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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 23, 2024 0:13:59 GMT
I thought you may find it interesting to know the songs that did not make the voting rounds, as they each received just one vote. Some of these are great choices! I'm listing them in order of their ratings within the nominators' lists. (Remember, a 10 is 1st choice, and so on. The highest rated song here is an 8, and so was a 3rd choice.) The Night Was So Young, 8 Please Let Me Wonder, 6 It's Gettin' Late, 5 Jumpin' Jack Flash (live), 5 Saturday Night (on Hollywood Boulevard), 5 All I Wanna Do, 4 California Calling, 4 Angel Come Home, 3 Marcella (live), 3 Stevie, 3 Sunshine (the Beach Boys KTSA song, not BW Imagination song), 3 Hawaii, 2 She Believes in Love Again, 1 You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone, 1 Feel Flows, unrated Here Today, unrated Make it Big, unrated Rock and Roll to the Rescue, unrated Well, I guess I can't complain about the above list. Eight of my songs made the cut and only two ("Sunshine" and "California Calling") did not. I didn't think "Sunshine" had much of a chance; actually I'm surprised it got three votes, but I did think "California Calling" would make more noise. I so wanted to vote for "The Night Was So Young", but in the end, I didn't think some of the lyrics would sound right on the radio. I love the song, though.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 23, 2024 0:23:34 GMT
I thought you may find it interesting to know the songs that did not make the voting rounds, as they each received just one vote. Some of these are great choices! I'm listing them in order of their ratings within the nominators' lists. (Remember, a 10 is 1st choice, and so on. The highest rated song here is an 8, and so was a 3rd choice.) The Night Was So Young, 8 Please Let Me Wonder, 6 It's Gettin' Late, 5 Jumpin' Jack Flash (live), 5 Saturday Night (on Hollywood Boulevard), 5 All I Wanna Do, 4 California Calling, 4 Angel Come Home, 3 Marcella (live), 3 Stevie, 3 Sunshine (the Beach Boys KTSA song, not BW Imagination song), 3 Hawaii, 2 She Believes in Love Again, 1 You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone, 1 Feel Flows, unrated Here Today, unrated Make it Big, unrated Rock and Roll to the Rescue, unrated Well, I guess I can't complain about the above list. Eight of my songs made the cut and only two ("Sunshine" and "California Calling") did not. I didn't think "Sunshine" had much of a chance; actually I'm surprised it got three votes, but I did think "California Calling" would make more noise. I so wanted to vote for "The Night Was So Young", but in the end, I didn't think some of the lyrics would sound right on the radio. I love the song, though. No, that's 3 points based on where it was in your list. All of these songs received only one vote. The numbers represent their placement within their voters' lists. Four of mine didn't make the cut (Please Let Me Wonder, All I Wanna Do, Angel Come Home, and Mess of Help). I really considered The Night Was So Young, too, but I also decided that's more because I love it than that I think it had much of a shot to be a hit as it was recorded when it was released. I do think a different version could have been a hit, though. Maybe somebody will do one yet.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 23, 2024 0:43:31 GMT
Well, I guess I can't complain about the above list. Eight of my songs made the cut and only two ("Sunshine" and "California Calling") did not. I didn't think "Sunshine" had much of a chance; actually I'm surprised it got three votes, but I did think "California Calling" would make more noise. I so wanted to vote for "The Night Was So Young", but in the end, I didn't think some of the lyrics would sound right on the radio. I love the song, though. No, that's 3 points based on where it was in your list. All of these songs received only one vote. The numbers represent their placement within their voters' lists.
Four of mine didn't make the cut (Please Let Me Wonder, All I Wanna Do, Angel Come Home, and Mess of Help). I really considered The Night Was So Young, too, but I also decided that's more because I love it than that I think it had much of a shot to be a hit as it was recorded when it was released. I do think a different version could have been a hit, though. Maybe somebody will do one yet. Duh. I didn't read your post/explanation close enough. I got it now.
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Post by kds on Jan 23, 2024 2:36:29 GMT
Saturday Night was my selection. Nearly ten years later, I'm surprised that Team Brian didn't release it as a single to try to ride the Nate Ruess wave to a hit. In the first half of the 2010s, that guy could've sang the Yellow Pages, and it probably would've charted.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 23, 2024 11:40:41 GMT
Saturday Night was my selection. Nearly ten years later, I'm surprised that Team Brian didn't release it as a single to try to ride the Nate Ruess wave to a hit. In the first half of the 2010s, that guy could've sang the Yellow Pages, and it probably would've charted. I had that on my preliminary list. I only removed it because I think it sounded like an 80s hit more than a 10s hit. So I decided I wasn't sure it could have performed well when actually recorded. But yeah, it has a real hit sound, and Ruess wasn't so far removed from his big successes. (I also thought about a couple of other BW songs, "Your Imagination" and "Desert Drive," but did not include either.)
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 23, 2024 12:02:27 GMT
Play-In Matchup #1: Somewhere Near Japan v Heaven
“Play-in” round, for the 16th (final) spot in the tournament, we have a contest putting the 16th and ranked 17th songs from our list of 20 candidates. Both were released as singles, but neither cracked the Hot 100.
16) “Somewhere Near Japan” was the third single from the 1989 album Still Cruisin’, released January 11, 1990 with its B-side being a rerelease of the album’s first single, “Kokomo.” Initially written by John Phillips, the song eventually included credits for Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, and Terry Melcher. Johnston (keyboards, bass) is the only Beach Boys credited with instrumental contributions: Craig T. Fall played guitars and mandolin, while engineer Keith Wechsler provided programming (keyboards and drums). Love, Johnston, Al Jardine, and Carl Wilson provided vocals, as did Melcher. Brian Wilson does not appear on the track.
17) “Heaven” was the second single from Carl Wilson’s debut solo album. The single was released about three months after the album, coming in June 1981. Written by Wilson, Myrna Smith-Schilling, and Michael Sun, the song did make the charts, but not the top 100. It did reach the top 20 of the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
Discuss the merits of each song, whether you think either could or should have been a hit upon release, and vote for whichever you think more deserved hit status. The winner of this matchup will be entered into the primary tournament, where it will face the overall #1 seed.
This poll runs until midnight on Jan. 25, so you basically have all day today and Wednesday to vote. Future poll durations might change, depending on how it goes.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 23, 2024 13:36:56 GMT
I considered both of these songs in my initial master list. I think they are both outstanding songs.
For this thread/exercise, I'm really considering the lyrics. I might even be overanalyzing or putting too much emphasis on them. "Somewhere Near Japan" is a cool song, especially by Beach Boys' standards. They didn't record many like it. However, I think it fits better as an album track than a single. Yes, a part of me would've liked to hear the excellent vocals and guitar work on the radio. I think the response would've been positive. But, I also think the lyrics were a little "out there" and the length (even the single edit) might've worked against it.
"Heaven" is an all-timer...somewhere...in the Beach Boys' world. It is Carl's best solo song. But, much like "Somewhere Near Japan", it had its "single" flaws. The length worked against it for AM radio and I'm not sure its niche was FM radio. I hate to say this because I love the song and it's always the first song I choose for a Carl solo comp, but "Heaven" might drag a bit to be a better single.
All of the above being said, my vote goes to "Heaven".
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Awesoman
Denny's Drums
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Post by Awesoman on Jan 23, 2024 14:44:32 GMT
Saturday Night was my selection. Nearly ten years later, I'm surprised that Team Brian didn't release it as a single to try to ride the Nate Ruess wave to a hit. In the first half of the 2010s, that guy could've sang the Yellow Pages, and it probably would've charted. It was a solid track that could have been a hit with the right promotion. I'd argue "Guess You Had To Be There" with Kacey Musgraves had even more potential...
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Awesoman
Denny's Drums
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Post by Awesoman on Jan 23, 2024 14:50:17 GMT
Play-In Matchup #1: Somewhere Near Japan v Heaven“Play-in” round, for the 16th (final) spot in the tournament, we have a contest putting the 16th and ranked 17th songs from our list of 20 candidates. Both were released as singles, but neither cracked the Hot 100. 16) “Somewhere Near Japan” was the third single from the 1989 album Still Cruisin’, released January 11, 1990 with its B-side being a rerelease of the album’s first single, “Kokomo.” Initially written by John Phillips, the song eventually included credits for Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, and Terry Melcher. Johnston (keyboards, bass) is the only Beach Boys credited with instrumental contributions: Craig T. Fall played guitars and mandolin, while engineer Keith Wechsler provided programming (keyboards and drums). Love, Johnston, Al Jardine, and Carl Wilson provided vocals, as did Melcher. Brian Wilson does not appear on the track. 17) “Heaven” was the second single from Carl Wilson’s debut solo album. The single was released about three months after the album, coming in June 1981. Written by Wilson, Myrna Smith-Schilling, and Michael Sun, the song did make the charts, but not the top 100. It did reach the top 20 of the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Discuss the merits of each song, whether you think either could or should have been a hit upon release, and vote for whichever you think more deserved hit status. The winner of this matchup will be entered into the primary tournament, where it will face the overall #1 seed. This poll runs until midnight on Jan. 25, so you basically have all day today and Wednesday to vote. Future poll durations might change, depending on how it goes. "Heaven" probably holds more substance but "Somewhere Near Japan" seems more attractive for radio airplay at the time. That said either song could have been a bigger hit. A better-produced "Heaven" could fit somewhat in the yacht rock sphere of music similar to Christopher Cross's "Sailing". "Somewhere Near Japan" is certainly catchy enough to be a hit; perhaps the somewhat abstract lyrics and the fact that "Kokomo" completely overshadowed everything else off the 𝑆𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝐶𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑛' album is what did it in.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 23, 2024 14:55:27 GMT
Saturday Night was my selection. Nearly ten years later, I'm surprised that Team Brian didn't release it as a single to try to ride the Nate Ruess wave to a hit. In the first half of the 2010s, that guy could've sang the Yellow Pages, and it probably would've charted. It was a solid track that could have been a hit with the right promotion. I'd argue "Guess You Had To Be There" with Kacey Musgraves had even more potential... That's probably true--at least as of 2015. (I really do think "Saturday Night" had solid mid-80s bona fides.) Musgraves was a rarity for Beach Boys collaborations: somebody who was actually a major star at the time of the collaboration. Her 2015 Pageant Material was a #3 album (#1 on the Country charts). The song itself is slight, but it's tuneful. It's repetitive, but sometimes that's what helps make a hit, hit. Earworm potential.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 23, 2024 15:12:12 GMT
My personal preference on this is "Heaven," of which I was one of the nominators. (In fact, it was fourth on my list.) But while I listen back to both songs, I'm not totally sure it would have had a better shot at being a hit in 1981 than "Somewhere Near Japan" did in 1990.
"Somewhere Near Japan" is almost tastefully produced compared to other contemporaneous Beach Boys recordings. And besides, big productions, especially in soft rock, were still a common thing. The Billboard charts for mid-January 1990 included Phil Collins, Michael Bolton, Linda Ronstadt, Cher, Taylor Dayne, Lou Gramm, and Rod Stewart among the Top 15. It wasn't just hip hop, R&B, or hair metal, and grunge hadn't hit yet. Sure, I hate the little Japanese-esque intro, but for a Mike song (as compared to "Sumahama") it, too, is almost tasteful. I'm not a big fan of the synth-heavy "instrumentation" or Fall's guitar work--though I'll bet Joe Thomas was!--but the vocals are great. And you can't go wrong with group efforts from the Beach Boys, with four members prominent in a cool vocal arrangement. A person can almost forgive things like the excessive digital delay on Al's part. Ugh.
"Heaven" is at least real people playing real instruments, for which I'm very thankful. (I still don't love the production, in particular the thin guitar tones.) It was up against the likes of the June 1981 Top 10 singles Kim Carnes's "Bette Davis Eyes," Ray Parker Jr, George Harrison, REO Speedwagon, Air Supply, Neil Diamond, Hall & Oates, and Rick Springfield. It's obviously a bit of a drag of a song in terms of its tempo, not exactly a pick-me-up, fun-loving tune, but it is gorgeous. If only it were a Beach Boys recording: it's fun imagining a great arrangement and studio performance of all the guys on this one. (I wonder if any of them ever thought, "you couldn't have saved this one for the group?" I would have.)
I'm not sure which way I'll vote on this. I could imagine either having been a much bigger hit than it was, though I guess I don't think either was a terribly likely Top 25 hit. Still, it's about which had more going for it... This requires more thought.
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
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Post by Emdeeh on Jan 23, 2024 18:06:35 GMT
I voted for "Heaven." While I do like "Somewhere Near Japan" a lot, it feels more like a Terry Melcher effort with the Beach Boys as guest vocalists. It does have a great video, imo. "Heaven" is a much more organic and heartfelt song, which fit well into the BBs' setlist when Carl performed it with them.
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Post by jk on Jan 23, 2024 20:59:18 GMT
"Heaven" is gorgeous but my vote goes to "Somewhere Near Japan". Love those cymbal smashes and that liquid, almost Byrdsian guitar sound...
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Post by lonelysummer on Jan 23, 2024 21:01:04 GMT
I considered both of these songs in my initial master list. I think they are both outstanding songs.
For this thread/exercise, I'm really considering the lyrics. I might even be overanalyzing or putting too much emphasis on them. "Somewhere Near Japan" is a cool song, especially by Beach Boys' standards. They didn't record many like it. However, I think it fits better as an album track than a single. Yes, a part of me would've liked to hear the excellent vocals and guitar work on the radio. I think the response would've been positive. But, I also think the lyrics were a little "out there" and the length (even the single edit) might've worked against it.
"Heaven" is an all-timer...somewhere...in the Beach Boys' world. It is Carl's best solo song. But, much like "Somewhere Near Japan", it had its "single" flaws. The length worked against it for AM radio and I'm not sure its niche was FM radio. I hate to say this because I love the song and it's always the first song I choose for a Carl solo comp, but "Heaven" might drag a bit to be a better single.
All of the above being said, my vote goes to "Heaven".
The single version of "Heaven" omits the first chorus, cutting the song down to 3:30 or so. And this one did get some airplay in my neighborhood. One of the album oriented stations was playing it immediately after the album came out; a couple other stations added it when the single was released. "Somewhere Near Japan" never got any airplay that I was aware of. I never saw the physical single, either. It seemed like Capitol signed the Beach Boys with high hopes, and then something happened to sour that. There just doesn't appear to have been much promotion at all for the "Still Cruisin'" album or singles. I love both, but my vote goes to "Heaven".
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 23, 2024 21:09:06 GMT
Just a quick note to all: if you're intending to vote, please be sure to actually submit your vote via the poll at the top of each page of this thread, not just mention it within the thread. (I've noticed about five posts saying they're voting one way or the other, but only three votes submitted so far.)
With possible exceptions after specific polls close, as necessary to account for latecomers, I'm not planning to scour the threads for comments, but rather just go by the actual poll results. Please be sure you've actually voted!
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