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Post by jk on Dec 25, 2019 23:43:20 GMT
I couldn't find anywhere else to post this and since Dennis has no thread of his own I started this one.
"Little Saint Nick" used to be my favourite Christmas pop song but now it's this evocative gem: "Morning Christmas".
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Post by kds on Dec 26, 2019 17:25:38 GMT
Morning Christmas is far and away the best of the 70s Beach Boys Christmas songs, and there's really not even a close 2nd.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 26, 2019 18:26:54 GMT
Morning Christmas is far and away the best of the 70s Beach Boys Christmas songs, and there's really not even a close 2nd. I love "Morning Christmas, but I put "Winter Symphony" right up there, too.
Anyway, I'm a big Dennis Wilson fan, not as much for his drumming and singing (though his singing on some songs is very effective), but for his composing and arranging. With Brian Wilson's music, if you take every song he composed from 1961-1981, there is something - SOMETHING - in every song that I like. Brian's music just has that certain quality, an unmistakable stamp, that makes it so appealing. To a large extent, Dennis's music is the same way with me. I get a similar feeling. Now, obviously Dennis's music isn't as groundbreaking or mind-blowing, but it can conjure up all kinds of emotions - like Brian's. Dennis could make you feel, too.
Dennis Wilson was a talent. A seriously underrated talent. He had "it". It's sad that his psychological problems and addictions overtook his talent, and ultimately his life.
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Post by kds on Dec 26, 2019 18:34:42 GMT
I like Winter Symphony. I think it's one of Brian's better mid 70s songs, but (just IMO) it's not in the same league as Morning Christmas.
I think Dennis made some great contributions to The Beach Boys albums post 1967, and those contributions were extremely valuable, especially when Brian's contributions began to decline in quantity, and later quality.
But, unlike Brian in his prime, I think Dennis's songs needed contrast. Often weighty, sometimes to a fault. I think Steamboat and Only With You were great alongside Sail On Sailor, The Trader, and California Saga for example. While those Dennis songs undeniably made those Beach Boys albums stronger, I really think Dennis's lone officially released album, Pacific Ocean Blue, would've been stronger with the other Beach Boys.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 26, 2019 18:52:15 GMT
But, unlike Brian in his prime, I think Dennis's songs needed contrast. Often weighty, sometimes to a fault. If there is one aspect of Dennis's music that is lacking, and it might just be my opinion, it is the absence of great rock & roll, or rockers, in his repertoire. And, with Dennis's outgoing and gregarious personality, that is surprising. Dennis obviously had another side, a tender side to his personality, and that was reflected in several of his songs. But faster, rockier-type music? No, not a lot there.
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Post by kds on Dec 26, 2019 19:54:17 GMT
But, unlike Brian in his prime, I think Dennis's songs needed contrast. Often weighty, sometimes to a fault. If there is one aspect of Dennis's music that is lacking, and it might just be my opinion, it is the absence of great rock & roll, or rockers, in his repertoire. And, with Dennis's outgoing and gregarious personality, that is surprising. Dennis obviously had another side, a tender side to his personality, and that was reflected in several of his songs. But faster, rockier-type music? No, not a lot there. He did that with It's About Time and Slip on Through, so that was part of his skill set as a songwriter. Although it seems like all of the Beach Boys strayed away from faster, rockier music as time went on.
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Post by jk on Dec 28, 2019 21:48:18 GMT
If there is one aspect of Dennis's music that is lacking, and it might just be my opinion, it is the absence of great rock & roll, or rockers, in his repertoire. And, with Dennis's outgoing and gregarious personality, that is surprising. Dennis obviously had another side, a tender side to his personality, and that was reflected in several of his songs. But faster, rockier-type music? No, not a lot there. He did that with It's About Time and Slip on Through, so that was part of his skill set as a songwriter. Although it seems like all of the Beach Boys strayed away from faster, rockier music as time went on. Yes indeed, to say nothing of "Got The Know The Woman"! I dislike outtakes as a rule but this early version of "River Song" slays me:
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 28, 2019 22:43:41 GMT
Dennis passed away 36 years ago today...
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Post by lonelysummer on Dec 29, 2019 6:50:02 GMT
Dennis passed away 36 years ago today...
i will always remember seeing his death reported on the late late news. A friend had come over, we were watching Twilight Zone reruns, it was snowing outside, and then THIS.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 29, 2019 13:19:13 GMT
I was still living with my parents, and I was in my bedroom listening to Carl Wilson's Youngblood album and reading something (probably rock & roll related) when my Dad knocked on the door and said that he just heard on the radio that one of The Beach Boys died. Obviously, my first thought was Brian. I then turned on the radio and heard the news.
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Post by jk on Dec 29, 2019 14:05:41 GMT
I remember reading about Carl's death in a Dutch newspaper but not Denny's. I hadn't been in NL that long and was totally out of touch.
Terribly sad. As Keith Richards intimated at Brian Jones's funeral, some people are destined to die young.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 29, 2019 14:48:40 GMT
Dennis was always dead for me. While I was actually 7 when he died, I don't recall him being alive or hearing about his death. I only ever knew that the Beach Boy who could actually surf had drowned. It was only ever something that already was in my head as quite an irony.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 29, 2019 17:10:31 GMT
A week or so after Dennis's death, The Beach Boys held a press conference to announce that they were not disbanding and would be continuing on, and it was featured on MTV's Music News segments. I was pleasantly surprised - thrilled actually - at how well Brian looked. Back in those days, you could go months before seeing a recent picture of the group, and Brian always seemed to be changing his appearance. I remember the MTV VJ, J.J. Jackson, commenting at how well Brian looked.
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Post by lonelysummer on Dec 31, 2019 7:28:32 GMT
A week or so after Dennis's death, The Beach Boys held a press conference to announce that they were not disbanding and would be continuing on, and it was featured on MTV's Music News segments. I was pleasantly surprised - thrilled actually - at how well Brian looked. Back in those days, you could go months before seeing a recent picture of the group, and Brian always seemed to be changing his appearance. I remember the MTV VJ, J.J. Jackson, commenting at how well Brian looked.
it was also very clear how upsetting Dennis' death was to him. He made a brief statement, then pushed the microphone away. Carl was very much the spokesman for the group on this day - and thank God for that. Mike probably would have blurted out something about Dennis being destined for it because of his drug and alcohol abuse. I, too, am thankful they continued as a group. There was always something missing without Dennis, but they were still doing excellent shows through the 80's. Without Carl, though, it really hasn't been The Beach Boys I grew to know and love. Not saying Mike's band isn't good - they're as good as you can hope for without Carl there - or Al, for that matter.
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Post by jk on Jan 1, 2020 21:23:44 GMT
"Time" is one of my favourite tracks from POB, if not my favourite. Nothing like it before or since:
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