You havan't met Beatles fans have you? Some crazy folks in that world.

No I didn't. But thanks anyway. It's good that we're not alone.

Are there any Shaggs blegs around?

Don't be scared. I don't mean to infer that we should be institutionalized. But over the years I more than once thought: Beach Boys fanatics could be, erm, just that little be more fanatic/obsessed/.... (fill in your own term) than other pop pundits. But perhaps I am completely wrong. I never visit other music boards; and the amount of sheer knowledge here about that little fart that Al let loose in 1960 and that got recorded by accident on the Wollensak recorder and that appears on bootlegs that set you back $ 1000 is, eh, amazing, if that's the word.
Are Beatles fanatics the same? Or Kiss aficionados?

Throw me your opinions.

At last! I have an ally!! Good to hear it! 

I just love the tack piano and the big synth bass, and there are lots of quirky little details scattered around it too.

Let's party between the three of us then. JOIMF is a true highlight for me. It has an emotional depth that the Righteous Brothers don't reach, probably because Bri and Carl are real brothers. The line 'Though I Can't Give You The World'... it doesn't get much more soulful than that.

Thanks for all the comments, all very interesting, incidentally 'Just once in my life' is my favourite track off 15 Big Ones, its so ominous sounding, its brilliant and towers over the Righteous brothers version. Production wise its similar to Brians take on 'You've lost that lovin feelin'.
I like the backing track of Had To Phone Ya better than the vocal version for some reason though.

I recall, from a long time ago, that a certain Peter C. had had access to a sitting with Alan Boyd (?) where he heard exactly that: the backing track of HTPY in demonstration sound quality. He was raving. Do you know anything about that?

I just had another thought: Brian has said several times that he wasn't always that enthusiastic about his falsetto (that's the reason he didn't want 'Let Him Run Wild' on the GV 30 Years box - he found his voice too girlish, too 'wimpy'. Could it be that for that reason he refused to 'gloss over' his rougher, more 'male' voice in later years?

Can I first say that I am currently reading 'Catch A Wave', and that I am hugely enjoying it? It is unputdownable. Well-written, and with really lots of new info... after all the BBs literature, I'd never thought that anyone could come up anymore with a book like this. So: hats off to PAC.

My favourite version (breaking the rules!) is that 1972 radio version with Carl singing over electric piano.

You punk! 

So I've been listening to Be My Baby on loop for the past 45 minutes, and I really don't see what's so special about this song. I don't think the arrangement is very exciting, and I hate those frickin' castanets or whatever that percussive Latin sound is

So what was your reason for listening for 45 minutes nonstop if you don't like it?  I could  understand perhaps once or twice, as a part of some academic exercise.

...is a point. Although I would never begrudge someone doing that, I wouldn't be able to do that myself, because of the risk of not wanting to hear it ever again. But well, could be an attempt to experience what Brian felt when he did that (and he did that repeatedly, according to his own reports).
But then: Brian has a tendency to 'repeat'. It can be heard on SMiLE blegs with those ongoing repeats of the 'Bicycle Rider' theme, for instance. I always felt that repeating favourite tunes for Brian function as 'sedatives', to make him feel at ease. Anyone else ever thought this?

Intriguing. I once was a U2 aficionado. But I am not interested in their latest output (same goes for R.E.M. actually). But even if a newspaper offered me review space, I wouldn't feel the need to use it. My thoughts: let others enjoy it. Period.

John, that would be the ticket, but how to choose? I have about 175 boots to make sessions of, but am rather looking for the "good stuff" they omitted as you said. Where oh where to start?

Um... 175 boots? Are you a lottery winner by any chance? Or did your maths suffer from solvent inhaling?

Album. Fun thing: my younger brother bought one of these luxurious Warner Bros. 4 LP sets in the 70s, when we were still school kids. Title: 'Superstars Of The Seventies'. Could have been an effort to cash in again on well-known stuff by James Taylor, Carly Simon, The Faces, Doobie Bros. I was just getting into the BBs way back then... and I listened to Surf's Up (which was the closing track on one of the sides) with eager anticipation. Imagine: I was a tad disappointed, because it carried no 'easy' chorus to sing along with, nor the usual 'beach joy mood'.
Things changed. Now it's one of my all-time favourites. I rate it above GV and many other chestnuts.

At last! I have an ally!! Good to hear it! 

I just love the tack piano and the big synth bass, and there are lots of quirky little details scattered around it too.

Let's party between the three of us then. JOIML is a true highlight for me. It has an emotional depth that the Righteous Brothers don't reach, probably because Bri and Carl are real brothers. The line 'Though I Can't Give You The World'... it doesn't get much more soulful than that.

I'm surprised he wasn't obsessed with "Keep on Dancing" more. That has a whole waltz thing to it and the intro holds similarities to H&V. Same thing with "Do I Love You."

My thoughts, yes. Perhaps 'When I Saw You' would be a candidate too, because it's sophisticated, it doesn't 'explode' into a major chorus like so many Spector songs do. And over the years Ronnie's 'wavering' voice lost a bit of its charm for me, and LaLa Brooks, for her sheer panache and enthusiasm, rose a somewhat in my affection. But really, I still like all of it.

Q magazine (list #63 at: http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/q150lists.htm) claims Song Cycle
is the 4th most expensive album ever (a claim repeated in Wikipedia) at 218,000 pounds
in today's money ($48k then?).

But the gap between VDP and the top 3 is absurdly wide, so I don't find this credible at all--
surely many big albums have cost more than $300,000 US?
http://futureboy.homeip.net/fsp/dollar.fsp?quantity=48000&currency=dollars&fromYear=1968

Intriguing call. I sometimes wonder how long it took VDP to realize Song Cycle. Because modern 'superbands' look very lazy to me. They rake in millions with touring and take years to make an album. Surely that must be very costly? But then, they can even afford losing money on a CD, because of those ugly ticket prices they demand nowadays for a stadium seat about 5 miles away from the stage...

...yesterday I was staring at the Sounds Of Summer CD and I wondered: is it technically possible to re-mix GV (the official one) in stereo, much in the same way that Heroes and Villains got the treatment? Or am I already firmly entering iconoclastic territory here? 

I got my Vinyl today, my local Tower Records here in Ireland only had 2 of 10 copies left after two days.

Sadly I don't have a turntable, so I might frame it or something.

You could, um, of course, um, send it to me.

You could, um, send him a turntable as well though....   

  I can't top that... priceless!!

I got my Vinyl today, my local Tower Records here in Ireland only had 2 of 10 copies left after two days.

Sadly I don't have a turntable, so I might frame it or something.

You could, um, of course, um, send it to me.

Perhaps, in the end, I prefer the TV Personalities. 'Part-time Punks' defines the era for me.

I make an copy of every CD I buy. Then I only play the copies. Works pretty well.

I must admit I pondered this idea for a while. But it got too immense for me... and the whole idea of putting the originals in a locked cupboard and playing only copies is psychologically untenable for me. Only imagine hearing just before your death that originals DO sound markedly better than copies (some hifi-buffs maintain this and make a case for it by explaining copying into organic dye CDRs).
But, of course, everyone's free, and I won't ridicule any idea. I am thinking about buying a stock of empty jewel cases and storing the 'sensitive' candidates in that way.

Personal thanks go out to Steven Gaines for contributing (hope he will continue to do so!). Already it's a great prompter to re-read the book.

Song Cycle is such an utter delight and gem!

I remember being turned on to it around the time of the release of the first edition of Domenic Priore's Smile book. It was a little inaccessible at first, but
after repeated listenings cemented itself into my brain in a marvelous way.

The delicate and ethereal quality of the music and sophisticated poetry of the lyrics is captivating and appeals to both the intellect and the musical spirit of the listener.

I also particularly love Discover America, the title track of Clang of the Yankee Reaper, Jump and the Moonlighting at the Ash Grove live album.

Long live Van Dyke Parks, and thanks for being so loyal and motivational to Brian through the years, and his participation in the original composition of Smile
and the dream come true of its recent completion and release.

Lovely post. I agree with the sentiments expressed. 'Clang Of The Yankee Reaper' is one of the finest things I know... melancholy, ethereal, beautifully used synths (a rarity), and, as so often is the case with VDP, those female choruses... I think the women sing something like 'Sun In The Moon', or words to that effect, in an oriental fashion; and indeed, I saw things like this as a personal treasure for many a year. Not that anyone in high school understood anything about it, mind. All other kids were into Genesis, ELP, that kind of stuff.
Another personal favourite: 'Ode To Tobago', off of 'Discover America'. The slightly delayed female voices (again!) never fail to bring me into a somewhat orgiastic state, because they remind me of the erotic paintings of Paul Gauguin (his Tahiti period).
Since you sing his praise here so directly, allow me to chime in. Many, may thanks to mr. Van Dyke Parks for his utmost loyalty to Brian Wilson (how I wish I'd seen the London première of SMiLE... because he was there. We opted for the fourth show in 2004, at the Royal Festival Hall, because it was initially the last one, the 'finale' so to speak. But of course, we had a miraculous time nevertheless!).

Do you know John Fahey? An American treasure.

I'm surprised at all the interest.  I never would have none that this board existed were it not for a Google alert that my name appeared in a blog.

We're nerds.  As for which university ... how about MIU, in Fairfield, Iowa? Seems appropriate!

Actually, it's called MUM now, Maharishi Institute of Management. I looked it up awhile ago, it's a very interesting school. The food in the dining halls is all vegetarian/organic, and students are required to go to some sort of exercise class every day.

*has nightmare: MUM, out of its own principle, selling all of Steven's tapes to the highest bidder, an anonymouse Japanese businessman, who locks them away again ASAP*

I'll NEVER sell those tapes.  Those tapes will go to a University that will appreciate their value.  I don't want money for those tapes, nor for the Beatle tapes, nor for the thousands of other tapes I have of all the great rock bands of the 20th century.  I want them to be available for research and for posterity.

...is the right answer! Cheers man!

My favorite part about song cycle is that track 6 is "Van Dyke Parks" composed by "Public Domain" and track 7 is "Public Domain" composed by "Van Dyke Parks".

  Perhaps his next album will have as track 6 'Van Dyke Parks' composed by 'Trad Arr', and as track 7: 'Trad Arr', by 'Van Dyke Parks'?

You're the greatest.

I agree.

  superb...

Yes I was. But the post, all manufactured typos aside, doesn't prove it.

  thanks for taking it in the spirit in that it was done! Your original post happens to be spot on, by the way. Perhaps it's that this board allows for quite a lot of hierarchy in quoting... other boards prohibit quoting more than 2 embedded texts. I hope the admins let it stay the way it is here.

I'm actually a little confused as to how anyone messes up the use of quotes, to be honest. It isn't rocket science. A solid 195% of my posts are made when I'm drunk, and I can manage.

Luther, were you drunk when you wrote this?