Solo Brian Wilson: dipping into archives
Old Rake:
Quote
(and that includes "Path Of Life" - can you say "He Come Down" ?)
Now, now -- they both dip into the Gospel realm but the similarities are pretty thin otherwise!
JRauch:
ONE thing that I really want from Brianīs next record is: SHORT TITLES!!!
Walking Down The Path Of Life
Gettin In Over My Head
What I Really Want For Christmas
Donīt Let Her Know Sheīs An Angel
How Could We Still Be Dancinī
Saturday Morning In The City
Thatīs also another reason why I love "SMiLE". Itīs SHORT!!!
PMcC:
I feel, as far as songwriting goes, it's satisfying to hear an artist write about where he's at TODAY, not 10-20 years ago. As a bit of a songwriter myself, everytime I have delved into my personal archive , I do a little less of a job with the recording, because it's where I was as a writer and musician then, not what I am writing or what is happening to me now. If you asked Brian, he might tell you the same thing, if he is honest. It almost feels like you are doing a cover version of your own song. When I wrote some songs, I was married to a different woman, lived in a different place, I was younger, so I had all of that messing with the words and music as well. If you seriously internalize your own writing, which I am sure Brian does, then the conclusion has to be made that one serious option may be that he feels the creative juices were flowing better for him then than now. The 'lazy' part, and when it comes to Brian Wilson's writing, I have to really watch that word, because nothing about his arrangements sound like a lazy songwriter, is probably his refusal to let us hear more of his musical 'soul' today, and how he is doing today. Write about the kids, or getting older, or your wife or whatever. A songwriters music is his diary. Why go back and copy pages from past diaries when you can write new entries. If not, get somebody to help. Sounds like a possible thread there. Who would you think would be the best songwriter for Brian to get with for some work.?? Past affiliation not included. My pick is Jimmy Webb. Jimmy totally understands where Brian is, and I think he would make a fine collaborator for future projects..
Sheriff John Stone:
Luther, I wish you hadn't brought up this topic. I've been trying to avoid discussing this subject, but now I have to get it off my chest. When I'm done, don't send Stan Love and Rocky Pamplin after me. It's only one person's opinion.
Shortly after Brian re-emerged with Dr. Landy in 1983, there were rumblings of a Brian Wilson solo career. Supposedly, Brian wanted to make music outside of the Beach Boys' "confines". Brian wanted to stretch out. Brian wanted to be free to make the music that was in his head. Brian wanted to be the producer. And Brian didn't want to work with Mike Love. OK.
Well, twenty-some years, six studio albums, two live albums, and a few B sides later, what do we have? To me, essentially, Brian has recorded twenty years' worth of Beach Boys' music - WITHOUT THE BEACH BOYS!. This thread has prompted me to look at Brian's solo recordings. I don't see one BW solo album (including BWPS) or even one BW solo track (except "Thank You") that would've been unacceptable for the Beach Boys to record. More importantly, I don't hear one BW solo song that wouldn't benefited from the Beach Boys' vocals. When I listen to "Melt Away", I hear Carl. When I hear "Rio Grande", I hear Al. When I hear "South American" or "Desert Drive", I hear Mike. And so on. And so on. You get the point.
Since 1987, Brian has worked with Russ Titelman, Jeff Lynne, Lindsey Buckingham, Don Was, Van Dyke Parks, Darian Sahanaja, and Jeff Foskett. Some might include Bob Dylan, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, and Jimmy Webb. Not too shabby. I had hoped that just by associating with these people, something would've rubbed off, some kind of spark, some kind of inspiration. I was hoping for new material, something brilliant and dynamic. Brian could've recorded anything he wanted, as daring and complex as possible. I guess I'm just disappointed at the path he chose.
Did Brian stretch out? I don't think so. This thread kind of proves that. Did Brian break new ground? No, he recycled old ideas. Peter Reum stated that "in essence, he's been doing it forever." While that statement is basically true, it is also misleading. In Brian's earlier days with the Beach Boys, he might've recycled one, maybe two songs per album. BUT HE WAS PRODUCING UP TO THREE NEW ALBUMS PER YEAR! In Brian's solo career, he went TEN YEARS from BW88 to Imagination, and then SIX YEARS from Imagination to GIOMH. That's a big difference. His recent solo albums are dominated by re-workings. Even more perplexing are the re-recordings of old Beach Boys' songs. For almost 28 years (1967-1995), Brian rejected his Beach Boys past. Now, in the past 10 years, he has re-recorded, in one form or another, dozens of songs from his past catalogue. In my opinion, very few of these re-recordings surpass the originals.
The history books will probably be kind in evaluating Brian's solo career. His emergence as a concert performer and the resurrection of SMiLE will be highlighted. But as someone who lived and died with every new release, I will view it differently. I will see it as a bunch of would've, should've, could'ves. I will see it as wasted opportunities for 3-4 strong Beach Boys albums that would've been superior to the Brian's solo recordings that eventually surfaced. OK, I'm done now.
monkee knutz:
Sheriff John Stone... why don't you leave him alone!
I see your point in all aspects, but in essence (not completely) Brian was the Beach Boys. He was the sound & partial lyricist. He was mentor to the other BB's. He created that sound and they followed. That's what he did and did it well. How can you stretch out and expound upon an already great catalog? What he did was what he was good at. Familiar & comfortable with.
Every artist reaches into their back catalog to see what was there and what could be done with it. The Beatles did it. Del Shannon did it. Michael Nesmith did it. Everyone has done it. Ask any of the musicians on this board. Do you play? I've done it and will continue to do it (though I'm not comparing myself in any way to any of those mentioned above). If you're an artist and have been around for a while there's bound to be some tunes that you've never completed and would finally like to attempt or finish. Granted, not everything he has done has been good, then again there's only a very small handful of artists that you can say didn't do anything that was junk.
Brian has such a large catalog that you & I are so familiar with and have known for so long with that if something new comes along you can't help but say that sounds like him. No matter what he does- it's going to sound like him. It's his voice. His music. His lyrics. His idea. It's him and can't sound like anyone else. When some people step beyond their boundaries they record 'Smart Girls.'
I dunno. Those are my immediate thoughts. I do see your points though.
And, I'm glad no Clapton rubbed off on Brian! Can you imagine the mess that would have made?
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