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Post by Kapitan on Oct 4, 2021 11:55:09 GMT
The Beach Boys spent a small eternity without releasing new music: the single "California" was released in April 1973; its successor arrived twenty months later.
That single was a Christmas song written by Brian Wilson and Stephen Kalinich, "Child of Winter." But this was not a well coordinated holiday plan, by any stretch of the imagination: the band recorded it on November 18 and released it on December 23, just two days before Christmas.
The B-side did not fit the Christmas theme: "Susie Cincinnati" made its second appearance of three as a B-side.
The single did not chart anywhere.
Please discuss and rate "Child of Winter" backed with "Susie Cincinnati."
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Post by kds on Oct 4, 2021 12:16:04 GMT
I think of Child of Winter as basically a Christmas curio and nothing more. It's not bad, but not really good either, especially the spoken word bit.
If they were going to just use a previously issued song as the B Side, maybe one of the older Christmas songs might've made more sense.
I'll give it a five. It's festive at least.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 4, 2021 12:41:32 GMT
I like "Child Of Winter" a lot, but I can see why it made absolutely impact, regardless of the fact that it was released two days before Christmas (typical BB/record company move). "Child Of Winter" is very Brian, and that Brian was fading fast. In some ways, I consider "Child Of Winter" to be the last released song by "the old Brian" before he became...the Brian that re-emerged in 1976 and how he is today.
First, the pros. The songs moves along nicely. Mike's vocal is passable and the backgrounds (mostly featuring Carl) are OK. I like Brian's use of the synths and the sleigh bells; it's very effective. Brian even grafted some horns onto the track. And, those bells; Brian liked his bells, didn't he? The song moves nicely and I like the transition into "Here Comes Santa Claus". I also like the "ding dong ding go the bells" tag but I think it could've been brought out more.
Cons? The song needed an intro. Badly. I always questioned the lyrics. They're all over the place. It goes from "cause Santa Claus comes tonight" immediately into "the ending of Christmas, presents have been passed". Mike sings about the Christmas carolers outside and then Brian goes into his rap about "Mom's in the kitchen making turkeys and bread..." What? And then there's even a mention of "the wonderful feeling underneath the mistletoe". Huh? For a child of winter? I swear they just threw in "mistletoe" because it rhymed with "snow". The rap? The stopping of the momentum and the goofy voice destroyed any chances of an AM hit, not that it ever had a chance.
Despite all of those cons, I truly do like the song. But, honestly, for me, its home is on my Beach Boys' Christmas comp, and on my version of the 1977/78 Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys. Like I said above, it never had a chance on AM radio. The song's best chance was actually on FM radio, with some of the other rock and roll Christmas songs. And, don't get me started on "Susie Cincinnati" as the B-side. Couldn't Brian/the group take a few extra minutes and record some cover version of a Christmas song and use it as a B-side? Was that too much to ask? You know, a Christmas single with, um, Christmas songs on it.
How about a very generous 6, only because of the few remaining remnants of the old Brian Wilson magic.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 4, 2021 13:03:00 GMT
I don't see it so much as a last gasp of Brian Wilson as I do a preview of the next Brian Wilson, with synth-based arrangements of generally simple songs. This is the sort of thing that he spent the next three or so years doing.
But it might be as good a place as any to mark the end of the Beach Boys as a living, creative entity. From mid-1970 to early 1973--just about 2 1/2 years--the group released four new studio albums (and recorded enough for probably two more). But then ... nothing. Almost two years until the next single, and that single was this (with the B-side a previously released, years-old song).
Then what? In Concert. Endless Summer. Spirit of America. Good Vibrations - Best of the Beach Boys. 20 Golden Greats. And then, finally, in July 1976, another new album (albeit half covers). While it is overly simplistic to say that they became just an oldies act after Holland, it would be dishonest to say they didn't move in that direction, especially considering the way they spent these years of '73-'76.
Anyway, the song. It's a cool track in that synth-Brian vein. The lyrics are abysmal, which is to say they are Kalinich lyrics. The spoken part is pretty bad.
I really like "Susie Cincinnati," but can't really advocate for it here, as a warmed-over, unrelated song.
5, which feels generous.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 4, 2021 13:12:21 GMT
I don't see it so much as a last gasp of Brian Wilson as I do a preview of the next Brian Wilson, with synth-based arrangements of generally simple songs. This is the sort of thing that he spent the next three or so years doing. I hear "Child Of Winter" more as Holland-like with "Funky Pretty" and "Mount Vernon And Fairway" than 15 Big Ones and even Love You, though there were certainly plenty of synths on those two albums. Also, Brian's vocal on "Child Of Winter", with the unfortunate rap, sounds more like his "California Saga: California" voice than his post-1974 voice. Actually, the same can be said about Mike's vocal, too.
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Post by kds on Oct 4, 2021 13:22:43 GMT
I don't see it so much as a last gasp of Brian Wilson as I do a preview of the next Brian Wilson, with synth-based arrangements of generally simple songs. This is the sort of thing that he spent the next three or so years doing. I hear "Child Of Winter" more as Holland-like with "Funky Pretty" and "Mount Vernon And Fairway" than 15 Big Ones and even Love You, though there were certainly plenty of synths on those two albums. Also, Brian's vocal on "Child Of Winter", with the unfortunate rap, sounds more like his "California Saga: California" voice than his post-1974 voice. Actually, the same can be said about Mike's vocal, too. Yes, this might be the first example of the over exaggerated Mike Love voice. It sounds far less natural than his leads on Big Sur and California.
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Post by kds on Oct 4, 2021 19:56:58 GMT
But it might be as good a place as any to mark the end of the Beach Boys as a living, creative entity. From mid-1970 to early 1973--just about 2 1/2 years--the group released four new studio albums (and recorded enough for probably two more). But then ... nothing. Almost two years until the next single, and that single was this (with the B-side a previously released, years-old song).
I 100% agree with this. In a year, they went from releasing a very solid album to a novelty Christmas single.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 4, 2021 20:04:17 GMT
But it might be as good a place as any to mark the end of the Beach Boys as a living, creative entity. From mid-1970 to early 1973--just about 2 1/2 years--the group released four new studio albums (and recorded enough for probably two more). But then ... nothing. Almost two years until the next single, and that single was this (with the B-side a previously released, years-old song).
I 100% agree with this. In a year, they went from releasing a very solid album to a novelty Christmas single. And then a live album and what, four hits albums over the next year and a half? So three years of basically nothing, with the novelty single as the midpoint. And then a very strange, very fractured band that returns for the latter 70s (which almost breaks up at least once).
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Post by lonelysummer on Oct 4, 2021 20:09:51 GMT
Found a promo 45 of this at Everyday Music in Seattle about 15 years ago. I guess the vinyl craze hadn't kicked in yet, only paid a couple dollars for it. I agree with Kapitan on this one, it's like a preview of the Brian we would meet in 1976-77. It's very quirky - why the heck does it turn into Here Comes Santa Claus a couple verses in? Then Brian comes in with that goofy Mt. Vernon spoken bit. It's not really a coherent song, but it's got a certain charm to it. I don't know that it really belongs anywhere except on Ultimate Christmas. a 5 seems fair.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 4, 2021 20:18:39 GMT
It's very quirky - why the heck does it turn into Here Comes Santa Claus a couple verses in? Then Brian comes in with that goofy Mt. Vernon spoken bit. It's not really a coherent song, but it's got a certain charm to it. Yes, exactly. (But I love that Here Comes Santa Claus comes in, btw.) I enjoy the song, dopey as it is. It's just that I can't pretend it's the second coming of God Only Knows ... or more applicably, even Little St. Nick.
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Post by lonelysummer on Oct 6, 2021 1:47:50 GMT
It's very quirky - why the heck does it turn into Here Comes Santa Claus a couple verses in? Then Brian comes in with that goofy Mt. Vernon spoken bit. It's not really a coherent song, but it's got a certain charm to it. Yes, exactly. (But I love that Here Comes Santa Claus comes in, btw.) I enjoy the song, dopey as it is. It's just that I can't pretend it's the second coming of God Only Knows ... or more applicably, even Little St. Nick. Yeah, it's Brian Wilson, so it's supposed to be Son of Good Vibfations, or Caroline, Jr, but it's not. It's enjoyable enough for what it is.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 6, 2021 11:18:18 GMT
Was "Child Of Winter" ever performed live? It's probably one of the few (only?) BB singles that wasn't performed in concert.
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Post by lonelysummer on Oct 6, 2021 19:47:28 GMT
Interesting side note: the Beacb Boys DID have a top 40 single in the months before Child of Winter was released: a reissue of Surfin' USA. There was another song on the radio at the time that sure sounded like them: Beach Baby by First Class. Boy, talk about a missed opportunity! And just to remind me of better days for the band, our local radio station is playing Please Let Me Wonder.
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Post by lonelysummer on Oct 8, 2021 3:24:27 GMT
Another thing that was happening around this time was Brother/Reprise was issuing oldies singles of the post- Party singles. I remember seeing some unusual pairings. I don't know if they had any hopes to get these singles on the charts again as Capitol did with Surfin' USA. I vaguely recall Capitol also reissuing Barbara Ann to tie in the the Spirit of America release. Then, of course, Sail on Sailor was reissued, and did a bit better second time around - but not nearly as good as it should have. Johnny Rivers had a pretty popular remake of Help Me Rhonda - I believe I heard that version before I heard the original - and when I did hear the original, it was the true original - the Today version (probably because it was on Endless Summer). Tood Rundgren had a note for note copy of Good Vibrations on the charts in spring 1976. So Beach Boys music was everywhere, even though the band hadn't had a top 10 hit since Good Vibrations.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 8, 2021 17:40:19 GMT
I can't get over the B-side choice here. While I admit it would also be weird to dig back a decade for previous Christmas songs, at least they'd be Christmas songs. (And it's not like this band ever had a major issue rereleasing songs or reaching back to grab oldies for singles, as "Susie Cincinnati" itself proves.)
Maybe "I'll Be Home For Christmas?" Or "White Christmas?" "Merry Christmas Baby?"
It's just really funny. "Hey folks, we're here to get you into that Christmas spirit. And then, a song about a cabbie from Ohio!"
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