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Poll
Question: Poll :: Rate Brian Wilson
5 - 35 (25.7%)
4 - 66 (48.5%)
3 - 30 (22.1%)
2 - 3 (2.2%)
1 - 1 (0.7%)
0 - 1 (0.7%)
Total Voters: 123

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Author Topic: Brian Wilson  (Read 80819 times)
Charles LePage @ ComicList
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« on: December 26, 2005, 08:32:52 AM »

Discuss, review and rate Brian Wilson, released August 1988.

« Last Edit: December 26, 2005, 06:54:07 PM by Charles LePage » Logged

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« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2005, 12:27:53 PM »

I like apprioximately half of the songs. I hate approximately all of the production. Now that we've gotten better releases of L&M and of Melt Away, I'm caring less and less about this. Give me a better There's So Many and MAYBE Rio Grande (arguably BW's most overrated song ever) and I'm OK just leaving it on the shelf.

But it's still better than Imagination.
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« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2005, 01:22:49 PM »

It's synthy, it's computerized, but it has more life than anything else Brian has released solo (bar BWPS). A very weird animal indeed, but isn't that why we love Brian? 4.
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I. Spaceman
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« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2005, 01:28:51 PM »

I agree totally, Jason.
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« Reply #4 on: December 27, 2005, 06:32:26 AM »

I give it four stars. It shouldn't work, this album, but it does. Downsides are well-known, and obvious, but the upside is, it's a proper album, with some great songs. Maybe Rio Grande is fake-Brian-Smile-era, but nobody does fake-Brian better than he does.
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« Reply #5 on: December 28, 2005, 03:00:26 AM »

"Love And Mercy" is a real classic, in some way Brianīs "Imagine". "Rio Grande" tries to hard to be SMiLE part II. All in all, great songs, but bad production and singing. Itīs amazing how far Brian came in these aspects.
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« Reply #6 on: December 28, 2005, 04:21:16 AM »

It's a good album, even with the synths drowning everything else out. I think 'Love and Mercy' is overrated. I'll take 'Melt Away' any day over any of the other tracks. Great way for Brian to start out though.

3 Stars.
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« Reply #7 on: December 29, 2005, 11:29:34 AM »

It is still a treat to play this album after almost 18 years. Brian's voice was good and powerful. Melt Away is absolutely gorgeous, and One For The Boys is a treat. I am not a fan of Rio Grande or Night Time, but I love the rest of the album. Landy's influence wsas the cause for all the additional bells and whistles, most of which detract from the overall sound. But after not hearing anything cohesive from Brian since 1977's "Love You", it really satisfied.

A 4 for sure.
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« Reply #8 on: January 04, 2006, 07:57:31 AM »

It took me a while to get this one, but i've really come to enjoy it.  Solid to really good songs [Melt Away is a stunner, imho], and surprising cohesion in spite of the actual lack thereof in the making thereof.  Beats the hell out of GIOMH.  Solid 4.
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« Reply #9 on: January 04, 2006, 11:45:38 PM »

i give this album 4 stars!
i still think its one of the better albums released by anybody in the late 1980s.
i agree with those who say that it is stronger than any album that the beach boys released since "beach boys love you"
i liked "rio grande" at the time it was released,it gave us an idea to what "heroes & villians" was originally supposed to sound like!
however i agree who people who say that "little children" sounds alot like "mountain of love"
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« Reply #10 on: January 06, 2006, 07:01:53 AM »

Love, love, love, love.

Part of that straight line that goes: Pet Sounds and Party --> Smile and Smiley Smile --> Friends --> Love You --> Adult Child --> This one.

Even though I know Dr. Landy picked through this album ridiculously, and the record company tampered within an inch of its life, this still sounds like a purer expression of Brian's songwriting than almost anything he's ever done.
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« Reply #11 on: January 16, 2006, 07:26:06 AM »

3 for me, with the obvious stand out opening song, which sounds great in spite of the production, Melt Away, and yes Let it Shine as well.  Portions of of Rio Grand are excellent.  I can do without the unlistenable opeing 50 seconds and the long transition between the first river segment and the second one.  But there are products out there that can crop such annoying parts of songs there days, which allows me to really an enjoy those excellent portions, which would otherwise be on a track that I would rarely listen to, if I had to put up with the rest of the song.
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« Reply #12 on: January 17, 2006, 08:12:16 PM »

A 4 for me...with time, I learned to live with the production and just listen to the songs, and this has led to my increased enjoyment of this album.  L&M is classic Brian, simple yet poignant.  Melt Away, One For the Boys, There's So Many, Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight are my other favorites, and even the worst of the cuts are still listenable.  Rio Grande, while definitely overrated, is still more inventive than most other artists could ever dream (though I still wish they had let Brian keep his "Child, Adult, Parent suite).  Wonderful album, high replay value for me. 
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« Reply #13 on: January 18, 2006, 12:25:57 AM »

if this album was produced like GIOMH
with the same songs and Brian's 80's voice
it would have been 5 stars (in this poll)
Still like it the way it is now though
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« Reply #14 on: January 25, 2006, 08:40:39 AM »

I couldn't find an existing thread on this al hough I know I read one somewhere recently.

Anyhow.

I bought the CD of this in December but did not listen until today.  I've had the LP since its first release and had it on tape for a while as well.  I merely bought it to "have it" on disc. 

What a surprise when I brought it to work this morning and listened to this album for the first time on cd with headphones.   I had written it off as flawed, with poor vocal quality,  ruined by too many producers and  co-writers, although a good effort on Brians part in terms of getting back in the business of making records.

Wow!!!I couldn't believe how  good it sounded, especially Brians voice.  I had listened to OCA the day before and thought once again that the vocals were a little weird, words slurred and such.

So I was surprised when listening to BW88 again that he sounded so good.

Anybody else think his vocals are better here than on OCA or IJWMFTT?
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« Reply #15 on: January 25, 2006, 09:47:06 AM »

Lead vocals are fine.  I don't care for the backgrounds-especially on One for the Boys.   Musically- way too much synth.

But songwise, BW88 is his post non-Smile related solo CD.
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« Reply #16 on: January 25, 2006, 11:04:39 AM »

I love this album! It's one of my favourite Brian albums, and by far the best album of his solo career (except for SMiLE), in my opinion. His vocals are great, much better than his current vocals, and the tone of his vocals is much more like 60's Brian than anything following this album. The songs are amazing, and I think that's exactly what's lacking from his more recent efforts (I guess the only more recent efforts of new songs are Imagination and Getting In Over My Head, but the song selection is much better than either of those). Every song on the entire album is a gem! And the album rocks almost as much as Love You. I'm actually a fan of the productoin for the most part. It's really got that Love You vibe to it, and I would bet Brian was more involved in the production of this album than any of his more recent efforts. I don't mind the synths at all, but the only complaint I've got about this entire album (literally the ONLY complaint) is the electronic drums. That sound just doesn't go with this music. So if he used real drums throughout the album, I would say this is practically a perfect album.
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Smilin Ed H
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« Reply #17 on: January 25, 2006, 11:48:37 AM »

I'm with the Pirate on this one.  I think there are many fine non-BW 88 songs around, but this is the best overall collection; while I, too, hate the synthy production values, I prefer it to the sound of Imagination and the too busy mess of GIOMH.
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« Reply #18 on: January 25, 2006, 12:31:54 PM »

I think people make too much of the synth/80's production.  I don't find it half as annoying as the last 10 years tendency to, say, mix voices all the way in the front (the last Cure album, anyone?)
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SurferGirl7
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« Reply #19 on: January 25, 2006, 02:02:54 PM »

It's really nice on vinyl. I have the CD w/o the bonus tracks though. I have the tape, vinyl and CD. The only thing I have more of in the whole catalog  Cool
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« Reply #20 on: January 25, 2006, 02:19:05 PM »

Super fine album, flawed only by the synth-etic production. Great songs. Great melodies. Nice vocals. Nice arrangements. TOO MUCH SYNTHESIZER. Such a great album it pains me to say I can overlook the synthesizers for everything else.
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« Reply #21 on: January 25, 2006, 02:20:04 PM »

I'm only just getting into this album.

Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long reminds me of I Just Wasn't Made For These Times.
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SurferGirl7
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« Reply #22 on: January 25, 2006, 02:28:26 PM »

I'm only just getting into this album.

Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long reminds me of I Just Wasn't Made For These Times.

 Shocked That and the first three other songs I only played for months. I brought the tape of it before I had Smile (still wasn't out yet) and Rio Grande confused me. Confused me enough to not play it straight through for a long time.
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« Reply #23 on: January 25, 2006, 02:36:21 PM »

I think it's one of his best albums, even if it's "plug Brian in and write half his songs for him" time. Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight is just as good as any BB track, for me.
I hate the draggy arrangement of Let Your Hair Grow Long, though.
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RobtheNobleSurfer
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« Reply #24 on: January 25, 2006, 03:30:14 PM »

Hands down, his best solo album and indeed his best effort since Love You. All great songs, wonderful vocal arrangements that play to his musical strengths. And I don't really mind the synths. Not like I did in the 90's. And yes, I do agree with you, Ian about Meet Me..... that would have made a GREAT BB song.  Brian did great work with Andy and Andy certainly got a lot out of Brian.
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