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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 16, 2020 3:04:42 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. When I think about "Caroline, No" and "Gettin' Hungry" released as solo records, two unanswered questions questions always come to mind. The first question is simply why? Why were those records released as solo records? I don't think there were any plans, any intentions of Brian Wilson becoming a solo artist in 1966 or Brian and Mike becoming some separate duo apart from the group. Then why do it? The second question is, did any other major group ever try this, that is releasing a song as a solo record by a member of an existing group, and then having the song appear on the group's album?
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Post by lonelysummer on Jan 16, 2020 7:11:32 GMT
I don't think of any Brian songs as being "solo songs" until 1987, when his first true solo single, Let's Go to Heaven in My Car, was released.
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Post by kds on Jan 16, 2020 13:06:23 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. You could write a very long book on BB decisions that range from odd to just plain ludicrous.
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Post by kds on Jan 16, 2020 13:07:16 GMT
I don't think of any Brian songs as being "solo songs" until 1987, when his first true solo single, Let's Go to Heaven in My Car, was released. I tend to agree. And I think with better promotion, and had it been tied to a more popular movie, it could've been a hit.
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Post by lonelysummer on Jan 18, 2020 2:18:23 GMT
I don't think of any Brian songs as being "solo songs" until 1987, when his first true solo single, Let's Go to Heaven in My Car, was released. I tend to agree. And I think with better promotion, and had it been tied to a more popular movie, it could've been a hit. i had high hopes for it at the time. Even went to a showing of the movie just to see how the song was used in it. The song didn't show up until halfway through the closing credits. Most everyone had left the theater by then.
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Post by kds on Jan 18, 2020 3:48:11 GMT
I tend to agree. And I think with better promotion, and had it been tied to a more popular movie, it could've been a hit. i had high hopes for it at the time. Even went to a showing of the movie just to see how the song was used in it. The song didn't show up until halfway through the closing credits. Most everyone had left the theater by then. The song is actually played in a mall scene about 15 minutes in. David Spade's character is skateboarding through a mall, and you can hear the song over the mall speakers for about 20 seconds before its overshadowed by dialog.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 18, 2020 4:46:21 GMT
I bought the Police Academy 4 Soundtrack album just for "Let's Go To Heaven In My Car". I never listened to another single song on the album. Shortly after that I found the "Let's Go To Heaven In My Car"/"Too Much Sugar" 45 at a record collectors' show in Columbia, PA.
I actually preferred "Too Much Sugar". I really wanted to like "Let's Go To Heaven In My Car". I taped the song on a cassette and played it in my car a lot when it first came out. I did like it to some extent, but it never got to me the way almost every other Brian Wilson-written songs did - and that bothered me. I thought the melody was nothing special and Brian's vocal was too shouty. That being said, it should've appeared on Brian's 1988 solo album, on Side 2 with all of the other "night" songs. It would've fit perfectly.
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