In The Key Of Disney

[Shady]

Wonderful..

Anyone catch the "shortnin bread" riff 

[Wirestone]

"If a famous and legendary actor got brain damaged, should he do more movies, even if it meant ridicule?"

"Most certainly not. No, I don't think an actor should do more movies in that case."

So you believe that the potential ridicule of the public should be given more weight than the desire of an individual to create art?

[Chris Brown]

I enjoyed the track, very fun and reminiscent of "Vegatables" percussion wise, as others have mentioned.  I'm not familiar with too many Disney songs, so I'm looking forward to this release. 

As for the vocal quality issue, I'd say Brian still sounds pretty damned good for a guy pushing 70 who purposely wrecked his voice and has been through hell.  I don't expect him to sound 24, and the fact that he sounds his age rarely bothers me - it's only when he tries singing something that he sang better in his younger days ("Surf's Up" immediately springs to mind as the biggest offender).  But a project like this (and BWRG) allows him to use his voice on songs better suited for it, and I think he's sounded great on recent recordings, all things considered.

[donald]

do you have to do facebook to hear this?  homey dont do facebook

[ghost]

this is the only thing keeping me alive. i'm catatonically suicidally depressed but this ridiculous song has got me feeling good. brian's voice is the best on it. very distinctive - he's really coming into something cool i think with the gershwin album and this. i'm getting this Disney album before the Smile Sessions. if i have not ceased to be entirely, - ghost

this sounds better than BWPS. the electric guitar when it comes in has such a classic cartoonish sound. HI HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO - damn, brian's voice is COOL. he sounds so BIG like a yetti.

[ghost]

do you have to do facebook to hear this?  homey dont do facebook

i didn't donald - the link on page 6 of this thread takes me right to a player with a HD option, all very convenient actually

[Paulos]

Heigh Ho/Whistle While You Work - very quirky, very cool and like someone mentioned before the intro is remniscient of the Vegatables intro. To me the vibe of this is similar to I Got Plenty Of 'Nuttin from BWRG. Good times to be a Beach Boys and Brian Wilson fan!

[Alex]

SCrew ther friggin' mouse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKOwptKaiQM

[Alex]

Brian's got some glaring omissions...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKOwptKaiQM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8R4p6t9250

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9aNxs66i_c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSXM3Zg0eBo

[grillo]

UUGGHH. I've never been a Disney fan, but this stuff is even worse than I imagined. I think, when it comes right down to it, the only BW solo record I can stand is BW '88. Year after year I keep looking forward to the next new album, and each time it feels less and less like something BW had any hand in. The quirkiness seems forced but so does the BW-like music. Oh hell, I'm sure I'll buy it 'cos I love the man, but just like everything from Sweet Insanity on, it's gonna sit on the shelf filling in its place in the complete recorded works of BW area, with only a couple trips to the cd player.
But if you like it, this is awesome news and you must be psyched!

[Wirestone]

Been a tough 23 years, huh?

[Sammy]

okay, so there are two elton john compositions, two randy newman tracks and a song that van dyke parks did an arrangement for. can't we focus on this instead of the "disney" part of it?

[Ron]

This bodes really well for the project though - it's so silly, which is what I hoped it'd be.

Yes!  That's exactly what I was hoping for too, for Brian to just let his hair hang down. 

This is even better than I imagined, the percussion stuff in the background was totally unexpected, I'm sitting here with the biggest grin on my face.  Brian, or whoever ghost produced this, lol still has it!  Wow!  I'm really happy about this song, what a fresh sound.  Go Brian! 

[Ron]

If his vocals are anything like they were on TLOS or (especially) BWRG, then we're in for a treat.

Yap. Guys, it's gonna be great.

I really don't get what you guys are hearing. I think one of the big problems with BW recordings these days (and back in 2004 for that matter) is in fact his vocal performance. He sounds kind of slurred, and not to mention heavily tuned at times. And this is the primary reason on why I rather would not see the Disney album be released (which it of course will be). Trying to make a new version of for instance 'When you wish upon a star' is in my opinion pointless. The original is so good both musically and vocally that I think a BW version per today would not go well with me. Brian anno 1966 on the other hand, I can only imagine being close to perfect.

There's a lot of music and artists I don't like but (Smiths/Morrissey excepted) I don't tell other fans their albums shouldn't be released: I just don't listen to them.

Perhaps it was put a little bit wrong. But what got me into the BB all those years ago was Brian and his brothers' voices. And in my opinion, releases like this (and I hope I'm wrong) won't add to the legacy of Brian Wilson. And this primarily because of his voice, which I find to be very hard to listen to in his old days.  Like I said, this is my opinion, and it might just be me.

Two of the best voices in the Beach Boys are dead, and one of the others is a mentally ill grandfather.  Vocally it's just not going to happen anymore, man like the Beach Boys did it.  HOWEVER!  That same Mentally Ill Grandfather can still produce as well as he ever did.  Just listen to the soundscapes he creates, every once in awhile, like today, he knocks it out of the park like he used to.  Go Brian!!!

[Ron]

So does that mean an artist should only release music that adds to their "legacy"?

Perhaps not, I guess it depends on how much it would weaken his or her's legacy. If a famous and legendary actor got brain damaged, should he do more movies, even if it meant ridicule? I'm not saying this is the case with Brian, but I'm just saying that someone as brilliant as Brian Wilson should ideally pretty much deliver a perfect product. And how I perceive Brian's voice to be these days, I am scared that 'In the Key of Disney' will be far away from perfect. Sorry, if I'm being pessimistic here, but that's just how I feel.

< edited, violation board rule #2 >  Brian makes music.  It's the 1 friggin' thing he's good at, if it were up to you, he wouldn't be allowed to do that either.  If Brian starts making the sh*ttiest music ever recorded, it still won't change the fact that he enjoys it and it's not up to you to decide if he gets to do it.

If an actor got Brain damage, yes he should still be allowed to act if he wants.  f*ck his legacy.  Who cares about that?  Live for the moment.  In this moment, Brian is recording, doing what he likes to do.  He's doing a damn good job of it, too, all sources considered.  

You must be the type of < edited, violation board rule #2 > that tells his 5 year old "No honey, you colored outside the lines, I will not hang it on the refrigerator... you're not very good"  


It is appriciated if the board rules are taken seriously: a personal opinion is allowed, calling names as a reply is not.

[grillo]

Been a tough 23 years, huh?

Just on the BW front.
It's just the voice is SOOOO not good (in a bad way, not not good like Randy Newman which IS actually good) and the music seems really indie-popped out (also, obviously, not good) that I don't really even hear ANY BW element that I recognize or think sounds good.
In my mind I picture the band going in, recording some mid-sixties-style-yet-slightly-modern sounding tracks, working up some backing vocals and then Melinda carts BW in and props him in front of a music stand while the engineers cringe knowingly to one another and whisper "we'll fix it in the mix" while Jeff jots down all the places he's going to have to cover for BW's leads with his own double-tracked co-lead.
And that's the last FOUR albums (not including TLOS which BW supposedly had a hand in writing at least)

Plus, why'd it have to be Disney!? Why not Spector or Phil Collins or ANYbody that Brian has actually expressed some liking towards? I mean, I know why it had to be Disney, but come on man!

[Dunderhead]

Been a tough 23 years, huh?

Just on the BW front.
It's just the voice is SOOOO not good (in a bad way, not not good like Randy Newman which IS actually good) and the music seems really indie-popped out (also, obviously, not good) that I don't really even hear ANY BW element that I recognize or think sounds good.
In my mind I picture the band going in, recording some mid-sixties-style-yet-slightly-modern sounding tracks, working up some backing vocals and then Melinda carts BW in and props him in front of a music stand while the engineers cringe knowingly to one another and whisper "we'll fix it in the mix" while Jeff jots down all the places he's going to have to cover for BW's leads with his own double-tracked co-lead.
And that's the last FOUR albums (not including TLOS which BW supposedly had a hand in writing at least)

Plus, why'd it have to be Disney!? Why not Spector or Phil Collins or ANYbody that Brian has actually expressed some liking towards? I mean, I know why it had to be Disney, but come on man!

agreed.

[Wirestone]

Sounds like you have some issues to work out. Given that we know for a fact that that's not how any of these albums were recorded.

[phirnis]

UUGGHH. I've never been a Disney fan, but this stuff is even worse than I imagined. I think, when it comes right down to it, the only BW solo record I can stand is BW '88. Year after year I keep looking forward to the next new album, and each time it feels less and less like something BW had any hand in. The quirkiness seems forced but so does the BW-like music. Oh hell, I'm sure I'll buy it 'cos I love the man, but just like everything from Sweet Insanity on, it's gonna sit on the shelf filling in its place in the complete recorded works of BW area, with only a couple trips to the cd player.
But if you like it, this is awesome news and you must be psyched!

Let's be honest, if there's one thing fairly consistent about BW's solo career it's the recurring question of whether or not he was heavily involved in any recent production effort. For his older fans it must've been this way ever since the seventies and personally I think it's a very interesting (if sometimes frustrating) topic to think about and discuss.

I agree the quirky elements here do sound rather forced. It's probably supposed to be "Smile-like" but for me it doesn't really work at all.

Really enjoyed the recent Buddy Holly cover version, though, and I think I'll have to check out the original.

[tansen]

"If a famous and legendary actor got brain damaged, should he do more movies, even if it meant ridicule?"

"Most certainly not. No, I don't think an actor should do more movies in that case."

So you believe that the potential ridicule of the public should be given more weight than the desire of an individual to create art?

In some cases, yes. Like I said, if Brian could really concentrate on writing some killer songs, and have a different band perform it, I think that would not only add to his 'legacy', but it would spawn great reviews, which again would put Brian in a good place. I just think he should channel his strength to what he's still good at.

[Dunderhead]

It's hard to get a lock down on Brian's career. I've gotten the feeling that ever since Friends he's been less interested in his music career, he can still make some good songs, but definitely needs to be inspired. I just get the feeling that the inspiration is pretty much dried up. Basically everyone in the indie music world name checks Brian Wilson, I'm sure he could get somebody really hip to produce him and write some songs with him, but that's not going to happen. The Disney album is what it is, for better or worse its harmless.

[hypehat]

Plus, why'd it have to be Disney!? Why not Spector or Phil Collins or ANYbody that Brian has actually expressed some liking towards? I mean, I know why it had to be Disney, but come on man!

So you must have missed the bajillion interviews over the years where he says he loves 'When You Wish Upon A Star', then.

I know the tracklisting doesn't quite live up to the potential (two from the Lion King is two too many), but the Disney songbook is some of the best music ever written, really. But different strokes. I think BW is getting more and more in control of his solo career in some respects. He told Disney he wanted to do a Gershwin album and they let him!

Personally I'm hoping 'When I See an Elephant Fly' and 'Feed The Birds' are b-sides....

[Pearlfisher David]

that's a fun and daft track. hope it's all as quirky as this...

the first few minutes remind me a lot of the music of Louis Hardin AKA Moondog, another great American eccentric.

Grillo - I feel your pain if you've been disappointed with the many works of BW since the magnificent 88 album but I have to say I think you over-egg the pudding just a wee bit. BW was certainly more than supposedly involved in the writing of TLOS - a quick listen to that album and the associated extras (message man) etc will tell you that surely. no way to fake that signature style. thousands have tried. including me.

[LostArt]

the electric guitar when it comes in has such a classic cartoonish sound.

Yeah, on first listen when that guitar came in I started smiling, and I didn't stop smiling until the song was over.  This song is lots of fun.

Since I first saw the tracklist I've been thinking about this song (don't know why this particular one, maybe because it was listed as an instrumental).  I was trying to imagine how it would be done, and I couldn't stop thinking about the second part of Brian's version of We Wish You A Merry Christmas.  You know...sort of a straight surf band arrangement.  Not that that would've been a bad thing, but this is so much cooler.  Nice job.  I'm gonna listen again right now.

[Sam_BFC]

Melinda carts BW in and props him in front of a music stand while the engineers cringe knowingly to one another and whisper "we'll fix it in the mix" while Jeff jots down all the places he's going to have to cover for BW's leads with his own double-tracked co-lead.

Surely the many worlds of difference between Brian's vocals on something like Rainbow Eyes from GIOMH and Someone To Watch Over Me from BWRG indicate that 'fixing it in the mix' can only take you so far.