Brian's codas

[SMiLE-addict]

It occurred to me the other day that one reason (among many) Brian was such a great songwriter is because he had such a great knack for ending a song. A lot of songwriters tend to either fade the song on a typical verse, or bring the song to some abrupt end. But Brian seemed to write a disproportionate amount of songs where he might take a verse, or the refrain, and give it some special edge or effect to fade out at the end of the song. I'm thinking of the ending of California Girls, for example. It ends with the refrain, but a jazzed up version of the refrain, which even has a pause (the organ) just before it to gear up the listener into expecting that something special is going to happen to close out the song. Wouldn't It Be Nice goes a step farther and is unlike the rest of the song altogether.

Then of course there are the obvious codas to Surf's Up and Cabinessence, which go even farther than WIBN and are almost sub-songs in and of themselves.

Am I cherry-picking a few obvious examples or is this a real phenomenon I've noticed? Of course he's got some songs that end "regular" but I can't think of many songwriters who've gone to such extremes to really finish out a lot of their songs.

[SMiLE-addict]

Forgot to mention God Only Knows, which is probably the Mother of All Song Endings.

[halblaineisgood]

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[SMiLE-addict]

Coda, outro, ending ... whatever your preferred term is. There's undoubtedly technical differences between the terms, but I'm just referring to any kind of ending.

[Don Malcolm]

Carl called them "tags." They come in many forms, sometimes being completely new musical material, at other times being amplified versions of choruses or "middle-8s".

They are all over Brian's work, becoming particularly noticeable starting in '65. Pet Sounds has several: WIBN (as noted), IWFTD, GOK. GV has a distinct "tag" or "coda." The "sectional" writing picks up for the Smile/Smiley material: WC, She's Goin' Bald, the previously mentioned Cabinessence and Surf's Up. A completed version of Can't Wait Too Long might have been another.

It kind of goes underground for awhile, showing up on At My Window from Sunflower, then re-emerges strongly in '71-'72, with DITLOAT, Til I Die, Mess of Help (augmented middle-8 as the tag), Marcella, Funky Pretty. It comes up again in It's OK (which is a reworking of Mess of Help), and several times on Love You (Johnny Carson, I'll Bet He's Nice).

I'm sure I've missed some, so by all means fill the rest in. Dennis, learning at Brian's knee, did some of this too: Forever, Only With You, River Song come to mind.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Dennis, learning at Brian's knee, did some of this too: Forever, Only With You, River Song come to mind.

Another one of Dennis's which isn't as obvious but just as effective is on "Thoughts Of You". Everytime I listen to that song, especially the fade, I picture the Harmony sailing over the horizon, with Dennis on there - thinking about Karen.

[The Heartical Don]

Yes. The codas. There is no other musician active, or having been active, in popular music ever who was/is a master of the art of the coda the way Brian D. Wilson is.

I could go on forever on this particular topic, because it's one of the main reasons I fell in love with Brian's music.

So I will leave it at this.

[rab2591]

'When I Grow Up To Be A Man' - that's one coda that I wish lasted for a bit longer.

[Jon Stebbins]

One of Dennis' best tags is in Moonshine (gone, gone, gone away)...its magic. Starting at 1:43 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0C58BUmOE

I guess it not a classic tag in that the chord progression has already appeared in the song twice prior, but it feels like the whole song exists just to set up that majestic fade...I love it so much.

[Jon Stebbins]

One of Brian's strangest and coolest I Wanna Pick You Up...pat pat... pat pat pat her on her butt butt

[The Heartical Don]

One of Dennis' best tags is in Moonshine (gone, gone, gone away)...its magic. Starting at 1:43 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0C58BUmOE

I guess it not a classic tag in that the chord progression has already appeared in the song twice prior, but it feels like the whole song exists just to set up that majestic fade...I love it so much.

Couldn't agree more, Jon. It's beyond brilliant... IIRC it's a combination of the words 'gone away' and 'far away', am I right? Anyway, I never tire of it.

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

(Almost) every Dennis song has a section-- often the tag but not always-- that gives me shivers. The tag on his solo Only with You, where it goes up a step, is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard from any artist. Brian's are equally powerful but there's just something about Dennis' soul that just grabs me in a way nothing else has ever grabbed me.

Dennis and Brian are the reason I learned to "play" (read: "butcher") piano. And it's usually because they have these tags that transcend normal musical expression and create brand new emotions I've never felt before.

[pixletwin]

My all time favortite coda is on A Day In The Life of A Tree. It's a teaser and should last 7 minutes longer.  

[Sheriff John Stone]

I always thought Brian lifted the coda for "Melt Away" FROM "Moonshine". Oh, wait, Brian stated in an interview that he never heard Pacific Ocean Blue.

[G.C]

Yes. The codas. There is no other musician active, or having been active, in popular music ever who was/is a master of the art of the coda the way Brian D. Wilson is.

Well said!

[Mr. Cohen]

I never heard Dennis' solo album is the new "I burned the tapes."

[Paulos]

The ending to Ballad Of Ole' Betsy is a good one too.

[Mikie]

I've always liked the acapella vocals at the end of God Only Knows (alt.)  Would the inclusion of those on the released version made it a better song? Not sure.

Also the coda on "All I Want To Do". That's a good one. 

[SMiLE-addict]

I've always liked the acapella vocals at the end of God Only Knows (alt.)

Agreed. First several times I listened to that I was in tears.

[Gregg]

What about the Wind Chimes coda? That has to be one of the most beautifully delicate pieces of vocal arranging Brian ever came up with and the guys recorded. That was one of the bits that really caught my attention early on when I was first discovering the depth of their musicality. Actually, the entire song is almost symphonic in it's structure with the various distinct sections. Very inspired and sophisticated writing, stripped down to the bare essentials.

[Kirk]

I always thought the tag to "At My Window" was pure heaven---very uplifting, takes what can seem like a sorta silly children's song to a whole new level of ethereal. Another personal fave: "Had to Phone Ya." And who can forget "From There to Back Again." Bliss bliss bliss. I can breathe off that coda. And yes, I spent whole chunks of my youth falling asleep to the fade out to "Moonshine" on my stereo.

[Sheriff John Stone]

What about the Wind Chimes coda? That has to be one of the most beautifully delicate pieces of vocal arranging Brian ever came up with and the guys recorded. That was one of the bits that really caught my attention early on when I was first discovering the depth of their musicality. Actually, the entire song is almost symphonic in it's structure with the various distinct sections. Very inspired and sophisticated writing, stripped down to the bare essentials.

I'm assuming you're referring to the Smiley Smile version. Totally agree. It doesn't get the recognition it deserves. I wish Brian would've used it on the SMiLE version.

[Sam_BFC]

My all time favortite coda is on A Day In The Life of A Tree. It's a teaser and should last 7 minutes longer.  

Love that one too...beats Til I Die's coda for me.

[clack]

One of my favs is from 'Please Let Me Wonder' -- during the fade, the number seems to segue into some Brian Eno-like ambient piece, just pure atmospherics, with the vibraphone (Jerry Williams?) throwing the song into a state of unresolve,  giving us a change of direction rather than a culmination.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

One of my favs is from 'Please Let Me Wonder' -- during the fade, the number seems to segue into some Brian Eno-like ambient piece, just pure atmospherics, with the vibraphone (Jerry Williams?) throwing the song into a state of unresolve,  giving us a change of direction rather than a culmination.

All that's happening there is the vocal track cuts out, so your just getting the backing track. What a great dynamic effect from something so simple.