I was just thinking about this today.

I was thinking they might have done something which met with praise from the crowd if they did a sort-of "Baroque Pop" set. So they arrive at the festival, and the only instrument they bring is a harpsichord. They do Wonderful, WIBN, IJWMFTT, Caroline No, You Still Believe in Me, and maybe Fun Fun Fun. Also it would be near to write a new, long song just for the festival, with super-duper hairy harmonies that the crowed could really get into.

And then, for the finale, the entire Wrecking Crew arrives onstage and they do an extended version of Surf's Up (presuming they completed it first). Or maybe Cabin Essence.

All of those are nice, but don't have the emotional impact to me that Poltergeist does. I jeffcdo's 2nd one best, however.

Obviously different music effects different people in different ways.

That is interesting, I for one find it somewhat banal. It even gets worse when girls' choir starts to sing "lalala"s near the end.

Yeah, the lalala's aren't great (though I "get" why they needed to be there). This version here is the theme they play at the end of the movie. The version at the beginning of the movie does not have a flute and instead is *all* "lalalala's" and I'm not fond of that version. Obviously it's supposed to sound creepy and innocent at the same time. I think he did a good job, though.

But it's the flute that gets me. I just find it to be a sad and beautiful melody.

Generally, the movie itself is boring, I was disappointed when I finally watched it - nothing scary there at all.

The first couple times I saw the movie it was kinda scary. But I've seen it so many times now the effect has worn off. I think you also need to take into account this was a Spielberg movie. Horror flicks weren't his "thing," so it's no surprise it's not your typical scary movie. As much as the horror aspect of it, the other main theme of the movie is the parent's dedication to their child, which is a very Spielberg-esque thing. His movie "AI" is somewhat similar in that regard, even though the contexts of the 2 movies are entirely different.

Very nice Mike! You should be thankful to not only have a loving dad, but to have one who's made it to 95, and still going!

As an aside, the instrumental bridge to this song makes a fantastic mood change.

Looking over the lyrics, it almost seems like a fantasy, like the guy is imagining a relationship with a woman he doesn't even have an actual relationship with.

All I can say is ... ugh.

I think I might have worn some pants like that when I was a kid in the 70's. Even if they came back in style again, you'd never see me wearing them again.

But back to reality, I think the song Paul was referring to in that quote was probably "You're So Good To Me." In The Beatles Anthology when Paul, George, and Ringo are sitting around the kitchen table, Paul uses that same background when he is illustrating The Beach Boys sound that he was into.

That sounds about right! Thanks, I probably wouldn't have thought of that myself. Had been wondering what song that might have been for a couple weeks now.

Is it too early to put in a pre-order at amazon.com?

^
You're probably right. But it's nice to think he was stealing stuff from Brian anyway.

The Wiki article for "Girl" has a quote by Paul saying the idea for some of the background harmonies came from a BB song, though it's not clear which song Paul is referring to.

And for what its worth, I do not hear the end of Lovely Rita as being the kind of coda that you seem to suggest it is. It sounds like an extended jam that they just decided to keep because it was in keeping with the spirit of the Sgt. Pepper atmosphere.

Perhaps. To me it seems like an early version of the coda on Hello Goodbye (kinda sorta). I guess it depends on your perspective.

What we *really* need is for Paul McCartney to show up here and straighten this all out for us!

2 things that just occurred to me:

1. The coda for Paperback Writer is probably more akin to the coda of California Girls than God Only Knows. So if Paul was borrowing coda ideas from Brian on that song, it obviously wasn't from God Only Knows, but *maybe* it could have been from California Girls.
2. That said, it just occurred to me that Michelle has a VERY strong coda. Paul even gears the listener up for it when he sings, "And I will say the only words I know, that you'll understand, my Michelle" ---> go to (instrumental) coda. So that kills my idea that Paul got the idea of writing elaborate codas on Sgt Pepper from Pet Sounds, since he had already done (at least) one pretty elaborate one beforehand.

I still think there's the possibility he might have gotten the idea for Michelle's coda from Brian's other, earlier codas, but I can't think offhand what song(s) that might have been. Sometimes when I listen to Rubber Soul there seems to be some borrowing from the B-side of Today!, but that's another topic.

Good question. God Only Knows has a bit more "oomph." Technical term, y'know. I suppose the phrases (and their arrangement) in the tag to GOK are less like the corresponding phrases in the rest of the song than the comparable phrases in the tag in PW are in the rest of PW. The tag to PW is somewhat similar to the phrases in the intro to the song (and a couple other spots); on the other hand, there is no other fugue elsewhere in GOK. So in that sense, the tag to GOK is "more different" from the rest of the song than the tag in PW is to the rest of *that* song.

Hope that made sense.

As for Paperback Writer, it doesn't sound to me like he was trying to make a distinctive coda (Rita definitely is). It's more along the lines of a longer fade-out. Though I suppose we could start quibbling over definitions and such on that one.

Most of Brian's codas under discussion here were (at least a bit) more than elongated fade-outs IMO.

Drive My Car?

Yeah, a little bit I suppose. Not a really strong coda, but there nonetheless. Still not nearly the same kind of coda as on Rita Meter Maid, though.

EDIT: Just checked it out, Rita's coda is a full half-minute. Off the top of my head that's gotta be Paul's most prominent one by that date.

Well said Ron!

I had never thought about the end of Hello Goodbye until you mentioned it here, but yeah, it's true.

I wonder if Macca had noticed some of BW's codas and copied the idea.

I was listening to Sgt Pepper's today and realized McCartney also has a mini-coda at the end of Getting Better and a more obvious one at the end of Rita Meter Maid. Someday I should listen to all of Paul's songs prior to the Pet Sounds release and see if he added any notable tags (can't think of any offhand). If not, that adds to the evidence he was copying Brian, at least a bit.

[Holidays]

I was listening to TSS in my car on my way home from work today, and it occurred to me the 2nd part of Holidays would make great coda for some larger song - starting at either 1:38 or 1:46. Perhaps overlay some more vocals (maybe some humming chords, not too much though) and it would be a good "mellow" coda, as opposed to his usual "go out with a bang" codas.

But for all I know, this is what it was intended for.

You're right, I never (consciously) noticed that before, it does sound simultaneously out-of-place, and yet deliberate. Good find!

Now and then I read comments on BB songs on Youtube or elsewhere by bass players practically having orgasms over some of Brian's bass lines. Not a bass player myself so I wouldn't know, but after you read a few of these you start to wonder.

That depends on how you define "rock music."

They're somewhat alike. As I said above, you have to imagine Cuckoo Clock slowed down. Also, it's just the verses, not the refrain.

I'm not totally sure it's At My Window I might have been thinking of, but when I listened to At My Window I had one of those "That's it - I think" moments, so I think it probably was. Maybe I'll listen to some other song sometime and realize this other song sounds even closer than At My Window.

At My Window!!!

^Yeah, it does sound a little like that. However, I'd never heard that Judy Garland song before, so it's obviously not the one I was thinking of.

I'll probably be driving down the road somewhere 2 years from now, and hear the song I'm thinking of on the radio, and suddenly proclaim, "That's IT!"

"Tempo" wasn't the right word, but on the piano he suddenly goes from quarter notes to eighth notes, or whatever (without knowing offhand what the time signature is).

Given that he had recently written dramatic codas for God Only Knows, Wouldn't It Be Nice, California Girls and several other songs, it's pretty clear to me he's signalling he wants to do *something* dramatic there coda-wise. It might not have been the "A children's song ..." thing with the "Child is father of the man" in the background, but it would have been ... something. So it seems the 1971 song probably wasn't far from what would have resulted had they finished it in 1967.

Anyway this is off-topic. Should probably be carried on in the thread about Surf's Up in The Smile Sessions section.

^
I'll let someone else start it if they want.