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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

Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 7 Go Down Print
Author Topic: L.A. (Light Album)  (Read 95238 times)
I. Spaceman
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« Reply #25 on: January 24, 2006, 01:48:53 AM »

The only good version of Shortnin' Bread is by the Readymen.
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Matinee Idyll
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« Reply #26 on: January 25, 2006, 06:07:54 AM »

C'mon guys!  Full Sail is just beautiful... y'must be a cold, cold character not to warm to that song.  Loved it the first time I heard it.
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TV Forces
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« Reply #27 on: February 02, 2006, 11:32:35 AM »

Sucks.
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analogdemon
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« Reply #28 on: February 03, 2006, 08:21:28 AM »

A cool piece of nostalgia for us L.A. fans..



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« Reply #29 on: February 12, 2006, 08:16:28 AM »

Okay I was looking at the cover for L.A. (Light Album) today and I got to the postcard for "Love Surrounds Me".  Now I always saw this as just a lone cactus in the middle of a desert.  But then I looked closer.  bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha  That's excellent!
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« Reply #30 on: February 12, 2006, 10:17:19 AM »

it's all dennis! it's amazing and even baby blue, i still see denny in the picture
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« Reply #31 on: February 12, 2006, 10:18:09 AM »

That's so Dennis, man. Great pictures. I love the artwork for that album.
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analogdemon
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« Reply #32 on: February 12, 2006, 04:59:45 PM »

So does that mean that Dennis is the artist on those two postcards?  That could explain why the artist for those aren't credited in the CD booklet.  I'll have to check my vinyl copy.
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Evenreven
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« Reply #33 on: February 13, 2006, 05:18:48 AM »

I think it's beyond horrible, and one of the many reasons why I hardly ever play L.A.
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theeponymuseudonym
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« Reply #34 on: February 13, 2006, 03:17:45 PM »

penis and breasts...did Mike "republican guru" love approve this??

is this Love surrounds Me??
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Evenreven
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« Reply #35 on: February 13, 2006, 03:19:10 PM »

Mike Love Surrounds Me.
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theeponymuseudonym
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« Reply #36 on: February 13, 2006, 03:32:13 PM »

Hardy Har Har...yer going far...remember that nite when we'd gone two-fer?

can i ever gitcha bak.
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Dancing Bear
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« Reply #37 on: February 13, 2006, 03:39:51 PM »

LA Light Album has the worst BB record cover ever. Horrible. Friends and KTSA's illustrations are poor but LA is beyond hideous.
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« Reply #38 on: February 13, 2006, 03:43:34 PM »

LA Light Album has the worst BB record cover ever. Horrible. Friends and KTSA's illustrations are poor but LA is beyond hideous.

Just another one of those things that make you wonder, "what the hell were they thinking?" They probably could've doubled the album's sales with some halfway-decent packaging.
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theeponymuseudonym
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« Reply #39 on: February 13, 2006, 03:45:47 PM »

i second that emotion
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analogdemon
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« Reply #40 on: February 13, 2006, 05:07:14 PM »

I think you're all as full of crap as a christmas goose!  Tongue

L.A.'s cover art is great!
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TheLazenby
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« Reply #41 on: February 13, 2006, 08:32:32 PM »

This is probably stupid, but what the hell is the woman in the "Lady Lynda" picture supposed to be doing??
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Compost
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« Reply #42 on: February 13, 2006, 08:41:54 PM »

Fixing a run in her stocking with nail polish, I believe.  I asked my Mom when I was much younger.
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« Reply #43 on: February 13, 2006, 08:44:43 PM »

And the art does rule.
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TheLazenby
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« Reply #44 on: February 13, 2006, 09:39:31 PM »

Really?  What the heck is that supposed to do??

Well, while we're on the topic, I asked my mom why the desert had titties  Shocked
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« Reply #45 on: February 14, 2006, 06:39:07 AM »

I think the polish stops it from spreading.  Did you outright ask why there were titties on the cover, or was it more along the lines of "what are those delicious sand dunes, Mommy?".
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TheLazenby
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« Reply #46 on: February 14, 2006, 06:40:12 AM »

No, I didn't ask.  I actually only bought "L.A." a couple months ago at a flea market.   Tongue
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Dancing Bear
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« Reply #47 on: February 14, 2006, 07:26:30 AM »

I think you're all as full of crap as a christmas goose!  Tongue

L.A.'s cover art is great!

1. There's no foreground or background. Just 6 busy postcards pasted on the cover. No space. If thet had taken just one of the postcards and pasted on a blank canvas, with typography above and/or below, it would work way better.

2. I took the record to look at the postcards. All of of them are ugly and kitsch. Even if these artists were respected in their circles and they had "pop art" intentions, it backfired because in the end the illustrations just look like the Beach Boys bought them for $4 from those guys who make drawings in beaches and parks.

3. Love Surrounds Me and Baby Blue are the worst. 
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« Reply #48 on: February 14, 2006, 02:39:48 PM »

For a Beach Boys' album...they're looking good.
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Jason Penick
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« Reply #49 on: February 25, 2006, 05:05:30 PM »

The last important album the Beach Boys would produce, and a great way for them to wrap up the 70s.  If they had called it quits at this point, perhaps people would remember the band a lot differently today.  The various members could have gone on to make solo albums and pursue their muses, instead of the group releasing the homogenized, corporate AOR pap turned out from here on in.


Good Timin - Short, glorious, easy on the ears.  Brian and Carl worked on this song since 1974, and it was now perfected.  Shouldabeen hit single, scraped the bottom regions of the Top 40.

Lady Lynda - Plagiarizing Bach might not sound like a good plan of attack for a rock band with flagging album sales, but damned if Al didn't nearly pull it off.  A pretty good-sized hit in the UK... and I love the a cappella break in the Knebworth version.  Nice harmony arrangements and orchestration by Bruce Johnston

Full Sail - I do NOT understand why some cannot appreciate this song.  It is just flat-out lovely.  Perhaps I'm fond of "Full Sail" because it instantly reminds me of laying out on the beach in Maui during my honeymoon. A little on the slow side, perhaps, but a gorgeous melody and vocal.

Angel Come Home - Carl was really on fire this time around.  "Angel Come Home" rates with "Feel Flows" and "Heaven" in the holy trinity of Carl Wilson compositions.  Anybody who's ever lost someone they've loved can relate to the lyrics, and Carl's melody and Dennis's sincere vocal do the song complete justice.

Love Surrounds Me - This one is a complete jaw dropper.  It's incredible that Dennis could turn out stuff like this, and even more incredible that the band often turned down his songs for inclusion on albums.  The synth breakdown during the middle 8 leading into the walls of Christine McVie harmonies is the highlight of the  Light Album for me.  It's a damn shame we never got to hear  Bamboo.

Sumahama - Say what you will, I don't think this song is All That Bad.  I certainly prefer it to some of Mr. Love's future offerings in the sun & fun mode, and it's not a ham-fisted clunker (how's that for an overused rock crit cliche?) in the vein of "Student Demonstration Time".  Bonus points for the string arrangements, which are interesting and creative.  Thus ends one of the strongest Beach Boys album sides of the decade.

Here Comes the Night -  I dig it, although the radio edit might have been a better fit here-- then they could have included "California Feeling", or "Daybreak" or maybe even "Do You Like Worms". (Honestly, Bruce Johnston is quoted as saying that they were considering adding that to the  Light Album at one point!)  This disco inferno features some excellent "vocal gymnastics", in the words of Brad Elliott.  Very much in the vein of producer Curt Becher's contemporaneous California Music project.

Baby Blue - B-side of the "Here Comes the Night" single, and also originally tabbed for inclusion on  Bamboo.  Features Carl's best lead vocal from this era, as well as a sensitive bridge vocal from Dennis.  Indeed, Dennis seems to have a direct line to God as the melodies he channeled here are otherworldly and can make for an overwhelmingly spiritual experience.  Ace!


Goin' South - Another nice Carl composition in the vein of "Full Sail".  This one is even a bit more somnombulistic (is that a word?)  Great for chilling out on the beach at sunset with a cocktail in hand.


Shortenin' Bread - Side B of the Light Album suffers from some of the worst sequencing I've ever experienced.  Coming off of two supremely sensitive ballads, this raucous cut can be somewhat disconcerting.  While many appreciate the inclusion of "Shortenin' Bread, I tend to feel that if the band were desperate for something from Brian, they should have gone with "California Feeling" instead. In an ideal world,  Adult/ Child would have been released in 1977, giving "Shortenin' Bread" a more sympathetic surrounding.



3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)
« Last Edit: April 16, 2006, 11:50:49 AM by Jason Penick » Logged

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