Carl And The Passions- So Tough

[Mr. Cohen]

I honestly hate most of Dennis' ballads. They just move so slow, each note plodding by with the speed of a snail, his voice rolling by interminably slow, like sap down a tree.  If he would have tried to cover "In My Room" he would have made it 5 minutes long easily, and that is exactly what was wrong with this guy and why his 'epic ballads' will never see any acclaim outside of Beach Boys diehards. There will be some nice melodies in his ballads (some of them, anyway), but he tries so hard to stretch everything he can out of everything that it's overwrought and melodramatic to the extreme.

[kookadams]

They never rocked harder live than the surf/garage/proto-Ramonesy surge n' stomp of their live shows in 1964.
That 70's stuff is WAY mellow in comparison.

I'm gonna have to agree there.

[JB Wilojarston]

I honestly hate most of Dennis' ballads. They just move so slow, each note plodding by with the speed of a snail, his voice rolling by interminably slow, like sap down a tree....his 'epic ballads' will never see any acclaim outside of Beach Boys diehards.

Much of his acclaim is coming from the indie crowd. Sigur Ros has quoted the string parts to Cuddle Up. Also, people like El Perro Del Mar rave about Dennis' stuff; listen to her current record. There are a number of contemporary artists who have listened to and been influenced by his music.

[phirnis]

You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone: good one from Brian. I actually like the ragged production style. How they could go that way after Surf's Up is beyond me, though. It certainly is one of the group's greatest WTF moments. 4/5
Here She Comes: kind of pointless, but still a nice enough tune as it doesn't actually disturb the flow of the record for me. 3/5
He Come Down: very underrated. Shadows of That Same Song. Lots of fun as far as I'm concerned. 4/5
Marcella: of course the In Concert version blows this one out of the water, but still it should've been more of a hit even in its original incarnation. 4/5
Hold On, Dear Brother: just like Here She Comes, yet at least you get to hear a bit of Carl this time. 3/5
Make It Good: a heartfelt lead vocal indeed. Kind of reminds me of Don't Talk, though I don't think this one is nearly as good. 3/5
All This Is That: the obvious highlight. The lyrics are a bit hard to swallow for me ("golden auras" and the like), but this is still as good as it gets in terms of a seventies BB song without Brian Wilson anywhere near. 5/5
Cuddle Up: always been a favorite. Love the second part especially, which is beyond gorgeous. 5/5

[variable2]

hey does anyone happen to know which cuts brian lends his voice to on this album? thanks

[lance]

Don't know, but I definitely hear him on Cuddle Up and I think I hear him on that gospel song(not all this is that, the other one).

I believe I have read that he's on Marcella, too.

[sofonanm]

It's true that the Chaplin-Fataar parts don't sound like the beach Boys...

/
did any big fans at the time scratch their heads over the new additions to the group? seems sort of like the beatles getting two new members who not only play but write their own material for the group's albums.

[Andrew G. Doe]

hey does anyone happen to know which cuts brian lends his voice to on this album? thanks

"Marcella" (according to Carl) and "He Come Down".

[MBE]

He is also on You Need A Mess as per an interview Mike gave in 1972. I hear him on that and Marcella quite clear myself. Bruce also wrote about Mess Of Help being a Brian production in a review he wrote at the time. Cuddle Up he could be there but I can't say for sure. The Ricky Blondie songs, All This Is That and Make It Good he isn't on fpr sure.

[variable2]

cool, I've been checking this one out a lot lately.. some underrated BW songs in there..I actually like He Come Down. there I said it.. it's weird to hear "15 big ones" Brian voice at that break down part.. I can't really tell if Brian is on the high parts on Mess of Help and Marcella or if he's in the middle somehwere.

and Cuddle Up is epic.

[hypehat]

'Cuddle Up' alone makes this a 3. It''s incredible - Those swells in the chorus just kill me. i'm not so wild about Make it Good, that's a bit too overwrought somehow  The rest is just... ok. I like the oddness of 'Mess of Help',  and 'Here She Comes' is a slice of sheer funk, but apart from that.... so 3.

[axl wills]

The most underrated BB's lp of the 70's.
I like all the songs on it,there's a peaceful feeling throughout it(with disturbed and beautiful moment by Dennis)not other lp of the boys sounds like that!Ricky and Blondie were the best outside musicians that the band has ever have.
Strangely,that's the only  BB's lp of the 70's without any outtakes(or rumoured traks).
Bruce Johnston has written "endless harmony"during these sessions but left the band soon after.Too bad!
Is anyone has something to adds about the making of this album,outtakes or anything else,
I would be happy to hear it!

[smile-holland]

I read somewhere (was it from you, AGD ?) that Out In The Country was a C&tP outtake (instead of a Holland-outtake)

[the captain]

A quick review of AGD's website shows several other Brian titles--none of which I've ever actually heard, just the titles--from around that time, too. And with Dennis's music, is it really possible to tell which of his recordings were Beach Boys outtakes versus Dennis Wilson recordings? Seems his songs had a way of crossing that line when the band needed or wanted them.

[axl wills]

Hmm,what's AGD please?

[smile-holland]

Hmm,what's AGD please?

it's in fact "who's AGD": the one and only Andrew G. Doe...

[the captain]

He is, I think it's safe to say, one of the more knowledgeable people on Beach Boys matters on the planet.* And in addition to whatever info you get from his posts on this board, you'll find his website here: http://www.btinternet.com/~bellagio/

[axl wills]

Thank you guys!

[punkinhead]

IMO, Out in the Country always sounded like a Holland outtake, but I could totally be wrong

[LetHimRun]

4. This album has really grown on me. I'm starting to like Blondie/Ricky's contributions more and more as I listen. The rest is really good also.

[Mike's Beard]

My review of CATP -ST. As always for what it's worth!

1- Mess of Help to Stand Alone. Love it! Blondie and Ricky brought the 'boys into the 70's and made them sound less of a 60's leftover. Takes the best bits from the classic sound and grafts them on to a gritty countrified stomp of a rocker. Never did clarify if that was Brian growling behind Carl's lead did we? Be cool as hell if it was! Oh yeah and no other group would conceive of sticking in a do-wop break where they do. 5/5

2- Here She comes. So it sounds nothing like a standard Beach Boy song. So what? An earthy sounding soul groove. 4/5

3- He Came Down. I never used to like this one that much but over time it has really grown on me. Vocals get very overzealous in places. Testify brother! Bit long perhaps. 4/5

4- Marcella. Cant bring myself to give this anything than full marks but I sure do wish they'd sped it up a tad like how they performed it live and had Blondie play some of that amazing slide riff all over it. Vocal tag shows BW had lost none of his vocal arranging abilities. 5/5

5- Hold on Dear Brother. Beach Boys do 'The Band'. Can't argue with that. 5/5

6- Make it Good. Like I do when it comes on my CD player let's just skip this one. 0/5

7- All This is That. Album highlight. Couldn't give two figs about TM  but it sure brought out the best in Al and Mike creatively. Words cannot do justice to Carl's vocals. 5/5

8- Cuddle Up. OK Dennis you are now officially forgiven for track 6. This tune sums up everything about Dennis to me. 5/5

Overall 4/5  A better second Denny song and perhaps a bit more Brian input and the 'boys would have been batting 4 to 4 at this point album wise.

[rab2591]

Anyone else agree that this is one of the best sounding BB records?

The clarity is unbelievable! Besides Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever, I can't think of a single album that tops the clarity of this one! I don't find Marcella to be a phenomenal song, but it sounds soooooooooo good!

[drbeachboy]

Though sounding much better on the 2000 2-fer, Here She Comes and Hold On Dear Brother sounded rather muddy to me on the original vinyl and Sony CD issue.

[Amazing Larry]

1. You Need A Mess Of Help 9.5/10
2. Here She Comes 7/10
3. He Come Down 8.5/10
4. Marcella 9.5/10
5. Hold On, Dear Brother 7/10
6. Make It Good 6.5/10
7. All This Is That 10/10
8. Cuddle Up 9.5/10

Album Rating: 8.43

[wokka]

CUDDLE UP....CUDDLE UP..CUDDLE UP....my favourite ever denny song..and one of my all time favourite songs PERIOD...i can only think of two other songs that have that same effect on me..spaced out,dreamy,other wordily,profoundly beautiful...they being JUDEE SILLS THE KISS..and NEIL YOUNGS EXPECTING TO FLY..time stands still when i hear these songs....
as for the rest of the album there is some junk..he come down,in particular..but marcela,hold on dear brother and the whole of side two are fabulous....a much underrated album