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Post by Kapitan on Dec 8, 2021 13:09:58 GMT
On the flip side of this: until reading up at wiki about this single release, I had no idea "Sumahama" had been an A-side in the UK. It's funny, because while I'm generally, even casually aware that albums and singles vary in different countries, it almost never occurs to me on a practical level. It's like I know the Beatles had different albums or versions of albums in their early years in the US and UK, and I always recall the Beach Boys' Sunflower being different (with "Cottonfields").
But that's just about all that ever comes to mind. So when I have seen various solo Beatles' different singles, or here with "Sumahama," it's always like a jolt out of left field.
I have to admit, while I don't mind "Sumahama" much (even if I find that kind of nation-specific motif somewhere between pandering and almost offensive), I would never have thought of it as a single.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 8, 2021 13:39:34 GMT
On the flip side of this: until reading up at wiki about this single release, I had no idea "Sumahuma" had been an A-side in the UK. It's funny, because while I'm generally, even casually aware that albums and singles vary in different countries, it almost never occurs to me on a practical level. It's like I know the Beatles had different albums or versions of albums in their early years in the US and UK, and I always recall the Beach Boys' Sunflower being different (with "Cottonfields").
But that's just about all that ever comes to mind. So when I have seen various solo Beatles' different singles, or here with "Sumahuma," it's always like a jolt out of left field.
I have to admit, while I don't mind "Sumahuma" much (even if I find that kind of nation-specific motif somewhere between pandering and almost offensive), I would never have thought of it as a single.
Well, you have to give Caribou credit - or rather you can't really blame them - for The Beach Boys' lack of success with L.A. (Light Album). They released almost the entire album as singles (A-side/B-sides) all over the world in different configurations.
And Kapitan, please stop calling it "Sumahuma"!
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 8, 2021 13:47:01 GMT
SUMAHAMA
Happy? (I don't speak Japanese ... or refer to liner notes. Cut me some slack. Would you rather I call it "Mike's piece of shit?")
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 8, 2021 13:52:23 GMT
SUMAHAMA
Happy? (I don't speak Japanese ... or refer to liner notes. Cut me some slack. Would you rather I call it "Mike's piece of shit?")
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 8, 2021 13:53:35 GMT
I think it's just a mental block for me, wanting to type it as a rhyme.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 9, 2021 12:41:58 GMT
I'm going 6. I would say it's a nice, strong 7 for the A-side, but the B-side (which I won't try to write out lest I make my typical typo and enrage my friend Sheriff John Stone) drags it down some.
All-around, it's a solid, but not a really strong, single. The A-side feels like a Beach Boys song even though it isn't entirely pastiche, which is a rarity for this band as the years go on. And the B-side, well, it's mostly fine.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 12, 2021 12:52:31 GMT
Today is the final day to vote on "It's a Beautiful Day" backed with "Sumahama." Please be sure to chime in with your comments or vote if you have not yet done so.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 13, 2021 12:18:02 GMT
Seven voters rated "It's a Beautiful Day" backed with "Sumahama" an average of 6.7. I will update the ratings thread, and we will move on shortly.
Thanks for participating.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 31, 2021 19:34:45 GMT
I am going to share an opinion about "It's a Beautiful Day" that I can't back up in any objective way, and in fact that somewhat goes against what I believe in, in terms of music.
For some fuzzy reason, while it is certainly a return to a more "Beach Boys" sound, it feels very forced, very artificial to me. This might seem perfectly accurate to some of you, but keep in mind that I've said in the past (and still believe) that the whole idea of authenticity/inauthenticity in music is silly and overblown. I don't think you need to surf to believably perform "Surfin USA," or be working class to do "Working Class Hero."
But when I listen to "It' a Beautiful Day," despite the fact that I like it and the fact that it's well done, it feels like an exercise to me, like somebody punching the clock. For some reason, I think even something like "Goin to the Beach" (which I think is inferior) or "Keepin the Summer Alive" seem more alive, more believable.
And I can't explain why. It's absolutely just a feeling I get. Does anyone relate to this, or am I on my own, here?
Although I'll be talking about different things, I do share your sense of...I don't know...hard-to-pinpoint dislike for this particular track. I just could never get into it, despite my brain (and many fans) telling me that this is better than a decent amount of their contemporaneous album tracks. One of my issues is just the overt, relentless "up", "sunny", "happy" mood of the song. While that works perfectly fine for me elsewhere, I'm just not buying it here. And I think that applies to both the lyrics and the overall approach to the music and recording of it. In addition, lyrically, it's just very poorly written. In my opinion, the worst offender is "you can get around most anyway you really like". That's bad. Then there's all the talking about bikes and odd/uncool phrases like "fastball surfers" or "ballet in leisurely flight". To top it off, while the background vocals range from passable (the dit-dits) to good (the ooohs) the lead vocals aren't up to snuff. Carl's are OK, but I can't get into it for reasons listed above. Al and Mike on the other hand? Entirely lame (Al) and bad (Mike). "Sumahama" actually has Mike sounding good for the era (at least for what I'd consider the verses, the "tell me tell me mama" section is sung higher and therefore gets pretty nasal). That said, I don't think it warranted inclusion on an album and a single. I would have just left it on LA. A generous 4/10. To my surprise, I'm actually ranking this dead last (so far).
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Post by B.E. on Dec 31, 2021 19:41:32 GMT
Oh, I absolutely agree. Look at who wrote the song - Al and Mike - the Kings Of Recycling. That's where the "forced" part comes in. And, Bruce was well into his late-70's production mode, adding the "artificial" nuance. It's no wonder the song ended up sounding the way it did. It was that COMBINATION of contributors.
More speculating on my part, but I got the feeling that, even though they did M.I.U. Album to "get back" to the earlier Beach Boys' world, I think Al and Mike got together and thought, "Enough of this Love You nonsense, Beach Boys-lite M.I.U., and Light Album depressing stuff. Let's do a real, rockin' Beach Boys' song." And, "It's A Beautiful Day" was what they came up with. I have to go back to the Keepin' The Summer Alive timeline again, but I wonder how much the creation of "It's A Beautiful Day" led to at least the thinking for the concept of the next Beach Boys' album.
As for the idea of "It's A Beautiful Day" being Al and Mike's attempt at a real, rockin' Beach Boys' song, one of the very few things I do like about it is the tempo. I think the song had potential but failed in almost every other way. As for the recycling and, potentially, moving on from Beach Boys-lite MIU, this track actually strongly reminds me of MIU. I think it's the bass part. Off the top of my head, I think it's very similar to the bass part in "Peggy Sue".
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