have one as a Beach Boy for the better part of 15 years prior?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 21, 2019 20:55:01 GMT
Hey guys, good discussion, but I think I'm going to bow out for now because I'm just repeating myself which I have a tendency to do. So I'll close by repeating myself one more time.
In the beginning I gave Brian the benefit of the doubt and welcomed his foray into a solo career. I was as curious and excited as anyone. But with each solo album, I became more and more frustrated, more and more bored, and more and more hopeful of Brian returning to The Beach Boys. I didn't think he sang well enough, I didn't think he had enough quality material to fill an entire album, and I preferred that he took the best of the bunch of his songs at that time, combined them with a song from Carl, Mike, Al, Bruce, and David, and made the best possible Beach Boys' album (see 20/20, Sunflower, Surf's Up, Holland, etc.). I think that kind of album would've been better received by the public, better promoted in several ways, had a better chance of actually being heard, and just a better album all around. My wishes never materialized other than TWGMTR, and I know I will view the time period of 1995 - present as many wasted years and opportunities when The Beach Boys could've been releasing good or great albums - with Brian Wilson.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 21, 2019 20:57:55 GMT
Totally get your point.
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Post by kds on Aug 22, 2019 12:15:19 GMT
I will agree Sheriff that several Beach Boys releases in the last 20 years probably would've been overall better than the several solo releases we've gotten from Brian, Al, and Mike over the years. TWGMTR proved that it is possible to release a dozen quality songs without resorting to remakes of 60s classics.
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Post by jk on Jan 10, 2020 11:49:17 GMT
Almost five months later, this is my choice. "Thank Him (For Our Love)" is utterly gorgeous!
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Post by jk on Jan 15, 2020 13:57:55 GMT
This is for John Manning at EH, who just said something very complimentary about the latest video in my signature. I can't thank him there (for obvious if unfortunate reasons) so I'll do it this way.
Co-written by Bert Bacharach, the gorgeous "What Love Can Do" was the subject of a question JM asked Brian in the famed Q&A... and got an answer!!
Eek. My link doesn't work. Here instead is the lineup of musicians on the track:
Lead vocal: Brian Wilson Piano - Burt Bacharach Vocals, Guitar, Percussion - Jeffery Foskett Keyboards, Vocals - Gary Griffin Guitar, Vocals - Nick Walusko Guitar, Vocals - Probyn Gregory Guitar solo - Ted Perlman Percussion, Vocals - Nelson Bragg Jr. Keyboards - Scott Bennett Drums - Jim Hines Bass - Bob Lizik Acoustic bass - Dave Stone Vocals - Taylor Mills
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 15, 2020 14:04:01 GMT
Almost five months later, this is my choice. "Thank Him (For Our Love)" is utterly gorgeous! Not trying to be a jerk, I like this song a lot, but is it a Brian solo song?
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Post by jk on Jan 15, 2020 14:06:55 GMT
Almost five months later, this is my choice. "Thank Him (For Our Love)" is utterly gorgeous! Not trying to be a jerk, I like this song a lot, but is it a Brian solo song? Fair question! Are you referring to his then flatmate (whose name eludes me) singing along with him, or that there are other BBs involved?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 15, 2020 14:12:24 GMT
Not trying to be a jerk, I like this song a lot, but is it a Brian solo song? Fair question! Are you referring to his then flatmate (whose name eludes me) singing along with him, or that there are other BBs involved? I think the roommate was Bob Norberg. No, I was referring to it being a Beach Boys-intended song. I don't know if any Beach Boys are on the recording, but Brian wasn't really recording "solo" songs in 1963, was he? I mean, some demos were obviously stripped with just Brian present. But they eventually became Beach Boys' songs. Maybe I am being a little too technical here. Semantics?
EDIT: As I'm thinking about this topic, I'm curious what Beach Boys' fans think about "Caroline, No". If you took a poll, would fans vote for "Caroline, No" as a Beach Boys' song or a Brian Wilson solo song? Hmm...
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Post by jk on Jan 15, 2020 14:51:23 GMT
Fair question! Are you referring to his then flatmate (whose name eludes me) singing along with him, or that there are other BBs involved? I think the roommate was Bob Norberg. No, I was referring to it being a Beach Boys-intended song. I don't know if any Beach Boys are on the recording, but Brian wasn't really recording "solo" songs in 1963, was he? I mean, some demos were obviously stripped with just Brian present. But they eventually became Beach Boys' songs. Maybe I am being a little too technical here. Semantics?
EDIT: As I'm thinking about this topic, I'm curious what Beach Boys' fans think about "Caroline, No". If you took a poll, would fans vote for "Caroline, No" as a Beach Boys' song or a Brian Wilson solo song? Hmm...
And I came back here for the quiet life! As for "CN", I see it as an inseparable part of PS, so definitely Beach Boys for me.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 15, 2020 16:10:26 GMT
I think the roommate was Bob Norberg. No, I was referring to it being a Beach Boys-intended song. I don't know if any Beach Boys are on the recording, but Brian wasn't really recording "solo" songs in 1963, was he? I mean, some demos were obviously stripped with just Brian present. But they eventually became Beach Boys' songs. Maybe I am being a little too technical here. Semantics?
EDIT: As I'm thinking about this topic, I'm curious what Beach Boys' fans think about "Caroline, No". If you took a poll, would fans vote for "Caroline, No" as a Beach Boys' song or a Brian Wilson solo song? Hmm...
And I came back here for the quiet life! As for "CN", I see it as an inseparable part of PS, so definitely Beach Boys for me. Don't want you to get too comfortable!
Yeah, I never view "Caroline, No" as a BW solo song, but occasionally I'll see it appear on lists as such, even on some Beach Boys' forums/threads.
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Post by kds on Jan 15, 2020 16:16:50 GMT
And I came back here for the quiet life! As for "CN", I see it as an inseparable part of PS, so definitely Beach Boys for me. Don't want you to get too comfortable!
Yeah, I never view "Caroline, No" as a BW solo song, but occasionally I'll see it appear on lists as such, even on some Beach Boys' forums/threads.
The song appeared on a Beach Boys album, thus is a Beach Boys song.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 15, 2020 16:51:21 GMT
Don't want you to get too comfortable!
Yeah, I never view "Caroline, No" as a BW solo song, but occasionally I'll see it appear on lists as such, even on some Beach Boys' forums/threads.
The song appeared on a Beach Boys album, thus is a Beach Boys song. sure, but the same recording was also released as a Brian Wilson solo single, thus is a solo song (by the same logic). Personally I always think of it as a Beach Boys song, though.
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Post by kds on Jan 15, 2020 17:22:05 GMT
The song appeared on a Beach Boys album, thus is a Beach Boys song. sure, but the same recording was also released as a Brian Wilson solo single, thus is a solo song (by the same logic). Personally I always think of it as a Beach Boys song, though. The decision to release that as a BW single is one of many odd decisions from over the years. Yesterday was never released as a solo Paul McCartney song, even if it could have been.
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Post by B.E. on Jan 16, 2020 1:42:54 GMT
The decision to release that as a BW single is one of many odd decisions from over the years. Yesterday was never released as a solo Paul McCartney song, even if it could have been. To complicate things further, "Caroline, No" was released as a solo single before it appeared on a Beach Boys album. The same is true of "Gettin' Hungry". I don't really have a problem with the experiment (i.e. the solo singles), I just think it seems odd in hindsight because it didn't lead to anything substantial.
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