More About Brian/ Beck and New Album.

[Ron]

To be honest, I hope the album just has a bunch of super-weird crazy Brian songs.  I'm to the point where I enjoy those the most, stuff like "Shelter" and "Strange World" I really enjoyed.  I know we had basically a whole album of that with "Gettin' In Over My Head" and it all sucked... but the couple kind of wacked-out songs he's had on each album since then were usually my favorite. 



I'm not expecting much from the movie, i'm sure it won't be as good as the way I've always envisoned his history in my mind!

[Alex]

I'll take 40 minutes of Ding Dang bookended by two different 10 minute versions of Shortenin' Bread!

[the professor]

I have heard that the movie is a dud, essentially an homage to Melinda (Me-Landy) who saves Brian from himself and all those other jerks. It's going to be wretched. As for the album, I expect incoherence and maybe a few notable chords and some Al vocals, but it will be a tortured, senseless mess as a whole. Anything short of a BB album (made without JT and while Melinda is gone for 6 months visiting her sister) means nothing.

[Robbie Mac]

I have heard that the movie is a dud, essentially an homage to Melinda (Me-Landy) who saves Brian from himself and all those other jerks. It's going to be wretched. As for the album, I expect incoherence and maybe a few notable chords and some Al vocals, but it will be a tortured, senseless mess as a whole. Anything short of a BB album (made without JT and while Melinda is gone for 6 months visiting her sister) means nothing.

"And you are?"

"And you know this how?"

[KittyKat]

I read the cast list a couple of days ago and noticed that Dee Stone, the mother in ET, is playing a character called Rosemary. I assume that Rosemary is Melinda's mom.  That alone made me think that the film is going to be very Melinda-heavy. That doesn't surprise me, either, because I don't think the movie would have ever been made without a lot of consistent pressure from Melinda. Brian has seemed to have had mixed feelings about a biopic. The movie has been discussed for years, with different screenplays and directors involved at different points, including Rob Reiner and David Leaf. It's possible that the movie is partly financed by Brian and his family, as well, and it wouldn't have been made without them putting up some capital.  It's an independent feature, so no studio is behind it and they had to get the money somewhere.

I don't think it's necessarily a totally bad thing if Melinda is featured heavily in it, but I'm sure some people might be offended. Especially if they make it look like Melinda solely was the reason that Brian was taken away from Gene Landy. She sometimes implies that's the case in interviews.

[SMiLE Brian]

I have heard that the movie is a dud, essentially an homage to Melinda (Me-Landy) who saves Brian from himself and all those other jerks. It's going to be wretched. As for the album, I expect incoherence and maybe a few notable chords and some Al vocals, but it will be a tortured, senseless mess as a whole. Anything short of a BB album (made without JT and while Melinda is gone for 6 months visiting her sister) means nothing.

Did you have beaches in mind on your spring vacation?

[Jim V.]

I have heard that the movie is a dud, essentially an homage to Melinda (Me-Landy) who saves Brian from himself and all those other jerks. It's going to be wretched. As for the album, I expect incoherence and maybe a few notable chords and some Al vocals, but it will be a tortured, senseless mess as a whole. Anything short of a BB album (made without JT and while Melinda is gone for 6 months visiting her sister) means nothing.

Maybe the movie might stink, who knows? But I do know that you likely don't have an "in" with anybody involved with the project and therefore don't buy anything you claim to have "heard".

Also, why do you expect "incoherence" and maybe a few notable chords and Al vocals? Why will it be any more "senseless" than That's Why God Made The Radio? Just because Mike Love and Bruce Johnston aren't there? Sounds like a load of garbage to me. While I will happily admit that I would prefer all the living Beach Boys to work together, I'm still very happy Brian Wilson is writing and performing music, and not only that, but working with Al and Blondie. And if the music is as good as "From There To Back Again" I really don't care if it's listed as "The Beach Boys" or "Brian Wilson" as long as it's great.

And say what you will about "Melinda" as you call her, but last time I check she hasn't pumped Brian full of drugs that are on the verge of killing him, like Landy did. But hey, what do I know?

[the professor]

dude, let's keep an open mind and revisit this when the album and movie are out; just making a prediction, but I hope to be wrong! 

[rab2591]

let's keep an open mind

It's going to be wretched

[the professor]

look boys, you chastise me so I try to retreat to a moderate position in the absence of evidence. my sense is that something less than a masterpiece is slouching toward Bethlehem to be born. when it comes out I will evaluate it fairly.

[leggo of my ego]

Wow morale is slipping on this thread. 

I am sure our patience will be rewarded.

Brian will make good, in his time. 

[KittyKat]

The movie business demands certain dramatic arcs to appeal to an audience. Maybe the only acceptable script that could be financed emphasized the romantic redemption angle.  I'm expecting it to possibly be a soapy Lifetime cable network type of movie. Hey, at least it got made. If it's even slightly entertaining it's a plus.

[Pretty Funky]

The movie business demands certain dramatic arcs to appeal to an audience.

And there's the rub! Certainly the case more so in US bio's/movies. I'm dreading the cliché 'Brian at his lowest ebb- Melinda comes to the rescue' moment. Bring on the weepy violins!

[Ron]

Melinda is no June Carter Cash, but when I saw I Walk the Line the love story aspect was great, I didn't have a problem with it. 

I've heard people criticise "Ray", but hell I liked that too.

I also enjoyed the Temptations movie, although it was pretty scripted up too.

So even though I know they'll kind of spice it up I hope they leave it alone enough that it's watchable at least.

[Shady]

As I've said before, the fact the movie has so many incredibly talented people behind it, it should be fantastic.

Sadly, it will probably be awful, it's a hard movie to tell.

[ThyRavenAscend]

I just find it a privilege that one of our heroes is getting the movie-treatment.  This is way better than a TV movie--and I even enjoyed American Family for what it was.

[El Molé]

I'm still really looking forward to this, but at the moment it does look like quite a big missed opportunity in terms of publicity. Brian has had a reasonably good run of well received albums and then something of a relative hit in TWGMTR. The C50 tour put Brian back in the spotlight and even the unpleasant aftermath kept him in the press. There seemed to be quite a bit of press last summer about Brian touring solo with some of the Beach Boys, doing well-reviewed shows with Jeff Beck, working with all of those people in the studio on an album that had started to get a bit of coverage and was being talked up by various people. Then the whole thing gets put on hold for over a year! I'm far from an expert on these things but it does seem like last year would have been a good time to get a new album out to a wider audience and capitalise on the momentum he'd built up.

Maybe the bio will recapture some of that momentum but it still seems a shame to me. Given that there was talk of quite a bit of material being worked on (the 'three albums' thing), maybe there could have been enough material to finish an album last year whilst still leaving an opportunity for a second one later this year.

[Pacific Coast]

No lost momentum, in my opinion.

Don't be so impatient. You can't make the plant grow faster by digging up the seeds to see if they've sprouted.

 

[wantsomecorn]

There's always a fun duality in seeing something like this as a fan.

Either we love it because we're huge fans or we hate it because we're huge fans.

It'll probably be 20/20 50/50.

[carl r]

I have heard that the movie is a dud, essentially an homage to Melinda (Me-Landy) who saves Brian from himself and all those other jerks. It's going to be wretched. As for the album, I expect incoherence and maybe a few notable chords and some Al vocals, but it will be a tortured, senseless mess as a whole. Anything short of a BB album (made without JT and while Melinda is gone for 6 months visiting her sister) means nothing.

Did you have beaches in mind on your spring vacation?

Heh heh, exactly!

[El Molé]

No lost momentum, in my opinion.

Don't be so impatient. You can't make the plant grow faster by digging up the seeds to see if they've sprouted.

 

I'm not impatient, I just think that there was an opportunity for Brian to reach a wider audience with an earlier release. I could well be wrong though, obviously.

[carl r]

I'm going to put my head on the line here, and say that the album will sell an amount of units somewhere between That Lucky Old Sun and TWGMTR. However, if it had come out last year, and got stinking reviews, it might have sold less than both. If it comes out this year and gets brilliant reviews, it might sell as many as TWGMTR! Does this help?

To be even more adventurous, I think the quality of the album might be somewhere between Gettin' [In] Out of My Head and Brian Wilson '88. Just like everything else (bar BWPS) in the last 10 years, perhaps?  

[ThyRavenAscend]

No lost momentum, in my opinion.

Don't be so impatient. You can't make the plant grow faster by digging up the seeds to see if they've sprouted.

 

I'm not impatient, I just think that there was an opportunity for Brian to reach a wider audience with an earlier release. I could well be wrong though, obviously.

I think it's smart for them to wait to release the album around the time of the release of the biopic.  I'd wager that movies get much more press than tours, which will hopefully bolster the album sales.

[Jim V.]

I'm surprised that nobody noticed this post in the ESQ thread.

From the BW site....


curt lambert 

Registered: 06/30/12
Posts: 94 
Posted 03/16   #1   

 
The new issue of ESQ has some exciting tidbits from Joe Thomas about Brian's new album. He gives a taste of one song entitled "Sail Away" including a chorus lyric. Thomas says the vibe of the new music is not along the lines of "TWGMTR", but more akin to a "Wild Honey and Carl and the Passions/So Tough" style. He says Brian is working in a higher gear and being very creative. Sounds incredible to me! 

This honestly sounds kinda exciting. I'm sure that the music probably won't sound much like Wild Honey, but I supposed it could maybe be a bit more like a slicker Carl and the Passions. Regardless, it does seem like this might actually be the "rock 'n roll" album Brian has been talking about, since those two albums that are referenced are two of The Beach Boys more rockin' projects. Of course, I'd like some more nice ballads too, as I think "From There To Back Again" and "Summer's Gone" are the most recent great Brian Wilson songs, and they also showcase Brian and Al's voices nicely.

Also, it's just nice to read about these new song titles. I was getting a little nervous about this new album, but I'm getting hopeful again that Brian has another classic up his sleeve.

[The Shift]

Suspect though that Joe Thomas is quite astute… he'll have read (or been informed) that the usual comparisons of new music to Pet Sounds material just don't wash with the fans anymore (as seen on this board in recent months) and alighted on a couple more hardcore favourites with which to draw comparisons and get the fans salivating unreservedly.

I suspect it's a mere marketing ploy… the next album after this will probably be compared to Beach Boys Today and Sunflower…