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Post by Kapitan on Feb 21, 2024 19:38:23 GMT
The most recent Good Timin' podcast episode is the guys' first part of a play on the Beatles "Red" and "Blue" compilation albums, with this one being focused on 1962-65. (They're calling it the "Yellow" album.) So, that seems like a fun thread. What's your "Yellow" album (62-65)? Single album length, double album length, track order doesn't have to be chronological (but can be) ... whatever.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 21, 2024 20:35:44 GMT
I caught the thread earlier this morning, gave the podcast a quick listen, and was hooked! I came up with a rough draft, tweaked the 24 selections, and sequenced it throughout the day. I like the idea of comparing it to The Beatles' "Red" and "Blue" albums - The Beach Boys would need a third color - so "Yellow" works. I am going to take Kapitan's suggestion(s) literally, and deviate from the chronological approach. When I tried to sequence the album chronologically, it just didn't flow properly, and I didn't like some of the subject matter (especially surfing and cars) going back-and-forth. What I did like about the chronological approach was displaying the progression of Brian and the group. Maybe if the years went through 1966... In the end, though, I went with a concept Yellow Album. Each side has a specific concept, and as it turned out, each of the songs could easily fall into a "Best Of" category. I also think it flows much better. This is what I came up with:
The Beach Boys - The Yellow Album (1962-1965)
Side 1 - Surfing 1. Surfin' Safari 2. Hawaii 3. Catch A Wave 4. Don't Back Down 5. Surfin' U.S.A. 6. Surfin'
Side 2 - Cars 1. 409 2. Cherry, Cherry Coupe 3. Custom Machine 4. Little Deuce Coupe 5. Shut Down 6. I Get Around
Side 3 - Girls 1. California Girls 2. Surfer Girl
3. You're So Good To Me 4. Don't Worry Baby
5. The Warmth Of The Sun 6. Help Me, Rhonda
Side 4 - Fun 1. Fun, Fun, Fun 2. Dance, Dance, Dance 3. Be True To Your School 4. In My Room 5. Little Honda
6. All Summer Long
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jmayer43
Denny's Drums
Posts: 47
Likes: 28
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Post by jmayer43 on Feb 22, 2024 18:37:31 GMT
I caught the thread earlier this morning, gave the podcast a quick listen, and was hooked! I came up with a rough draft, tweaked the 24 selections, and sequenced it throughout the day. I like the idea of comparing it to The Beatles' "Red" and "Blue" albums - The Beach Boys would need a third color - so "Yellow" works. I am going to take Kapitan's suggestion(s) literally, and deviate from the chronological approach. When I tried to sequence the album chronologically, it just didn't flow properly, and I didn't like some of the subject matter (especially surfing and cars) going back-and-forth. What I did like about the chronological approach was displaying the progression of Brian and the group. Maybe if the years went through 1966... In the end, though, I went with a concept Yellow Album. Each side has a specific concept, and as it turned out, each of the songs could easily fall into a "Best Of" category. I also think it flows much better. This is what I came up with:
The Beach Boys - The Yellow Album (1962-1965)
Side 1 - Surfing 1. Surfin' Safari 2. Hawaii 3. Catch A Wave 4. Don't Back Down 5. Surfin' U.S.A. 6. Surfin'
Side 2 - Cars 1. 409 2. Cherry, Cherry Coupe 3. Custom Machine 4. Little Deuce Coupe 5. Shut Down 6. I Get Around
Side 3 - Girls 1. California Girls 2. Surfer Girl
3. You're So Good To Me 4. Don't Worry Baby
5. The Warmth Of The Sun 6. Help Me, Rhonda
Side 4 - Fun 1. Fun, Fun, Fun 2. Dance, Dance, Dance 3. Be True To Your School 4. In My Room 5. Little Honda
6. All Summer Long
Thanks for listening to the podcast! I like your idea of dividing up each side of the album into different “themes”, the only song placement I might question is In My Room as I wouldn’t really consider that a “fun” song, but at the same time I don’t know where else you could sequence it on the album (maybe on the “Girls” side around Warmth of the Sun since that song has kind of a similar vibe)
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 22, 2024 18:49:05 GMT
I was thinking I'd try to put together my own Yellow Album today. If I get through certain things at work, I'm going to take a stab at it.
But I'll warn people ahead of time: it's going to omit some classics, because I'll be making it to my taste as opposed to some objectively representative compilation.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 22, 2024 20:15:26 GMT
The Beach Boys - The Yellow Album (1962-1965)
Side 1 - Surfing 1. Surfin' Safari 2. Hawaii 3. Catch A Wave 4. Don't Back Down 5. Surfin' U.S.A. 6. Surfin'
Side 2 - Cars 1. 409 2. Cherry, Cherry Coupe 3. Custom Machine 4. Little Deuce Coupe 5. Shut Down 6. I Get Around
Side 3 - Girls 1. California Girls 2. Surfer Girl
3. You're So Good To Me 4. Don't Worry Baby
5. The Warmth Of The Sun 6. Help Me, Rhonda
Side 4 - Fun 1. Fun, Fun, Fun 2. Dance, Dance, Dance 3. Be True To Your School 4. In My Room 5. Little Honda
6. All Summer Long
I like your idea of dividing up each side of the album into different “themes”, the only song placement I might question is In My Room as I wouldn’t really consider that a “fun” song, but at the same time I don’t know where else you could sequence it on the album (maybe on the “Girls” side around Warmth of the Sun since that song has kind of a similar vibe) Yes, I had the same thoughts. After some consideration, I decided to place "In My Room" with the Fun theme (over the other themes) based on the bridge lyrics - "Do my dreaming and my scheming" and "laugh at yesterday". Yes, those lyrics could've been about girls/relationships, but I already had my quota of Girls songs and that side already had three ballads. I needed a great ballad (and "In My Room" is certainly an all-timer) to offset all of the fast Fun songs - and the lyrics " laugh at yesterday" work!
There is one serious omission on my Yellow Album and that would be "Barbara Ann". I didn't include it for three reasons. First, a minor reason is that all of the songs on my Yellow Album are Brian Wilson compositions. No covers. Second, obviously "Barbara Ann" would've been included on the Girls side, but I didn't want to omit any of the other ones. I like the six I chose. And, third, I know I'm stretching it a bit, but "Barbara Ann" peaked on the singles chart in 1966. So, when you do your next album - The Green Album (1966-1975) - I'll include it there!
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Post by lonelysummer on Feb 23, 2024 4:04:58 GMT
I really have no suggestions for this album. Endless Summer sums it up perfectly for me. Yes, there are a few key omissions - Dance, Dance, Dance, Do You Wanna Dance, Barbara Ann, 409, The Little Girl I Once I Knew- but I'm thankful a few of the hits were NOT included on ES, because I like Spirit of America, too. Now if we get into selecting songs for a 66 and beyond album, I will have some ideas, as I feel that era has never been compiled properly. Sunshine Dream? Kind of shaky list of tracks there; Good Vibrations - Best of the Beach Boys from 1975 is a good comp, except they left off I Can Hear Music.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 27, 2024 19:49:10 GMT
In what might be the all-time least satisfying post to write or to read, I am taking this opportunity to announce to everyone... I'm struggling and have not yet come up with my Yellow Album. First it was the question of a single or double album. Decided it ought to be double (like the Red/Blue). Then I had to decide on any potential themes, like how Sheriff John Stone did topical arrangements, or going chronological, or what. Then I started wrestling with representation of different albums--and especially struggling with the fact that Surfin' Safari would be omitted entirely and Surfin' USA would be very nearly omitted (or entirely omitted, depending on my approach). So here I am with a few pages of scrap paper filled with abbreviated song titles, mostly scratched out and rewritten in different orders which themselves were scratched out. And so on. So that's my update: I got nothin'.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 28, 2024 15:19:28 GMT
OK, I have at least a first stab at this completed. Unfortunately, Spotify is playing tricks on me, refusing to play at least half the songs and going into bizarre runs of 5-6 consecutive ads--only to then skip songs afterward--so I haven't actually listened to it, myself! Spotify's web browser free version is really awful. I suppose that's the point, trying to get people to pay up. (I could put it together in iTunes or something, but whatever. I know the songs.) I did take a cue from Sheriff John Stone to some degree, particularly with sides one and two being mostly about cars and surfing, respectively. Then sides three and four are more mixed bags of typically later material, more often dealing with relationships in different ways but not as strictly thematic. Yes, I left off some iconic songs. Such is life. It got tricky deciding which were absolutely essential regardless of my preferences, and where I had more wiggle room. (I left off some that I like more than some I included. Omitting "Please Let Me Wonder," "Kiss Me Baby," "She Knows Me Too Well," "Don't Hurt My Little Sister," "Good to My Baby," "You're So Good To Me," "Car Crazy Cutie," "In the Parkin' Lot"...even "Shut Down," which is down my list but still cool. Tough business.) The Beach Boys, The Yellow Album1) I Get Around 2) Little Honda 3) Don't Worry Baby 4) Little Deuce Coupe 5) In My Room 6) Fun, Fun, Fun 7) Surfer Girl 8) Hawaii 9) Catch a Wave 10) The Surfer Moon 11) Don't Back Down 12) Surfin USA 13) When I Grow Up to be a Man 14) Do You Wanna Dance 15) Dance Dance Dance 16) Wendy 17) Why Do Fools Fall In Love 18) Hushabye 19) The Girl from NYC 20) The Little Girl I Once Knew 21) The Warmth of the Sun 22) Help Me, Rhonda 23) All Summer Long 24) California Girls
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 28, 2024 20:00:29 GMT
OK, it was bothering me that I had to leave so many great songs off my Yellow Album, and after reading Kapitan's post, I realized he had the same problem. There's just too many! So, even though I posted my Yellow Album just a week ago, I've decided to post a revised version (hey, Capitol Records released Surfer Girl and Little Deuce Coupe just three weeks apart ). I apologize to the guys on the Good Timin' podcast, but I'm increasing the number of songs from 24 to 28. That's still only 7 songs per side ( Endless Summer only had 5 per side ) and the 28 total songs would fit nicely on a single CD. Even though it's just 4 additional songs, the album sounds much stronger...I think.
The Beach Boys - Yellow Album (1962-1965)
Side 1 - Surfing 1. Surfin' Safari
2. Hawaii 3. Surfer Girl 4. Catch A Wave 5. Don't Back Down 6. Surfin' U.S.A. 7. Surfin'
Side 2 - Cars
1. 409
2. Cherry, Cherry Coupe 3. Custom Machine 4. Don't Worry Baby 5. Little Deuce Coupe
6. Shut Down 7. I Get Around
Side 3 - Girls 1. California Girls
2. Barbara Ann 3. Please Let Me Wonder 4. You're So Good To Me 5. The Warmth Of The Sun 6. Help Me, Rhonda 7. Kiss Me, Baby
Side 4 - Fun 1. Fun, Fun, Fun
2. Do You Wanna Dance
3. Dance, Dance, Dance
4. Be True To Your School 5. In My Room 6. Little Honda 7. All Summer Long
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 28, 2024 20:24:17 GMT
I'm increasing the number of songs from 24 to 28. That's still only 7 songs per side ( Endless Summer only had 5 per side ) and the 28 total songs would fit nicely on a single CD. I also thought about how the album length really didn't correspond to the typical numbers of songs. I want to say my 24-song double album totaled 55 minutes and change. Granted, I prefer shorter albums to longer ones, but in the '90s, a lot of single albums would be around 55 minutes, and here we're talking about a double album. So really, anything up to 80-90 minutes is entirely appropriate. And you could actually get more than 120 minutes easily onto two discs, but to me that's getting crazy. (The BBs albums are so short, 120-130 minutes would probably get you almost everything they released on those first few years' worth of albums!)
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jmayer43
Denny's Drums
Posts: 47
Likes: 28
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Post by jmayer43 on Feb 28, 2024 20:25:23 GMT
OK, I have at least a first stab at this completed. Unfortunately, Spotify is playing tricks on me, refusing to play at least half the songs and going into bizarre runs of 5-6 consecutive ads--only to then skip songs afterward--so I haven't actually listened to it, myself! Spotify's web browser free version is really awful. I suppose that's the point, trying to get people to pay up. (I could put it together in iTunes or something, but whatever. I know the songs.) I did take a cue from Sheriff John Stone to some degree, particularly with sides one and two being mostly about cars and surfing, respectively. Then sides three and four are more mixed bags of typically later material, more often dealing with relationships in different ways but not as strictly thematic. Yes, I left off some iconic songs. Such is life. It got tricky deciding which were absolutely essential regardless of my preferences, and where I had more wiggle room. (I left off some that I like more than some I included. Omitting "Please Let Me Wonder," "Kiss Me Baby," "She Knows Me Too Well," "Don't Hurt My Little Sister," "Good to My Baby," "You're So Good To Me," "Car Crazy Cutie," "In the Parkin' Lot"...even "Shut Down," which is down my list but still cool. Tough business.) The Beach Boys, The Yellow Album1) I Get Around 2) Little Honda 3) Don't Worry Baby 4) Little Deuce Coupe 5) In My Room 6) Fun, Fun, Fun 7) Surfer Girl 8) Hawaii 9) Catch a Wave 10) The Surfer Moon 11) Don't Back Down 12) Surfin USA 13) When I Grow Up to be a Man 14) Do You Wanna Dance 15) Dance Dance Dance 16) Wendy 17) Why Do Fools Fall In Love 18) Hushabye 19) The Girl from NYC 20) The Little Girl I Once Knew 21) The Warmth of the Sun 22) Help Me, Rhonda 23) All Summer Long 24) California Girls Nice list! I like the way you sequenced the tracks, although I'm a bit surprised that none of the tracks on side 2 of Today made your album. (Personal preference but give me any of those ballads over Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Don't Back Down or Hawaii haha) Like you said though, not every track can make the cut!
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 28, 2024 20:37:13 GMT
Like I said, some of those did really kill me. And actually I do prefer some of them to those songs you mentioned. Some of them are actually among my personal favorites overall! (I should look back at my Top 100, but I'm betting at least Kiss Me Baby and Please Let Me Wonder are in my Top 50 overall.) It just came down to what I thought fit where, trying to force things somewhat into those themes, etc.
One thing with the Beach Boys and Brian in particular that is always an issue when it comes to sequencing is that a disproportionate number of the best songs are ballads. I love a much higher proportion of them than I do the rockers, and when I'm trying to make a properly sequenced album, I just feel funny having more than about two ballads per side (and even that is pushing it).
So I don't disagree with you, actually. Though I do REALLY love Don't Back Down (of the ones you mentioned).
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 28, 2024 20:48:16 GMT
Like I said, some of those did really kill me. And actually I do prefer some of them to those songs you mentioned. Some of them are actually among my personal favorites overall! (I should look back at my Top 100, but I'm betting at least Kiss Me Baby and Please Let Me Wonder are in my Top 50 overall.) It just came down to what I thought fit where, trying to force things somewhat into those themes, etc. One thing with the Beach Boys and Brian in particular that is always an issue when it comes to sequencing is that a disproportionate number of the best songs are ballads. I love a much higher proportion of them than I do the rockers, and when I'm trying to make a properly sequenced album, I just feel funny having more than about two ballads per side (and even that is pushing it). So I don't disagree with you, actually. Though I do REALLY love Don't Back Down (of the ones you mentioned). There are two songs from your album that I was curious about.
I've noticed in various past threads that you are a fan of "The Surfer Moon". I realize it's not a pure ballad, but I do find the song a full grade or more below Brian's other ballads from that era. What is it that attracts you to "The Surfer Moon"?
Also, maybe the biggest surprise on your album would be "Why Do Fools Fall In Love". I like the song a lot. It's a great production and BW vocal. However, it's never been a personal favorite, cover or otherwise, and not even close to an all-timer for me. Again, I certainly appreciate it...but what part(s) of the song really stand out to you?
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 28, 2024 22:30:12 GMT
There are two songs from your album that I was curious about. I've noticed in various past threads that you are a fan of "The Surfer Moon". I realize it's not a pure ballad, but I do find the song a full grade or more below Brian's other ballads from that era. What is it that attracts you to "The Surfer Moon"? Also, maybe the biggest surprise on your album would be "Why Do Fools Fall In Love". I like the song a lot. It's a great production and BW vocal. However, it's never been a personal favorite, cover or otherwise, and not even close to an all-timer for me. Again, I certainly appreciate it...but what part(s) of the song really stand out to you?
I appreciate the questions, but I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed by my responses... My better answer might be for "The Surfer Moon." I think it's one of Brian's best representations of what he brought to the table outside of the more complex, Four Freshman-style vocal arrangements in terms of his taste. I often talk about Brian as a bit of a square to challenge (or at least contrast for some shading) the idea of him as a progressive, avant garde genius. This is exactly that: it's a pre-rock styled tune that could have been done by any number of singers of the Great American Songbook. It's more complex than your typical I-IV-V rock 'n' roll song, but it's not anything crazy. But it's beautiful, it's well crafted ... I just love it. I think it's great. Whether it's better than some of those later ballads I omitted ... maybe not. Probably not. But I'm already short on earlier material, and it also fit the theme of that side. So I don't regret it, either. I love it. As for "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," that's tougher, because it was something of a coin flip. You said some of what I think is in its favor: good production, great vocal. (I would go beyond just Brian's vocal to the rest of the vocals, too.) But then I have to admit I also wanted to keep more uptempo songs in there, and this fits that criterion. It's not one of my 24 favorites from this era. But I do really like it, so I don't mean to short-change it here, either.
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