|
Post by Kapitan on Nov 15, 2021 12:24:00 GMT
In February 1979, about a month in advance of their forthcoming LA (Light Album) album, they released a foray into disco with a remake of their 1967 album track "Here Comes the Night." The project was helmed by Bruce Johnston and Curt Becher.
Four versions of the single were released in addition to the nearly 11-minute album version: a 10:36 single version; a 9:04 instrumental version (on the B-side of the aforementioned); and two shorter single versions, clocking in at 4:28 and 3:18, respectively.
For our purposes here, we are talking about the 4+ minute version, not the 10+ minute album version or long single. Our single of the week is backed by Dennis Wilson's "Baby Blue." That ballad is sung by Carl Wilson.
Peaking at #44, the single wasn't a big hit, but it outperformed all but three singles the group released in the '70s in the U.S. ("It's OK," "Rock and Roll Music," and the subsequent "Good Timin'"). It did even better in the UK, reaching #37.
Please listen to, comment on, and rate "Here Comes the Night" and "Baby Blue."
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 15, 2021 12:57:18 GMT
As Kapitan noted, this discussion is about the single version, not the 11-minute album version which was a major mistake by including it (the long version) on L.A. (Light Album). First, I would like to know who thought about plucking the song from Wild Honey and transforming it into disco. That was some great insight. Seriously. It's almost the perfect song to use.
I like "Here Comes The Night" and I don't apologize for it. The track is OK. I'm not a big disco fan, but I guess as disco backing tracks go it's OK. The lyrics are appropriate, especially for a disco dance track/song. But it's the vocals, both lead and background, which make the song. They're spectacular. And, coming off 15 Big Ones, Love You, and M.I.U., who'd a thunk it? Carl's lead vocal is one of his best IMO. He sounded like he belonged in 1979, right next to all of the other popular singers of the day.
And, "Baby Blue" was the perfect choice for the B-side. Fast/slow, disco/ballad, Carl Wilson/Dennis Wilson. It was the only way you were gonna get a Dennis Wilson song...heard...by the general listening audience. Simply, "Baby Blue" is a great song. It's one of the few instances where the B-side was a better song than the A-side, and that's not a slam at "Here Comes The Night".
"Here Comes The Night" is a well-produced disco song. It sounded great on the radio, too. I actually heard it played on AM radio. Unfortunately, being released in February 1979 was slightly late because disco had peaked. Just barely but enough. And, there was the perception that The Beach Boys were just jumping on the bandwagon. I remember reading articles/snippets where the band was being criticized - even before the song was released. Oh, my, The Beach Boys are recording a disco song. Can you believe it? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! They were not taken seriously. Actually, you got the impression that NOT ALL of The Beach Boys were behind it either. I don't know what Dennis or Brian thought about it, but they're not on the track.
I'm going with an 8. One good song and one great song. It was a nice 45 to have in the late winter/spring of 1979. You got your money's worth. If anything, it got/kept The Beach Boys in the news (am I rationalizing? ).
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Nov 15, 2021 13:12:15 GMT
Carl's lead vocal is one of his best IMO. He sounded like he belonged in 1979, right next to all of the other popular singers of the day. Piggybacking on this, in hindsight I think Carl Wilson's voice and overall aesthetic sounds right at home in the late '70s. Between some of his own songs, his vocals on others' songs, and his guest appearances, he really was custom-built for the soft rock, yacht rock, whatever you want to call it. It's a shame that either the band wasn't in a position to really capitalize on that, or that he wasn't yet willing to do it on his own. (I think his solo material sounds very much of the late '70s, too, despite being from the early '80s.)
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 15, 2021 13:30:17 GMT
Carl's lead vocal is one of his best IMO. He sounded like he belonged in 1979, right next to all of the other popular singers of the day. Piggybacking on this, in hindsight I think Carl Wilson's voice and overall aesthetic sounds right at home in the late '70s. Between some of his own songs, his vocals on others' songs, and his guest appearances, he really was custom-built for the soft rock, yacht rock, whatever you want to call it. It's a shame that either the band wasn't in a position to really capitalize on that, or that he wasn't yet willing to do it on his own. (I think his solo material sounds very much of the late '70s, too, despite being from the early '80s.) After Carl rehabbed in (late?) 1978, he really "upped his game" and came into his own. Carl was always a great lead vocalist as early as "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations" in 1966, along with his excellent work in the early 1970's. But post-1978 and onward, Carl was simply spectacular. He was not only (clearly) The Beach Boys' best singer, but he was one of the best singers in popular music. And, yes, it's a shame he didn't always have the material to display it.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Nov 15, 2021 13:44:55 GMT
It's kind of crazy that you had a band including not one, but two of the greatest rock and pop singers in the world at the time in Carl Wilson and Al Jardine, and yet you can barely land even a minor hit in those years (and then all but take five years off).
|
|
|
Post by kds on Nov 15, 2021 14:20:16 GMT
Carl's lead vocal is one of his best IMO. He sounded like he belonged in 1979, right next to all of the other popular singers of the day. Piggybacking on this, in hindsight I think Carl Wilson's voice and overall aesthetic sounds right at home in the late '70s. Between some of his own songs, his vocals on others' songs, and his guest appearances, he really was custom-built for the soft rock, yacht rock, whatever you want to call it. It's a shame that either the band wasn't in a position to really capitalize on that, or that he wasn't yet willing to do it on his own. (I think his solo material sounds very much of the late '70s, too, despite being from the early '80s.) I've said it before, but I really think The Beach Boys would've done well to ride the wave of yacht rock during this period. LA Light has a few songs that fall into that category, and I think they're the best songs on the album. Onto the single at hand. I detest HCTN '79. Even mercifully shorter than the album cut, this single is a dud to me. Other bands were incorporating disco into their sound during this time, but much more successfully. Baby Blue is a decent song, but I kinda feel it's "paint by numbers" Dennis at this point. But, the B side somewhat redeems this 45. I'm giving this a 3.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Nov 15, 2021 18:25:51 GMT
I struggle to rate this, and so will take my time on it. I like "Baby Blue" but I'm not at all a fan of "Here Comes the Night." That said, I'm not sure I could call the latter terrible, either.
It sounds to me more like a school project, or an after-hours bit of experimentation for fun to learn to use a piece of gear, not like an honest attempt at making either a creatively satisfying or commercially successful record for the Beach Boys. I think Bruce Johnston and Curt Becher did a decent job at what it was they were doing ... I just don't have any interest whatsoever in what it is they were doing.
For those who never read it or have forgotten, it's worth noting that "Brian Wilson" (actually Todd Gold, presumably, or maybe Eugene Landy, or who-the-hell-knows else) said in the "Wouldn't It Be Nice" "autobiography" in Brian's voice:
"The best I could manage was overseeing production on the twelve-minute disco remake of 'Here Comes the Night' ... Production-wise, the song is cool, but the Beach Boys clearly had no place on the disco bandwagon. I just did as I was told, though." (p. 256)
In reality, I am not aware of Brian having any involvement in this version of the song.
|
|
|
Post by lonelysummer on Nov 15, 2021 20:52:36 GMT
I don't know about the Beach Boys being late to the disco thing. HCTN was released around the same time as the Kinks' "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman", which had similar success on the charts - #41; and Wings' "Goodnight Tonight", which made the top 10. The difference, though, being that the Wings record still had the touch of Paul McCartney all over it; it just happened to have a beat that fit the disco sound. Same with the Kinks record - the only thing disco about it was Mick Avory's drum beat. Everything else - Dave Davies' guitars, Ray Davies' lyrics and vocal - screamed "the Kinks". The Beach Boys just sounded like they had adopted the disco style whole heartedly. On the plus side, though, as the Sheriff noted, is the vocals. Wow! This is the way the Beach Boys are supposed to sound! That is a big plus for me. As a single, this is the strongest thing they had released in some time. 4 minutes of this is great. 10 minutes is too much! Somebody really goofed when they chose that version for the album. My mix of the album replaces it with the single version, and adds "It's a Beautiful Day". We finally get a strong b-side, too. Not the Badfinger song, not even Dylan; just a great Dennis Wilson song, with (mostly) Carl singing. I'll go for an 8 on this one.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 15, 2021 21:59:43 GMT
It sounds to me more like a school project, or an after-hours bit of experimentation for fun to learn to use a piece of gear, not like an honest attempt at making either a creatively satisfying or commercially successful record for the Beach Boys. I think Bruce Johnston and Curt Becher did a decent job at what it was they were doing ... I just don't have any interest whatsoever in what it is they were doing. I think this is true of the backing track. I'm not a disco music aficionado (I hated it in the 70's; I now respect and enjoy some of it), but the instrumental track does sound like Disco 101 doesn't it. It's almost like they came up with the simplest instrumental track as a placeholder for the vocals. The Beach Boys' voices were going to be the stars, that was the hook, the vocals and the harmonies. And, if anything, the special effects were done on the vocals, not the instruments. I think they succeeded in making it/them sound like the good 'ol Beach Boys, with the oohs and ahhs and dit dits...grafted to a disco track of course.
I'm slightly surprised there wasn't another attempt at a second "disco song" at the time of the "Here Comes the Night" sessions. Maybe they were gun shy. Who could blame them. And, they had "Shortenin' Bread" anyway.
|
|
|
Post by jk on Nov 15, 2021 22:01:37 GMT
It sounds to me more like a school project, or an after-hours bit of experimentation for fun to learn to use a piece of gear, not like an honest attempt at making either a creatively satisfying or commercially successful record for the Beach Boys. I think Bruce Johnston and Curt Becher did a decent job at what it was they were doing ... I just don't have any interest whatsoever in what it is they were doing.
That's priceless! Well, I shouldn't comment on these two tracks as a single at all (it passed me by completely at the time) but I think they make a great combination for a change. Love "Baby Blue" -- and let's be honest, "Night" is a pretty decent slab of disco. I'm feeling generous so I'll give this one ten.
|
|
|
Post by lonelysummer on Nov 17, 2021 4:50:22 GMT
I remember hearing HCTN on the radio at least once. I should peruse those old Billboard magazines online and see what's its chart life was like. I'm guessing a quick rise to its peak position, followed by a rapid descent.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 17, 2021 11:49:45 GMT
I remember hearing HCTN on the radio at least once. I should peruse those old Billboard magazines online and see what's its chart life was like. I'm guessing a quick rise to its peak position, followed by a rapid descent. I don't know the chart history either, and I'm guessing it came and went quickly, too. But, it did hit #44 in the U.S. and #37 in the U.K., so it was far from a disaster. Compare "Here Comes The Night" with their next single, "Good Timin'", which only hit #40 in the U.S., but is probably considered a much bigger hit.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Nov 17, 2021 12:21:47 GMT
Good idea for a research project: I checked Billboard’s website archives this morning.
“Here Comes the Night” debuted in the Feb. 27 charts at #83, sandwiched between Brooklyn Dreams’ “Make it Last” and April Wine’s “Roller.” (I’ve never heard of either.) Its place and company were unchanged on the March 3 charts, but it climbed to #73 for March 10. (Coincidentally it again fell between those same two songs that sandwiched it 10 spots lower.)
On March 17, it had climbed to #63, now between The Faragher Bros. “Stay the Night” and, again, April Wine’s “Roller.” The following week it landed at #55, behind “Stay the Night” again and above Kim Carnes’s “It Hurts So Bad.” March 31 charts had the song at #49, behind Delegation’s “Oh Honey” and above “Stay the Night.”
As we hit April, it had risen to #44, now behind “Roller” and above The Marc Tanner Band’s “Elena.” It held that spot for the April 14’s charts, but now with Ironhorse’s “Sweet Lui-Louise” ahead of it.
The drop begins: April 21 saw it way down at #96. It was not in the Top 100 the week of April 28. So we’re looking at a two-month stay.
Looking at the charts in these months did have me questioning the “disco was already waning” narrative we hear sometimes. Now, let’s be serious: disco wasn’t new in early 1979. It wasn’t the cutting-edge trend. But was it dead or dying?
The week “Here Comes the Night” debuted on the charts, Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” Was #1. Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive was #3. The Bee Gees’ “Tragedy” was #4. Donna Summer (feat. Brooklyn Dreams) was at #6 with “Heaven Knows.” Chic was at #7 with “Le Freak.” The Village People had the #8 spot with “YMCA.”
That means six of the top 10 spots were disco. There was plenty more to be found between those and our guys down at #83. I’d say this means disco was certainly not dead or passe: it was mainstream. Granted, to some kinds of fans or critics, “mainstream” is a synonym for dead or passe. But let’s get serious. The idea of doing a disco song wasn’t commercial suicide on its face.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 17, 2021 12:28:16 GMT
Looking at the charts in these months did have me questioning the “disco was already waning” narrative we hear sometimes. Now, let’s be serious: disco wasn’t new in early 1979. It wasn’t the cutting-edge trend. But was it dead or dying? The week “Here Comes the Night” debuted on the charts, Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” Was #1. Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive was #3. The Bee Gees’ “Tragedy” was #4. Donna Summer (feat. Brooklyn Dreams) was at #6 with “Heaven Knows.” Chic was at #7 with “Le Freak.” The Village People had the #8 spot with “YMCA.” That means six of the top 10 spots were disco. There was plenty more to be found between those and our guys down at #83. I’d say this means disco was certainly not dead or passe: it was mainstream. Granted, to some kinds of fans or critics, “mainstream” is a synonym for dead or passe. But let’s get serious. The idea of doing a disco song wasn’t commercial suicide on its face. Interesting and surprising. I think I'm going to change my perspective...after all these years.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Nov 17, 2021 12:37:38 GMT
By the way, those final few weeks as it dropped down the charts, I noticed it was surpassed by another '60s legend's foray into the genre ... for comedic purposes. Frank Zappa's "Dancin Fool"--his second-highest charting single ever, behind another novelty song, "Valley Girl," a few years later--waved hello and goodbye to the Beach Boys in April 1979 and eventually hit #45.
|
|