|
Post by kds on Nov 15, 2022 13:49:17 GMT
Best: "That's Why God Made the Radio," because it's such an earworm. Running close behind: "Think About the Days," "From There to Back Again," and "Isn't It Time." Least (and this is probably going to surprise you): "Summer's Gone," beautiful, but so depressing I find it a difficult listen. And I really, really don't like it as an album closer -- my personal play version of TWGMTR has "Strange World" moved to the last slot. YMMV and likely will. I'll agree Summer's Gone is a bit of a tough listen at times. I actually removed it from my BB Playlist because it would be weird when I'd be listening in late June, and Summer's Gone would pop up.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Nov 15, 2022 14:24:38 GMT
I think "Spring Vacation" sounds like The Beach Boys SHOULD. There goes Sheriff, trying to deconvert me from my Beach Boys fandom.
I'm a little surprised not to see more "Summer's Gone" picks as best, though it's middle-of-the-pack for me. It always seems most people seem to think it's the standout. I like it, but I don't love it. For me, there just isn't enough motion in it, it just kind of bobs in the ocean waves without ever going anywhere.
Conversely, "From There to Back Again" has a great melody, and I love how it shifts through the song. First, when Al gets to the "you've been thinkin' 'bout some things..." and the background harmonies come in, that's heaven; but then, "won't you listen...," the tremolo-guitar line, and those wordless "ahhhh-ah" harmonies. Al returns with "don't you understand the words..." in a building tension and excitement. It all blows wide open with "the clouds are breakin', it's a beautiful day."
What's above heaven? (I guess in ancient cosmology, the next heaven. So this is the top one, seventh heaven.) No talk boxes. No corny guitar riffs, just that tasteful tremolo sound. Drums used as orchestral percussion. Yes, too much autotuning, but I'll take it. This is the best single thing the Beach Boys had done in 40 years.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Nov 15, 2022 14:28:19 GMT
I think "Spring Vacation" sounds like The Beach Boys SHOULD. There goes Sheriff, trying to deconvert me from my Beach Boys fandom.
I'm a little surprised not to see more "Summer's Gone" picks as best, though it's middle-of-the-pack for me. It always seems most people seem to think it's the standout. I like it, but I don't love it. For me, there just isn't enough motion in it, it just kind of bobs in the ocean waves without ever going anywhere.
Conversely, "From There to Back Again" has a great melody, and I love how it shifts through the song. First, when Al gets to the "you've been thinkin' 'bout some things..." and the background harmonies come in, that's heaven; but then, "won't you listen...," the tremolo-guitar line, and those wordless "ahhhh-ah" harmonies. Al returns with "don't you understand the words..." in a building tension and excitement. It all blows wide open with "the clouds are breakin', it's a beautiful day."
What's above heaven? (I guess in ancient cosmology, the next heaven. So this is the top one, seventh heaven.) No talk boxes. No corny guitar riffs, just that tasteful tremolo sound. Drums used as orchestral percussion. Yes, too much autotuning, but I'll take it. This is the best single thing the Beach Boys had done in 40 years.
As much as I love Summer's Gone, I prefer the two songs that precede it.
|
|
|
Post by jk on Nov 15, 2022 14:49:42 GMT
I'm afraid I have to do my chickening-out act again. TYGMTT is a swan song album, an indivisible stand-alone entity, just as Love You is an outsider album.
|
|
|
Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Nov 15, 2022 15:02:37 GMT
This is a very interesting one, and I have it break it down to give credit where credit is due.
MY FAVORITE SONG: "Spring Vacation" - I love it! It reminds me of The Beach Boys in 1965 ( circa Summer Days And Summer Nights!!), in 1976 (with "It's OK"), and in 1985 (with "Getcha Back"). And, they pulled it off again because it sounds like a great version of the 2012 Beach Boys. Let me be even more specific - I think "Spring Vacation" sounds like The Beach Boys SHOULD. This song just makes me feel good, and that's what I love about The Beach Boys' music. I can't quite call it my favorite song on the album, but I'm with you all the way on the rest of it. I know in the past we've both mentioned it should have been the lead single. Only thing I might change is replacing the organ with... something else. Such a fun summer song.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Nov 15, 2022 15:26:46 GMT
I'm afraid I have to do my chickening-out act again. TYGMTT is a swan song album, an indivisible stand-alone entity, just as Love You is an outsider album. They're both Beach Boys albums, but OK.
|
|
|
Post by lonelysummer on Nov 15, 2022 20:07:22 GMT
This is a very interesting one, and I have it break it down to give credit where credit is due.
MY FAVORITE SONG: "Spring Vacation" - I love it! It reminds me of The Beach Boys in 1965 ( circa Summer Days And Summer Nights!!), in 1976 (with "It's OK"), and in 1985 (with "Getcha Back"). And, they pulled it off again because it sounds like a great version of the 2012 Beach Boys. Let me be even more specific - I think "Spring Vacation" sounds like The Beach Boys SHOULD. This song just makes me feel good, and that's what I love about The Beach Boys' music.
THE BEST SONG ACCORDING TO THE FANS: "From There To Back Again" - Is there any Beach Boys' song that is critically acclaimed, maybe a hit, and you know the fans love it because they praise it, but for some reason, you just don't share in that praise. For me that would be "From There To Back Again". Now, make no mistake, I like the song a lot, and it's one of my top 5 songs on TWGMTR. It's a mature/adult song, well-produced, well-sung, and again, it's an album highlight. But it doesn't knock me out or blow me away. Essential? Yes. An all-timer for me? Not really. Like it a lot? Hell yeah.
THE BEST SONG: This gets my vote kds..."Summer's Gone". This is the one song from TWGMTR that has grown on me, not that I didn't love it the first time I heard it. Joe Thomas did it again. This is a well-produced, damn good song. "Summer's Gone" has everything. It has atmosphere, emotional lyrics, nice melody, and sound effects. It has a feel, a melancholy feel, and Brian, for me anyway, has not been able to consistently "go there" or reach me with his solo music. He does with this song. I think that Brian's vocal on "Summer's Gone" is what he would've sounded like if he hadn't ruined his voice permanently in the mid-1970s. "Summer's Gone" should've gotten more recognition in 2012. I'm one of those fans who always says, "It should've been a single", even though the song/single would've stiffed. Well, I'll say it again with "Summer's Gone", but I'll change a key word. I WISH it would've been a single. Oh, I know the song wouldn't have gone anywhere, much like most post-"Kokomo" songs. I just think it would've sounded so great on some cool radio stations. It was a cool-sounding song and it would've been neat to hear the 2012 Brian Wilson - with The Beach Boys - singing lead on a new, deep song in various demographics. I also wish they would've made a video for the song, just for posterity, just to have one, just because the song deserved it.
WORST SONG: "Beaches In Mind". One of the few boring songs in the BB catalogue. Sounds like a quickie. I don't know if the song could've been saved but I wish they would've speeded (is that a word?) it up and turned David Marks loose. Runner up: "The Private Life Of Bill Of Sue". Another simplistic Beach Boys 1985-like run-of-the-mill BW song. Very disappointing NEW song from Brian, and Joe Thomas' part of the song was better. Put my name to this post. Seriously. Beaches in Mind is a nothing song; Summer's Gone is the kind of song we'd been waiting all these years for Brian to come up with. His best since Melt Away.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 16, 2022 14:05:51 GMT
I think "Spring Vacation" sounds like The Beach Boys SHOULD. There goes Sheriff, trying to deconvert me from my Beach Boys fandom. I thought (hoped?) my comment might strike a chord with someone. And, now, here is the most Mike Love-like post you're gonna see...
In the mid-1960s, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys created a sound - yes, maybe even a formula - that resonated with many, many music fans. It had a great melody, many times featured a Mike Love lead vocal, backing vocals with a high end, lyrics celebrating the joy (fun?) of life, and other touches like a good intro or tag. Two and a half, maybe three minutes long. They couldn't lose with that...style...but they sure tried.
Because Brian - and Dennis - were such artists, of course there would be changes. Brian especially had to follow his muse. So, we got Smiley Smile, Wild Honey, Friends, and a smattering of unique songs in the early 1970s. And, The Beach Boys? They lost their contract with Capitol Records, nearly went bankrupt, had almost every new album rejected by Reprise, and became, in some ways, irrelevant in the pop/rock world, other than the touring.
Hey, they chose that path. They weren't forced to do anything. Some diehard fans stayed with them but many of their other casual/general music fans moved on. Those fans didn't accept the new music. Look at the record sales and flopped singles. But, I always thought that there was a market, an acceptance, even a longing for that good ol' Beach Boys' music that never went away. I think music fans wanted less of "She's Goin' Bald" and more of "Darlin'", less of "I'd Love Just Once To See You" and more of "Do It Again", less of "Anna Lee The Healer" and more of "I Can Hear Music". Look at the better (best?) Beach Boys' songs post-1975, the ones which became hits/semi-hits - "Rock And Roll Music", "It's OK", "Come Go With Me", "Good Timin'", "Getcha Back" and to an extent, "Kokomo". You could even include "Almost Summer" by Celebration. If you or they could get those records heard or played, there was always gonna be an audience, and a chance that fans would welcome them back. That's what I was getting at my comment, "That sounds like The Beach Boys SHOULD." Obviously I was being facetious, but I truly believe that the fans never got tired of that Beach Boys' style, that sound, that formula, and as long as the group made at least one of those types of songs - and got it out there - it had a chance of being successful. Oh, I get it, as long as you had a Brian Wilson or a Dennis Wilson, and maybe even a Carl Wilson who were true artists, you couldn't ask them to go back, to repeat, to not do new things. But, for many fans, it could be frustrating to see the band perform concert after concert, year after year, playing all of that great "Beach Boys" music, but then not record it. If they would just ask me, I'd tell them what they SHOULD do!
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Nov 16, 2022 14:54:16 GMT
I hear you, but I don't quite agree. Almost, but not quite.
The problem, as I hear it, is one of the believability of that classic formula. Sometimes those songs sounded great, sounded true, sounded real. (I am trying to avoid the word "authentic," since I've argued against authenticity as a particularly useful thing in judging music ... but I'm struggling here.) There is something about the early music that felt powerful and relatable because it was current, because it felt like the band believed in it--whether there was only one surfer or a couple hot rodders in the group or not.
But as time goes on, some of those songs just felt less and less real, and more and more like obvious attempts to recapture the commercial successes of the increasingly distant past. "Do It Again" was one thing, or hell, even "It's OK," but by the time you get the Love/Melcher era, it was just absurd, not to mention sometimes creepy.
There is a way to do it right, and I think that was with "Isn't It Time" (album version) more than "Spring Vacation." It had a classic sound, but it wasn't yet pretending the guys themselves were these young men "cruisin' the town, diggin' the scene" (to say nothing of the blatant lies of going on forever, sticking together, the past being behind them, having a blast...some of the least honest lines in Beach Boys history). I've said before and must again, the best and most honest lines in that song are "easy money / ain't life funny." That's what the album was mostly about.
The ironic thing is, Love rewrote "Isn't It Time" for the single version to make it worse, to make it less believable, in my opinion. "All of those things we used to do" is relatable for probably the vast majority of Beach Boys fans; "all of those things we love to do" coming from men in their 70s isn't quite so appealing. I mean, what, drink prune juice?
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Nov 16, 2022 15:19:31 GMT
Oh yeah, as to the greater agreement part: I think there is no doubt that the public generally reacted far more favorably to relatively straight-ahead, pop/rock-and-roll music from this group than to the more far-out or even just out-of-character stuff. The group's, and especially Brian's, great gift was making almost totally formulaic music that had just enough of a twist to be interesting, to stand out.
Therein lay Brian Wilson's genius--far more than being a psychedelic, experimental, or outsider artist. That stuff was more interesting (mostly for the stories) than great musically, although with some exceptions. (Smile being the biggest exception, as I still think it was on track to being roughly on par with Pet Sounds.)
|
|
|
Post by kds on Nov 16, 2022 15:24:08 GMT
I hear you, but I don't quite agree. Almost, but not quite.
The problem, as I hear it, is one of the believability of that classic formula. Sometimes those songs sounded great, sounded true, sounded real. (I am trying to avoid the word "authentic," since I've argued against authenticity as a particularly useful thing in judging music ... but I'm struggling here.) There is something about the early music that felt powerful and relatable because it was current, because it felt like the band believed in it--whether there was only one surfer or a couple hot rodders in the group or not.
But as time goes on, some of those songs just felt less and less real, and more and more like obvious attempts to recapture the commercial successes of the increasingly distant past. "Do It Again" was one thing, or hell, even "It's OK," but by the time you get the Love/Melcher era, it was just absurd, not to mention sometimes creepy.
There is a way to do it right, and I think that was with "Isn't It Time" (album version) more than "Spring Vacation." It had a classic sound, but it wasn't yet pretending the guys themselves were these young men "cruisin' the town, diggin' the scene" (to say nothing of the blatant lies of going on forever, sticking together, the past being behind them, having a blast...some of the least honest lines in Beach Boys history). I've said before and must again, the best and most honest lines in that song are "easy money / ain't life funny." That's what the album was mostly about.
The ironic thing is, Love rewrote "Isn't It Time" for the single version to make it worse, to make it less believable, in my opinion. "All of those things we used to do" is relatable for probably the vast majority of Beach Boys fans; "all of those things we love to do" coming from men in their 70s isn't quite so appealing. I mean, what, drink prune juice?
I agree, I think Isn't It Time tackled the reunion theme far better. Spring Vacation did it a little more predictably, with the lyrical call backs and such, albeit with more of a 21st century sheen that I'd have expected. I do think the "easy money / ain't life funny / hey, what's it to ya" sequence is pretty hilarious.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Nov 16, 2022 15:28:59 GMT
Yeah, and I should note, it isn't JUST the lyrics I don't really like about "Spring Vacation." There's something just a little too corny about the music. I especially don't like the lead guitar in it, or that the verses have virtually no melody to speak of. Nice chorus, though.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 16, 2022 15:48:01 GMT
One way where I think they missed the boat on TWGMTR, and I feel very strongly about it, was not writing/recording a fast rock & roll song that featured David Marks on guitar. First, that was his forte' with the band - those first three BB albums - that were led, yes, led, by David and Carl's Fender guitar work. Love or hate those early instrumentals, they were very prominent and added an important element to the band in 1961-63.
Then, they go and bring David back in 2012 (I know, I know, there were a few reasons) and they barely utilize him on the album. I have gone on record as wishing TWGMTR would've been more of a group album, and I still think Al and Bruce should've been represented with a song each. But, even more than a song from those two, I think I would've preferred a rockin' David Marks-led tune. Brian was still dipping his feet in those waters with "Rodney On The ROQ" and "Run, James, Run". The album could've used the energy. Don't you think most fans would've dug something like that.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Nov 16, 2022 15:57:15 GMT
Yeah, and I should note, it isn't JUST the lyrics I don't really like about "Spring Vacation." There's something just a little too corny about the music. I especially don't like the lead guitar in it, or that the verses have virtually no melody to speak of. Nice chorus, though. Right, and why bring in Jeff Baxter to play such a generic lead part...especially after making a big deal about David Marks being back in the band? I think David Marks is only marginally on that album more than I am. I mentioned that it reminds me of one of John Mayer's lame pop/rock songs from the 00s, for some reason it specifically reminds me of a song of his called "Waiting for the World to Change."
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Nov 16, 2022 16:10:00 GMT
One way where I think they missed the boat on TWGMTR, and I feel very strongly about it, was not writing/recording a fast rock & roll song that featured David Marks on guitar. First, that was his forte' with the band - those first three BB albums - that were led, yes, led, by David and Carl's Fender guitar work. Love or hate those early instrumentals, they were very prominent and added an important element to the band in 1961-63.
Then, they go and bring David back in 2012 (I know, I know, there were a few reasons) and they barely utilize him on the album. I have gone on record as wishing TWGMTR would've been more of a group album, and I still think Al and Bruce should've been represented with a song each. But, even more than a song from those two, I think I would've preferred a rockin' David Marks-led tune. Brian was still dipping his feet in those waters with "Rodney On The ROQ" and "Run, James, Run". The album could've used the energy. Don't you think most fans would've dug something like that.
This is where we are 100% on the same page. "Run James Run" would have been a PERFECT song to include, if it was written by this point. (And if it wasn't, it was surely soon after. I believe it was already mentioned as early as the Jeff Beck sessions.) Mike could have done a great lead on it, too, with someone else for the harmony in the verses, and maybe Al on the chorus? Makes me feel giddy thinking about how cool it could have been.
|
|