Favourite Solo Track

[stack-o-tracks]

Sound Of Free
Dreamer
Time For Bed

Last night before bed I was listening to the music on my Android on shuffle, and Sound Of Free and Dreamer came on one after the other.... I was about to get my mind blown if Time For Bed came on after that, but then it didn't. Weird that would happen a couple days after using this thread to figure out what  solo songs are my favorites.

[feelflows]

"Tug of Love"

[Disney Boy (1985)]

River Song, every time. Hate to say this, but - SMiLE aside - Brian aint come anywhere close to this song with anything in his solo work.

[Les P]

River Song, every time. Hate to say this, but - SMiLE aside - Brian aint come anywhere close to this song with anything in his solo work.

Sometimes I think this myself.  While I find the POB album somewhat uneven, "River Song" has the ambition, sophistication, and excitement I kept hoping to hear from Brian in the second half of the 70s.

[Phoenix]

Let It Shine.  Brian may not like it but I do. 

[Eric Aniversario]

Wow, that's a tough call, so many solo albums, and all very very different, hard to compare.

You & I

[DennyMac79]

Southern California and Constant Companion

[seltaeb1012002]

What Love Can Do.

[Runaways]

River Song

[runnersdialzero]

River Song, every time. Hate to say this, but - SMiLE aside - Brian aint come anywhere close to this song with anything in his solo work.

Brian (who didn't have a proper solo album until 27 years into his career) past his prime can't keep up with Dennis during his prime? A prime which occurred after Brian had written dozens and dozens of brilliant songs before him? Yer fulla sh*t.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

River Song, every time. Hate to say this, but - SMiLE aside - Brian aint come anywhere close to this song with anything in his solo work.

Brian (who didn't have a proper solo album until 27 years into his career) past his prime can't keep up with Dennis during his prime? A prime which occurred after Brian had written dozens and dozens of brilliant songs before him? Yer fulla sh*t.

No i'm not. Your argument is totally flawed. 'A prime which occured after Brian had written dozens of brilliant songs before him'? Yes, Brian had written dozens of brilliant songs. I'm not for one second saying he didn't - indeed, only an idiot would say that. However, were those dozens of brilliant songs released as Brian Wilson solo songs? No they weren't. Is this a thread specifically about solo tracks? Yes it is. Does any of Brian's solo work - all of which was released after POB (as all his work prior to that was officially with the Beach Boys) - realistically come close to bettering River Song? No it does not. So i think you'll find that it is in fact you who is 'fulla sh*t'.
Time scale has got nothing to do with it - we're talking quality of songs, not when the songs were recorded. That's irrelevent to the question. 'What's the best solo track?', that was the question. So, what, should we pretend Brian's solo work is as good as POB out of sympathy because Brian was past his prime when he recorded his solo albums and because he'd previously - when not a solo artist - recorded great songs? Don't wade in with insults until you've got a coherent counter argument.

[onkster]

Brian: Melt Away, Rio Grande, Midnight's Another Day
Dennis: It's Not Too Late, Cocktails, Only With You

Haven't heard the other guys' solo stuff, really.

[runnersdialzero]

River Song, every time. Hate to say this, but - SMiLE aside - Brian aint come anywhere close to this song with anything in his solo work.

Brian (who didn't have a proper solo album until 27 years into his career) past his prime can't keep up with Dennis during his prime? A prime which occurred after Brian had written dozens and dozens of brilliant songs before him? Yer fulla sh*t.

No i'm not. Your argument is totally flawed. 'A prime which occured after Brian had written dozens of brilliant songs before him'? Yes, Brian had written dozens of brilliant songs. I'm not for one second saying he didn't - indeed, only an idiot would say that. However, were those dozens of brilliant songs released as Brian Wilson solo songs? No they weren't. Is this a thread specifically about solo tracks? Yes it is. Does any of Brian's solo work - all of which was released after POB (as all his work prior to that was officially with the Beach Boys) - realistically come close to bettering River Song? No it does not. So i think you'll find that it is in fact you who is 'fulla sh*t'.
Time scale has got nothing to do with it - we're talking quality of songs, not when the songs were recorded. That's irrelevent to the question. 'What's the best solo track?', that was the question. So, what, should we pretend Brian's solo work is as good as POB out of sympathy because Brian was past his prime when he recorded his solo albums and because he'd previously - when not a solo artist - recorded great songs? Don't wade in with insults until you've got a coherent counter argument.

I get your logic and all that we're talking strictly solo material, but it's an odd comparison to make if you think of it in terms of who wrote the song and when. Comparing Brian's best 1970 track to Dennis' best 1970 track makes a world of sense to me. Comparing Dennis' best track in 1977 to Brian's best track in 2008 makes absolutely no sense to me.

Just an observation on things while still understanding that the thread pertains strictly to solo material be it 1966 or 2012. It was just very strange to see people, in a sense, basically saying, "Brian ain't got shit on Dennis," when he very much does in the grand scheme. I get that it's strictly solo material comparisons, it's just that their solo careers took place at completely different times and under completely different circumstances.

Agayn, just an observation on things.

[Runaways]

As an example, River Song sounds to me very Brian. At least harmonies.

i don't heart that at all, brian never went "gospel" in my mind.  That seems like a pure Dennis song.  Emotion, soul, rocking.  Sooo good.

[runnersdialzero]

brian never went "gospel" in my mind. 

"He Come Down"? "That Same Song"?

[Phoenix]

Let It Shine.  Brian may not like it but I do. 

all his work prior to that was officially with the Beach Boys

Actually, if you want to get technical, mine is really "Caroline, No". 

Because it was after all "officially" a "Brian Wilson" track.


I'm kidding, of course.