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Post by Kapitan on Jan 18, 2023 21:49:49 GMT
Barco, for me Smile and Smiley Smile had a similar place in making me a fan, because they were both something totally unexpected. Even though the stories were old by the time I got interested--we're talking mid-late '90s for me, not mid-late '60s when it went down!--I had no idea. All I knew of the Beach Boys were the mainstream hits of the '60s (really only up to "Good Vibrations"), and then "Kokomo." And I wasn't interested in any of that. Then, as my story above says, I heard about Pet Sounds. And I did appreciate that, even like that ... but still it didn't make them a big favorite. It just made me respect Brian Wilson. Only then, I think in a (made for TV?) documentary about Brian in the late 90s--but not the Beach Boys Endless Harmony documentary, which I didn't see for another couple of years--I saw the clips from the 1966 Leonard Bernstein TV special that show Brian performing "Surf's Up." Mind. Blown. It wasn't just the music, though it was that, too; it was that this music came from the guy who I mostly knew as the so-called genius behind "Fun, Fun, Fun" or "Surfin USA." Suddenly, I really heard genius more in a style of music I could appreciate. So now I knew, I had it in my back pocket, that there was this unfinished and unreleased masterpiece called Smile that wasn't only not "Surfin Safari," but Pet Sounds. It went way out. Soon after, I found a French import of Smiley Smile of dubious legality, which also had some Smile stuff. So Smiley was my entre to Smile, and I loved it as such. It's just that when I heard the original "Wind Chimes," "Wonderful," and "Heroes and Villains" in particular, that just changed my frame of reference even more! The other really important thing about those albums is of course the extremely compelling story of Brian during that period. It's hard for a certain kind of person not to gravitate to that. I was obsessed with it for years, certainly through the release of Brian Wilson Pressents Smile.
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Barco
Denny's Drums
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Post by Barco on Jan 18, 2023 21:51:56 GMT
Granted, I acknowledge that I really don't think we'll ever actually hear Smile as it was originally intended back in 1967 That's the most important thing to keep in mind. Had it been released as it was intended then, it would surely have been different. More consistent, perhaps? But that's dealing with a lot of What Ifs, and I'm not big on that. What really bothers me about The Smile Sessions now, after that initial discovery and fascination period has gone, is that, despite a handful or so of absolutely fantastic songs, there are just too many unfinished pieces lying around. And they are often repetitive. And that's not to say I don't enjoy I Wanna Be Around, Workshop, I'm In Great Shape, etc. I love them. But the few completed stellar songs surrounded by these nice bits is not enough to justify (for me, anyway) this album being called the greatest in music history or even the greatest in their catalogue.
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Barco
Denny's Drums
Posts: 41
Likes: 72
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Post by Barco on Jan 18, 2023 22:06:41 GMT
Barco , for me Smile and Smiley Smile had a similar place in making me a fan, because they were both something totally unexpected. Even though the stories were old by the time I got interested--we're talking mid-late '90s for me, not mid-late '60s when it went down!--I had no idea. All I knew of the Beach Boys were the mainstream hits of the '60s (really only up to "Good Vibrations"), and then "Kokomo." And I wasn't interested in any of that. Then, as my story above says, I heard about Pet Sounds. And I did appreciate that, even like that ... but still it didn't make them a big favorite. It just made me respect Brian Wilson. Only then, I think in a (made for TV?) documentary about Brian in the late 90s--but not the Beach Boys Endless Harmony documentary, which I didn't see for another couple of years--I saw the clips from the 1966 Leonard Bernstein TV special that show Brian performing "Surf's Up." Mind. Blown. It wasn't just the music, though it was that, too; it was that this music came from the guy who I mostly knew as the so-called genius behind "Fun, Fun, Fun" or "Surfin USA." Suddenly, I really heard genius more in a style of music I could appreciate. So now I knew, I had it in my back pocket, that there was this unfinished and unreleased masterpiece called Smile that wasn't only not "Surfin Safari," but Pet Sounds. It went way out. Soon after, I found a French import of Smiley Smile of dubious legality, which also had some Smile stuff. So Smiley was my entre to Smile, and I loved it as such. It's just that when I heard the original "Wind Chimes," "Wonderful," and "Heroes and Villains" in particular, that just changed my frame of reference even more! The other really important thing about those albums is of course the extremely compelling story of Brian during that period. It's hard for a certain kind of person not to gravitate to that. I was obsessed with it for years, certainly through the release of Brian Wilson Pressents Smile. I second that. I've always had it in my mind that, in many cases, the personality, figure or story of an artist are as important as the music in determining how much and many casual listeners turn into dedicated fans. But that's not a bad thing at all, on the contrary, but I'll get more into it at another time. But I do think Smile's reputation does, to an extent, rely on this aspect of things. I don't think what we have now (that is TSS and BWPS) on their own would be enough to be hailed as the absolute pinnacle of music if history didn't say so over and over. It is still great material, obviously. And about those 1966 clips: terrific. From the looks of it to Brian's performance and music, it's stunning. Is there a videos thread somewhere on this board?
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Post by B.E. on Jan 19, 2023 0:54:45 GMT
Sheriff John Stone and kds , it's ok to repeat the stories--especially since now these tellings act more or less as an intro of us to our newer members. I thought we had a thread like this, but when I dug it up this morning and realized we'd only barely used it (all on one day, March 20, 2019!), it seemed it might come in handy for new and old members alike. It's a nice opportunity for people to get to know one another all in one place. Thanks for reviving the thread. That might have been my first post here! (It was posted within an hour of registering.) Looks like this forum was created on about March 13, 2019? So, I missed the chaotic first week. Anyway, we're coming up on four years here...time flies! This has BY FAR been my favorite forum. I enjoyed reading SSMB. There was (and is) a lot of great information there. But as my post counts indicate, I enjoy participating in the discussions here much more than I did at SSMB, PSF, or EH.
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Post by B.E. on Jan 19, 2023 1:03:41 GMT
It's a shame you missed our Zeppelin and full Beatles threads: we went through each album. (We've got the Beatles US albums going now, which you've seen, but previously did the full UK albums plus all of their solo albums, in chronological order. That was a major effort!) Speaking of that, we enjoy doing those exercises here sometimes with various bands a sufficient number of people like. If you've got any suggestions... By the way, I think posters should feel free here to revive any older threads they please. I've noticed on other boards that that's sort of frowned upon, but I actually prefer it to starting a new thread about the same topic or not posting at all. It might seem a little awkward for some to quote a 2-year-old post, but we're talking about 50-year-old music so what's the difference?
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Post by carllove on Jan 19, 2023 1:06:11 GMT
Love and Mercy - The Movie - Is what started my Beach Boys obsession. I had no idea how amazing the music was, despite having seen them perform live in 1986 with the Moody Blues (my obsession at the time) or Mike Love perform at South Padre Island with Dean Torrance in 1983. Those faithfully reproduced Pet Sounds recording sessions just drew me in. So in 2016, I purchased “Classics Selected by Brian Wilson” and was blown away. After playing the heck out of that - I got the GV Box Set on eBay in 2017 and listened to discs 2 and 3 in my car, for four years. I had Apple Music (Still Do) so I didn’t feel the need to purchase any of the albums, except for Rarities on cassette and KTSA because for some reason I forgot that disc four of the GV Boxset included “Goin On”. Then I joined this forum. I started to actually purchase albums on CD and discovered Dennis Wilson. I actually bought a demo of “Sound of Free / Lady” before I had a turntable. So I hated Smiley Smile when it came up in the album rankings on this forum - having listened to most of the Smile versions of songs like “Wonderful” , “Wind Chimes” and “Vegetables” on CD for years via the GV Boxset and then hearing the Smiley Smile versions on Apple Music on a Bluetooth speaker (not my current Harmon Kardon - That Speaker rocks!) I purchased an AT LP120XUSB turntable and got some Klipsch the Sixes and started to buy some vinyl. After buying up every great version of Pet Sounds, Friends and Wild Honey, I could find, I decided I needed to work on completing my 1980’s Capitol Record’s green label collection - so I got a never opened copy of Smiley Smile - and it wasn’t even like the same thing I had heard on Apple Music. It was a revelation. It was just as chill as Friends. Funny thing was - I received my signed copy of the Smiley Smile CD liner notes from David Leaf at the same time. It was Kismet.
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Post by B.E. on Jan 19, 2023 1:06:24 GMT
Fast forward to the late 1980's. This time our local hits station was heavily playing "I Get Around" and "Warmth of the Sun" to promote the Good Morning Vietnam Soundtrack. I rushed out and purchased that soundtrack on cassette (which I still have). That was where it started. Rummaging through a bargain bin (remember those?) I found a budget compilation cassette of the Beach Boys called Surfs Up (not to be confused with the 1971 Reprise album that I was a long ways from discovering at that point). You got me curious, is this it?
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Post by B.E. on Jan 19, 2023 1:13:27 GMT
So in 2016, I purchased “Classics Selected by Brian Wilson” and was blown away. I'm curious, what were your thoughts on "California Feelin'"? Did you realize it was a recent recording? A solo recording? Did it clash with the rest of the album? Did you like it? Skip it? After playing the heck out of that - I got the GV Box Set on eBay in 2017 and listened to discs 2 and 3 in my car, for four years. Haha, nice! That's hardcore!
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Post by B.E. on Jan 19, 2023 1:34:30 GMT
This changed in 2015 or 2016, I think, when I stumbled upon this video on the internet of two guys talking about Led Zeppelin's discography. Discography? What does that even mean? And that's when I learned about what an album was, and I went to check it for myself. I listened to all of Zeppelin's album in the original release order over the next few months and I just went mad. I didn't know music could sound like that, I didn't know music could feel like that. I was obsessing over a catalogue from a band gone long before I was born, but this never felt weird to me. The music was still there for us to listen, after all.I, too, went through a Zeppelin phase. I discovered them in high school, but I remember commuting to college and listening to nothing but Led Zeppelin. Heck, I remember listening solely to Physical Graffiti for months on end! But it's really the bolded part above that I most relate to it. That's pretty much my entire musical history. And music's a big part of my life. And I just continued from there. I started going through the albums of other artists and discovering, overtime, what it is I like in music and what doesn't do it for me. It was when I got into The Beatles, though, that once more the way I think about music was completely reorganized. My favourite album was Sgt Pepper and, through research on the web, I found this almost unanimous opinion: If you're looking for something 'like' Sgt Pepper, you have to listen to The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. And so I did. And I didn't like it. At all. Probably because I was comparing both and PS didn't have the same psychedelic immediacy and bright sound Pepper had. Maybe I just 'wasn't ready' for something like that yet. My story is the first post of this thread. But I didn't include how I, like you, largely came to the Beach Boys from the Beatles. In particular, drawn to Pet Sounds in much the same way I imagine thousands of others probably have. And this was the early 2000s with all the buzz surrounding Brian's comeback and BWPS - which meant, despite still being more of a casual fan, I was aware of Brian's career and interested in his music.) Difference being, I fell in love with Pet Sounds right away! It's been one of my all-time favorites ever since.
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Post by carllove on Jan 19, 2023 1:37:22 GMT
So in 2016, I purchased “Classics Selected by Brian Wilson” and was blown away. I'm curious, what were your thoughts on "California Feelin'"? Did you realize it was a recent recording? A solo recording? Did it clash with the rest of the album? Did you like it? Skip it? After playing the heck out of that - I got the GV Box Set on eBay in 2017 and listened to discs 2 and 3 in my car, for four years. Haha, nice! That's hardcore! “California Feelin’” was indeed a skip - though I do like it now. Didn’t when I was a new fan. It did indeed clash. Didn’t know if it was new or not - just listened once and pretty much didn’t after that. I like what I like - and those two discs were the bomb. I think I’ve only listened to the first and fourth discs once. Then in 2021 Feel Flows was released and discs two and three of the GV Boxset were replaced with Discs two and five of Feel Flows. I also had the Friends 20/20 and Sunflower Surf’s Up Two Fers in the car CD player at that time. Two fers were replaced with the first Disc of The Dennis Wilson POB deluxe edition and the DCC gold Pet Sounds. I also have discs 2 and 3 of the new The Very Best of The Sounds of Summer in my 6 CD Changer. Also have Rarities in my cassette player. May my Toyota Avalon live forever! That JBL sound system is the bomb. So many speakers.
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sockit
The Surfer Moon
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Post by sockit on Jan 19, 2023 2:43:07 GMT
Fast forward to the late 1980's. This time our local hits station was heavily playing "I Get Around" and "Warmth of the Sun" to promote the Good Morning Vietnam Soundtrack. I rushed out and purchased that soundtrack on cassette (which I still have). That was where it started. Rummaging through a bargain bin (remember those?) I found a budget compilation cassette of the Beach Boys called Surfs Up (not to be confused with the 1971 Reprise album that I was a long ways from discovering at that point). You got me curious, is this it? Yup! And I later had the exact same comp on CD for a short time, but it had a completely different cover. I think it was a Canadian release.
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Post by carllove on Jan 19, 2023 3:40:50 GMT
As much as I do appreciate Smiley Smile though - I still listen to Pet Sounds, Friends and Wild Honey more. “This Whole World”, “God Only Knows”, “Don’t Talk, Put Your Head On My Shoulders”, “Be Here in the Mornin’”, “Aren’t You Glad” and “I Was Made To Love Her” are my most frequently played songs right now.
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Post by kds on Jan 19, 2023 13:56:34 GMT
Granted, I acknowledge that I really don't think we'll ever actually hear Smile as it was originally intended back in 1967 That's the most important thing to keep in mind. Had it been released as it was intended then, it would surely have been different. More consistent, perhaps? But that's dealing with a lot of What Ifs, and I'm not big on that. What really bothers me about The Smile Sessions now, after that initial discovery and fascination period has gone, is that, despite a handful or so of absolutely fantastic songs, there are just too many unfinished pieces lying around. And they are often repetitive. And that's not to say I don't enjoy I Wanna Be Around, Workshop, I'm In Great Shape, etc. I love them. But the few completed stellar songs surrounded by these nice bits is not enough to justify (for me, anyway) this album being called the greatest in music history or even the greatest in their catalogue. I agree with this assessment. The exceptions to me are probably A Song for Children and Child is the Father of the Man. Even in their unfinished forms, I really enjoy them, especially as a potential suite with Surf's Up.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 19, 2023 14:21:55 GMT
Is there a videos thread somewhere on this board? Depending on what you mean, there is a Beach Boys on YouTube thread where people just post whatever videos they happen to find (performances, features, interviews, or whatever), and then there are threads dedicated to each officially released video in this section. If neither of those seems right, feel free to start a new one that fits what you're after!
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Post by kds on Jan 19, 2023 14:23:42 GMT
It's a shame you missed our Zeppelin and full Beatles threads: we went through each album. (We've got the Beatles US albums going now, which you've seen, but previously did the full UK albums plus all of their solo albums, in chronological order. That was a major effort!) Speaking of that, we enjoy doing those exercises here sometimes with various bands a sufficient number of people like. If you've got any suggestions... By the way, I think posters should feel free here to revive any older threads they please. I've noticed on other boards that that's sort of frowned upon, but I actually prefer it to starting a new thread about the same topic or not posting at all. It might seem a little awkward for some to quote a 2-year-old post, but we're talking about 50-year-old music so what's the difference? Yes, I second that. And there are also threads that delve into the catalogs of Pink Floyd, Queen, and KISS as well.
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