ah thanks I worked hard on that one

Hi guys

When not debating the finer points of a woodwind section in glorious 5.1 sound or Mike Love's lyrical contribution I like to play music myself.

I've mainly spent 09 recording my second album. I have a 6 album project (Spencer McGarry Season) which aims to record 6 albums in 6 different styles- The first (Episode 1- basic rock) was out last year on my own label Businessman Records and the second (Episode 2) will be out in a few months.

Produced by Charlie Francis (High Lamas, REM) it's a high camp musical odyssey that's been compared to Disney, Todd Rungrun, Brian Wilson etc I was also going for Rodgers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Gershwin and McCartney.

I've put some pieces up on myspace

www.myspace.com/spencermcgarry

We'll be playing the whole album through in Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff (Wales) on March 19th with a 12 piece band, if anybody's in the country then.

thanks

ha! I really want to know though- let me down the wormhole... please?

I'm in the dark here what smile is this?

did I read somewhere that there is a link to the essay 'Recording the Beach Boys' or is this just a book?

Kindly yours

me

wow you guys are good- thanks

ah I thought you guys may have spied it already- ok I should take this down I suppose

Thuis was brought to my attention via the Guardian today- not sure if it's been mentioned anywhere else

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jan/07/brian-wilson-murry

and the letter-

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2009/12/all-i-tried-to-do-was-make-you-all.html

The first time I saw a beach boys live DVD (I think it was the lost concert) I was terribly embarrassed by Mike Love chicken dance, then I saw older concerts and was even more appalled by his sub Mick Jagger strut and corny presentation and the jokes! Good grief why does that man speak (his claim that he loves the silence following his jokes doesn't ring true)?  In short I can't watch him live at all without either laughing or being shocked.

Then I went to interviews and was taken aback by how angry he seems even right back in the 60's, he seems to have some sort of personality problem, then I read about him not liking Pet Sounds and SMILE which baffled me- in short, he is everything that is bad about the beach boys- I don't really value his bass singing that much (I think any of the beach boys could have done it I mean it's not exactly a booming bass) and his lead vocal quality can easily grate. The songs where he has contributed lyrics do not match songs where Brian has written with other people, it's embarrassing for a man even in his 20's to be singing about school and I wish he'd shut up about "having the idea" for back in the USSR.

I agree with other posts that The Beach Boys could have been just as good without him, although whether they would have actually got anywhere without him is a point that can never be solved.

 I can understand him being concerned with Brain's drug use and use of other song writing partners, but ultimately he just didn't seem to understand that an artist has to change and grow and not stick to a formula.

He also used the following opening line to Sean O' Hagan from the High Lamas who was going to produce the Beach Boys in the 90's, I paraphrase-
"so when are you limeys going to stop fuckin each other in the ass and make some good music?"
 It's not the best opening gambit even if it is a joke.

He may have mellowed and he may be more tolerable these days but that still leaves an embarrassing man.

ok well as for capital maybe, I always got the impression that they just didn't understand what Brian was aiming at and weren't very encouraging. They were hardly helpful with their practice of releasing greatest hits when they should have been promoting Pet Sounds and making them record Beach Boys party- if they'd pushed pet sounds more then it may have been as successful as it was in Britain giving Brian more clout and more importantly confidence to do SMILE. Although I recognise that Brian could have released SMILE if he wanted to and pressed on in defiance of others, I think he was just ground down by both his own band and label not understanding, and whilst after reading 'Goodbye Surfing Hello God' I can comprehend why the Beach Boys were a little hesitant about Smile and about the perceived increasingly aimless recording sessions, they should have left him to it after all the people who seemed most in opposition to SMILE were hardly capable of writing a song themselves. The point Mr Leaf makes which I agree with is that the Beach Boys were not urbane, cultural literates and this clashed with Brian's natural curiosity and appetite to try anything.

As for those collaborations- are they all Brian's songs? It always seemed through numerous accounts that he was discouraged from giving good songs to others and indeed the whole BB camp seemed opposed to him collaborating with others- Van Dyke Parks etc? Unless of course they were pre-approved? Is this fair? Although I've just noticed that he did co-write some of those songs. hmm maybe I've been reading to much of Wouldn't it be nice then?

ah ok- that makes sense I suppose. Maybe we'll have to wait a few years then, although seeing as Mr Sahanaja had them all on a lap top for the re-recordings, now would be a pretty good time to put everything together whilst their still fresh in memory and availability?

ah right- I thought he wasp uttign out Gershwin o nthe diney abel I must have missed the part where he talked of doing a disney album- probably thorugh being too excited about him doing Gershwin- still, no points for me

woah- did I miss one? what's the other one?

I watched the DVD again last night- I was still as bowled over as when it came out in 2004- also I was watching them record the Mrs O' Leary's Cow bit and I realised that some of it is  the same as the 'Who Ran the Iron Horse?' section- I hadn't noticed that before but it seemed so obvious once I heard parts in isolation- maybe it's been pointed out in other bits on this forum (I'm new here, I feel like saying 'it's my first day' every time I post), I stilll marvel at Smile and find it a constant imspiration- hopefully one day we'll get the boxset of the beach boys versions too- with perhaps one disk of a complete or near complete album- surely the label and Mike Love must realise the monetry value in releasing it (aside from it's obvious artistic value)?

I havne't heard the expletive version but I do liek this album
Little Saint Nick Single version ig great- really happy and I love the harmonies on The man with all the toys and santa beard and I think it's Blue Christmas or White christmas where the cello's do a Gershwin nod- I've only discovered that this year (maybe it's obvious though). Santa's Got An Airplane is an improvement on the non christmas song because the lyrics suit the sentiment of the music (and I also like it that santa on the ultimate version of the album updates his vehicle from some sort of motorised sled on little saint nick to an aeroplane). Morning Christmas is something else entirely it made me get up and put it on again after it had finished the other day- what a song.

Well I'm agreeing with that- it's strange as the most of the Beach Boys and the label didn't seem to like Smile yes they also didn't like the other marvelous songs and ideas Brian Had to offer like 'Until I die', yet they were unable to come up with anything better and took strange decisions like re-recording their own hits; which along with Capitol's decision to constantly re-release past hits amounted to a constant recycling of Beach Boys material for decades.

Also this almost 'ban' on Brian producing/collaborating with other bands strangled a vital outside influence that all bands require to grow. After all, the Beatles were forever collaborating with others and writing songs for other people when they were together and this can only help an artist.

Time and time again, in book after book the same people come up as being down on Brian's ambitions and not being willing to give him space- ultimately this was to the group's detriment.

Although I was able to see a little of the other side of things when I recently finally read Jules Siegel's article, and I can quite imagine the frustration of the band and label as they watched months and months of studio time and money disappear in increasingly outré pursuits. Still it's a great shame the band/label couldn't have realised what Mr Wison was trying to acheive and all work together to release SMILE in some form that wasn't Smiley Smile (interesting though that is), or that Brian wasn't allowed to release it as a solo record.

David Leaf's book also notes how upon being fired as gruop manager Murry Wilson spent a great deal of time in bed. To quote the wise words of the motion picture Superman- "The son becomes the father, and the father becomes the son"

This is highly exciting as if someone has had the foresight to combine all my interests in one place- Disney, Gershwin and Mr Wilson! Incredible I'll have to wait till 2010 though which is not so incredible

well fortuitously I've just got hold of one today- it may be golddust, I've been trying to find it all year I've looked all over Britain (well it feels like), scoured bookshops in Paris to no avail,  finally I discovered a friend who lives streets away had a copy even thogh I've been looking for it all year- anyway I'll read it this weekend and then hopefully we can begin some friendly debating

I'm new to this forum- I havne't read David Leaf's book yet but I'm excited about it- I've tried to find your comments on David Leaf but this forum is massive- do you know what topic they were in please?

Hi Peter

I enjoyed the book. I especially found the way Murry Wilson would dictate vocal parts to his family illuminating. The dictatorial style was no doubt continued in a more relaxed fashion by his son. As if that was the only way Brian could envision communicating his ideas or perhaps more revealingly, he wanted to be just like his father and followed the way he did things in a similarly headstrong fashion.

Do you know when the Paul McCartney book will be out in the UK please?

thanks