Mount Vernon and Fairway

[Phoenix]

What's the consensus?  Where does it reside in your playlists?  Do you skip it?  Do you think of it as one long song or do you see it as separate tracks?  Is it part of Holland or do you think of it as it's own thing?  Do you prefer it or "Fairy Tale Music", between the two versions?  Has anyone here ever tried to rework either version into a shorter, more traditional type song?

It always seems like it's own thing to me and sticks out worse than a sore thumb when played alongside the rest of the Holland (and Holland era) tracks.  I've been approaching it from every possible angle lately but it just doesn't seem to fit.  Is it because it's too much like Love You (of which I stand on the detractors' side).  To those who like Love You do you also like MVAF?  To those that don't, do you dislike this as well? 

I searched the board but while the song has come up from time to time, there doesn't seem to have been any in depth discussion about it.  When you think about it, Brian's biggest contribution to Holland (as it stands) was "Sail On, Sailor" and "Funky Pretty" but we all know the former of those two was an 11th hour bid to try and find a commercial single for the album.  As originally planned, Brian (eventually) schleped his way to the other side of the planet, intending to make MVAF the centerpiece of the band's new album.

What do YOU think of the piece and where do you weigh in with the other questions I posed?

[phirnis]

I think it's great. The storytelling itself is a bit amateurish but that's not a major problem. The synth stuff is just amazing and to me the whole thing is a bit like the missing link between Smile and Love You. Mt Vernon saved the Holland album (which I think is wonderful from beginning to end, mind you) from being too conventional overall. It's good to know Brian hadn't lost his knack for experimentation by this point.

[Jay]

I love it. I think it might be one of Brian's last true glimpses of being in total control creativity wise.

[rasmus skotte]

To me, it's pure genius - enough to make it the storyline in a (completed) movie a while back! ("Dumb Angel Fairy Tale")

[Alan Smith]

Haven't heard it.

[JK]

Haven't heard it.

This will take up 12 minutes of your time. :=)

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

[SloopJohnB]

Is it because it's too much like Love You (of which I stand on the detractors' side).  To those who like Love You do you also like MVAF? 

I, for one, love Love You, and love Mount Vernon & Fairway. Those two have a lot in common, instrumentally and stylistically. Brian said in a few interviews that he really liked Switched-On Bach, and I think it shows in both.

[KDS]

Personally, I'm not a fan, and I'm glad it was included as an EP separate from Holland, as I think Holland is a great album without it. 

I've listened to the piece several times, but its just not my cup of tea. 

[Sheriff John Stone]

Personally, I'm not a fan, and I'm glad it was included as an EP separate from Holland, as I think Holland is a great album without it. 

I've listened to the piece several times, but its just not my cup of tea. 

That's interesting, because I respectfully have a different opinion.

I'm STILL not sure WHY they issued it on a separate record complete with picture sleeve. I think it could've fit on Side B of the album with some re-sequencing. I WISH it would've been included on Side B of the album. Back in the day of vinyl, it was a pain in the neck to have to take the album off the turntable, put it back in the jacket, and then take out the small record and cue that up - two more times. It ruined the flow, the listening experience. Because, as you can hear on the CD, "Mount Vernon And Fairway" fits perfectly after "Funky Pretty".

There's some incredible moments on Love You, but for me, "Mount Vernon And Fairway" is one of the last examples of the Brian Wilson "how did he write something like that?" moments.

[JK]

I've listened to the piece several times, but its just not my cup of tea. 

How about a version without the narration? I must admit to preferring it. Just the magical music...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ0hrRM4B4Q

[Rob Dean]

Well, i could do without the narration/link etc.... However the frustration of the tracks being so short really does my head in, some of them are quite superb and are (in my opinion) up there with some of the best work they have done.

[Jim V.]

Haven't heard it.

I'm assuming your joking, as your avatar is indeed the cover art for Mount Vernon and Fairway.

[KDS]

I'd heard the narration free version on the GV box.  I do like that version a little bit better.  

I know many on here will disagree, but I'm really not a fan of Brian's mid 70s period.  Funky Pretty is my least favorite song on Holland.  I don't like the Mt. Vernon piece.  And, I don't much care for the Love You record.  

This is my just opinion, but for me, Brian was at his best in the 1960s and early 1970s.  There were good songs here and there after that.  

But, to each their own.  

That being said, I've really enjoyed Brian's output since 2008 (TLOS, TWGMTR, NPP).  

[Mike's Beard]

Love it. For me it was the last time we heard Brian as a true musical genius. I do struggle to imagine just where it would have fit on the actual Holland record though. Also, after having heard the narration for the billionth time I do tend to just play the Fairy Tale Music version from the '93 Box instead.

[Joel Goldenberg]

I appreciated it more after hearing Lazy Lizzie.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I love it. I think it might be one of Brian's last true glimpses of being in total control creativity wise.

Umm... hate to tell you this but Jack had to improvise the last 90 seconds of the narration because, according to him, Brian didn't finish it, and Carl helped out significantly with the songs and production. Check out the credits.

[Cool Cool Water]

Haven't heard it.

This will take up 12 minutes of your time. :=)

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

I think he was having banter, lol!

[chaki]

The narration is too silly for me and Brian sounds too much like Cartman from South Park, but the music is so cool!!!!!
I love the whole "Brian discovers the Mini Moog" narritive and I listen to Fairy Tale Music often. It's up there with Wendy Carlos, T.O.N.T.O., and Mort Garson for me, specifically the Plantasia album that was meant to be played for your plants!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUVmcKcTZ4A

[Sheriff John Stone]

I do struggle to imagine just where it would have fit on the actual Holland record though.

This is a possibility:

The Beach Boys - Holland

01  Sail On Sailor
02  Steamboat
03  Leaving This Town
04  California Saga: Big Sur
05  California Saga: The Beaks Of Eagles
06  California Saga: California

07  The Trader
08  Only With You
09  Funky Pretty
10  Mount Vernon And Fairway

[Rob Dean]

I do struggle to imagine just where it would have fit on the actual Holland record though.

This is a possibility:

The Beach Boys - Holland

01  Sail On Sailor
02  Steamboat
03  Leaving This Town
04  California Saga: Big Sur
05  California Saga: The Beaks Of Eagles
06  California Saga: California

07  The Trader
08  Only With You
09  Funky Pretty
10  Mount Vernon And Fairway

YEAH BUT NO BUT, i love 'Leaving This Town'

[KDS]

I do struggle to imagine just where it would have fit on the actual Holland record though.

This is a possibility:

The Beach Boys - Holland

01  Sail On Sailor
02  Steamboat
03  Leaving This Town
04  California Saga: Big Sur
05  California Saga: The Beaks Of Eagles
06  California Saga: California

07  The Trader
08  Only With You
09  Funky Pretty
10  Mount Vernon And Fairway

YEAH BUT NO BUT, i love 'Leaving This Town'

Me too.  Maybe the least Beach Boys sounding song in the entire catalog, but a great track. 

For the Sherriff's updated track list, Leaving This Town got bumped up to the third song on Side 1. 

[Mujan, 8@$+@Rc| of a Blue Wizard]

What's the consensus?  Where does it reside in your playlists?  Do you skip it?  Do you think of it as one long song or do you see it as separate tracks?  Is it part of Holland or do you think of it as it's own thing?  Do you prefer it or "Fairy Tale Music", between the two versions?  Has anyone here ever tried to rework either version into a shorter, more traditional type song?

It always seems like it's own thing to me and sticks out worse than a sore thumb when played alongside the rest of the Holland (and Holland era) tracks.  I've been approaching it from every possible angle lately but it just doesn't seem to fit.  Is it because it's too much like Love You (of which I stand on the detractors' side).  To those who like Love You do you also like MVAF?  To those that don't, do you dislike this as well? 

I searched the board but while the song has come up from time to time, there doesn't seem to have been any in depth discussion about it.  When you think about it, Brian's biggest contribution to Holland (as it stands) was "Sail On, Sailor" and "Funky Pretty" but we all know the former of those two was an 11th hour bid to try and find a commercial single for the album.  As originally planned, Brian (eventually) schleped his way to the other side of the planet, intending to make MVAF the centerpiece of the band's new album.

What do YOU think of the piece and where do you weigh in with the other questions I posed?

A flawed work of brilliance. Similar in vein to SMiLE with its music and spoken word humor. I hear it wasn't finished as Brian originally intended, and I do think it shows. The story doesn't really feel complete or particularly compelling. It should have been fleshed out as its own album and Carl was wrong to shut it down and then half-heartedly relent. It's its own thing, definitely.

I don't listen that often but it's interesting when I do. I love the voice, like your dad reading a bedtime story. I just think it needs...idk...more. I love Love You unironically too, btw. Great, unique little album. But MVAF doesn't fit in that collection of songs either. It's its own thing, yet again.

[guitarfool2002]

I love it. I think it might be one of Brian's last true glimpses of being in total control creativity wise.

Umm... hate to tell you this but Jack had to improvise the last 90 seconds of the narration because, according to him, Brian didn't finish it, and Carl helped out significantly with the songs and production. Check out the credits.

If Brian had the concept, wrote the music, demo'ed the ideas, played the various keyboard parts, wrote the vocal backgrounds, and was pretty much the driving force behind the song, I'm curious what Carl did significantly to the track. He's listed as producer, he and Brian worked on the track, but it was primarily a Brian Wilson creation from the beginning.

As far as Reiley's improv, in a recent discussion there were people here casting doubts on the accuracy of Jack's statements on a number of issues, and could this also be one of them, suggesting Jack had to improvise something because it wasn't finished? Improvising 90 seconds of dialogue on a ten minute track might just indicate Jack improvised at the mic as the track was running out, maybe nothing beyond that. "good night baby, sleep tight baby" was a similar vocal improv that ended up getting a co-writers credit even though the song was pretty much complete before those last 15 seconds or so of the coda. 

[JK]

I love Love You unironically too, btw. Great, unique little album. But MVAF doesn't fit in that collection of songs either. It's its own thing, yet again.

Yes, it's an island----which is why the original EP solution was a masterstroke. 

[Mujan, 8@$+@Rc| of a Blue Wizard]

I love Love You unironically too, btw. Great, unique little album. But MVAF doesn't fit in that collection of songs either. It's its own thing, yet again.

Yes, it's an island----which is why the original EP solution was a masterstroke.  

I wouldn't say that. More like making the best of an unperferred situation. Ideally, Mt V would have been built upon to be an album in itself I feel. Or the other guys writing sillier songs to compliment it and form a whole album. But Brian was on another wavelength than them, and after his idea gotf shot-down he lost interest (as I understand it). Sure, Carl eventually relented but by then it was too late. So they finished it as best they could anyway and tacked it on as an EP that has nothing to do with the album. I'm not sure how you can call that a masterstroke, as to me that impliesydeliberateness and planning, not happenstance and placating.