Author Topic: The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson…. (Read 5012 times)

Cool Chris · « **on:** May 25, 2011, 12:22:49 PM »

The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson….

I’ve always been an ardent supporter of the Beach Boys’ significant place in American music history, without actually really being a fan of theirs. So I decided to give a listen to some of their stuff. Sure, the early stuff is all about surfing, cars, and girls. But it is fun, well-constructed music. And it was filling a pretty big post-Buddy Holly, pre-Beatles void. Then you get to Pet Sounds. ‘Sloop John B’ has always been one of my favorite songs of all time, but otherwise I never got the genius of this album. It sounds beautiful, there’s no denying that. But it doesn’t hit me as ‘one of the best albums ever!’ And I can’t blame it on not appreciating the greatness of it when it was released, because its place in history has increased with time.

Focus: Ok, there really isn’t one. Just my random musical thoughts over the past couple days. Discuss all things Beach Boys, Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson related…

ZBomber · « **Reply #1 on:** May 25, 2011, 12:29:28 PM »

Pet Sounds is one of the albums I know i will love, but I still have not gotten it. I want to find it on vinyl, because I really want my first listen through to be on that. With that said, I already know a bunch of the songs off the album of course.

A couple weeks ago I was obsessed with "I Get Around". I must have played it over 40 times within a week. The key change going up half a step at the end of the song is so amazing.

Zydar · « **Reply #2 on:** May 25, 2011, 12:36:03 PM »

Huge huge fan here of both the band and Pet Sounds. For many years I've ranked it as my #1 album of all time, today it's still in the Top 5. Many non-fans mostly think of them as surf/fun-in-the-sun music, but from 1965 and onwards they really became so much more. Albums such as Today!, Summer Days, Pet Sounds, Sunflower, and 20/20 are great examples of this. I don't consider many musicians to be geniuses, but Brian Wilson truly is one. To be able to write such sophisticated music at such an early age (and being deaf on one ear!) is nothing short of astounding.

I had the fortune to see him live in 2002 performing Pet Sounds in its entirety, and it was absolutely mindblowing. His voice surely isn't what it used to be, but just the sheer excitement to watch that man perform it with his current band was a milestone for me. I saw the Beach Boys live the year before (it was just Mike and Bruce from the original band then) and they did a great show too, playing all the hits and such. IMHO the only band who in their prime could challenge The Beatles in sheer record making and producing. I can't say enough superlatives about them.

lonestar · « **Reply #3 on:** May 25, 2011, 12:36:31 PM »

I've always wanted to give Smile a listen. Released only a couple of years ago, it was supposed to be Brian's answer to Sgt. Peppers, but due to mental issues, took him over 40 years to finish. When released, it was to very high critical acclaim.

On a sidenote, fantasy readers out there should check out Glimpses by Lewis Shiner, story of a guy trying to reconcile with his father's death by going back to help musicians finish albums never realized in real life. Great stuff about Wilson and Hendrix.

kári · « **Reply #4 on:** May 25, 2011, 12:44:32 PM »

I love The Beach Boys! Everyone makes fun of it but I really do.

ZeppelinDT · « **Reply #5 on:** May 25, 2011, 01:05:50 PM »

If you really want some good insight into just how much of a visionary and creative force Brian Wilson was, watch the "Smile" documentary. If things hadn't gone downhill in '67 and "Smile" had been released when it was originally intended to have been, it would have turned the music world upside down.

"If I were to rank them on a scale of 1 to 10, *Pet Sounds* would be a 4 and *Smile* would be a 10" - Brian Wilson

unklejman · « **Reply #6 on:** May 25, 2011, 04:52:12 PM »

I understand that it is part of the "sound" but the bad intonation of the vocals just grates on me. I still like "I Get Around" but I think that is partly due to how many times I watched "Flight of the Navigator" when I was a kid.

ZBomber · « **Reply #7 on:** May 25, 2011, 11:35:01 PM »

Quote from: unklejman on May 25, 2011, 04:52:12 PM

I understand that it is part of the "sound" but the bad intonation of the vocals just grates on me.

contest_sanity · « **Reply #8 on:** May 26, 2011, 01:10:21 AM »

Speaking of "I Get Around," this scene from the film Three Kings always comes to mind; one of the greatest song choices in conjunction with the scene ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4ue45zICTE

Sigz · « **Reply #9 on:** May 28, 2011, 04:35:29 AM »

I love The Beach Boys. Still need to listen to Smile though.

ZeppelinDT · « **Reply #10 on:** May 28, 2011, 08:22:10 AM »

Quote from: Sigz on May 28, 2011, 04:35:29 AM

I love The Beach Boys. Still need to listen to Smile though.

I would recommend making it a high priority.

King Postwhore · « **Reply #11 on:** May 28, 2011, 08:42:56 AM »

If you ever have the chance to see Brian Wilson and his band, do it. The band kills live.

ZeppelinDT · « **Reply #12 on:** May 28, 2011, 09:13:43 AM »

Quote from: kingshmegland on May 28, 2011, 08:42:56 AM

If you ever have the chance to see Brian Wilson and his band, do it. The band kills live.

I've heard that too. I've got the Smile DVD and that performance was incredible. Haven't seen him live yet though. I will eternally regret not going to see him on the Smile tour

ZeppelinDT · « **Reply #13 on:** May 28, 2011, 01:14:21 PM »

Get your Smile on - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVu7pyjG9AU

ClairvoyantCat · « **Reply #14 on:** December 20, 2011, 08:24:20 AM »

Huge bump because the The SMiLE Sessions is amazing. I really didn't expect to like it this much. I'm a moderate fan of their other releases, but the creativity and composition on this album is amazing. It's a shame that this wasn't released when it was made.

kári · « **Reply #15 on:** December 20, 2011, 10:04:35 AM »

Also, The Beach Boys reunion.

Zydar · « **Reply #16 on:** December 20, 2011, 11:08:34 AM »

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the reunion and most of all the new album.

ZeppelinDT · « **Reply #17 on:** December 20, 2011, 12:22:00 PM »

Lol... reunion. Carl and Dennis are dead and Al Jardine is not involved at all. It's just Brian and Mike Love. I'd rather just see Brian continue to release solo albums with his band and see Mike Love disappear from the face of the earth.

I know that the Smile project fell apart for a vast number of complex reason, but from what I gather the primary reason amongst them all was Mike Love's hatred of the project and his unwillingness to go along with it.

Plus, the dude has been touring on the Beach Boys name for YEARS even though he's been the only legit member involved. Calling themselves the Beach Boys without ANY of the Wilson brothers is just ridiculous.

Cool Chris · « **Reply #18 on:** December 20, 2011, 12:45:46 PM »

Quote from: ZeppelinDT on December 20, 2011, 12:22:00 PM

Lol... reunion. Carl and Dennis are dead and Al Jardine is not involved at all. It's just Brian and Mike Love.

I thought Al and Bruce Johnston were involved?

https://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/B/Beach_Boys/2011/12/16/19133156.html

ZeppelinDT · « **Reply #19 on:** December 20, 2011, 12:52:22 PM »

Hmm... I read somewhere else that Al wasn't involved. I thought there was still a lot of bad blood between him and Mike Love.

Bruce Johnston is involved, but does he really even count? Didn't he only originally join the band as Brian's replacement?

Zydar · « **Reply #20 on:** December 20, 2011, 12:53:43 PM »

He's been with them since 1965 (although he was away between 1971-1979) so I definitely count Bruce.

kári · « **Reply #21 on:** December 20, 2011, 12:54:48 PM »

Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks.

EPICVIEW · « **Reply #22 on:** December 22, 2011, 10:41:19 AM »

very cool thread..

Ħ · « **Reply #23 on:** April 04, 2012, 10:05:37 PM »

Are the beach boys an album-band or a song-band? Apparently Pet Sounds is supposed to be amazing but I wasn't too impressed except by the two singles.

contest_sanity · « **Reply #24 on:** April 04, 2012, 10:13:12 PM »

I'm sure it depends on who you ask. They're more of a song band for me, but that's because of how I was exposed to listening to them (compilations, greatest hits, etc.). Unlike with the Beatles, I never moved beyond this initial stage into really listening to Beach Boy albums. So it's probably more my deficiency than theirs.

theseoafs · « **Reply #25 on:** April 04, 2012, 10:31:51 PM »

They become more of an album band as you move through the discography.

tartarus250 · « **Reply #26 on:** April 05, 2012, 11:29:24 AM »

love brian wilson the beach boys and laterally the wondermints(brians backing band)!! if you havent already heard the special edition of pet sounds i thoroughly recomend it and smile is worth it just for our prayer/gee ,wonderfull,surfs up,wind chimes and mrs oleary's cow oh and good vibrations!! the dvd is awesome btw

kári · « **Reply #27 on:** May 06, 2012, 05:55:31 AM »

The new single, That's Why God Made The Radio, is pretty good! Hopefully the rest of the album is just as good!

Zydar · « **Reply #28 on:** May 06, 2012, 06:20:38 AM »

Yeah I like the new single a lot. I have high hopes for the new album.

Pols Voice · « **Reply #29 on:** May 06, 2012, 11:02:15 AM »

I also like the new song.

ZBomber · « **Reply #30 on:** May 08, 2012, 11:27:19 PM »

I'm listening to Smile for the first time (well, its a fan mix, based on the tracklist from the BW solo album). This is amazing, I like this more than anything else I've heard from the Beach Boys so far.

glaurung · « **Reply #31 on:** May 09, 2012, 05:58:59 PM »

So is there a "definitive" version of smile? Would it make a huge diference if I went with a fan mix over the smile sessions or what?

ZBomber · « **Reply #32 on:** May 09, 2012, 10:48:21 PM »

Quote from: glaurung on May 09, 2012, 05:58:59 PM

So is there a "definitive" version of smile? Would it make a huge diference if I went with a fan mix over the smile sessions or what?

As far as I'm aware, there are quite a few versions floating around. The bootlegs, the Brian Wilson solo version, the 2011 boxset version, and then fan mixes. Honestly, I would recommend the fan mix I heard as the comments said it was the best version they've heard. I'm still gonna check out the sessions version, I actually am really excited to hear it now just to see how different it is. I can send you this one if you want

SoundscapeMN · « **Reply #33 on:** February 15, 2024, 10:59:33 PM »

sorry to bump a super old topic, but it's probably worth posting it here.

Brian Wilson, after the passing of his wife, is now suffering from Dementia

https://consequence.net/2024/02/brian-wilson-dementia-conservatorship/

Zydar · « **Reply #34 on:** February 16, 2024, 12:04:38 AM »

Yeah I saw that. I'm a huge fan of both Beach Boys and Brian. The hardships never stops coming for Brian. First he loses his wife Melinda and now this.

Love and mercy indeed.

News: Dream Theater Forums: Still "a thing" since 2007.

Author Topic: The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson…. (Read 5012 times)