|
Post by Kapitan on Feb 25, 2022 18:49:35 GMT
With a diversity of styles and probably hundreds of musicians having appeared on Beach Boys records on dozens of instruments, I thought it might be entertaining to hear people's favorite parts, instrument by instrument. I'm not sure how far to take it--does anyone have a favorite 2nd viola part? Probably not many of us--but we could certainly get a good half-dozen or so instruments.
I'm not sure how long to take on each, maybe a couple of days. We'll see how interested anyone is. No ratings, no rankings, just chime in with your picks.
To start:
Piano There is a lot of piano on Beach Boys' recordings, from the beginning right through to the most recent stuff. It was played by several members of the band and many session players in various styles. There is a lot to pick from with this one.
My favorite piano part that comes to mind is that from "Surf's Up." I love it. The first section (as you hear in the solo versions especially) is pure Brian, with that quarter-note plunking in the right hand and left hand on the "ands." The chord progression and voicings throughout are fantastic. And then in the coda, the left hand's runs are some of my favorite parts in anything the band ever did on any instrument (including vocals).
So that's my vote for favorite piano part in any Beach Boys' recording: "Surf's Up."
|
|
|
Post by kds on Feb 25, 2022 19:22:58 GMT
I'd have probably also gone with the first two verses of Surf's Up.
But, I also really like the piano sound on the Wild Honey album, in particular on Darlin, I Was Made to Love Her, and Let the Wind Blow.
|
|
|
Post by joshilynhoisington on Feb 25, 2022 19:40:07 GMT
does anyone have a favorite 2nd viola part? For the record, violas were very rarely in two parts -- and the reason is kinda funny. When Brian first starts exploring a new instrument on his own, he seems to not really understand the ranges very well. So all his early parts are extremely low. So his first solo string parts, which are effectively Back of My Mind, Summer Means New Love, and the Pet Sounds tracks, the first violins never really go above first position, which forces the second violins very low -- often in first position on the G string. This leaves only about a fifth for the viola to move in independently, which is hardly enough room for a second independent viola part. I'll talk more about this when we get to strings, I suppose! As for piano parts, for me it's always gotta be Don Randi's rollicking blues licks during IJWMFTT. Such a unique idea to include that style there, and despite wanting to hear it better for transcription purposes (Incidentally, I have transcribed it v v accurately note-for-note and will reveal that at some point) I think it is actually best left low in the mix as it was. I would be very interested to know the genesis of that decision and how it evolved between Brian's thoughts and Don's abilities.
|
|
sockit
The Surfer Moon
Posts: 234
Likes: 181
|
Post by sockit on Feb 26, 2022 1:18:50 GMT
I'd have probably also gone with the first two verses of Surf's Up. But, I also really like the piano sound on the Wild Honey album, in particular on Darlin, I Was Made to Love Her, and Let the Wind Blow. Wild Honey tracks gets my vote also. Before I knew the full story on Brian's detuned piano, I assumed it was some sort of early synth or electric piano. It reminded me of the E.P. in later rock songs like "My Life" by Billy Joel and "Do You Believe in Love" by Huey Lewis and the News.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Feb 26, 2022 2:06:45 GMT
I'd have probably also gone with the first two verses of Surf's Up. But, I also really like the piano sound on the Wild Honey album, in particular on Darlin, I Was Made to Love Her, and Let the Wind Blow. Wild Honey tracks gets my vote also. Before I knew the full story on Brian's detuned piano, I assumed it was some sort of early synth or electric piano. It reminded me of the E.P. in later rock songs like "My Life" by Billy Joel and "Do You Believe in Love" by Huey Lewis and the News. That's very interesting. I've never thought that, but once you say it, I can definitely get where you're coming from.
|
|
|
Post by joshilynhoisington on Feb 26, 2022 2:31:50 GMT
I'd have probably also gone with the first two verses of Surf's Up. But, I also really like the piano sound on the Wild Honey album, in particular on Darlin, I Was Made to Love Her, and Let the Wind Blow. Wild Honey tracks gets my vote also. Before I knew the full story on Brian's detuned piano, I assumed it was some sort of early synth or electric piano. It reminded me of the E.P. in later rock songs like "My Life" by Billy Joel and "Do You Believe in Love" by Huey Lewis and the News. The Yamaha CP-70 as heard on "My Life" , Lennon's "Watching the Wheels" and possibly "Do You Believe in Love" is an interesting genre of electric piano, and I can see how one might get some similarities to a specially-tuned grand. I think that the CP-70's shortened strings with the amplification system do a very similar thing that Brian's tuning did -- bring out the brightness of the piano. And at the same time, there's a slightly alien quality to the timbre because it sounds like a piano but it's a little off.
|
|
|
Post by lonelysummer on Feb 28, 2022 4:30:31 GMT
I don't know the full story on Brian's detuned piano, can someone share it here? That piano sound on those late 60's albums is very unique.
|
|
|
Post by joshilynhoisington on Feb 28, 2022 4:41:33 GMT
I don't know the full story on Brian's detuned piano, can someone share it here? That piano sound on those late 60's albums is very unique. Well, depending on how one defines "the full story"... I'm not sure if anyone knows what inspired Brian to take such an aggressive approach to tuning. Piano tuning is quite an art actually, and where there is no room for diverging from the equal tempered scale (if you want to play with other fixed-pitch, equal tempered instruments) there is a fair amount of play in tuning each set of same-pitched strings slightly differently to bring out a different character in the piano. The way Brian tuned his piano was about as far as you can go before it stops being "bright" and start being "out of tune." I imagine that Brian got the idea from hearing the various tack pianos around town, which often were tuned a bit brighter (ie, with the unison courses having a string tuned few cents different) to bring out the attack of the tack. He may have also gotten some inspiration from 12-string guitars, which despite our best efforts will always be slightly out of tune as well. There's that butter zone, though, between "out of tune enough to chorus", and "too out of tune to be musical" that can sound quite good. In any case, it seems as though Brian first went with the classic Brian Chickering Detuned Piano Sound for the Dada sessions in May '67, and kept that piano in a pretty aggressive state for a while, through Smiley, Wild Honey, Friends (I think not quite as edgy by then), 20/20, and then at some point it goes back to a more typical tuning around Sunflower era. Another good mystery -- what led Brian to go with this sound on his Piano for so long?
|
|
|
Post by lonelysummer on Feb 28, 2022 21:12:30 GMT
I don't know the full story on Brian's detuned piano, can someone share it here? That piano sound on those late 60's albums is very unique. Well, depending on how one defines "the full story"... I'm not sure if anyone knows what inspired Brian to take such an aggressive approach to tuning. Piano tuning is quite an art actually, and where there is no room for diverging from the equal tempered scale (if you want to play with other fixed-pitch, equal tempered instruments) there is a fair amount of play in tuning each set of same-pitched strings slightly differently to bring out a different character in the piano. The way Brian tuned his piano was about as far as you can go before it stops being "bright" and start being "out of tune." I imagine that Brian got the idea from hearing the various tack pianos around town, which often were tuned a bit brighter (ie, with the unison courses having a string tuned few cents different) to bring out the attack of the tack. He may have also gotten some inspiration from 12-string guitars, which despite our best efforts will always be slightly out of tune as well. There's that butter zone, though, between "out of tune enough to chorus", and "too out of tune to be musical" that can sound quite good. In any case, it seems as though Brian first went with the classic Brian Chickering Detuned Piano Sound for the Dada sessions in May '67, and kept that piano in a pretty aggressive state for a while, through Smiley, Wild Honey, Friends (I think not quite as edgy by then), 20/20, and then at some point it goes back to a more typical tuning around Sunflower era. Another good mystery -- what led Brian to go with this sound on his Piano for so long? Thanks, Joshilyn. Fascinating story. It's such a unique sound. There is also a story (relayed by Gerry Beckley) about Carl laying down a couple guitar tracks, one just slightly out of tune with the other, to create a bigger sound. I'm sure that's much more common.
|
|
|
Post by joshilynhoisington on Feb 28, 2022 22:22:18 GMT
Well, depending on how one defines "the full story"... I'm not sure if anyone knows what inspired Brian to take such an aggressive approach to tuning. Piano tuning is quite an art actually, and where there is no room for diverging from the equal tempered scale (if you want to play with other fixed-pitch, equal tempered instruments) there is a fair amount of play in tuning each set of same-pitched strings slightly differently to bring out a different character in the piano. The way Brian tuned his piano was about as far as you can go before it stops being "bright" and start being "out of tune." I imagine that Brian got the idea from hearing the various tack pianos around town, which often were tuned a bit brighter (ie, with the unison courses having a string tuned few cents different) to bring out the attack of the tack. He may have also gotten some inspiration from 12-string guitars, which despite our best efforts will always be slightly out of tune as well. There's that butter zone, though, between "out of tune enough to chorus", and "too out of tune to be musical" that can sound quite good. In any case, it seems as though Brian first went with the classic Brian Chickering Detuned Piano Sound for the Dada sessions in May '67, and kept that piano in a pretty aggressive state for a while, through Smiley, Wild Honey, Friends (I think not quite as edgy by then), 20/20, and then at some point it goes back to a more typical tuning around Sunflower era. Another good mystery -- what led Brian to go with this sound on his Piano for so long? Thanks, Joshilyn. Fascinating story. It's such a unique sound. There is also a story (relayed by Gerry Beckley) about Carl laying down a couple guitar tracks, one just slightly out of tune with the other, to create a bigger sound. I'm sure that's much more common. It is, and of course, artificial chorus pedals have been very popular at times that do that effect automatically. It's perhaps interesting to note that the Beach Boys effectively created an artificial version of this effect for "All I Wanna Do" by laying down three Rock-si-chord tracks with the tape running at different speeds for each pass to give it that otherworldly shimmer. And of course double-tracking vocals is in service of this effect as well.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Mar 1, 2022 12:24:57 GMT
Shall we move on to another instrument? How about one not necessarily associated with the Beach Boys:
Acoustic Guitars
|
|
Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
|
Post by Emdeeh on Mar 1, 2022 14:50:02 GMT
Count me in as another fan of Brian’s custom-tuned WH era piano playing!
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Mar 1, 2022 17:36:05 GMT
Shall we move on to another instrument? How about one not necessarily associated with the Beach Boys:
Acoustic Guitars
My choice here for a favorite use of acoustic guitars is in "Kiss Me, Baby." They aren't the featured instrument, but I love the kind of dual pitch-and-rhythm instrument function.
In a way, they remind me of the way Freddie Green played guitar in jazz (in Count Basie's orchestras), which is to say usually in a very simple, on-the-beat rhythm playing chords that almost are the equivalent of a timekeeping hi-hat or something, but with the harmonic structure of chords. There are differences, of course. Green usually quarter notes, and these guitars are more eighth notes in a 12/8 feel. Green often voiced chords root-seventh-third(-maybe fifth), while these chords seem to at least somewhat be more traditional "folk" voicings with open strings.
So yes, there are differences for sure. But the function feels the same to me, as if these guitars are also tambourines or shakers or something as well as guitars. Nothing flashy going on in the strumming patterns, just the bed on which the whole song can lie.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Mar 1, 2022 19:30:00 GMT
I've always liked the acoustic strumming on Your Summer Dream. Between that, and the lyrics, one can almost picture Brian sitting on the beach, guitar in hand, singing as the waves roll in.
|
|
Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
|
Post by Emdeeh on Mar 1, 2022 20:09:07 GMT
I love the acoustic guitars on "I Can Hear Music," which lift the song and give it an airy feel.
|
|