Question about Still A Mystery

[SMiLE Brian]

*sigh* And we got Stars and Stripes instead.....


P.S- Plus the "fun fun fun" with status quo.

[TimmyC]

I just fell in love with this song, it's so classy, not crassy, not 90s, Pet Sound-y, kinda fantastic all around.

Soooooo... is it ok to say that THIS IS THE BEST BEACH BOYS SONG OF THE 90s?!?!?!  I know it's not ALL 90s but pretty much? 

#1 - She's Still A Mystery
#2 - Lahaina Aloha

No joke. Sorry folks. Of course what else is there? The rest of SIP, Problem Child, Crocodile Rock (other than S&S/Fun Fun Fun). THAT'S IT. So not much competition is my point.

[runnersdialzero]

I just fell in love with this song, it's so classy, not crassy, not 90s, Pet Sound-y, kinda fantastic all around.

Soooooo... is it ok to say that THIS IS THE BEST BEACH BOYS SONG OF THE 90s?!?!?!  I know it's not ALL 90s but pretty much?  

#1 - She's Still A Mystery
#2 - Lahaina Aloha

No joke. Sorry folks. Of course what else is there? The rest of SIP, Problem Child, Crocodile Rock (other than S&S/Fun Fun Fun). THAT'S IT. So not much competition is my point.

Regardless of there not being much competition, "Mystery" and "Soul Searchin'" are just fuckin' miles upon miles ahead of the other stuff you named, Sweet Insanity, etc.

[alf wiedersehen]

I think I remember reading that Andy only wrote the chorus to "Soul Searchin'."

¸ (The Artist Formerly Known as Runnerz) edited his post and made my post look out of place 

[c-man]

I think I remember reading that Andy only wrote the chorus to "Soul Searchin'."

¸ (The Artist Formerly Known as Runnerz) edited his post and made my post look out of place 

Andy says:  "I recorded the song by myself and had the track completely done before Brian ever heard it. I had the hook (sings ‘Soul Searchin’’) but I didn’t have any lyrics. Brian came up with the first line (recites “I was a bum…”) and we worked on it from there. Brian contributed heavily with lyrics on that one."

http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/the-issue/

[runnersdialzero]

I'd never heard the Solomon Burke arrangement before. I'm wondering if this is closer to the later track Carl put his vocal to, the one he wasn't so into.

[TimmyC]

I just fell in love with this song, it's so classy, not crassy, not 90s, Pet Sound-y, kinda fantastic all around.

Soooooo... is it ok to say that THIS IS THE BEST BEACH BOYS SONG OF THE 90s?!?!?!  I know it's not ALL 90s but pretty much?  

#1 - She's Still A Mystery
#2 - Lahaina Aloha

No joke. Sorry folks. Of course what else is there? The rest of SIP, Problem Child, Crocodile Rock (other than S&S/Fun Fun Fun). THAT'S IT. So not much competition is my point.

Regardless of there not being much competition, "Mystery" and "Soul Searchin'" are just fuckin' miles upon miles ahead of the other stuff you named, Sweet Insanity, etc.

Look, I'm sorry, but Soul Searchin' is extremely derivative and unoriginal. There is nothing at all special about the song itself. I only appreciate it because it's an extremely rare specimen of mid-90s Beach Boys vocals. And I feel very comfortable saying that now that we know that it's an Andy Paley song. Lahaina Aloha is hands down a better song and a more enjoyable track (the second half of that sentence is IMO of course).

[Wah Wah Wah Ooooo]

I just fell in love with this song, it's so classy, not crassy, not 90s, Pet Sound-y, kinda fantastic all around.

Soooooo... is it ok to say that THIS IS THE BEST BEACH BOYS SONG OF THE 90s?!?!?!  I know it's not ALL 90s but pretty much?  

#1 - She's Still A Mystery
#2 - Lahaina Aloha

No joke. Sorry folks. Of course what else is there? The rest of SIP, Problem Child, Crocodile Rock (other than S&S/Fun Fun Fun). THAT'S IT. So not much competition is my point.

Regardless of there not being much competition, "Mystery" and "Soul Searchin'" are just fuckin' miles upon miles ahead of the other stuff you named, Sweet Insanity, etc.

Look, I'm sorry, but Soul Searchin' is extremely derivative and unoriginal. There is nothing at all special about the song itself. I only appreciate it because it's an extremely rare specimen of mid-90s Beach Boys vocals. And I feel very comfortable saying that now that we know that it's an Andy Paley song. Lahaina Aloha is hands down a better song and a more enjoyable track (the second half of that sentence is IMO of course).

Actually, both halves of that last sentence are your opinion. They're both completely subjective statements. "Soul Searching" is a better song than "Lahaina Aloha" and it's more enjoyable. See?

[Smilin Ed H]

I just fell in love with this song, it's so classy, not crassy, not 90s, Pet Sound-y, kinda fantastic all around.

Soooooo... is it ok to say that THIS IS THE BEST BEACH BOYS SONG OF THE 90s?!?!?!  I know it's not ALL 90s but pretty much?  

#1 - She's Still A Mystery
#2 - Lahaina Aloha

No joke. Sorry folks. Of course what else is there? The rest of SIP, Problem Child, Crocodile Rock (other than S&S/Fun Fun Fun). THAT'S IT. So not much competition is my point.

Regardless of there not being much competition, "Mystery" and "Soul Searchin'" are just fuckin' miles upon miles ahead of the other stuff you named, Sweet Insanity, etc.

Look, I'm sorry, but Soul Searchin' is extremely derivative and unoriginal. There is nothing at all special about the song itself. I only appreciate it because it's an extremely rare specimen of mid-90s Beach Boys vocals. And I feel very comfortable saying that now that we know that it's an Andy Paley song. Lahaina Aloha is hands down a better song and a more enjoyable track (the second half of that sentence is IMO of course).

Agree, about Soul Serachin'. It's nice, but...  then you spoil it whenl you mention Lahaina Aloha which is a piece of merde.

[TimmyC]

I just fell in love with this song, it's so classy, not crassy, not 90s, Pet Sound-y, kinda fantastic all around.

Soooooo... is it ok to say that THIS IS THE BEST BEACH BOYS SONG OF THE 90s?!?!?!  I know it's not ALL 90s but pretty much?  

#1 - She's Still A Mystery
#2 - Lahaina Aloha

No joke. Sorry folks. Of course what else is there? The rest of SIP, Problem Child, Crocodile Rock (other than S&S/Fun Fun Fun). THAT'S IT. So not much competition is my point.

Regardless of there not being much competition, "Mystery" and "Soul Searchin'" are just fuckin' miles upon miles ahead of the other stuff you named, Sweet Insanity, etc.

Look, I'm sorry, but Soul Searchin' is extremely derivative and unoriginal. There is nothing at all special about the song itself. I only appreciate it because it's an extremely rare specimen of mid-90s Beach Boys vocals. And I feel very comfortable saying that now that we know that it's an Andy Paley song. Lahaina Aloha is hands down a better song and a more enjoyable track (the second half of that sentence is IMO of course).

Agree, about Soul Serachin'. It's nice, but...  then you spoil it whenl you mention Lahaina Aloha which is a piece of merde.

agree to disagree on LA! I know I'm not the only who thinks it's good...

[TimmyC]

Look, I'm sorry, but Soul Searchin' is extremely derivative and unoriginal. There is nothing at all special about the song itself. I only appreciate it because it's an extremely rare specimen of mid-90s Beach Boys vocals. And I feel very comfortable saying that now that we know that it's an Andy Paley song. Lahaina Aloha is hands down a better song and a more enjoyable track (the second half of that sentence is IMO of course).

Actually, both halves of that last sentence are your opinion. They're both completely subjective statements. "Soul Searching" is a better song than "Lahaina Aloha" and it's more enjoyable. See?

Sure, I was kind of writing that tongue in cheek, but I'm sort of serious about it at the same time. What I mean is that I think that some things/art/songs are not just a matter of taste/preference, but are in fact objectively better than other things/art/songs, regardless of what you (the universal you) personally find enjoyable or not. I'm not smart enough to explain why I think LA is an objectively better song than Soul Searchin (again, the songs themselves, not necessarily the production, performance, etc), but my gut tells me that LA is objectively better (it's certainly based I would think on the derivative nature of SS and the more original sound of LA). I can't really argue it, and I definitely can't prove it, but I bet someone much smarter than me could.

[Wah Wah Wah Ooooo]

I understand how you feel, but I still say it's not objective...I can just as easily say that Lahaina Aloha (which I like, btw) is far more derivative than Soul Searchin. I find the late 80s/early 90s drums, driving guitar/bass and production to be incredibly derivative myself. Carl's vocal saves it from mediocrity, in my opinion, and lifts it to "pretty good" status.

[TimmyC]

I hear ya. 

[runnersdialzero]

Don't get me wrong, to me, "You're Still A Mystery" is itself miles beyond "Soul Searchin'". Still, "Soul Searchin'", which I find to be only pretty good and not quite great (and indeed a bit derivative, but not really to its detriment), does so much more for me than maybe 80% of the stuff they've done from 81-2011 (solo material included).

It just feels so "right", there's this air of simplicity in there that I just haven't heard on much else over the last few decades. No Landy, no Melinda censoring, no "The Mike Love Experience" touring group, no "Brian's potential as an adult contemporary artist" producers, no heavy-handed emphasis on "Let's try to sound serious and dignified here, guys", no ill-fitting production, no "Let's have Jeff shadow Brian because we basically don't believe in him anymore" (and indeed no Jeff), no gaping Carl Wilson-sized hole, no spiteful horseshit or 1-upping, none of that shit. It makes me feel good in the same way their early 60s material does. It's kind of a special song in their catalog, I feel. Just me, though.

[c-man]

I just fell in love with this song, it's so classy, not crassy, not 90s, Pet Sound-y, kinda fantastic all around.

Soooooo... is it ok to say that THIS IS THE BEST BEACH BOYS SONG OF THE 90s?!?!?!  I know it's not ALL 90s but pretty much?  

#1 - She's Still A Mystery
#2 - Lahaina Aloha

No joke. Sorry folks. Of course what else is there? The rest of SIP, Problem Child, Crocodile Rock (other than S&S/Fun Fun Fun). THAT'S IT. So not much competition is my point.

Regardless of there not being much competition, "Mystery" and "Soul Searchin'" are just fuckin' miles upon miles ahead of the other stuff you named, Sweet Insanity, etc.

Look, I'm sorry, but Soul Searchin' is extremely derivative and unoriginal. There is nothing at all special about the song itself. I only appreciate it because it's an extremely rare specimen of mid-90s Beach Boys vocals. And I feel very comfortable saying that now that we know that it's an Andy Paley song. Lahaina Aloha is hands down a better song and a more enjoyable track (the second half of that sentence is IMO of course).

Agree, about Soul Serachin'. It's nice, but...  then you spoil it whenl you mention Lahaina Aloha which is a piece of merde.

agree to disagree on LA! I know I'm not the only who thinks it's good...

Hey, I really dig both "SS" and "LA".  I favor "SS", but have always liked "LA".  I think it gets a bad wrap simply b/c of the album from which it originates.

[clack]

Don't get me wrong, to me, "You're Still A Mystery" is itself miles beyond "Soul Searchin'". Still, "Soul Searchin'", which I find to be only pretty good and not quite great (and indeed a bit derivative, but not really to its detriment), does so much more for me than maybe 80% of the stuff they've done from 81-2011 (solo material included).

It just feels so "right", there's this air of simplicity in there that I just haven't heard on much else over the last few decades. No Landy, no Melinda censoring, no "The Mike Love Experience" touring group, no "Brian's potential as an adult contemporary artist" producers, no heavy-handed emphasis on "Let's try to sound serious and dignified here, guys", no ill-fitting production, no "Let's have Jeff shadow Brian because we basically don't believe in him anymore" (and indeed no Jeff), no gaping Carl Wilson-sized hole, no spiteful horseshit or 1-upping, none of that shit. It makes me feel good in the same way their early 60s material does. It's kind of a special song in their catalog, I feel. Just me, though.

Not just you. I agree with every word you said, except I think 'Soul Searchin' is not just pretty good -- it's good, period.

[runnersdialzero]

Don't get me wrong, to me, "You're Still A Mystery" is itself miles beyond "Soul Searchin'". Still, "Soul Searchin'", which I find to be only pretty good and not quite great (and indeed a bit derivative, but not really to its detriment), does so much more for me than maybe 80% of the stuff they've done from 81-2011 (solo material included).

It just feels so "right", there's this air of simplicity in there that I just haven't heard on much else over the last few decades. No Landy, no Melinda censoring, no "The Mike Love Experience" touring group, no "Brian's potential as an adult contemporary artist" producers, no heavy-handed emphasis on "Let's try to sound serious and dignified here, guys", no ill-fitting production, no "Let's have Jeff shadow Brian because we basically don't believe in him anymore" (and indeed no Jeff), no gaping Carl Wilson-sized hole, no spiteful horseshit or 1-upping, none of that shit. It makes me feel good in the same way their early 60s material does. It's kind of a special song in their catalog, I feel. Just me, though.

Not just you. I agree with every word you said, except I think 'Soul Searchin' is not just pretty good -- it's good, period.

Heh, sorry, I guess I meant "Pretty good" in a way to mean somewhere between good and truly great, although I know it usually means something closer to "Mostly good."

Even that seems to be the wrong way of putting it and I guess I was trying to see both sides of it (or something) by even saying "pretty good". I like the song a lot and that's that. ^_^

[Wirestone]

Sorry, what has Melinda censored again?

[Marcella]

"Sherry She Needs Me" became "She Said That She Needs Me"...only instance of Melinda censoring I am aware of....didn't like him singing about another woman...this from a woman who knowingly married  a man on a date that aligned with his previous wife's birthday so that he could remember the date better...strange woman Melinda

[Gertie J.]

hell who gives a fucking damn about melinda? she's nothing more than just a rockstar's housewife.

[runnersdialzero]

Sorry, what has Melinda censored again?

Wanting and/or demanding "Sherry She Needs Me" get a lyrical re-write because Brian dated a Sherry like forty years before Imagination came to be, for instance. Between that and Joe Thomas' gnarly production, all the charm and subtle humor of that one was completely one. It is/was a great song and it was sad to see it so heavily compromised.

I was mainly using it as an example of something unfortunate happening just a couple years after "Soul Searchin'". Just seemed like very, very different times.

I likes you Stoney, but you don't have to immediately jump all over folks and accuse them of being irrational the minute they criticize one of the folks who run the show that aren't Brian, Mike, Bruce, Al or David.

[Wirestone]

I'm just being difficult. Pay me no mind.

Sadly, the best thread ever about Melinda's villainy disappeared from the board some time back ... It lives on if you do a bit of Googling, though. I started it, and there's a bunch of fun stuff on there. Including the fact that she called the Paley sessions demos. Boo! Hiss!

 

[c-man]

I'm just being difficult. Pay me no mind.

Sadly, the best thread ever about Melinda's villainy disappeared from the board some time back ... It lives on if you do a bit of Googling, though. I started it, and there's a bunch of fun stuff on there. Including the fact that she called the Paley sessions demos. Boo! Hiss!

 

Don Was may have influenced her in the "demo" department...he consistently referred to those sessions as such, even though Andy went on record stating uncategorically that they were "masters, not demos"...as if what he intended to do with those songs would automatically elevated them to "releaseable" status (definitely NOT the case).

[HeyJude]

I understand how you feel, but I still say it's not objective...I can just as easily say that Lahaina Aloha (which I like, btw) is far more derivative than Soul Searchin. I find the late 80s/early 90s drums, driving guitar/bass and production to be incredibly derivative myself. Carl's vocal saves it from mediocrity, in my opinion, and lifts it to "pretty good" status.

Exactly, there's nothing in the chords structure of "Lahaina Aloha" that is ground breaking either. It has nice ear-catching chord changes, but they are not at all original or unique. Certainly, production-wise, for what it's worth, "Lahaina Aloha" is far less "timeless" than "Soul Searchin'." On "Lahaina Aloha", you can tell from a mile away that it was recorded and mixed in the early 90's. Harsh, fake-sounding drums, and the overall mixing and mastering screams early 90's digital.

I think "Lahaina Aloha" is a cool little song; probably the best thing on "SIP." It probably belongs on a career-spanning BB boxed set to best represent that era.

If you're more inclined to catchy, poppy stuff, I can see how you'd like "Lahaina Aloha" more than "Soul Searchin'." But if we're breaking it down in terms of originality and whatnot, I don't think "LA" is in any way more noteworthy.

[TimmyC]

I understand how you feel, but I still say it's not objective...I can just as easily say that Lahaina Aloha (which I like, btw) is far more derivative than Soul Searchin. I find the late 80s/early 90s drums, driving guitar/bass and production to be incredibly derivative myself. Carl's vocal saves it from mediocrity, in my opinion, and lifts it to "pretty good" status.

Exactly, there's nothing in the chords structure of "Lahaina Aloha" that is ground breaking either. It has nice ear-catching chord changes, but they are not at all original or unique. Certainly, production-wise, for what it's worth, "Lahaina Aloha" is far less "timeless" than "Soul Searchin'." On "Lahaina Aloha", you can tell from a mile away that it was recorded and mixed in the early 90's. Harsh, fake-sounding drums, and the overall mixing and mastering screams early 90's digital.

I think "Lahaina Aloha" is a cool little song; probably the best thing on "SIP." It probably belongs on a career-spanning BB boxed set to best represent that era.

If you're more inclined to catchy, poppy stuff, I can see how you'd like "Lahaina Aloha" more than "Soul Searchin'." But if we're breaking it down in terms of originality and whatnot, I don't think "LA" is in any way more noteworthy.

I just completely disagree. Oh well. But lets at least remember that soul searchin is an Andy Paley song with some Brian Wilson lyrics. Not the other way around. My point being that it is in no way Beach Boys sacrilege to suggest that Soul Searchin as song is just average and not particularly noteworthy.