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Post by kds on Sept 20, 2019 17:57:50 GMT
Do we know that about NPP? I think we do know The Last Song was written well in advance, Somewhere Quiet obviously was, and I think we've been told Runaway Dancer was an older song called Talk of the Town or something. But otherwise? I'm not saying they weren't older (and considering Brian has mined his own archives since the 70s, at least, and progressively so), but I don't recall reading or hearing specifics about it in most of those songs' cases. I remember reading that quite a few songs from NPP were from the 1998 Brian / Joe Thomas stockpile, which was also mined for TWGMTR. Although, I can't recall which ones specifically.
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 20, 2019 18:03:57 GMT
It would make sense. Definitely I know there was an in-depth Joe Thomas interview from after TWGMTR where he discussed which were which, and the bulk of that album was of older material. Wouldn't shock me if the leftovers were brought into NPP. I just didn't remember reading or hearing it.
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Post by kds on Sept 20, 2019 18:09:12 GMT
I can't recall if I read it in an article on by an expert on one of the forums in 2015 (back when the BB onsite universe was more of a united thing).
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Sept 20, 2019 21:49:06 GMT
Well, in one of Brian's recent interviews, he said that either he has begun writing again or will soon resume writing. Now, Brian is sometimes (many times?) full of shit, but if he does soon start to write, it won't be long before we find out WHO is writing with him. Not really going out on a limb, I'll predict Joe Thomas will be called back into duty.
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Post by kds on Sept 21, 2019 11:58:44 GMT
Well, in one of Brian's recent interviews, he said that either he has begun writing again or will soon resume writing. Now, Brian is sometimes (many times?) full of shit, but if he does soon start to write, it won't be long before we find out WHO is writing with him. Not really going out on a limb, I'll predict Joe Thomas will be called back into duty. I would be fine with that. I think Joe, regardless of when the material was written, is responsible for some very solid late era material.
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 21, 2019 13:39:38 GMT
Agreed. I still think his impact on the arrangements and production of Imagination was borderline criminal (especially in hindsight, knowing some of those songs were among the last of Brian's potentially classic material), but I think his treatment of the work was much more tasteful in the '10s. (Not including the live autotune-laden garbage.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Sept 21, 2019 13:44:17 GMT
Agreed. I still think his impact on the arrangements and production of Imagination was borderline criminal (especially in hindsight, knowing some of those songs were among the last of Brian's potentially classic material), but I think his treatment of the work was much more tasteful in the '10s. (Not including the live autotune-laden garbage.) I think Joe Thomas did a tremendous job on No Pier Pressure, maybe his shining hour, that and Stars & Stripes. And I say that in all seriousness with a perfectly straight face. OK, I'll get my coat now...
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 21, 2019 13:48:01 GMT
No Pier Pressure is tough because we know he was also working with Don Was, so it's tough to know who was overseeing what. But I do think it mostly sounds very good, whoever did it.
Stars and Stripes, I can't say I listen to enough to judge fairly (and frankly I don't want to listen again to give it another chance at the moment). But my biggest gripe was the concept: I don't want to listen to an album of Beach Boys songs by singers I mostly don't know or like with the BBs on background vocals.
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Post by kds on Sept 21, 2019 17:54:04 GMT
I agree about TWGMTR and NPP sounding far superior than Imagination.
I think Stars and Stripes was a very flawed project. The idea isn't bad, but mostly, the execution was.
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Post by lonelysummer on Sept 22, 2019 20:46:05 GMT
Willie Nelson was nice on S&S. I also enjoyed Timothy B. Schmit. If they had lined up a whole album of talents on that scale, it could have been very nice. Shouldn't have been strictly country (Timothy B is country? Kathy Troccoli is country?). I would have enjoyed hearing America cover a Beach Boys tune. How about Burton Cummings? Glen Campbell? the Smithereens? Well, I guess we should be thankful. Mike was involved, but there were no attempts to clone Kokomo
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Post by kds on Sept 23, 2019 0:26:59 GMT
Willie Nelson was nice on S&S. I also enjoyed Timothy B. Schmit. If they had lined up a whole album of talents on that scale, it could have been very nice. Shouldn't have been strictly country (Timothy B is country? Kathy Troccoli is country?). I would have enjoyed hearing America cover a Beach Boys tune. How about Burton Cummings? Glen Campbell? the Smithereens? Well, I guess we should be thankful. Mike was involved, but there were no attempts to clone Kokomo Pretty much my assessment. Although I also liked Toby Keith on BTTYS.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Sept 23, 2019 20:40:57 GMT
I always been a supporter of Stars & Stripes. I thought the tracklist was fine. The guest lead vocalists, while could've been stronger or more famous, were still good. And the Beach Boys themselves sounded terrific, better than they had for years. I think Joe Thomas produced a nice little album. Yes, one or two more songs and maybe one or two more country superstars would've improved it, but I thought the project was a success. I know I'm in the minority there, but I never quite understood all of the criticism. Some of the songs were released as singles and charted on the Billboard Country charts. The Stars & Stripes album itself reached No. 12 on the Billboard Country Album charts. There were a couple of videos which got some rotation on CMT. The band was well-received at the popular Fan Fest concert. There was an excellent documentary made on the recording of the album; one of The Beach Boys' best documentaries IMOP. And maybe most importantly, it got Brian back working with the group.
When Stars & Stripes came out, I was very optimistic. The band was appearing on TV talk shows. Brian seemed fairly with it. There was talk of a new studio album. I really expected another one of those...comebacks. Really. And then Brian was gone. For good.
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Post by lonelysummer on Sept 23, 2019 21:10:21 GMT
I always been a supporter of Stars & Stripes. I thought the tracklist was fine. The guest lead vocalists, while could've been stronger or more famous, were still good. And the Beach Boys themselves sounded terrific, better than they had for years. I think Joe Thomas produced a nice little album. Yes, one or two more songs and maybe one or two more country superstars would've improved it, but I thought the project was a success. I know I'm in the minority there, but I never quite understood all of the criticism. Some of the songs were released as singles and charted on the Billboard Country charts. The Stars & Stripes album itself reached No. 12 on the Billboard Country Album charts. There were a couple of videos which got some rotation on CMT. The band was well-received at the popular Fan Fest concert. There was an excellent documentary made on the recording of the album; one of The Beach Boys' best documentaries IMOP. And maybe most importantly, it got Brian back working with the group.
When Stars & Stripes came out, I was very optimistic. The band was appearing on TV talk shows. Brian seemed fairly with it. There was talk of a new studio album. I really expected another one of those...comebacks. Really. And then Brian was gone. For good.
and Carl
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 28, 2019 18:04:22 GMT
When Stars & Stripes came out, I was very optimistic. The band was appearing on TV talk shows. Brian seemed fairly with it. There was talk of a new studio album. I really expected another one of those...comebacks. Really. And then Brian was gone. For good.
But wasn't that "talk of a new studio album" interrupted BY Stars & Stripes? If that's the sequence, I'd think it killed momentum more than started it: you can't expect those guys to get together for more than limited bursts, so it's a shame they wasted it on a self-covers, non-lead singing, slick countrified album instead of on their own stuff. I can't say how much happier I'd be if we had a mid/late 90s Beach Boys album of (then-)new music in S&S's place! It's quite an era of silence in there (in terms of new material) as it stands now. What, 20+ years?
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Post by kds on Sept 28, 2019 18:39:28 GMT
Personally, Stars and Stripes is another example of something that only occurs with The Beach Boys.
I can't imagine another big name legacy act, with all surviving classic members, singing on a tribute album to themselves, and passing it off as one of their albums.
But yet.....the legacy survives.
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