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[Deserter's Songs]

Mercury Rev----Deserter's Songs

Great album, but each song is in basically the same style and sound. 

I'd nominate a few suggestions:

The Beatles - Revolver, The Beatles
The Clash - Sandinista!
Elvis Costello - Spike! (similar sound across the LP, but diverse styles of writing)
Just about any album by They Might Be Giants

Not sure any single VU/Lou Reed album is amazingly diverse, but he sure had a diverse career.

Allowing a couple years' time to thoughtfully edit down:

Mrs. Lennon
Airmale
Revolution 9
Wild Honey Pie
Piggies
Helter Skelter
Long, Long, Long
Julia
Why Don't We Do it in the Road?
Sexy Sadie
Good Night

Yes, the album is very abstract and far out but that was in vogue come 1966 and especially 1967.

For the Beach Boys it is, but not compared to music that is actually abstract or "far out."  It's different enough to make pop fans feel progressive, but it's not very unusual.  Not that it matters, but in the realm of pop music Zappa and Song Cycle were certainly more abstract.  Smile sounds like a simple version of Song Cycle.  It's Brian's Song Cycle, just like Song Cycle is Van's Smile.  But the influence is Gershwin more than Ives.  Mrs. O'Leary's Cow sounds like Van's idea, but simple, like Brian's music.  No way would the Beach Boys have gone further in Van's direction and released something made to sound like a recording of the Titanic sinking, which Song Cycle has. 

Smile should be celebrated as a great pop album expanding on what the Beach Boys had done before, because that's what it is.  People like Brian or the Beatles have a huge influence within the narrow realm of rock music.  We're not talking Da Vinci or people who have had a large influence on how humans see themselves or their world, or anything like that.

Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes: Complete
Frank Zappa - The Making of Freak Out (similar to the Pet Sounds set)
Frank Zappa - Lumpy Money

If you track down the Elvis Costello Rhino CDs there is a wealth of early versions/demos/alternate versions with some different arrangements.  Many independent sellers charge outrageous prices, but I managed to find each of them for costs ranging from $3-$28, within the past year.  So if you look around and you're patient, they can be had.

Beggars Banquet released some box sets for two albums each by Bauhaus and the Fall.  They have some great alternate/early versions, as well.

I wonder if "Drip Drop" proves that he has Tourette's ?

Sure.  What songs do you think would've been on Smile?

Brian on the other hand...  I've seen quite a few places where he's described as simply having a savant-ish ability.  My own original opinion of him was "as close to a savant as you'll get without actually being a savant".  That has since been amended to "probably has a bit of Asperger syndrome".  That is, enough autism to mess up his social abilities.  One of the key signs of Asperger is a lack of empathy (in this case, meaning the ability to understand what a person is experiencing from their frame of reference).  I don't think Brian actually understands how much he hurt Mike's feelings by going with Asher and then Van for lyrics.  Another trait of Asperger is a failure to react appropriately to social interaction.  Saw that plenty from Brian in the 70s.  That old RS article, Saving Brother Brian, it mentions Landy having to teach Brian how to interact with people (again).

I don't think Asperger explains Brian's weirdness.

I've thought he might have Asperger's too (and maybe it would be more obvious before the bad medications, etc.), though of course I'm not a psychologist and I don't know him.  But, based on what I've read of his social skills, his confidence/interest in limited areas (music), some of the ritualistic behavior (playing "Be My Baby" every morning), or possible stimming (the Linda Rondstadt story about working out a vocal arrangement while playing an unrelated pattern on the piano), it wouldn't surprise me.  Many people with Asperger's would take issue with the "lack of empathy," though.  It may appear that way to Neurotypicals on the outside, but that is not how many of them feel.  You seem to define the word better than some, but I'd say he had empathy, even if his social skills made it show differently.  He did cowrite "God Only Knows," after all.  There are many neurotypicals who would not express their souls and human emotions like Brian Wilson has.

Madness, the Rise & Fall
I did not like this. I thought there was about 3 good songs: "Primrose Hill", "Our House", and "Madness". The rest was nothing worth mentioning.

I'm curious, how many times did you listen to this?  You found nothing to like in the majestic "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)" or the wondrous, mock-glib, anti-war "Blue Skinned Beast"?  I cannot find a bad track on the album, nor among the related singles and b-sides ("House of Fun," "Don't Look Back," "Driving in My Car," "Animal Farm," "Riding on My Bike," and "Walking with Mr. Wheeze").  Even the Costello version of "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)" is fun.  Truthfully, it's difficult to find a bad track among the first five albums.  Dismissing Madness would be like saying the Kinks only had three good songs.

Big Black, Songs About Fucking
Powerful, noisy stuff. Is there actually something good under all that noise? I'm not sure. There might be.

Noisy, yes, but also very melodic.  It is no surprise that Kurt Cobain was passionate about them, or Bauhaus for that matter.  Both used noise to create melody.

New Order, Power, Corruption & Lies
I liked it - not the sound I was expecting from this album. I don't think the record ever rises above the opening cut, "Age of Consent", which is some blissful, jangly pop music. I LOVE "AGE OF CONSENT".

Their singles always seemed to have a boundless passion and urge to do something different which I think the albums, as good as they are, sometimes lack.  I would not expect blissful, jangly pop from them, though.  They do that, but it's not all they do, and you will miss some vital music.  There is more in this world than is dreamt of in your 12-string

They Might Be Giants, Lincoln
I did not enjoy this at all. The music sounds like it was made in Garage Band and the singer has an unbelievably annoying voice. There are some nice things to be found, like "They'll Need a Crane" (basically only worth it for the lyrics), but it's not worth it.

Their voices can be annoying at first, but their songwriting skills are very sound.  I think they might be more well-regarded if other artists covered their songs, but of course this is not so common in our post-Beatle world.  Still, I am a bit shocked to see how dismissive you are of some of these records.  Did you not find "They'll Need a Crane" to be memorable musically?  I felt they'd reached a new plateau with that, much as the Beatles did with "She Loves you," sounding more assured than before.  You hear no melody, wit, or charm in "Ana Ng," "Purple Toupee," "Where Your Eyes Don't Go," or "Piece of Dirt"?  I'll admit I did not like their music at first, but after a few listens they became quite addictive.  

Pete Shelley, Homosapien
A shame it's not a Buzzcocks record, but Shelley still has his wonderful songwriting style intact for this album.

I know how you feel.  I love the record, but wish that they'd released his demos of some of these songs as part of the "Different Kind of Tension" reissue, since some of the songs were originally meant for a fourth Buzzcocks album.  That said, the song "Homosapien" actually predates the Buzzcocks.

Barry Adamson, Moss Side Story
Really interesting album and idea, a fake soundtrack to a murder mystery. I didn't get to spend as much time with this album as I would have liked, but it is a riveting listen.

Thank you for the recommendation.  I love his music for the film "Lost Highway" and his playing in Magazine is certainly gripping.

Donald Fagen, the Nightfly
What antiseptic schlock. Everything is squeaky clean and shiny and I'm gonna throw up in a bucket. If I discovered anything about myself during this time, it's that I have absolutely no time for "sophisti-pop".

That is part of the humor, though.  Certainly he (and they--Steely Dan) enjoy these sounds enough to craft recordings with them, but it is meant to be ironic, too.  They are trying to show us how our real emotions are now contextualized through meaningless, endless fabrication and the fantasy of industry and science as endlessly progressive solutions.  Hence, "I.G. Y." or great Steely Dan songs like "The Last Mall."  Or the title of his later album, "Sunken Condos."  The cover of "Ruby Baby" is bland, though perhaps meant to show how youthful passion becomes adult complacency.  There are some really amusing, heartfelt details, though, such as the teenager being more concerned about having beer and Brubeck in his underground bunker.

And also "well it rained on the mountain --". Similar rhythm and identical intervals. Nobody says that Sweet Mountain came from Do You Like Worms.

Probably because they really don't resemble each other.  Even if you don't fully agree with me, you must admit there is a much larger resemblance between the three songs I discussed in comparison to any resemblance between "Worms" and "Sweet Mountain." 

Like I said a bit ago, the bridge of "Worms" sounds closer to the solo of "Santa's Beard" than "Whistle In" - where are the claims that "Worms" is totally derived from "Santa's Beard"? It's just a coincidence, that's all.

I see what you're saying, but of course the "Santa's Beard" seems derived from "Jingle Bells."  I'm not saying the melodies between "Worms" and "Whistle In" are an exact match, but they seem far more related.

I think everyone goes through an anti-SS phase in their Beach Boys fandom.

Not once. 

Performed with a similar feel, but not the same music.  "Whistle In" is the music from the chorus of "Look" combined with what is basically the vocal melody of the end of "Do You Like Worms."  That's how "Whistle In" comes from "Smile."

I really, really don't think any of this is true.

You genuinely hear no resemblance at all?  "Wahala loo lay / Wahala loo la" v. "Remember the day / Remember the night..."? 

[POSSIBLE]

From the SS/WH twofer notes:
A version of this was recorded on 1/27/67, the same day as the "Cantina" section of "Heroes and Villains".  It is possible that at one point, "Whistle In" was part of "Heroes and Villains".

Ipso facto.....

IT IS POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

Plus, nothing like this has ever been booted or put on the Smile Sessions box, so hrrrm. :\


Above all else, I guess I meant more that "Whistle In" wasn't derived from anything we'd heard.

I thin that SS/WH notes indicate that "Whistle in" has origin in Smile´s "Whistling bridge", perhaps even in "All day"?? For this second  just lyrically, but "Whistlin bridge" is certainly origin of SS Whistle in.
Just my opinion.

Performed with a similar feel, but not the same music.  "Whistle In" is the music from the chorus of "Look" combined with what is basically the vocal melody of the end of "Do You Like Worms."  That's how "Whistle In" comes from "Smile."

There are similarities but that has to do with the fact that the musical context is terribly simple for many of these examples, not that there was a conscious effort to reference anything

It's true that I doubt Paul and Gene were listening to Smiley Smile when Paul suddenly lifted the needle and exclaimed, "that spooky shape in the bass and harmony vox would make a great melody for a disco track!" 

Yes, exactly.  It is a common melody.  You can also hear it in a Madness song (forget which one--I believe on The Decline and Fall or 7), and it forms the basis of "Walls" by Crass.

Liam was just on fire on this one.

lol

Not an Oasis fan?

Hey, Ovi, I'm not trying to get into the lame Blur v. Oasis thing, but had to ask if you're a Blur fan?  I've been listening to a ton of Damon Albarn and saw your post.  For my money he's the most talented musician of his time, with a range going from pop/rock to opera and film scores, all of it wonderful.  In a league of talent with the Beatles and Paul McCartney, really, not that the comparisons are necessary.  I feel he's probably tried to push himself outside of pop/rock a bit more than Paul, too.  It's a shame he's barely known in the US and doesn't seem to be viewed as much of a talent, though I find Dr. Dee and his cowritten score for Ravenous to be especially moving.  Perhaps people are suspicious of his gift for melody, since many music fans have a snobbishness toward anything which seems "pop."  Either way, it is their loss.  He's given us an incredible body of work which keeps growing.

Check out the High Llamas.  Gideon Gaye.  Hawaii.  Their sound base is basically Friends and the Pet Sounds instrumentals.

These dudes are way beyond Brian Wilson, even though he's an influence.  Microdisney and High Llamas are huge, huge stuff.

And, lo, he called Johnny Rotten the antichrist.

i have never listened to Big Star besides this one time i thought they just sounded like typical 70s rock

Well, they are, which isn't insult or praise.  Wonderful band, unfortunately shackled to unnecessary cultural baggage like so many other great and misunderstood bands (this is a Beach Boys site, right?).  What most fans respond to with Big Star is their story.  Listen without thinking about their legacy, reputation, and all that nonsense and you may find more to like.  You'll certainly be closer to the truth of the music.

Great list.  I cannot claim to have heard them all, but it was a year of many worthy releases.

I would add, perhaps obviously, Zappa's Freak Out!.  This was to pop music what Ulysses was to fiction, adding a new dimension to the familiar.  Though few have wanted to follow its path, that is their own loss.  66 brought us a lot of great music, both wonderful and yet trivialized by Freak Out!.  Though powerful, I'd even argue this album, which should have been released in 66, was made irrelevant by Freak Out! too:

I wasn't dismissing it. I actually think Smiley Smile is better than SMiLE and Pet Sounds combined.

I think I'd have to agree with you, then.

What is Second Day? I see it around here a lot. Is it a section or an outtake?

They are referring to the track labeled "Love to Say Dada: Part 2 (Second Day)" on the Smile Sessions box.  It is referred to as "Second Day" in between takes.  It's worth noting, in regard to the "Dada"/water connection, that in Genesis the second day involves water.

I find it funny that so many have an issue with a Charles Manson song, but no issue with taking off work for holidays glorifying the Founding Fathers, who were terrorists who didn't want to pay taxes and helped kill more people.  But, hey, pick the easy fights, right?

It is historically incorrect to say that the "SMiLE album (was) cancelled because the other Beach Boys besides Brian didn't like the songs". Go read some quotes from the era, Dennis especially was effusive in his praise for Brian's new Smile recordings, and there is ample evidence that Carl was fully behind the project as well. All of the Beach Boys contributed long hours and hard work to the sessions, and all of them are part of why Smile is great. Smile's demise had little to do with inter-band politics, but instead a combination of negative label energy, budget constraints, creative burnout, and a derailing of something that took on a life and death of it's own.

Wasn't Mike against the smile songs?

I know Dennis said in a press that Smile made "Pet Sounds stink".

No, Mike was not against the Smile songs. He seemed to have some issues with some of Van Dyke's lyrics for being a bit abstract. Although, he still gave those lyrics his all when he sang 'em.

He wanted the band to continue making commercial pop. Of course he was against them. He has said he appreciated "Wonderful" but not all of it was "his cup of tea." I take that as basically all of it. It's up in the air whether Mike was a culprit in the Smile demise. I don't think he was a positive influence on Brian, at the very least.

He sang the songs well because that was his job. Brian was the boss.

Well, if you think he was vocal about not liking SMiLE, then what do you think he thought about Smiley Smile? That album is about 10 times less commercial than SMiLE. Why would he be OK with Smiley?

Mike got to do a lot more on Smiley.  I'm pretty sure that album only exists because the BB needed new material.

Years ago Cam posted a cool essay about how Smiley Smile was Smile.  I won't quite go that far, but I do feel it is one manifestation a few directions Brian was exploring with Smile.  The humor, for one, is certainly accentuated.  The simple arrangements are also an extension of the early "Vegetables" and solo "Surf's Up."  I wouldn't trivialize Smiley Smile so easily.  It lacks Van Dyke Parks' conceptual unity, but it is still a version of Smile.  It would even be fair to say it is Brian Wilson's version of Smile in 1967, as opposed to the Wilson/Parks version.  It has the humor and some of the sadness Brian puts in his music, but those emotions are not tied to any larger context as Van Dyke had done with the Smile lyrics.  Those who dismiss it cannot fully appreciate the Smile they think should have been released instead.

Well, Mike is Mr. Positivity.

"We Will Fall" is the best song on there.

Things were going well when the list was submitted, but it was later in December that Smile got derailed . . . and Brian halted work on everything but the singles.  The Cabinessence deal went down - now, don't get me started on all that, we don't want the discussion to degenerate, but that is significant - and maybe Brian did have a meltdown of sorts.  And suddenly the track list was ignored and pieces of songs were uprooted for the singles.  But later in April 67 Brian is giving interviews still talking about a "12 track album" that is almost finished except for the Elements!!

I'm pretty certain at this point that the Cabin Essence incident is way overblown, as was Mike's objections in general. Far more likely Brian himself lost sight of the end game and gave up. I've said it before and you've sort of confirmed it here, the Elements broke the back of the album. It was that one song that Brian was afraid of/couldn't finish, yet paradoxically was determined to convey in some fashion.

You think it was that important to him?  I know Brian's comments aren't always trustworthy, but at one point he credit Van Dyke with the idea for "The Elements."

Also, why do you think "The Elements" was one composition instead of one track connecting multiple composed pieces?  If it was just one piece, why record part one alone?

I don't think the "Dada"/water connection is so arbitrary.  It did turn into "Cool Cool Water."  And I'm not sure the whole "child"/"youth" theme is so blatant within the tracks to be its own section or "movement."  It's a thematic element, but it seems to me that all the thematic elements of Smile tie together.  Doesn't water nourish just like a bottle nourishes a child?  Brian put the fire music in the chorus of "Cabin Essence" because fire burns coal to run the train.  He didn't keep the ideas separate because they were beholden to different sections of the album.  Likewise, we have that "Child" piano section similar to "Dada" which ends in a way to mimic the so-called "water chant."  It seems that in his mind these songs were all quite connected.  I think that's also why 12 tracks works better: you get a lot of relation between the songs, but not all the needless repetition that a 3-sided album has.  I think this idea of "movements" is much more contemporary, and I don't think it really scans well against the actual tracks, which are typically more nuanced, not unlike Song Cycle.