The Smiley Smile Message Board

Discuss, review and rate I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, released August 1995.

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Best available version of Melt Away, and some other good interpretations, too. I also like this Still I Dream Of It--far better than the finished version. I don't like the background vocals much, at least as compared to either the current band or the Beach Boys, but it's still pretty good.

3-ish. 

A very interesting album. Nothing special (except for that demo, wow), but fun to listen to.

I bought this for around eight bucks, and it's a good listen. I think this has to be my favorite rendition of "Wonderful", I don't know why I just like it the best. The backing vocals to me sound closest to the Beach Boys versions, but listening to Brian's new band more and more, it tops the backing vocals on this album but their vocals "better than the Beach Boys"? I'd say no.

Charles... there's no barf avatar. I demand one immediately.

Worst vocals of Brian's career.

That is all.

Damn, I think they're Bri's best vocals of his solo career, before or since...

I love the vibe of the record, really nice and laid back.  And the backing vocalists are fantastic, blend alot better with Bri's voice than his current band.

I felt with this, and the documentary that accompanied it, it seemed as if part of Brian's mouth was numb. Imagine someone, with an otherwise beautiful voice, coming home from the dentist, and the drugs haven't worn off yet. That's this album in a nutshell.

I like the instrumentation and song selection, though. Who would've thought Brian, who had always been interested in moving the Beach Boys forward, would choose to rerecord Do It Again? Not me.

This was the first BW solo album I ever bought. Purchased it the week it came out, despite all the bad notices, mainly cracking on Brian's voice. There's still some stuff I like on this album. "Melt Away" sounds great, and though Brian's vocals may sound a little unpolished, there's a lot of feeling in them. There's some bite in his voice, not the bland, processed voice we've been hearing for the last few years.

THANKYOU!

I love the vocals on this, and the backing vocalists are SO sweet... Awesome blend, great bass singer.  How these could be the worst vocals of Brians solo career, when there's GIOMH, 88, and OCA around is beyond me...

For me, the only arguable one is SMiLE... he MIGHT be better on that.

I hate these backing vocalists, and would've strongly preferred a few of his current band.

I do like the general production on the album, though, and while I'm not willing to say I prefer the more "live"-sounding Brian, I certainly enjoy it in this context. Listening to him strain for higher notes, like in Warmth of the Sun, is a pleasure in this context, whereas when he's quadruple-tracked and allegedly polished, it pains me to hear him miss similar notes. Those albums have no excuse. Here, he just had permission to go for it and miss.

It adds to the vibe the film.

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Wow, I thought these were Brian's worst vocals of his solo career. Oh well......agree to disagree.

I agree.

I love this album. Great song selection and nice, mellow and very enjoyable performances.

I would have to give this a 2.  I do think that Melt Away is best heard on this record and of course the Still I Dream Of It demo is phenominal.  I like teh demo version much more than the Adult/Child studio version.  The other songs are performed well enough but I dont like Brian's voice on this at all and the bg vocals really dont do it for me either.  Great song selection though.  Pleasent enough but not my cup of tea.

I really like this album. It has some of that Johnny-Cash-american-recordings-smiley-smile-feel. There is still so much soul in Brian's voice, though technically it was not that good around this time.
BTW why doesn't get Van Dyke any credit for "Wonderful"?

An excellent album apart from the fact is a little too short in length. I'd would have liked a few more additional songs. Worth the purchase just for Caroline, No and Wonderful. Best version of Love of Mercy also...

Surprised to see so many positive comments about Still I Dream of it. That scratchy demo doesn't belong on this album, disrupts the flow. Other than that, I like it. Nice mellow vibe, and the song selection shows much more of the inner Brian than the setlists they put together for his solo tours. If I want to hear Surfin' USA, Fun, Fun, Fun, and Barbara Ann, I'll go see the Mike and Bruce show. No one can do Help Me Rhonda better than Al. And no one is going to do Til I Die or Warmth of the Sun better than Brian. Was blown away when I saw the film, and Brian seemed to really be putting himself into these songs instead of just freezing up like a deer in the headlights. I'm surprised he didn't do more work with Don Was.

I just got this album today. I like the production. I pretty much bought it because of the version Warmth of the Sun. I love Brian's vocals, they are natural. Love and Mercy sounds great.

This is like Brian playing in my living room while I'm entertaining guests for a dinner party....


 :rock :rock :rock


4

I think he would play in your living room if you cooked him dinner...!

I like this one too, I like his mid 90s vocals, not as robotic as the Landy era.

It's an organic album but I'm not nuts about the arrangements. Not that they're bad, in fact they are very tasteful and understated.
 
In other words, they don't sound like Brian Wilson to me.

Great that it's organic sounding and all, but not something that I need to hear. I burned a few songs of this one but that's about all I need. I think Still I Dream of iIt murders the GV box set version, though.I heard the demo before the polished version and the first time I heard Still I Dream of It I remember fleetingly thinking, damn, that writer is brilliant.
The finished version...in my opinion...has had the life squeezed out of it.

Yep, this album and Imagination have those bland A/C arrangements, BW88 is swamped with those %@*! synths, and GIOMH has those offkey vocals. BW's solo catalog is pretty weak, except for the unreleased stuff.

I'm warming to the first album and beginning to look past the sound. It's got what I consider to be real "Brian Wilson" arrangements(whatever that really means!) and within those arrangements really are flashes of absolute brilliance. I'm trying to look at the album without any "I hate Eighties production" prejudices. When I manage to do it, it's pretty good and definitely the work of the same man who did Pet Sounds and Love You, if also of inferior quality. It may be in twenty years or ten years that sound will not sound so bad to people's ears as they do now. (?)

Haven't heard Imagination yet, though I will buy it eventually. At least some of the songs on that one will be new(to me).

Wonderful review. I adored it and the accompanying film. Brian's vocals on 'Wonderful' are extremely touching. And yes: 'American Recordings'. A 4.

How did they afford a real harpsichord for this but not BWPS? Weird.

Cost wasn't the issue on BWPS. As I recall from an interview--and I apologize, but I forget which one, but either with Darian or Mark L--they had originally planned to do the synth ones as placeholders, then replace with real ones (this goes for tack piano, as well). But they simply decided those sounded good enough, and that it wasn't worth the trouble.

It's not so much that the songs or even his solo catalogue are weak, the production and arrangement choices just haven't been that great. I felt like TLOS, barring a few elements, was the first solo album of his that really seemed like it was pulled off well (aside from BWPS, but that borrows a lot from the 60s arrangements and production).

I love this album and its accompanying film.  A person can say there was no need to re-record these songs but Brian had gone through so many changes by this time, I think it's great to hear these songs from a new perspective.  You can tell Brian is having a lot of fun and there's a lot of personality in these numbers.  I also really love the sound of the backup singers.  The version of Do It Again on here is the best ever recorded, even better than the Beach Boys version.  Good selection of songs, great performances.

5/5

Has anyone heard this on vinyl yet? I never have enough money when I see it in the record shop but I want it so bad...I bet that demo of Still I dream of It is hauntingly beautiful on vinyl.

It's OK. It's stripped down, but it's not organic enough for me, as far as that kind of thing goes. It's not intimate enough or rockin' enough. The  bg's are executed well, but I don't think the backing vocalists really get how to do the West Coast bg thing.

Don's approach to the production brings things close to middle of the road rock. If I were going on the music from the documentary to form an opinion of Brian Wilson's music, I don't think I would have been that impressed

Does anyone have the 2013 [?] vinyl reissue? How does it sound?

I would like to have it, but it's a bit pricey, especially for such a short album. I may change my mind, though. I have very nice memories of the time this album and documentary came out, in the middle of the happiest year of my life. Always takes me back to that time. Plus it felt like an eternity had passed since Brian's first album, so I was just starved to hear anything from him. So it is partly sentimental reasons that place this and OCA high on my list.

I think the significance of this album far outweighs the content.  Brian Wilson performing some BB classics, deep cuts, and solo songs.

His voice may be a little raw, but at this point to hear him sing anything was a miracle. 

The song selection is interesting too.  Melt Away, Let the Wind Blow, Meant for You.  I like that he goes with the far less obvious songs.  Love and Mercy and Melt Away are each far better than the BW88 versions. 

Wonderful, Caroline No, and The Warmth of the Sun don't seem to work as well. 

Carnie and Wendy on Do It Again was a nice touch. 

I know I'm in the minority, but I prefer the version of Still I Dream of It that appeared on the GV box.  Much like the demo of In the Back of My Mind that was released on the super deluxe NPP, I find the vocals tough to listen to. 

Overall, I give this a three.  Significant release, yes.  But ultimately, won't be played very often. 

That demo of Still I Dream of it is out of place on this album. If they wanted to showcase another song from the film, it should have been that version of God Only Knows with Brian, Carl and Audree at the piano.

I absolutely love this album (and the doc) and play it regularly. The doc itself really distils my love for Brian, anyone who asks seriously about him I send to that doc.

 One thing is really, really bugging me....my kingdom for the answer:

  Is there a copy of the full version of OCA that Brian sings at the Piano with VDP anywhere in circulation? Anywhere?

 I think that this version is so superior to the released version, they must have recorded it fully, I just want to hear own it...

I like that version, too. The album version seems overproduced. Hearing this song for the first time, my thought was "Sunflower". It was a very hopeful time as Brian fan, hearing him finally return to making music, and I really expected some amazing stuff from him throughout the rest of the 90's and into the 00's.

I have it, it's a really really! great press.  Quality release and very quiet background noise.
My go to copy, and glad this found it's way to vinyl.

I did see the vinyl at Half Price Books for $27.99. That's steep! But I would grab it if I was still employed full time.