Lucky Old sun review thread!

[pixletwin]

I would still prefer to hear Van Dyke read the narrative on record. He has a wonderful reading voice.

[Chris Brown]

Something that I don't think has been mentioned is that not only is Brian's singing voice much improved, his voice on the narrations is very clear with no slurring. I know they were pre-recorded, but it shows that he can do it.

I agree.  It was nice to hear Brian speaking so clearly again.  Even though his voice is a bit lower in timbre now, his actual speaking was just as clean as is was on the "Smog" speech.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I think him having his teeth fixed may have helped.

[PMcC]

Do I hear a turn in the melody of "Midnight's another day" that sounds like a brief portion of the song "Brian Wilson"?

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

So, I'm not the only one then! Yeah part of it sounds like the "if you wanna find me I'll be out in my sandbox"part of Brian Wilson.

[eden]

Just thought I'd highlight this vid...BW's in great form. I think maybe he enjoys singing 'covers' more than his own stuff, 'Then I Kissed Her' on the first night blew me away at the time.

Johnny B Goode from Edinburgh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGvvTHzCZ9A

As Biz Markie said..."damn it feels good to see people up on it!"

Hope more of this vid turns up, so far it's just the 'hits' section at the end.

I really love this band and what they've brought to BW and his music. Back in 1988 (when I first 'discovered' BW) I never thought I'd see him where he is today. This band and the enthusiasm of BW's current audiences make the gigs so full of energy and love, and TLOS is by far the best new music from the man in a LONG time. I hope it keeps going in this direction!

[XY]

I'm certainly not disappointed with Morning Beat, I think it gets things off to a flying start and if/when it is recorded for release this track will hook in listeners who aren't Brian fans.

I agree. It grew on me with repeated listenings. The "...hear the voices softly coming..." part is just beautiful. And the rockin' parts have that 70's BW vibe, sound a bit like something the BB would have done between "Carl & the Passions" & "Love You".


BTW, my favorite Brian song announcement is "Here's a song I don't like at all" for "Sail On, Sailor".

[matt-zeus]

BTW, my favorite Brian song announcement is "Here's a song I don't like at all" for "Sail On, Sailor".

He shouldn't play it then!

[Rocker]

Just thought I'd highlight this vid...BW's in great form. I think maybe he enjoys singing 'covers' more than his own stuff, 'Then I Kissed Her' on the first night blew me away at the time.

Johnny B Goode from Edinburgh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGvvTHzCZ9A

As Biz Markie said..."damn it feels good to see people up on it!"

Hope more of this vid turns up, so far it's just the 'hits' section at the end.

I really love this band and what they've brought to BW and his music. Back in 1988 (when I first 'discovered' BW) I never thought I'd see him where he is today. This band and the enthusiasm of BW's current audiences make the gigs so full of energy and love, and TLOS is by far the best new music from the man in a LONG time. I hope it keeps going in this direction!

He does a great job on "Johnny b. goode" and even gets most of the lyrics right. Let's not forget that these lyrics aren't as simple as "Barbara Ann" for example.
I think it's cool that Jeff plays the guitar behind his head, as James Burton did exactly the same thing on the same song when he was Elvis' guitarist in the 70s, only that he did it throughout the whole performance of JBG

[chris.metcalfe]

BTW, my favorite Brian song announcement is "Here's a song I don't like at all" for "Sail On, Sailor".

But he still sang it brilliantly at Birmingham, word and note perfect and with some feeling and personal touches - his 'Damn the thunder' especially effective.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

BTW, my favorite Brian song announcement is "Here's a song I don't like at all" for "Sail On, Sailor".

He shouldn't play it then!

this is the one song i think he should not play. he seems to miss almost every note in it. just not suited to singing it

[Sheriff John Stone]

Isn't "Sail On Sailor" on Classics: Selections By Brian Wilson? Emphasis on BY BRIAN WILSON....

[Chris Brown]

Isn't "Sail On Sailor" on Classics: Selections By Brian Wilson? Emphasis on BY BRIAN WILSON....

Good point...I suppose its just another example of Brian's fleeting mind.  Consistency hasn't exactly been his strong suit.

Or maybe he just didn't feel like doing it that particular night and it came out as "I don't like this song".  Who knows?

[Wirestone]

Re: SOS. It's weird, because the band really digs into the song, which is why they do it, I think. But Brian has never exactly been up to it vocally.

On the other hand, he tends to kick ass with Marcella -- and wrote a whole new section of it just for live performance.

[Andrew G. Doe]

On the other hand, he tends to kick ass with Marcella -- and wrote a whole new section of it just for live performance.

If you mean Taylor's little intro, he didn't write that - it's the original intro.

[punkinhead]

Original as in the BB version on so tough or original demo?

[woolpitch]

Another one for the 'sounds a bit like...' discussion: the section before the chorus in good kind of love (she keeps it in a jar but not too far etc) is almost identical in melody and chords to the verse of brian's back (we once took a cab out of salt lake city now)

[Andrew G. Doe]

Original as in the BB version on so tough or original demo?

Duh ! I meant the original intro to "I'm So Young"... which is what it is. Sorry, suffering from BW burnout.

[Wirestone]

Wow! I would have never spotted that. Good call, Andrew.

Anyhow, my point was that it was cool to see the song revamped a little bit with the new intro -- Brian playing keys, Taylor vocalizin'. And Brian seems to dig it.

[Ron]

Brian's said many times that he doesn't like Sail on Sailor's lyrics... I don't know why, I think they're pretty decent.  It started out with him saying back in the day that they were a little weird.  Now it's progressed to him saying "I don't like this song at all" LOL  I think he's just hating it more and more as time goes by.  The piano is just killer in that, I suppose that's probably Brian playing it on the original, didn't he produce the track, kind of?

[chris.metcalfe]

No doubt he played on the famous Van Dyke Parks write-a-middle-eight tape, but I expect Captain Keyboards played it on 'Holland'. Anyway, he sang it really well in Birmingham  (sorry, I already said that).

[phirnis]

He supposedly "co-produced" it over the phone.
Brian might dislike Sail On Sailor's lyrics because of the simple fact that too many people had a hand in altering them. It's quite obvious from what he says about it in the Warmth of the Sun podcast. That said, in terms of lyrics I like the Holland version A LOT more than the KGB version, which reportedly contains the original set of words as penned by Ray Kennedy.

[absinthe_boy]

Just found this on the web...not sure where it comes from but it really struck a chord with me

"Is That Lucky Old Sun any good? I truly have no idea. It's too complex a piece, and too multi-layered, and the performance of it too bound up in personal expectations, for any kind of judgement to be made on one hearing. But in a sense, the question doesn't matter. That Lucky Old Sun is exciting - in a way that no-one could have expected. This is the work of a 65-year-old man. 65 year old men don't make exciting music. Paul McCartney's new album might be quite pleasant, but he knows no-one's going to remember him as 'the man who made Memory Almost Full', and it shows. Brian Wilson appears not to have given up hope that he'll be remembered as 'the man who made That Lucky Old Sun', and it's just about possible that he might."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNK3L6WS0XVPA5IV

PS I've been listening to the rather quickly assembled studio recording of "Forever She'll be my Surfer Girl" on BW's official site...and I am astonished at the vocals Brian can now do in the studio. If he really is enthusiastic about TLOS and sits down to record it properly...the sky is the limit...

[Wirestone]

And what's funny is -- at least according to what was said at the performances -- Darian put the whole shebang together. One wonders how much Brian really thought of it as a cohesive whole -- but it still works. The songs are that strong.

[pendletone]

Another one for the 'sounds a bit like...' discussion: the section before the chorus in good kind of love (she keeps it in a jar but not too far etc) is almost identical in melody and chords to the verse of brian's back (we once took a cab out of salt lake city now)

Oh I'm so glad that I finally found somebody who thinks the same about this (short) vocal line! The first time I heard this section I was sure I'd heard it before...