The Smiley Smile Message Board

Taking a suggestion from Ontor from the Why do you hate Mike Love thread, and bumping up discussion on Brian's great year. 

So, tomorrow is Aug 7th, No Pier Pressure will have been out for four months. 

The music of Brian Wilson goes great with summertime.  How has NPP fit it with everybody's summer listening during the summer of 2015? 

Also, after living with the record for a third of a year, has anyone's opinions changed?  Novelty worn off?  Like one song now you didn't then  or vice versa? 

Personally, I still really like it.  I've taken three trips to the beach since its release and have listened to it each time.  I also found a jukebox in Ocean City, MD that has NPP songs on it, so I've played Sail Away and The Right Time. 

I've listened to it a lot over the last four months. For a long while it's what I listened to while on the treadmill at the gym, four time a week.

I really loved hearing the songs live, stuff that left me cold at first like "Runaway Dancer" was much more entertaining with some live energy, and man are they cooking this year. I hope they announce some more fall dates soon.

But yes, point taken: I shall pause from mocking the Lovester and give NPP another spin! Good time for it, "Whatever Happened" always hits the spot.

I mostly feel the same way about it as the day I got it.  Possibly his best solo album (not counting Smile).  The only song I've changed my opinion about is Don't Worry.  I really did not like it, but now it has become one of my favorites.  I love the way Brian sings the verses.  Still do not enjoy Our Special Love and Last Song doesn't have any 'warmth', if that makes sense.  Still love Whatever Happened.  I usually play it back to back with From There To Back Again. 

Still my favorite BB solo record (with POB a close second), and I've been listening to it several times a week still.

Love it.

I still enjoy it greatly. The writing is a bit patchier than I initially thought -- as great as "Whatever Happened" may be, it lacks enough sections (bridge, tag, etc.) to go to the next level. On the other hand, One Kind of Love and I'm Feeling Sad have only grown in stature for me.

Ultimately, I wonder if it's going to turn out to be an album that had bigger ambitions than it could fulfill. The guest artists, the quasi-BB reunion, the aborted Beck sessions, the material with Scott meant for the movie -- it's a lot of weight for one record to bear. And yet its greatest charms are the smaller ones: well-crafted tunes, lovely harmonies and oh-so-Brian sentiments of the lyrics.

It's Ok (To coin a phrase), but it just hasn't bowled me over. I guess I should also sit down with it again and see if it moves me differently.

Initially, I didn't much care for Tell Me Why, Our Special Love, or Don't Worry, but I've grown to like all three.

Runaway Dancer and Guess You Had to be There probably keep the album from surpassing TLOS as my favorite BW solo album.  Runaway Dancer is much better live IMO, but those EDM beats.......ugh.  The Kacey Musgraves track just doesn't do much for me. 

I think This Beautiful Day, Whatever Happened, The Right Time, Tell Me Why, Sail Away, One Kind of Love, and Saturday Night are classics. 

Initially, I thought that The Last Song would've been one of my favorites, but it's not been a song I gravitated towards.  I don't think it carries the same weight that From Here to Back Again / PCH / Summer's Gone does to close out TWGMTR.  I think its a good song, but I think there are far better songs on the album. 

This has been one of the most challenging years of my life, I'll leave it at that. To have new music from Brian has helped me out immensely. It's not even just "No Pier Pressure," it's everything that has gone on this year. 2015 is the Year of Brian. It kicked off with his guest appearance on Mini Mansions' "Any Emotions," a song that means quite a lot to me because it was released the day after a beloved member of my family passed away - to hear Brian's voice on new music was therapeutic. Next, Brian made an account right here on Smiley, and we learned that his favorite pizza is cheese pizza in that Q&A that he did. "No Pier Pressure" came along, and that album delivered. Best Beach Boys-related release, in my opinion, since 1979. The CD didn't leave my car stereo for a couple months. "Love And Mercy" debuted, and wow, what a film. Can't wait for the blu-ray release. I went to go see it with my girlfriend, and it was a beautiful summer day when we went - everything was perfect. Then we get Brian's tour... I was pretty depressed because I couldn't go see him over the summer. I stopped listening to "NPP" because it reminded me of not being able to go see him and how I'm practically a slave in the American socio-economic class system. So, you can imagine how ecstatic I was when it was announced that Brian is playing in NYS October 10th, just a three hour drive for me. I already have my tickets. As the date approaches, I'll be listening to "NPP" more and more. It's a fantastic album that came along at the right time, because I've needed Brian's music more this year than almost ever. Life is difficult, everyone has their own struggles, but Brian's music transports you to a place far away from all that, a safe place.

Bring on that rock and roll album.

I still need to listen to it fully, maybe via headphones or something, to get a full idea if it blows me away or not. But from what I have heard that being only briefly, It's okay.

Love the album, and after seeing Love and Mercy, I really love One Kind of Love.

Still listening to it as a whole. Often when I have music on shuffle in the car and a NPP track comes on I go "stuff the shuffle I want to hear that album" and I can't say that about much of the BB/BW/solo stuff since the 70s. Mostly listen to BB/BW/Live compilations I put together.

NPP rules! ... and its been a cold cold winter downunder ... bring on summer.

I bought it on day one and still love it very much as a whole. It stands as being some of the best work Brian Wilson has ever done, on par with even the best albums the Beach Boys made. The voices of the other Beach Boys present give the album an authentic sound that can't really be topped in the year 2015. It's a great album. But each individual song is unique and wonderful taken out of the context of the album, each sinking you into its own world. Sail Away is my favorite track: "Drink my water from a shell that I find" It's so sincerely BW.

I think it sucks really bad. The songwriting is unmemorable. The guest stars suck, especially the Cap Cities dude and the .Fun guy is just the worst. Production is uninspired.

"No Pier Pressure" is very down on my list of favorite Brian Wilson albums.  Much of it doesn't even musically sound like Brian to begin with, and once it came out Brian said "I can't write a song to save my life" in Rolling Stone Magazine..  So it appears it's Brian Wilson, and not the other guests, who is the true guest star on his own album.  The songs are very un-Brian like.

I listened to TLOS non stop for weeks after it came out and I still absolutely love it. Same thing for TWGMTR. Not counting BWPS/TSS, those might actually be my two favorite Beach Boys or Beach Boys related albums since Sunflower.

But NPP is a different story. I listened to it four times on the day I got it and once on the day after that, I didn't like it and I haven't played it since. Very disappointing album that I rank somewhere in GIOMH's neighborhood.

The album as a whole is not my cup of tea but that's fine, I have enough great BW music to turn to instead. "Tell Me Why", however, is fabulous!

I agree. I think Al's vox part in that song is marvellous, not to forget the splendid harmonies accompanying. 

Agree on Tell Me Why....my favorite song on the CD. Al's vocals are stunning, and really elevate the song to another place.

His best solo album.

Just today while on the bus, "Tell me why" came into my mind again. I've said it before: it's such a monster of a song! One of Brian's (!) best imo... if the lyrics were more connected. Right up there with "She knows me too well" which I consider a absolute highlight in Brian Wilson's/The Beach Boys' catalog.

"Runaway dancer" was an earworm for a long time.
"The right time" (not only 'cause it's a very catchy song but also, maybe even most, because of Al's vocals) I found myself many times humming while being at whatever place.

Llike TWGMTR, most of the songs on NPP date back from the late 90's, though I believe Brian is still writing songs here and there.

As for NPP, I rate it as BW's 3rd best (not counting SMiLE), after '88 and TLOS. It's very good, but no masterpiece.

I don't think it's been established if any  of these songs date back to the 90's.

Neither of those statements is correct.

Of the tracks on TWGMTR, the title tune, Spring Vacation, Beaches in Mind, Strange World, Pacific Coast Highway and Summer's Gone have their roots in late '90s Wilson-Thomas writing sessions. Three of those were substantially rewritten or expanded for the album. Think About the Days, Isn't It Time, Bill and Sue, Shelter and From There to Back Again were newly written by Brian. Mike's song dates from the late 70s.

On No Pier Pressure, the only song confirmed to date from the late 90s is Runaway Dancer. Given its similarity to Lay Down Burden, I'd wager that the Right Time is also of that vintage. Of the remaining tracks, it's been confirmed that Our Special Love, One Kind of Love, Guess You Had to Be There, Sail Away and the Last Song are new.

So to be clear, you are saying that Brian's writing credits on the album are faked?

Most offensive solo Brian album behind Imagination. Praying that Thomas and the 'guest singers' will leave for good.

I like the album, although I think I prefer TWGMTR overall.  Personal highlights for me are
Whatever Happened
Brian's vocal on On The Island (suggestive of the Classic 60s vocal sound)
Al's vocals (The Right Time, Tell Me Why)
The sublime tag on Tell Me Why
Blondie's vocal on Sail Away
"I couldn't hear my heart / Calling out for you-u-u"

For me, a truly excellent album could perhaps be fashioned from the best of NPP and TWGMTR.  I dunno...

This Beautiful Day
That's Why God Made The Radio
Whatever Happened
Isn't It Time
Shelter
Half Moon Bay

Sail Away
Tell Me Why
Think Abiut The Days
Strange World
From There To Back Again
Pacific Coast Highway
Summer's Gone

(Honourable mentions for Our Special Love and Saturday Night which I love but don't really fit such is youthfulness of the guests, and Bill and Sue which has terrific background vocals and a great refrain but I guess is a little lightweight if I'm more objective about it).

I wonder what the Sheriff could come up with  :police:

Thomas was not that involved with NPP as one would think...

I went bananas and played it non-stop for a couple weeks, but haven't gone back for since.

It is his best solo album imo.

that terrible fucking techno song eliminates it from being rated as his best.. COME ONNNN

Just played it last week for the first time in a while, just 'cuz it's summertime. It still sounds good to these ears for the most part; my early impressions haven't changed. I doubt if I will listen to the entire album after this summer though. I will take the highlights and put them into best-of playlists and that will be it.

It holds up - still sounds great. And as I did in the spring, I'll say again this is an audiophile quality recording, some of the sounds of individual instruments are as good as anything I've heard this year. The mix is superb as is the recording itself.

My go-to song is still Guess You had To Be There - has "hit" written all over it. It could still go to radio if promoted the right way. And The Right Time, also Sail Away both sound terrific still, although hearing the actual singers do the song live was something really great to experience, Brian-Al-Blondie trading those leads live with a more hard edge courtesy of the best live band working today...that's good stuff, right there.

It's grown on me a lot. I REALLY wish it had been a Beach Boys album. The Al/Blondie contributions are GREAT! I think if you take the deluxe edition and pare it down to 12 or so songs it could be pretty solid. Especially if there had been a Mike collaboration included additionally. I think Kacey Musgraves on Guess You Had To Be There would still work on a BB album as well. The guests on the songs otherwise do kind of ruin it for me.. especially though on Our Special Love. I LOVE Brian's parts.. but the guests part (don't recall the name right now) really is too boy band-ish for me.

Let's be honest, by "Beach Boys" that's supposed to mean Mike Love, right? That's the kind of hangup that continues to hover like a shadow over this and other solo BW projects, right? And in my opinion, for no logical or even realistic reason at this point since Mike got exactly what he wanted around the fall of 2012 and it was full steam ahead. And again, fans who were on board smiling and waving as that ship left the dock were in full support, so they got what they wanted too.

Part of the album if you look at it conceptually was putting all of that stuff away, what happened did indeed happen and let it drift into the past, and here is a new album of songs to listen and form opinions and hopefully enjoy.

I enjoy the songs with Brian, Al, and Blondie, but the others I always skip. The production on the whole album is too clean and makes it almost unlistenable in my opinion.

I like clean productions, "Aja" by Steely Dan has been my go-to reference disc for mixing and testing equipment for years. The sonics of that record are impeccable, and for a record as full of tracks as NPP in the digital era, I put it pretty close to Aja. Personal preferences.

I still love it and I played it every day for months but hey, it's Brian fuckin' Wilson and that is good enough for me.

I think I'd be keener to write a 33 & 1/3 book on Summer In Paradise than to listen to this album again.

I never meant to insinuate that Joe Thomas was involved with NPP -- of course that isn't the case. We all know that "produced by Joe Thomas" wasn't a credit attribution, it was just ¸.•*""*•. ¸magical writing¸.•*""*•. ¸, inscripted for the purpose of summoning autotune, sleazy yacht rock song structures, and adult contemporary arrangements directly from the nether realm.

Watch as the MOR disappears once "produced by Joe Thomas" is erased -- now you hear it, now you don't!

Loved it the day I got it and listened to it start to finish in the car.  First time I heard Surfin USA and Fun Fun Fun was in my Dad's car back in '63 and '64.  Brian's tunes work really well in a moving vehicle.  Love the new album more now.  Agree with those who rank it along with BWPS as his best.  To me it sounds exactly like Brian Wilson material.  Like BANG on.

I was disappointed he didn't do at least twice as many NPP songs on the tour.  At least 1/2 the show should be solo stuff...with the new album highlighted big time.  Brian is a contemporary artist too.  The balance needs some tweaking.  He's so much more than a Beach Boy.

You have no idea what techno actually sounds like, do you?

If that was sarcasm, I strongly suggest you reconsider.  Makes you look very foolish when those who actually know far more than you reads something like that.

It's one thing to not like the album. Hey, we all have different opinions. Makes the world go around and all that mess. However, Thomas's involvement was far less than on Imagination or TWGMTR, whether you want to accept that or not.  Don't take my word for it...ask anybody involved with the making of the album, or heck, Thomas himself. Once you've done that, get back to me.

  It hasn't resonated with me too much. It's not a turkey like GETTIN' IN OVER MY HEAD, or a near classic like THAT LUCKY OLD SUN. Too many guests. Average by the standards of Brian Wilson.

Just wrong, no other words but a steaming pile of wrong!

I still think it's his best work since Friends.

'This Beautiful Day' reminds me of 'Meant For You' in it's opening track simplicity. The harmonies are flippin stunning.
'Runaway Dancer' reminds me of a modern day Love You track. It's ballsy, synthy, and that middle-eight is damn beautiful.
'Guess You Had To Be There' is a hit single....why it wasn't released as a single still baffles me. It also blows my mind that this didn't have a music video made for it.
'Sail Away' yet another classic - will be playing this for years and years to come.
'Saturday Night' yet another hit, imo.

If I had one thing I could change about the album, it would be to swap out 'Tell me Why' and replace it with 'I'm Feeling Sad' - the latter has so much more of a Brian feel to it, and it fits perfectly between GYHTBT and Sail Away.

An album full of hits, sung by talented singers/artists, directed by Brian Wilson. Couldn't get more perfect than that, folks.

I don't care what people say-
In my opinion, this is THE BEST BW solo album (not counting BWPS). It has everything you could wish for. Even Runaway Dancer isn't a bad song. Brian actually wrote it in the 90's. For those who say BW didn't actually contribute that much, I call Bullsh*t. This record has BW all over it. In production techniques (actually musicians playing) arrangement (diverse instruments used), and vocals (those harmonies are definitely BW, no one can arrange harmonies like he can!)

I think these are some classic songs. I listen to songs from the record every day. "The Right Time" is one of my alltime favorite songs. I don't know why, it just gives me a great feeling.

Never let the truth get in the way of an argument, they say.  ;D

NPP is still in my car CD player, and I still listen to it. Not all the time, but pretty regularly.  I still enjoy it a lot.

Pretty much, I like On The Island but that's about it.

I still really enjoy it. It's like TWGMTR part two.

I like it a lot but have only been playing a track or two here and there lately. I guess the UK tour cancellation took a lot of the sheen off it for me. Still a solid album though, and I'll revisit it.

A couple of songs I like (including the dreaded Runaway Dancer) but overall I thought it sucked and never felt the need to buy it. 4 months later and nothing has changed.

I liked about half of it then and I still like about half of it now. My feelings about TWGMTR too.

I like it less the more I listen to it. The collaborations are the worst part for me with "Our Special Love" the only one I really enjoy anymore.

Favourites are still One Kind of Love, Tell me Why, I'm feeling Sad, This Beautiful Day, Somewhere Quiet, Sail Away, What Ever Happened.

Looking at the deluxe edition...thats half a good album

I don't get "Last Song" at all.....

I'm enjoying reading the diverse opinions. 

Back in April, the opinions of NPP on this, and the other, forum very overwhelmingly positive.  But, it's a little more mixed here. 

I listen to it a lot. For a month or so it was my 'go to " cd when I was on the treadmill at the gym.

Welcome to Smiley, Mike Love!

I don't find the songwriting un-Brian-like, the songs themselves are very Brian. My complaint is the production. It is too slick for my tastes. I really wish Brian would produce an album the old fashioned way. I really don't like Joe Thomas' production techniques. It is the same reason why I don't play TWGMTR much or Imagination or The Beach Boys Live.

What is the old fashioned way?

I might be in the minority, but I think Joe Thomas's production on TWGMTR and NPP is far better than Imagination. 

Now, the Live C50 CD.....well...I'm not getting into that one. 

By himself. His recordings were fairly clean, but never slick. Whatever he is doing with Joe Thomas is not what he was doing back in the day.

sure i do. i was using the term generally as "sh*t electronic music" but i'll change it to "crappy edm pop" if you prefer.

Runaway Dancer is pretty jarring.  It doesn't sound as much like an EDM/techno song in concert.  I wish the live arrangement would've made the album.  If so, I probably wouldn't skip that track. 

I like the album at least as much as I did when it was released. While I understand a lot of the criticisms leveled toward it--and even agree with some of them on some level--I've personally found the ability to just not be affected by them and instead of wishing something else were in its place, enjoying what is actually there. It's been an absolute pleasure for me to listen to relatively often. Its songs pop up on shuffle while I'm running and I almost inevitably turn off shuffle and just listen straight through from whatever song appeared. And many nights, I've put on headphones and listened to a track or two in sentimental, drunken bliss.

NPP isn't the greatest album associated with the guy, but it's a really strong, diverse, and enjoyable one. For me it ranks with TLOS and BWPS as his best solo work. I hope we get something else--especially of original pop songs--from him, though obviously eventually that will just be that and we'll be left with the catalog.

I think the slickness comes from the  change in technology since the 60s, primarily.

I really like the album, and have listened to it more than anything else this year. My favorite track is Sail Away... just an absolute classic, both musically/vocally and thematically... followed closely by This Beautiful Day, Guess You Had To Be There, Tell Me Why, One Kind of Love and Last Song.

Much like the captain says above, I typically start with some favorite track on my Ipod and then end up listening to the rest straight through. The only tracks I skip are the second half of Runaway Dancer (I really like the transition from This Beautiful Day and the snappy sound of it, but start to get bored halfway through), Half Moon Bay (kind of the same thing... great sound, but my attention wanders) and Don't Worry (don't like the sound of it at all). Overall, I think it's a great album and am so pleased it's with us.

Eh...that's closer.

Bingo! Ask any number of producers and engineers who worked in the 60's if they were going for a "dirty" sound and they might even go as far as to say they wished the fans could hear what it sounded like in the control room through the studio monitors as the tracks were being recorded in the studio. It's a twist of fate that many of the hip, desired "dirty" sounds that some rave about were more a result of technology limitations than they were aesthetic decisions. It was the things which were viewed as limitations back in the day that ended up creating some of the sounds people would come to adore.

Thomas's credit mainly stems from the early sessions for what became NPP. There's one man to blame/thank for the slickness of the album, and his initials are BDW.



Pretty much (in the case of NPP).  Brian's *always* been after a crisp, clean sound...the more polished/slick, the better. Exceptions to that, of course, came when he wasn't doing so well in life.

Objectively speaking, folks could be forgiven for thinking Joe Thomas was a prominent figure as far as the production on the album. He garnered a co-producer credit. It's sounding like he was potentially *less* involved on NPP than he was on TWGMTR, yet he *didn't* get a co-producer credit on TWGMTR (instead getting a weird "Recorded by" credit). A "producer" credit is a big deal (in terms of royalties/monetary "points" paid out), so I'm curious how Joe got his name as a co-producer on an album that he potentially wasn't heavily involved in.

Obviously, politics and contracts can rule the day here; he may have just worked up a deal with Brian that dictated they would use the Brian/Joe co-writes and Joe would get a co-producer credit.

But a "producer" credit is a big deal, which is why when it is politically or contractually expedient to still give someone some sort of credit even if they didn't play a heavy role in a project, you get alternate credits like "Additional Production by" or "Recorded by" or "Executive Producer", etc.

No Pier Pressure sounds like Joe all over it. He had to have done the post production work.

Even if the production is a little slick, I think the quality of the songs trumps the production style.  The melodies and vocals are there. 

There are definitely reports of later sessions Brian did where Joe wasn’t there. But I would guess a lot of that was vocal sessions. Most of the backing tracks sound very much like Joe’s style, with the claves and tinkly bits and whatnot that are relatively unique to Joe’s participation based on the past. I’m thinking at least of the few of the backing tracks were old. Chad Cromwell is in the credits, and he drummed on a few TWGMTR tracks (including the title track) that had probably been tracked back in 2010 or 2011, possibly in Nashville. Some folks also wondered if “Don’t Worry” might actually be at least partially a circa 1998 “Imagination” backing track.

I feel like the vocal arrangements are impeccable as always. Brian *rarely* disappoints there. The actual melody lines on the songs are pretty strong too. My issue is the rather bland chord progressions/patterns on some of the songs. I went on about this in detail back when the album came out (site with my review is linked in my signature line).

I did not like it at first, but after a few listens it has grown on me. Al was great on it.

Would be better if it was produced differently, too much of a sheen. Would like to hear an imperfection or 2 so it sounded more human.

Except he didn't.

That's what's so great about it I think: it's not a song merely hinting at some kind of vague potential that might "still be there". It's much more than that, truly a "Today/Pet Sounds update at age 72" kind of song.

Also, I agree with Tony S that Al's vocals elevate it to another level.

You can believe what you like. But there are those of us who _know_ otherwise.

I'm sorry that I wasn't in on the "us who_know_otherwise" list. Still, it sounds like his work. If Brian did do all the work, then he definitely likes Joe Thomas' style. I still don't like it any better knowing it is Brian.

And that's perfectly fine. For instance,  I'm not as fond on TLOS as many here ( prefer the demos, and hate the spoken word bits).

One improvement with NPP over much of thw solo catalog my opinion are the bass lines.  Oh, and it doesn't sound like he's copying himself.

Joe clearly did work on the album -- he co-wrote the songs, and helped produce and play on some tracks. His team mixed at least some of the songs.

But Joe lives in Chicago, and Brian did most of the work for NPP in LA. Joe simply wasn't around for a good chunk of Brian's vocal recording, as well as the final stages of overdubbing and sweetening. That was BW and his new best pal, Wesley Seidman. And while Joe may have had his crew, Brian had folks running interference on his side, too -- such as Don Was, who wrangled the A&R side of things and had BW's back throughout the record.

Finally, let's not forget that One Kind of Love and Somewhere Quiet seem to have been created and recorded without JT involvement at any stage of the process.

The credit to note on the record is not the BW/JT production one, but the "Arranged by Brian Wilson" line. Notice that BW is there on his lonesome? That means something, and it's backed up by the off-the-record accounts that Billy and I and others have heard.

My feelings on this album can be summed up adequately by one exact moment on this album, and that is the transition from "This Beautiful Day" to "Runaway Dancer". One moment, I'm experiencing bliss, assured that Brian can still make beautiful music. The next, I'm hit by a train with "COMMERCIAL INTERESTS" scrawled on the front of it in neon paint. Really, I find the problems to be mostly with the collaborations. Some are pleasant and inoffensive, like "On the Island" and "Guess You Had to Be There" (I still think that could be a hit on country radio stations). Others are... confusing. "Our Special Love" isn't out and out terrible, but once it really gets going, I feel like we should start picking which of the band members is the cute one, which one is the mysterious one, which one is the funny one, and which one is Danny Wood (if you're asking yourself "who's Danny Wood?", that's the point; if you didn't need to, we should hangout sometime). The other one that hasn't been mentioned is "Saturday Night", which I'm sure many people like, but isn't really my thing. Cool middle 8, though.

I'd also like to touch on the production, which I honestly don't much care for. You can tell me that Brian himself wanted it (and I do believe that he did), but it still wouldn't be a style of production that I enjoy listening to. You can tell me that it's what the people from the 60s wanted, but that doesn't change my opinion either. Why should I care what they wanted? The records came out the way they did and those are the records that people love, and they love them for a reason. If Brian feels this is the production sound he wants, then more power to him. I'm happy he's getting what he wants.

Anyway, that said, I quite like "This Beautiful Day", "Whatever Happened", "Half Moon Bay", "I'm Feeling Sad", and "One Kind of Love". Love that OKoL melody. When looking at my list of favorites, it seems obvious (to me, at least) that my favorites are the ones where Brian is the most prominent person (or an instrumental of his). Honestly, this was not a conscious decision on my part, but simply how my I felt after giving this album a few listens. I think Brian still has the ability to do great things.

I'd like to go off topic at this moment and take the opportunity to plead with Brian not to make a rock 'n' roll cover record, but to write and record his own music. There's a limited amount of time to get new music from him, and I would hate to see that he devote a large bit of his time to what could amount to a novelty album. Once again, if this is what Brian has really set his heart on doing, then I'll accept that for what it is. I just want more of his own, original work is all. Perhaps that's selfish of me.

Lastly, I would like to compare the amount of younger people vs. older people that like "Runaway Dancer". I think the results might be surprising.

Why did Brian Wilson (or whoever) sue Joe Thomas? What was the outcome of the lawsuit?

Scott, Darian, Nelson, and Paul, respectively.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/brian-wilson-settles-suit-with-former-partner-20000718

Thank you, Captain!

"Brian's wife Melinda Wilson sued Thomas, claiming that the producer used his association with her husband to raise his industry profile and wrongfully enrich himself through his association with the former Beach Boy. Thomas ripped a lawsuit back at Mrs. Wilson alleging that she had "schemed against and manipulated" both himself and Brian."

Melinda schemed and manipulated against Joe Thomas? And Brian? Oh yeah, let's ask the co-producer, collaborators, and musicians how much input Brian had/has in his albums. I'm sure they'll all be very forthcoming.

According to Brian, Melinda had a hand in the production.

We were talking about your wife and it’s my understanding that she is now a large part of your musical work on your new album, No Pier Pressure.

Yes. My wife had certain collaborators in mind for me and duets, so she called them up. She also helped out on the production.

http://www.icondv.com/interviews/brian-wilson-06-2015.html (http://www.icondv.com/interviews/brian-wilson-06-2015.html)

She does his voice too, it's all ventriloquism. Sinister sh*t, man. Brian has to sleep in a carrying case all night.

Just to be clear, I like Melinda. She seems like a nice lady. My post was in no way intended as a criticism of Melinda, Brian or NPP. I'm not one of those who thinks that Brian is being manipulated (and there is no doubt in my mind that he could produce an album all by himself, if he wanted to). I just thought this was relevant information, since there was a discussion about the production of the album, and nobody mentioned Melinda's involvement.

Listened to it a few times, but it didn't grab me. Tired of the MOR direction Brian's gone in recent years.

Before I heard NPP, I read quite a few reviews of it.  The majority of articles that had anything negative about it was because they didn't like how much it sounded like a Beach Boys album... which I thought was a pretty stupid argument.  Brian came up with the Beach Boys sound, therefor the Beach Boys sound is Brian's sound.  So... they don't like that Brian's sound sounds like Brian's sound?  I've learned long ago that a critic's opinion can be pretty worthless, nothing changed here.

When I did hear NPP, I wasn't surprised by the first few songs.  Sounded pretty beachy to me.  But everything else... I could not imagine these songs on Today!  Or even Summer Days [And Summer Nights!!].  (People, please do not try and point out to me how they could peacefully co-exist on older albums.  I can't even see 'The Girl From New York City' sitting on the album it's sitting on.  It's too different from the rest of the album.  And I LIKE that song.)  All these critics are hearing something that I'm not.  I'm bopping and tapping along with the songs, but the styles hit me from every which direction.  They're not hitting the "this is Beach Boysish" nerve.  In fact, the nerve being hit is a bit closer to the "kinda like "Weird Al" doing 12 genres on the same album" nerve.  Okay, maybe I'm the one hearing something different from the critics.  But I'm fine with that.  I like it.

A lot of people here don't know what happens when you get older. Unfortunately I do. As people get older, they change, especially and even more so if they are carrying some physical or emotional baggage from the past. Folks are saying that they couldn't imagine these songs on the " Today " album. Well of course not. Brian is a completely different person than he was forty or fifty years ago. Don't expect another " Today " or " Pet Sounds. " it's just no going to happen. Her k, we are lucky he's even around and releasing anything.

You're misunderstanding me, jeffh.  The reason I said I couldn't imagine these songs on Today! isn't because I expected more of Today!  It's that the reviews I've read complain NPP is too much like Brian's past stuff.  I was saying that 1- the critics come up with some pretty stupid arguments.  2- I don't agree with the critics about it sounding like past stuff.  Sure I may have been listening to NPP with an ear out for a past repeat, but only because the critics complained about it and I intended to form my own opinion.  But as I said, I didn't hear whatever it was the critics heard.

I listened to a few tracks on my way home on Friday evening.  When I skip Runaway Dancer, it really sounds like This Beautiful Day and Whatever Happened should've been back-to-back to start the album. 

After a long work week, This Beautiful Day, Whatever Happened, Our Special Love, and Sail Away got me in a relaxed weekend mode. 

Tord - could you please put that link on the "why you hate Mike" thread?

It's current, with Brian's opinion of his cousin.

Thanks.  ;)

His best original solo album so far. On the Island is my all time favorite BW solo song. A small, perfect gem.

Shhhh! Nobody was supposed to hear that. Brian "slipped up" in that interview. Time for some more coaching and rehearsing for that fall Love & Mercy promotional tour.

Why should this be posted on the 'Why I hate Mike Love' thread? As Brian isn't giving a reason he hates Mike, in fact saying in response to "Talking about the Boys, in the film Love & Mercy, Mike Love comes across as a controlling jerk. Did the director Bill Pohlad portray him accurately? Did actor Jake Abel?" with

"I don’t think he’s a jerk. I do believe that he was portrayed very well in that movie."

Brian also said that Mike was a good man. But those are BRIAN'S opinions. Not everyone has to agree with them. And what is it that the Mike apologists always say when Brian makes a comment they don't like? 'That's what Brian says today. What will he say next week?'

What weren't we supposed to hear? That Brian thinks Mike isn't a jerk? Anyone with half a brain here knows Brian publicly praises Mike for his contributions to the Beach Boys constantly, and publicly shares a high opinion of Mike ever so often in interviews. I'm sure the Mike apologists think this is some sort of checkmate on the Brianistas lol. Brian has his public opinion of Mike. I have my own opinion.

Also, not sure why filledeplage thinks this interview belongs in the 'Why Do You Hate Mike Love?' thread - this interview has nothing to do with why some fans hate/dislike Mike Love. Let's try to keep things on topic, filledeplage ;)

Here's why...

First, it's recent.

Second, it counters the apparently false narrative that Brian hates his cousin, Mike. Perhaps Brian is a "fan" of Mike's vocals? As much as Mike is a "fan" of Brian's compositional work.

Third, it is relevant to that topic.  ;)

Taking this to PMs as it has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand. This is a thread about Brian's new album. If you wanted the interview posted in the Mike Love thread post it there yourself. Again, try to keep things on topic.

It was incorporated in the interview. 

The question was asked and answered. 

It may have a valid spot in both threads.

It has nothing to do with the topic of NPP, keep it in the Mike Love thread currently going.

Back on the NPP topic....

Has anyone else noticed a slight similarity between Our Special Love and Spring Vacation.

Just before the chorus, "nothing but nothing" sounds a tad like "get up and hit up." 

I'm sure it's not intentional, but I notice it every time. 

Also, I don't think the songs are too similar, but I do get a bit of a Strange World vibe when I listen to Saturday Night. 

Ah...yes it does.

Two things are going on...

1. The movie L&M.

2. NPP.

Brian calls his cousin, Mike "an anchor" and "a good man."

How about them apples? (As was said in Good Will Hunting)  ;)

Oh it's more than a slight similarity. It struck me on first listen: I know I wrote about it in the thread that ran when that song first appeared in 2014, the thread where Hollens posted.

By the way, while I still don't love that song's boy-band cheese factor, there are some nice changes in the NPP version that help me enjoy it more.

'Coaching and rehearsing'?! For f***'s sake....

Billy - I asked Tord to put the link up because I didn't know how to do it on an iPad.  ;)

Oh no, that's cool...I was responding to Sheriff basically calling Brian a puppet.

Granted, I've never heard the 2014 Hollens version, but the version on NPP doesn't strike me as being "boy band-ish."  I don't hear anything in it that makes me recall with cringe worthy boy bands of the late 1990s (what a terrible time for music).  Granted, I think it would sound better with actual instruments, but I think the harmonies are very good on that song.  

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Oh it's not dramatically different, just some different parts added and/or differently mixed. The part I find cringeworthy is Hollens's lead. Not that he's a bad singer, it just is so cheesy at that point overall. :55 seconds or so up until the "Spring Vacation " bit is its first go-round. Just not a fan.

Gotcha

I didn't much care for the song at first, but its grown on me with each listen.  When I hear Hollen sing, I get the impression he was a big fan of Spandeau (sp) Ballet and other 80s groups with lead singers wearing tuxs on MTV trying to be the next crooner.  And he also kinda reminds me of Chris DeBurgh (Lady in Red). 

Brian's opinion is irrelevant to the 'why I hate Mike Love' thread unless Brian hates Mike Love (although since the interview quoted there was another in which Brian said he didn't talk to Mike as I recall...).

Back on topic, Our Special Love is perhaps my favourite of the whole album though there is a moment on Saturday Night that I really love too.

So...Brian doesn't get an opinion?

Brian can't be a fan of Mike's lyrics?

He most definitely can, and he is.

And, since Brian likes Mike Love, his interview doesn't really belong in a "Why do you hate Mike Love" thread. I don't see what's hard to understand about this.

Everyone can post whatever he or she wants, but seriously, please, can we have one thread that isn't infected by the antagonistic Love-hate and Love-apologetics (itself seemingly mostly an excuse for people to behave shittily toward each other)? Please? Or does the entire General On Topic Discussions forum have to be a cesspool? Please quarantine whatever garbage you feel the need to incessantly retry where the rest of us can keep clean.

But hey, you don't have to. So maybe don't.   

How can Brian have an opinion on 'why I hate Mike Love' when Brian doesn't hate him? Unless you're now suggesting he does!

Anyway, The Last Song doesn't do anything for me. The first time I heard I was like okay, that just slid by, but maybe it grows on me. It hasn't, so far.

There was too much hype for it, imo.  I like Summer's Gone much more.

Actually it reminds me a lot of Winds of Change. A much better written song, but a similar sound.

I played it a couple time, when it came out, and thought it was good.  I sometimes let albums mellow on the shelf for as long as the good Lord says.  It will get me when it's ready to get me.

My NPP favorite songs are mainly the lighter ones. On The Island, Runaway Dancer, Saturday Night... Especially the last two are something new in Brian's canon, and they have the same spirit as the BB's earliest hits - nothing deep, but catchy and fun! Fun! Fun!

I liked The Last Song a lot the first couple times I heard it.  But, it's one track that appeals to me a little less with each listen.  I agree that there was a lot of hype to live up to. 

To me, it's not the closer that Southern California or Summer's Gone are, but it sounds like it's trying to be.   

Concur.  Southern California is such a great album closer - so emotional and heartfelt.  Summer's Gone gives me chills.  Personally, the "La-La-Las" on Last Song are irritating.

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of that either.  But I do like the "There's never enough time for the ones that you love."

There's a really good one in there somewhere. 

I'm still glad it was Brian, and not Lana Del Ray singing it though.

I like "the Last Song" a LOT more than either "Summer's Gone" or "Southern California," both of which have always been favorites on this board but that just didn't do it for me. The power ballad singalong works for me for whatever reason. SG just felt too pastiche for me, and the "hey we're writing about Brian's life and how he overcame adversity!" lyrics of SC bugged me from the beginning: you only get so many comeback stories before you're just still here. I didn't find it remotely sentimental or touching. But that's just me.

As with most other songs from NPP, I think the beauty lies in the details of the song. Deep in the background there's a lot going on if you listen for it, and it really makes it come alive - (the organ playing in the background at certain moments and the way Brian sings certain lines).

I think Joe Thomas wrote the chord progression, but Brian's arrangements really add a hell of a lot to it.

Completely agree. I didn't even touch on how the recording was put together, but I thought it was really nice. Always did, since it was first previewed on that UK radio show. The best BW ballad ever? No, but that's no crime. Some grand send off? Why saddle it with absurd expectations? It's a song. I like it.

I still feel like it's one of the weakest Beach Boys related efforts ever released. It's in the Looking Back With Love, BB '85, Summer In Paradise category for me.
The production renders it absolutely useless. There are a few high points, but compared to the high points on other Brian Wilson solo albums they are non existent on this album.
Show me the Live Let Live, Midnight's Another Day, Melt Away, Gettin' In Over My Head classics on this record please!

I was just listening to Half Moon Bay last night.  It really puts me in a relaxed mood. 

Has anyone tried listening to This Beautiful Day, Whatever Happened, and Half Moon Bay back to back to back.  I think they go very well together.

I'm not saying they should've left Runaway Dancer or On the Island off the record........ok, maybe Runaway Dancer.   But I really enjoy this sequence. 

Unfortunately, as much as I like 14 of the tracks, Runaway Dancer and Guess You Had to be There will likely keep me from listening to the entire album. 

Right now, TLOS is really the only solo album I can listen to without skips. 

Just listened the whole album for the manyteenth time. It definitely is a grower, new highlights keep popping up. It already is the BW solo album I've listened the most. As some have already pointed out, Tell Me Why is an absolute classic, right up there with Brian's 60's work. The way the song gets air under its wings just before chorus... Goosebumps!

There's only one song I actively dislike, and it's Sail Away. Pointless refererences to earlier maritime hits are tacky, and the chorus is just a tae too much faux-shanty. It wouldn't be out of place on Al's solo album, though. That kind of cheery vibe, you know?

I love TLOS, but tend to skip the spoken word parts. With this album, I can play it all the way through without skipping. If I do skip one, it's Runaway Dancer, but just because I'm not in the mood for that style.

I just love this album ..!!!  I was against the young pups being guest on this album..But I was wrong..!! Great stuff here.. Nate Reuss on Saturday nite I like especially.. Brian still has his special gifts intact.. The background harmonies are  OUTSTANDING.... Having Al in the band makes it more special.. Another home run for Brian Wilson. And the concert on June 20th at greek theatre was unbelievable..!!! Lots of new songs and deep cuts was a fan"s DREAM..!!  That show rated as high as Pet Sounds and Smile and TLOS tours.. Brian and band were that good..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I made a TLOS CD with music only (plus I inserted the original Midnight's Another Day) and still enjoy it VERY much.

The vinyl track order works a bit better than the CD one with me, but it's still the production and/or mixing that ruined this stack of songs for me. It's like a diorama flattened with an ironing board so nothing sticks out to prevent someone being stung in the eye. On the vinyl I discovered some instruments that I can't understand why they didn't bring that more to the front in the mix to make a signature sound of that song. Or, as some other fan I spoke with the other day, the arrangements don"t go far enough to be really interesting.

One thing that I think I disagree with many others here is whether the music is interesting. I think in terms of arrangement and production, it is pretty consistently fascinating listening, especially through headphones. Yes, it's "modern" sounding, clean, obviously not a big batch of musicians recording together in a room with analog equipment. That's obvious. But again and again, I catch myself noticing this little vocal part sneak into the mix, that little organ part disappear, replaced by some guitar line in its same register and stereo-spectrum place. Even when the raw material might be lacking--some of these aren't great songs--I think the result is really interesting.

I'll say it: I think NPP is in those aforementioned ways a wonderfully produced album.

It's a good album, not great.  Nothing wrong with that, but to me it did not live up to the pre-release hype.  In my mind, it is nowhere near as good as Brian's material on TWGMTR.

To me, that is never the artist's or the art's fault. That's the promotion machine's problem, or the consumer's problem. I'm a basketball geek, and so for me it's like some 18-year-old drafted in the top three who, after a bunch of scouts saying the kid will end up great, just isn't great. He's ... fine. OK. Is that the kid's fault?

You said it, bro. Great post!   :woot :woot

To my brothers and sisters that agree with me, that "Sail Away" is a letdown.... I'm thinking that maybe the chorus, if it had a different melody, would actually work.  Can anybody else hear that?  There's something wrong to me in the way that it was SUNG, not necessarily WHAT was sung. 

If I move over into that, though, now I'm criticizing Brian's song structure instead of his lyrics....


I like the verses, but the chorus is like nails on a chalkboard to me, literally.  I can't quite place it, but it's something about how it lazily resolves, if you listen, it has this kind of descending thing that's going on, after each phrase it turns around slightly, and walks slowly towards resolving after the last "Sail away with me...." on each chorus.  So it's like a lazy resolution back to the root. 

Does anybody else hear that? 

It's (in my opinion) because he's singing it so... tender.  It's hard for a guy to pull that off, and then other men enjoy it.  George Michael could do it, because he had some a phenomenal voice; he could sing tender, or sweet, and people actually enjoyed it because he was so talented.

It's hard though to hear a guy with an average voice like Mr. Hollens (no disrespect) sing a song in a tender voice, and enjoy it. I just think we're not the intended audience!

Not to be completely sexist (all hell, why not?) I can listen to a female with an average voice sing tenderly and don't have any problems with it.  Just not a fan of a dude half whispering "Nothing, but nothing...." in my ear. 

Not that there's anything wrong with that.... just saying there's not much in his lead for any of us to appreciate!

Now Brian has a phenomenal voice, though... even at his age I can listen to him sing anything and just absolutely adore it, so I'm not juts on a homophobic rant here, I'm seriously trying to describe it the best I can.  It takes a special type of male voice to be able to sing tenderly, and 'pretty', and have other men actually appreciate it. 

Agree with Ron. I've never been so analytical about it, but there's something with Sail Away that it just doesn't work as a song. Blondie's weathered voice would have deserved something better to sing. SA is just a bit too meh.

Personally I think that SA was conceived by Brian as a Beach Boys song with Mike to sing the first verse. Just an assumption.

It ALMOST works, but not quite.  I agree it's a waste of Blondie and Al, wish they were on something a little different but it is what it is. 

Slightly OT, but I was shocked when I saw the vinyl version in a couple stores going for $30-$40. Paid less than $20 for TLOS and TWGMTR.

Unfortunate choice of wording there Ron.

I enjoy NPP a lot and think it's one of the better albums in Brian's solo career. I think it's good but not great and my main issue is that it does sound a little like two (or three) projects compiled into one single album. There are the the guest appearances that work well together, the songs featuring Al that sound like they could be from a TWGMTR follow up and the songs that sound like a BW solo album in with a TLOS vibe. Along these lines:


Duets:
"Runaway Dancer" (featuring Sebu Simonian)
"On the Island" (featuring She & Him)
"Half Moon Bay" (featuring Mark Isham)
"Our Special Love" (featuring Peter Hollens)
"Guess You Had to Be There" (featuring Kacey Musgraves)
"Saturday Night" (featuring Nate Ruess)

Beach Boys album:
"This Beautiful Day"  
"What Ever Happened" (featuring Al Jardine and David Marks)
"The Right Time" (featuring Jardine and Marks)
"Tell Me Why" (featuring Jardine)
"Sail Away" (featuring Blondie Chaplin and Jardine)
"The Last Song"  
"Somewhere Quiet" 

BW solo:
"One Kind of Love"  
"Don't Worry"  
"I'm Feeling Sad"

In some ways the tracks work fine together and I can enjoy the album as whole piece, but can't help thinking that perhaps this was more than one single cohesive project. A Beach Boys album of the above tracks featuring Al, extended with similar material could have been killer. The duet songs are great, but sit better alongside each other. Again, a full album of duets could have been excellent. From a marketing point of view, either a new Beach Boys album or a set of duets/guest songs would probably have been an easier sell. The 'solo' sounding songs might have formed part of a Love and Mercy companion album, that might also have been a better selling point.

I'll probably end up listening to my alternate track listing and the TWGMTR/NPP blend I've playlisted. The Al tracks work brilliantly with the TWGMTR stuff.

I would however say that "Sail Away" it's absolutely outstanding. To me it will be a latter day Beach Boys classic, regardless of the named artist. Even now when I hear Al sing "Try and imagine how our life would be, if you could sail away with me", I'm floored.

I'm with El Mole' on "Sail Away" -- it's one of those songs which makes that whole Beach Boys thing feel effortless!

Cheers,
Jon Blum

I love "Sail Away" too, there's a lot going on in that song!

NPP is a nice little easy listening album.  No world beater, but always pleasant to hear.  Didn't care for the She and Him tune or performance.  Also didn't like the Kacey Musgraves track, it is too sing-songy and the vocal is way too in your face.  I REALLY like Whatever Happened, being an old coot and all, find it quite wistful.  Didn't really notice the lack of a bridge until someone noted it on here.  I do have the distinct feeling that this album was probably mostly arranged and fleshed out by others....don't have a real problem with that, as I just don't have that high of expectations of Brian at this late date.  But did really enjoy most of the songs Brian sang leads on and was pleased by his participation vocally in some of the guest artist tunes, though with the exception of Our Special Love, which to me sounds like maybe the greatest boy band song ever written and I don't mean that in a negative sense.  That song really should be covered by a boy band immediately.  Oh, must also say I don't consider Blondie, Al and Dave to be guest artists in my comments.  Saturday Night sounds like it should have been in some cheesy eighties movie...I guess it is ok for what it is attempting to do, but don't care for it.

I think my personal measurement metric for the guest artist songs is, "would this sound like a Brian tune if Brian were singing it?".  I couldn't really say that about On the Island or Saturday Night.  Though I actually liked Runaway Dancer a lot (go figure), but I was never in to dance music much so it sounded "newer" to me than it does to others likely.

Also for the most part really like Bri's vocals on this album.  He still struggles with singing in the lower register, but by now I guess you just have to accept the sour with the sweet, as this seems to be something that isn't going to change at this late date.

Still really wonder though why this couldn't have easily been a BB's album.  How hard could it have been in this day and age to get Mike and Bruce et al vocals on most of these songs?  Maybe by the time they split all the money it just wouldn't make sense.  Does Brian even make a profit on these solo albums?  Not that it matters I guess, he's plenty rich anyway.

Now six months on and it's a great album. I wanted to hear Guess You Had To Be There today so I punched it up on the ipod and ended up listening to most of the album again as I always do when I go for just one track. Way too many good songs and I am not tired of it in the least. Still my favorite Brian 'solo' album.

I started this thread at the four month mark.  I honestly didn't notice that the six month mark has come and gone. 

I haven't been listening as often as I did during the summertime.  Of course, new albums from Ghost and Iron Maiden are taking up some of my time.  But I'm still enjoying some of the tracks.  Just listened to Sail Away the other day. 

They played the 13 track version of NPP at the Barnes and Noble in Tyson's Corner, VA during the Brian Wilson signing last month.  I enjoyed that.  And I'm glad I have the 16 track version. 

I still really like 14 of the 16 tracks (Runaway Dancer and Guess You Had to Be There are the exceptions). 

I think the real test will be how often I listen to it next spring and summer, when I tend to do most of my BW/BB listening (I know.  I know.  I'm contributing to the summer stereotype). 

Played it quite a bit during such summer as we had - the 13 track version, as I think that works best... or in my case, the 12 track version, which works even better. It's definitely a grower.

I enjoyed the album a lot when it came out but put it aside for the past few months. Not sure why. But I played it in the car a couple times this week and still think it's excellent. (Ok, I usually skip the one with Peter Hollens and also "Sail Away", which sounded too familiar the first time I heard it, and I don't like Brian's "In the Back of My Mind" at all).

Listening to "Don't Worry" today, when Brian sings "I'm going out of my way to live in the now and not yesterday", I had a thought regarding the album as a whole. Brian says he only listens to oldies radio, not the latest stuff. So maybe he thinks the elements of the album that sound like adult contemporary or smooth jazz from a few decades ago are actually "in the now and not yesterday"? I offer this thought only semi-seriously and repeat that I really enjoy the album.

On a related note: According to the first lyrics site I looked at today (lyricsmania.com), the opening lines of "Don't Worry" are:

Just curious which track you left out, Andrew.

Larry,

I'm with you on the demo version of In the Back of My Mind.  I also have the Target version and when I do play the album in full, I usually stop after The Last Song.  The live version of L&M is nice though. 

But listening to the two bonus tracks to me breaks up the flow of the record.  It would be like listening to Pet Sounds followed by a rough demo of Surfin and a live version of In My Room. 

"On The Island". I detest the female vocal with a passion normally reserved for "Barbara-*******-Ann". The epitome of "bored shitless". Don't tell me it's in the vein of Astrud Gilberto or whatever, I don't like it, it offends my ears and I don't have to play it, much less like it.  ;D

I'm still diiggin' it.  Not as often.  But I've been busy.  A great album still.  One of Brian's best solo lps and [for my tatstes] overall WAY better than anything connected to the Boys, collective or solo, since 1973 [except for POB, Smile and BWPS...and maybe TLOS...haven't decided yet but the decision making process has its own rewards]

Yes it has lesser tracks.  Those will vary ears to ears.  It's always been that way.  I NEVER liked their version of Louie Louie.  Closer to the original but then why bother?  The Kingsmen had just reinvented the song.  Richard Berry did 'it' better than the Beach Boys.  WAY better.  Oh you disagree?  THAT is the point.  I like the guests on NPP.  I like how Brian basically puts them into the 'act' and THEY do it his way.  I wish he'd give those in his own band more leads and spotlights.  Surely THEY deserve it too.

Everyone with talent should get to be an honorary Beach Boy [even the ladies] and get to work with Brian and a Brian Wilson song.  The arrangements are almost always magical.  Heck...look how long he managed to make Mike Love sound good.

Ugh, I hate this version of "...Back of My Mind". What for record it? it should've been left unheard, for himself. I mean, any musician plays guitar/ piano/name instrument every day, just because they like doing it, for fun, whatever tune came to mind. It might be one of those days he played this song casually and somehow smb or Brian taped it. are we sure to hear raw unprepared performance? He was clearly not in the best vocal shape.
This and Musgraves duo still leave me cold. On the whole, the album's still going strong. except that I like "Whatever Happened" less.

Fair enough. 

I feel the same way about Guess You Had to Be There, but I'm just not into country pop. 

Six months later and I'm still beyond disappointed. I really wanted to like the record. Sadly it has taken a place among the worst the band as a group or solo has to offer. I never thought I'd say that twice about a Brian record.

What was the other one, BWPS?

Outside of BWPS, Brian's best solo album.

If it does not float your boat so be it but among the worst? What album did you listen to? Brian sings way better on NPP than on ANY of his work since his voice disappeared in '74. All the guests worked out stellar. What did you want another Brian album of covers with the Pet Sounds treatment ? Al also sounds great and is all over it plus a new Blondie co-lead...this album blows away anything but TLOS or POB for solo work by any of the guys.

Musgraves own work as well as she and him are now on my iPod thanks to NPP. I really like both of those gals. I do not get why a fair amount of fans have issues with those tracks. I wish Taylor had gotten some leads when she was in the band.

Smile Brian, I get what you are saying but I still consider TSS the definitive Smile hence I stand by this being my favorite "Brian" record.

I totally agree that it's the best BW solo album of newly written material!

Paul,

Not speaking for The Real BB.  But I think the guests are a matter of personal preference.  I don't much care for the Musgraves track because I'm not a fan of country / pop.  Same reason I don't care for Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Sugarland, etc. 

I also don't much like the Sebu track because it's a little too close to EDM for my taste.  Brian Wilson's voice over a dance beat?  That's OK.  I'll skip to Whatever Happened. 

I do like the She & Him track.  And I didn't expect to, but I like Our Special Love. 

My position has thawed somewhat towards the album, however only the first track and right time make it onto any playlists. I still feel it's totally dispensable and just achingly MOR.

 Not as bad as I first thought but not good by any stretch of my imagination

Can't agree with that while GIOMH still exists. Granted that was largely composed of either remakes or tracks of some antiquity, but then NPP isn't 100% new either and is infinitely preferable. If pushed, I'd rank Brian's solo studio outings thusly:

1  TLOS
2  OCA
3  BWRG
4  NPP
5  Brian Wilson
6  ITKOD
7  Imagination
8  IJWMFTT
9  WIRWFC
10 GIOMH

The #1 here is some way ahead of the pack, just as #10 lags badly. The rest are closely grouped.

To my mind, BWPS is a very, very special case and stands somewhat apart from his main canon. #1 in a listing of its own.

Right. Personal taste. I typically do not like much of anything country either and usually can't stand dance music but this album just really works for me. It was so unexpected and refreshing. Coupled with the Love and Mercy film 2015 was another great year to be a Brian fan.

NPP also has the best sleeve cover since what... Holland?

Geez, AGD, didn't recognise it was you with the change of avatar!

 I agree on the BWPS point and my ranking is as thus

1. TLOS
2. IJWMFTT
3. Imagination
4. OCA
5. BW
6. NPP
7. BWRG
8. WIRWFC
9. ITKOD
100. GIOMH

 1 and 2 are way way above the rest (although IJWMFTT is very much a compilation, albeit a re-recorded one)

I do love 14 of the 16 tracks.  Just those two do nothing for me.   And yes, I love the cover art.  IMO, there really isn't enough really good cover art in the BB/BW universe.  

I listened to the same album you did. It's called an opinion. I know that it's not a popular one around here, but que sera, sera. I also couldn't fathom another album of covers from Brian after two in a row.

The tracks with Al, David, and Blondie were about the only ones on the record I liked along with One Kind of Love and This Beautiful Day. But when I say that the other songs just went beyond not moving me, it's not me trying to be edgy or shocking. I haven't felt so cold at the end of a Brian record since GIOMH or the Disney album (as BWPS is irrelevant from where I sit). I wanted to love the record, especially after all the stuff I read about it before it was released.

The high points on NPP are HIGH, no doubt...but the lows? Runaway Dancer came on and I felt like the beginning of the first Black Sabbath LP..."WHAT IS THIS THAT STANDS BEFORE ME?!?" Total momentum killer; the worst original song to ever come out under Brian's name. That song just dragged the rest of the program down with it. I'd rather listen to Smart Girls on repeat than subject myself to Runaway Dancer again; at least the former has camp value. And as good as the Al/David/Blondie tunes were, there was a lot of treading through monotony to get to them. It was like that breath of fresh air on GIOMH to hear Desert Drive...only this time instead of hearing more than a stack-o-Brian, it was a good song that brought the breath of fresh air on NPP.

GIOMH was incompetent; NPP just bored me for the most part. All of the songs sound the same and just run together. Half of the time I could barely tell that the songs changed. Sure, the vocals are better; it's just a shame that the rest of the material wasn't as good. It's also a shame that such a great set of vocals all around were wasted on a lot of lousy songs. "Among the worst" is also an opinion. Your mileage may vary. It's in the same company as Keepin' the Summer Alive, Gettin' in Over My Head, In the Key of Disney, and Country Love from where I sit. Who knows? Maybe I'll change my mind eventually (I used to damned near loathe Holland and now it's one of my favorites).

I also did write a small review on here in the reviews section. It explains a bit better how I feel about the album.

RBB,

I agree 100% about Runaway Dancer.  To put that song at track #2, sandwiched between This Beautiful Day and Whatever Happened, was a huge mistake IMO.  Because of that song and Guess You Had to Be There, it's unlikely that I'm going to sit and listen to the album in its entirely too often.  And that's a shame, because I really like the other material. 

I haven't listened to NPP or any song on it since about June, and that's possibly due to fatigue.  So many months spent in anticipation, reading every snippet of news I could find about the album, listening and re-listening to every crappy 30 second iTunes sample sample, scrubbing through hours of BBC radio archives to listen to Sail Away.  Then it's finally released and I play it non-stop for a month.  Yeah, it might be fatigue.

Here's what's funny, though.  I'm watching TV news with my 10 year old son just yesterday, and somebody says the word "unconditional."  The boy immediately starts crooning, "There's only one kind of love, the kind that I've been dreaming of..."

That's staying power.

The album was an EP's worth of righteousness and a lot of dreck. It isn't as horrible an experience as GIOMH thanks to the tracks with Al, Blondie, and David. Without those and a couple others, the album would have scored much lower than the 1.5 I gave it on here.

It proved to me that in essence Brian hasn't made a truly righteous solo record since the self-titled. The self-titled sounds even better now than it did when I first heard it fifteen years back. Brian has never recaptured that energy on any of his solo records.

I was just thinking of posting on this topic.    I put this on in my garage the other day while tinkering with my antique car.  a beautiful day, sunny and crisp fall day.   I had forgotten the lead off track.   Absolutely perfect timing,  Great vibe.  Just stood and listened.    but then, Run Away Dancer followed........I agree with another poster that this song should have been elsewhere on the album, not following TBD

The energy of "shouting" his verses as opposed to singing them and knowing Landy was right there hanging over Brian like Peter Pans shadow? We'll agree to disagree on that one.

I don't care that you or anyone else did not like NPP, however it baffles me that someone on a site for hardcore fans would consider it that bad. Seriously, Brian and the Beach Boys have done plenty of pretty darn bad over the 50 plus years. I'd take Runaway Dancer any day over California Calling or Rock and Roll to the Rescue or Nighttime and on and on.

I'm not the biggest fan in the world of BW 88.  But I'll take California Calling or Rock and Roll to the Rescue over Runaway Dancer any day of the week. 

At least California Calling sounds like The Beach Boys. 

Runaway Dancer, to me, belongs in the same conversation as Here Comes the Night '79 or Summer of Love.  And much like Here Comes the Night '79, it breaks up a nice laid back album.   

When it first came out, I thought Runaway Dancer was going to grow on me.  I even kinda liked the live version from Soundstage and the one I heard in Philly.  But, as the novelty faded, so did any chance of me liking that song. 

Re: Runaway Dancer breaking flow, what stops you make a playlist without it? And isn't it cool to actually have unusual unexpected sequence? I like it, it's fun.

I'd agree that BW88 stands head and shoulders above just about everything else Brian has put out under his own name. That album sounds like a man making up for lost time.

When I put NPP in my player, I usually skip around.  

But I also really enjoy playing an album from start to finish the way it was intended.  If I'm in the mood, or on a car trip, I do that with NPP and just put up with the eight minutes of the album I don't much care for.  (I kinda do that with the fake studio bits from SDV2, All Summer Long, and Today).  

I don't mind putting a compilation on random, but I usually don't like doing that with LPs.  

You think that hardcore fans have a specific orthodoxy with regard to what albums are liked and disliked? Let's embrace the diversity of opinions around here. Of course, someone saying he'd take Runaway Dancer over those three examples baffles me (since the three examples actually sound like Beach Boys songs), but hey. Horses for courses.

Who said Brian's tracks should necessarily sound like BBs? He heard what his daughters submitted and turned to those artists to record a duo. For a change. Why not?

They don't have to sound like the Beach Boys. No one here is against change or taking chances (ever heard of Pet Sounds?) yet when taking chances leads to crap like Runaway Dancer, some will criticize.

Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. After wishing that Brian would try something different I then heard Our Special Love and almost vomited in my mouth.

You must hate Brian, don't you? DON'T YOU?!?

Alright. The way you and previous poster(s) worded it seemed like that was the main reason for not liking RD, what with slapping it against some 80s songs to compare.

What is supposed to sound like a Beach Boys song? These guys have done styles from rap, classical, synth, pop, rock, country, disco, acoustic, bossa nova, exotica, barbershop, surf rock, psychedelia, r&b, moog rock, hell they even invented their own genres, and now Brian did some EDM. These guys are the epitome of "give no f***s", pardon my french ;D

Doesn't bother me that people dislike Runaway Dancer, it's definitely not for everyone. Personally, it reminds me of Love You in that its drenched with synth, opens the album in the most crazy way possible, purely Brian Wilson in my opinion.

I suppose we can count our blessings.  We almost got a song with Frank Ocean rapping on a Brian Wilson album.  Luckily, Brian said he didn't want it on the record because it's "not singing." 

Him and Lana del Rey. 2 artists I don't care and that's a big understatement (notwithstanding great detailed post by monicker awhile back telling she even knew and heard Dennis Wilson, wow).

Yes, I really doubt The Last Song would've been as good with Lana Del Rey on lead. 

I was really looking forward to hearing her sing a BW song, but The Last Song is so "meh" to me that I probably would have been disappointed anyway.

I'll buy that. It's his only consistently good album. All the others have a handful of good tracks, in some cases buried beneath some awful production (Imagination, GIOMH, Sweet Insanity too). I can take about half of Lucky Old Sun and that half is excellent. but the rest drifts over me - likewise TWGMTR: one great songs, several really good ones and the rest are indifferent (though rarely offensive as they are on GIOMH and Sweet Insanity).  The obvious qualms with 88 are the shouty vocals and the production values of the period. The songs, even the less ambitious quirky ones, work. Then again, since Love You (and with the exception of POB), the Boys have only ever come up with half decent (to varying degrees) albums and some of them aren't even that.

California Calling was but one horrible, lazy, uninspired example of the Beach Boys coming off as totally over and done. Runaway Dancer sounds like Brian Wilson and some other people singing and having fun by trying something different. It's got a good beat, it's catchy and it's outside the box. That's my opinion...do you embrace that? An opinion should at least be objective. I don't see how you can claim NPP is among the worst while being objective. What was California Calling? It was not a song that sounded like the Beach Boys as you say...it was a song by the Beach Boys TRYING to sound like the Beach Boys. I don't want the Beach Boys or Brian to try and sound "like" anything. I want it to sound good period. I think RD sounds good..you don't...guess we are done.

While you're entitled to your opinion about Runaway Dancer, I can objectively say that I like California Calling.  I think it's one of the better moments on the otherwise lackluster Beach Boys 1985 album. 

So, while I can objectively say that I enjoy a Beach Boys song that's not that popular among die hard fans, then it's possible for a die hard fan to objectively say they don't like the NPP record. 

Let's be reasonable about objectivity and subjectivity. KDS, to say you objectively can say you like something is basically just saying you're being objective in your reporting of your subjectivity.

Objective assessments should be of the music. Is it in time, in tune, original, derivative, sloppy, etc. Then comes our subjective assessment.

Pardon likely blunders or typos, I'm on a phone & at work. Hope the point was clear though

Yes, I knew I needed that third cup of coffee. 

So, then my assessment of California Calling, NPP, etc etc is just subjective I suppose. 

Being entitled to an opinion is a given in any instance. That does not equate to being objective. Any objective critique of Brian and the Beach Boys body of work that puts NPP among the worst is not to be taken seriously. California Calling...terrible lyrics...terrible production...terrible in every aspect. I'm being very objective.

Seriously.. I don't even care that much. Like what you like guys.

You know, Morris Albert made a career out of impeccably produced and performed soft rock. There was just one problem - it lacked all manner of soul, was about as contrived and calculated as a politician running for office, and, for lack of a better word, just sucked. It doesn't matter how "objectively" good the music is; if the listener doesn't like it, then that's the way the cookie crumbles. Emerson, Lake, and Palmer are incredibly talented yet none of their music moves me. So yeah, it's technically "good," but it still sucks to my ears.

"An opinion should at least be objective." Bloody nonsense. Opinions of art will always be subjective. That includes music. Your inability to grasp that does not make it otherwise. A hardcore fan of the Beach Boys is not required to like everything and is definitely not required to adhere to your specifications of what a hardcore fan is and should like.


That's just, like, your opinion, man. As mine was my own. That's how opinions work.


And yet here you are jumping into the thread like a g*ddamned Power Ranger trying to save the day from those who don't like the record.

I think we're talking semantics (some antics?  I'm always up for some antics).  

Granted, I was misusing the term.  But, I think it's difficult for anyone to really be objective about music, something that's so opinion based.  That's why I typically ignore critics when it comes to the stuff I buy.  

While I am not disagreeing with your assessment overall, I cannot agree about it being objective. Sure, you can say these things 30 years down the line but, were the lyrics terrible in 1985? Maybe, but the words in that song were the vernacular at the time. Terrible production in 1985? Not then, it wasn't. I was very much top of the line for 1985. Read some reviews from back then. It was one of the things it received praise for in 1985. All very much subjective in my book when you look at things with 30 years of hindsight.

Real BB.

Telling you I don't care that much was my attempt to take the high road in a discussion going nowhere. Do you want to keep arguing for the sake of arguing? I guess I'll take the low road.

I don't respect your "opinion" concerning NPP. It is as preposterous as people on Amazon giving L&M 1 star and saying it was the worst movie ever. That is not a matter of opinion or taste, it is flat out ridiculous. There were dozens of films out this year alone that paled in comparison to L&M. That is my point of issue with your assessment of NPP. If you really think NPP is among the worst then I wonder what Brian has done that you do like.

Again, like what you like. Some people think a can of spam tastes better than a ribeye. Hmmmm ...ok.
 

 

Oh dear.  :thud

Arguing with people about what they like or don't like is pointless.  It's like when my kids were little, and I'd want them to try a new food - lets say spinach - and they'd ask "does spinach taste good?"  And I'd say "it tastes good - if you like spinach".

Why put "opinion" in quotation marks? Care to explain what exactly my assessment of NPP is to you? I never said or even implied that NPP was "the worst album ever" or even the worst Brian album ever (that goes to GIOMH or the Disney trainwreck). I even explained what I disliked about the record. Most people giving those 1-star reviews are TROLLS. If I was trolling I wouldn't even write out a damned series of paragraphs to explain it. I mean hey, I don't get the sheer love for this record, but I'm not going to criticize people for it or think their opinions matter less.

I like most everything Brian did with the Beach Boys, the self-titled, and parts of every solo album since (yes, even NPP).

NPP is hardly a can of spam, though. More like marmite. Love it or hate it. :)

I can buy that. Hell, although we are at complete opposites of the spectrum in many ways (this one included),  I'm not going to diss you for you opinion. Maybe I'm too close to be unbiased, maybe not. Not for me to decide. All I know is, I love the sh*t out of this record. Yes, I am a Brianista in most senses of the word, but I am also blunt as hell. I have made no bones about my dislike for Imagination, and side 2 (not counting San Francisco) of Orange Crate Art are the worst thing he's ever recorded, ranking down there with 'Speed Turtle' and the remake of 'Spirit of Rock and Roll'. So, with that in mind, NPP is by far my favorite solo album, and is my favorite stuff he's done in my life time (I'm 37). *This* is Brian fully engaged, and more enthusiastic about newer material than he's been in a very long time. Notice how the material has stayed in the shows, except Runaway Dancer (which I think was dropped more to fan reaction than Brian's own feelings on the song*).

Anyway, nobody's opinions are going to change. I know mine won't.

To reprise a hoary old adage, opinions are like assholes: everybody's got one and some stink more than others. They're  just opinions, not immutable truth.

It's one thing to praise an album.  Or criticize it.  Or offer any other kind of varying opinions. 

But to come out and say that one doesn't respect another's opinion, and that it's "preposterous"?  It's an album, a collection of songs.  Not everybody is going to like it. 

Stuff like this is why SSMB is getting a bad reputation. 

Aesthetic judgment is neither completely objective nor completely subjective.

I mean, the Beach Boys were objectively better than the garage band I had when I was 13. The Beach Boys were objectively better than the Sunrays, or Ronny and the Daytonas, or the Ripchords. The Beatles were objectively better than the Swinging Bluejeans or Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. It's not all subjective.

But neither is it all objective. What's the best lp of 1966 : Pet Sounds? Revolver? Blonde on Blonde? There is no objective answer to that, but can't we say that, objectively, Pet Sounds was at least a good album?

NPP is obviously more of a problematic case than is Pet Sounds.

How can you not jam to this! :hat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMGCurhSCkM

I think there's a good melody in there.   But, I just don't like dance music.  And despite my dislike for dance/EDM, I tried to like this track over the summer as my fiance likes it.  But, I finally gave up on it. 

The guy claimed it was among the worst records by Brian and or the Beach Boys. Go back and read it. Considering things like Summer In Paradise or GIOMH or most of MIU, '85 or Keepin The Summer Alive, or Brian's sub par vocals on several solo efforts..........I find that statement preposterous. I get that everyone has their own taste and opinion. Jimi Hendricks was a great guitarist. I happen to not like his music or singing hence I have no Jimi Hendricks in my music collection.

Stuff like this is NOTHING as far as this board getting a bad reputation.  People argue here every day and they (we) always have. 

I'm done with this thread. I like NPP a lot, you think most of it's good, TRBB thinks most of it's crap. Got it.

I read TRBB's opinion on NPP.  While I don't necessarily agree with it, I respect it.  I'm not trying to beat a dead horse, but I think that's all any poster on this board asks when they post their opinion. 

Who is this "Jimi Hendricks" guy?

TURN THAT CRAP OFF! :lol

What you talking about Mike's christmas single? >:D

Its time!
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,21360.0.html

Actually, I'd probably rather listen to Runaway Dancer than Santa's Goin' to Kokomo. :lol

That's a tough one.  But, I think I'd rather listen to the novelty Xmas song.