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Post by Kapitan on Aug 2, 2021 11:25:35 GMT
As the Beach Boys continued into summer working on their first album of the 1970s, they released another single featuring music from that album (following the first Sunflower release, "Add Some Music To Your Day," by about six months). It was in late June that they tried another single, a Dennis Wilson song "Slip On Through," backed with Brian's "This Whole World."
After four consecutive singles charting lower (in the US) than its predecessor, neither song charted anywhere in the world, the first such failure of a single by the band.
Please discuss and rate "Slip On Through" and "This Whole World."
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 2, 2021 12:15:25 GMT
Stating the obvious here, but how the mighty have fallen. Just four years after Pet Sounds and "Good Vibrations" - and being ranked the No. 1 group in the world by a poll that Mike Love likes to mention - The Beach Boys release a single that doesn't even chart...anywhere. Looking back, it's still perplexing. How could that happen? And, it's not that the music was bad. It was good!
I guess I'll start by getting in trouble. While I like "Slip On Through" a lot, I think it has been overrated by Beach Boys' fans through the years. It's a good song, well performed, but I don't think it's a great song. Off the subject slightly, but I also don't think it should've opened Sunflower. "Slip On Through" does show Dennis' versatility. He could also write straightforward pop songs. He was singing very well, too.
Should've "Slip On Through" been the A-side? What did the group and/or Reprise have against "This Whole World"? Was it the length? Surely there were other hit records that hovered around two minutes, even in 1970. "This Whole World" is the best song on the album, isn't it? I think it would've sounded great on AM radio.
This single should've been a hit. The timing was good. It was released in the summer of 1970, BEFORE the album came out. That's a good thing. I'm going with a 9 on this one - "This Whole World" is a 10, possibly the greatest B-side in the group's history. Woulda/shoulda/coulda...
Trivia: Jack Conrad played lead guitar on "Slip On Through" and bass on "This Whole World". After Jim Morrison died, The three surviving Doors toured for a few years with additional musicians. Jack Conrad played bass with that configuration and on the albums, Other Voices and Full Circle.
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Post by kds on Aug 2, 2021 12:20:47 GMT
Sheriff, I very much agree that Slip on Through has been overrated by BB fans. I think it's a good song. I do not think it was a song that should've opened The Beach Boys first album of the 1970s, nor do I think it should have been an A Side.
IMO, the opening song and lead single for Sunflower should have been This Whole World, which is bafflingly released here as a B Side. I can't think of a better song to usher in a brand new decade for one of the top bands of the 1960s. In two minutes, it's got everything you could possibly want in an upbeat Beach Boys song.
Maybe you lure people in with This Whole World, then give them Slip On Through. This is bass ackyards.
I'll go eight here, but if the songs were flipped, I'd likely go 9 or even 10. No, probably not 10.
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Aug 2, 2021 12:27:37 GMT
I have to go with a 9 as well. I also would have went with This Whole World as the A side (or It's About Time or All I Wanna Do), but Slip On Through was still a fine choice. It certainly deserved to chart! I wonder if there are any interviews right after period on what the group was thinking. I'd imagine there is. I guess the ultimate decision was to bring in Jack Rieley and Blondie and Ricky to mix things up. They had such a stockpile of songs from that time, so I suppose even if those guys weren't brought on board, they could've easily released another album right away instead of putting those songs on previous and upcoming boxsets.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 2, 2021 12:43:08 GMT
My initial comments aren't much different from those already posted.
"This Whole World" is probably the best song on the album, and it's certainly my favorite. What's more, it strikes me as something that, if well promoted, could have had real commercial potential. Instead, it was a B-side.
"Slip On Through" is among my few favorite Dennis Beach Boys songs, and actually among my 10 favorites from him overall. However, that doesn't warrant A-side single status for me. However, I actually like the general idea of the single being a more energetic, propulsive track. ("This Whole World" would qualify in that regard as well.)
I have to wonder about the promotional campaigns they ran, if any. Because even if this is a flawed choice, it's amazing to me that this didn't chart at all.
8.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2021 21:45:39 GMT
There's not much I can add to what's already been said; I pretty much agree that the sides should have been switched. You hear of so many times in rock history when DJs would play a B-side and it becomes the hit (SAC's "Incense and Peppermints", The Who's "I Can't Explain", The Kinks' "Who'll be the Next in Line", etc.) Why couldn't that have happened this time around?
I see "This Whole World" as Brian's 1970 "I Get Around". Sure, the lyrical theme is completely different (albeit, all growed up now), but the structure of the song is somewhat similar in that it delivers a heavily layered vocal tag, an innovative chord structure, and instrumentation that moves around without being intrusive. All this takes place in approx. 2 mins; it goes in, gets out and leaves you wanting to hear it again. Brian was in his classic form here.
"Slip on Through" is a fine song, but not A-side-first-track-on the-album-fine.
All that said I give this a 9, based on song choice but not sequence choice.
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Post by lonelysummer on Aug 3, 2021 1:45:28 GMT
If I just think of this as two songs from Sunflower, I'd give it a 10, but we're talking singles here. I think both sides are lacking in terms of what was getting played on AM radio in 1970. Sunflower is an album that really needs to be heard as an album. Many of the songs are very strong, but I think they gain from their placement on the album. The album is nearly perfect - is that like almost pregnant? Okay, there might be a couple minor changes I would make, but I think it's the best effort by the Beach Boys as a group - not just Brian Wilson and his backup singers. I really can't think of any Beach Boys recordings from the early 70's that had hit single written all over them, except Sail On Sailor. So we've got two recordings that easily rate a 9 or 10 as part of the album, but as a stand alone single, I'll rate them an 8.
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Post by jk on Aug 3, 2021 21:43:07 GMT
Two great album tracks. I can't vote for them as a 45...
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 7, 2021 14:25:45 GMT
Two great album tracks. I can't vote for them as a 45... I can't see that for "This Whole World." To me, that song has single written all over it. It's catchy, but trickily catchy with its constant key changes, so it strays from being generic. It's driving in its rhythm: that drum fill taking us from the (also great for a single, as an attention getter) intro really gets things going. And yes, of course great singing throughout.
For me, the idea that it's more just an album track is hard to understand. I'd promote, not demote, it (to an A side).
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Post by jk on Aug 7, 2021 16:18:25 GMT
Two great album tracks. I can't vote for them as a 45... I can't see that for "This Whole World." To me, that song has single written all over it. It's catchy, but trickily catchy with its constant key changes, so it strays from being generic. It's driving in its rhythm: that drum fill taking us from the (also great for a single, as an attention getter) intro really gets things going. And yes, of course great singing throughout.
For me, the idea that it's more just an album track is hard to understand. I'd promote, not demote, it (to an A side).
Fact is, I've only ever heard it as an album track, years after the 45 was released (no recollection of that at all). Same holds for "SOT".
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 7, 2021 16:24:47 GMT
I can't see that for "This Whole World." To me, that song has single written all over it. It's catchy, but trickily catchy with its constant key changes, so it strays from being generic. It's driving in its rhythm: that drum fill taking us from the (also great for a single, as an attention getter) intro really gets things going. And yes, of course great singing throughout.
For me, the idea that it's more just an album track is hard to understand. I'd promote, not demote, it (to an A side).
Fact is, I've only ever heard it as an album track, years after the 45 was released (no recollection of that at all). Same holds for "SOT". I get that literally--that you were exposed to it as an album track instead of as a single--but I still don't really get it figuratively. (None of this is judging, by the way. I'm just contrasting our experiences from my perspective.) By that same logic, I couldn't "hear as a single" any Beach Boys songs except "Kokomo," "Wipeout," "That's Why God Made the Radio," and "Isn't It Time." I think those are the only Beach Boys singles I ever heard as singles at the time they were released. The vast majority were from before I was born or conscious, and then I just never heard most of them in my lifetime, with most of them having been relative flops and me not being a fan through much of that time.
Yet I can hear "I Get Around" and think it's an obvious single. I just mean you can often hear what makes a single, what makes a song catch hold with people. Energy, a hook, a melody, a singalong chorus, a riff, a clever lyrical maneuver...a single! When I say I can hear the single, I could be talking about a non-single or a single, but just a song with the stuff of a single. I think "This Whole World" easily fits that mold ... and it was a (B-side) single, besides, whether I heard it in 1970 or not! (The answer, of course, me being -6 years old at the time, is not.)
Does that make sense?
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Post by jk on Aug 8, 2021 10:57:43 GMT
Fact is, I've only ever heard it as an album track, years after the 45 was released (no recollection of that at all). Same holds for "SOT". I get that literally--that you were exposed to it as an album track instead of as a single--but I still don't really get it figuratively. (None of this is judging, by the way. I'm just contrasting our experiences from my perspective.) By that same logic, I couldn't "hear as a single" any Beach Boys songs except "Kokomo," "Wipeout," "That's Why God Made the Radio," and "Isn't It Time." I think those are the only Beach Boys singles I ever heard as singles at the time they were released. The vast majority were from before I was born or conscious, and then I just never heard most of them in my lifetime, with most of them having been relative flops and me not being a fan through much of that time.
Yet I can hear "I Get Around" and think it's an obvious single. I just mean you can often hear what makes a single, what makes a song catch hold with people. Energy, a hook, a melody, a singalong chorus, a riff, a clever lyrical maneuver...a single! When I say I can hear the single, I could be talking about a non-single or a single, but just a song with the stuff of a single. I think "This Whole World" easily fits that mold ... and it was a (B-side) single, besides, whether I heard it in 1970 or not! (The answer, of course, me being -6 years old at the time, is not.)
Does that make sense?
I think so! It's just not the angle I'm coming from.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 8, 2021 11:41:43 GMT
Final day to vote on "Slip On Through" / "This Whole World." Please do get in your vote!
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Post by B.E. on Aug 8, 2021 15:00:06 GMT
For the 2nd single in a row I've got to go against the grain - this is a 10!!! I've got it in 4th place behind WIBN/GOK, IGA/DWB, and SG/LDC. It's pretty clear to me that they went with the double-A side approach here. Not only were these their best two tracks available, but the single showcased both sides of the group - "Slip On Through" featuring Dennis (and Mike) at their coolest and "This Whole World" featuring Brian (and Carl) at their most innovative...and even...entrancing. Kapitan was right to point out that both sides are energetic and propulsive - which I'd think is ideal for a single release. sockit was also right to point out that plenty of B-sides have been played by DJs and had huge chart success. Now, do I think the Beach Boys could have switched the sides just to be cautious (i.e. anticipating that DJs in 1970 might not listen to both sides of their single)? I'll grant that. But, really, both sides are worthy, and I think the sequence works just fine. The Beach Boys put their best foot forward in multiple respects, the world just didn't give a damn. It reminds me Clint Eastwood's character at the end of Unforgiven: "Deserve's got nothing to do with it." By the way, I think what puts "Slip On Through" over the top is that it doesn't sound like solo Dennis. The group is behind him 100% and matching his performance. The idea that bringing in Jack and co. would help them in the "cool" department is laughable when listening to "Slip On Through". They never matched that. Also, in considering the difference between Brian's and Al's production regarding "Cottonfields", and my (slight) aversion to the prominent pedal steel of the single version, it occurred to me that "This Whole World" is an example of Brian's production retaining that Beach Boys sound while also experimenting with other genres and styles of playing. Case in point, that wild guitar playing that isn't associated with the Beach Boys and of which no Beach Boy could even dream of playing. But, it's expertly panned and tucked into the mix as to not overpower the Beach Boys sound.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 8, 2021 15:11:05 GMT
The idea that bringing in Jack and co. would help them in the "cool" department is laughable when listening to "Slip On Through". They never matched that. But in hindsight would you agree that Jack R did actually help them in the cool dept., if not objectively (is there an objective "cool"?) then at least in terms of image? At least as I understand it, he's the one that got them the cooler shows, he helped promote longer shows with more of their current material. And Surf's Up, CATP and Holland all charted higher in the US than did any of the three preceding studio albums (Friends, 20/20 and Sunflower). Though sales =/= "cool," I understand.
As for singles, I will say that the Rieley era was basically a flop.
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