*Merged* Brian Wilson current album thread

[the captain]

As I said earlier, I think you are an invaluable part of this board Ray, and I hope you stick around.

We've had people like Ray post here before, and they don't post any more, because some half-wit tries to be smart, or thinks they know more than he does.

I enjoy Ray's posts as well as do I most of the honored guests here.  I do however take issue with the notion that other less informed users need to keep quiet in order to facilitate the honored guests remaining on this board.  If we were all to subscribe to such nonsense there would be no forum period as most of what we do here is exchange ideas and opinions in the first place whether right or wrong.  Trolling as they call it is one thing and should be handled immediately by the powers that be in order to preserve the sanity of the forum at large.  The free exchange of ideas and opinions however is another thing entirely and in my tenure on this forum I've unfortunately borne witness to both instances (for lack of a better term) being viewed as interchangeable entities.  Then invariably someone chimes in and says "That is why so and so doesn't post around here anymore".  The problem with that is that as much as I respect the input of those who may have posted here at one point and no longer do, that is nothing other than a choice on their part.  Now if those people left because of a specific troll or agitator, then as I mentioned that is something that probably should've been addressed long before we lost those vital members of the forum.  If they left however, due to the overall tone of the forum then that is obviously a much more malignant problem as it's the general discourse that members of the forum find themselves engaged in which was found to be displeasing to other now regrettably former forum members.

Agreed.

[Mujan, 8@$+@Rc| of a Blue Wizard]

As I said earlier, I think you are an invaluable part of this board Ray, and I hope you stick around.

We've had people like Ray post here before, and they don't post any more, because some half-wit tries to be smart, or thinks they know more than he does.

I enjoy Ray's posts as well as do I most of the honored guests here.  I do however take issue with the notion that other less informed users need to keep quiet in order to facilitate the honored guests remaining on this board.  If we were all to subscribe to such nonsense there would be no forum period as most of what we do here is exchange ideas and opinions in the first place whether right or wrong.  Trolling as they call it is one thing and should be handled immediately by the powers that be in order to preserve the sanity of the forum at large.  The free exchange of ideas and opinions however is another thing entirely and in my tenure on this forum I've unfortunately borne witness to both instances (for lack of a better term) being viewed as interchangeable entities.  Then invariably someone chimes in and says "That is why so and so doesn't post around here anymore".  The problem with that is that as much as I respect the input of those who may have posted here at one point and no longer do, that is nothing other than a choice on their part.  Now if those people left because of a specific troll or agitator, then as I mentioned that is something that probably should've been addressed long before we lost those vital members of the forum.  If they left however, due to the overall tone of the forum then that is obviously a much more malignant problem as it's the general discourse that members of the forum find themselves engaged in which was found to be displeasing to other now regrettably former forum members.

Agreed.

Yep, I'd have to say you hit the nail on the head.

[Gabo]

Sail Away is a Randy Newman cover?

[Jim V.]

Sail Away is a Randy Newman cover?

Nope, it's an original song, presumably Brian's.

[startBBtoday]

We wanted more from the Van Dyke - Brian collaboration, we got that.

Not to get off topic, but I found a Van Dyke Parks' tweet agreeing that Orange Crate Art is the "pinnacle of Brian's solo albums" slightly conceited.

https://twitter.com/thevandykeparks/status/475153273750822912

@thevandykeparks  ·  Jun 7
“@DelGirlsHoops:  For my money (& I did pay for it), OCA is the pinnacle of Brian Wilson "solo" albums.  I love ALL of it.”VDP: I agree!

That's like Bob Dylan saying his favorite Jimi Hendrix song is "All Along The Watchtower".

[KittyKat]

Van Dyke is feeling hurt and excluded by Brian right now. I take that in the spirit that he's pi**ed that Brian no longer calls him. He's very angry that Jason Fine's minion tweeted him to cooperate with Brian's autobiography and the other day mentioned it with the words "Free Brian" and a link to a clip of Month Python's Life of Brian.  He earlier told the minion that Brian himself is the one who should call him, because it's called an autobiography.

[GhostyTMRS]

We wanted more from the Van Dyke - Brian collaboration, we got that.

Not to get off topic, but I found a Van Dyke Parks' tweet agreeing that Orange Crate Art is the "pinnacle of Brian's solo albums" slightly conceited.

https://twitter.com/thevandykeparks/status/475153273750822912

@thevandykeparks  ·  Jun 7
“@DelGirlsHoops:  For my money (& I did pay for it), OCA is the pinnacle of Brian Wilson "solo" albums.  I love ALL of it.”VDP: I agree!

That's like Bob Dylan saying his favorite Jimi Hendrix song is "All Along The Watchtower".

VDP's other tweet about agreeing with Brian that "collaborators are a drag and just want a piece of the bread"....um, not sure how to take that actually. lol

I'm amazed this thread is up to 21 pages! Again, the Rolling Stone article said these songs are in "contention". I still think all three female artists will make the album, and if what Ray says is correct and Zooey sings lead on her cut, that's pretty darn intriguing. Could it be possible that all these gals are singing lead with Brian & co. providing backup?  Are Blondie and Al singing leads too? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I'll jump in with a negative comment of my own: There's no release date yet. Boo!    

[Autotune]

1. I'll buy any album that Brian puts out.
2. I don't care for guest artists selling me the album. I'm a BW fan, dammit.
3. Perhaps there is a Phil Spector approach to the new album: Brian at the helm as an author and occasional singer, and a plethora of singers and musicians delivering his vision.
4. The FB response by "Brian" seemed uncalled for. There was no need for it other than promotion. Still, maybe the management of the guest artists expected that bashing of their artists did not go unnoticed by Brian's team.
5. As Ron pointed out, Al's participation has been silenced after he approached Mike.

[puni puni]

Are other artists from Brian's hitmaking era in the 60's or even the 70's giving the fans that much *musical diversity* in their album releases?

what an absurd statement; albums of pop songs, oldtime standards, and one or two narrative works are not uncommon to the typical portfolio of a '60s songwriter. so many 'hitmaking artists' who got their start in the '70s have gone infinitely more far out than brian's been since smile. let's keep it realistic

[Jim V.]

5. As Ron pointed out, Al's participation has been silenced after he approached Mike.

Not true. Shortly after it was revealed that Al would be working with Mike again, Brian's team released a photo of Brian and Al in the studio together.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Compared to what Brian did previously in his solo career,  I say I agree with guitarhero

Edit

I mean guitarfool

[Dudd]

 

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Lenny, I've said for years I'd love it if Brian did an album where he wrote and produced songs for current artists. It would increase his exposure for sure.

[Ray Lawlor]

We wanted more from the Van Dyke - Brian collaboration, we got that.

Not to get off topic, but I found a Van Dyke Parks' tweet agreeing that Orange Crate Art is the "pinnacle of Brian's solo albums" slightly conceited.

https://twitter.com/thevandykeparks/status/475153273750822912

@thevandykeparks  ·  Jun 7
“@DelGirlsHoops:  For my money (& I did pay for it), OCA is the pinnacle of Brian Wilson "solo" albums.  I love ALL of it.”VDP: I agree!

That's like Bob Dylan saying his favorite Jimi Hendrix song is "All Along The Watchtower".

VDP's other tweet about agreeing with Brian that "collaborators are a drag and just want a piece of the bread"....um, not sure how to take that actually. lol

I'm amazed this thread is up to 21 pages! Again, the Rolling Stone article said these songs are in "contention". I still think all three female artists will make the album, and if what Ray says is correct and Zooey sings lead on her cut, that's pretty darn intriguing. Could it be possible that all these gals are singing lead with Brian & co. providing backup?  Are Blondie and Al singing leads too? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I'll jump in with a negative comment of my own: There's no release date yet. Boo!    

Let me jump in on a few things; there is a release date , Capitol just hasn't announced it yet; I assume they will do so after it is mixed and mastered, that would make sense to me.  Until they have the actual product it doesn't make sense to announce a release date ( see November 1966 ) I don't know where the information comes from that Al's participation has been silenced since he approached Mike , as Al was cutting vocals in , I think Ocean Way, a week after the Jones Beach participation announcement. This project has been worked on for I think 15 months; Brian has been cutting albums in a matter of weeks ; on this project there are other artists schedules to work around so it has obviously taken a lot more time to put together.  I am personally glad he is taking his time on this rather than rushing through it; the vocals I have heard reflect that level of attention.  Some will love it , some won't ; all I can say us that it is different from any other solo cd that he has ever made; whether it is good different or bad different will be departed in a 2,000 page thread in the near future, after you have all heard it.

[Ray Lawlor]

We wanted more from the Van Dyke - Brian collaboration, we got that.

Not to get off topic, but I found a Van Dyke Parks' tweet agreeing that Orange Crate Art is the "pinnacle of Brian's solo albums" slightly conceited.

https://twitter.com/thevandykeparks/status/475153273750822912

@thevandykeparks  ·  Jun 7
“@DelGirlsHoops:  For my money (& I did pay for it), OCA is the pinnacle of Brian Wilson "solo" albums.  I love ALL of it.”VDP: I agree!

That's like Bob Dylan saying his favorite Jimi Hendrix song is "All Along The Watchtower".

VDP's other tweet about agreeing with Brian that "collaborators are a drag and just want a piece of the bread"....um, not sure how to take that actually. lol

I'm amazed this thread is up to 21 pages! Again, the Rolling Stone article said these songs are in "contention". I still think all three female artists will make the album, and if what Ray says is correct and Zooey sings lead on her cut, that's pretty darn intriguing. Could it be possible that all these gals are singing lead with Brian & co. providing backup?  Are Blondie and Al singing leads too? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I'll jump in with a negative comment of my own: There's no release date yet. Boo!    

Let me jump in on a few things; there is a release date , Capitol just hasn't announced it yet; I assume they will do so after it is mixed and mastered, that would make sense to me.  Until they have the actual product it doesn't make sense to announce a release date ( see November 1966 ) I don't know where the information comes from that Al's participation has been silenced since he approached Mike , as Al was cutting vocals in , I think Ocean Way, a week after the Jones Beach participation announcement. This project has been worked on for I think 15 months; Brian has been cutting albums in a matter of weeks ; on this project there are other artists schedules to work around so it has obviously taken a lot more time to put together.  I am personally glad he is taking his time on this rather than rushing through it; the vocals I have heard reflect that level of attention.  Some will love it , some won't ; all I can say us that it is different from any other solo cd that he has ever made; whether it is good different or bad different will be departed in a 2,000 page thread in the near future, after you have all heard it.

Thats debated in a 2000 page thread !

[Pretty Funky]

We wanted more from the Van Dyke - Brian collaboration, we got that.

Not to get off topic, but I found a Van Dyke Parks' tweet agreeing that Orange Crate Art is the "pinnacle of Brian's solo albums" slightly conceited.

https://twitter.com/thevandykeparks/status/475153273750822912

@thevandykeparks  ·  Jun 7
“@DelGirlsHoops:  For my money (& I did pay for it), OCA is the pinnacle of Brian Wilson "solo" albums.  I love ALL of it.”VDP: I agree!

That's like Bob Dylan saying his favorite Jimi Hendrix song is "All Along The Watchtower".

VDP's other tweet about agreeing with Brian that "collaborators are a drag and just want a piece of the bread"....um, not sure how to take that actually. lol

I'm amazed this thread is up to 21 pages! Again, the Rolling Stone article said these songs are in "contention". I still think all three female artists will make the album, and if what Ray says is correct and Zooey sings lead on her cut, that's pretty darn intriguing. Could it be possible that all these gals are singing lead with Brian & co. providing backup?  Are Blondie and Al singing leads too? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I'll jump in with a negative comment of my own: There's no release date yet. Boo!    

Let me jump in on a few things; there is a release date , Capitol just hasn't announced it yet; I assume they will do so after it is mixed and mastered, that would make sense to me.  Until they have the actual product it doesn't make sense to announce a release date ( see November 1966 ) I don't know where the information comes from that Al's participation has been silenced since he approached Mike , as Al was cutting vocals in , I think Ocean Way, a week after the Jones Beach participation announcement. This project has been worked on for I think 15 months; Brian has been cutting albums in a matter of weeks ; on this project there are other artists schedules to work around so it has obviously taken a lot more time to put together.  I am personally glad he is taking his time on this rather than rushing through it; the vocals I have heard reflect that level of attention.  Some will love it , some won't ; all I can say us that it is different from any other solo cd that he has ever made; whether it is good different or bad different will be departed in a 2,000 page thread in the near future, after you have all heard it.

Ray. I read that as any artist, not just Brian. Wow. Big call!

edit: Ok just Brian. Either way, sounds like it should be different.

[Sheriff John Stone]

First, we're talking about a musician who it was assumed up until the 90's would not do anything close to what he's done since the 90's, both touring, recording, and writing.

More important, look at the body of work in the albums since "Imagination" that we've gotten from Brian.

We wanted more from the Van Dyke - Brian collaboration, we got that.

We wanted Smile, we got that.

We wanted the original Smile, we got that.

We wanted new Beach Boys songs with the surviving members participating, we got that.

We wanted Brian to stretch out a bit musically, not rely on the trademark sounds from the 60's and whatnot...

...we got an album of Brian covering the American Songbook and jazz standards on the Gershwin album, we got him covering classic film music on the Disney album.

We wanted something new, like a concept album: We got Lucky Old Sun.

We got Brian adding various musical elements to other artists' projects, like Neil Diamond and others.


Adding it all up, that's quite a body of work, right? Are other artists from Brian's hitmaking era in the 60's or even the 70's giving the fans that much *musical diversity* in their album releases?

I guess I don't see what all the doubt is in light of a simple review over what the man has given his fans musically over the past decade. He's definitely not locked into one sound or style of music, and he's crossing all kinds of genres and generations on these releases.

Cut him some slack, maybe, if he's now working with different and younger artists? It's actually nothing new for him to be trying something outside of the expected BW realm, again looking at that span of recent albums.

All of that ^ has nothing - absolutely nothing - to do with whether (or not) SOME fans want, hope for, desire, look forward to, or will buy duets of Brian Wilson singing with Lana Del Rey, Zooey Deschanel, and Kasey Musgraves. And, just because SOME fans express those wants, hopes, and desires - in other words, expressing an opinion of what they wish for, or not - it doesn't make them ignorant. People who tell fans how they are supposed to feel are the ignorant ones.

[coco1997]

So has anyone "in the know" indicated when we might actually hear this album?

[JohnMill]

So has anyone "in the know" indicated when we might actually hear this album?

Maybe I'm just reading between the lines but from everything Ray has told us it sounds like fourth quarter of 2014. 

[Shady]

It would make sense to release it whenever the movie comes out

We have a while to wait yet

[Wirestone]

Are other artists from Brian's hitmaking era in the 60's or even the 70's giving the fans that much *musical diversity* in their album releases?

what an absurd statement; albums of pop songs, oldtime standards, and one or two narrative works are not uncommon to the typical portfolio of a '60s songwriter. so many 'hitmaking artists' who got their start in the '70s have gone infinitely more far out than brian's been since smile. let's keep it realistic

"Infinitely."

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

 Brian's working his ass off getting it right. He's putting care into his vocals as well. It's going to be worth the wait. I set my watch and warrant on it. It's going to be an exciting time. Those who've known me on and off this board know I've been very critical of past releases; sometimes I've even tried to temper misplaced enthusiasm when ive known it was indeed misplaced.  I'm going to venture that I'll be proven right in this case on the side of positivity. 

[Jonathan Blum]

I enjoy Ray's posts as well as do I most of the honored guests here.  I do however take issue with the notion that other less informed users need to keep quiet in order to facilitate the honored guests remaining on this board.  If we were all to subscribe to such nonsense there would be no forum period as most of what we do here is exchange ideas and opinions in the first place whether right or wrong.

Thing is, so much of this discussion goes over the line between "exchanging ideas and opinions" and "being a dick about them".

Not just trolling; the Facebook thread was full of comments which I find it hard to believe the netwarriors in question would phrase in quite the same way if they were actually saying them to Brian's face in the real world.  Ditto to Mike Love in his own Facebook feed.  (And if they would say things that harshly to their faces in the real world, then people would be edging away from them.)

Bottom line -- civility is not actually the death of discussion.

Regards,
Jon Blum

[18thofMay]

I agree and the above sentiments could largely be applied to all the loyal and hardworking honoured guests that have spent the large part of their life devoted to enhancing the legacy of The Beach Boys! Respect!

[Jonathan Blum]

All of that ^ has nothing - absolutely nothing - to do with whether (or not) SOME fans want, hope for, desire, look forward to, or will buy duets of Brian Wilson singing with Lana Del Rey, Zooey Deschanel, and Kasey Musgraves. And, just because SOME fans express those wants, hopes, and desires - in other words, expressing an opinion of what they wish for, or not - it doesn't make them ignorant. People who tell fans how they are supposed to feel are the ignorant ones.

And again:  This is not about "how they are supposed to feel".  People can feel any way they want -- but if they're a dick about how they feel, they're going to get pushback.

And my more specific beef is still about people attributing their unhappiness with this development to Brian.  Acting like he shares our distaste or disinterest in the idea.  That, as I said, is bulls*** in the classic Penn&Teller definition of the word -- asserting something as true, when we not only don't have any evidence that it's true, we don't particularly care about having evidence.

Regards,
Jon Blum