Brian Wilson & Diane Rovelle 1973 Interview with Pete Fornatale (audio)

[seltaeb1012002]

From June 1973.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20l4v2ihN5M

[phirnis]

Fantastic, thanks for sharing!

He seems to get incredibly nervous once the Beach Boys are mentioned.

[rn57]

Land's sakes, it's the interview Brian did instead of going to Murry's funeral. Better listen for the "makin' a man out of me" part.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I don't hear that in there; I think that's from a different interview. This is the one Peter Carlin mentioned Fornatale getting sick after Brian's interview. I think that was highly exaggerated, because although it's obvious the coke is affecting Brian by this point, Brian sounds much more with it than just a year later. The thing with the Ed Sullivan show was obviously a joke.

[Mikie]

Yep.  June of '73 when Brian and Diane went to New York after Murry died. Think they went to the Bronx Zoo and Brian got the idea to write a song called "Pattycake" about one of the Panda Bears or whatever it was.

[Shady]

I'm really fascinated by Brian and Diane's relationship

[clinikillz]

These interviews are great. Thanks again for a great upload.

[MBE]

Brian's a bit disracted here, but much more lucid than any of the 1974 tapes let alone anything post 1980.

[Jim V.]

You know, this interview made me think, and kinda put things in perspective for me. How Brian sounds like American Spring was basically "his" group at the time, and speaking about The Beach Boys as an outsider. I think the thing was that he was really disappointed at their lack of big chart success. Like Surf's Up and Holland were reasonably big albums and sold well, but they weren't really having big hit singles anymore. I think that is probably the real reason he truly pulled back for so long. He just felt like the work he was doing with the group was going to be ignored anyways, so he'd try to find a new avenue to do work (American Spring) and maybe get a hit out of that.

I feel like I understand why, when he returned to working on material for the group, that he did stuff like "Good Timin'", "California Feelin'", and "It's OK". He figured the super-artsy approach just wasn't working. Like he basically said in interviews during the "Brian's Back" period, they made some great records, but the kids just weren't buying them. They got too "artsy" for the general public. You can see that even though things like "Good Timin'" were still more than artistically valid, their sound reminds one of what the general public thought of as The Beach Boys "classic era". And you can see why he chose cover songs to release upon his return. He even said this in interviews around then too: basically that these songs were already proven hits, and that if he could put The Beach Boys spin on them, that's what could get them a hit.

I think sometimes we get so hung up on the idea of Brian as the artists artist, but I think a lot of his troubles, at least as far as in the music area, was just caused by the public not accepting a lot of his more artistic work. And even though I'm not much of a fan of BWPS anymore, it seems like since that was a hit album, he's been more adventurous artistically than he had been since the '70s. Just my opinion.

[Sheriff John Stone]

You know, this interview made me think, and kinda put things in perspective for me. How Brian sounds like American Spring was basically "his" group at the time, and speaking about The Beach Boys as an outsider. I think the thing was that he was really disappointed at their lack of big chart success. Like Surf's Up and Holland were reasonably big albums and sold well, but they weren't really having big hit singles anymore. I think that is probably the real reason he truly pulled back for so long. He just felt like the work he was doing with the group was going to be ignored anyways, so he'd try to find a new avenue to do work (American Spring) and maybe get a hit out of that.

I feel like I understand why, when he returned to working on material for the group, that he did stuff like "Good Timin'", "California Feelin'", and "It's OK". He figured the super-artsy approach just wasn't working. Like he basically said in interviews during the "Brian's Back" period, they made some great records, but the kids just weren't buying them. They got too "artsy" for the general public. You can see that even though things like "Good Timin'" were still more than artistically valid, their sound reminds one of what the general public thought of as The Beach Boys "classic era". And you can see why he chose cover songs to release upon his return. He even said this in interviews around then too: basically that these songs were already proven hits, and that if he could put The Beach Boys spin on them, that's what could get them a hit.

I think sometimes we get so hung up on the idea of Brian as the artists artist, but I think a lot of his troubles, at least as far as in the music area, was just caused by the public not accepting a lot of his more artistic work. And even though I'm not much of a fan of BWPS anymore, it seems like since that was a hit album, he's been more adventurous artistically than he had been since the '70s. Just my opinion.

Good post and good thoughts. It does sound like Brian just wanted to throw his hands up, like he really had no direction, and was starting to maybe obsess over sales (or lack of them), or at least "hit records". And, other than producing Spring, he gave no indication of going solo or actually leaving The Beach Boys entirely.

You know I couldn't let that last sentence or two go. I think Brian exorcising demons with BWPS is right up there on the list of BW/BB myths. I haven't exactly been knocked out by his stuff since 2004, but his voice has become more tender and expressive.

[Jim V.]

You know, this interview made me think, and kinda put things in perspective for me. How Brian sounds like American Spring was basically "his" group at the time, and speaking about The Beach Boys as an outsider. I think the thing was that he was really disappointed at their lack of big chart success. Like Surf's Up and Holland were reasonably big albums and sold well, but they weren't really having big hit singles anymore. I think that is probably the real reason he truly pulled back for so long. He just felt like the work he was doing with the group was going to be ignored anyways, so he'd try to find a new avenue to do work (American Spring) and maybe get a hit out of that.

I feel like I understand why, when he returned to working on material for the group, that he did stuff like "Good Timin'", "California Feelin'", and "It's OK". He figured the super-artsy approach just wasn't working. Like he basically said in interviews during the "Brian's Back" period, they made some great records, but the kids just weren't buying them. They got too "artsy" for the general public. You can see that even though things like "Good Timin'" were still more than artistically valid, their sound reminds one of what the general public thought of as The Beach Boys "classic era". And you can see why he chose cover songs to release upon his return. He even said this in interviews around then too: basically that these songs were already proven hits, and that if he could put The Beach Boys spin on them, that's what could get them a hit.

I think sometimes we get so hung up on the idea of Brian as the artists artist, but I think a lot of his troubles, at least as far as in the music area, was just caused by the public not accepting a lot of his more artistic work. And even though I'm not much of a fan of BWPS anymore, it seems like since that was a hit album, he's been more adventurous artistically than he had been since the '70s. Just my opinion.

Good post and good thoughts. It does sound like Brian just wanted to throw his hands up, like he really had no direction, and was starting to maybe obsess over sales (or lack of them), or at least "hit records". And, other than producing Spring, he gave no indication of going solo or actually leaving The Beach Boys entirely.

You know I couldn't let that last sentence or two go. I think Brian exorcising demons with BWPS is right up there on the list of BW/BB myths. I haven't exactly been knocked out by his stuff since 2004, but his voice has become more tender and expressive.

Actually, Sheriff, I agree with you about the whole myth about Brian being this renewed person following BWPS. I don't think he was like a totally changed guy after it. He probably felt good about having a hit album. But I do think he has embraced his "artsy" side more than he had since the '70s, as evidenced by the suite on TWGMTR for instance.

[Loaf]

But I do think he has embraced his "artsy" side more than he had since the '70s, as evidenced by the suite on TWGMTR for instance.

Ahh, but the problem with that is that the TWGMTR songs date from 1998.

Also, BWPS was followed up by a Christmas album a year later.

TLOS, narratives and bonus tracks aside, wasn't really artsy either.

And since then Brian has released 2 covers albums (Gershwin and Disney).

Theory blown?

[hypehat]

TLOS, narratives and bonus tracks aside, wasn't really artsy either.

If a song cycle commissioned by The Royal Festival Hall featuring narrative interludes by Van Dyke Parks based around an old spiritual and played by an orchestra ISN'T artsy then nothing is.

And I think the Gershwin album is incredibly 'artsy', if we're talking about 'artsy' in opposition to, IDK, Kokomo or singing Barbara Ann for the 4890th time. It's an album where Brian sings opera, for crying out loud.

[Amy B.]

TLOS, narratives and bonus tracks aside, wasn't really artsy either.

If a song cycle commissioned by The Royal Festival Hall featuring narrative interludes by Van Dyke Parks based around an old spiritual and played by an orchestra ISN'T artsy then nothing is.

And I think the Gershwin album is incredibly 'artsy', if we're talking about 'artsy' in opposition to, IDK, Kokomo or singing Barbara Ann for the 4890th time. It's an album where Brian sings opera, for crying out loud.

Agreed that the Gershwin album is more artsy, if you're talking about artsy versus commercial. It was an exercise in creativity, and in showing appreciation for a musical idol. I don't think many people expected platinum sales out of it. Brian has made forays into artsy stuff from time to time-- Mt Vernon and Fairway and Rio Grand come to mind. But his last few solo projects have shown a consistent willingness to go in that direction. I'm not saying BWPS was the catalyst, but someone (Brian or maybe someone in his camp) seems to have been encouraged by its success.

[Jim V.]

But I do think he has embraced his "artsy" side more than he had since the '70s, as evidenced by the suite on TWGMTR for instance.

Ahh, but the problem with that is that the TWGMTR songs date from 1998.

Also, BWPS was followed up by a Christmas album a year later.

TLOS, narratives and bonus tracks aside, wasn't really artsy either.

And since then Brian has released 2 covers albums (Gershwin and Disney).

Theory blown?

Are you kidding? Mostly I'm thinking of "From There To Back Again", and I'm just saying....compare that to "Rio Grande" and "Happy Days"; it just seems much more natural. And maybe parts of it were written in 1998, but I just highly doubt it would be the way it was in 2012 without the confidence that Brian has had the last few years. The music just feels much less pushed into. It seems as though Brian got more artsy in his way, for a 60 to 70 year old man since BWPS. I think hypehat was right on with his thing. Brian just seemed creatively reinvigorated since BWPS. I myself don't even care for the album, but it is obvious that done a lot of work since then, and not much of it was coerced, All one  has to do is compare GIOMH with TLOS. One sounds like a guy who doesn't wanna be there, and the other sounds like a guy who is creatively rolling. And once again, I don't think TLOS is that great! But it is obvious that Brian really cared about this, BWRG, and TWGMTR

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

Are we going to ignore In the Key of Disney while discussing Brian's artistic rebirth?

[Jim V.]

Are we going to ignore In the Key of Disney while discussing Brian's artistic rebirth?

Yes.

[hypehat]

Are we going to ignore In the Key of Disney while discussing Brian's artistic rebirth?

Yes.

 

It's not that bad, but it doesn't quite gel with what we're saying. I get the Friends 'lets chill out and make a record' vibe with that one, but in a good way, unlike GIOMH's 'let's chill..... I have to make a record?'

[18thofMay]

Are we going to ignore In the Key of Disney while discussing Brian's artistic rebirth?

Yes.

Contains his best vocals in decades!

[Loaf]

I'm enjoying this debate, guys, so please don't think i'm bashing you

I would disagree that the Gershwin album was artsy. (the gershwin album is probably my favourite solo BW album, btw) Gershwin was very very popular. Still is. A 60s pop artist covering a 30s pop artist in a fairly traditional way is not really artsy. Artistic, yes. But not artsy. It doesn't seem like any risks were taken in the name of art, might be a better way to phrase it?

As for TLOS, as I said, bonus tracks (where i would argue Brian did unleash a little of his artsy side) and narratives (by VDP) aside, it's not really artsy. Oxygen to the Brain sounds like a rehashed 80s b-side. Goin Home, Good Kind of Love (which rips off the Flintstones theme tune!), Morning Beat, FSBMYSG are all fairly standard Brian Wilson numbers, regardless of who commissioned the piece. TLOS has a VDP co-write, but then so did GIOMH, so it cancels out.

And let's not forget the Christmas or Disney albums

As for TWGMTR, it's the newer material (private Life of Bill and Sue) that suffers compared to the more mature pre-BWPS material.

In favour of the artsy side, we have the TLOS bonus tracks and the That Lucky Old Suns interspersed throughout TLOS. I'll also add Walking Down the Path of Life. Slim pickings from 5 albums since embracing his artsy side.

(note: 5 albums since BWPS is incredible from BW. Don't get me wrong, i'm delighted to have them, but i'd dispute artsy and i'm enjoying playing devil's advocate).

[Mikie]

Whatsat got to do with the Brian/Diane/Fornatale tape (that's been circulating on cassette since the 70's) ?

[Aegir]

the conversation has naturally evolved.

[MBE]

Are we going to ignore In the Key of Disney while discussing Brian's artistic rebirth?

Yes.

Brian can sing better the last five years. He was good in the harmony blend at the shows, and he still can arrange a fine vocal part, but let's face facts here. Brian Wilson is now a professinal singer, not an outstandingly amazing one. He was, but that only lasted until 1974.