TLOS is really good. Really good.

[lance]

I'm shocked. Oxygen to the brain is great, it's like candy and the lyrics seem more Brian than almost any of them. That one, Midnight's, Good Kind of Love and Live Let Live make that album for me. The rest of the stuff is good fun too, but those four songs rock the house for me.

[buddhahat]

Yeah Oxygen to the Brain is also one of my favourites. That seems quintessentially Brioan to me.

I haven't listened to the album in a while. Unfiorunately the tracks I dislike are all sequenced together (Good Kind of Love through to California Role) and it sort of meant I'd only ever listen to side 2. Still that side 2 is pretty impressive for a new Brian album. I must dig it out again and give it another try. I've often considered swapping some of the duff tracks for message man and the other good bonus cut ("when a man loses his woamn" - that one), then I reckon I'd have the makings of an album I could really get into.

I too enjoyed your post Adamghost - if TLOS can touch somebody so deeply it must have something special about it.

[Exapno Mapcase]

Post Holland, I like the live album, some of 15 Big Ones, Love You, a little of MIU, half of LA, all of POB, most of BW88, BWPS and about half of TLOS - I'm not over fond of Mexican Girl, California Role and Goin' Home

[Mr. Cohen]

 I too love "Oxygen to the Brain". Musically, it's very Brian. The soft intro with bells is something he has been into for a few albums now, from "Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight" to "Happy Days" to "Rainbow Eyes". Parts of the verses have this bouncy, rollicking Randy Newman feel that seems new to this album (also heard on "California Role" and perhaps another song or two) and recalls Brian's fascination with Sail Away. Those descending bass lines during the chorus are trademark Brian Wilson, reminding me of "Here Today" and "City Blues" in particular. I like the harmonies on the "to live..." part, one of the more daring harmonies Brian has done in years. By daring, I mean a less obvious part to add harmonically, something which he does a few times on TLOS. The lyrics, of course, are very Brian. We all know he loves singing about exercise and weight problems. I liken this song to Brian Wilson does Polyphonic Spree.

[the captain]

Oxygen might be the second- or third-best song on the album, imo.

Really?   I usually see your point Luther.......

Please, seriously, try to school me on on what I'm missing here.  Reminds me of Happy Days from imagination.  Which was enough.

I don't know what schooling I could give: it's really just one of the songs that "does it" for me. (Whereas "Southern California," for example--one that a lot of people love--I find cloying, false and forced in its in-your-face warm fuzzies.) This one, musically, just nails it for me. I love the childish/military-march bounce of it. I love the background voices, especially the nice counterpoint descending ooh when he sings "ok let's take it slow." It's both interesting and fun. I'll take that over sickly sweet every time.

[TdHabib]

Southern California is very moving to me, I also can't explain it too well but when the bridge came in yesterday I got a full chill up my spine.

[b00ts]

I love this album, I just heard it today in the car and it held up very well. Oddly enough I love "Mexican Girl" but can't stand "Oxygen" musically, lyrically it's all there. I can remember great joy first hearing "Midnight," but it didn't even compare to when the album was streamed online and I heard the recording of "Goin' Home." You know that's a real update of the Love You sound, gruff but rocking Brian lead, those infectious "ho, home, be du be du be du" back grounds, the synthesizers splashes, and the sudden BAM of accapella harmony on "at twenty five I turned out the light" reminds me of the BAM for the chorus on "Let Us Go on this Way."

I reall like the "at twenty five" line, some slam it but I think it's real cool. Andrew's right about the sequencing, really enhances the album. Just one more nitpick that "California Role" sounds much better on the boots and live DVD, the mix on the album is too dry.

Agreed 100% about Oxygen to the Brain! I always  loved the synths and found them a welcome callback to Love You. Also, has anyone noticed the backing vocals behind the line "A reason to live, to live, to live" are apparently sampled? They sound like they are being played back through a cheesy 1980s Synclavier style sampler.

[Wrightfan]

Yeah I like Oxygen to the Brain also. If I had to rank the songs (sans narratives and Can't Wait too Long) I'd go:
Midnight's Another Day
Oxygen to the Brain
Live let Live
Southern California
Forever She'll be my Surfer Girl
Morning Beat
Going Home (I like it but not as much as others)
Good Kind of Love
That Lucky Old Sun
California Role
Mexican Girl

[hypehat]

Southern California is very moving to me, I also can't explain it too well but when the bridge came in yesterday I got a full chill up my spine.

I really like it until it goes 'whoawhoawhoa it's magic....' 

[Jay]

Is it just me, or would this album have been ten times better had Van Dyke done the "narratives"? Don't get me wrong, I still love the album. When it first came out, I thought it was better than SMiLE. *ducks away from the rocks being thrown*

[The Heartical Don]

Where does 'Pleasure Island' fit into all of this?

[shelter]

I see TLOS as the narrative of what's going through the mind of an older man as he's taking a long way by himself through LA on a hot, sunny day. He observes what's happening around him, he's reminiscing about his past and every now and then his mind wanders off to something entirely different like some cute girl, exercising, or what not. And after a while, he starts humming this tune that he wrote 40 years ago and that somehow just popped into his head. That's really what TLOS sounds like to me: silly, happy and melancholic thoughts on a beautiful, sunny day.

I wouldn't leave any of the songs of. Every song on the album is supposed to be there.

[Bean Bag]

I like the upbeat, sunny vibe.  Great, great fun summer album!!!!!  I've already formed sweet summertime memories to this -- cranking it in my garage while washing my car -- motorin' around town on a cool summer morning with the windows down.  Ahhhhhhh....."oxygen, oxygen right to my braaaain!"   

I may be at odds with everyone here, but I like the more upbeat tracks more than the reflective somber ones....I like them too, of course -- but I kinda think the happy/bouncy tracks are "more Brian" today.  Perhaps I feel that way because I saw Scott say "the album was a little too happy" or something like that, so He and Brian (more HE than Brian??) wrote, I think, Midnight?

I found that comment to be some more typical futzing with Brian's vision..."It's brilliant Brian...but..."     No biggie, but I can't imagine saying anything but...YEAH Brian!  YEEEEAAAAH...Let's record that shiiiet!!

Either way...the album's fun, bright and performed really solidly.  I can totally hear the Denny, Carl, Mike and Al singing on this!!

[Magic Transistor Radio]

Brian's vocals on TLOS are as good as I've heard them in over 20 years. As good as Love and Mercy from IWMFTT. The weakness in BWPS and most of his solo work imo is his vocal.

[Roger Ryan]

If the result is something like "Midnight's Another Day", then I don't think there is any problem in "futzing" with Brian's vision! As it is, Scott recommended slowing down a composition Brian had come up with which resulted in "Midnight..." (Scott also added the intro piano motif). Also, reportedly Brian came up with "Southern California" quite late in the game which is why the unfinished version ended up being in the live premiere. I accept that "Southern California" is sentimental, but I think it's on the good side of that fence, much like what Van Dyke was doing on ORANGE CRATE ART. "Oxygen To The Brain" is really the kind of stuff most of us seem to want from Brian; that artsy multi-part composition with sunny orchestrated sing-a-long sections mixed with the odd discordant moments. Nobody but Brian would do something like it in that fashion. Friends unfamiliar with the track who saw the live show pointed to this song as a highlight in that it seemed instantly hummable and yet mysterious at the same time (inviting further exploration).

I think we have to accept that virtually everything Brian has done since 1967 has been the result of collaboration (and much of what came before as well); TLOS is a triumph of collaboration with an engaged Brian actively participating.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Brian's vocals on TLOS are as good as I've heard them in over 20 years. As good as Love and Mercy from IWMFTT. The weakness in BWPS and most of his solo work imo is his vocal.

The great majority of Brian's vocals on this album were flown in from the original demos. 

[Synth Wash]

TLOS took awhile to grow on me, but now it's easily my 2nd favorite BW album after BWPS. I love that they included "Can't Wait Too Long". That's probably the most beautiful 30 seconds of harmony I've ever heard, and I prefer it even to the Beach Boys version.

I recently saw the DVD as well and loved watching Brian at work in the studio. There's the scene where he bursts through the door and barely says anything but the band understands he needs to give them a new harmony line and they work it out. To me, that's as close as it gets to having 1966 Brian back and in control.

[runnersdialzero]

Brian's vocals on TLOS are as good as I've heard them in over 20 years. As good as Love and Mercy from IWMFTT. The weakness in BWPS and most of his solo work imo is his vocal.

The great majority of Brian's vocals on this album were flown in from the original demos. 

Meh, still his vocals, aren't they? Brian's best moments these days seem to be a matter of "catch it while you can". I don't see much of a problem with taking vocals from other places.

As for "Midnight's Another Day" - yeah, Scott gave it a new spin, but I'm sure if Brian didn't prefer the new arrangement it would have been axed in favor of the more upbeat take on it. No problem with related people "futzing" with what Brian originally comes up with - remember, "Good Vibrations" would have lacked the bass vocal hook and cello without the help of Mike and Carl making suggestions, and I think those are very important elements in the chorus.

Andrew, was Brian's original idea and arrangement for "Midnight's Another Day" put to tape anywhere, even as something informal? Have you heard it?

[lance]

When the demos were being heard, especially Midnight's Another Day, a lot of people at the time were saying that Brian should just keep his vocals on that as he was unlikely to top them.

Which he did.

I don't see the problem with flying in his vocals, when you're dealing with a singer as inconsistent as he is, and I'm sure that he knows his present-day limits better than anyone.


WEll, not SURE. But you'd think.

[Mr. Cohen]

remember, "Good Vibrations" would have lacked the bass vocal hook and cello without the help of Mike and Carl making suggestions, and I think those are very important elements in the chorus.

Well, I saw a TV movie about the Beach Boys and I think it went something like this: Brian got so stoned one night that he literally forgot how to make a pop song and, unfortunately, the rest of the Boys were out on tour, so he couldn't be helped. Still, Brian had to do something, so he just kept recording 30 second bits of music. While this ruse worked for awhile, pretty soon the record company was getting skeptical about Brian's ability to finish a song. Luckily, the Boys came back in town around that time and Brian called Mike and begged him to help him to finish a song. Mike came over to Brian's house and found him smoking a joint and trying desperately to figure out the proper way to assemble a peanut butter sandwich. Mike took Brian by the hand and told him that a pop song goes "verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus" and then settled down to listen to what Brian had been working on. Mike thought it was weird, a little too esoteric and mystical, but he added a killer bass hook on the chorus and wrote some fine boy-girl lyrics. With the song salvaged, he sent Brian on his way and the result was "Good Vibrations". If you listen closely to the song, you can tell that Brian still couldn't really remember how to make a pop song. It starts out with the "verse, chorus" format, but then Brian gets lost during the bridge and he never really recovers. Luckily, the listening public didn't really notice and the song was a hit, as millions of kids across the country imitated Mike singing "I'm pickin' up good vibrations!" in the chorus in their bedrooms at night when they were supposed to be sleeping.

The end.

[runnersdialzero]

Luckily, the Boys came back in town around that time and Brian called Mike and begged him to help him to finish a song. Mike came over to Brian's house and found him smoking a joint and trying desperately to figure out the proper way to assemble a peanut butter sandwich. Mike took Brian by the hand and told him that a pop song goes "verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus" and then settled down to listen to what Brian had been working on. Mike thought it was weird, a little too esoteric and mystical, but he added a killer bass hook on the chorus and wrote some fine boy-girl lyrics.

Gawd, I really, really, really have to see this scene. Which movie was it from, again?

[shelter]

Brian's best moments these days seem to be a matter of "catch it while you can".

Or maybe he's just at his best when he's relaxed. I suppose that when you're at a friend's house recording a demo you're much more at ease than when you're in a big recording studio recording the real thing.

[runnersdialzero]

Brian's best moments these days seem to be a matter of "catch it while you can".

Or maybe he's just at his best when he's relaxed. I suppose that when you're at a friend's house recording a demo you're much more at ease than when you're in a big recording studio recording the real thing.

That's true, too. Lots of bands get their better performances on demos when you're not sweating the details so much.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

See, that's what I love about TLOS. It's why Brian sounds so into the material. They caught him in a good mood, and used that and built around it. Kinda like Syd Barrett, only polished. I've been saying since day one that this is the way Brian should do his albums...God, I love this album! And hell, the outtakes are very good also.

[Bean Bag]

I think the key to TLOS's goodness is . . . Brian finally wrote new music.  I believe this is largely the first solo album where he's not simply re-performing or re-interrupting 1980s or 1970s material.  That's my take on it.  It's so fresh.  A fresh perspective, on looking back and sometimes on old themes, but a fresh perspective still.

He's in an amazingly sound and secure place, somewhat similar to those first few sessions in 1964/5 when he quite the road -- which led to Today! and all the great stuff.  The music has that clarity to it.  It sounds together...not forced or belabored.