Lucky Old sun review thread!

[matt-zeus]

I'm not going until Saturday so I can't comment yet, but i'm sure there's a few people going tonight, so if anyone has any feedback and reviews for later on then please post them here!

[XY]

Yeah, in a couple of hours we will know if Brian still 'has it' - just joking, but this new work is really some kind of all or nothing situation. I already see the reviews in British newspapers tomorrow: Brian is back!

[brother john]

Well I'm going tonight, so I shall report back when I get back from the gig!

[49ersphil]

I'm not going until Saturday so I can't comment yet, but i'm sure there's a few people going tonight, so if anyone has any feedback and reviews for later on then please post them here!

I'm also going on Saturday and to the Manchester show a week later. I sooooo want this to be a great show as I'm dragging my girl along and she's no really a fan (yet).
 

[punkinhead]

jealous i am of everyone who gets to post a review 

[Amy B.]

It's getting rave reviews at the blueboard (so far).
I'm looking forward to hearing it someday...

[Pretty Funky]

From NME.com

Brian Wilson premieres new 'song cycle' in London

The Beach Boys legend also covers The Beatles
 
The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson premiered his brand new 'song cycle' 'That Lucky Old Sun' in London tonight (September 10).

The star, backed by his regular touring band, returned to his regular stomping ground of London's Royal Festival Hall to give showcase the nine-song suite, based on the classic 1949 song 'That Lucky Old Sun'.

Similar in style to his legendary album 'Smile', which he performed at the same venue in 2004, the songs, with lyrics by Scott Bennett and interspersed with narratives provided by 'Smile' lyricist Van Dyke Parks, were a sentimental ode to Los Angeles and Wilson's past.

While the music was being performed many images of southern California appeared on the backdrops, as well as snaps of Wilson with his Beach Boys bandmates and brothers Dennis and Carl, who died in 1983 and 1998 respectively.

Wilson's new music was received warmly by the capacity crowd, who gave their hero a standing ovation at the end of the 45-minute set.

The set closer was a cover from The Beatles' 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', 'She's Leaving Home', marking the 40th anniversary of that album's release.

Elsewhere, the evening's entertainment also featured a cover of Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B Goode' and the usual Beach Boys classics such as 'Good Vibrations', 'Help Me Rhonda', 'Do It Again' and 'Wouldn't It Be Nice'.

But Wilson also took the time, as promised, to play a host of rarely performed tunes such as set opener 'Girl Don't Tell Me', 'Salt Lake City', 'I'd Love Just Once To See You' and 'She Knows Me Too Well'.

The set was:

'Girl Don't Tell Me'
'Dance Dance Dance'
'Salt Lake City'
'Catch A Wave'
'Then I Kissed Her'
'In My Room'
'Do You Wanna Dance?'
'When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)'
'She Knows Me Too Well'
'I'd Love Just Once To See You'
'Do It Again'
'Please Let Me Wonder'
'California Girls'
'Sloop John B'
'Wouldn't It Be Nice'
'God Only Knows'
'Heroes And Villains'
'Good Vibrations'
That Lucky Old Sun: 'Morning Beat'/'Good Kind Of Love'/'Forever You'll Be My Surfer Girl'/'Mexican Girl'/'California Role'/'Oxygen To The Brain'/'Midnight's Another Day'/'Going Home'/'Southern California'
'Johnny B Goode'
'I Get Around'
'Help Me Rhonda'
'Barbara Ann'
'Surfin' USA'
'Fun Fun Fun'
'She's Leaving Home'


The tour continues tomorrow (September 11) with the second of six nights at the Festival Hall.

The remaining dates are as follows:

London Royal Festival Hall (September 11, 12, 14, 15, 16)
Bristol Colston Hall (18)
Bournemouth Opera House (20)
Edinburgh Festival Theatre (22)
Manchester Palace Theatre (23)
Birmingham Symphony Hall (24)

To check ticket availability for the Festival Hall shows, go to southbankcentre.co.uk.

To check ticket availability for all the other dates and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/GIGS, now.

[brother john]

Well, I just got back from the RFH, and I'm too tired to write much now, but will later. The first half was a fairly dull run-through of a few favourites, opening, unaccountably, with Girl Don't Tell me - not a great song at the best of times and certainly not a show-opener, but it got better when better songs were introduced.

That Lucky Old Sun was, as far as I could tell, great! Its difficult to tell on one listening, but I wasn't disappointed (as I feared I would be), and MAD was superb. In fact, there was also a slide show, most of which was incredibly cheesy, but then they showed some images of Brian, Dennis and Carl together through the ages, and I have to admit it brought quite a tear to my eye.

It was a good gig. Brian behaved almost like a normal person, played a bit of keyboards at the beginning, and even stood up to sing at the end. His voice was pretty good, and he hit about 80% + of his notes. The band were great.

If someone else doesn't beet me to it I'll try and remember the set list for the morning.

There will definitely be a cd release of this.

[kshane]

The set list is in the post above yours. One point of contention is that some people say that Live Let Live was performed, but it is not in the nme.com set list. Do you remember them playing it?

[eden]

Live Let Live was part of TLOS.
So was Can't Wait Too Long, seriously!
Tears were shed, it was awesome. Now I'm tired!

[Chris Brown]

Live Let Live was part of TLOS.
So was Can't Wait Too Long, seriously!
Tears were shed, it was awesome. Now I'm tired!

Brian did "Can't Wait Too Long" live?  That sounds amazing!

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Actually, from what Ive read, parts of the melody popped up at various points in the piece. Sounds phenomenal....wish I was there!

[punkinhead]

Is Going Home from the Paley sessions?

[bossaroo]

I'd Love Just Once To See You

sweeet!!!

[brother john]

The set list is in the post above yours. One point of contention is that some people say that Live Let Live was performed, but it is not in the nme.com set list. Do you remember them playing it?

BW's people may have given the whole set list to NME beforehand, and the review could have been written days ago. You know what these things are like. The songs in TLOS weren't introduced, so NME must have been working from a list.

[Malc]

"Can't Wait Too Long" was the definate highlight/surprise for me, especially as it was played with the Wilson Brothers photo montage highlighted on the screen behind - but it was probably only about a minute of the melody and vocals and didn't really develop into a full blown section on its own.
As I've said elsewhere "Oxygen To The Brain" was just little bit TOO close to "Couldn't Get His Poor Ol' Body To Move"/"Too Much Sugar" for my liking - the lyrical lowpoint - but some of the other sections/movements were amazing. Scott provided some fantastic Mexican/flamenco guitar during "Mexican Girl", with Probyn offering up some trumpet support, and Scott also shone on his lead vocal intro to (I think) "California Roll" ... and Jeff brought out the ukelele again for one number !
"She's Leaving Home" After the hype about celebrating an anniversary milestone I cannot deny I found it a bit of an anti-climax. A great arrangement ... but following on from "Johnny B Goode" "Rhonda" "Surfin' USA" "Barbara Ann" and "FFF" to finish off with this one ... well, not for me, but a brave attempt at replacing the tried and tested "L&M". A great evening ... can't wait for my second night on Wednesday !

[Boiled Egg]

brian talking about TLOS on bbc radio, 11 september: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/

[pendletone]

brian talking about TLOS on bbc radio, 11 september: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/

Cool! Thanks for posting!

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Are we really in a discussion of a *new* BW song suite? This is a dream, right? Hope if he tours the US, he hits Houston...

[absinthe_boy]

I wasn't there, though I wish I had been. Basically for financial reasons I limit myself to one or two big gigs a year...and 2007 is Genesis and Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds for me.

But the review in the Guardian looks quite positive (4 stars out of five)
Indeed they preferred TLOS to the rest of the set.

http://music.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,2166622,00.html

[Malc]

I wasn't there, though I wish I had been. Basically for financial reasons I limit myself to one or two big gigs a year...and 2007 is Genesis and Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds for me.

WOW - tough call. If Genesis had been indoors I'd have been there aswell - I look forward to the DVD release at Christmas ... and ironically I was only put off the Jeff Wayne show by the earlier DVD release, but I'm sure in the actual venue it'll do it justice. Enjoy !

[49ersphil]

 The first half was a fairly dull run-through of a few favourites, opening, unaccountably, with Girl Don't Tell me - not a great song at the best of times and certainly not a show-opener, but it got better when better songs were introduced.


Glad you enjoyed most of the gig.
Personally, I love GDTM and am knocked out that he's doing it.
Different strokes, I guess.

[phirnis]

While I totally love all of Today and Summer Days, there's been too much of an increasing presence of songs from that era for my personal taste, pushing aside all those beautiful gems from the "troubled years". Then again, I should be more than happy there's a professional audio recording of Brian Wilson, aged 60 performing 'Til I Die in front of, well, people.

Really looking forward to hearing more from TLOS. While I'm not too crazy about Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl, overall it still seems like quite an amazing project to me. Hope it's going to be recorded.

[Andrew G. Doe]

"Can't Wait Too Long" was the definate highlight/surprise for me,

Surprise for me was the inclusion of a few bars from a 1976 archive track that very, very few have ever heard.

[Malc]

"Can't Wait Too Long" was the definate highlight/surprise for me,

Surprise for me was the inclusion of a few bars from a 1976 archive track that very, very few have ever heard.

Glad to hear you found something of interest too Andrew ... tho' us 'little' folk wouldn't have been aware of such an item ...