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I know, "Forever" is more popular but I think IMHO that "Cuddle Up" is probably the best song Dennis ever wrote.
The melody and Dennis vocal are gorgeous, the strings and most of all the bridge with those backing vocals that seems angels singing instead of human beings.
Epic song.

"Cuddle Up" is utterly beautiful and a great song, as are all of Denny's contributions to BBs LPs. It's a little on the schmalzy/corny side, though.. a lot of his other tunes on BBs LPs simply have more punch / immediate impact. As for "Forever" - it's a nice little (accessible) ballad, but not as good as "Little Bird", "Lady", "Baby Blue", "River Song" etc.

EDIT: Just noticed that I missed the point of this thread. Okay then, for me it's "Forever" > "Cuddle Up". It's a close one.

Wow, that's a tough one.

It's funny, but "Forever" went from being this hidden gem on an unknown Sunflower album to now being Dennis' most popular song. And, we all know how that happened (cough)...."Cuddle Up" still remains a largely unknown song among average fans. How many casual fans own Carl & The Passions?

"Cuddle Up" is a personal favorite and I still have it at the top of The Beach Boys' most underrated songs; very emotional vocal and production. However, I'm gonna give the slight edge to "Forever" because it might be Dennis' best lead vocal, Brian is prominent on it, I like the tag, and the lyrics are great. The lyrics have become more poignant since Dennis' passing, which also adds to the song....

Someone here said it perfectly a few years ago (paraphrasing):

Dennis did in 6 minutes what Brian could do in 3 minutes.

i.e.: a lot of Dennis tunes are just too long. I feel that way about Cuddle Up. It's a great tune, but far too long, imo.

I pick Forever over Cuddle Up.

One truly underrated Dennis song, which has really grown on me, is 'Be With Me' from 20/20.

I love them both, probably "Forever" a little more, though.

The highlight of "Cuddle Me" for me is the background vocals and the strings working together.  Stunning. Floors me every time.

"Forever" just has more of a timeless feel for me, though.

I think "River Song" is the best thing Dennis ever wrote, though.  Does anyone know how much Carl contributed to the writing of this?

Definitely a tough call. It's like trying to choose between "Don't Worry Baby" and "Surf's Up"---"Forever" is so accessible in its romanticism, while "Cuddle Up" is the exact opposite ... very baroque (though not as baroque as "Make It Good," a title I sometimes confuse with "Make It Big" until, of course, I listen to those two side by side. Talk about whiplash). I'm gonna go with "Cuddle Up," only bc I can remember a time when "Forever" was actually more obscure than it. That was in the mid-70s when the Captain and Tennille "covered" CU on their first album (if you can call a co-author 'covering' a song on his own album). They also did it on their TV show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OT7N7NQTgg

Enjoy the interpretive dance :)

Dennis could quite easily do it in 3 minutes (see most of POB, Forever, Lady, Make It Good, etc). Cuddle Up is long but it's not too long. When people complain about Cuddle Up's length i feel the same as i do when the same is said of, say, Trader: if a song sounds this beautiful who cares if it's long???

Oh, and i'm going to go for Cuddle Up. Forever is great, but that 'ooooohhhhh'-ing middle section on Cuddle Up gets me every time!

I'll have to give the slight edge to "Cuddle Up" as well, if only because of that vocal/string part in the middle.  That and I think the chord changes in "Cuddle Up" are a little more interesting - on the chorus especially, you can really hear Brian's influence on Dennis in the chord progression.

That's nowhere's near a "perfect" statement.  Whoever said it is full of crap.  And "Cuddle Up" ain't too long at all!!  It's fantastic, and in my book, "Forever" is ahead of "Cuddle Up" just by a nat's ass. Cuddle Up is a beautiful song - love the way it starts out softly and builds up to a crescendo with the strings and vocals. Dragon produced the strings so beautifully on that (and his version for Captain & Tennile which was also great). That sucker, like "Barbara", came straight from the heart, man!

My teenaged daughter recorded her version of Forever and it was outstanding. We use to enjoy singing Cuddle Up while she played the piano part with me singing the vocal with a beer in one hand. The more buzzed I got, the better it sounded!  :-D

Both of them are great, neither of them are the best song Dennis wrote. I'd say that Forever is probably the most accessible song he wrote, along with Slip On Through. Pretty hard to not like those. Cuddle Up is way more ambitious because of the huge arrangement, but it needs a re-mix to be at its best. At its core Cuddle Up is probably a better song than Forever, just not realized as well. Personally, I'd pick River Song and Thoughts Of You as his two best songs.

Cuddle Up edges it for me, I remember being under the influence sometime last year ( :hat) listening to CATP and when Cuddle Up came on it was incredible, the sheer joy I felt was almost overwhelming.

I prefer "Barbara."  Stunning!

It really does. And it's a somewhat hissy sounding recording; quite a bit of noise, especially audible when wearing headphones.

That whole darn album needs re-mixing.

P.S. "River Song" & "Only With You" are also right up there on my Dennis list.

Dig both. Prefer "Forever". Would pick "Only With You" over either.

Top 5 favourite Dennis songs anyone?

Mine (in no particular order):
Celebrate The News
River Song
Moonshine
Lady
Baby Blue

Rainbows is stuck in my head.

"All Alone"
"River Song"
"Little Bird"
"Celebrate The News"
"Lady"

"Forever" and "Cuddle Up" aren't even in that list.

Another tough one...

1. Thoughts Of You
2. Moonshine
3. Lady
4. You And I
5  Tie: Forever, Cuddle Up, End Of The Show

 

Celebrate the News, A Time to Live in Dreams, Pacific Ocean Blues, Slip on Through... those are some gooduns

Forevah by a clear mile!

"Lady" is a cool song if you need a very specific soundtrack for the time you stumbled upon a large building containing airplanes that a man has been building in secrecy for the entirety of his life. Otherwise, ehhh.

NEGATIVE NANCY

I'm gonna say Slip On Through is may fave Dennis track (on a BBs album)!

It's just such a great production and Dennis' vocal is absolutely killer. It's a lot like The Whole World in that it comes in, kicks your ass all over the place and then is gone as quickly as it came.

"Forever" is the "God Only Knows" of Dennis' songwriting arc, while "Cuddle Up" is his "Surf's Up."

1. Lady
2. Forever
3. Little Bird
4. Steamboat
5. Celebrate the News

I will NOT try to pick my favorite Dennis Wilson song. Isn't even possible. Far, far too many perfect, broken songs.

I might have to give Forever the edge against Cuddle Up. For sentimental reasons. And the a cappella mix.

Thoughts of You moves me on an emotional level unlike any other song he wrote which is quite a triumph considering just about his whole catalogue moves me deeply.

So in the middle of a thread we went from comparing and posting preferences between Cuddle Up and Forever to "What's your top 5 Dennis songs?"  A subject for a whole 'nother thread and one that's been done to death anyway?

I agree with Marcella above who said it isn't even possible.

Yeah I know, right?

I pick "You & I" lol...jk (even though I really feel that is one of his best songs) "BE WITH ME" is my favorite song by Denny...it's like his version of a Pet Sounds song..
I have to pick Forever because it's obviously more known because its....well extremely beautiful :) and Cuddle Up is decent..(but no competition at all)
I already knew most of you were gonna pick Cuddle Up since it's an obscure song and well fanatics tend to pick the less known over the known songs(no matter how great the known songs are)

So here it goes, Denny's Top 5:
1. Be With Me
2. You & I
3. Forever
4. Never learn Not To Love
5. Little Bird

Cuddlle Up is cool, but I like the sound and production of Forever a lot more.

c*cktails is good.

Forever is a great original pop song, while Cuddle Up is a driven and appropriately epic realisation of a unique vision; so my marginal preference is for the latter.

IMO