The Smiley Smile Message Board

This thing is what I am dancing to every time. Can't get enough of it. Decidedly it has features of 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' (intro) and 'Holidays' in it. It's a breeze. And it ends in string quartet form.

It should be #1 worldwide. It's the playful Brian from the days of 'Three Blind Mice', 'Trombone Dixie', and 'Barnyard'.

I wouldn't mind if The BW Orchestra would release a CD with instrumental ditties twice a year from now on.

eeehhh...any takers, perhaps?

First time I heard it I nearly fell off my chair laughing. Stone genius. Only Brian...

LOL, great reply!

It really is an amazing track - the musical equivalent to being tickled.  It's simply impossible for me to play it without smiling.  I'd so be up for a whole cd of Brian instrumentals.  Count me in!

To me it is the standout track on the album. Lack of vocals might prevent it from being a hit so I say release as a double A side with TCTTAFM. Follow up with It Ain't Necessarily So B/W TLIILY.

I think I probably could have done without the "Wouldn't It Be Nice" intro, but that's a very minor quibble. It's good to hear something so genuinely joyful from the man these days. Even some of the better BW solo material of recent years used to sound a bit stiff and robotic. This song doesn't.

Received my own copy of BWRG only two days ago, so I'm still in the process of discovering little details and favorite moments.

I have to remember not to listen to this while shopping - brings a whole new, and very terrible, meaning to the phrase "dancing in the aisles".  :o

Although BWRG is an album on which Brian has received lots of props here for his carefully sung vocals, it's a bit ironic that this instrumental is by far and away my favourite track, too. As a whole, I find the album (which I've also only received over the last week) a bit MOR-ish and staid for the most part, and I also seriously wonder who would buy it. It's too Beach Boys for Gershwin fans and most young'uns won't have a clue who Gershwin is anyway.

But this track is just... unashamedly, relentlessly joyous. It's fabulous. It had me by about 15 seconds in.

All that said, props to Brian for doing what *he* feels inspired to do - no-one can seriously doubt the man's love for Gershwin's songcraft - and his vocals *are* bloody good on it, too, even if it blands to infinity for me for much of the time...

MattB

PS Some tracks do bring a smile to my face: Love Is Here To Stay brings to mind Sally from When Harry Met Sally dragging her Christmas tree home through the snow, it's so smooth... I've Got A Crush On You is equally sweet and beautifully sung, and I like the reinventions of It Ain't Necessarily So and Someone To Watch Over Me. And lastly, Nothing But Love is the MOR guilty pleasure I thought I hated at first, but it's working its Wilson magic on me as time has gone on until I've found myself humming it in the shower. But if I'm honest, none of them stir me as much as Plenty O'Nuthin'...

Being the most "Beach Boyish" of all the tracks I'd say They Can't take that Away From Me is my favourite. Don't listen to it on headphones though, the backing vocals are a bit crap.

My 17-month old son loves this track. He stops what he's doing whenever it comes on and "dances" (i.e. bounces up and down).

It reminds me of a non-album track from the late 60s, around Friends/20/20 era. Is it Old Man River? Off the top of my head...

It sounds just like it, in terms of the production too, not just the melody. And that is high praise indeed.

This is absolutely my favorite from the album.  I threw a quick mix of it bookended by the two 'Rhapsody In Blue" segments to put in my ipod. 

That's how I dance as well.

Wouldn't it be interesting if Brian won a second Grammy for an instrumental?

Wondered about that. Exactly how many 'rock instrumentals' are released every year? Can it be that many? When "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" won, was there any competition?

I think of Christmas too, when I hear Love Is Here To Stay.

I love it as well!! My kids bounce around in the car whilst listening..

I tend to put it on my ipod for awesome moments, like leaving the house and strutting down the street like the bass-harmonica-fuelled motherfucker i am.

It is, for all intents and purposes, a solid jam.

Best track on t'album IMHO. Followed by TCTTAFM.

There seems to be some consensus here...

Yes, and I am very pleasantly surprised... whenever I play it, I am transported back to some 40+ years ago. Whimsical, funny, inventive Brian, recording these things at the drop of a hat. I find it wonderful that children fall for it too... there is something universally human at work here, which may be very much deeper than we sometimes think.

At any rate, it almost ranks with the oeuvre of you-know-who.

For some reason "Nothing But Love" reminds me of 15 Big Ones-era Beach Boys, probably because of the sax and organ work being somewhat reminiscent of some of BW's late-seventies productions. Very catchy and the vocal arrangement starting at 2:02 really takes it to another level.

Except for BW88 (which I think was very ambitious and even had some downright experimental moments) most of BW's solo releases have been very MOR-ish. For me it's an element that's hard to swallow sometimes (as I've always been a huge fan of the more leftfield BB material). BWRG is no exception, but to these ears the overall sound is very tasteful and imaginative this time (the same applies to the majority of the Lucky Old Sun material).

I'm going to give this a few more spins. It's a very pleasant album and maybe it's going to become one of my favorite BW solo records.

Nice call. I had a dream last night in which BWRG was playing, I really could decipher the songs. Which only happens with me with albums I will like forever.

My son is a six year old Aussie kid and he walks around singing I loves you porgy. This album has opened up a new world for him and brought Gershwin to a new generation. I Got Plenty O'Nuthin is his 2nd fave on the album and he even sings words to it!!! Pet Sounds, BWPS,TLOS and the new album have been his musical progression.. Front row at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, we cannot wait!!

I just gotta say again, this album is blowing me away.

Every track has got something that keeps me coming back.  

This morning, Nothing But Love sounded so simple, pure, and fun.  I agree it is like a 15 Big Ones track, and also, it reminds of MIU.  I particularly love the singing on this track.  Very subtlely fill of nuance, with good tone and phrasing.

Back to I've Got Plenty of Nothin, yeah, this track at first wasn't my favorite when I first heard an mp3 version, but WHEN I heard the official CD, and the great sonics, this instrumental jumped into life, and completely blew me away.  It has great texture and drive.

Lovely call, that. Thanks.

I wish he would've Smiley- or Love You-ized Gershwin...

You know, today I realized that this is one of the very few albums of recent memory that make me want to just sit back and listen. No distractions, please. That's a good sign I reckon...

Same with me. It's decidedly a grower. The more I become familiar with it, the more it becomes my favourite nightcap, together with a red wine or something.

There is definitely some Love You underneath the over the top/cheese string arrangements

Please explain? You were trying to be so cute with your reply that I cannot understand your meaning. Thanks!

i fixed it.