Friends vs. Sunflower

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

I tried to do a poll, but apparently I haven't a clue. So, we'll do it this way.

 I've been seeing all the twofer polls, and they're just brilliant. I was thinking about my two favorite albums,(aside from Pet Sounds and Smile of course) and it would have to be these two masterpieces. I'm still unsure which I'd vote for, so I'm curious to see what you guys think.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Both great, fantastic, super duper albums - probably the high points on Sunflower (This Whole World, Slip On Through, All I Wanna Do, Forever) are higher than the high points on Friends, however Friends has more of a consistent feel and doesn't have a big jarring clunker like Tears In The Morning slap-bang in the middle of it, and so i'm going to give my vote to the charming, sweet, beautifully melodic, understated Friends.

[EgoHanger1966]

This is a wickedly hard poll (that's what she said). I'm gonna have to think about this one, two great albums.

[buddhahat]

Much that I love Sunflower, my vote would go to Friends too. I love the relaxed vibe of it and I agree with the above poster that it is one of the more cohesive and consistent BB albums. The title track (particulalrly the backing track) is just incredible.

To create a poll you need to create the topic the normal way (New Topic, not New Poll - it doesn't work), then click the Add Poll button at the bottom of your initial post. Thanks to Hypehat for that info!

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

Well, that makes sense now.
Thanks a lot!
And, I'm sort of leaning towards Friends too.
I just got that twofer, and it's perfect.

[Compost]

Friends.  BJ ruins Sunflower for me and Dennis hasn't quite hit his full stride (I still dig'em, mind).

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Friends.  BJ ruins Sunflower for me and Dennis hasn't quite hit his full stride (I still dig'em, mind).

Nah, i thinks Dennis absolutely rocks on Sunflower and had his other tracks from this period (San Miguel, Lady) been included in place of Bruce's latest gooey schmaltz-fests it would've been arguably the album of their career!

See...

1. Slip On Through
2. This Whole World
3. Add Some Music...
4. Got To Know The Woman
5. San Miguel
6. It's About Time
7. Lady
8. All I Wanna Do
9. Forever
10. Our Sweet Love
11. At My Window
12. Cool Cool Water

[runnersdialzero]

Friends.  BJ ruins Sunflower for me and Dennis hasn't quite hit his full stride (I still dig'em, mind).

STOP CALLING HIM BJ

[runnersdialzero]

Also, "Deirdre" kicks "Lady"s ass. "San Miguel" can replace "Tears In The Morning" any time, though.

Also, I tried to figure this out quickly using the categories "Good", "Gooder", and "Goodest", but both albums had exactly the same amount of entries for each group.

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

Man, I love Deirdre.

Don't hit me!

[runnersdialzero]

Man, I love Deirdre.

Don't hit me!

Bruce's best song, possibly because of the co-write by Brian. Regardless, d00d wasn't a bad songwriter to me, although I understand why folks aren't into his stuff. "Deirdre" feels like an essential track to Sunflower, though.

[EgoHanger1966]

Man, I love Deirdre.

Don't hit me!

Bruce's best song, possibly because of the co-write by Brian. Regardless, d00d wasn't a bad songwriter to me, although I understand why folks aren't into his stuff. "Deirdre" feels like an essential track to Sunflower, though.

This. I know there are people who loathe it, but damn, it's such a catchy, mid-tempo pop swinger with sweet vocals from Historical.

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

I feel that too.
I dig Disney Girls as well.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Also, "Deirdre" kicks "Lady"s ass. "San Miguel" can replace "Tears In The Morning" any time, though.

Also, I tried to figure this out quickly using the categories "Good", "Gooder", and "Goodest", but both albums had exactly the same amount of entries for each group.

Lady was described in Mojo, accurately in my opinion, as 'achieving a level of tender vulnerability that even Brian couldn't match'.

Dierdre is not as bad as Tears In The Morning, it's ok-ish, but still the 10th or 11th best track on Sunflower...

[EgoHanger1966]

After thinking about it some, I'll go with Friends. While I'm not too crazy about the last two tracks on it, I love the vibe of the album. Friends is like a lazy day off of school, but you're too young to drive and you have no friends who live close to you, so you just stay inside and enjoy the nothingness.

Sunflower is great in it's own way too, but I don't get the same sense of unity, and there are tracks that are wildly better than others. One of their best, for sure, and on another day I might pick it over Friends, just because the highlights of this album are really high.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Any chance we can have an actual poll added to this thread so we can vote? So far it seems, very pleasingly, that Friends would be winning! Take that, Bruce 'Friends-isn't-a-great-bunch-of-songs' Johnson!!

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

Can someone help a guy out with that?
I'm on my phone, and it gets difficult to navigate things.

[runnersdialzero]

I just can't get into "Lady". I'd say it's good, really, but then I listen to it and I'm bored within the first minute or so.

Achieving a level of tender vulnerability that Brian couldn't match? It's way too overproduced and schmaltzy to hold such a title. Listen to something like "Please Let Me Wonder" and tell me it's anywhere near that in terms of the description given.

And is the lyric really "I love her so/I love to grow"? Dennis is better than a line like that ^_^

[Lonely Summer]

Both great, fantastic, super duper albums - probably the high points on Sunflower (This Whole World, Slip On Through, All I Wanna Do, Forever) are higher than the high points on Friends, however Friends has more of a consistent feel and doesn't have a big jarring clunker like Tears In The Morning slap-bang in the middle of it, and so i'm going to give my vote to the charming, sweet, beautifully melodic, understated Friends.

But I like that big jarring clunker...actually, it doesn't feel jarring to me...but Transcendental Meditation does...one of the worst pieces of music in the BB's catalog...and Diamond Head feels like filler. Side one of Friends is one of their best sides, though. But Sunflower is close to perfection all the way through.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

I just can't get into "Lady". I'd say it's good, really, but then I listen to it and I'm bored within the first minute or so.

Achieving a level of tender vulnerability that Brian couldn't match? It's way too overproduced and schmaltzy to hold such a title. Listen to something like "Please Let Me Wonder" and tell me it's anywhere near that in terms of the description given.

And is the lyric really "I love her so/I love to grow"? Dennis is better than a line like that ^_^

Lady? Overproduced?? Are we listening to the same song here? It's so stripped back and minimulist - the entire song consists almost entirely of Dennis' vocal, a drum machine, and some very subtle orchestration - and that's it. And the lyrics are simple, yes, but effectively so. A more detailed, clever lyric simply wouldn't work or fit with the surrounding track.

[rn57]

This is the toughest of the vs threads for me - more so than pitting PS against Smile.  Sunflower is my second-favorite BBs album; Friends, from nearly the moment I first heard it, my favorite. I would say Sunflower is the second-best album of their career after PS; Friends, the fourth-best after Smile (in its 2011 version).

The best songs on Sunflower to me - TWW, AIWD, ASM, CCW, Forever - are better than any individual Friends track.  But the way Friends flows together is just so (mostly) gentle and marvelous.  I personally like TM. It's probably true I Went To Sleep would be a more logical conclusion to the record. But then it would put you to sleep. TM wakes you up (like Mama Says finishing WH), not just because of its dissonance, but because the melody of the verses has a kinship to what comes earlier on the record but with such a startling twist. Whenever I hear TM (or Fall Breaks from SS), I wonder if the guys who became the Residents listened to it a lot back when they were still in Shreveport or wherever they're supposed to have come from.

I like Deirdre a lot, but it is true that the song would seem more comfortable on a later Turtles record than on Sunflower. I wonder if that occured to Brian too - the vocal arrangement is of a kind where Flo and Eddie would fit right in.

[BB Universe]

With only a few modifications, Sunflower could have been a great, not just good, album. The classics like Add Some Music/This Whole World/Forever/ as supplemnted by solid songs like Cool, Cool Water/Our Sweet Love/All I Wanna Do and rocker Got To Know The Woman (plus Deirdre wich I do like) make it a strong album and it has received some pretty good critcal acclaim over the years.

Friends is, of course, much more laid back. While I like Meant For You and Friends, and a few others, overall it just isn't as strong and has fewer standouts.

[runnersdialzero]

I just can't get into "Lady". I'd say it's good, really, but then I listen to it and I'm bored within the first minute or so.

Achieving a level of tender vulnerability that Brian couldn't match? It's way too overproduced and schmaltzy to hold such a title. Listen to something like "Please Let Me Wonder" and tell me it's anywhere near that in terms of the description given.

And is the lyric really "I love her so/I love to grow"? Dennis is better than a line like that ^_^

Lady? Overproduced?? Are we listening to the same song here? It's so stripped back and minimulist - the entire song consists almost entirely of Dennis' vocal, a drum machine, and some very subtle orchestration - and that's it. And the lyrics are simple, yes, but effectively so. A more detailed, clever lyric simply wouldn't work or fit with the surrounding track.

Maybe overproduced wasn't the right word. The strings are just overbearing and brimming with teh cheese, to me.

No faults with simple lyrics, but that line is just kind of goofy. "I love her so/I love to grow"? Dennis was trying to be all... y'know... meaningful.

[MyGlove]

Friends. I listen to it more. Way more. And I like TM. It's short so it's not like it "ruins the album" like many people think. It may be unfitting but i think it's a good song. Love the horns. Also, Friends is a lot more fluid. It makes me feel like i'm on a beach, relaxing. Sunflower is more reflective and puts me in more of a emotional mood. Not that that's bad, I just prefer the first. Both excellent and very underrated albums.

[punkinhead]

Wow, I always thought Friends and Sunflower were a lot alike. I didn't think anyone else thought that.