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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Mar 8, 2022 14:35:37 GMT
Still Crusin' not being available on streaming services is really odd because it *was* available at some point. It's a Capitol album and the songs really aren't that bad. I asked Alan and Mark about it one time and they basically had no idea it (and SiP) wasn't available and said they would ask about it. I assume they either didn't ask or were told no to putting it back.
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Post by kds on Mar 8, 2022 14:39:17 GMT
Still Crusin' not being available on streaming services is really odd because it *was* available at some point. It's a Capitol album and the songs really aren't that bad. I asked Alan and Mark about it one time and they basically had no idea it (and SiP) wasn't available and said they would ask about it. I assume they either didn't ask or were told no to putting it back. Also somewhat odd that those two albums weren't a part of the two fer CD releases.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 8, 2022 19:47:59 GMT
Still Crusin' not being available on streaming services is really odd because it *was* available at some point. It's a Capitol album and the songs really aren't that bad. I asked Alan and Mark about it one time and they basically had no idea it (and SiP) wasn't available and said they would ask about it. I assume they either didn't ask or were told no to putting it back. No, the "new" Still Cruisin' songs aren't that bad. And, the frustrating thing was, those six or seven songs shoulda/coulda/woulda been packaged with four or five new Brian Wilson-composed songs. Strong songs. And he had 'em, through the Sweet Insanity sessions. Unfortunately, the Dr. Landy situation was starting to turn toxic for all of the parties involved, and those Sweet Insanity songs would remain Brian's...and unreleased. That seemed to be the same story played out over and over during the long Beach Boys' career. But it stung especially hard in 1988-89 when the guys were back in the spotlight, healthy, and riding some momentum. Instead, we got no Brian Wilson follow-up solo album and Still Cruisin' and Summer In Paradise instead. Game over.
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Post by carllove on Mar 9, 2022 12:50:05 GMT
Everybody loves to diss Kokomo - but it’s a catchy tune - and it has those trademark Beach Boys harmonies and Carl’s soaring vocal “Oh I want to take you down to Kokomo…”, makes my toes tingle. I actually like and appreciate the song more as a fan of the Boys than I did before I was a fan. I gave it a 9.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 9, 2022 13:03:57 GMT
Everybody loves to diss Kokomo - but it’s a catchy tune Yep. Honestly I am unapologetically in both camps. I DO love to diss it! The video especially is really corny, they look pretty lame to me. And the song itself has its share of cheese. BUT ... it's catchy. It's nice enough. There's really nothing WRONG with it. It's bad, it's good. I poke fun, but I also am happy to listen to it and defend it to anyone who says it's awful. Life is full of contradictions, what can I do?
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Post by kds on Mar 9, 2022 13:26:08 GMT
Everybody loves to diss Kokomo - but it’s a catchy tune - and it has those trademark Beach Boys harmonies and Carl’s soaring vocal “Oh I want to take you down to Kokomo…”, makes my toes tingle. I actually like and appreciate the song more as a fan of the Boys than I did before I was a fan. I gave it a 9. That's pretty much how I feel about it. If I didn't really get heavy into The Beach Boys ten years ago, it would probably just be a random song on my summer Spotify playlists.
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Post by lonelysummer on Mar 10, 2022 4:48:45 GMT
Ahh, we finally get to it, Mike Love's greatest hit, Kokomo. If his ego was big before, with the success of this record, his head became massive. I'm talking Barry Bonds huge. I'm not going to jump ahead to Still Cruisin'. Plenty of time to do that next week or whenever. Kokomo did appear on a real hit album - the Cocktail soundtrack. I used to have that album; gave it up one of many times I was trying to downsize. Kind of wish I had it now, as a time piece. I bought the single the week it came out - oh, how I miss Tower Records. Brian's single came out the same week, or maybe the week before. I was distinctly underwhelmed by Brian's single, Love and Mercy, but I thought it would be a hit because the entire industry seemed to be behind Brian and his solo album. I liked Kokomo better, but assumed it would disappear without a trace, no promotion or anything. Boy, was a wrong about that! It must have really burned Brian's team that they couldn't make him a hit artist, even with profiles in all the major (and some minor) music publications. "It's the return of a prodigal son, it's Brian being set free from those controlling losers the Beach Boys, the genius is back". Yeah, all the hype in the world couldn't make his solo album a hit. Meanwhile, the Beach Boys record one song the whole year, and it becomes a #1 smash. BTW, is there a story behind the b-side of Kokomo? I'm sure Little Richard was happy to have his old recording on the b-side; must have put some much needed dollars in his wallet. I give this single a strong 9. 10 is reserved for I Get Around/Don't Worry Baby, and Wouldn't it Be Nice/God Only Knows.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 10, 2022 18:03:17 GMT
Ahh, we finally get to it, Mike Love's greatest hit, Kokomo. If his ego was big before, with the success of this record, his head became massive. I'm talking Barry Bonds huge. I'm not going to jump ahead to Still Cruisin'. Plenty of time to do that next week or whenever. Kokomo did appear on a real hit album - the Cocktail soundtrack. I used to have that album; gave it up one of many times I was trying to downsize. Kind of wish I had it now, as a time piece. I bought the single the week it came out - oh, how I miss Tower Records. Brian's single came out the same week, or maybe the week before. I was distinctly underwhelmed by Brian's single, Love and Mercy, but I thought it would be a hit because the entire industry seemed to be behind Brian and his solo album. I liked Kokomo better, but assumed it would disappear without a trace, no promotion or anything. Boy, was a wrong about that! It must have really burned Brian's team that they couldn't make him a hit artist, even with profiles in all the major (and some minor) music publications. "It's the return of a prodigal son, it's Brian being set free from those controlling losers the Beach Boys, the genius is back". Yeah, all the hype in the world couldn't make his solo album a hit. Meanwhile, the Beach Boys record one song the whole year, and it becomes a #1 smash. BTW, is there a story behind the b-side of Kokomo? I'm sure Little Richard was happy to have his old recording on the b-side; must have put some much needed dollars in his wallet. I give this single a strong 9. 10 is reserved for I Get Around/Don't Worry Baby, and Wouldn't it Be Nice/God Only Knows. It was an amazing thing the way things worked out. There was a lot of hype about Brian's first solo album. It was talked about for a couple years before it was finally released. Rolling Stone did a long article on Brian and gave the album a good review. Actually, most publications gave the album a good review. Brian made the rounds of the morning TV talk shows (and Entertainment Tonight) and they all featured at least a snippet of "Love And Mercy". The record stores were full of the album including displays and posters. And then a funny thing happened.
"Kokomo" came out and Brian - and his solo album/career - literally disappeared overnight. The Beach Boys were back in the spotlight, some would say "on top" again, and it gave the impression (to me anyway) that Brian was left out in the cold looking in.
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Post by kds on Mar 10, 2022 18:28:37 GMT
I'm sure this contributes to why some of the more Brian leaning BB fans don't much care for Kokomo. I mean, the timing was quite unfortunate for Brian.
To be 100% honest, I'm more likely to listen to Kokomo than about 75% of what's on BW88.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 10, 2022 18:43:13 GMT
I agree with that. I'm not even that big a "Kokomo" fan, but I do think it compares VERY well to the best of the BW debut. I prefer things like "Melt Away" and some others, but it's not as if there was a "God Only Knows" on that album. And even "Love & Mercy," in my opinion, has been made far, far better by its more organic arrangements as it has been both performed and recorded since.
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Post by kds on Mar 10, 2022 19:44:55 GMT
I agree with that. I'm not even that big a "Kokomo" fan, but I do think it compares VERY well to the best of the BW debut. I prefer things like "Melt Away" and some others, but it's not as if there was a "God Only Knows" on that album. And even "Love & Mercy," in my opinion, has been made far, far better by its more organic arrangements as it has been both performed and recorded since. I even find myself opting for the IJWMFTT version of Melt Away over the BW88 version sometimes.
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Post by lonelysummer on Mar 12, 2022 4:04:51 GMT
Love and Mercy is a nice song, but it never sounded like a potential hit to me. I love Brian's album, but I think the Landy stuff overshadowed the music Brian was making. Melt Away is my favorite on the album; but for a single, I would have gone with Walkin' the Line or Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight.
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Post by kds on Mar 12, 2022 17:32:53 GMT
I still think with the right push, Let's Go to Heaven in My Car could've been a hit. The chorus and guitar solo have a bit of a Huey Lewis vibe.
Unfortunately, in the scene when it plays in Police Academy 4, the chorus is pretty much obscured by action in the film.
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Post by lonelysummer on Mar 13, 2022 4:11:00 GMT
I still think with the right push, Let's Go to Heaven in My Car could've been a hit. The chorus and guitar solo have a bit of a Huey Lewis vibe. Unfortunately, in the scene when it plays in Police Academy 4, the chorus is pretty much obscured by action in the film. Yeah, I saw the movie and didn't even notice the song under the action. It was a great uptempo pop/rock song for the late 80's; much more hit potential than Love and Mercy.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 13, 2022 12:25:35 GMT
I think "Love And Mercy" is an excellent song, easily one of Brian's best solo songs (Top 3 for me). But, it just didn't sound...right...for the radio in 1988. I often wondered how "Let It Shine" would've fared as a single, capitalizing on Jeff Lynne's association. I think, after "Love And Mercy", it's the best song on the album. But, that being said, I don't think any of the songs from Brian's first solo album had much of a chance as a single, primarily because of his voice. It was a robotic, shouty, un-Beach Boys-like voice. And, frankly, that would haunt him commercially for much of his solo career...IMO. "Kokomo", in turn, was not marred by that; the Beach Boys' vocals were the strong part of the song.
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