The Smiley Smile Message Board

Until I came across this album on my ipod today I literally forgot it ever existed, it was so random  :lol

I gave it a listen and bar a few nice moments, "Colors of the wind", "Baby Mine" and "Kiss the girl", it's borders on awful.

Any thoughts?

I actually have grown to like it quite a bit.

about the only solo album that didn't make it to vinyl  :'(

RickB

I wish Imagination was on vinyl, I'd love to have that one.

Well, it's obvious that this one got overshadowed by the release of The SMiLE Sessions the week after it, and also the growing sense that a reunion was coming.

But even besides that, it just wasn't a very good album. None of the songs seemed very special. It seemed like some of the tunes were just Brian-ized, but without the heart that you hear in Brian's best work.

Hey, I'm just wondering: when you say it wasn't very good and none of the songs seemed very special, are you stating this as fact, or is this just your opinion?

I happened to really like it save the heavily autotuned 'Can you feel the love tonight'

Actually, I discussed it with Brian, and I've been reliably informed that Jeff Foskett was made promises during the recording of this album that Brian was not prepared to keep. And because of that, the album ended up being a disaster, treading over Brian's past glories.

It's been a while since I listened to it but I actually prefer Brian's version of "We Belong Together" - at least in the chorus.

Brian's voice sounds AMAZING on "Color of the wind" he sounds like the Brian that sang "Surfs up", he sounds younger on it and has a nasally sound that we haven't heard in awhile, but yeah "Baby Mine" is another one I like..

I call Bullshit.

It's funny how widely tastes can vary. I'd originally had little interest in this album, The Gershwin album having left me cold. But with the coming of That's Why God Made The Radio I gave both a try and found myself rather delighted. In fact, I've done a compilation and fine the three albums sit quite nicely together.

So, I'll give it, Disney, a thumbs up.  

You can think what you want. But I know I'm right. You guys can argue over all this stuff if you want, but I'm just saying that Foskett was promised a full bucket of KFC after recording one night. And Brian ate half the bucket on his own. He made promises that he could not keep. Now if it went the other way around and it was Brian who got screwed out of chicken, you guys would be up in arms. But because it's poor Jeff Foskett, you guys overlook it.

Lovely stuff.  :lol

I disagree with you wholeheartedly.  I think it's one of his best solo albums... IN MY OPINION, and this is of course just my opinion, Brian's always suffered from a lack of good lyrics in his solo career.  I've always enjoyed his voice, I've always of course enjoyed his masterful production which is still every bit as sharp as it ever was... I've always enjoyed his genius when it comes to arranging harmony and the backing vocal 'pads' or whatever you want to call that thing he does.  Lyrically, though... he's always been a little weak. 

So, in the Disney album, here's a whole album full of well-written songs.  They've already proven the test of time, that's some damn fine songwriting.  It leaves Brian to do what he does best, and I think on the album he did an amazing job.  They're all produced well, and the vocals are for the most part very nicely done.

I don't like the Newman songs.  I've never been a big fan of his, and even if you are a fan of his you have to admit that he's very stylized, and isn't a good artist to cover.  Brian just doesn't sing them very well, but not because of his 'old man' voice but just because it's not his type of music.  I wish he would have abandoned things like "You've got a friend in me", which is a great song, for some more of the classic stuff.  How the album ended up not having "Chim Chim Cheree" and things like that is beyond me, he would do fantastic with stuff like that.

The album seems very intelligently done to me.  Songs like "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" Brian KNOWS he can't outsing Elton John on that.... so instead, he strips it down as far as a Brian Wilson song can go, and sings it very plainly, almost like a kid would sing it at a school play or something.  Similar treatment to "Colors of the Wind".  He sounds beautiful on both of those songs.  I love the gimmicky "Heigh Ho/Whistle While You Work/Yo Ho" mix up too. 

I've got to admit I've never heard the original "Baby Mine" so I dont' know how much of it's Brian and how much of it's the original arrangement, but that song is gorgeous.  Brian sounds about as good as he possibly can on that, with even a few falsetto notes here and there, just an amazing vocal considering his age.  I'm sure it's all sweetened up and auto-tuned and whatever, but my ear isn't sensitive to that stuff, all it does is make it sound better to me.  I hope he slathers it on everything from here on out if this kind of sound is the result. 

"Kiss the Girl" is another one I haven't heard.  When I was a kid It was part of my job description to do everything I could to not ever catch even a glimse of "The Little Mermaid"... maybe I should download them movie and watch it.  Brian kind of loses it a little bit vocally on this song, but the way he basically made it a 50's rock and roll song is great.  This song could either be horrible, or great, and i'm leaning towards great.  It's completely audacious that he even attempted it, gotta love that.

"When You Wish Upon A Star" is very well done too, although the songs so famous it's hard to listen to it over and over again having already heard it a million times in my life.  I love the line "Like a Bolt out of the blue/Fate steps in , and sees you through".  What a beautifully written song, it's sad that something this great loses a little bit of it's wonder when you've heard it a million times. 

Those are the songs that stick out in my mind.  I also like "Bear Necessities" but it's a guilty pleasure.

Best vocals of his solo career, unfortunately wasted on this material. "Baby Mine", though, is a keeper.

It's something he probably could have done better when he was younger.

Funnily, I tend to dislike these exact ones, esp. "Colors of the Wind". So extremely dull, it's easily the worst Disney song. Woulda be really cool if Brian had ended up trying "Fox & Hound" instead. "Baby Mine", vocally, is mesmerizing, only it's too slow for my taste. The latter I liked for a mo', but it faded away eventually. The saxophone intro is a dire.

"Stay Awake" have still remained my favorite track, same is "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" (Simba's version is much better though. Very sunny). The Randy covers are cool; I'm with mikeyj on preferring them over originals. "When You Wish Upon A Star" is wonderful! I never fail to be struck by that stunning a cappella at the beginning. Brian must have loved this oldie as a kid.

To summarize the above: decent solo effort, nothing more than that (though I agree with the next-door poster, Brian does indeed sound impressive on the rec).

I agree. This might've worked in the early 70s I think and maybe even that would've been a little late already.

Thinking about this album just makes me realise that Brian`s solo career has been too focused on cover versions and not enough emphasis has been placed on his own compositions (especially as some of the unreleased songs that he has written are strong). The Disney Album was professionally done but it has no spark for me and feels forced.

Sadly, I have to mostly agree with this. Though, I probably wouldn't go as far as "awful."

I think the above tracks work the best because Brian sounds the best on them (particularly Baby Mine), at least in terms of his modern voice, but the material just seems so at odds with the artist here even though the band gives us those occasional flourishes that are supposed to remind us that the whole affair's being "Brianized."

I just can't wrap myself around him doing stuff like Can You Feel The Love Tonight. For me, it's mostly going through the motions MOR...minus Joe Thomas, and frankly, I'm all "cover version-ed" out these days. I can honestly understand why it was quietly released with so little fanfare. On the other hand, if it resonates with others, I think that's great. Maybe, I'm just not a Disney tune guy?

On a somewhat amusing side note, when the album was first released to iTunes, there was only one review for it (a glowing one)..........and it was from Melinda.

Hmmm.....  

A much better album than anyone gives it credit for. Fabulous lead vocals, great relaxed vibe to backing tracks. A bit bland in places, but overall the only real fault is the over-reliance on 80s and 90s Disney soundtrack material.


He's released 10 solo studio albums. Three are mostly previously unheard solo material, one is assembled from Paley sessions and Sweet Insanity tracks, one is recut Beach Boys tunes and one is Smile. That's six of the total. Of the remaining four, one is a Christmas album (with five of the songs written by BW), one is a collaboration with Van Dyke Parks (for which BW did vocal arrangements), one is the Gershwin record (which Brian wrote two songs for), and one was the Disney album. I guess you can quibble over percentages, etc., but that hardly seems like a career focused on cover versions.

It seems like the career of a guy who didn't get record deals for his 90s solo tunes, who wasn't that enthused about re-cutting them (the one album where he did that -- GIOMH -- didn't go over well), and who otherwise was interested in revisiting his past and past collaborators.

But still, half a bucket of chicken is better than no bucket at all!

 8)

I think it's a good album for what it is. The vocals are good, and some of the arrangements are cool. Heigh-ho cracks me up every time.

Do I make a point of listening to it? Not really. Some of them aren't really great songs, IMO. Can You Feel the Love Tonight isn't really my thing. But the album is nicely done. If Brian does this kind of stuff to keep his gears in working order for the next creative project, or if he does it for his own enjoyment, I don't mind. I don't make a point of listening to Monkey's Uncle either.

My theory for why this album is so overlooked is because it seems effortless.

Not lazy -- Brian's singing is way more polished than in his GIOMH days.  But there's no sign of struggle -- he just pulls it off.  At the same time, he's not doing anything wildly ambitious.  There's nothing for fans to either celebrate his triumph over the odds, or agonize about him having screwed up.

But that means that people overlook all the stuff he and the band get up to here.  For heaven's sake, "Heigh Ho" is the first time Brian's done a track in the style of "Vegatables" since 1967 -- surely that's worth being noticed!

Cheers,
Jon Blum

I didn`t say it was entirely focused. Just too focused in my opinion. Especially as there have been the Beach Boys covers in addition to the genuine covers (and I`m not talking about Smile there). 3 of the last 4 solo albums have been covers albums after all. That is obviously largely down to the record companies though.

I never really listened to it.  Totally dismissable in my book. 

I want to like it, but I can't. It's well-sung, beautifully played and arranged, but I am not really a fan of the Disney songs and the choice of the lame modern day Disney songs drags the album down several notches for me.

Ditto. I do like the Christmas bonus track and it's made its way onto my BW/BB Christmas album plus one of my more general Christmas compilations.

It was the best of times, the worst of times, an age of reason with a rage for rhymes
Sound and fury, sounds of Disney, cries for peace amidst the Mickey
Black and white issues and the animation, fear and loathing in the Disney nation
Stormy seas and sunny skies above, now we're looking back, looking back with love

By George, I think you've got it.

For me, it's his best solo album, after Imagination (and BW Presents SMiLE of course).  I think it's the most overlooked gem in his solo catalog.  It came off WAY better than expected.  It all feels so damn natural.  That's what gets me most.  As if it was therapeutic for him to do this -- and not be forced to write another song about himself and his troubles.

Nothing feels contrived or overly analyzed... none of that.  I don't get this relaxed, easy feeling as much with the Gershwin or Christmas album.  I really think he loved this effort... maybe because expectations weren't so high?

Not only are the performance fantastic, but the material is SO DAMN refreshing.  These songs DO NOT show up on rock albums.  Maybe jazz occasionally.  So they're not stale.  He does a great job of turning these songs into modern FM ready hits.  You wouldn't know they're "Disney Songs."  Yet, the melodies have sweetness and heart, given their source.... it's not surprising.  Dumbo.  I love Dumbo, and always loved Baby of Mine.  And Brian nailed it!!!

The album is the perfect combination and example of the innocent and ingenious Brian Wilson mystique, alive n' well.  Seriously, this material fits him like a glove. 

I enjoyed this album when it came out, it's not unpleasant. And to Brian's credit, I really could not imagine a song like 'Colors of the Wind' working with his voice, but it kind of does. And how can you not enjoy those versions of 'The Bare Necessities' and the 'Heigh-Ho' medley? So much fun. I did get bored with this album pretty quickly though. And it's certainly the most unnecessary album Brian ever made.

Those are better lyrics than the ones on the actual Looking Back With Love.

Bean Bag, you really nailed it for me. It's the relaxed, natural vibe of the album that's so refreshing. I compared it at the time to Friends -- there's something very low-key and pleasant about the whole thing. And like Friends, it's less about any individual track (although there are good ones), than about the feel of everything working together.

half or more of the Disney songs I had not heard anyways...

so for the most part, these were 'new' songs to me and I had nothing to compare to..

favourite? colours of the wind, hands down...... Brian sounds so cool and relaxed on this one

RickB

There is somethign lacking in this album. It feels plastic and polished. It is lacking in soul to my ears. The production is terribly stale imo, it's as if it was decided that giving it pet sounds instrumentation then everything would be a-okey.

Jeez, I'm glad I don't expect a lot from Brian Wilson's solo career otherwise I might be disappointed too. I'm just glad we get things like "Message Man" and "Being With The One You Love" and even "Somebody To Watch Over Me" or "Baby Mine" every so often. Otherwise I'm pretty lukewarm to the whole enterprise to be perfectly on the level. If I get blown away at some point by something he puts out, well, that'd be nice too...

Agreed!

I just put this album on because of this thread. Brian sounds cool and confident. He sounds like he's enjoying himself. If this was just something for him to have fun with, I think that's great.

I thought the choice of covers really sucked. Disney has some songs that give good arrangers serious breathing room. To be honest, I feel like Brian had very little to do with the song selection. I think they let him pick a couple tunes, he put some work into those, and then Darian and Jeff carried the rest of the project. I don't think it's a coincidence that the songs from films like Mary Poppins, Snow White, and etc. tended to be the best. Do you see the Brian Wilson we know and love really giving a flying crap about a Toy Story 3 song?

In terms of Brian involvement, I'm guessing this was the modern equivalent of American Spring.

I had a three-year old when this came out who is now five, so I've listened to it quite a bit. She enjoys it, and it's grown on me. A fun project. That said, I can see where it wouldn't be for everyone.

I reckon with all those kids Brian has probably seen all the toy story films many times over. In the key of disney is pure enjoyment from start to finish imo.

Brian doesn't watch Toy Story at home, ever. He watches the Golden Oldies station.

AGREED [3] - I really like Reimagines Gershwin too, though. That and Disney do feature a couple of gorgeous seasoned BW vocals.

Norbit.

I agree wholeheartedly.  I think it was a perfect fit. 

Yeah... I think if you listen to his vocal on "When You Wish Upon a Star"... although that songs been done to death, listen to how he sings it.  If he would sing all of his music that intelligently, with that mature of a voice, with that nuance, with that breath control, pauses in the perfect place, etc.   It's masterful.  I wish he would do that with everything anymore... what could have been guys.  I think we missed a lot of great music out of this man due to illness or just not caring about the material.  He L-O-V-E-S that song, and sings it on the level of Sinatra, just masterful singing. 

I feel like a broken record today, but... I don't like it.

Gershwin - Disney - That's Whay God Made the Radio : Three late period classics, a true return to form.

I don't know how Brian feels about Toy Story 3, but I know how he feels about Randy Newman.

Absolutely agree with this. It's an incredible turnaround from That Lucky Old Sun onwards.

At some point post-GIOMH I may well have thought that Brian had become a disinterested and substandard singer with nothing new to offer (and I like GIOMH), touring with weak performances of Beach Boys hits backed by a good band who inadvertently emphasised Brian's flaws as a singer and performer rather than covered for them. At his age, with his problems and his track record, there wasn't exactly much to hope for from future output. I enjoyed BWPS for what it was but it still wasn't something to fill me with confidence in anything new and the follow up wasn't exactly thrilling. But since 2008 he's completely turned things around in my view. His vocals are very good again and sometimes excellent, studio work has been very well produced and there's been some great new material. His work over the last five years is really something to be proud of. I think Brian hit his stride with TLOS and has rediscovered his true home in the studio (with some apparently good live performances along the way). So I'm really looking forward to what comes next.

After GIOMH I pretty much lost interest for a while. I couldn't see what Brian had left to offer and although I enjoyed TLOS a bit (without listening too much to it) I didn't even listen to the Gershwin or Disney albums when they came out (partly due to low expectations and partly because I was so busy with other things in life). Two things changed for me:

1. The reunion and That's Why God Made the Radio - that made me take notice of Brian again, with good vocals, good performances etc.
2. My son got into Dumbo from 3-4 months old. I'd loved the film when I was young and put it on one day when he was due a nap and he was transfixed - he wasn't and isn't hugely into TV and doesn't sit through anything else for more than 5 minutes but he'll happily watch Dumbo right to the end. After rediscovering Dumbo I wondered if Brian had recorded anything from that on his Disney album, which led me to Baby Mine and then the whole album. His version of Baby Mine is fantastic and its a stunning vocal.

I might change the song choices slightly but by and large they're well-chosen, well produced and very well sung. My main complaint would be that 'A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes' was included only as a bonus track on some releases, which still puzzles me. It's one of the best recording of Brian's solo career - with the fantastic intro reminiscent of a sinister 'Sail on Sailor'.

I agree with the above post.. The Disney LP is a little uneven due to choice of songs but every thing since TLOS has been stellar.. I believe BW was rejuvenated with finishing SMILE and has stepped up his game.. The monkey on his back is gone..