so what's the story on Gettin In Over My Head

[Myk Luhv]

As bad as some of Sweet Insanity is, I think the remakes from that album (Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel, Make a Wish, Rainbow Eyes) were not improvements, especially vocally. I think the run of tracks 2 through 6 (Soul Searchin' to Desert Drive) is pretty good, but I don't care to hear the rest of the album again.

Agreed. And while people complain about the arrangements on Sweet Insanity, I'll take that version over Mertens (I'm assuming) porno funk intro to Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel. I swear a Shaft looking dude is going to come out and go to town on a young ladies body whenever I listen to that.

This only makes me want to actually listen to this song/album more!

[Wirestone]

DLHKSAA has always been over-lavish in its studio versions. Only the 80s demo sounds decent. Rainbow Eyes strikes me as about even with its earlier incarnation, and I prefer the backing track of the Make a Wish remake to the SI version. Vocals not so much.

I just wish the whole album was like the tag to "You've Touched Me." A brilliant bit.

[Jay]

Is it just me, or is "Turning Point"(aka "So Long") about ten times better than the song it later became("You've Touched Me")? Sure, it has a certain "1980's fluff" to it(especially the sax), but that intro is so damn cool!   Also, the chorus isn't rushed at 100 miles an hour, like "You've Touched Me" was.

[Wirestone]

It is just you. 

I actually suspect that the original of that tune was far closer to "You've Touched Me" than "Turning Point" was. The shuffle beat, etc. -- just the kind of thing for Gary Usher to transform into an 80s power ballad.

[Jay]

I never noticed, but that intro to Turning Point is basically the melody of You've Touched Me, just at a much slower tempo.

[Matt Bielewicz]

As I've elsewhere today on the the thread about the Waltz, I'm no BW apologist, and don't really cut him slack when I feel he's screwed up, but I find much to like on GIOMH, and think it has had a bum rap.

I can hack a decent EP or CATP-style mini-album out of it, no trouble. I don't have any problem with the indisputable fact that many of the tracks had been sitting around for years before they were finished and released, so that aspect doesn't (and never has) bothered me. What does bother me is the absolutely terrible execution of some of the vocals ('Fairy Tale', I'm looking at you! And also the awfully wonky harmonies on the intro to 'You've Touched Me', which could have been sublime, but instead make me cringe).

How Could We Still Be Dancing belts along. I'm not much of an Elton Fan, but I still think this track rocks. If Brian never makes his much-mooted Rock album, and I have to build my own compilation of existing stuff as a replacement, this one is right on there with a free pass. It also gets a pass to my mini-album cut-down version of GIOMH.

Soul Searching: OK, the vocals could be better — Carl's AND Brian's! — and The Paley Sessions version probably has the edge, particularly in the bridge. But this version is still OK. PASS.

You've Touched Me: Aargh! That intro!!!! Brian sounds like he's YAWNING out the off-key harmonies. But once this gets going, I like it. The outro is, as someone already said on this thread, fab and almost proto-ska in its genius. PASS (if I edit out the intro).

Getting In Over My Head: I quite like this. It's a bit Pet Sounds-by numbers, but it's OK. PASS — just.

City Blues: Clapton has never been my cup of Oolong - indeed I rapidly lose interest when I hear widdly widdly wankfest guitar on anything. There's something going on here in the descending chorus that's interesting, but it can't sustain my interest over the whole track. FAIL.

Desert Drive: So this one mines the BW nostalgia feel again, this time with a 1964-style track rather than 1966 as with the album's title track. That could be irritating, and Brian's vocal performance is pretty duff again. However, the band's harmonies are great, and the backing track rocks along. Like 'It's OK' off 15BO, I give this one a pass for its fun exuberance on an otherwise somewhat patchy album. PASS

A Friend Like You: I found the 'hey look, lots of old rock stars are on this album!!' aspect of GIOMH really wearisome, but most of the time I forget Mr McCartney's even on this. So that aside: I know some find this track wimp-y, or even a bit fey, but it falls the right side of sweet to me - I find it quite touching. PASS

From this point on, the quality control plummets for me. The last half of the album is where I think some of the criticism's of GIOMH are justified.

Make A Wish: Oh, I hate Sweet Insanity - always did, and don't feel any better about it now. This song has a great bridge, but the rest is hippy-dippy schlock through a dirty sock. FAIL.

Rainbow Eyes: I think there *is* a great song in here struggling to get out, but Brian has, in my opinion, never released a version that unlocks it. This sure as heckfire isn't the one. Kelis's version from the Caroline Now! album is better than either of Brian's shots at it, but even that doesn't quite do it for me. FAIL

Saturday Morning In The City: This drives me mad. I really can't stand it. SUPER-FAIL

Fairy Tale: Foot-down-throat awful, this. It's high-twee nonsense, and the vocal performance is beyond unreleasable - and yet it came out! WHHHYYYYYY... ULTRA-FAIL

Don't Let Her Know She's An Angel: I know some people think this is Sweet Insanity's highlight, but I've never cared for it much, and this version is, if anything, worse than the Sweet Insanity version. As with Rainbow Eyes, I think a better version of this song could be done, but maybe not by Brian. FAIL

The Waltz: I can't explain it, but I love this one. It has dodgy Brian vocals in part, wheezes along like a clapped-out 50s rocker with a stick-on Teddy Boy wig, and has pretty cheesy lyrics by Van Dyke Parks. So you'd think I should hate it, but I don't. I think it's great, and don't understand why, but I do in all honesty really like it. I accept, however, that it is an acquired taste, like blue-veined cheese, Japanese blowfish or rotten seaweed! PASS

There you go - a seven-track mini-album version of GIOMH that I would happily listen to without embarrassment. But that's just me...

MattB

[Nicko]

Rainbow Eyes: I think there *is* a great song in here struggling to get out, but Brian has, in my opinion, never released a version that unlocks it. This sure as heckfire isn't the one. Kelis's version from the Caroline Now! album is better than either of Brian's shots at it, but even that doesn't quite do it for me. FAIL

I agree that the version on that tribute album is infinitely superior to Brian's attempts but something tells me it wasn't Kelis who recorded it...though I would love to hear a version from her too.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

It wasn't Kelis   "I'm bossy!"....

Can't remember who is was of top of my head though...

[Andrew G. Doe]

It wasn't Kelis   "I'm bossy!"....

Can't remember who is was of top of my head though...

Credited artist is Kle.

[Matt Bielewicz]

Ultra-d'oh! [smacks head]

I knew it wasn't Kelis, but knew it began with K, so I put that in as a place-holder while writing the post, and then forgot to change it before I posted. All I needed to do was move six feet across the room and look at a CD sleeve... but I didn't. What a div.

However, I too would love to hear what Kelis would do with 'Rainbow Eyes'... even if I suspect I wouldn't like the results...! If anyone has ever heard Meltbanana's cover of Kraftwerk's 'Showroom Dummies', you'll know what I mean. You might not like the results, but you can sort of see that a cover version like that of that tune *needed* to happen. The original is metronomic and teutonically precise, with Ralf Hütter calmly intoning 'we are showroom dummies' at occasional intervals. Meltbanana's version is complete chaos, with the drumming sounding like the kit is falling down the stairs, and the vocal being repeatedly screeched by the diminutive female Japanese vocalist in a manner that suggests she is fighting off a full-on assault by a pack of rabid hyenas at the same time. I don't find it pretty, but it's good that it exists.

In a similarly curious vein, it's odd that a lot of the tracks I do like on GIOMH I like in spite of my usual musical preferences. I'm really not a big fan of traditional 'raaaawwwk' music, and overly 50s-style Rock and Roll or wailing guitars have me reaching for the Eject button faster than you can say 'rock around the clock'. But if there's a good tune powering something along, I tend to forget that. Hence I like 'How Could We Still Be Dancing', particularly the uptempo piano driven breaks. But I rarely listen to that style of music by choice.

The carefully, almost painstakingly designed arrangements from SMiLE, Pet Sounds or Friends, most of which are driven far more by 'pattery' percussion and clever use of instruments that are themselves percussive, but without actually *being* percussion, will always win me over more readily than a heavy rock drums and electric bass rhythm section and a wailing lead guitar, though. For example, consider how much energy there seems to be in the opening verses of 'Heroes And Villains' - and that's just a percussive acoustic guitar, a high-mixed big bass sound (or probably several basses, I'd guess, knowing Brian's preferences in this period), and a lone snare drum, rather than a full drum kit. Now consider 'City Blues'. with its full-on rock 'assault and battery' drums and bass arrangement, and Clapton widdly-widdly-ing over the top. The latter just seems unbearably clumsy and leaden-footed to me by comparison. And actually much *less* powerful and effective for it, too!

Here endeth the daily ramble through Kelis, Clapton, Kraftwerk, Meltbanana and Brian Wilson's SMiLE-era arrangment technique. I really had better do some work today, I guess!

MattB

[The Heartical Don]

Ultra-d'oh! [smacks head]

I knew it wasn't Kelis, but knew it began with K, so I put that in as a place-holder while writing the post, and then forgot to change it before I posted. All I needed to do was move six feet across the room and look at a CD sleeve... but I didn't. What a div.

However, I too would love to hear what Kelis would do with 'Rainbow Eyes'... even if I suspect I wouldn't like the results...! If anyone has ever heard Meltbanana's cover of Kraftwerk's 'Showroom Dummies', you'll know what I mean. You might not like the results, but you can sort of see that a cover version like that of that tune *needed* to happen. The original is metronomic and teutonically precise, with Ralf Hütter calmly intoning 'we are showroom dummies' at occasional intervals. Meltbanana's version is complete chaos, with the drumming sounding like the kit is falling down the stairs, and the vocal being repeatedly screeched by the diminutive female Japanese vocalist in a manner that suggests she is fighting off a full-on assault by a pack of rabid hyenas at the same time. I don't find it pretty, but it's good that it exists.

In a similarly curious vein, it's odd that a lot of the tracks I do like on GIOMH I like in spite of my usual musical preferences. I'm really not a big fan of traditional 'raaaawwwk' music, and overly 50s-style Rock and Roll or wailing guitars have me reaching for the Eject button faster than you can say 'rock around the clock'. But if there's a good tune powering something along, I tend to forget that. Hence I like 'How Could We Still Be Dancing', particularly the uptempo piano driven breaks. But I rarely listen to that style of music by choice.

The carefully, almost painstakingly designed arrangements from SMiLE, Pet Sounds or Friends, most of which are driven far more by 'pattery' percussion and clever use of instruments that are themselves percussive, but without actually *being* percussion, will always win me over more readily than a heavy rock drums and electric bass rhythm section and a wailing lead guitar, though. For example, consider how much energy there seems to be in the opening verses of 'Heroes And Villains' - and that's just a percussive acoustic guitar, a high-mixed big bass sound (or probably several basses, I'd guess, knowing Brian's preferences in this period), and a lone snare drum, rather than a full drum kit. Now consider 'City Blues'. with its full-on rock 'assault and battery' drums and bass arrangement, and Clapton widdly-widdly-ing over the top. The latter just seems unbearably clumsy and leaden-footed to me by comparison. And actually much *less* powerful and effective for it, too!

Here endeth the daily ramble through Kelis, Clapton, Kraftwerk, Meltbanana and Brian Wilson's SMiLE-era arrangment technique. I really had better do some work today, I guess!

MattB

Will you purchase Pleasure Island then? Just asking.

[donald]

I'd like to hear some of these songs , and also a couple from Imagination, recorded from live performances.

I think its time for a really good Brian Live compilation from the Brian Wilson Band over the past 7 or 8 years.

Some of the problem with these songs was production and studio boredom.     Jerry Garcia once said recording in a studio is like building a ship in a bottle while playing live is like being on a ship at sea..or something to that effect.

I think it may be the same with these songs.

I really liked Desert Drive performed live.

[Matt Bielewicz]

The Heartical Don wrote:

"Will you purchase Pleasure Island then?"

Well, I think I'll probably end up purchasing anything Brian puts out. Even BWRG, which I like rather than love, has the full-on awesome 'Plenty Of Nothing' on it. I find at least one enjoyable thing by him on every album he releases. So I'm probably a given for Pleasure Island, no matter how 'raaaawwwwwk' it turns out to be. Even then, if it's 'raaawwwwkkk' like 'The Waltz' or 'Going Home', I might truly love it.

I too reckon Brian should reinterpret some of his solo stuff with his current band. I mean... their versions of Please Let Me Wonder and California Girls are incredible, and I think a 2010 band version of Love And Mercy, if such a thing existed, would *finally* give us a definitive version of that song. I love my synths and samplers, but the '88 version of L&M has not aged well. The IJWMFTT version is great in terms of its arrangement, but Brian's not vocally as strong as he could be now, I think. So I live in hope for a 2010 band version of that track.

I'd prefer 'live in the studio' to straight live, too. It suits Brian wayyy better vocally, and the band can play or sing it live *or* in the studio, so what's not to love?

But... this is Brian. So we'll probably get a five-year wait and then a disc of Shortening Bread riffs.

By the way, is it possible to conceive of a *worse* name for an album than 'Pleasure Island'? It sounds like a Bulgarian porn film. Oh, wait, yes, it is possible. "Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin": sounds like a committee of rabid marketing consultants dreamt that one up.

MattB

[absinthe_boy]

As I've elsewhere today on the the thread about the Waltz, I'm no BW apologist, and don't really cut him slack when I feel he's screwed up, but I find much to like on GIOMH, and think it has had a bum rap.

I can hack a decent EP or CATP-style mini-album out of it, no trouble. I don't have any problem with the indisputable fact that many of the tracks had been sitting around for years before they were finished and released, so that aspect doesn't (and never has) bothered me.

No arguments. I've never had a problem with what GIOMH is or isn't. Its not an attempt at a major work, it's a collection of previously unreleased material...and as such is "new/old stock".  Nothing wrong with that, the issues are that some tracks should have either been recorded with more care or left off the record. It doesn't have to last 70 minutes just because you can get 70 minutes on a CD. It could have been a record roughly 40 minutes in length and a pretty good one.

[carl r]

GIOMH is for collectors, I'd say. If you want to hear a lot of the tuneson this album delivered well, try buying The Zombies' Oddessey and Oracle. Try listening to 'Goin' Out of My Head' rather than 'Getting In Over My Head.'