Surf's Up

[hart325]

A Day in the Life of a Tree(a question: does Brian sing any words on it?).

No Brian on A Day in the Life of a Tree.  Jack Rielly is on lead, Van Dyke Parks - "Trees like me..." his voice is unmistakable if you have ever heard his solo work and Al on the lines that sound like they could be Brian "Oh Lord I lay me down..."

[Domino]

[[/quote]

No Brian on A Day in the Life of a Tree.  Jack Rielly is on lead, Van Dyke Parks - "Trees like me..." his voice is unmistakable if you have ever heard his solo work and Al on the lines that sound like they could be Brian "Oh Lord I lay me down..."
[/quote]

Ok, thanks. Van Dyke Parks - you gotta love him!

[Crinkleman123]

Brian is on the backing vocals, though.
 

[CarlsDarlin]

I gave it a three.  I do love the album artwork though.

[hypehat]

It's a real grower, this album. I might even prefer 'Day In The life' to 'Til I Die', the swell as the tag comes in is powerful. Would have been improved with more Dennis tracks, but then again, i wouldn't really take anything off it to fit them in - Lookin' At Tomorrow, perhaps. Although that's so odd coming from a beach boy it works on novelty value.

And SDT is a pretty good track, shame about the vocal. And it's a real shame, at that 

[TheLazenby]

It's a little startling to see relatively small mention of "Feel Flows" in this topic... but having been introduced to it via 'Almost Famous' (and not being a BB's fan at the time), I suppose I tend to think of it as more well known than it is.

[pixletwin]

Brian is on the backing vocals, though.
 

You can hear Al singing lead in the fade out as well.

[Aegir]

It's a little startling to see relatively small mention of "Feel Flows" in this topic... but having been introduced to it via 'Almost Famous' (and not being a BB's fan at the time), I suppose I tend to think of it as more well known than it is.

But for us Beach Boys fans, it's as well known as every other song on the album, to us.

[Don_Zabu]

It seems like, for the first 7 tracks, all the worst songs also happen to be the odd-numbered songs, and the good songs are the even-numbered ones. It's weird.

Odd: Don't Go Near The Water, Take A Load Off Your Feet, Student Demonstration Time, Looking At Tomorrow
Even: Long Promised Road, Disney Girls, Feel Flows

Of course, the last three are all sublime Brian Wilson melancholy, and definitely some of the best stuff he's ever written.

[punkinhead]

It seems like, for the first 7 tracks, all the worst songs also happen to be the odd-numbered songs, and the good songs are the even-numbered ones. It's weird.

Odd: Don't Go Near The Water, Take A Load Off Your Feet, Student Demonstration Time, Looking At Tomorrow
Even: Long Promised Road, Disney Girls, Feel Flows

Of course, the last three are all sublime Brian Wilson melancholy, and definitely some of the best stuff he's ever written.

I agree, it's weird, because the Star Trek films are the same way, the odd numbered ones (1-10) are not too great...I do enjoy parts of Dont got Near the Water, the wordless vocal is very Smile to me...it's a very odd flowing album.

[Reverend Rock]

I almost gave it a 4, but decided to go with a 3.  I really like the album over all, but when one looks at each song individually, it loses it's shine.  But Carl's stuff and Brian's stuff are indispensible. 

The thing about "Student Demonstration Time" is, it hasn't aged well; but when the album was current, the song got a good deal of airplay on FM "underground" stations (I know I heard it more than once).  In the very early 70s, rock was actually a form of counter-cultural journalism.  If Surf's Up were a liberal arts college newspaper, then SDT and "Looking At Tomorrow" and "A Day In The Life Of A Tree" were the editorial page.  In the cultural context of the times, it definitely worked.

[slothrop]

I really like Looking At Tomorrow. It's short, but sweet. Especially that flanged sound that permeates every note of the song.

[hypehat]

I keep getting weird visions in my head of performing this album live in it's entirety with an orchestra, with different fades and introductions to songs in place - For example, you'd start it off with the H&V chorus piano part, seeing as that's in Don't Go Near The Water, and that piano thing Carl did on LPR live being augmented by strings and french horns and things. You'd have the start to Surf's Up like on BWPS, Day In The Life... being done entirely with high strings and flutes, and i keep hearing Feel Flows being dramatically slowed down. STD i have Spiritualized-esque visions of it descending into white noise at the end, before easing into FF.

Have I snapped? 

[Dada]

STD i have Spiritualized-esque visions of it descending into white noise at the end

I could see how that would work... but still, that's a product of a twisted mind right there! To imagine a song as cheesy as "SDT" ending in some crazy white noise electrical guitar freak out - wow. Never, ever, would I have thought have that.

[LetHimRun]

I wanted to give this a 5, but tracks 3 and 5 make it a 4. I wish they would have been able to let some of the ego go and put in the songs Dennis originally had on the album.