The Smiley Smile Message Board

so, i haven't gotten this album, mostly cause i keep hearing bad things about it.  But in 30 second clips it doesn't soound bad at all.  More appealing than BW88 and Imagination to me.  the instrumentation all sounds good to me.  

now, i've heard that brian wasn't into it at all, and that it's been practically disowned.  Is there a reason why?  Did Brian really not have much to do with it?  I dunno, sounds like there's some solid hooks in there, even the harmonies sound nice.  if he wasn't into it, seems like a big waste of some songs with potential.

I think a lot of fans are jaded because most of the album is made up of older, unreleased songs that were re-recorded.  Supposedly, in many cases, the original versions were better.  However, for someone who had not previously heard the original recordings to compare, the album does stand up on it's own.

1. Brian's vocal performance is, to be kind, disinterested on the new recordings. Some of his bvs are truly lamentable.

2. The best tracks were all recorded at least six months (and in one case closer to ten years) earlier.

3. The mix could be a lot better (and I reiterate, from what I've been told, not Mark's fault)

4. The track selection was... interesting

5. Overall, it sucks.

Works good if you listen to it more of an "official bootleg" . As an album, it sucks.  Collection of previously unreleased song, it's alright.

"The flowers diiiiiiiieeeeeeddddd" on Fairy Tale is quite possibly the worst note I've heard by anybody anywhere.

If you're expecting or hoping for a coherent album like Pet Sounds, then you'll be sorely disappointed. If you take it as a collection of (mostly good) songs written over a 15 year period and which had previously gone without release then you probably won't be disappointed.

AGD is correct that Brian has lost interest by the time some of the vocals were recorded....that goes for leads and backing. He's excited about and interested in some tracks....and couldn't care less about others. And we know Brian will simply not give a good performance if he's not into it.

I wouldn't say "overall it sucks" but it's a 6/10 record....it has some nice songs on it for sure but its not great. There are moments when you'll think "Hey, that is really nice" and moments when you will think "Oh god, how could Brian have let that be released?"

Forgot to say this earlier, but still better than Speed Turtle! :D

I really enjoyed the cd when it came out. It was the soundtrack to my summer of 2004. However when BWPS came out it was kind of easy to forget.

I still will take it over Imagination any day! And I never want to hear Sweet Insanity EVER again!

I don't think I prefer GIOMH over Imagination. The abysmal nature of Joe Thomas' production is hard to ignore but at least it was kind of an ambitious project and Brian's overall vocal performance was quite remarkable. That said, I hardly ever listen to either record. Sometimes I do and after a couple of minutes I put on Today or Love You instead.

I used to despise Imagination until I recently came across an alternate mix of the album. I have no idea where it came from or who did it, but IMHO is much better than the released version (despite being obviously unfinished). There were actually some really cool parts buried in the mix on many tracks...I think "overproduced" is a good description...

I have the 2 LP set. The first LP has a few good songs like Desert Drive and City Blues. Most of it is medicore. The production is better then on his 80's and 90's work. More natural. That's about the only good thing I can say. 4/10

I only really like 3 songs from Imagination: "She Says That She Needs Me", "Lay Down Burden" and "Happy Days". I have no problem with the production actually, I just find the bulk of songs underwhelming.

GIOMH on the other hand is full of quirky songs like "Saturday Morning In The City", "Rainbow Eyes", "The Waltz", etc. It's been a while since I've listened to it (since the summer it came out actually) but I remember playing it over and over. Maybe I would have a change of heart if I heard it now. I still prefer the Paley sessions over both of those albums.

GIOMH gets a lot of bad criticism which I think is unfair. Surely it's better than Going Pubic or First Love for instance???

Nothing beats Going Pubic, esp. when you're wife is hot like mine. ^_^

No, I really don't think so. I would say that the latter of those albums is comfortably superior.

The problems with GIOMH:

1, Mostly juvenile and dire lyrics.
2, Some of the worst vocals ever recorded by a Beach Boy.
3, The mix.
4, Almost all old songs.
5, The sequencing.
6, The horrible feeling that Brian was pushed into the studio to record and couldn't wait to get out.

4 out of 10 and that certainly isn't harsh imo.

I think it is kind of a neat little collection...in fact, I would love to see the Beach Boys cover " How Could We Still Be Dancin'?" - it is a real rocker...and begs the question "Why do we really still love this music?" - And the answer might be because it still "sings to us" and it is so "in your face" to that world who much maligned rock and roll as the music of the Devil himself.  I could see Mike Love doing real justice to this song, as much as "Rock and Roll Music!"

It is awesome to once again hear the voice of Carl...on Soul Searchin' - the first time I heard the cut, I got a chill from the great one who sings "from heaven" - and "Fairy Tale" - does  anyone even wonder if Brian is singing to a woman's perspective...even though, we still make up half the planet! ("reverse the curse" - reminds me of a 'certain' baseball team who did that in 2004)
It is a given that most of the posters here are men, so why not step back and look at it from our perspective...what would appeal to a woman's psyche? 

"Don't Let Her Know She's and Angel" and "The Waltz" - are pretty much in the same category...and while the 6/10 assessment is pretty dead on, it is not bad song writing.  This is another one where I did not hear much promo, not unlike Brian's Gershwin...and it seems they did not use much, if anything, in the live context. 

But, before all you guys are so harsh with it, why not ask a woman what she thinks?  I think the lyrics of "The Waltz" are hilarious but also, not far from the 1960's mentality was, with the "angora sweaters, two steps forward and one step right back to your youth" and, for Van Dyke Parks, more "concrete"  than his "columnated ruins domino."  It seems that during that time there were a lot of back-to-back releases from Brian.  Every song is not a block-buster but it might have had some stuff that is just personally-reflective for Brian.  ;)   

what tracks do you refer to?

I'll take the 80's and 90's AOR production over the garbage on GIOMH anyday.

Desert Drive was recorded in an earlier session (2002, I think). The title track comes from 98 or so, immediately after the Imagination sessions. The tracks for both Soul Searchin and SMITC (and much of the backing vocals for the latter) come from 94-95.

GIOMH was promoted somewhat by default, as when it was released everybody concerned was also looking forward to SMiLE which had already been performed live to great acclaim and many headlines.

Brian appeared on numerous TV shows, perhaps not specifically to promote GIOMH but it was usually mentioned. He was just in the media spotlight a lot because of SMiLE.....GIOMH sales will have benefitted from that.



Many of Brian's songs might be considered to be tapping into his feminine side. That might make it easier for a woman to take them the way they're intended, or to listen to songs about deep feelings without cringing. Personally I am in touch with my feelings anyway.

Soul Searchin' and GIOMH were performed on the SMiLE tour, I doubt anything else has been...wait a minute I think Desert Drive was at some concerts.

"City Blues" was also performed on the same tour but it wasn't as strong without Clapton on guitar.

City Blues, too.

You beat me!

They also performed "How Could We Still Be Dancin" at a couple of shows.

Brian has performed more songs from GIOMH on his solo tours than from BW88.

Of course - it was the current release on the 2nd 2004 tour.

Desert Drive stayed til 2005, at least, cos I remember seeing him play it in Brighton that year!

AGD, I've been meaning to ask - were you at that show?

Before one of the GIOMH tunes in the Glasgow BWPS show--really early March '04, I guess--he introduced one of the tunes as being from his next album along the lines of "..which will be coming out on my next album, in ... actually, I don't know when it's coming out." The audience laughed. Obviously, this being a fucking Smile show. One of my favorite BW concert moments.

I had actually heard a lot of praise for Scott Bennett's (I think he played it) guitar work on City Blues when they toured it...even more than Clapton's.  Speaking of Clapton and BW, I know Clapton has said he's been influence by BW (maybe Pet Sounds), does his music with Cream or the Dominoes or his solo efforts show that influence? I'm not as familiar with his work

If anything, the piano coda for Layla sounds like something Dennis would do.

The piano coda to Layla was actually written by Derek and the Dominos drummer, Jim Gordon, who played percussion on Pet Sounds as a member of the wrecking crew!  Unfortunately, he came to a very sad end, murdered his mother, and is in an insane asylum now...

The Derek and the Dominos stuff is really driven as much by Duane Allman as by Clapton, he was the better guitarist in that band (hard as it is to imagine Clapton not being the best guitarist in his own band!) but if anything, there's more of a Phil Spector influence than a brian wilson one.  Although it is clearly a blues record, it has a really fat wall of sound sort of production that reminds me a little of All Things Must Pass...which makes perfect sense, since Derek and the Dominoes were a large part of the backing band on All Thing Must Pass earlier that very year, and so they had been working with Spector...in fact, Spector produced their first single, Tell the Truth, which was released and then immediately pulled...they rerecorded it for the album. 

The Beach Boys connections are getting even more tenous now, but I believe Jim Gordon and Dominos bass Carl Radle also played on the Mad Dogs and Englishman Tour with Joe Cocker, which, if I've got my stories straight, means they may have shown up at one David Mark's house in Boston and caused quite a stir!! 

As for the rest of Clapton's stuff, I don't think that his 60s work was really overtly Wilson influenced, I think he just liked the records.  And his post Dominos work is pretty boring so far as I'm concerned...I don't know if it has a Beach Boys influence because I havn't listened to much of it, but he really lost his touch... 

On a related topic, I think it's really interesting how it seems many of the members of this board have non beach boys musical interests that are pretty weird and that they have delved pretty deeply into...someone, if I recall, collects rare ska records or something of that sort?  I know that I for a long time liked Duane Allman and the Allman Bros. almost as much as the Beach Boys (hence my knowledge about Derek and the Dominos) and that's really saying something! 

I also collect John Fahey records. 

bj

@%@#^@#^!!

The story of Jim Gordon is one of the saddest in rock music. It's to bad he ended up the way he did. He was one hell of a drummer!

Between BW88 and BWPS, Brian didn't do much of note except IJWMFTT which is really great as a showcase, nto of his performance, but of his sheer songwriting ability. Imagination is an overrated song, so is Love and Mercy, and I lvoe BW88, but up until BWPS he hadn't done much except BW88 which is like Love You 2.5 (With Adult/Child being the .5). I really dig Lucky Old Sun and BWRG though, Smile really got him back on track. His awesome band of Brian Wilson cultists probbaly helps. Brian really deserves some cultists and it's good he's got a whole band of brilliant ones.

I guess I'm saying f*** Imagination. Even without the sh*t production it's just not great. lay Down burden is close but the sh*t lyrics ruin it. I know Brian Wilson Song Lyrics aren't a thing to go by, but usually even the bad ones have some character. The TLOS lyrics, even when not stellar, have character. Imagination just lacks character.

Yes, I was.

you've got to be one of the worst trolls ever

Run -- I would definitely try the album. You can buy it on Amazon, used, for a buck. Worst that can happen is you don't like it. I've defended the darn thing since it came out -- not to deny the obvious issues, but to accept them in the way we accept a lot of such stuff with Brian, and actually listen.

There was a real conceptual problem with the record. Brian had jjst premiered Smile live. In the summer of 04, the last thing anyone wanted to hear from him was a collection of modest originals. If it had been released at a different time, with a slightly more flattering mix and better sequencing, people might talk about it in a very different way.

The main problem I have with Imagination. (And yes, Gettin' In Over My Head) is that they basically sound like Brian pushing out product. Those two albums are the ones most lacking the spark of genius on your average Wilson album, and it shows horribly. The stupid 90s synths don't help either, sucking a lot of life out of the songs.

That said, there's still high points on both albums, and they should both be checked out by someone with more than a passing interest in Wilson.

Not sure it would have helped any had it been released as originally intended December 2003/January 2004. To adopt the Stein (G.) idiom, "rubbish album is a rubbish album is a rubbish album"


Good reason for that - Brian wasn't that much interested in either project. But he went along with the joke, just to be amenable.

That's him on Classical Gas by Mason Williams, one of his all time greatest performances kicking an orchestra like that, and he was a young man in his 20's. Amazing talent. Tons of hit records on his resume, yet he got written out of rock history on a lot of those records, where his credits stand among the more widely-known session drummers like Blaine, Palmer, Purdie, Porcaro, etc.

Also...Check out Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band's version of "Apache"...that is Jim Gordon laying down a funky drum groove that was soon to be sampled literally hundreds of times and appeared on rap and breakbeat grooves from artists like the Sugarhill Gang to Beck and beyond. That drum groove has been listed as among the most sampled in history, and it's Jim Gordon.

Plus, he's on the original Fire!

It's a tragedy in his personal life but by the same token his work has to be separated from his personal life to be recognized and appreciated on the level it should be. Jim was one of the best ever.

PS...he also showed Frank Zappa how to "tap" notes with two hands on the guitar, according to what Zappa revealed in a television interview in the 70's.

Personal taste, dear sir. And please note that I added in a couple of other caveats -- mix and sequencing. Add those, along with time of release, and the reception may well have been different.


That strikes me as too simplistic, certainly in the case of Imagination.

-----

To me, and this has been my feeling since the album was released, GIOMH is a low-key, sometimes ramshackle ramble through Brian's unreleased solo output. It has many charming moments, some real sparks of inspiration and a few great songs. It's also too long, mixed somewhat carelessly, has a couple of duff songs and is poorly sequenced. But it's nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be. It is, in fact, a decent BW solo album.

At the Portsmouth Guildhall in August 2004, Brian introduced SMiLE by saying something along the lines of "Are you guys ready for SMiLE? I wrote it for you. It hasn't been released yet. It's going to be, I think, I'm not sure when".....the release was just weeks away! Still I guess that wasn't of interest to him.

In the first half, he announced he was going to sing the title track from his latest album (GIOMH) and a lady in the audience shouted out "Brian, I love listening to your new CD" and it really put him off for about half a verse.

AGD can confirm if my memory is correct as I believe he was there.

I was, and you are. One of the more personally embarrassing gigs I've been to as I had to leave during the encore to catch the last train home, and as the show wasn't spectacularly well attended, my exit was most obvious. And it got worse: about a week later, in London backstage after a show, I was collared by a band member who said "we saw you walk out of the Portsmouth show before the end - were we that bad ?"

I didn't notice you leave, I was fairly near the front...4th row. Guy about Jeff Foskett's size with a big camera :)

The Guild Hall certainly wasn't full, which surprised me. I'd estimate it was 3/4 or more full however, there was a good atmosphere...especially for the encores which achieved the near impossible feat of getting me up and dancing. I just don't dance, I have at least two left feet. I wish I'd managed to record the gig now...as no recordings have surfaced. After a slow start, Brian was on form as far as I could tell.

I maintain that Brian's lead vocal on "Gettin' In Over My Head" during his Oct. 2004 show at the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor, MI was fantastic, significantly stronger than on the album (perhaps smoother than the earlier Paley run-through as well). Even with a great performance of BWPS that night, it was one of the show's highlights for me.

Was it... good? I really enjoyed myself, but then I was 15 and had next to no clue about Brian besides Pet Sounds and my new copy of BWPS..... It was also the first time I heard a LOT of beach boy hits!

Is there a setlist floating about? I checked Erics site, but it's not up there.

Wasn't the best I've ever seen him - Birmingham next night was better, and the same setlist - but he was OK. On the other hand, Hampton Court, the first show of the summer '05 European tour, was absolutely dire. Band were under-rehearsed (not just my opinion, that's what one of them told me), the sound was diabolical and Brian just wasn't interested that night. That said, the Henrys and Henriettas surrounding me thought it was just great. Go figure.

If you're at any of the RFH gigs next year, come up and say 'hi' - I'll be the one surrounded by about ten people and talking complete bollocks.  ;D

Thanks for the info! Looking at that setlist brings back some good memories. I had a nice time... I definitely remember Pet Sounds, GOK, In My Room and Surfer Girl (First time i heard them!), Marcella and especially Our Prayer...

I have to get a ticket first, but sure! I'll be the malnourished student in big glasses  :lol

Sure!  I think I've seen you on the TV with your long hair and pimples.

Agreed. It's main weakness imo is some of Brian's undeniably 'rough' bv's on the album (a real shame he didn't let his band to them all, not just on Desert Drive)and one or two slightly too 'twee' songs.. It has decent versions of two of his best then unreleased '90s songs (the title track and Soul Searchin) and has a nice, coherent sound to it.

For me, it's kind of the Love You of his noughties output. Coming to the material new at time of release, I was impressed with the quality of many of the songs.

Not Pet Sounds, Smile or That Lucky Old Sun, but a pleasant mid-range record.

I'd say his assembly line of godawful songs on MIU, KTSA, and the '85 album are applicable here too. And they were between twelve to twenty years before Imagination.

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!

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.

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!  ;D Also, the chorus isn't rushed at 100 miles an hour, like "You've Touched Me" was.

It is just you.  :-D

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.

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

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

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.

It wasn't Kelis :lol  "I'm bossy!"....:lol :lol :lol

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

Credited artist is Kle.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.'  :o