Carl Wilson Admiration Society Thread

[John]

Are there any unreleased Carl tunes from the early '70s? Didn't he produce some kind of Moog experiment or something?

Telephone Backgrounds On A Clear Day.

[SG7]

Carl Wilson was boss man. Who else could scream the lyrics of Shortien' Bread like that?? 


I think he was more into that song then Brian, which is kinda scary.

He was also the best looking in the late 60s! 

[Disney Boy (1985)]

I love Carl too, but I know what AGD means.  He wrote four great BB songs: Feel Flows, Long Promised Road, Trader and Angel Come Home.  I like some of the others but there's a fair bit of average AOR in there along with some sluggish ballads.  I prefer his first album - there's a handful of decent poppy rock songs, though nothing too demanding, and one decent ballad.  The second is just awful and isn't helped by the glossy production.  Best song's probably the title track. Beckley-Lamm-Wilson's so-so too. Great voice throughout, of course.  Would I buy a repackaging of the two solo albums with a few extra tracks?  Of course. 

Make that five great BB songs: Feel Flows, Long Promised Road, Trader, Angel Come Home and Where I Belong - the latter could well be the most under-rated song in their entire catalogue. It's an absolutely stunning neglected gem.

[MBE]

As a singer I like him best from 1966-72 though he did always have a special quality (except in the herion era perhaps). As a writer I like most of what he did from 1963-72 a lot and do like "Angel Come Home" and "Heaven" as much as those early songs. KTSA and Living With A Heartache are cool for what they are, but I'm not a fan of his other later songs. Maybe with a better production the eighties stuff would work for me, but I don't feel them much honestly. Carl was a fine performer, and became the best singer as his brothers voices went south. I really get a warm feeling from him. Brian and Dennis are still my faves but Carl was a talent to be reckoned with.

[Jukka]

Before I got into Beach Boys, I found questions like "who is your favourite singer" or "who do you think is the best singer in the world" annoying and impossible to answer, with so many great singers out there. After finding Beach Boys, that problem was solved. The answer is Carl Wilson. Each and every time.

[Lonely Summer]

I was just getting into the BB's as Carl's solo albums came out, so of course  I bought them, and I loved them, still do. Love the stripped down sound of the debut, kind of a mellow Wild Honey vibe about it. Youngblood has a more radio friendly sound, but I like it, much prefer that sound to the synthy sound the BB's adopted on the 85 album and beyond. Like A Brother also goes a bit too heavy on the synths, but Carl's songs on it are strong, and of course his voice never fails.