'Fess up - who here likes Sweet Insanity?

[JohnMill]

Two of the other Traveling Wilburys (Petty, Lynne) are allegedly on the record as well although nobody that I'm aware of has ever been able to confirm exactly where.  I believe "Weird Al" is on the album as well but I might be misremembering. 

[Mike's Beard]

Weird Al is on the track that was remade as The Waltz on GIOMH. Also Mr Burns seems to be on the end of Smart Girls!?!? Can you imagine his reaction?
"Smithers, what am I doing on a crappy Beached Boy song?"

[adamghost]

I remember liking it when Bill Holdship slipped me a copy of it way back then.  I always thought "Smart Girls" was a hoot, though I like the disco HCTN as well (and I"ll defend the latter a lot harder than the former).  But for me, "Don't Let Her Know She's An Angel," was awesome, "Do You Have Any Regrets" was quite clever and left frield, and "Water Builds Up" was pretty much the perfect pop song in a Disney kind of way.  I always liked "Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll" though I never liked it as much as the first time I heard it on the Hawaii '86 special.

It's kinda downhill from there, though.  I loathed "Brian" and "Rainbow Eyes" put me to sleep.  The rest was kinda meh.  "Country Feeling" classic throwaway Brian -- but not in a very engaging way.

But yeah, I liked it OK.  I always thought the album as whole got a bit of a bum rap, though it probably was richly deserved from a Landy karma perspective.  I haven't listened to it since then though.

The Paley sessions, now...that really made my ears perk up.  Bits and pieces of them were leaking out by around 1994, I remember.  Too bad about the lead vocals.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

yep, I really do - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ndMltIVTJc

Wow, that's quite a good cover.  Did Darian cover any of the other Sweet Insanity songs?

Dont think so, its a nice item to have if you like your vinyl - http://www.ebay.com/itm/DARIAN-SAHANAJA-Do-You-Have-Any-Regrets-45-PS-BEACH-BOYS-Heart-Zombies-RARE-/400463290884?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item5d3d78e204

I remember ordering the millennium edition Sweet Insanity in San Francisco from a shop in Castro round 2003. Shop guy was trying to explain to me that it was not very good but I wanted it bad...$30 I think...and I loved it...but not as much as the Paley and Adult Child ones I got off them in the following months

[lance]

I enjoy the songs and the album has grown on me in a big way. It's not genius, but eventually you end up digging it. Voice big turn off, though.

[Lonely Summer]

I have something called the "millennium edition". Haven't played it in awhile, but I recall liking the tunes. It's overproduced, of course, and some of the lyrics are embarrassing, but Brian sounds healthy and comes up with some strong melodies.

[Bean Bag]

I love it. It's like Love You 2. It's quirky, honest, and really catchy. I've always thought of SI as the "rock and roll album" he's been talking about making for years.
It's an uptempo and fun record and more importantly, his vocals are fantastic and he sounds happy and more excited than ever.

This is largely how I feel about Sweet Insanity.  Good times.  Fun, bright, silly, comfortable.  I really knew nothing about the "details of the situation" (i.e.; Landy, etc) and still don't really.  I just know what I hear.  And I thought it sounded good -- yes goofy -- but really good.  Like it was the next logical step (i.e.; improvement in some ways) following his debut:  "Brian Willson (88)."  That's what I heard.

Maybe I'm thinking of the Paley Sessions?  I'm confused.  I've got to find these... I'm not sure where they are!!  HELP!!!  Dammit... why can't these be officially released!!!!  Seriously!  Adult Child, too!  C'mon!!

Count me as one who likes the kooky fringes of Brian Wilson.  Love You, Adult Child.  That's me.  To me, it's a "guarantee on a box" that I'm getting something that no record executive has "approved" for me.  I like the work of an artist at their most uninhibited -- ie. least -- commercial.  I don't care if Landy's working the dials... what a crazy scene!  A reclusive genius, whipped into shape - having dropped a 100 pounds, with a sweat-band on his head doing Jazzercise in the studio with Bob Saget (??what??) while his "doctor" works the faders... bopping along, dropping alka seltzer (i.e. medication) in Brian's water.

Sock it to me!!

Anyway... SI has a great vibe.  I love the sunny, optimistic (dreadfully poppy) sound of early 90s.  Happy times.  Goofy, DJ Jazzy Jeff times.


The way we were...  

[SMiLE Brian]

Bean Bag- Which band from the 1990s do you think will go through the "endless summer syndrome"?

[Bean Bag]

Well, I must confess, I don't really know too much about early 90s pop music, other than the general aesthetic.  So, I assume you're wondering who will be subject to doing the endless nostalgia tours, a la Endless Summer?  Good question.  Who do you think?  Is there anybody who was "that good" to even warrant the job?  Boyz 2 Men?  Backstreet Boys?

[Lonely Summer]

New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys and Boyz 2 Men are doing nostalgia tours right now.

[Nicko1234]

In the U.K. 1990s nostalgia is now in full swing too.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

In the U.K. 1990s nostalgia is now in full swing too.

What? You mean its not the 90's anymore? Boy that was some strong sh*t I took.......

[MBE]

I hate everything about this album. Even without the truly horrible backstory the vocals were whiney, the lyrics terrible, no melodies stuck in my head, and you can't even call those synth cuts music. Brian Wilson 88 is better in so many ways. The songs weren't improved as songs, and I may be crazy, but I like the GIOMH versions better because they sound less processed musically. Maybe the original Make A Wish is cooler, but neither recording comes near Brian at his best.

Other than two thirds of the 88 LP I can't listen to much of Brian's work during the second Landy period. It's again not just how horrible Brian was being treated, I think it's simply that Landy and his team made awful music and Brian's voice is at its worst. Except for his upbeat manner at the 1983 shows, and his work with outside producers in 1988, 1983-91 is a bit of a wash for Brian.  

[leggo of my ego]

Sweet Insanity is the music of the Pied Piper.

I hear it on my magic transistor.

 

[Lonely Summer]

If I had approached this cd as the followup to BW88 without any prior knowledge of how it was recorded, who was involved, etc, I would've been disappointed. There isn't any track as beautiful as Melt Away or There's So Many, nothing as catchy or memorable as Let it Shine or Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight, nothing as creative as Rio Grande. I read all kinds of reviews of these tracks before  I found a cd of them, so I was prepared for it to be either a travesty, or a masterpiece. It's neither.

[KittyKat]

I can imagine the Sire execs who heard the SI tapes thought it was "gentlemen, we've been screwed" Part II. Especially after spending a lot of money on the Brian Wilson self-titled album which wound up with the shipments they sent out of that LP wind up returned and as 99 cent cut-outs later on (I remember seeing a lot of BW cutout LPs, CD's, and cassettes in record stores as late as the mid-'90s). And that album got good reviews. I can just imagine what reviewers would have said about SI. Nope, not a fan of it myself.

[Melt Away]

SI is some of my favorite stuff to listen to.

[Dudd]

I gotta admit, Smart Girls is so horridly cringeworthy it's brilliant. Poor Brian...

[PaulTMA]

Someone To Love is a dope jam.

[Bean Bag]

I can imagine the Sire execs who heard the SI tapes thought it was "gentlemen, we've been screwed" Part II. Especially after spending a lot of money on the Brian Wilson self-titled album which wound up with the shipments they sent out of that LP wind up returned and as 99 cent cut-outs later on (I remember seeing a lot of BW cutout LPs, CD's, and cassettes in record stores as late as the mid-'90s). And that album got good reviews. I can just imagine what reviewers would have said about SI. Nope, not a fan of it myself.

Dumb question:  Why do they "cut out" CDs/LPs in the bargain bins? 

[Bean Bag]

I gotta admit, Smart Girls is so horridly cringeworthy it's brilliant. Poor Brian...

I was laughing my azz off when I first heard it!!!

You know, bad 80s rap (or early 90s rap) is what it is.  It's retro...  Plus even a lot of the "good rap" from that era was cringeworthy and lame.

[Myk Luhv]

People who actually think "Smart Girls" is either good rap or a good song generally really worry me...

And no, Bean Bag, a lot of good hip-hop in the '80s/'90s wasn't lame or cringe-worthy assuming you actually like hip-hop?

[Bean Bag]

SI is some of my favorite stuff to listen to.

Right on!

I love the title:  Sweet Insanity.  

So it's, Sweet?     And... you're insane?    

Wait... is this really happening?

[Bean Bag]

People who actually think "Smart Girls" is either good rap or a good song generally really worry me...

I think you're taking this all too seriously.     It's "ironic."  So bad it's good.  Ironic.  I'm not going to argue the merits of "Smart Girls."

And no, Bean Bag, a lot of good hip-hop in the '80s/'90s wasn't lame or cringe-worthy assuming you actually like hip-hop?

Yes, a lot of rap music from the 80s and early 90s (mostly 80s) was bad.  It too, is so bad it's good in a retro kind of way.

What makes it bad is that it was so new that it was often relying on its novelty of being something new rather than pushing the art form to something original or genuine.  A very common occurrence in the performing/entertainment arts when something strikes the public fancy -- placing giant dollar signs in the eyes of executives and half-wits who stick their face in a camera and strike a pose.

But it too can be good in an ironic way.  And yes, I like music... I don't toss out entire genres.

But Smart Girls is one strange fruit.   

[Myk Luhv]

Oh, sure, yeah, I thought you were talking about stuff that's now considered classic -- Big Daddy Kane, Eric B. & Rakim, Tribe, etc. -- but was still very popular and mainstream at the time rather than, say, Kriss Kross or whatever other crossover acts A&Rs cooked up.

I don't get into ironic music appreciation, I guess. To me "Smart Girls" is just awful... but funny. BIG BRAINS ARE AWESOME DUUUUDE