Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2022 17:37:06 GMT
Simple. The Pet Sounds and "Good Vibrations" sessions. Brian at the very top of his game.
|
|
|
Post by carllove on Jun 12, 2022 20:56:49 GMT
Simple. The Pet Sounds and "Good Vibrations" sessions. Brian at the very top of his game. That’s a good one AGD! Didn’t think of that! Oh to be a fly on the wall…
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Jun 12, 2022 21:10:25 GMT
As interesting as all that obviously would have been, my reasoning was that we do have a lot of session material from that era available already. No, it's not the same as being there to watch things first hand, but it's something. That's why I wanted to narrow it down a bit more, myself, and went to "Surf's Up" being presented to the band.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2022 22:17:31 GMT
As interesting as all that obviously would have been, my reasoning was that we do have a lot of session material from that era available already. No, it's not the same as being there to watch things first hand, but it's something. That's why I wanted to narrow it down a bit more, myself, and went to "Surf's Up" being presented to the band. The tapes weren't rolling all the time.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Jun 12, 2022 23:10:19 GMT
Hence "a lot of" and "it's something" as opposed to "we've got all of that, so why bother?"
Something else occurred to me that I'd love to have access to: the pre-TLOS sessions at Bennett's house. There are clips in the accompanying doc. I'd sure love to see all of that material.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Jun 13, 2022 0:31:44 GMT
Hence "a lot of" and "it's something" as opposed to "we've got all of that, so why bother?"
Something else occurred to me that I'd love to have access to: the pre-TLOS sessions at Bennett's house. There are clips in the accompanying doc. I'd sure love to see all of that material.
Make sure to take copious notes so we can settle the age old fan debate of exactly how much Brian contributed to TLOS.
|
|
|
Post by jk on Jun 24, 2022 11:29:49 GMT
Time for a new question, methinks... Do you have a favourite (or favourites) among the lyricists in BB history?
|
|
|
Post by carllove on Jun 24, 2022 12:08:33 GMT
Time for a new question, methinks... Do you have a favourite (or favourites) among the lyricists in BB history?I'm going with Van Dyke Parks. "Columnated ruins domino". The lyrics to "Surf's Up" are pure genius.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Jun 24, 2022 12:21:27 GMT
Favorite lyricist for me will also have to be a non-Beach Boy: Tony Asher, probably, edging out Van Dyke Parks. Two totally different styles, but two very good writers.
Asher wrote lyrics for the greatest album the band ever did. His lyrics are almost elegant, in a commercial way. (Does that even make sense?) What I mean is, they are simple, they are generally straightforward, but they hit the notes: they strike the right chords emotionally, they can be felt and understood. They actually don't often stand out, they fit into the music. They're not dopey, they're not complicated, they're not showy, they're just the words to those songs. And that's a huge compliment.
Parks is Parks. You could say his lyrics don't suit the Beach Boys, and I'd say that other than on the music of Smile, that's true. But they did fit that music. He's easily the most dazzlingly talented lyricist they ever had. (I've always thought Rieley was a poor man's VDP.) "Heroes and Villains" and "Surf's Up" alone would make me consider him for the top lyricist.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Jun 24, 2022 12:21:28 GMT
Time for a new question, methinks... Do you have a favourite (or favourites) among the lyricists in BB history?To me, in the grand scheme of The Beach Boys, the lyrics kind of take a back seat to the harmonies and the arrangements. So, when I make my pick, I'm not saying this man is on par with Lennon, Townshend, Waters, etc. But I'm going to go with Michael E. Love. Just ask Mike, he'll tell you. His lyrics are relatable. They suit the music very well, especially in the early years. I Get Around, Fun Fun Fun, California Girls, Warmth of the Sun, When I Grow Up, Good Vibrations, All I Wanna Do. They tend to start to veer into almost self parody later on. I think a strong argument can also be made for Tony Asher. It was one album, but man, what an album.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Jun 24, 2022 12:29:49 GMT
Time for a new question, methinks... Do you have a favourite (or favourites) among the lyricists in BB history?To me, in the grand scheme of The Beach Boys, the lyrics kind of take a back seat to the harmonies and the arrangements. So, when I make my pick, I'm not saying this man is on par with Lennon, Townshend, Waters, etc. But I'm going to go with Michael E. Love. Just ask Mike, he'll tell you. His lyrics are relatable. They suit the music very well, especially in the early years. I Get Around, Fun Fun Fun, California Girls, Warmth of the Sun, When I Grow Up, Good Vibrations, All I Wanna Do. They tend to start to veer into almost self parody later on. I think a strong argument can also be made for Tony Asher. It was one album, but man, what an album. Mike would have probably been my third choice after Asher and VDP. Though for me, his post- Endless Summer output disappoints more often than not.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Jun 24, 2022 12:34:35 GMT
To me, in the grand scheme of The Beach Boys, the lyrics kind of take a back seat to the harmonies and the arrangements. So, when I make my pick, I'm not saying this man is on par with Lennon, Townshend, Waters, etc. But I'm going to go with Michael E. Love. Just ask Mike, he'll tell you. His lyrics are relatable. They suit the music very well, especially in the early years. I Get Around, Fun Fun Fun, California Girls, Warmth of the Sun, When I Grow Up, Good Vibrations, All I Wanna Do. They tend to start to veer into almost self parody later on. I think a strong argument can also be made for Tony Asher. It was one album, but man, what an album. Mike would have probably been my third choice after Asher and VDP. I have to admit that I'm not a fan of VDP as a lyricist. Just a personal preference, but I just don't feel like grouping words together to make them sound good equals good lyric writing. Surf's Up is one of my favorite songs of all time, but if those lyrics weren't sung so well by Carl and Brian, then I would have no use for them at all.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Jun 24, 2022 12:35:16 GMT
To me, in the grand scheme of The Beach Boys, the lyrics kind of take a back seat to the harmonies and the arrangements. So, when I make my pick, I'm not saying this man is on par with Lennon, Townshend, Waters, etc. But I'm going to go with Michael E. Love. Just ask Mike, he'll tell you. His lyrics are relatable. They suit the music very well, especially in the early years. I Get Around, Fun Fun Fun, California Girls, Warmth of the Sun, When I Grow Up, Good Vibrations, All I Wanna Do. They tend to start to veer into almost self parody later on. I think a strong argument can also be made for Tony Asher. It was one album, but man, what an album. Mike would have probably been my third choice after Asher and VDP. Though for me, his post-Endless Summer output disappoints more often than not. I tend to think that's true about The Beach Boys in general.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Jun 24, 2022 13:16:39 GMT
Related to both of those previous posts, kds, I think lyrics are like music in that there are different kinds of good. So it does come down to preference, to fit, etc.
I think VDP's lyrics are a more intellectual exercise, a sort of puzzle of imagery, suggestion, and internal rhymes as much as the obvious, line-ending "moon/June" sorts of things. Is that rock and roll? Is that "good"? That's a taste question for sure.
And that's where the post-Endless Summer stuff comes in. You said everyone disappointed after that, and to some extent I agree. But while Mike went into almost self-parody and self-reference, Brian (for example) started writing some very direct lyrics that I think were actually pretty good. In particular, "I'll Bet He's Nice," and "The Night Was So Young" and slightly later "Still I Dream of It" are very good, very straightforward. You could say they are elementary, and in a way they're constructed in the opposite way of VDP's lyrics. But they're effective, at least for my taste.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Jun 24, 2022 13:23:45 GMT
Related to both of those previous posts, kds , I think lyrics are like music in that there are different kinds of good. So it does come down to preference, to fit, etc.
I think VDP's lyrics are a more intellectual exercise, a sort of puzzle of imagery, suggestion, and internal rhymes as much as the obvious, line-ending "moon/June" sorts of things. Is that rock and roll? Is that "good"? That's a taste question for sure.
And that's where the post-Endless Summer stuff comes in. You said everyone disappointed after that, and to some extent I agree. But while Mike went into almost self-parody and self-reference, Brian (for example) started writing some very direct lyrics that I think were actually pretty good. In particular, "I'll Bet He's Nice," and "The Night Was So Young" and slightly later "Still I Dream of It" are very good, very straightforward. You could say they are elementary, and in a way they're constructed in the opposite way of VDP's lyrics. But they're effective, at least for my taste.
I do agree that Mike's lyrics post Endless Summer are probably weaker than the rest of the band's. In fact, I'm struggling to even think of a Mike lyric post ES that I particularly like. Maybe Daybreak Over the Ocean. But, I think his work from the 60s and early 70s still puts his above any other BB lyricist in my opinion.
|
|