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Post by Kapitan on Nov 1, 2021 11:56:19 GMT
You know the story: with the "Brian's Back" campaign well underway and 15 Big Ones under his belt, the Beach Boys turned over the keys to Brian Wilson. In late 1976, Dennis Wilson was recording Pacific Ocean Blue; Carl Wilson was producing Ricci Martin's Bleached; Mike Love was teaching TM; Al Jardine was taking some time with his family; and Brian Wilson was in the studio recording what he had reportedly said would be a masterpiece on par with "Good Vibrations."
No singles were released in advance of that "masterpiece," eventually named The Beach Boys Love You. In late May 1977, about six weeks after the album was released, the group finally released "Honkin' Down the Highway" backed with "Solar System."
The A-side is a grooving car song whose lyrics sound more juvenile than did those car songs the band created nearly 15 years earlier. Like much of the album, Brian's assorted synth and other keyboard parts are prominent. Billy Hinsche said he was originally to be the lead vocalist and had recorded a vocal, but eventually Jardine was given the part (possibly at Eugene Landy's insistence, per Hinsche).
"Solar System" is emblematic of the album: bizarre, childish lyrics sung not quite in tune over interlocking synthesizers. In 1995, he told UK Record Collector: "'This is a gr-eat song! These lyrics are great. This melody is great. (whistles) I've got a beauty here!' He then named it one of his favorites on The Beach Boys Love You, adding, 'When I'm 90, I'm gonna be as proud of that song as I am now.'"
If Mars had life on it / I might find my wife on it.
Alex Chilton (formerly of the Box Tops and Big Star) covered both of these songs in the 1980s.
Sadly, the planetary name-checking did not work: the single did not chart anywhere in the solar system, so far as I can tell.
Please discuss and rate "Honkin' Down the Highway" and "Solar System."
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Post by kds on Nov 1, 2021 13:12:45 GMT
I like Honkin', but this is a rare case where I actually prefer a later remake to the original (Al's Postcard version).
I don't much care for Solar System at all.
I'll give this single a five.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 1, 2021 13:13:14 GMT
This might be one where I'm an outlier on the high end, but I went 8. (I might revise to a 7, I don't know.) I really like this album, and I really like both of these songs.
Objectively, I will easily grant that "Honkin'" is not hit single material. Anyone with about 1/3 of a brain would hear that. (And "Solar System," well, it would take still less a brain to figure that out.) But subjectively, I just really like something about them both. I enjoy the cringe-worthy lyrics. (Nope, won't say "cringe" as an adjective.) I enjoy the layers of synths, pianos, organs, and percussion. I enjoy the idea of Al being made to sing these lyrics. I don't know--I just like them.
This isn't a time where I think it makes a lot of sense to even bother arguing what might have made a better single, because you're hard-pressed to come up with one. Love You isn't really contemporary 1977 hit material.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 1, 2021 13:29:40 GMT
"Honkin' Down The Highway" is a good song and probably a good choice for a single. There were better songs on Love You but, hey, a new Beach Boys' car song? Gotta go with that one. I love "Honkin'" but I think there were two flaws, flaws that I think kept the song from being great. First, it's missing something, some kind of arrangement to make it sound...fuller. Maybe the bridge could've been enhanced. And that's surprising because Brian's arrangements on Love You are brilliant. The second problem IMO, and I know it's an unpopular opinion, is that Al's lead vocal is poor. He sounds like he had a cold and he sounds uninterested, not a good combination. He can barely hit the notes! Two things...I heard the Billy Hinsche lead vocal on a bootleg; it's not any better than Al's. And, on the single version of "Honkin'", the drum intro is deleted.
"Solar System" is good song but not a good record. "Solar System" is such a wacky, "out there", so much 1976 Brian song, and I love it. Problem is it might have the worst lead vocal of Brian Wilson's career (that and two other Love You songs - "Let's Put Our Hearts Together" and "Love Is A Woman"). I'm surprised they wanted to feature it as a B-side, and it actually made the cut on the Thirty Years Of Good Vibrations boxed set. I would've left it on Love You where it belonged.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. In just one short year, actually less than a year, The Beach Boys were done commercially. They went from a Top 5 single with "Rock And Roll Music" in the summer of 1976 to releasing singles that weren't even being played/heard. Again, I love both "Honkin' Down The Highway" and "Solar System", but they weren't gonna cut it in 1977 with disco music and other contemporary music taking over. The Beach Boys were in trouble. A 6.
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Post by kds on Nov 1, 2021 14:05:12 GMT
"Honkin' Down The Highway" is a good song and probably a good choice for a single. There were better songs on Love You but, hey, a new Beach Boys' car song? Gotta go with that one. I love "Honkin'" but I think there were two flaws, flaws that I think kept the song from being great. First, it's missing something, some kind of arrangement to make it sound...fuller. Maybe the bridge could've been enhanced. And that's surprising because Brian's arrangements on Love You are brilliant. The second problem IMO, and I know it's an unpopular opinion, is that Al's lead vocal is poor. He sounds like he had a cold and he sounds uninterested, not a good combination. He can barely hit the notes! Two things...I heard the Billy Hinsche lead vocal on a bootleg; it's not any better than Al's. And, on the single version of "Honkin'", the drum intro is deleted.
I couldn't agree more about Al's vocals, and that's one of the reasons I prefer his later version. But, that fact that we got a subpar lead from Al kind of sums of Love You in a nutshell, as the vocals across the board on that album are, IMHO, the worst on any BB album.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 1, 2021 14:10:55 GMT
"Honkin' Down The Highway" is a good song and probably a good choice for a single. There were better songs on Love You but, hey, a new Beach Boys' car song? Gotta go with that one. I love "Honkin'" but I think there were two flaws, flaws that I think kept the song from being great. First, it's missing something, some kind of arrangement to make it sound...fuller. Maybe the bridge could've been enhanced. And that's surprising because Brian's arrangements on Love You are brilliant. The second problem IMO, and I know it's an unpopular opinion, is that Al's lead vocal is poor. He sounds like he had a cold and he sounds uninterested, not a good combination. He can barely hit the notes! Two things...I heard the Billy Hinsche lead vocal on a bootleg; it's not any better than Al's. And, on the single version of "Honkin'", the drum intro is deleted.
I couldn't agree more about Al's vocals, and that's one of the reasons I prefer his later version. But, that fact that we got a subpar lead from Al kind of sums of Love You in a nutshell, as the vocals across the board on that album are, IMHO, the worst on any BB album. You're absolutely right, and despite that, Love You is one of my favorite Beach Boys' albums. Go figure...
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 1, 2021 14:19:28 GMT
Thirded on the quality of vocals on the album, and seconded on the counterintuitive fact that it's among my favorites!
Strange position to be in on a Beach Boys album to say "I like it, though the vocals are terrible."
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 1, 2021 14:42:49 GMT
I remember in 1977 when "Honkin' Down The Highway" was released as a single. I was going to college at the time and I remember driving around in my car and constantly - and I mean constantly - turning the knob on my AM/FM radio and trying to catch "Honkin'"...just once. I never heard it.
In retrospect, not that it mattered (only a BB diehard would've noticed), but "Susie Cincinnati" into "Honkin' Down The Highway" works quite well.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 1, 2021 14:44:22 GMT
I remember in 1977 when "Honkin' Down The Highway" was released as a single. I was going to college at the time and I remember driving around in my car and constantly - and I mean constantly - turning the knob on my AM/FM radio and trying to catch "Honkin'"...just once. I never heard it.
In retrospect, not that it mattered (only a BB diehard would've noticed), but "Susie Cincinnati" into "Honkin' Down The Highway" works quite well. The perfect (fourth) opportunity to release "Susie Cincinnati" as a single, missed!
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Post by jk on Nov 1, 2021 15:23:25 GMT
I like Honkin', but this is a rare case where I actually prefer a later remake to the original (Al's Postcard version). I don't much care for Solar System at all. I'll give this single a five. Yes, so do I. As I said somewhere else, "Honkin'" sounds lewd on Love You but the Postcard version is done nicely tongue in cheek. "Solar System" sags in the middle (maybe the real solar system does too) but the rest sounds wonderfully goofy to these ears. Those clangy synth bits in the chorus remind me of Mahler's remark about his Eighth Symphony sounding like revolving planets and suns. Once again, these are both album tracks in my book, so no score from me. Sorry!
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Post by lonelysummer on Nov 1, 2021 20:10:26 GMT
"Honkin'" is one of the better Love You tracks. It's true that it sounds a little unfinished - as does most everything on that album. I don't hear anything wrong with Al's vocal, but on a Beach Boys record, people want layers of beautiful backup vocals. Can't fault the song itself, though - it's got those great chord changes and modulations that are a hallmark of Brian. "Solar System"? Yeah, it's the kind of disaster some people love to love. I can't stand it. If I feel generous, I might give this a 5, but I'm feeling like a miser today, so it gets a 5.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 1, 2021 22:25:05 GMT
I'm waffling between a high 6 and low 7, but for now I'm rounding up. I really do like both of these songs and I like the recordings, too. (Notice I'm using the word "like" not "love".) As album tracks, I'd probably rate each about an 8. But, as a single? As the LONE single from Love You? There were better choices. And they could have spruced up the single versions of whatever they chose (while keeping the album intact) - they didn't. For the record, I might actually prefer the B-side. I really appreciate its weirdness and charm. And I really like the vocal harmonies in the chorus. And, hey, it's got one of the best lines in the Beach Boys catalog with "if mars had life on it..."! Yeah, I'm rounding up.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 1, 2021 22:33:37 GMT
In 1995, he told UK Record Collector: "'This is a gr-eat song! These lyrics are great. This melody is great. (whistles) I've got a beauty here!' He then named it one of his favorites on The Beach Boys Love You, adding, 'When I'm 90, I'm gonna be as proud of that song as I am now.'" Always cool to see Brian championing his work! (Particularly the stuff that wasn't/isn't received so well.)
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 2, 2021 13:47:23 GMT
And I really like the vocal harmonies in the chorus. Surely you agree they could have been sung better!? They're not SO out of tune, but Brian has no falsetto to speak of, it's so weak and thin... And yeah, it is out of tune sometimes, too.
One thing I like about the song a lot is actually the bridge, including Brian's lead there. His voice is pretty strong on "the constellations are stars." Not great, but passionate anyway.
The arrangement is also a lot of fun, actually: is anyone other than Brian on the track? It's snare drum and keyboards, so I assume just him.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 2, 2021 19:28:13 GMT
As I said somewhere else, "Honkin'" sounds lewd on Love You... That's my favorite part of the Love You version! Brian, and I guess Al, were able to capture that...emotion...in the song.
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