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Post by Kapitan on Jun 7, 2021 11:50:50 GMT
On December 18, 1967, two months after the album's lead-off single of the same name, the Beach Boys released their new album, Wild Honey. They simultaneously released their latest single, "Darlin," backed with "Here Today."
The song began life as " Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby," a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love and given to Sharon Marie to release as a single in 1964. That version, arranged and produced by Wilson, sounded like a Spectoresque, girl-group single.
"Darlin" had a track that was much more soul or RnB influenced. It was originally intended (along with "Time To Get Alone") to be given to Redwood, the predecessor band to Three Dog Night, as a favor to Wilson's friend Danny Hutton. Love and Carl Wilson intervened, and Wilson instead produced it as a Beach Boys song. Including horns along with the band and a full arrangement of background vocals, it is one of the most fully produced songs on the relatively minimalist album.
For the B-side, the group looked back two albums and a year and a half to Pet Sounds, choosing "Here Today."
The single, reaching #19 in the US and #11 in the UK, was a moderate hit. As was the case with the prior couple of singles, it performed decently but not as well as their string of mid-sixties hits. It has remained a live staple and been covered several times.
Please rate and discuss "Darlin" backed with "Here Today."
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Post by kds on Jun 7, 2021 12:31:53 GMT
I'm going with a nine for Darlin. Darlin is one of those songs that I feel like I take for granted. I rarely listen to it on its own, but when I hear it in concert, or on one my BB playlists, or when I listen to Wild Honey, I always very much enjoy it.
Going two albums back for the B side again. Still a great track, even if it seems way out of place here.
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Post by carllove on Jun 7, 2021 12:43:04 GMT
You had me at Darlin’! One of my favorite Carl vocals and in my top 10 post Pet Sounds Beach Boys songs. Clean, clear, poppy yet with an R&B vibe and reminds me of a period of time in my childhood that was the late 60’s with lyrics like “Cause I think You’re doggone outta site”. The song just makes me happy.
Now to top it off, we get a B side gem in Here Today. Love the chorus, then when it breaks down to the horns and orchestration in the “You’ve got to keep in mind love is here today” - Just Genius!
This is up in my top 2 Beach Boys Singles releases - #2 after Wouldn’t it be Nice/God Only Knows, so it’s a 10 for me!
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 7, 2021 12:54:18 GMT
I like "Darlin'" a lot. It's a very good song. The track isn't mind-blowing (like Brian's previous 3 or 4 singles), but the vocals are fine, both lead and background. It's a little tame for late 1967/early 1968, but it kept 'em on the radio, and they certainly got significant mileage out of it live (it did appear on 3 live albums).
The Beach Boys and/or Capitol Records were nuts! As I'm typing this, I'm trying to think of one good reason why they would choose "Here Today" as the B-Side. I can't think of one. As Kapitan pointed out, "Darlin'" was released simultaneously with the Wild Honey album. Sooooooooo, why didn't they choose another Wild Honey song as the B-Side? Or, like "You're Welcome", why couldn't Brian Wilson come up with another little quickie B-Side? No, instead they choose to go back almost two years and three albums and pull a track from there. Unbelievable.
"Darlin'" gets a strong 8, maybe a low 9. Nothing against "Here Today", the song, but the choice as the B-Side is just plain wrong. I almost want to go down to a 7 for this single, but I'll be kind and rate it an 8.
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 7, 2021 13:04:12 GMT
I'm going with a 9, though I admit I could waver either way as I give it more thought.
I really like "Darlin" quite a bit. Sometimes I feel the studio version here is a tiny bit slow, as it always rocks live (as many songs tend to do), but I actually think that instinct in me is wrong. I think it's the right tempo as-is, it grooves that way. And I disagree with SJS that the track "isn't mind-blowing," I think it's really great. I guess technically, sure, it isn't "mind-blowing" in that it doesn't break new ground, but it is a really fantastic RnB rock track.
"Here Today" is a little odd as a choice for the B-side, but it's a great song. And thankfully, with "Darlin" being pretty heavily produced, it wouldn't seem as out of place as it might have alongside some other WH tracks. I think it's really an epic recording, though not exactly what would occur to me as single material.
"Time to Get Alone" seems to me a great, and more relevant, choice for a B-side here. But oh well.
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Post by lonelysummer on Jun 7, 2021 20:02:47 GMT
I rate this an 8. The b-side makes no sense at all, so, in spite of being a great track, I'm deducting a point for choosing an old song for the b-side. Darlin' is a great track that I rate a 9 - only because the live versions are even better. The studio track, although more produced than most of the songs on the album, still feels like it is underproduced. The version on The Beach Boys in Concert kills it - Carl always did a great vocal on this; high energy performance. Okay, what two other live albums is it on? Beach Boys '69 (Live in London)? Knebworth (are we counting posthumourous albums?).
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 7, 2021 23:15:41 GMT
I rate this an 8. The b-side makes no sense at all, so, in spite of being a great track, I'm deducting a point for choosing an old song for the b-side. Darlin' is a great track that I rate a 9 - only because the live versions are even better. The studio track, although more produced than most of the songs on the album, still feels like it is underproduced. The version on The Beach Boys in Concert kills it - Carl always did a great vocal on this; high energy performance. Okay, what two other live albums is it on? Beach Boys '69 (Live in London)? Knebworth (are we counting posthumourous albums?). They also put the In Concert version of "Darlin'" on the Caribou/CBS Ten Years Of Harmony, which was kind of deceiving considering the song originated in 1967, released by...Capitol Records.
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Post by B.E. on Jun 7, 2021 23:49:34 GMT
The Beach Boys and/or Capitol Records were nuts! As I'm typing this, I'm trying to think of one good reason why they would choose "Here Today" as the B-Side. I can't think of one. As Kapitan pointed out, "Darlin'" was released simultaneously with the Wild Honey album. Sooooooooo, why didn't they choose another Wild Honey song as the B-Side? Or, like "You're Welcome", why couldn't Brian Wilson come up with another little quickie B-Side? No, instead they choose to go back almost two years and three albums and pull a track from there. Unbelievable.
It's beyond comprehension. Unless Capitol was thinking that the "underproduced" newer material wasn't going to cut it and thought that "Here Today" had a chance of taking off. It hadn't been released as a single or included on Best of the Beach Boys Vol 1 or 2. It was also thought highly enough ( I guess?) to include it on Stack-o-Tracks.
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Post by B.E. on Jun 7, 2021 23:56:44 GMT
This is tough to rate due to the odd pairing, but both songs are at least 9s on their own. For the record, I think I prefer the B-side here. Not a first on this journey, but not common either.
8
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2021 0:50:34 GMT
Both songs are 10s in my book, so I give this a rating of 10. Even with the odd choice of Here Today on the B-side, a song from a seemingly different era, I might dock it a fraction of a point. It would still be closer to 10 than 9. Therefor, I am rounding up.
They could have backed it with a Smiley track. I am thankful they didn't......
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Post by jk on Jun 8, 2021 9:22:08 GMT
I love "Darlin'" (it makes a wonderful piece for piano) but what on earth is "Here Today" doing on the B-side? Maybe to stop deejays flipping it. (Any contemporary pop fan worth their salt would have owned Pet Sounds by then.)
8, because of the wasted flip...
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 13, 2021 15:47:41 GMT
Reminder: today is the final day to vote on "Darlin" b/w "Here Today," so if you have yet to cast your ballot (but want to), please be sure to do so soon. Tomorrow time marches on.
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 14, 2021 11:41:46 GMT
Thirteen voters have rated "Darlin" backed with "Here Today" an average of 8.8. I'll update the ratings thread shortly and launch our next single.
Thanks for the discussion and for your votes.
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