It's OK appreciation thread

[RiC]

F*cking great song. Underrated as hell.  Mike sounds nasally cool plus Denny's tag is just pure awesomeness. It's OK = as good as Do It Again.

Actually, I find it better than DIA. I think the production values have something to do with this - DIA sounds a bit muffled to these ears, in comparison with 'It's OK'.

It's crisp, the 'Find A Ride' 'tag' (hm, that's understating it a bit) is a superb find, and Roy Wood's sax is another fine idea. Not for one moment does it sound outdated, or merely nostalgic.

Together with 'Just Once In My Life', it constitutes the finest performance(s) on 15BO.

I agree with you about the production. Plus I've always thought that Do It Again is missing something, it's sounds to me more like a demo. A really really great demo though. It's OK is one of the rare fun-songs that I never get tired of. I think it wipes out many of the early 60's hits.

[doc smiley]

As much as I like "It's OK" I think the song would have benefited from the falsetto tag line used near the end of  the Celebration version used on the Almost Summer soundtrack. That tag screamed out Brian! and would have fit the whole Brian's back mentality that they were trying to achieve.

http://youtu.be/PijTIJO5HyM?t=

[Nicko1234]

While we're on the subject of It's OK... I've occasionally wondered whether some of the lyrics are the result of Brian's mid-70s Landy therapy - but that's pure speculation on my part. In Brian's utterly discredited 'autobiography', 'he' (I know, I know... it's really Todd Gold/Landy) talked about 'Gene' getting Brian to write songs about ANYTHING during this period, just to get his creative juices flowing again. When I first read that, I assumed that's how we got great, uh, 'insightful' lines from round this time, like 'a cigarette butt when you throw it in the water goes phut', 'It's three o'clock, I go to my sink, I pour some milk and I start to think', the start of 'Still I Dream Of It' which *still* basically begins with Brian in bed waiting impatiently for his home-help to finish cooking him his dinner, and songs about Johnny Carson and chatting to a random woman on an aeroplane.

Think none of this applies to 'It's OK'? I mean, surely, it's about the opposite of how Brian was at this time, going out for lots of summer fun and maybe meeting new partners? Classic 'Spring Vacation'-style Mike Love on autopilot, isn't it? Well, yeeess... but consider also these lines:

It's OK to get out there and
Have some fun
By yourself maybe
Or else with a special one.
Good or bad
Glad or sad
I'ts all gonna pass
So it's OK
Let's all play
And enjoy it while it lasts

Gotta go to it
Gonna go through it
Gotta get with it

Like I said, maybe it's just me, but I've always wondered if those words were Brian's exhortation to himself, to get out there and do more after being locked away in his house for months. And reminding himself that he had to do it, even if he didn't really want to. Plus, it seems to me there's an edge to those words, an awareness that the fun is finite and should be enjoyed before it slips away, that seems much more 'Brian' than 'Mike' - if that makes sense.

I like this alternative interpretation, as it adds another layer of meaning to the lyrics for me, whether it's true or not.

Probably just me reading things in that aren't there, mind... perhaps Mike suddenly wrote the whole lot out on a yellow legal pad five minutes before the lead vocal sessions started, while chugging on a root beer and scoffing chilli dogs...!

Did they record any vocals (or write any lyrics) in 1974 or only a backing track?

[grillo]

i thought it was:

good or bad, glad or sad
it's all gonna pass away,
so hey, lets all play and enjoy while it lasts

am i wrong here?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Just the track. Same for "Honeycomb".

[JK]

What's the deal with the punctuation? Doe & Tobler's Little Blue Book has "O.K." with full stops but just about everywhere else it's "OK", even on the 2fer. This 45 is an exception: http://www.45cat.com/record/rps1368. Makes you wonder which form Brian and Mike used when they wrote it.

I see this LP has the full stops as well:

[JK]

Duplicated by mistake----it's not that important!

[Dave in KC]

The performance from the 1976 special is pretty awesome.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZmNSWxi1iI

That look Dennis gives Brian at 0:55 is priceless. Cool dude that Dennis.  You know what he's inferring don't you?

[Mike's Beard]

I figured he was rolling his eyes at the sight of Mike mincing around stage like that.

[Dave in KC]

BINGO!

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I figured he was rolling his eyes at the sight of Mike mincing around stage like that.

Yeah, what a douche Mike was for writing such a great song!

What should he have done, just stand there and belt out such a happy, fun song to a massive crowd of partiers and mope?

Bon Scott did a lot of those same stage moves, BTW.... Just sayin.... So does Iggy Pop, Jagger, etc etc...

[beacharg]

As much as I like "It's OK" I think the song would have benefited from the falsetto tag line used near the end of  the Celebration version used on the Almost Summer soundtrack. That tag screamed out Brian! and would have fit the whole Brian's back mentality that they were trying to achieve.

http://youtu.be/PijTIJO5HyM?t=

Wow, it's the first time I listen to this version,
Who is singing lead and backing vocals? Is that Brian on lead??

[Andrew G. Doe]

What's the deal with the punctuation? Doe & Tobler's Little Blue Book has "O.K." with full stops but just about everywhere else it's "OK", even on the 2fer. This 45 is an exception: http://www.45cat.com/record/rps1368. Makes you wonder which form Brian and Mike used when they wrote it.

I see this LP has the full stops as well:

The deal would seem to be, I'm right. This should come as no surprise. #humor

[Custom Machine]

I've always heard "fun to rock" instead of "find a ride". Hm.

Ha ! I've always heard "fun to ride".    Great song... if only they'd released it in 1975.

And for years, until I read the lyrics somewhere, I heard it as "fun to run".

Edit:  Just listened to the Celebration version for the first time in many years and noted the tag on that version is "fun to run, in the sun", which probably reinforced my presumption that the tag on the BB version was "fun to run".

[Jim V.]

Just the track. Same for "Honeycomb".

Do you know when vocals were cut for "Honeycomb"?

[Mike's Beard]

I figured he was rolling his eyes at the sight of Mike mincing around stage like that.

Yeah, what a douche Mike was for writing such a great song!

What should he have done, just stand there and belt out such a happy, fun song to a massive crowd of partiers and mope?

Bon Scott did a lot of those same stage moves, BTW.... Just sayin.... So does Iggy Pop, Jagger, etc etc...

Iggy also used to slice himself up on stage, can't see Mike really going for that. And Jagger often looks a fool with those moves too.

[bonnevillemariner]

F*cking great song. Underrated as hell.  Mike sounds nasally cool plus Denny's tag is just pure awesomeness. It's OK = as good as Do It Again.

Actually, I find it better than DIA. I think the production values have something to do with this - DIA sounds a bit muffled to these ears, in comparison with 'It's OK'.

It's crisp, the 'Find A Ride' 'tag' (hm, that's understating it a bit) is a superb find, and Roy Wood's sax is another fine idea. Not for one moment does it sound outdated, or merely nostalgic.

Together with 'Just Once In My Life', it constitutes the finest performance(s) on 15BO.

I agree with you about the production. Plus I've always thought that Do It Again is missing something, it's sounds to me more like a demo. A really really great demo though. It's OK is one of the rare fun-songs that I never get tired of. I think it wipes out many of the early 60's hits.

Hear hear!  Whilst rediscovering the music of the Beach Boys a couple years ago one of my first observations was the differences in production and sound of certain songs, particularly DIA and It's OK.  DIA does sound like a rough cut or a demo.  I love the song but I only add the 2012 version to my playlists.  I've always wondered why that track sounds so muddy (I know the word 'muddy' gets some people here up in arms; sorry, I can't think of a more fitting word).

On the other hand, It's OK sounds wonderful and clear.  The first time I heard it I was confused because while I recognized the younger voices (+Denny), the track sounds as if it was recorded in the mid-nineties.

Also, I was unaware that there were versions of the song aside from the album version and the alternate version on MIC.  Just how many versions are there?

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I figured he was rolling his eyes at the sight of Mike mincing around stage like that.

Yeah, what a douche Mike was for writing such a great song!

What should he have done, just stand there and belt out such a happy, fun song to a massive crowd of partiers and mope?

Bon Scott did a lot of those same stage moves, BTW.... Just sayin.... So does Iggy Pop, Jagger, etc etc...

Iggy also used to slice himself up on stage, can't see Mike really going for that. And Jagger often looks a fool with those moves too.

Mike also keeps his shirt on these days, thankfully!

Didn't Brian take his shirt off at a show, recent years?

[Cabinessenceking]

The performance from the 1976 special is pretty awesome.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZmNSWxi1iI

I always thought that was some amazing filming; to capture Brian making eye contact with Dennis from Brian's perspective. Super cool that they captured that. The cameraman even zoomed perfectly to capture them both in a good way.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Hear hear!  Whilst rediscovering the music of the Beach Boys a couple years ago one of my first observations was the differences in production and sound of certain songs, particularly DIA and It's OK.  DIA does sound like a rough cut or a demo.  I love the song but I only add the 2012 version to my playlists.  I've always wondered why that track sounds so muddy (I know the word 'muddy' gets some people here up in arms; sorry, I can't think of a more fitting word).

Because they used the original "Rendezvous" demo as the foundation. Check it out on Endless Harmony.

On the other hand, It's OK sounds wonderful and clear.  The first time I heard it I was confused because while I recognized the younger voices (+Denny), the track sounds as if it was recorded in the mid-nineties.

Also, I was unaware that there were versions of the song aside from the album version and the alternate version on MIC.  Just how many versions are there?

Just one more, and it's not strictly a different version, just the album track sped up 2% for single release. On the Best Of The Brother Years comp.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Just the track. Same for "Honeycomb".

Do you know when vocals were cut for "Honeycomb"?

Yes. 

[Cabinessenceking]

Hear hear!  Whilst rediscovering the music of the Beach Boys a couple years ago one of my first observations was the differences in production and sound of certain songs, particularly DIA and It's OK.  DIA does sound like a rough cut or a demo.  I love the song but I only add the 2012 version to my playlists.  I've always wondered why that track sounds so muddy (I know the word 'muddy' gets some people here up in arms; sorry, I can't think of a more fitting word).

Because they used the original "Rendezvous" demo as the foundation. Check it out on Endless Harmony.

TIL

No wonder they couldn't score it bigger when they could've be arsed to released proper quality. The songwriting is  good and the lyrics pleasant, but the production value is completely lacking. Did not seem befitting of a group that only a few years earlier had recorded some of the best quality material released at that point with a production value that holds up even to today.

[Eric Aniversario]

"It's O.K." is the last Beach Boys song that can be described as anthemic. 

I can think of a few after that.

Keepin the summer alive
Spring vacation
Kokomo (to a degree)

[Smilin Ed H]

DIA is a stylish and wonderful, melancholic rocker from someone who knew that an era was passing but who was still within touching distance. It's Okay is a pastiche that might have been better had someone else done it.

[JK]

"It's O.K." is the last Beach Boys song that can be described as anthemic. 

I can think of a few after that.

Keepin the summer alive
Spring vacation
Kokomo (to a degree)

OK (no pun intended). To each their own, I suppose. Does it help if I add "and joyous"? Probably not. :=)