Very nice, the production is very 'full' in the stereo field which makes it sound a little different to your other productions and I like it. It's one of my favourites off Wild Honey (and I prefer the groovier version on Live in London) so it's good to hear this track in good stereo even if it is a cover.

I like (70s) Neil Young and Digital Recording and Belle and Sebastian (later stuff only).

I would say that for me the 'luxury' of going into a studio with all old analogue stuff is one that isn't likely to rear its head anytime soon so recording on my Mac (using Logic Audio) gives me a chance to do what I want.
I have recorded in studios before with tape (earlier in the decade before the digital stuff was everywhere) and spooling up the half inch tape everytime was a pain in the ass, as was having to reset the faders everytime I wanted to mix so on a practical level the computer recording wins hands down.

What really matters though to me is the song and then the arrangement, the performance and the production and as long as thats good then the recording equipment shouldn't be an issue.
I think sometimes artists use the recording equipment/studio/instruments as a bit of a crutch or a distraction from the actual material, like when McCartney used Bill Blacks original upright bass or whatever it was on 'Free as a bird' (I think), to me he could have used a bass found in a dustbin, all this icing is irrelevant if the song is a duffer. Or when Lou Reed talks about the type of amps he uses on a new album or Neil Young moaning on about CDs, I just think "Stop straying from the issue and just write some good songs".

As said by Chris above i'm pretty sure if Brian had had a computer back in the day then SMiLE would have been a bit of an easier finish (I dread even bringing SMiLE up!), but on the other side of the argument there is the thought that the limitations helped to inform the sound of Pet Sounds/Revolver/Sgt Peppers/Classic album xxxx etc... Though realistically i'm sure if the digital (and quicker) option had been there it would have been used; especially with people like Lennon and Brian who could be impatient on getting their results.

Thanks very much Chris! 

I have downloaded it but haven't listened to all of it (especially as Christmas has gone!) but the bits I have listened to are really great, your voice is fantastic! It's particularly lovely on 'O Holy night'!, anyway, I shall try and listen to some more. Great job!

Quite an interesting song and quite different from a lot of your other stuff vibe-wise. It sort of sounded a bit Beatle-ish to me, sort of White album era perhaps, it has the same sense of 'coldness' that I get from those songs and also a bit Elliott Smith-ish. i liked the fuzz guitar stabs that come into it. Backing vocals are nice too.

I'd quite like to be a drummer but have poor coordination and no drumkit. I did play on a friend of mines once along to 'Exile on Main Street' which was fun while it lasted. I'd also like to be able to play pedal steel guitar.
As far as writing songs is concerned most of the time the melodies come first then the words are written to fit that - apart from a lot of the choruses where a phrase or expression will trigger the melody for it and thus will then be 'the hook' and the start of the song. I will write chord sequences around the melody generally as then they are slightly more interesting, i'll only start a song off with chord sequences if the chords are quirky and I can fit something around that.
I hate those chart type MOR songs with a 4 chord sequence made up of something you've heard before (I'm sure most people know what I mean) as the melodies over it are usually unremarkable, you can also tell where the song is going to go. I also don't like writing lyrics first as then the rhythm of the words tends to dictate the rhythm of the melody (unless you're Elton John who seems to be able to do not do that).

Thanks very much Luther!

Continuing my tradition of writing songs about any occasion I can think of i've got a new one 'Song for a New Year' up on my myspace page;

http://www.myspace.com/brigadiermusic

It was supposed to be a minimalist folky sort of song but it ends up a bit Spectorish towards the end so that didn't really happen! Anyway please have a listen if oyu have a minute!
Cheers
Matt

I really like this, it has a fabulous sound, love the flabby drum sound for a start. The piano work is really enjoyable too. This reminds me a bit of some of the more upbeat Dylan stuff from this last decade (not that i'm an expert but that springs to mind), anyway really good, might be in my top tunes of yours Luther.

I liked the acapella intro, i'd love to hear you doing some more acapella stuff. I particularly like the breakdown around 1.28 it has a nice feel and then the massed vocals which pop in. The organ reminds me of the sort heard on early Prince records. Enjoyable.

Cool, good luck! I like Bread and love David Gates' voice. It's crazy to believe he's going to be 70 in the next year!!

Nice tone to this recording, I had a listen to the original version as well and obviously it's a lot more frenetic than the new version. It's a good song though and I think the melody works better over the new arrangement as it's overall less busy than the original. As usual I like the sound of the piano, and overall the new feel sort of reminded me a bit of Randy Newman in a way, not that I know him that well but just reminded me of it.

I'm really enjoying George Michael's new Christmas song;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hbwa00VEMc

There is something perversely amusing at being compared to people you don't like, I get (wrongly in my opinion) accused of sounding like ELO - and I hate ELO!

This is nice, it reminded me vibe wise of Neil Young, but a lot more melodic than he can manage these days...and your high vocal on the 'later' is also a bit Neil-ish I thought. I like the voice and the guitar together it gave it a real urgency and ambience which gave the song and the subject matter a bit more weight - like you really mean it (even if you don't!), not sure if that makes any sense whatsoever....

Wonderful stuff, I recommend anyone into the BB (well you would be if you're on here!) and the High Llamas to check this out, exquisite arrangements and lovely chord patterns.

I love it, it's probably my favourite Christmas album and probably also my favourite pre-Today Beach boys album.
The vocals are outstanding, my favourite side 1 song is probably 'Santa's Beard' as I love the chord changes and my favourite on side 2 is 'I'll be home for christmas'.
None of the songs on the 1977 album really measure up to it (Though I do like Winter Symphony and Morning christmas), though I do like the MIU versions of the songs. I find Als Peggy sue remake 'christmas time is here again' to be excruciating, the lyrics have got to be among the lamest ever heard on a Beach boys track, and thats saying something.

Lovely piece, like the momentum building up the 'chorus' bit which has one of those strange cyclical chord changes that you seem to do. Could be longer I think?

2. JDRF.org - Bryan Singer, David Coverdale, Stu Cook, Fabrice Morvan and Mike Love[/b]

I just want to hear David Coverdale and Mike Love together - the lechery!

My favorite period just so happens to be Saucerful thru Dark Side,

I agree with this, I love their 'meandering' years when frankly they didn't know what they were doing but still putting out good stuff (and some filler, but thats life). My favourite of this period is 'More' from 1969, I love the sound and vibe of it, I love Rick Wrights keyboard sounds on it too. I always take this album on holiday with me, it has a good mediterranean feel.
My favourite post DSOTM album is certainly 'Animals', its dark and unmelodic for the most part, but quite uncompromising and is the album I always put on when I can't sleep (in fact a lot of Floyd albums are great at making you sleep, not because they're boring but because you enter a strange world of sound and you often don't know where you are), in fact these days I don't listen to 'Animals' in any other context, I can usually fall asleep by the end of 'Dogs'.

I only hope the production is good and interesting, don't want to hear anymore attempts at trying to recreate Brians 60s sound (only done well on the Paley sessions IMO).....he should do Gershwin in a 'Beach Boys Love you' style!

Considering my favourite BW solo album (by far) is 'Orange crate art', I hold some hope for these albums, I want to hear more interesting jazzy orientated stuff.

So much for Pleasure Island or the Rock & roll album.

Hope not - the R&R album had serious potential.

Not if it had 'Proud Mary', 'Be my Baby' or any 'Shortenin Bread' variation on it...!

I'm looking forward to these, initially I thought 'hmmm' but then I realised if I had to hear covers rather than original material i'd rather hear Gershwin and Disney songs as covers by Brian rather than hear 'Proud Mary' or Phil f****** Spector.......

Thinking of the lushness of the melody and harmony involved in classic Disney songs and Gershwin seems to make sense - both those influences come together in Brian (Of course 'When you wish upon a star' influenced 'Surfer Girl') and of course Gershwin is all Pet Sounds/Smile etc....

Covers albums rarely get multiple plays from me but if the song selection is right and i'm not too familiar with the originals then I will enjoy them. Bryan Ferrys 'As time goes by' which covers standards from the 20s and 30s is one of my alltime favourites.

'Deirdre' is one of my favourites on the album, certainly better than that Dennis tosh 'got to know the woman'. If Bruce was a McCartney lover then good for him, he knows how to write a good song...

My fave was run in one of the Scottish newspaper supplements a few years back (though not as far back as you're looking for. Brian's incredibly candid, talking about how he doesn't often make love to his wife, and the fact that Dennis had sex with most of the BBs' wives, including Brain's own.


I know, I know, it's all about the music...

I remember reading that too, I kind of took it as red that that was standard Dennis behaviour...