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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 17, 2023 18:12:24 GMT
That you should ignore my opinion? Nah...Bambu is pretty bad. Maybe - maybe - if you took the seven best from the songs listed above (good luck agreeing on them), added three Pacific Ocean Blue outtakes ("Tug Of Love", "Only With You", and "Mexico"), and included "My Love Lives On", you might have something listenable.
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Post by kds on Mar 17, 2023 18:21:42 GMT
I honestly didn't realize that Bambu was all that highly rated amongst BB fans to be honest. Or, probably more likely, I've forgotten.
I neglected to mention that one of the more Dennis-y songs on it that I do like is All Alone, which I first heard when I saw Endless Harmony back in 2012. But, I feel there are so many other songs like it on Bambu that it just kind of gets lost.
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Post by lonelysummer on Mar 18, 2023 2:24:55 GMT
I'll say it again. The time for Dennis to make a solo album was 1970-72. Most of what he recorded - solo or with the group - back then I like. Some of it I love.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 18, 2023 3:06:39 GMT
I'll say it again. The time for Dennis to make a solo album was 1970-72. Most of what he recorded - solo or with the group - back then I like. Some of it I love. Totally agree. If there was ever a time in Dennis's...life...when he could've/should've released a solo album, it would've been 1970-72 or even up to 1973. It would've been a great one. I still wish somebody would assemble a Dennis comp from that era. I don't care if it includes his Beach Boys' songs.
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Post by jk on Mar 18, 2023 10:04:09 GMT
I have the fabulous b**tl*g Ultimate Bamboo so I never really appreciated the Bambu stuff on the de luxe reissue of POB, which I bought in the UK to help Dennis into the album charts -- it worked! -- but soon passed on to my late pen pal (I already had an ancient boot of POB). I like what UB liner notes author Jason Penick says about "10,000 Years": "It's interesting to note that this is at least the fourth composition co-written by Dennis and Michael. For two individuals supposedly often at odds with one another, they often seemed to put aside their differences when it was in the best interest of their music. (A revealing 1976 radio interview of Dennis and Mike on WLS radio Chicago shows off the pair as positively chummy with one another, with Dennis praising Mike's 'Everyone's in Love with You' as 'the most beautiful song I've ever heard.')"
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Post by B.E. on Mar 20, 2023 0:21:34 GMT
While the Bambu sessions may be overrated in some circles, dare I suggest that they're underrated here? Best - "Love Remember Me" - This feels the most epic. I could have gone with "Love Surrounds Me" but with that being included on LA, it isn't quite as important here. I also could have gone with "Under the Moonlight", "He's A Bum", or "Wild Situations". "All Alone" and "I Love You" are pretty darn good, too. Most of the rest are cool and interesting as well, but more obviously unfinished. Worst - "Common" - I like the track, but it's the least consequential. And we've got "Morning Christmas" elsewhere. If I were to go with a more complete track featuring a lead vocal? "School Girl".
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 20, 2023 11:41:50 GMT
While the Bambu sessions may be overrated in some circles, dare I suggest that they're underrated here? What are you basing your opinion on? The songwriting? Dennis's vocals? The arrangements?
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Post by carllove on Mar 20, 2023 13:50:16 GMT
OK, here are my picks. Best: Constant Companion. I don't necessarily like this song, but at least it's a song. Something happens. There is some rhythm to it, there's a melody, there's a real arrangement. I don't fall asleep during it. Yes, yes, I'm not a big fan of Dennis Wilson generally, but this album especially makes me feel I finally understand what the barbiturates of the '70s were like. It's so boring. Add terrible singing to that, and, well, it's not my favorite album... Others that are in the better category for me are Under the Moonlight, Love Surrounds Me. That's about it. Worst: It's Not Too Late. This one requires an explanation, because it's not really the worst in some ways. After all, we've got those unfinished tracks lacking vocals, or the mess that is Wild Situation, etc. But this one has what strikes me as the worst Carl Wilson vocal ever, a chorus for which the word that comes to mind is--and I'm sorry about this--caterwauling. If Carl didn't want to release Soulful Old Man Sunshine because of one "shunshine," I can't imagine he'd have been happy about this seeing the light of day. It's just a shame. Could have been much better, though that chorus doesn't strike me as all that good regardless. But that performance. Ouch. But really I dislike almost everything other than the few named in the "best" section. This album is so overrated among Dennis fans, it's ridiculous (in my opinion, anyway...but hey, I'm the guy who champions the likes of "Feet," so feel free to reject my opinion entirely). I love the music of Dennis Wilson, but I'm not a fan of Bambu. I think Kapitan is mistaken in thinking that Dennis fans think highly of this album. I doubt there is one here that does (maybe B.E.?) I have the POB/Bambu Deluxe Legacy Edition on CD, and I've never played the second CD in my car (then again I play "Mexico" and "River Song" from disc one a couple of times per week). Just ugh - what happened? Best: Constant Companion - Kapitan makes some great points about this actually being a finished song - unlike most of the stuff on Bambu. Also - Dennis' vocals don't sound quite as bad as they do on other songs. And you know - I kinda have a thing for the Beach Boys doing disco! "Love Surrounds Me" was a close second. Worst: Common - So many choices here - but I've heard that piano riff before in much better songs of Dennis' - and it just doesn't go anywhere. I could have chosen one of 3/4 of the songs on the album as a worst - but today this is the one.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 20, 2023 13:57:49 GMT
I think Kapitan is mistaken in thinking that Dennis fans think highly of this album. I doubt there is one here that does (maybe B.E.?) I have the POB/Bambu Deluxe Legacy Edition on CD, and I've never played the second CD in my car (then again I play "Mexico" and "River Song" from disc one a couple of times per week). Just ugh - what happened? Could be. And after all, I don't see/read as many other fans as I used to, in the days of bigger and busier boards. But it seems to me that both before the music was officially released and then when it finally got this package, there was far, far more praise of it than seemed reasonable to me. (But again, it's fair to say I'm not the guy to look to for Dennis consensus opinions.)
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Post by kds on Mar 20, 2023 15:01:18 GMT
Six votes in for Bambu
Best
Love Remember Me - 2 Constant Companion - 2 It's Not Too Late - 1 School Girl - 1
Worst
Common - 2 It's Not Too Late - 1 He's a Bum - 1 Constant Companion - 1 Time for Bed - 1
We had two songs get votes for best and worst. It was almost three since I actually considered giving Common the nod for best. That probably speaks more for how little I like the material on Bambu.
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Post by kds on Mar 20, 2023 15:04:00 GMT
The next Beach Boy to try a solo album was Carl Wilson, and his debut was his self titled album from 1981. Carl Wilson will be up until Thursday, March 23, at 11am EDT.
Carl Wilson (1981)
Best Worst Hold Me Bright Lights What You Gonna Do About Me? 1 The Right Lane 1 Hurry Love 1 Heaven 5 The Grammy 3 Seems So Long 1
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Post by kds on Mar 20, 2023 15:13:49 GMT
Best - Heaven - I wanted to make sure, so I gave this album a fresh listen this morning. And, just as I suspected, this ballad really had no serious competition.
Worst - The Right Lane - On the other hand, there was stiff competition for this pick. I really don't think Carl's first solo effort is very good. To me, the first half of "rockers" are pretty interchangeable. I picked this one because of how repetitive it is. But, I almost went with the closing ballad Seems So Long.
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
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Post by Emdeeh on Mar 20, 2023 17:06:45 GMT
I like Carl's solo albums a lot more than most BB fans do, as far as I can tell. So, here goes:
Best: I love "Hold Me" and "The Right Lane," but "Heaven" is the clear standout here, one of Carl's best songs, imo.
Least: I don't think there are any bad tracks on this album, just some weaker ones -- I'm going with "The Grammy" here (even tho it's about Billy Joel, which is kind of interesting).
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 20, 2023 17:17:39 GMT
Best: Heaven I wanted to pick something else just for the sake of being different, but Heaven is clearly the choice.
Worst: The Grammy I hate the background vocals, I hate the chorus, and I don't like the lyrics in general. That's what sets this apart from the other more mediocre "rock" songs on this album.
This album has grown on me, going from one I actively disliked to one that I see as a missed opportunity. Carl said he wanted to rock, but the album doesn't really rock. In fact, you could argue the three best songs are ballads (which, confoundingly, take up 14 of the 17 minutes of Side Two, in what I would call some strange sequencing). The lyrics throughout are pretty sketchy, and while it seems like it was produced to be a slick, hook-filled album, the hooks are pretty weak. KDS said the rockers are interchangeable, and I'd agree with that.
But the three ballads all have something good going on. "Seems So Long Ago" has some pretty bad lyrics, but some of the music is pretty cool--especially the harmony vocal at the beginning of the chorus. The other two might be the best two songs on the album. And then some of those rockers--the first three in particular--each have something to offer. They just weren't produced well IMO or given their own identities. (Conversely, "The Right Lane" would be my choice for worst if not for "The Grammy.")
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Post by lonelysummer on Mar 20, 2023 20:03:41 GMT
Hmm...bad lyrics? I like the lyrics on all of the songs here. Slick, hook-filled album? To me, it sounds like a stripped-down affair. I think Carl wanted to do something simpler, more basic than what the Beach Boys typically did. It's not a hard rocking affair, though, except maybe in comparison to what the group had been doing in recent years (LA, KTSA).
Best - I suspect it's gonna be unanimous for Heaven. If the Beach Boys had recorded it, it would be a song everybody knows. It's just a beautiful song and Carl of course sings it beautifully. But I had Hold Me on in the car the other day, and it's a killer recording. Simple song, but it's got a great groove to it. This is the one song on the album that I think sounds best on the album compared to the live versions, where I think they tried to rock it just a bit too hard. It's not that kind of song - it's a midtempo groove, more r & b than r & r. Bright Lights continues on in a similar groove.
Worst - Hurry Love is a pretty ballad, but IMO it goes on a bit too long.
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