|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 25, 2023 11:09:53 GMT
Ten Years of Harmony included "River Song", so there's no reason a similar comp for the 80's couldn't include a few Brian and Carl songs. That's if you agree with the premise that it was OK or a good idea to include solo songs on Ten Years Of Harmony - which I did/do not. What was their reason for including "River Song"? To promote Pacific Ocean Blue which was probably already out of print? To stroke Dennis Wilson's ego? To "advertise" Dennis as it might help to promote the group? Dennis was well on his way to fading away from the group in 1981. Because "River Song" deserved to be featured because there weren't any other stronger songs to include on the comp? That's the weakest argument. Look at some of the songs omitted, including a few Dennis-penned songs:
- Slip On Through - Forever - All This Is That - Cuddle Up (single version) - Had To Phone Ya - The Night Was So Young - I'll Bet He's Nice - Pitter Patter - Match Point Of Our Love - Here Comes The Night (Single Version) - Baby Blue - Keepin' The Summer Alive - Livin' With A Heartache
Yes, it's a matter of opinion if "River Song" was a better song than those above songs, but, again, was it necessary...for a Beach Boys' comp?
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on May 25, 2023 11:48:55 GMT
Ten Years of Harmony included "River Song", so there's no reason a similar comp for the 80's couldn't include a few Brian and Carl songs. I don't understand the point you're making. Until Sheriff John Stone replied to this same post of yours, was anyone saying an actual Beach Boys '80s comp shouldn't or couldn't have included solo songs? What we were talking about was considering solo songs for purposes of this thread: how solo songs released in the '80s would have helped the Beach Boys' catalog in the '80s.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 25, 2023 12:07:51 GMT
Not to speak for lonelysummer, but I don't think he was necessarily arguing/advocating for or against an 80s Beach Boys' comp containing solo songs - either officially released or for this/our thread. Maybe he was just pointing out that there was a precedent for it in the past. And, maybe he was anticipating the question (should an official Beach Boys' Best Of The 80s comp include solo songs?) coming up and wanted to jump in early!
|
|
|
Post by kds on May 25, 2023 12:39:19 GMT
I'm not quite as high on BW88 as some fans, but I'll at least admit most of the material on that album is better than Brian's Beach Boys contributions of the 80s. I definitely would include "Love And Mercy" and seriously consider "Let It Shine". And since we're talking solo songs, I would have to include Carl's "Heaven" and maybe one from Youngblood. I'd probably also include Melt Away, and maybe even Carl's cover of Rockin All Over the World.
|
|
|
Post by lonelysummer on May 26, 2023 2:08:45 GMT
Not to speak for lonelysummer, but I don't think he was necessarily arguing/advocating for or against an 80s Beach Boys' comp containing solo songs - either officially released or for this/our thread. Maybe he was just pointing out that there was a precedent for it in the past. And, maybe he was anticipating the question (should an official Beach Boys' Best Of The 80s comp include solo songs?) coming up and wanted to jump in early! It is what it is.
|
|
|
Post by B.E. on May 27, 2023 1:24:19 GMT
No votes for "Lady Liberty", "Happy Endings", or "Living Doll"? What the heck!?
|
|
|
Post by B.E. on May 27, 2023 1:33:56 GMT
On a somewhat more serious note, I think if we had 100 voters "Male Ego" would be flirting with the top 10, whereas it hasn't received a single vote here yet.
What do you think? Do you agree with that or do you think my perception is off? I seem to remember it being pretty popular among Love You/quirky Brian fans.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on May 27, 2023 12:09:15 GMT
On a somewhat more serious note, I think if we had 100 voters "Male Ego" would be flirting with the top 10, whereas it hasn't received a single vote here yet. What do you think? Do you agree with that or do you think my perception is off? I seem to remember it being pretty popular among Love You/quirky Brian fans. I think you're right. Or at least at some points in time you would've been right--I don't have my finger on the pulse of the larger-scale fandom these days. But about 20 years ago, even 15 years ago, you'd have a good number of fans insisting it was the only redeeming song on that entire album, the only glimpse of the "real Brian." Maybe it's the fact that since the earl '00s, Brian has released a lot of material, and dashed their ideas of what an unleashed might look like. Turns out that Brian was them, not him.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 27, 2023 12:26:46 GMT
I never understood the love for "Male Ego". Somewhere in there is a decent B. Wilson - M.Love rocker, and that's probably the attraction. Fans will always gravitate to a Brian Wilson rock and roll song. But, to me, there's so much wrong with this song. I think the "male ego" concept is stupid. The lyrics are borderline offensive. Brian's at his shoutiest. And, with The Beach Boys' sound, it was hard to do a real rocker.
|
|
|
Post by kds on May 27, 2023 12:28:00 GMT
That must have been prior to my time on BB boards because I really don't recall a lot of love for Male Ego. But, I have no doubt it would crack a Top 10 80s list on some boards just because of a BW credit and lead.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on May 27, 2023 12:36:06 GMT
Sheriff John Stone, I am with you. Even in my most Brianista days, I didn't think it was much of a song. I think I understand why people wanted it to be good, and honestly I think they made it good in their own minds. You could see how its simplistic music and (to be charitable) goofy lyric were "the old Brian" (of Love You, not of Pet Sounds...), and just say, yep, that's it, that's the genius. But I think if you just listen objectively, it's pretty mediocre. kds, yeah, I think at least what I'm talking about was before your time. My main memories on this are probably 20 years old.
|
|
|
Post by B.E. on May 27, 2023 17:13:50 GMT
I'm not super confident in my ranking, but it'll have to do. "Getcha Back" would have been higher in the past and I suspect 5-10 years from now it won't even crack my top 10. I love the song, and all of Brian's contributions, but Mike's lead vocal and the fake snare drum sound worse, and more obnoxious, every time I listen to it. It's really too bad, because it's clearly a hit worthy song. On the flip side, "She Believes in Love Again" has grown on me a lot over the years, which is why it made the cut. There were about 5 other tracks I would have gladly included on the backend of my top 10. Overall, I sort of had to resist the urge to include even more KTSA tracks due mainly to the more favorable (i.e. less "80s") production values.
1. Kokomo 2. Where I Belong 3. Goin' On 4. Oh Darlin' 5. Keepin' the Summer Alive 6. California Dreamin' 7. Getcha Back 8. Santa Ana Winds 9. Livin' with a Heartache 10. She Believes In Love Again
Also, it was interesting for me to consider "California Dreamin'" and "Rock and Roll to the Rescue". Because I'm such an album guy, and those are non album tracks, I don't often listen to them. It's possible that if I listened to them more, they both would have fared better, as I do think some of this is sort of self-fulling. (Same could apply to "Island Girl" as I don't listen to the non-"Kokomo" Still Cruisin' tracks often, but I was tempted to include it, anyway.)
|
|
Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
|
Post by Emdeeh on May 27, 2023 19:36:53 GMT
In no particular order, other than how they appear on the poll:
Keepin' the Summer Alive Goin' On Sunshine Chasin' the Sky Getcha Back It's Gettin' Late Where I Belong California Dreamin' Somewhere Near Japan Kokomo
|
|
|
Post by B.E. on May 28, 2023 13:14:48 GMT
Thanks for participating. We had 9 voters cast 87 votes.
Top 10 Songs of the 1980s
California Dreamin' (9 votes) Getcha Back (8 votes) Kokomo (8 votes) Goin' On (7 votes) Somewhere Near Japan (7 votes) Keepin' the Summer Alive (6 votes) Livin' with a Heartache (6 votes) Where I Belong (6 votes) It's Gettin' Late (4 votes) Oh Darlin' (3 votes) Santa Ana Winds (3 votes) She Believes in Love Again (3 votes)
And here are the 1st place winners so far:
Top 10 #1: Album Openers - "Wouldn't It Be Nice" 8/10 Top 10 #2: Album Closers - "Surf's Up" 10/10 Top 10 #3: Album Covers - Pet Sounds 8/9 Top 10 #4: Songs of 1965 - "Please Let Me Wonder"/"Kiss Me, Baby" 9/10 Top 10 #5: Songs of the 1980s - "California Dreamin'" 9/9
As you can see, we've had our 2nd unanimous vote-getter with "California Dreamin'".
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on May 28, 2023 13:21:21 GMT
Top 10 #5: Songs of the 1980s - "California Dreamin'" 9/9 As you can see, we've had our 2nd unanimous vote-getter with "California Dreamin'". I am a little surprised by that. If I had to guess a song that was going to be the top choice, and especially a unanimous top choice, I'd have thought "Kokomo," and maybe even "Getcha Back" over it.
|
|