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There doesn't seem to be too much love for this misunderstood song, which resides on CATP. It's not exactly a favourite of mine, but I think it's time people started singing it's praises. Though it could have been better lyrically (Dennis's singing:  :thumbsup), it's overall a brilliant experiment. It's always nice to hear the Beach Boys try something different, like country (Cottonfields), Hard Rock (All I Want To Do), Roots Rock (Much of CATP), or even Disco (Here Comes The Night, single version). Make It Good is definitely not your average Beach Boys track, but once you understand the song, it's excellent. A real dream-like song.

Oh, and I'd like to dedicate this thread to Gabo, who I know is totally going to love this thread!

Impressive production but everyone was trying a little too hard on this one. Excessive is the word here.

+1. I want to love this song, but I have a hard time quite understanding the intention of some of it.  I'm certain Dennis was trying to be very sincere, but some of the orchestral sweeping parts just seem overly dramatic, and the song ultimately is puzzling to me.  I can't say that of any other of his songs.

That said, I'd love to hear more from people who dig the song. Sometimes hearing new insight can open my ears to things I've missed or misunderstood.

What is there to understand? It`s not exactly a quadratic equation...

It`s an ok song but not one of Dennis`s best efforts.

dreamscape is probably one of the best ways to describe it.  it feels like the song is going somewhere.

It's a rubbish song that ruins an otherwise great album. I wish they'd used WIBNTLA in it's place or better yet convinced Brian to take a crack at a full band version of Sweet Mountain.

Found a vinyl copy of CATP at the Chapel Street Bazaar circa 1990. Mesmerised by the atmospheric brilliance of Make It Good upon first listen.

I believe someone once referred to this as a "pseudo-Wagnerian soundscape" which was "affecting but also mildly irritating because it doesn't get anywhere", and by crackey, they nailed it.

Oh, wait... that was me.   :thud

It would be more than mildly amusing if someone at a record pressing plant got "Make it Good" mixed up with "Make it Big", leading to "Make it Good" winding up on "Still Cruisin'", while "Make it Big" sneaks onto CATP. Coffee would be spit out by listeners far and wide.

I think this would have remained better as an in-joke on another thread - as it was prior to today - rather than being made into an actual thread, especially as we've all gone to such pains to clam down the hysteria which resulted following previous Dennis-song appreciation threads.

Regardless... I love Make It Good. Loved it the first time I heard CATP and never had an inclination of the animosity it attracted until I joined this board. It's not a song, it's a poem with orchestral backing. Clearly not a lot of people's cup of tea - but it certainly moves me...

Yeah, agreed. That's how I see it. I was quite shocked too when I found out.


It's not easy to describe, but it's to understand how Dennis was going with it.

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Sometimes not really going anywhere is quite nice...

In general, I like that particular time frame in BB history because it's incredibly strange. CATP was the group's attempt at an early-70s rock sound and DW's material doesn't seem to fit in at all - which I think is great, because it's a remarkable thing to do for a group's drummer to come up with music like that when the rest of the guys were essentially trying to be The Band. It's something you don't expect even on an album that would've been an unusual set of songs anyway. That's what I really really like about CATP, even though it's clearly no Pet Sounds.

I rather like it, so long as I pay enough attention to it during the short time that it's on.  It needs attention.  But even at my best, I don't feel quite as moved as it sounds.

If it doesn't go anywhere, it's because it's already there and that's the problem. We're hearing a grand climax, but without experiencing the journey to it, thus the moment can feel unearned.  And then it's over before you know it and you can just move on, a grand thing seeming slight.  Problem of length, I guess.

I love "Make It Good"; I think it's a very good song. I don't find it fragmentary or incomplete. It has a direct vocal intro, a peak, and a typical (but nice) Dennis fade. It's not as good as "Cuddle Up", and that's part of the problem - the sequencing and proximity to "Cuddle Up". They should've separated the two Dennis songs better, one song on Side 1 and one song on Side 2.

I don't feel it needs to get anywhere that it doesn't--it works perfectly in the context of the CATP album as the firs of the last three beautiful songs (the only part of that album that achieves anything like unity).  Admittedly I almost never listen to it without listening to "All This is That" and "Cuddle Up" immediately afterwards, but I still love the song.

What's next, a Denny's drums thread? ::)

Now that song was filler rubbish! I don't think Make It Good deserves to be compared to that!

I prefer Denny's Drums.

I think both tracks are filler.

Not liking a song doesn't automatically make it filler. Dennis (and Daryl Dragon) clearly, audibly put a lot of work into creating Make it Good - whether you like the results or not is another story, but filler it ain't...

Considering what Dennis had in his song bag at the time, it's filler.

Apparently extracted from his then-solo album.

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Ho.

Ho.

And probably, ho.

Most risible. My sides, they are splitting.

"Make It Good" is definitely NOT filler. It's one of the best tracks on C&TP. The strings by themselves sound great. Add an emotional vocal and lyrics and you have a great song. Sounds even better with all the lights out and a woman next to you.

 I took special notice of "Make It Good" upon first listen to the album circa the 1990-91 Brother reissues. Months later I would hear the swelling orchestrations in my head at odd moments during the day. Yes, Dennis had better tunes in the can and one might fairly say it is an overwrought piece that doesn't really go anywhere. But like all great art, "Make It Good" transcends perceived flaws to touch the heart anyway. It's still my favorite off the disjointed and peculiar platter that is Carl & the Passions-"So Tough".

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None of Dennis' songs were ever filler. I mean, "Tug Of Love" actually got bumped from POB! :o :( I don't think Dennis ever wrote a bad song.

  He should have donated "Tug Of Love" for consideration on MIU. It would have been a nice trade up at the expense of "Hey Little Tomboy", but perhaps "Tug" - a good but not great Dennis tune - was too stellar to keep company with such mediocrity!

Yes, I like that idea! I'm always re-sequencing BB albums but I never thought of "Tug Of Love" on M.I.U. I'm putting it right after "Wontcha Come Out Tonight". I like the lyrical tie, too. Little girl won't you come out tonight into lonely one are you feeling blue.

Dear Steve -

1. You'd put "Make It Good" ahead of "Marcella", "Cuddle Up", and "Mess Of Help"? Not that I have an issue with that, but .......
2. "Overwrought". "Doesn't go anywhere". "Perceived flaws". Now THOSE I have issues with.  :)
3. Go Giants!

Make It Good is cinematic...as so many of Dennis' recordings are. That really hit home during the making of the Real Beach Boy documentary, when we started putting things like Be With Me, Mexico, Cocktails, Holy Man etc... over scenes of L.A. sunsets, ocean waves rolling, sky foggy or blue, cityscape, So Cal imagery...his music REALLY comes to life as a soundtrack set to moving images. I think Make It Good is prime for this because it is so sweeping.

I had similar thoughts when listening to Make It Good, that it would work even better as an accompaniment to images than it does as pure music. It would be a more fully authentic pseudo-Wagnerian experience. I was asking myself  "why hasn't Make It Good made an appearance on z famous soundtrack??"
'Cause it'd fit right into something by Paul Thomas Anderson , I think.

Somebody once asked if there were any through-composed songs in the BB catalog, and I suggested Make it Good as a possible example. Never really received an answer. My attention span is apparently too short-- is this true?

Meant For You could be considered through-composed.

   1. Yes. It's my favorite song on the album.
   2.  Those are some of the things detractors say about "Make It Good." I still like it.
   3. Sure. I haven't looked at the standings lately.

Despite my relative lack of esteem toward Dennis's music as compared to many people here, I'm actually fond of "Make it Good." It's certainly ballsy from an arrangement standpoint. My biggest complaint is Dennis's vocal, especially as it strains on the higher notes. I realize many people like to call their favorite singers' edge-of-failure stretches "emotional" or something, but to me this is just someone not up to the vocal task, which is inexcusable when he's in the best pop vocal band in history, a band which includes a couple of brothers who could provide better performances without sacrificing an emotional delivery.

I also like that it's 2:39. He gets his point across and we can move on. I'm not one for the dragging out of pop songs, and sometimes (for my taste), Dennis's go on a bit too long.

Now I have to ask, are we going to have a "[Song] is underrated!" thread for every Dennis song?

Then you probably don't like Joe Cocker either. Or Don Henley or any other guy who has a gruff voice.

And if "Make It Good" is too long, then so is "Cuddle Up". And "I've Got a Friend". It's all about genuine emotion and love from the heart. And that voice gets it across clearly in those songs, in addition to "Barbara" and "Lady".  

If Make It Good's too long, then so is all the songs off CATP, as that's the shortest song off it!  ;D

I said I LIKE "Make it Good" being the length it is:

"I also like that it's 2:39. He gets his point across and we can move on."

As for the gruff voices, well, I do hate Don Henley. Seriously, wow. Joe Cocker, meh. But I love plenty of gruff voiced musicians, like Tom Waits and latter-day Dylan. I think if you read the post, you'll see I said "many people like to call their favorite singers' edge-of-failure stretches 'emotional' or something." And I'm no exception. When Waits stretches, I think his performance shows some character. Ditto Dylan. When Dennis, not among my favorite singers, does it, I think "wow, you can't hit the note."

There is one key distinction, in that Beach Boys music tends to require more accurately pitched vocals due to underlying harmonies, including Dennis's. I've talked about it plenty in re Brian's deteriorating vocals, too. When your music is based largely on dense harmonic structures, you aren't afforded the errors allowed a bluesman, for example.

Anyway, I hope you'll read my posts more carefully in the future before criticizing them. Criticize what I actually said, at least.

I might have appreciated this soundscape more if it was on a DW solo album...either POB or Bambu

Yeah, and you probably dislike "Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again" too because it drags on too long.

I just flat out disagree.

This is just lovely: I compliment something for NOT doing something I don't like, and I'm criticized anyway, with wholly unrelated topics brought in. Cute. Anyway, yes, I am not especially fond of the final minute of WIBNTLA, though the vocal bit is cool: I'd have liked a tighter arrangement.

Guys, please try not to argue. There's been too much drama on this forum in the last few weeks or so, try and keep it peaceful!

Anyone wanting to create or participate in message board drama is pathetic and needs an offline life. I'm sure Mikie and I can disagree without "drama."

Yep. No arguing or drama here. This is the wrong place for it; people are tired of it. If the youngsters on the board want to take it to the Sandbox, fine, otherwise we're gonna run yer asses off the main threads if you pull that sh*t again.

Agreed.

Back to the gruff voice thing, I meant to go further than I did before. I think it works better in character than it does in earnest. Sometimes the character is earnest, which works. But for example, if Waits is growling some absurd note, it's inevitably in the character of some down-and-out, sympathetic protagonist. It's more acting than singing. When someone who is primarily singing sings that way, it's not so effective. And, as I initially alluded to without quite saying, I think that's something often taken as sincerity, when in reality, a lot of guys just have gruff voices. They aren't any more sincere or emotional than clear-toned singers. And when they miss their notes, it isn't any more touching than when clear-toned singers miss notes.

For a character to fail is tragedy in a good way. For a singer to fail is tragedy in a bad way.

In "Make It Good," I just think Dennis should have used the stronger voices available to him in parts. But as I said, I actually more or less like it as-is.

I think all the songs on CATP are too long - except "All This Is That", that is.

I like the way Dennis' voice works with the strings, and I like how the ending builds and creates tension and then never resolves itself.
An interesting idea.

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Agreed. But I may disagree with you later.

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I only like All This Is That.

thanks for sharing my opinion

 Come on - "Marcella" and "Mess of Help" are solid BW efforts!

I dig the entire album, although MiG is probably my least favorite cut off it.

They sure are!  No doubt about it.

The whole album's great... except for He Come Down...

He Come Down never f**king ends... It so slapdash. And the lyrics are cringe-worthy. Nice chorus though...

That aside, I think CATP is a good album. An interesting failure. A curate's egg. A flawed experiment. etc.

It contains a very nice Blondie & Ricky song (Hold On...) and a less successful one;

Two very good if not quite great Brian songs;

A gorgeous Dennis song (Cuddle Up is among the best things he ever did) and a unique love-it-or-hate-it poem piece;

And All This is That, which is one of Mike and Al's very finest moments.

 

You do realise you're dissing a BW co-write ?

Isn't it now accepted that Brian was much more involved in He Come Down than once thought?

Yeah, and so was Mess of Help and Marcella. Not everything Brian did was gold...

I like "He Come Down".  It's like a proto version of "That Same Song".  I definitely like it more than the Ricky/Blondie stuff, which is basically "The Flame: Feat. The Beach Boys".

Mess of Help and Marcella are awesome, the rest of it leaves me cold.  It's definitely the least consistent BB album.

I wouldn't care if it turned out Lennon and McCartney had a hand in it as well... It's still weak.

I think both songs are great. Not the best, but definetely not bad or mediocre either. I love instrumentals and drum solos, so one on a BB record doesn't hurt me. I dig it.

Make It Good is amazing lead up to All This is That. It sets the tone of the last tracks in it's minimalistic way. The strings are too loud in the mix, that's for sure, but it's still a misunderstood piece. The only boring song on So Tough is He Come Down, which almost destroys the album. It's not bad, but doesn't just fit into the context of the album.

oh man imagine that....  :p

I have to agree 100%. I had the pleasure of spending 6 weeks in California in the summer of 2008, not long after the Pacific Ocean Blue deluxe package was released. Driving through southern California with songs like Mexico as being played brought another dimension to the breathtaking experience.  When I hear Make it Good (which for no understood reason I prefer over Cuddle Up), I often wonder how it would be if placed well in a movie. For some reason the vision of a sad man driving away from a scenario down a lonely road has always come to mind.

This track (and Cuddle Up) makes me really wish for a Dennis Wilson album circa 1972...

According to AGD's website, the "Poops/Hubba Hubba" really who have been something..imagine an album with all these:
It's a New Day/Wouldn't it Be Nice to Live Again/Cuddle Up/4th of July/Make It Good/Barbara :o

I agree with this above. "Cuddle Up" on the other hand is one of my favorite cuts on it. Either way, it's an album I play more than any other BB album with "Make It Good" (an incredible track) the only song to make me half-cringe when Dennis starts to sing in the higher register.

I kinda like it when Dennis sings in that high register. It shows a fragile side of his personality. It reminds me a little of Kenny Rogers the way it starts to crack when he hits the high notes. Come to think of it, Kenny had a good voice to cover some of Dennis' songs. :o

he's so sensitive and fragile he can't even hit the notes :*( the despair of love

So vocal range is dependent on sensitivity or fragility? Ha!

Geez.  You guys are somethin' else.   ::)

Thank you.

He Come Down was rescued by I Wanna Love Him So Bad (Jelly Beans). Clever theft.

Most definitely. He's all over the track, piano.backup vocals and production, much like he was Mess Of Help,and to s much lesser degree Marcella (only featured vocally broefly during the Marcella Hey tag)

This. What a ridiculous comment Gabo made...