No Pier Pressure - 4 Months Later

[elnombre]

I like it a lot but have only been playing a track or two here and there lately. I guess the UK tour cancellation took a lot of the sheen off it for me. Still a solid album though, and I'll revisit it.

[Mike's Beard]

A couple of songs I like (including the dreaded Runaway Dancer) but overall I thought it sucked and never felt the need to buy it. 4 months later and nothing has changed.

[Smilin Ed H]

I liked about half of it then and I still like about half of it now. My feelings about TWGMTR too.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

I like it less the more I listen to it. The collaborations are the worst part for me with "Our Special Love" the only one I really enjoy anymore.

Favourites are still One Kind of Love, Tell me Why, I'm feeling Sad, This Beautiful Day, Somewhere Quiet, Sail Away, What Ever Happened.

Looking at the deluxe edition...thats half a good album

I don't get "Last Song" at all.....

[KDS]

I'm enjoying reading the diverse opinions. 

Back in April, the opinions of NPP on this, and the other, forum very overwhelmingly positive.  But, it's a little more mixed here. 

[jeffh]

I listen to it a lot. For a month or so it was my 'go to " cd when I was on the treadmill at the gym.

[Robbie Mac]

I think I'd be keener to write a 33 & 1/3 book on Summer In Paradise than to listen to this album again.

Welcome to Smiley, Mike Love!

[drbeachboy]

I don't find the songwriting un-Brian-like, the songs themselves are very Brian. My complaint is the production. It is too slick for my tastes. I really wish Brian would produce an album the old fashioned way. I really don't like Joe Thomas' production techniques. It is the same reason why I don't play TWGMTR much or Imagination or The Beach Boys Live.

[guitarfool2002]

I really wish Brian would produce an album the old fashioned way.

What is the old fashioned way?

[KDS]

I might be in the minority, but I think Joe Thomas's production on TWGMTR and NPP is far better than Imagination. 

Now, the Live C50 CD.....well...I'm not getting into that one. 

[drbeachboy]

I really wish Brian would produce an album the old fashioned way.

What is the old fashioned way?

By himself. His recordings were fairly clean, but never slick. Whatever he is doing with Joe Thomas is not what he was doing back in the day.

[chaki]

that terrible fucking techno song eliminates it from being rated as his best.. COME ONNNN

You have no idea what techno actually sounds like, do you?

sure i do. i was using the term generally as "sh*t electronic music" but i'll change it to "crappy edm pop" if you prefer.

[KDS]

that terrible fucking techno song eliminates it from being rated as his best.. COME ONNNN

You have no idea what techno actually sounds like, do you?

sure i do. i was using the term generally as "sh*t electronic music" but i'll change it to "crappy edm pop" if you prefer.

Runaway Dancer is pretty jarring.  It doesn't sound as much like an EDM/techno song in concert.  I wish the live arrangement would've made the album.  If so, I probably wouldn't skip that track. 

[the captain]

I like the album at least as much as I did when it was released. While I understand a lot of the criticisms leveled toward it--and even agree with some of them on some level--I've personally found the ability to just not be affected by them and instead of wishing something else were in its place, enjoying what is actually there. It's been an absolute pleasure for me to listen to relatively often. Its songs pop up on shuffle while I'm running and I almost inevitably turn off shuffle and just listen straight through from whatever song appeared. And many nights, I've put on headphones and listened to a track or two in sentimental, drunken bliss.

NPP isn't the greatest album associated with the guy, but it's a really strong, diverse, and enjoyable one. For me it ranks with TLOS and BWPS as his best solo work. I hope we get something else--especially of original pop songs--from him, though obviously eventually that will just be that and we'll be left with the catalog.

[marcusb]

I really wish Brian would produce an album the old fashioned way.

What is the old fashioned way?

By himself. His recordings were fairly clean, but never slick. Whatever he is doing with Joe Thomas is not what he was doing back in the day.

I think the slickness comes from the  change in technology since the 60s, primarily.

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

I really like the album, and have listened to it more than anything else this year. My favorite track is Sail Away... just an absolute classic, both musically/vocally and thematically... followed closely by This Beautiful Day, Guess You Had To Be There, Tell Me Why, One Kind of Love and Last Song.

Much like the captain says above, I typically start with some favorite track on my Ipod and then end up listening to the rest straight through. The only tracks I skip are the second half of Runaway Dancer (I really like the transition from This Beautiful Day and the snappy sound of it, but start to get bored halfway through), Half Moon Bay (kind of the same thing... great sound, but my attention wanders) and Don't Worry (don't like the sound of it at all). Overall, I think it's a great album and am so pleased it's with us.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

that terrible fucking techno song eliminates it from being rated as his best.. COME ONNNN

You have no idea what techno actually sounds like, do you?

sure i do. i was using the term generally as "sh*t electronic music" but i'll change it to "crappy edm pop" if you prefer.

Eh...that's closer.

[guitarfool2002]

I really wish Brian would produce an album the old fashioned way.

What is the old fashioned way?

By himself. His recordings were fairly clean, but never slick. Whatever he is doing with Joe Thomas is not what he was doing back in the day.

I think the slickness comes from the  change in technology since the 60s, primarily.

Bingo! Ask any number of producers and engineers who worked in the 60's if they were going for a "dirty" sound and they might even go as far as to say they wished the fans could hear what it sounded like in the control room through the studio monitors as the tracks were being recorded in the studio. It's a twist of fate that many of the hip, desired "dirty" sounds that some rave about were more a result of technology limitations than they were aesthetic decisions. It was the things which were viewed as limitations back in the day that ended up creating some of the sounds people would come to adore.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I might be in the minority, but I think Joe Thomas's production on TWGMTR and NPP is far better than Imagination.  

  

Whatever he is doing with Joe Thomas is not what he was doing back in the day.

Thomas's credit mainly stems from the early sessions for what became NPP. There's one man to blame/thank for the slickness of the album, and his initials are BDW.

I think the slickness comes from the  change in technology since the 60s, primarily.

Pretty much (in the case of NPP).  Brian's *always* been after a crisp, clean sound...the more polished/slick, the better. Exceptions to that, of course, came when he wasn't doing so well in life.

[HeyJude]

Objectively speaking, folks could be forgiven for thinking Joe Thomas was a prominent figure as far as the production on the album. He garnered a co-producer credit. It's sounding like he was potentially *less* involved on NPP than he was on TWGMTR, yet he *didn't* get a co-producer credit on TWGMTR (instead getting a weird "Recorded by" credit). A "producer" credit is a big deal (in terms of royalties/monetary "points" paid out), so I'm curious how Joe got his name as a co-producer on an album that he potentially wasn't heavily involved in.

Obviously, politics and contracts can rule the day here; he may have just worked up a deal with Brian that dictated they would use the Brian/Joe co-writes and Joe would get a co-producer credit.

But a "producer" credit is a big deal, which is why when it is politically or contractually expedient to still give someone some sort of credit even if they didn't play a heavy role in a project, you get alternate credits like "Additional Production by" or "Recorded by" or "Executive Producer", etc.

[drbeachboy]

No Pier Pressure sounds like Joe all over it. He had to have done the post production work.

[KDS]

Even if the production is a little slick, I think the quality of the songs trumps the production style.  The melodies and vocals are there. 

[HeyJude]

There are definitely reports of later sessions Brian did where Joe wasn’t there. But I would guess a lot of that was vocal sessions. Most of the backing tracks sound very much like Joe’s style, with the claves and tinkly bits and whatnot that are relatively unique to Joe’s participation based on the past. I’m thinking at least of the few of the backing tracks were old. Chad Cromwell is in the credits, and he drummed on a few TWGMTR tracks (including the title track) that had probably been tracked back in 2010 or 2011, possibly in Nashville. Some folks also wondered if “Don’t Worry” might actually be at least partially a circa 1998 “Imagination” backing track.

[HeyJude]

Even if the production is a little slick, I think the quality of the songs trumps the production style.  The melodies and vocals are there. 

I feel like the vocal arrangements are impeccable as always. Brian *rarely* disappoints there. The actual melody lines on the songs are pretty strong too. My issue is the rather bland chord progressions/patterns on some of the songs. I went on about this in detail back when the album came out (site with my review is linked in my signature line).

[Senator Blutarsky]

I did not like it at first, but after a few listens it has grown on me. Al was great on it.

Would be better if it was produced differently, too much of a sheen. Would like to hear an imperfection or 2 so it sounded more human.