The Smiley Smile Message Board

Discuss, review and rate Carl Wilson, released March 1981.

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Cool album, but the least of Carl's solo work. Youngblood is far better.

Is this available anywhere? If so, is it just available on records not cds? I'd love to hear Carl's solo work, thanks!

Total junk, in every way.

I'd be glad to burn a copy (for the price of postage in the US!).
I have both recordings.
e-mail me...
Pete

Unfortunately a very weak album, although it includes "Heaven" and "Hurry Love". He should have taken a little longer time writing better songs and produce on his own.

The only thing that kept me from giving this a zero is "Heaven;" really good song that could really benefit from a less fluffy production.

It's not particularly good, but I find this infinitely preferable to the follow-up.  The poppy songs here are far better than the overwrought, empty West Coast rockers of Youngblood.  As for Heaven, well, it sounds like a Carl ballad from his latter years: dull and uninspiring.  Hard to believe this is the same man who wrote Trader and Feel Flows.

I think Carl Wilson has one of the finest voices I've ever heard, and his first solo effort is brilliant!! I LOVE Hold Me, Hurry Love is just gorgeous, and well, every song is a nice tune. I may be too biased to really say if it is comercially brilliant but oh well.

It's not that bad for the early 80s..

Carnie has a really good version of "Heaven" on her new CD, with Carl's son Justyn singing backup.

This could very well be the most boring album I own.

The aural equivalent to a shot of morphine after 6 beers. Not that I would know,but still....


Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........

The remix of Hold Me is actually good. Kind of like the alt. Rock and Roll Music it should of been the take used. Heaven is great. Seems so long ago would be if we didn't know how false it is. The rest isn't anything great but not horrid. The Flame and Beached way outclass it.

3.
i like it, but more because i love the man's voice, and less for the production and songwriting. when i first heard "hold me" on the 'american band' dvd i felt sick to my stomach. the same feeling happened when i heard it on the record. for some reason that feeling has gone away and i now actually find myself listening to that song quite often. my 3 favs are: hold me, hurry love, & heaven.

Never heard it, or Youngblood (But i HAVE heard 'Looking Back with Love' - where's the justice in that?) Anyway, can't seem to track 'em down anywhere.. Can anyone burn me a copy and i'll cover all costs etc.?

What do you mean by this?

And there's an alternate mix of Hold Me, this is the first I've ever heard of this. What's it like?

I have not heard this album, but I have heard Hold Me, and Heaven. Hold Me is a KILLER song! I can't put into words how much I love this song.  ;D I wish that the beach boys would have done this in concert instead of What You Do To Me. I have a rather irrational hatred of that song.  >:D

I give a 3...it's pleasant to listen to, not very exciting, however. I love 'Heaven', and I like a few other songs as well. Not something I listen to all the time, but not a terrible album in my opinion...just a little on the dull side.

I like a few of the songs...

Gave it a 3 because of Heaven. The rest of the album is generic early 80s AOR fluff.

Not bad for a first solo album. Again, Carl's voice made it worth listening to. The production however isn't that great and it sounds too 80s MOR. Heaven is beautiful though.

I heard Heaven for the first time today. It sounds more like Kenny G or Michael Bolton than the Beach Boys.

Except Hold Me and Heaven, everything is pretty mediocre. It's not anywhere near Denny's solo stuff or Brian's. But those couple songs are amazing. 3/5.

albums not available on rhapsody, so I can't hear them. went to Carl's grave today,to kneel and thank him for all the BB music.

Carl's voice saves it. He's given mostly lifeless, drab arrangements to work with and he still sings beautifully... it's almost melancholy.
Heaven is a really lovely track (though following it up with The Grammy was a rubbish idea :P ). Seems So Long Ago is also very nice.

This album wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I would take this over KTSA easily.

This album is terribly mixed, though.

I give this a 3.. You have half of a very good record.. Hold Me  Heaven  Seems so long ago  Hurry Love.. The Right lane  really sucks among others..  The cover of "Thank You "   CW played in concert rocked and should have been added as a bonus track.. Nice try but this lp comes up short.

This is coming from a big Carl fan: It totally sucks.

Listened to the full album last night. I really did hope it was going to be a good album. Boy, was I disappointed.

Hurry Love and Seems So Long Ago are the only half-decent tracks off this album. The rest? f*** them. Even the slightly overrated Heaven, though it could be a case of letting it grow on me. At the moment, I don't like it at all.

Going Public is a better album than this, though Looking Back With Love is still a lot worse.

1.5 out of 5.

You might like the single version - cut to 3:30.

Carl Wilson!  Yes, this 1981 gem just arrived today in my mailbox.  I love it!!

Nice to know at least one person here enjoys this album. The cd sound is stunning! Really puts the spotlight on the fantastic drum work of James Stroud and Alan Krigger; and the bass work of Gerald Johnson and J.W.G. "Heaven" nearly brought tears to my eyes, thinking of a loved one who is no longer with us.

Carl Wilson - 7/10

This is my favorite of Carl's solo efforts. It's just a really pleasant, enjoyable album. I dig the stripped-back production and the resulting clarity. I like the drums high in the mix. The fact that this debut isn't the ambitious artistic statement that some fans may have hoped for doesn't bother me one bit. By comparison, Youngblood probably has stronger material and more impressive vocals from Carl, but the production is too busy for my taste. Too guitar-driven and dated. It's certainly more ambitious-sounding, but sometimes less is more.

I only have a few (minor) problems with Carl Wilson. 1) I think "What You Gonna Do About Me?" and "The Right Lane" both drag on too long. 2) I could have done without the nearly 2 minute saxophone solo in "Seems So Long Ago". Though, there are worse ways to end an album, sequence-wise (see Youngblood). 3) I'm not a fan of "The Grammy". Particularly, lyrically. Anyway, here's how I'd rank the tracks...

1. Heaven
2. Hurry Love

3. Hold Me
4. What You Gonna Do About Me?
5. The Right Lane
6. Seems So Long Ago
7. Bright Lights

8. The Grammy

5/5 for me! It's a great album

Then you'll probably hate the live versions of those long tracks. What You Gonna Do About Me clocks in at 7 minutes on the live cd from the Bottom Line.
But I agree about the sound of the drums on this album - great clarity in the instruments because it's a very sparse production.