Mount Vernon and Fairway

[bgas]

That reminds me:  back when Klay posted about finding  the Proposed Brother Reissue Bonus Tracks CDs, one of the tracks was listed as " Fairy Tale/ A Casual Look ( EP Demo versions)";
what do you suppose that is? 

[Mike's Beard]

Brian originally planned to have the radio play a Mike sung A Casual Look at some point during the story.

[bgas]

Brian originally planed to have the radio play a Mike sung A Casual Look at some point during the story.

Wow!  Did he fly all the way to Mike's house to tell him?

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I think it's outstanding! I had friends over and we listened to it in the dark! Loads of fun! And I agree, it fits with Love You which is Brian continuing where he left off a few years prior with Funky Pretty, Mt Vernon and even Sweet Mountain.

[The Shift]

Some of the music is well up-there among Brian's best. With his exquisities, as I call them - mini moments of utter genius. The story's an added bonus, enjoyable in its own right.

Now here's a thing - I haven't played the EP for decades, but from distant memory the 93 box stuff and the two-fer CD backing track never seemed exactly the same to my ears. I might have been misrememberating though…

[Mike's Beard]

Brian originally planed to have the radio play a Mike sung A Casual Look at some point during the story.

Wow!  Did he fly all the way to Mike's house to tell him?

I honestly have no idea what you are talking about here.  

*Edit, just got it. Don't read SS before the first coffee of the day folks.

[J.G. Dev]

I listen to it in the dark, as instructed.

[bgas]

I listen to it in the dark, as instructed.

I'd say most people are in the dark when listening to it.

[JK]

Don't read SS before the first coffee of the day folks.

It's usually the last drink of the day that gets me into trouble round here.

[CenturyDeprived]

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.

I love the songs, and wonder if there are session tapes where they run longer. It must have felt like SMiLE Part II for the Boys when recording the song snippets; the last time Brian tried recording this way with the band (sans the solo Rio Grande), I'm thinking?

I think it's probable that the lack of support and "WTF" type of questioning from some bandmates that he endured over this piece (I recall reading such, correct me if I'm wrong) may be part of why he may have abandoned working on it, thus necessitating Carl to help finish it. While I can understand people feeling the fairy tale idea was odd, that's unfortunate if the reaction to this almost-rejected music piece wound up hurting Brian deeply.

[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.

I love the songs, and wonder if there are session tapes where they run longer. It must have felt like SMiLE Part II for the Boys when recording the song snippets; the last time Brian tried recording this way with the band (sans the solo Rio Grande), I'm thinking?

I think it's probable that the lack of support and "WTF" type of questioning from some bandmates that he endured over this piece (I recall reading such, correct me if I'm wrong) may be part of why he may have abandoned working on it, thus necessitating Carl to help finish it. While I can understand people feeling the fairy tale idea was odd, that's unfortunate if the reaction to this almost-rejected music piece wound up hurting Brian deeply.

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. 

I'm still wondering what significant parts Carl added. Reasons above.

One thing Carl did apparently do is go to Brian with the "compromise" of putting the song on that extra record instead of scuppering it entirely and leaving it off the album, since they didn't want it on the album proper.

[Cam Mott]

Isn't MV&F a track on an album with Funky Pretty? Wasn't MV&F presented as sides 3 and 4 of the Holland album? Doesn't the EP say "Side 3" and "Side 4"?

[bgas]

Isn't MV&F a track on an album with Funky Pretty? Wasn't MV&F presented as sides 3 and 4 of the Holland album? Doesn't the EP say "Side 3" and "Side 4"?

Are you still here, Cam?  
It's over, go home.

[Cam Mott]

Isn't MV&F a track on an album with Funky Pretty? Wasn't MV&F presented as sides 3 and 4 of the Holland album? Doesn't the EP say "Side 3" and "Side 4"?

Are you still here, Cam?  
It's over, go home.

Which part did that answer?

[clack]

An example of the road not taken. This piece sounds almost like Another Green World-era Brian Eno.

How different would their legacy be if the band reconstituted itself as mid-seventies avant garde art rockers? The potential was there.

[ontor pertawst]

Somebody invent a time machine and give Al Jardine a bunch of Can records. That should do it.

[Jim V.]

An example of the road not taken. This piece sounds almost like Another Green World-era Brian Eno.

How different would their legacy be if the band reconstituted itself as mid-seventies avant garde art rockers? The potential was there.

Eh. You know, I'm sure we all wanted a more artsy, yet still commercially for the guys in the latter part of the '70s. But really, super artsy late '70s Beach Boys? That gives me thoughts of Yes or Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Stuff like that. Fact is, punk kinda reset the whole deal in the mid '70s. Yet once again The Beach Boys really didn't have anywhere to fit in. They definitely wouldn't fit in with the avant garde. They definitely weren't punk despite a bit of influence on acts like The Ramones (where's kookoo adams when you need him?) and even the more polished new wave type of material of Elvis Costello was pretty far away from them.

I really suppose the only scene and sound The Beach Boys truly coulda maybe fit in was the California soft-rock scene with Fleetwood Mac and those types. A lighter Fleetwood. Mature, a bit nostalgic but not necessarily backwards looking. And basically I think that's kinda what L.A. (Light Album) is and I think it succeeds. And I think if that is what The Beach Boys followed up Holland with things might've been a bit different. But we've been over that many times on this board.

[clack]

An example of the road not taken. This piece sounds almost like Another Green World-era Brian Eno.

How different would their legacy be if the band reconstituted itself as mid-seventies avant garde art rockers? The potential was there.

Eh. You know, I'm sure we all wanted a more artsy, yet still commercially for the guys in the latter part of the '70s. But really, super artsy late '70s Beach Boys? That gives me thoughts of Yes or Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Stuff like that. Fact is, punk kinda reset the whole deal in the mid '70s. Yet once again The Beach Boys really didn't have anywhere to fit in. They definitely wouldn't fit in with the avant garde. They definitely weren't punk despite a bit of influence on acts like The Ramones (where's kookoo adams when you need him?) and even the more polished new wave type of material of Elvis Costello was pretty far away from them.

I really suppose the only scene and sound The Beach Boys truly coulda maybe fit in was the California soft-rock scene with Fleetwood Mac and those types. A lighter Fleetwood. Mature, a bit nostalgic but not necessarily backwards looking. And basically I think that's kinda what L.A. (Light Album) is and I think it succeeds. And I think if that is what The Beach Boys followed up Holland with things might've been a bit different. But we've been over that many times on this board.

Not Emerson Lake and Palmer, but Bowie's Berlin trilogy. Mount Vernon is not miles away from 'Low'.

Of course this was never a realistic option -- the pressures from the audience, the record company, and his band mates wouldn't have allowed this new direction. But Brian did show an affinity for these experimental synth pieces and song fragments. It would have been interesting to hear how he might have developed this style.

[Mike's Beard]

I don't think Brian was capable of making Mount Vernon and Fairway type music by 1977, or he certainly was unwilling to. I agree that if the band had scraped off the cheese they could have made a very credible stab at the mid/late '70s California soft/yacht rock scene.

[Please delete my account]

I like the music. A fairytale is a good idea and a good match for the music but I wish they'd written (or found) a better story.

[Moon Dawg]

  The narration and goofy voices got in the way of some very inventive Brian Wilson music. I like the 1993 box edit.

[Robbie Mac]

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.

That "amateurish" storytelling is a huge part of its charm for me. If the storytelling was more competant or more conventional, MVAF just wouodn't work. This is a gloriously twisted and f***ed-up take on those kids storybooks that came with  EP records of the story.

[Robbie Mac]

And the music is proof that had he had the desire (and the encouragement), Brian may have found a second calling doing film scoring since tge Fairytale Music is essentially a musical score for his story.

[CenturyDeprived]

And the music is proof that had he had the desire (and the encouragement), Brian may have found a second calling doing film scoring since tge Fairytale Music is essentially a musical score for his story.

+1. For some strange reason, some people tend to underestimate how much some real encouragement might have made a difference.

[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.

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.  

Firstly, I love the Fairytale - it's basically Brian speaking through his music, saying that - at that point in time - he was having trouble tuning into his muse. But no-one was listening... it's also testament to the clout he still commanded that it was included with the album package in any way whatsoever. Charming, yes. But commercial ?

Carl's contributions: he's co-credited on "I'm The Pied Piper", sang lead on that track, "Better Get Back In Bed" and "Magic Transistor Radio" (w/Brian) and is co-credited as producer with Brian of the whole thing. Not denigrating Brian's majority part in it, but as Carl took over, he wasn't in "total control". I wish he had been.

Jack's story: yup, a lot of folk say he tells a good, if not entirely accurate, story (I'm several of them...) but in this instance he told me the exact same thing twice, separated by an interval of nearly 20 years. Listen to the last 90 seconds: compared with the rest of his (admittedly stilted) narration, it's rushed.