"What Love Can Do"...any thoughts?

[Eric Aniversario]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the new Brian Wilson cut on the Target CD that was released today?  I've listened to it just once so far...I think it will take a few listens to get used to the song.

"God Only Knows" sounds great from the first listen.  It definitely sounds, though, as if Brian's lead was somehow enhanced.

[matt-zeus]

"God Only Knows" sounds great from the first listen.  It definitely sounds, though, as if Brian's lead was somehow enhanced.

Oh God! Don't open that can of worms!! 


I haven't heard the other track yet, I'm going to go and try and find a sample.

[LostArt]

Is the CD being stocked at Target stores?  According to their website, it is only available for order.  I would run over to Target and pick this up this afternoon if I knew it was being stocked.  I'm interested to hear how the song (What Love Can Do) turned out.  Are the harmonies on the intro out of tune as they were on the demo?  Does Brian sing the lead or did he let someone else do it?  I'd love to see Brian hand out more leads to various members of his ensemble, as he did in the Beach Boys.

[Eric Aniversario]

Is the CD being stocked at Target stores?  According to their website, it is only available for order.  I would run over to Target and pick this up this afternoon if I knew it was being stocked.  I'm interested to hear how the song (What Love Can Do) turned out.  Are the harmonies on the intro out of tune as they were on the demo?  Does Brian sing the lead or did he let someone else do it?  I'd love to see Brian hand out more leads to various members of his ensemble, as he did in the Beach Boys.

It was at my local store, but I've heard of many people that went to their local store that were unable to find it, and some were told to come back on Tuesday (although Sunday was the official release date).  There is also another CD that may be of interest: "A Song For My Father" features sons and daughters of famous artists performing their dads' music.  Carnie & Wendy sing "The Warmth Of The Sun", which turned out really nice.

[Chris Brown]

Is the CD being stocked at Target stores?  According to their website, it is only available for order.  I would run over to Target and pick this up this afternoon if I knew it was being stocked.  I'm interested to hear how the song (What Love Can Do) turned out.  Are the harmonies on the intro out of tune as they were on the demo?  Does Brian sing the lead or did he let someone else do it?  I'd love to see Brian hand out more leads to various members of his ensemble, as he did in the Beach Boys.

It was at my local store, but I've heard of many people that went to their local store that were unable to find it, and some were told to come back on Tuesday (although Sunday was the official release date).  There is also another CD that may be of interest: "A Song For My Father" features sons and daughters of famous artists performing their dads' music.  Carnie & Wendy sing "The Warmth Of The Sun", which turned out really nice.

I heard about that one too...sounds pretty cool.  On the promo site it didn't say which tune Carnie and Wendy were doing, but "Warmth of the Sun" is a great pick.  I'll have to look for that one too!

[LostArt]

I picked this up last night at my local Target, and after a couple of plays here are my initial observations on the Wilson/Bacharach/Krikorian song, "What Love Can Do".  Produced by Phil Ramone and Brian Wilson.  Orchestrated by Paul Von Mertins.  Sung by Brian Wilson, but doubled by another member of his band (or maybe Bruce, I can't tell).  Here are the credits as listed in the booklet:
Piano - Burt Bacharach
Vocals, Guitar, Percussion - Jeffery Foskett
Keyboards, Vocals - Gary Griffin
Guitar, Vocals - Nick Walusko
Guitar, Vocals - Probyn Gregory
Guitar solo - Ted Perlman
Percussion, Vocals - Nelson Bragg Jr.
Keyboards - Scott Bennett
Drums - Jim Hines
Bass - Bob Lizik
Acoustic bass - Dave Stone
Vocals - Taylor Mills
Recorded by Mark Linnett (sic) at Oceanway Studios, L.A.

The song starts the same way as the demo, but with the band singing instead of a bunch of pitchy Brians (it still sounds a little bit out of tune to my ears).  Brian starts the verse right out front, but soon you can clearly hear that Brian is doubled, and in a couple spots (especially at the very end of the song) I can't hear Brian at all.  They did a good job in most places, though, of blending the two voices so that you can get the essence of Brian's voice.  The background vocals sound very good, nice blend of voices, nice vocal arrangement.  The instrumental arrangement is good, as well.  Though the credits don't list them, I hear what sound like real strings.  I may be wrong about them being real, because I am listening on my computer.  I also hear the obligitory Wilsonesque vibes, bass harmonica, woodblocks, and maybe a french horn.  Again, these could be samples, but I can't really tell through my computer speakers.  The song sounds very much like a Bacharach song throughout.  I hear bits that sound Brianish, but it sounds more Bacharach to me.  The chorus is very poppy, not bad.  I don't like the guitar solo at all, I think I could have done at least as well, but he (Perlman) is a bigshot producer and I'm not.  All in all, I'm liking the tune so far. 

[Goin’Bald]

That makes me curious LostArt. I tried to buy through their website but they don't ship internationally. Why, I don't know. On the Brian Wilson website it's promoted heavily and I know the messageboard is visited by people from all over the world. So I won't be hearing both songs. Like many others....

[doc smiley]

International .. sadly that also includes Canada....

once again, looks like I will have to use alternate sources to hear this...

[the captain]

First of all, it sounds more like a Bacharach song than a Wilson song to my ears--I wonder if Brian's input was more in terms of background vocals and arrangement ideas than the bulk of the song itself. But it is a nice song. Brian sings pretty well, within his current range. The background vocals are nice. I especially like the "And you and I are..." at 1:38 or so.

[matt-zeus]

I really like it! The production is lovely (Phil Ramone adds a nice touch), its warmer than some of Brians recent stuff and the harmonies sound very full.
Brians voice does sound a lot like Ozzy Osbournes does now, but its very pleasant. It does sound quite Bacharachy, but then so do a lot of Brians songs, utilising a lot of the same types of chords and changes, if there was a whole album like this, I would be very happy, I would go as far to say that this might be the best song Brian has been involved in many years and gives me hope that he still has it.................................I know i'm naive, but I always have faith in my idols!
 

[Chris Brown]

I really like it aside from the electric guitar solo (totally out of left field)...Brian sounds fantastic, the backing vocals are great as usual, and the arrangment is just what you'd expect from these two.  I think the song overall sounds more like Burt than Brian, but the backing vocals especially are pure Brian.  If Brian keeps producing work of this quality, I'll certainly be looking forward to a great album (if and when it happens).

[the captain]

I really like it aside from the electric guitar solo (totally out of left field)...

At least we avoided what I was beginning to think was the obligatory P. Mertens sax solo.

[Tord]

You can listen to What Love Can Do here:

http://music.download.com/newmusicfromanoldfriendsingersongwriterlegends/3600-8742_32-101016775.html

[Chris Brown]

I really like it aside from the electric guitar solo (totally out of left field)...

At least we avoided what I was beginning to think was the obligatory P. Mertens sax solo.

Good point.  Oddly enough though I think that would have fit a little better with the song. 

[Jim McShane]

Thanks to Tord for the link.

I love it, I've listened to it a number of times now. I agree with Chris, I'll take more of this ANY time from Brian. There's no mistaking the Bacharach in the song, but there's a lot of Brian in the vocals, both lead and backing. There's some real nice changes in it that sound very Brian-ish.

The band sounds terrific too. Great BVs, really perfect for this song. I don't even mind the guitar solo.

I definitely need to buy the CD.

[doc smiley]

Thanks to Tord again for this link....

Love it... wish I could buy it ( Canadians are not able to at this point)

I would also really really love to hear a whole cd of Brian and company putting that kind of effort into a song...
excellent vocals and production  ********

[the captain]

I am liking this song more and more with repeated listens. I don't think it ranks among the best of either co-composer's work, but it is really nice.

[AWoPS]

You can listen to What Love Can Do here:

http://music.download.com/newmusicfromanoldfriendsingersongwriterlegends/3600-8742_32-101016775.html

Could someone please post a different link to the song?  When I try to listen I get caught in an endless loop where the media player refreshes over and over and over...HELP!

NEVERMIND: It is working just fine now.

[bossaroo]

nice tune! what a team here. would like to know who wrote what.

the guitar solo's not over-the-top or anything.  kind of nice, but I would prefer a french horn or a clarinet.  something a little more Burt or "Had to Phone Ya" would've been cool.

i'd like to hear a demo or something with just Burt and Brian singing this.  maybe with Dionne and Stevie Wonder on harmonica? 

[phirnis]

I like it very much. It sounds indeed a lot like Bacharach, but then again it also has that typical BW vibe to it that makes you feel fine almost immediately. Looking forward to That Lucky Old Sun...

[Sheriff John Stone]

Brian sounds great! To me, his vocals are so critical in his solo songs reaching their full potential. This song gives me hope, and hope is something I need right now...

[Wirestone]

Count me impressed.

Suggests that Brian really could use a co-producer in the studio. Those are some of his smoothest vocals on record since the Joe Thomas days ...

The song itself is cool too. Love the chorus.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Suggests that Brian really could use a co-producer in the studio. Those are some of his smoothest vocals on record since the Joe Thomas days ...

Actually, i feel they are even better. Imagination is more "robotic". Brian is singing with *feeling*, and I cannot remember the last time he did that (apart from some moments on What I really want from Christmas).

[Jim McShane]

Just got the CD, my wife picked it up at the local Target for me.

I was surprised how great it was to hear the mid-60s aged BW and that fabulous band perform GOK. I thought the band was really tight and crisp, Probyn's French horn was really expressive. The whole song exceeded my expectations by a very long way. I actually started to choke up a bit...

"What Can Love Do"  is simply wonderful! It's really well recorded, the BVs are great, and Brian's leads are really good. I must confess that the guitar solo does indeed seem out of place and uninspired now that I've heard it on something besides a 32K stream. Why the solo was played by someone outside the band is puzzling too. I'm sure Nick or Scott could have played a much more creative solo than what's-his-name did. But other than that it's as good as I imagined it would be!

[chris.metcalfe]

Can someone tell me - is Target a common US high street store (like Woolworths in the UK?). If so, I can get someone in the US to post it to me in the UK.

I think WLCD is great and far better than anything on GIOMH, which is a great shame and underlines AGD's feelings about that album. Whatever GIOMH was going to sound like, they shouldn't have muddied the waters in the Year of Smile by releasing anything else; bad management decision.