The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've just made a play list of Brian favourites

Including:

Four Freshmen
Sail Away - Randy Newman
Rhapsody in Blue - Gershwin
Be My Baby - The Ronettes

I'd be interested to extend this so if you know of other Brian Wilson favourites please tell me. Obviously more Phil Spector.

Norbit.

He recently said he liked "Let It Be" by The Beatles. 

I remember reading somewhere that he was a big fan of ELO's Eldorado when it came out. Also that he liked Forever by Roy Wood which was Wood's tribute to both Wilson and Neil Sedaka and he sings in the style of Carl Wilson (Wood plays saxophone on Its OK)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKHjcV5j9bs

Just off the top of my head...

You could probably put on a lot of Spector's stuff, not just Be My Baby although that's obviously a significant one.
Also, Chuck Berry and The Everly Brothers.

What a fool believes + heaps others I am sure there was a thread about this ages ago!!
He like the oldies station and the music played on it!
Maybe if the oldies station played POB Brian could hear it!

Thanks for reminding me, it just occurred to me that Phil Spector hand on this might have helped endear it to Brian

He's played "She's leaving home" in concert, i understand that Paul played it to him not long after he wrote it.

I've seen him say that he likes Pink Floyd's  Dark Side of the Moon.

he mentions Rosemary Clooney all the time.  He likes Nat King Cole a lot too. 

I've heard him specifically say that he couldn't ever listen to "Whiter Shade of Pale" because he though the organ playing in it was his own funeral music. 

He likes

"Games People Play" by Joe South.  lol. 

Oh, and of course :  "Proud Mary" by CCR

Do you know of any specific songs?

Brian actually attended Rosemary Clooney's funeral if you can believe that.  Brian liked her version of "When You Wish Upon a Star". 

He told Larry King that he loved Nat King Cole's "When I fall in Love" .  He also said he liked Perry Como, Andy Williams and Kenny Rogers, LOL!

Insomuch as it's a Spector record, and he loves them, he's had particular praise for A Christmas Gift For You.... Wiki says it's Brian's favourite record of all time  :lol

Hey thanks, Brian leads us down many strange pathways. I don't know that I can follow him to Perry Como, Andy Williams and Kenny Rogers.

Brian has mentioned Bach a few times. Anyone know if there are particular pieces of Bach's music that have made an impression on him?

I didn't hear back but I sent Brian an LP Kenny Rogers did with The Bobby Doyle Trio in 1962. They were kind of like the Freshman with a little Ray Charles thrown in.

My Obsession by the Rolling Stones

I'm surprised that he's not more into ELO (well, maybe he is, but he never speaks about them), specifically the albums from "Eldorado" up to and including "Time"

Like that story and that is a good song.

This Could Be The Night - MFQ

This reminds me of the "Lets Make a Mix cd for Brian" thread...with this choice post by your fav moderator The Real Beach Boy: http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,10476.msg191395.html#msg191395

"It's Magic" by Pilot and "76 Trombones" from Meredith Wilson's Music Man.

"Time" has some very Love You-esque synths onit. Imagine the BBs doing Twilight or Yours Truly? Time is easily my favourite ELO album

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't Brian said he likes Celine Dion's voice?  :o
He complimented Zooey Deschanel on the She and Him album, but maybe he was just taken with Zooey.

Celine Dion makes me want to vomit.

I like Celine.  Seems like a nice person.  Good voice.

Twilight is one of my top 5 favorite ELO tunes.  A BB version would be sublime!

Randy Newman as well.

I think its in LLVS where he's playing Beethoven's 5th symphony and Brian says he can never top something like that.

I know he likes "Switched-On Bach" - he said so in the liner notes of the "Caroline Now!" CD.

Do you know which one? I looked that up and there are two different albums with that title a strange early Moog version by Wendy Carlos and a cheesy modern one by Herbert Waiti.

I found a few others

Earth Angel - The Penguins (He mentions this in Beautiful Dreamer and it is such a Brian Wilson title)
Burt Bacharach - Not sure which songs

Can`t quote from my cell phone, but speaking of Celine Dion, I don`t think it was her voice that Brian was praising. IIRC, Brian thought she had "nice legs".

Speaking of ELO, Brian collaborated with Jeff Lynne on 'Let it Shine'

Brian told Larry King he did NOT care for Johnny Cash. He doesn't like his voice.

The Wendy Carlos one. Moogs, Moogs everywhere. I suspect it might have been a big influence for Brian.

Rag Doll - Aerosmith.  I can't remember where I heard he liked that song but it's stuck in my brain somewhere.

ISTR Brian saying he liked Carole King's Tapestry album somewhere.

Obviously, the Beatles Rubber Soul knocked him out so much he made Pet Sounds.

I'd seriously doubt he likes much music beyond about 1980, which is arguably the end of the 'classic' pop/rock/soul era anyway, so maybe he's right  :-D

At one point a few years back, he was actively listening to one of Michael Penn's albums--can't recall which. (BTW, I like 'em all!)

I've heard he was the one who got Spector into the Ramones.  He also liked "God Save the Queen" when he was on Jonesy's Jukebox to promote BWPS.

 He likes my bloody valentine and has spoken highly of Kevin Shields.

that's interesting.

Quote from Brian ;D
"WOW! I LOVE Kevin Shields! Loveless just blew me away. Knocked me clean outta my keds!"
Qmagazine
October 1996

Is this a joke? I want to believe it, though.

Its real, found it on an old thread...
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,1127.msg28798.html#msg28798

In an interview he said his favorite rolling stones song is "my obsession" which threw me off.

Zoey Deschanel makes me want to do something else, also gross but much more enjoyable

:D

i believe he said recently that "Strangers In The Night" is one of the prettiest songs ever written.

i think "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" is another favorite and probably "Unchained Melody"

there's always "The Letter"
and let's not forget "Shortenin' Bread"

Found a new one.  That's an old one. 

In this interview :

http://smashinginterviews.com/interviews/musicians/brian-wilson-interview-legendary-beach-boys-founder-reimagines-gershwin

The interviewer asks him what his three favorite songs are.  He mentions "Be My Baby", "Strangers In the Night", and "Walking in the Rain" which I've got to assume is the Ronettes version.  Very cool.

Then the guy asks him who his favorite singer is and he says Danny Hutton.  lol.

It was great exploring a whole lot of Brian's influences and taste. I've been reading Philip Lambert's book and he outlines quite a few.

The Hi Lo's - i had never heard of them before, I was really amazed, really clever inventive stuff kind of jazz harmony vocal, and really well recorded and really obviously influential on Brian.

The Everly Brothers
Chuck Berry
The Coasters
lots of Doo Wop

David Leaf writes that "Brian and Audree used to listen to records together, everything from Henry Mancini to rosemary Clooney to the Hi Lo's and, of course the Four Freshmen" Henry Mancini really makes sense in terms of Brian's work.

About "that Lovin' Feeling"

There's an old tape somebody posted up on this board (it's a link to youtube) from the early 90's of Brian meeting Bruce Johnston and somebody else (possibly Al, or Jeff Foskett?) in a hotel lobby, and all of them a little inebriated playing songs on the piano.  When they start playing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" Brian goes crazy, I would certainly think that's probably one of his favorites. 

I wonder what Brian was listening to in the Smile era. What often gets overlooked (in the name of the Beach Boys vs. The Beatles debate) is the place that The Beach Boys had in the LA scene. How did Brian see himself in relation to, say, The Byrds, Love, Buffalo Springfield, The Yellow Balloon, The Association, Harper's Bizarre or even obscure groups like, say, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band or The Peanut Butter Conspiracy. I mention this because just from listening to the material it seems that Brian took on very seriously the role of the artist in representing his place - whether that be the local surf scene or his place in the grander, American narrative.

I know that one of the bands he namechecks in an interview reprinted in LLVS is The Lovin' Spoonful. Also obvious, but I think it's around this time he actually learned to play Rhapsody in Blue, possibly off the Bernstein recording, so that had to have been an influence.

From "There's a Lot of Love in It",  Paul Williams' interview with Brian on December 4, 1995. In PW, How Deep Is The Ocean?, pp. 164-165.

BRIAN: I have a Kenny G album, his Christmas song album----have you heard it?
PAUL: No.
BRIAN: It's great. Really good. And then it starts skipping on this song, so my wife's gonna fix it tonight.

lol.  Brian doesn't know how CD's work.  That's cute. 

My Obsession was a big influence on Fire and Fall Breaks and all the associated stuff, as far as I'm aware. Just listen how similar it is. It was quite a revelation when a poster pointed this out recently and I listened again to the Stones track. I think it was a huge influence on some of the Smile music, Dada included!

The My Bloody Valentine quote is brilliant. Great to think Brian is (or was at least) into stuff that cool.

probably all of them. huge influence

Walk On By and Little Red Book were covered. and a half-assed attempt at Are You There.
any others?

Isn't there a period interview in LLVS where Brian's talking about a lot of other contemporary acts?  I seem to recall him coming across as pretty plugged-in.

I absolutely need a scan of this

no one has mentioned The Drifters yet?

Ruby Baby and On Broadway were covered, but I'll bet Bri liked Under The Boardwalk, Save The Last Dance For Me and There Goes My Baby as well...
Has he ever commented on them?

That's interesting.  On the very brief liner notes that he wrote for Classics Selected by Brian Wilson, he said that "Marcella" was the first song he wrote that was influenced by the Rolling Stones.

"ISTR Brian saying he liked Carole King's Tapestry album somewhere."

Listen to Natural Born Woman then to Pacific Coast Highway.

I'm sure I've read that he was a big fan of the incidental music for Laurel and Hardy.

Some of Brian's favorite albums:

Four Freshmen and Five Trombones by The Four Freshmen
Freshmen Favorites by The Four Freshmen
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector by various
Rubber Soul by The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles
Sail Away by Randy Newman

I'll add "Between the Buttons" by the Rolling Stones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7cGd-2C_gQ

Did Brian really like Sgt. Pepper's? He never seemed that thrilled about it, except when he was in the bean bag chair.

I know he loved 'She's Leaving Home' and was blown out by 'A Day In The Life' and beams proudly about Pet Sounds influencing Sgt. Pepper, so...i dunno, I just assumed he dug the album.

OF COURSE Brian loves Sgt. Pepper. We know that from 2:30 into this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5taTzrv400

 :lol

Yeah, that's what I was incorrectly trying to allude to when I mentioned the bean bag chair. I just didn't want to actually watch that clip again to confirm whether I was right or wrong.

He wrote the introduction to a book about The Beatles a few years back and cited that as his favorite album.  Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the book.

Found it!  It's The Beatles: Ten Years That Shook the World.

Curse you, Spaceman. You got me into watching a few clips of Summer Dreams, which I had heretofore never watched. UGH, makes An American Band look like the gospel truth.

ANYWAY. Brian must've like 'Gimme Some Lovin'' by the Spencer Davis Group and 'Baby I Need Your Lovin'' by the Four Tops since he smashed the two together back in the early '70s. Turns out he started the whole mashup craze long before Danger Mouse was even in diapers. :D

Don't know if it's better than the original, but it's certainly a wonderful version and let's hope that it might yet see an official release on that "career-spanning box set" that's due in the next couple of months.

Didn't Audree own some Rosemary Clooney records? I seem to remember reading somewhere that Brian's singing along with them had some effect on the lack of a break in his voice through to the falsetto range. And maybe it was Ms. Clooney's version of "WYWUAS" that was on Brian's mind when he wrote "Surfer Girl"...   

I read that and thought "WHAT???". And then I realised that I had that actual issue of Q on a bookshelf behind my head as I was reading the thread. I wanted to believe it too... but I'm sorry to say that I can't find *any* quotes from Brian anywhere in that issue of the mag, much less one about MBV.

On the other hand, perhaps I just missed it. Anyone remember what kind of article it was in?

On the other other hand, perhaps it's an urban myth. It does sound a *bit* too good to be true...

There was an interview during the 70s where Brian said he loved George Harrison's and Ringo's solo stuff.

Man, the 70's really were a dark time for Brian...

Hey! Blast From Your Past is awesome! (http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Ringo-Starr-Blast-From-Your-Past-USA-Import-CD-/00/s/OTQ0WDk0OA==/z/kpoAAOxyUI1TJdL-/$_39.JPG)

Ringo (1973) is arguably the best Beatles solo album ever released.

Well, that's a great one as well.

Hell, I even love Goodnight Vienna!  :lol

I gotta say, I've probably heard 97,32% of Ringo's solo (studio) output and liked most of it. :) He's a great drummer, a mediocre singer (at best) - but the coolest dude.

(http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me236598g31rx1r1zo1_400.gif)

Really? That is awesome!

There was an interview in Q magazine about 10 years ago where Brian listed all of his favourite singers.

I do remember there was a letter the following month criticizing him for having a terrible taste in music.

Dude, you read Q every month????

I read it about 10 years ago. Not since.

It`s possible that it was Mojo rather than Q though. Can`t remember.

You're joking right?

I'm assuming you are. Since you know, anybody that knows anything knows Ringo IS in fact a great drummer. A drummer doesn't necessarily need to play like Keith Moon or John Bonham to be great.

Also, seeing as you're on a Beach Boys board, one would think you'd be understanding to the fact that flashy drumming isn't necessarily very important. It's about what fits the song.

Ringo's drumming isn't flashy, but is brilliant in the subtleties of his fills. Listen to 'Good Morning' or 'Day in the Life' and focus on the drums - they're incredibly hard to play, even if they don't sound that way.

I know what you are hinting at but you know, expressing large amount of emotion in singing doesn't equal to being a great performer. Sometimes, it doesn't even work (Joe Cocker, Tom Jones, Engelbert-sth., David Bowie) + you have to keep in mind that not everyone is gifted with such ability. If Ringo's voice is lifeless (not imo), he isn't to blame; there are lots of other criterias for liking (disliking) someone's voice, his being homely-comfy-friendly tone. No other singer, however emotive s/he sounds, will ever top his version of "...Help from My Friends". It's a fact.

Or "Rain". Or so many other tracks.




EDIT: I'm flabbergasted.. how is it even in question that Ringo Starr is a great drummer? :P

Surfing the archives, I found this:

^This^

I'm opening a thread about Brian's favourite music and all I see is a page full of stuff about Ringo and arguments is he a great drummer or not...

 ::)

2 RiC: start from the 1st page, not the recent replies.

Discussions do sometimes happen.

Wow, really? And RangeRover, I did read the first pages. There was some interesting stuff. I'm just a little bit pissed of to the fact that it looks like every other thread turns into a Beatles topic. Seriously.

.

.

 :o Surely this would be unthinkable for Brian. He's let go so many addictions, at least let him listen to Be My Baby at superhigh volume whenever he feels like it, even if it is 50 times over 7 days a week  :lol .

If this is true, it must be a big moment indeed for Brian when the track does come on the oldies TV station.

Joe Cocker's version of "..Help from My Friends" was used as the theme song for the "Wonder Years" and I hated it  :lol

Agreed. Made me hate Teh Beatles' version even more than Ringo did.

What's wrong with Joe Cocker's version of With A Little Help From My Friends? It's IMO the definitive version on the song, and it adds so much life to the song.

Please don't say "definitive."

I just don't care much for him, and I agree with RangeRover about Ringo's version, when I hear the title of that song he's the first one I think of.  it's just like how I prefer Denny's version of YASB to his.  they both have raspy voices but sometimes (for me) Joe goes over the top  :-\

I agree with you on You Are So Beautiful.
But it's not just how he sings WALHFMF, it's the arrangement too. There's a reason why it's more popular and why most people think of Cocker when they hear that song.

Really? I thought the Ringo version is the most recognizable. Could care less about Joe Cocker, he doesn't have that much interesting voice, I quickly get bored hearing him (circa 20-30 songs grand total).

I always liked his version of "She came in through the Bathroom Window" better than "With a Little Help From My Friends". 


There are two ways you can appreciate Joe Cocker.

1. A lot of people appreciate him because of the amount of emotion he puts into a song, it's a similar style to what Janis Joplin popularized (around the same time Cocker first did).  To some people, this adds an incredible amount of beauty to the song and makes it very memorable.


2. To a lot of other people (Me; my brother, a few of my friends)... we appreciate him, because he has the AUDACITY to do what he does to songs.  to take a song like "With a Little Help From My Friends" and turn it into what he did.... just... WOW.  The guy has such balls.  I could never get in front of an audience and just let it all hang out like he does, I'd be so self conscious of how I looked or sounded... but not Cocker.  He has the balls to stand there and sing like THAT, way over the top, completely balls-to-the-wall, and doesn't really care what you think about it.  It's his own style, and it's admirable. 

That part where the hollaback girls go "Do you need, anybody?" and Joe just goes "WHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!"  Is just amazing.  Such balls.

1st way is definitely not for me, as Joe's "emotion" doesn't impress me ATT ALL. 2nd - audacity - is right up my alley & I usually admire when artists do sth. unexpected, but in case of Joe, it to me is going overboard & trying hard to be ultra cool.