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680597 Posts in 27600 Topics by 4068 Members - Latest Member: Dae Lims March 28, 2024, 09:36:43 AM
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Poll
Question: Rate L.A. (Light Album)
5 - 4 (2.9%)
4 - 42 (30.9%)
3 - 60 (44.1%)
2 - 21 (15.4%)
1 - 6 (4.4%)
0 - 3 (2.2%)
Total Voters: 125

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Author Topic: L.A. (Light Album)  (Read 95211 times)
lance
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« Reply #100 on: August 06, 2008, 07:37:43 AM »

I'm giving this album a three. The same as MIU. I may change my vote later.

I do realize that  the album was a step forward from the rather retro MIU, and I admire that. Also that that MOR lite rock thing might have been a somewhat cool alternative to the punk rock seventies that I can respect in the context of  the time. Certainly it's what my parents were listening to back then.

 The songwriting is better than MIU, and while it's not my cup of tea, the production is a bit more developed. But it's definitely not my cup of tea.

I also think that the album almost succeeds in maintaining the late-seventies easy listening tone that it was going for, but I think the risks it takes(HCTN and Shortin' Bread) are jarring, but not in a cool, funny Friends-Transcendental Meditation way, but more of a tacked on sort of way. I like HCTN disco-style, actually, in a way, but it just doesn't fit. And Shortenin' Bread--WTF? But then the Beach Boys are given to WTF moments. I like it OK, but it just doesn't fit. Maybe that's the point.

My favorite songs are Good Timin' and Dennis' two with a nod towards Lady Lynda. Sumahama is necessary and fits the tone, and I would like it better if it weren't for Love's vocals which sound a bit off to me. Carl's songs...are...pretty but boring. Except for the one that Dennis sings on, which I like.

« Last Edit: August 06, 2008, 10:24:05 AM by lance » Logged
brianc
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« Reply #101 on: August 06, 2008, 11:17:15 AM »

L.A. (Light Album) sounds like yacht rock to me.
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Compost
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« Reply #102 on: November 09, 2008, 12:19:31 PM »



Just for kicks - BW from the album insert.
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« Reply #103 on: January 22, 2009, 08:07:19 PM »

Take out "Here Comes the Night" (what were they thinking!), "Sumahama," and "Shortenin' Bread" and it's a very good, solid album.
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axl wills
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« Reply #104 on: February 27, 2010, 01:25:57 AM »

I really like this lp.It's a very easy listening 70's lp, unfocused sure,but still interesting.The disco song don't bother me at all(though I prefer the original)you can dance to and it's the longer song of the boys.Besides,It's the last album with a contribution made by Dennis(I really like his vocals here).If they had replaced "going south"by "it's a beautiful day"I would gave it a 5 but it'll be 4 for me.Overall it's a better effort than MIU.
I Love the 70's Beach boys era! Afro
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TheLazenby
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« Reply #105 on: March 06, 2010, 03:36:20 PM »

I can't stand the original "Here Comes The Night", but I love the disco remake.

Go figure.  (That was the selling point of the album for me, actually.)
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LetHimRun
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« Reply #106 on: April 02, 2010, 06:02:20 PM »

3. I love Good Timin'. Love Surrounds Me and Baby Blue are great, also. I can listen to Sumahama because of the backing track. Past that, ouch. Not good to me. Maybe some of this stuff will grow on me down the road (along with over half of MIU and half of 15BOs), but it's kind of excruciating. I won't even go into the disco monstrosity.

I don't and won't listen to anything past this album in the BB catalog. Kokomo maybe (runs for cover), but that is the it.
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Reverend Rock
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« Reply #107 on: April 05, 2010, 09:12:30 PM »

I can't stand the original "Here Comes The Night", but I love the disco remake.

Go figure.  (That was the selling point of the album for me, actually.)

Everything on Wild Honey felt so underproduced (with the exception of the title track and "Darlin'"), that "Here Comes The Night" on L.A. is, to my ears, a marked improvement over the original.  I don't mind the "disco" arrangement, because it's done well, and the song itself lends itself surprisingly well to such an arrangement.  I had never heard the Wild Honey album when I first heard this on the radio, and I thought it was a new BB song (newly written, I mean), and was actually quite impressed.  When I learned that it was a late-60s song reworked, I was honestly even more impressed.

I like the L.A. album for what it is, a late 70s easy listening/adult contemporary album.  It works well for what it was.
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Foster's Freeze
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« Reply #108 on: April 06, 2010, 06:29:28 AM »

I do like "Full Sail" and "Here Comes the Night" (yes I have the 12" single on blue vinyl but not the autographed one, LOL).

"Shortnin' Bread" could have been great.
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« Reply #109 on: April 06, 2010, 07:47:58 PM »

Let me preface this post by saying that I am by no means a fan of Disco, but "Here Comes The Night" is a vocal tour de force. That is some of the best singing that they ever put to tape. Actually, the vocals on "L.A. (Light Album)" are all superb. It is probably their finest vocal performance since "Sunflower". I love to chill out with this album.
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The Brianista Prayer

Oh Brian
Thou Art In Hawthorne,
Harmonied Be Thy name
Your Kingdom Come,
Your Steak Well Done,
On Stage As It Is In Studio,
Give Us This Day, Our Shortenin' Bread
And Forgive Us Our Bootlegs,
As We Also Have Forgiven Our Wife And Managers,
And Lead Us Not Into Kokomo,
But Deliver Us From Mike Love.
Amen.  ---hypehat
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« Reply #110 on: April 06, 2010, 08:54:21 PM »

"Full Sail" is one of my favorite Beach Boys songs, actually.
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phirnis
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« Reply #111 on: April 10, 2010, 11:36:54 AM »

Random thoughts on some individual songs:

"Good Timin'": It's hard to believe that after all those years of tragedy and heartbreak the group's original members were still capable of recapturing the tenderness and beauty of their original teenage ballads such as "The Warmth of the Sun" and "Surfer Girl". I don't think there's anything even remotely half-assed about it.

"Lady Lynda": I used to thoroughly dislike this one due to the sugary production. Nowadays, however, I think it's perfectly in tune with the Light Album's overall melancholy feel.

"Baby Blue": It took me a long time to really appreciate this song and one day it just clicked. Love the subtle synthesizer touches and the background vocals kicking in at 1.30 have to be among the most beautiful performances ever put to tape by the Beach Boys (or any major pop group for that matter).
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lance
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« Reply #112 on: May 02, 2010, 12:35:04 PM »

 I'll say that this album has grown on me quite a bit. Flawed, a bit like Carl and the Passions, really, but I like it better. Carl's songs, especially Full Sail and Angel Come Home have really grown on me.
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Curtis Leon
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« Reply #113 on: August 04, 2010, 04:57:04 PM »

sound quite excellent. Brian apparently plays piano, but that's a joke. It's buried so far into the mix that you can't even hear it without straining your ears. And, even then, Brian was never the greatest piano player ever. The melody itself is quite nice, with a repeating drum bit, and some other flavorful instruments. 10/10

Lady Lynda: Easily the best song that Al ever wrote, at least as a unit of the Beach Boys. I've never heard his solo works, so I can't judge as a whole... The song starts off in a very stately atmosphere, with a harpsichord and a string quartet. The song itself is about Al's wife. Ironically, they would divorce not too long after this album. Al's voice is no slouch, either. And, if I may admit, he's a rather underrated singer, able to emulate Brian in concerts, even. By this point, he was probably able to channel the Brian falsetto better than Brian could! Unfortunately, I believe parts of the melody were lifted off Bach. Actually, it's probably better that way. 9/10

Full Sail: A Carl track, and the first one to grace a Beach Boys album in quite the while. It reminds me quite a bit of the soft parts of Long Promised Road, to be honest. The song itself starts on a very Steamboatish atmosphere, before turning into a ballad. Carl's voice, is as always, excellent. The lyrics are about sailing. Probably the closest thing they got to surfing on the track. If there's anything to criticize, however, is that there's not much to note about it. 8/10

Angel Come Home: Another Carl song, this time sung by Dennis Wilson, in his customary, post-1974, gruff voice. Not nearly as good as My Diane, but the soulful, and very emotional vocal saves it from being a truly unmemorable song. Short, but sweet. Not as good as the following track, though, if only because the melody is rather simple, with nothing special to note. 7/10

Love Surronds Me: The first Dennis song, and the first one in a long time. Apparently it's from the Bambu sessions. It sounds very Pacific Ocean Blueish, to be honest. Which, actually, is a very good thing. Not very many harmonies, which is actually how I like it. After all, this wasn't suppose to be sung with harmonies! The melody is quite interesting, as well, with classic Dennis Wilson chaotic instruments. 8/10

Sumahama: Hated by just about everyone and their mother, and I don't even get why. It's not even a song I should be defending, to be honest. It's not something I'm even embarrassed to defend. This is honestly the second best song on the album, and one of the most effective blends of Japanese influence on a pop record I've heard. Comparing this to what would come later, this sounds like the Ninth Symphony. Even the Japanese Mike Love vocals don't seem cheesy or embarrassing. You shouldn't even have to lower your expectations to enjoy this. 9/10

Here Comes the Night: Disco. Not much more to say other than that, other than the fact that this is the worst song on the album, obviously. It's also way too long. Way, way too long. I skip this song every time, when it comes up. I don't even know who gave the group the idea to ruin one of the gentle, mellow songs on the Wild Honey album, but I want to throttle him. Especially considering the rest of the album is quite good as it is, this pile of sh*t brings the entire thing down. Even my tolerance doesn't extend this far. I deleted it off my playlist. 3/10

Baby Blue: I'm not sure if the beginning is Carl doing falsetto, or Dennis doing falsetto. The entire "feel" this song sets reminds me of Cuddle Up, without being a direct rip-off. All the ballads on here sound kinda... bland, though. You know? Especially this one. I do love the harmonies on this, and I think Dennis' voice saves much of it, but still... I much more enjoyed the final three ballads of Carl and the Passions. 7/10

Goin' South: Another ballad! And it sounds even more bland and hookless than the previous! It does seem like most of Carl's contributions from this period really are adult contemporary, aren't they? Even Carl's voice doesn't save this one. Reminds me of his solo albums, to be honest. 6/10

Shortenin' Bread: A remake of an Adult/Child track. Like all of its type, I do prefer the old version, but this is still enjoyable. Rather jazzy, ain't it? And for once, Carl is actually singing some soulful vocals! 8/10

All in all, the songwriting is much tighter than MIU. At the very least, the two-fer is actually a reasonable buy. You could probably edit the two down to one disk by throwing away most of the disasters, a few tracks you don't like. Too bad the Beach Boys had nowhere to go but down after this... Don't even remind me of Keeping the Summer Alive, much less Still Crusin' and Summer in Hell. The only real breath of fresh air was the '85 album, and even that had horrendous 80s production. 3/5, and a high 3 at that.
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carl r
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« Reply #114 on: September 28, 2010, 02:05:20 AM »

This is one album beyond salvage. Scrape off the barnacles and there just isn't enough to float. Nicely packaged sleeve, though.
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« Reply #115 on: April 16, 2011, 02:33:33 PM »

As I was listening to this a lot lately, I came to the conclusion that the vocals on this album are possibly the best since the Holland/In Concert album. Granted, there's a lot of songs here and there on 15 BO, Love U, MIU, Adult/Kid, New Album that have fantastic vocals, but if I mentioned some, I'd end up with a list, a really really long list....but anyways, MIU had some really good vocals as well....and now that I think of it, I think Brian sounds better on MIU than on LA (the few vocals he did.)

But the guys, especially Carl sound great on Good Timin'
Carl's songs may have been slow slow slow (such a 70's ballad vibe). On Full Sail, I love Love LOVE it when Bruce comes in on the backing vocals...
Al sounds great on Lady Lynda and It's a Beautiful Day (I know, not on the album, but worth a mention)
Of course Dennis' leads are great.
Brian on Short Bread....everywhere else, hard to tell.
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« Reply #116 on: July 12, 2011, 07:51:35 AM »

So...I put the iPod on "shuffle mode" during my commute this morning, and the disco version of HCTN comes up....so I decide heck, might as well torture myself for ten minutes considering I'm going to a job I hate anyway...A couple of observations:

1) One of the many, many things that always bothered me about this rendition: it sounds very much like Carl is singing "Here comes the day"....did nobody hear that in the playback??

2) Hate to admit it, but there are some mighty fine background vocals in the track...

3) Anybody else ever notice the little burst of "Night Bloomin' Jasmine" near the end?
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« Reply #117 on: July 12, 2011, 08:14:19 AM »

Here Comes The Night and later, Chasin' The Sky have IMHO some the best intricate background vocals that the Boys' ever put to tape. Will have to check out the Night Bloomin' Jasmine section later tonight.
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The Brianista Prayer

Oh Brian
Thou Art In Hawthorne,
Harmonied Be Thy name
Your Kingdom Come,
Your Steak Well Done,
On Stage As It Is In Studio,
Give Us This Day, Our Shortenin' Bread
And Forgive Us Our Bootlegs,
As We Also Have Forgiven Our Wife And Managers,
And Lead Us Not Into Kokomo,
But Deliver Us From Mike Love.
Amen.  ---hypehat
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« Reply #118 on: July 12, 2011, 01:56:06 PM »

Carl's parts in Baby Blue reminds me of something that could be on The Blizzard Of Ozz. Would be kind of cool to see Ozzy cover it but I dunno who would sing Dennis' part.
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« Reply #119 on: October 10, 2011, 12:19:19 PM »

I am a little embarrassed to say the more I listen to the disco version of Here Comes The Night, the more I love it!  Roll Eyes It really is quite good! 
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Dunderhead
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« Reply #120 on: October 12, 2011, 12:44:21 AM »

I am a little embarrassed to say the more I listen to the disco version of Here Comes The Night, the more I love it!  Roll Eyes It really is quite good! 

It's no Constant Companion though
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« Reply #121 on: October 12, 2011, 01:22:17 AM »



Just for kicks - BW from the album insert.

Does there be pictures of everybody else that looks like that? They should sell prints I would love to line  my walls with those pictures similar pictures larger quite larger though
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« Reply #122 on: October 16, 2011, 06:29:40 PM »

1. Good Timin' 8/10
2. Lady Lynda 8/10
3. Full Sail 7/10
4. Angel Come Home 8.5/10
5. Love Surrounds Me 9.5/10
6. Sumahama 6/10
7. Here Comes The Night 2.5/10
8. Baby Blue 10/10
9. Goin' South 7.5/10
10. Shortenin' Bread 3/10

Album Rating: 7
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« Reply #123 on: October 17, 2011, 12:14:55 AM »

You gave Shortenin' Bread a 3? You must not really like the music of Brian's heart
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« Reply #124 on: October 17, 2011, 12:55:52 AM »

This is the point where things in the band really went south, to me. "Good Timin'" and "Shortenin' Bread" are great, but they're holdovers from 74 or so, aren't they? The rest... :\

Don't get me wrong - MIU album is pretty bad, but is just barely saved by a number of small things. Brian sounds great on it, for one.

It's legit puzzling me how quickly things fell apart after Love You. Adult Child showed promise - not as great as Love You, but a respectable effort. Why was it shelved? Why was the clusterfuck of confusion known as MIU put out in its place? Who on earth opts to shelve "California Feelin'", "It's Over Now", "It's Trying To Say", and especially "It's Over Now" over so much of the dreck on MIU and LA? And the much superior early "Shortenin' Bread"? I know somewhere in there was the record company not being into it, but legit, this was better? Or even more commercially viable? 4realz?
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