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Post by jk on Apr 14, 2021 8:08:22 GMT
Just a quick comment on one of the sources cited in the Wiki entry for "Let Him Run Wild."
The section subheaded "Production" starts with the clause "A soulful ballad..."
I have never considered "Let Him Run Wild" a ballad. I admit it's not exactly a rocker, either. It's a relaxed tempo and it certainly opens "softly" in terms of the arrangement, but by the refrain it kicks in and I daresay it almost rocks. It swings, anyway.
Do you consider it a ballad?
As you say, it swings -- or at least the chorus does. A ballad? Not in my book. Or in BW's, one suspects.
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Post by lonelysummer on Apr 15, 2021 2:10:27 GMT
Let Him Run Wild - I especially love the transition from the chorus back to the verse - "waiting for you girl". Surprised everyone here doesn't absolutely love this track. Surprised it wasn't a hit on its own - the BBs had many double sided hits. I am guessing a lot of b-sides became better known when they were included on Endless Summer and Spirit of America. Did every teen in the 60's know songs like Girls on the Beach, Warmth of the Sun, Please Let Me Wonder and Let Him Run Wild?
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Post by jk on Apr 15, 2021 8:26:41 GMT
Let Him Run Wild - I especially love the transition from the chorus back to the verse - "waiting for you girl". Surprised everyone here doesn't absolutely love this track. Surprised it wasn't a hit on its own - the BBs had many double sided hits. I am guessing a lot of b-sides became better known when they were included on Endless Summer and Spirit of America. Did every teen in the 60's know songs like Girls on the Beach, Warmth of the Sun, Please Let Me Wonder and Let Him Run Wild? I don't think it's the lack of love for "LHRW" that's at issue. In my case, at least, it's because it I heard it first as an album track. It's one of so many gorgeous tracks on SD(ASN!!). I think deejays never got to playing it simply because "CG" was so darned strong as an A-side. It's like "LGAFAW" on the flip of "Good Vibrations". I heard Pet Sounds long before it registered that this had been "GV"'s B-side. As for teens in the '60s (ahem!), only those who bought the albums or the relevant singles (or knew someone who'd bought them) ever got to hear the tracks you list. I know I heard side one of Today! at the time (a friend owned it), as I remember being thrown by the different "R(h)onda" (there was so little information in those days).
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 15, 2021 11:05:31 GMT
I wonder if "Let Him Run Wild" was the first song that Beach Boys' fans heard that was a turning point, or not quite what they...wanted. "Let Him Run Wild" has enough "old" Beach Boys' tricks to hook 'em - plenty of Brian, Mike's lyrics, some catchy parts. But, it was a departure, however slight, and fans could/can be fickle.
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 15, 2021 12:05:05 GMT
I wonder if "Let Him Run Wild" was the first song that Beach Boys' fans heard that was a turning point, or not quite what they...wanted. "Let Him Run Wild" has enough "old" Beach Boys' tricks to hook 'em - plenty of Brian, Mike's lyrics, some catchy parts. But, it was a departure, however slight, and fans could/can be fickle. I think you're on to something with this. I'm not sure whether it is something that would have been noticeable at the time, but in hindsight, I think you could argue this single is a turning point--and not just the B-side.
I do think "Let Him Run Wild" is the first song on a single that really looks forward to Pet Sounds, not in terms of the more mature arrangement, but even the song itself. It is hard to categorize, really just an example of that semi-orchestral chamber pop that Brian worked with over the next few years. Previous songs that included this type of arrangement were ballads: "Please Let Me Wonder," etc. This is a spacey, reverb-soaked, unconventional song.
And even "California Girls" strays ever so little. Between its much-lauded introduction to its very unhip cowboy bass line (I know I've mentioned that a few times, but really: it's weird! For a rock and roll group to whip out a part from a cliched western?) to its odd, unresolved chord pattern in the chorus, it adds a few wrinkles.
They didn't really return to classic rock and roll A-side, ballad B-side format until 1972, with "You Need A Mess of Help (to Stand Alone)" b/w "Cuddle Up." And that was a whole different universe of a music scene (and a whole different band).
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 15, 2021 12:15:42 GMT
Let Him Run Wild ... Surprised everyone here doesn't absolutely love this track. I think most everyone more or less does absolutely love it, with only a few, very minor exceptions.
The worst things anyone has said about it were "just shy of a 10" and "I like [it] a lot but it's not an all-timer with me. Close though." And so far, it has been voted a 9.7, with five of seven votes being 10s. If that rating holds, it will tie for the second-highest rating of any single.
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Post by kds on Apr 15, 2021 12:17:31 GMT
I wonder if "Let Him Run Wild" was the first song that Beach Boys' fans heard that was a turning point, or not quite what they...wanted. "Let Him Run Wild" has enough "old" Beach Boys' tricks to hook 'em - plenty of Brian, Mike's lyrics, some catchy parts. But, it was a departure, however slight, and fans could/can be fickle. I was thinking the same thing.
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 18, 2021 22:05:11 GMT
Please note we're approaching the cutoff for the poll on this single. Votes and comments welcome before we move along!
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 19, 2021 11:39:01 GMT
Eight voters rated "California Girls" backed with "Let Him Run Wild" an average of 9.6. I will update the ratings thread and launch a new single poll shortly. Thanks for participating.
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