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Post by Kapitan on Mar 6, 2022 17:59:40 GMT
While we mention brief eras (Pet Sounds, Wild Honeyish) of bass style, how about Carl & the Passions: So Tough? The bass on "Here She Comes" seems more or less unique in their catalog (as does the song itself, actually). And even something simple like the root-fifth-root (and sometimes other intervals) in that one (with a cool tone, I'd add) doesn't sound like much of their bass parts in other eras.
That album is such a hodge-podge of almost different bands, do we really know much about who played what on which songs? My guess would be "Here She Comes" is a session player, but I don't know.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 7, 2022 15:28:21 GMT
Seems we're bassed out. Up next, how about an oddball, something none of the Beach Boys themselves played, and realistically often used outside help in arranging the parts? However the parts made it onto the records, they were Beach Boys records, and those parts warrant some attention.
Strings
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
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Post by Emdeeh on Mar 7, 2022 18:32:07 GMT
Need I say it? Yes -- cello triplets in "Good Vibes"!
Lately, I've been puzzling over the strings in "Our Sweet Love." Sometimes they sound real and sometimes they sound more like synth. Given how much the BBs were experimenting with synths at the time, it wouldn't surprise me to find out it's a combo of real and synth in OSL.
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Post by joshilynhoisington on Mar 7, 2022 18:42:14 GMT
Need I say it? Yes -- cello triplets in "Good Vibes"! Lately, I've been puzzling over the strings in "Our Sweet Love." Sometimes they sound real and sometimes they sound more like synth. Given how much the BBs were experimenting with synths at the time, it wouldn't surprise me to find out it's a combo of real and synth in OSL. They were all real, but I know what you mean -- there's a somewhat otherworldly quality to the overdub that I think tends to happen when string sections of a certain size play in such a way where it's a lot of sustained notes, rather than more idiomatic string section playing. Something about the reverb catching up to the dry signal creating a sort of additive synthesis. Speaking of idiomatic string playing, Brian never really gets there in his string arrangements, but my favourite string section is on Prelude to Fade; the sweeping reasonably high violin line outlines a certain romantic quality that did not appear on a BB record before or since (well, of course, it sorta never appeared, to be fair).
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Post by kds on Mar 7, 2022 20:05:08 GMT
For bass, I was going to pick a PS era track, but that's been covered.
For strings, I really like the strings on From There to Back Again and Pacific Coast Highway on TWGMTR.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 8, 2022 0:17:32 GMT
The first thing that comes to mind for me is the instrumental break in "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)," after "listen, listen, listen..." To me, it's just achingly beautiful. I'm not sure it resonated with me on first listen, but within a couple of years--certainly by 2000, so maybe three years after I got Pet Sounds and just at the early days of my Beach Boys fandom--it was very meaningful to me.
What did or does it mean? Meaningful how? That's a great question. I don't know. It isn't verbal, just impressionistic for me. And it captures the mood of the song so perfectly, both beautiful and slightly unsettling.
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Post by joshilynhoisington on Mar 8, 2022 0:40:55 GMT
You didn't ask for it, but here it is (forgive enharmonic issues I have to review still) Attachments:
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 8, 2022 0:53:34 GMT
You didn't ask for it, but here it is (forgive enharmonic issues I have to review still) This kind of thing is really wonderful, everyone. I hope anyone who is interested in getting these kinds of things--not just necessarily personally, but getting these things out into the world--and is in a position to do so would consider supporting Joshilyn's work.
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Post by joshilynhoisington on Mar 8, 2022 1:08:18 GMT
You didn't ask for it, but here it is (forgive enharmonic issues I have to review still) This kind of thing is really wonderful, everyone. I hope anyone who is interested in getting these kinds of things--not just necessarily personally, but getting these things out into the world--and is in a position to do so would consider supporting Joshilyn's work. Thanks for your continued encouragement! Incidentally, I will add as an addendum to both the bass and the string categories, the string bass on Don't Talk, after I roughed in the notes as seen on the above transcription, I went back and realized that Lyle (who is playing mostly with the bow throughout) actually slides down to some notes in the (what I guess you'd call) the chorus, and it's a great effect; not exactly quite as on the nose as the timpani playing the heartbeat business, but there is something kind of bodily about it. In any case, I have corrected that part in the master score!
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Post by carllove on Mar 8, 2022 11:10:05 GMT
The first thing that comes to mind for me is the instrumental break in "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)," after "listen, listen, listen..." To me, it's just achingly beautiful. I'm not sure it resonated with me on first listen, but within a couple of years--certainly by 2000, so maybe three years after I got Pet Sounds and just at the early days of my Beach Boys fandom--it was very meaningful to me.
What did or does it mean? Meaningful how? That's a great question. I don't know. It isn't verbal, just impressionistic for me. And it captures the mood of the song so perfectly, both beautiful and slightly unsettling.
Agree 100%. That break gives me all of the feels. I just close my eyes and drink it in. Achingly lovely.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 9, 2022 21:00:14 GMT
One perfectly good string arrangement that doesn't wow me, but warrants mention, is "The Nearest Faraway Place."
First of all, it was done by the great Van McCoy (best known for " The Hustle"). But also ... it seems like a waste of money to hire McCoy for this arrangement! I find it hard to believe Bruce himself couldn't have done the same arrangement, and even if not, he could have gotten something like it from any staff arranger, I'd think.
I think it's entirely competent, and it is unobtrusive. It's no Van Dyke Parks arrangement, which (especially in the past 20 years) often remind you half a dozen times per song, "Arrangement by Van Dyke Parks!" with their flourishes. And that's to its credit, especially when the song has what I consider a gaudy piano part to begin with.
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Post by beachboystalkmatt on Mar 12, 2022 5:18:03 GMT
The whole Ron Brown thing is pretty interesting, it's not entirely clear what all he ended up playing on, unfortunately he doesn't make the contracts, maybe because he was being paid out as a touring band member. But those three tracks are likely candidates for being him indeed, and he certainly brought the level of competency up a bit when he took over from Carl or Brian. I wouldn't say his reading of the IWMTLH bass line is the most crisp, but it's quite respectable. He's certainly someone it would have been great to hear more from directly -- I don't know if anybody in Beach Boys Land really knows what happened to him? If he's still around, this seems like a great opportunity for beachboystalkmatt... I will look into it!!
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Post by joshilynhoisington on Mar 12, 2022 17:55:18 GMT
If he's alive and you get a hold of him, I will buy you a house.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 18, 2022 14:45:25 GMT
OK, it has been a while (thanks to the active Top 100 thread), but I thought I'd kickstart this one again. So far, we have covered (in this order) our favorite piano, bass, acoustic guitar, and string parts. Anyone who hasn't can always feel free to add their picks even once we've moved on.
For our next area of focus, let's go with parts likely played by Carl Wilson, David Marks, Blondie Chaplin, Al Jardine, or (especially as time goes on) session players. Whether solo parts, rhythm parts or whatever else, let's go with:
Electric Guitars
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Post by kds on Mar 18, 2022 15:07:01 GMT
The big one for me is the guitar solo on Steamboat.
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