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Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 20, 2020 14:03:52 GMT
Thanks to the generosity and swift action of two donors at her GoFundMe page, Joshilyn is now the proud owner of a ukulele! Here she can be seen playing it while explaining the intricacies of the Today! version of "Help Me, Ronda". Such a simple track, one might think, and so much to say about it! YouTube subscribers: 156, GoFundMe stands at $3,030 Brian discontinued/moved on from basically...everything...through the years. But the one thing I wish he would've continued throughout his recording life was the use of The Wrecking Crew. It's no use questioning Brian's logic or methods, but I could never figure out that after having so much enjoyment, excitement, and success in working with those guys, that he stopped.
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Post by Kapitan on May 20, 2020 15:10:24 GMT
I could never figure out that after having so much enjoyment, excitement, and success in working with those guys, that he stopped. My guess is that as his ability to be both present and prescient fell--meaning as his struggles increased, he wasn't as able to plan ahead, organize, and get things done efficiently--the cost and labor involved in setting up sessions became prohibitive. And then of course there's the move away from major studios for a while, which probably didn't help.
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Post by jk on May 24, 2020 9:56:27 GMT
Side one of Today! ends with this joyous track, one of my top five favourite BB songs and, as Joshilyn speculates in her latest tutorial, with a powerhouse riff that if recorded some years later could have made it into another less poppy, more aggressive genre. After the heart-warming introduction ("Meow, Meow, Meow" indeed!), the video focuses exclusively on the all-important riff (as in "without it there would be no song"). I love the solo, which rather than slavishly copying the original, goes its own way at times. Nice to hear Joshilyn's considerable guitar chops in action! Can anyone decipher the name JH mentions at 8:18? If not, I'll ask her myself. * It comes during a passage of the tutorial about the serious compression on Carl's solo guitar, possibly by using compressors at RCA, studios where the Boys didn't usually record. One more thing: the setting during the first few minutes is a wonderful study in yellows and browns!  YouTube subscribers: 161, GoFundMe stands at $3,030 * I did, and it's Bones Howe--stupid of me. |
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Post by jk on Jun 2, 2020 15:16:37 GMT
Joshilyn sneaks in this mini-episode showcasing early BB harmonica stuff to tide us hungry fans over before side two of Today! gets the JH treatment:
YouTube subscribers: 169, GoFundMe stands at $3,050
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Post by jk on Jun 9, 2020 10:07:58 GMT
This latest tutorial sees JH introducing into the discussion instruments she doesn't have in her possession right now, in this case a baritone sax and a Farfisa. I welcome this new development of faking instruments, as the three saxes in "Please Let Me Wonder" are a fascinating aspect of the song. They complement the voices so well. Edit: That violin snippet at the start had me flummoxed literally for hours! It's weird how a melody out of context can throw one completely. I kept hearing this naggingly familiar tune in A minor!  YouTube subscribers: 179, GoFundMe stands at $2,050 [regrettably not $3,050, as erroneously stated in previous posts--if only!] |
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 9, 2020 15:24:04 GMT
I always thought that the beauty of "Please Let Me Wonder"'s instrumental track was somewhat lost to the muddy mix and mastering on Today! I have a bootleg of some of the sessions and it's much more revealing.
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Post by jk on Jun 16, 2020 9:20:02 GMT
I always thought that the beauty of "Please Let Me Wonder"'s instrumental track was somewhat lost to the muddy mix and mastering on Today! I have a bootleg of some of the sessions and it's much more revealing. Now I understand why the tambourine player missed his cue towards the end--it was the Boys' roadie Ron Swallow! That's him at top right in the big Party! picture, pondering his next move.
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Post by jk on Jun 16, 2020 9:35:37 GMT
Talking of Mr Swallow, he's on "I'm So Young" as well, as Joshilyn points out in her latest tutorial. I see Craig S credits Carl with 6-string bass (the instrument used for the "swooping" motif) although like JH he says it's almost certainly Brian playing that part. Ah... I see Carl is doubling Al's bass line (I may have missed that in the video). For me, the two most fascinating aspects of the track are that really low chugging organ (to give the voices plenty of room?) and the entire kit on tape delay! It's wonderful to be able to hear that compared with Dennis's "dry" kit--how did we ever manage without Joshilyn? YouTube subscribers: 197, GoFundMe stands at $2,030 www.tiptopwebsite.com/custommusic2/craigslowinskicom.pdf |
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Post by jk on Jun 16, 2020 19:09:32 GMT
I see Craig S credits Carl with 6-string bass (the instrument used for the "swooping" motif) although like JH he says it's almost certainly Brian playing that part. Ah... I see Carl is doubling Al's bass line (I may have missed that in the video). I didn't miss it in the video--because it never happened. Okay, I wasn't there, but I have it on the most reliable authority I know that Al was the only one playing the "standard" bass line that day. Carl just played two, non-simultaneous guitar parts--the entire guitar arrangement for this track is very sparse and functional. But then if any BB song is all about the voices, it's "I'm So Young".
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Post by jk on Jun 26, 2020 17:17:42 GMT
Joshilyn does her thing on oboe (depping for Cor Anglais) and French Horn (made in Germany) in this week's tutorial devoted to "Kiss Me, Baby". (Note that Missy the real live cat has been briefly pushed aside in favour of Kūruš the plush toy dik-dik.)
Interesting to note that Carl (on "I'm So Young") and Pitman and Kessel (in this instance) tuned their guitars down a semitone to get the full sound while playing in E flat. Maybe in Carl's case it simply made things easier for him but not for professionals like Bill and Barney. It's clearly what Brian wanted. Enjoy!
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Post by jk on Jun 28, 2020 11:07:23 GMT
Joshilyn does her thing on oboe (depping for Cor Anglais) and French Horn (made in Germany) in this week's tutorial devoted to "Kiss Me, Baby". On the subject of "KMB", whatever induced Mark L (or perhaps Brian) to sanitize Mike's woefully inaccurate but now unmissable closing "Woh woh baby" in the stereo version? It's impossible to imagine the song without it and anyone singing along with JH's track is going to sing "Woh woh baby" rather than "Woh baby" at that point! I certainly did (be glad you couldn't hear it).
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 28, 2020 13:10:28 GMT
Brian Wilson's Wall Of Sound. How exciting it must've been to be in the studio with those musicians playing those songs/arrangements. If there's one BW sound or one "era" that I wish we could've gotten one more album out of, it would've been 1965.
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Post by jk on Jul 7, 2020 9:31:09 GMT
Moving inexorably towards the close of Today!, Joshilyn tackles another predominantly vocal outing, "She Knows Me Too Well". No pets this time, real or plush, and an exclusive "track view" episode. The title still throws her--who's grass and who's the power mower? I always have to think twice myself!
It's fascinating even for a technoramus like me to be taken back aurally to the studios Brian used for this album. I also really like the little on-screen account during playback of the full track. In a way, this is an interlude before the instrumental tour de force that is "ITBOMM". And, if I understand correctly, "Bull Session", one of the much-maligned talk tracks, will be getting some kind of JH treatment next time.
Enjoy!
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Post by jk on Aug 6, 2020 10:49:05 GMT
Joshilyn is back, albeit in trying circumstances. If this corona shit weren't enough, she had a trombone stolen from her building (it had just arrived!!) and her cat is in a bad way. And she herself is in a delicate state. I take my hat off to her for getting any ****ing thing done in those conditions. Although as she says there is the therapeutic, chastening aspect to be considered.
This is part one of what is to be a multi-episode tutorial focusing on "ITBOMM". I know she has worked on and off on it for months (I was shown some early work on it last Christmas!) and it promises to be the most comprehensive of all her tutorials to date. Hang on in there, Joshilyn. These videos of yours are balm in these ridiculous times -- we need you! -- and hopefully they have a soothing effect on you too.
YouTube subscribers: 253, GoFundMe stands at $2,170
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Post by jk on Aug 8, 2020 9:44:44 GMT
Joshilyn is back, albeit in trying circumstances. If this corona shit weren't enough, she had a trombone stolen from her building (it had just arrived!!) and her cat is in a bad way. And she herself is in a delicate state. I take my hat off to her for getting any ****ing thing done in those conditions. Although as she says there is the therapeutic, chastening aspect to be considered. This sad tale has a happy ending. The trombone had in fact been delivered to the wrong building (Joshilyn had been notified of its arrival in the vestibule by phone). The swift thinking of a resident of that building and subsequent swift action by the shop that sold it to JH together mean that the instrument is now in Joshilyn's possession! Fair restores one's faith in human nature it does.
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