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Post by Kapitan on Oct 11, 2019 14:22:43 GMT
If I were in my 30s in mid-late 1988, I can imagine being absolutely thrilled at the release of Brian Wilson. If that were the case, maybe I'd have been a young teen at the end of the golden era, a teen through the early 70s stuff, and a disappointed young adult from the late 70s through the 80s. I might have seen the continued relevance of Paul McCartney, the successful returns of George Harrison and Roy Orbison, mainstream hits from Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, and Starship (fka Jefferson Airplane)--not to mention the Beach Boys' hit "Kokomo"--and thought, "this is FINALLY the moment!"
After all, Brian Wilson must have seemed like Wilson's turn, which would have been special because it would be not only the return of an aging legacy artist, but one whose struggles were famous. And this album probably felt both ambitious and successful.
But I was not in my 30s in mid-late 1988. I had just turned 12. And I didn't realize Brian Wilson (or Brian Wilson, for that matter) existed. Ten years later when I was digging into the man and his old band, I did get this album. My opinions were, and are, mixed.
The material is superior to the lackluster-to-bad track list from the most recent Beach Boys albums. Wilson's singing is better, too; nowhere near his prime, but certainly above his nadir. The arrangements are somewhat ambitious. But what has always bothered me is the instrumentation/production. The album is so of the time (or even slightly behind them), it stands out to me upon every listen ... and not in a good way. I know that's a standard complaint, so I'm nothing special. But I truly can't get over it. Songs that might be an 8 or 9 instead are a 6 or 7, and so on down the line. The programming and synthesizers make the whole thing feel very rigid, the exact opposite of Wilson's brilliant organic productions of decades past. (The same curse afflicted the previous Beach Boys album, only more so due to the worse material.)
To me, "Melt Away" and "There's So Many" rank among the best ballads of Wilson's solo career. "Walkin the Line," "Little Children," "Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight," are nothing special, but they're nice little tunes. "Love and Mercy" obviously has become the classic, though I'm no fan of this version. And "Rio Grande," well, no thanks.
Anyway, for its flaws, this was obviously better than the previous decade of Wilson's (and the Beach Boys') work, even if it didn't necessarily catapult him back into mainstream success in the way his fans must have hoped it might.
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Post by B.E. on Oct 11, 2019 14:44:09 GMT
And "Rio Grande," well, no thanks.
You may not want to give it a listen any time soon, but I wonder if there are any sections of it that you like.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Oct 11, 2019 15:04:42 GMT
I can accept the 80s sounding production on BW88, mainly because the songs are so good. But I've often thought that it's a great candidate for some kind of remake. Not Brian on his own, I don't think that's a great idea. But he maybe he could extend the concept from No Pier Pressure and work with current artists to redo those songs in a different style, or maybe even better, have his current touring band handle the instrumentation, and include Al and Blondie on the vocals. I would really love to hear this album done in a different way.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 11, 2019 15:06:25 GMT
I can accept the 80s sounding production on BW88, mainly because the songs are so good. But I've often thought that it's a great candidate for some kind of remake. Not Brian on his own, I don't think that's a great idea. But he maybe he could extend the concept from No Pier Pressure and work with current artists to redo those songs in a different style, or maybe even better, have his current touring band handle the instrumentation, and include Al and Blondie on the vocals. I would really love to hear this album done in a different way. I always dreamed of that, but I think the moment has passed for Brian to do a good job of it. At this point, whoever he worked with would almost certainly be doing not just the vocal heavy lifting, but the arrangements, production, etc. I'm speculating, but I feel pretty confident in my speculation. I don't think he's got the energy or inclination.
But back when he began recording with his 'Mints-based solo band, that was definitely my dream.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 11, 2019 15:22:53 GMT
And "Rio Grande," well, no thanks.
You may not want to give it a listen any time soon, but I wonder if there are any sections of it that you like. I actually don't really dislike any of the sections themselves. In fact, I don't even really dislike the song. It's more that I am so turned off by hearing years of excessive praise for what sounds to me like an obviously cobbled together series of snippets as opposed to some truly composed suite proving Wilson was "back."
(It's kind of funny to hear both old music being reused in it, and it being used in future music...)
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Post by kds on Oct 11, 2019 15:26:31 GMT
I have to say that it's debatable whether or not the material on BW 88 is better than what the Beach Boys were doing in the decade previous. I think there's a lot to like on MIU, LA, and BB85, even if there might not be standpoints like Melt Away.
But, onto BW 88. I like Let It Shine alot. One For the Boys is nice. I prefer this version of L&M to the stripped down live version that's become Brian's closer. But, I think much of the album is about on the same level as what the Boys were doing, in fact Night Time is worse than even the dregs on KTSA. And I think Rio Grande is the most overrated song of Brian's solo career.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 11, 2019 15:31:24 GMT
We agree about Rio Grande, probably, but I totally disagree about the quality differential. I'd say the following would have been among the better songs on anything MIU up until TWGMTR:
- Love and Mercy - Walkin the Line - Melt Away - Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long - Little Children - There's So Many - Let It Shine (which I don't really like, but admit it's very solid) - Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight - Rio Grande
Now, I'm not saying all of those are better than anything on those late 70s, 80s, and 90s Beach Boys records. And other than the two ballads I mentioned earlier, I don't think any are particularly great. But they would all be among the better songs on any of those albums.
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Post by kds on Oct 11, 2019 15:41:18 GMT
I might agree on Love and Mercy, Melt Away, Let It Shine, and maybe Walkin the Line. Not so much with the others.
And while my listening of the BB albums between Holland and TWGMTR has decreased in recent years, I definitely used to listen to MIU and BB85 more often than BW 88.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 11, 2019 15:44:20 GMT
And while my listening of the BB albums between Holland and TWGMTR has decreased in recent years, I definitely used to listen to MIU and BB85 more often than BW 88. To be fair and keep this in perspective, the additions of those songs wouldn't make those Beach Boys albums particularly good Beach Boys albums, anyway. I don't listen to them much, either, nor would I if those songs were added. (I might listen to some of those songs, depending on performances and arrangements. But maybe not.) This is all just fiddling around on the margins, not creating some latter-day Pet Sounds.
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Post by kds on Oct 11, 2019 15:47:39 GMT
And while my listening of the BB albums between Holland and TWGMTR has decreased in recent years, I definitely used to listen to MIU and BB85 more often than BW 88. To be fair and keep this in perspective, the additions of those songs wouldn't make those Beach Boys albums particularly good Beach Boys albums, anyway. I don't listen to them much, either, nor would I if those songs were added. (I might listen to some of those songs, depending on performances and arrangements. But maybe not.) This is all just fiddling around on the margins, not creating some latter-day Pet Sounds. That's true. I should say that I find most of BW 88 to be a pleasant listen. And, much like the post Holland BB albums, there's 3-4 standouts, one horrible song, one pretty bad one, and the rest is just pleasant filler.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 11, 2019 15:54:15 GMT
Derailing the thread a little--but who cares? It's our thread and our board!--that idea of fiddling around the margins is one of the great time-wasters of my Beach Boys life. The amount of time I've spent over the years "fixing" albums with the could-have-beens only to eventually admit to myself I'm lifting an album from a 6 to a 7 (or a 4 to a 5), man ... I could have been more productive with my life!
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