Runaway Dancer available for purchase on itunes

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

Its a lot more interesting than"the right time" - bit of a grower.

[bonnevillemariner]

Its a lot more interesting than"the right time" - bit of a grower.

Yeah, I grow weary of the growers.  I want something to thrill me at first listen.  I get sick of hearing how much more I'd like something if I understood its context and just let it grow for a while.

[Wirestone]

Its a lot more interesting than"the right time" - bit of a grower.

Yeah, I grow weary of the growers.  I want something to thrill me at first listen.  I get sick of hearing how much more I'd like something if I understood its context and just let it grow for a while.

For me --

Midnight's Another Day
Just Like Me and You
From There and Back Again

[dellydel]

Holy crap, this is pretty amazing.  Just listened to it 10 times in a row.  I'm blown away that at 72 Brian is so willing to try new things, and incredibly, to pull them off so well.  We are a lucky bunch!

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

Brian's vocals sound pretty good, too. No Robo-Brian to these ears.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Love this freaking song...I do wish the sax was less prevalent, but that's more of a personal thing. Catchy as hell song, and as mentioned previously this sounds like a song I'd write. Ace work.

[rab2591]

Its a lot more interesting than"the right time" - bit of a grower.

Yeah, I grow weary of the growers.  I want something to thrill me at first listen.  I get sick of hearing how much more I'd like something if I understood its context and just let it grow for a while.

To each his own. When I first heard 'In the Back of My Mind' I didn't think it was anything special. It took multiple listens before I realized what a tremendous track it is. I like getting "wow"ed on the first listen too, but sometimes that doesn't happen.

[bonnevillemariner]

To each his own. When I first heard 'In the Back of My Mind' I didn't think it was anything special. It took multiple listens before I realized what a tremendous track it is. I like getting "wow"ed on the first listen too, but sometimes that doesn't happen.

Here's how the process goes for me, personally.  I hear a new song (of any genre, by any artist, and regardless of whether or not I'm aware of context), and one of three things happen:

a) I'm blown away.
b) I'm underwhelmed, but the song grows on me over time (and can even become a favorite).
c) I'm underwhelmed and it doesn't grow on me.  Added context may help me appreciate it more, but greater appreciation does not equal greater enjoyment.

But here's the kicker-- take a break from the track for a while (weeks, months, years even), and revisit.  More often than not, the songs that blow me away at first listen still do.  More often than not, songs that needed to grow on me initially require a second easing into.  Songs that never grew on me initially rarely do with later attempts. 

There are exceptions, but generally they fit the mold.  Lately it seems like I've heard a whole lot of potential growers and very few that I enjoy immensely right out of the chute.  I miss those.  I'm craving those.  So far, the songs released from NPP aren't those.  Interestingly, "Our Special Love" is sort of a hybrid.  The intro and outtros blow me away, but the Backstreet Boys middle has utterly failed to grow on me.  I've actually truncated my version of the track to the intro alone, and that intro goes on every playlist. 

[Mendota Heights]

Does it really matter if you like a song the first time you hear it? You only get hear a song for the first time how many times? Yes, once.

What matters is HOW much you like a song. Let's discuss that instead please.

[RiC]

Live version didn't impress me. Looks like they missed all the great things from the studio version. It also seemed to be a little bit slowed down? And the audience, god are they dead?

[bonnevillemariner]

Does it really matter if you like a song the first time you hear it? You only get hear a song for the first time how many times? Yes, once.

What matters is HOW much you like a song. Let's discuss that instead please.

My point is that, for me personally, if I were to list my top 200 favorite songs, I'd say 98% of them were love at first listen.  I realize that this is not necessarily how it works with others, but I do think there's something to this in a general sense.  If the difference between enjoying something and appreciating something is negligible, you probably think I'm being way too nitpicky.  I get it.  There are a lot of Beach Boys songs that I adore, but mostly because of time and added context.  I really appreciate Runaway Dancer.  I don't (yet) enjoy it.  To me there's a difference, and I can't imagine I'm alone on that.

[NickandthePassions]

Don't understand why Brian feels the need to compare this album to his '65 era. I'm sure there are a few songs on the LP that sound like they could have easily fit on side two of Today and Summer Days! (Somewhere Quiet most certainly, LOL). But this new album stands out as creative and a bit eccentric -- aren't those two adjectives you'd use to describe Brian?

I'm excited. I loved listening to the song and I think it is well-produced. My father, on the other hand, said, "when are they going to leave that poor man alone?"

It's all Brian, and he's having a hell of a time producing this. He F**king with the system (perhaps it's the system so many Smiley Smilers love), and that usually works for the better.

[phirnis]

I don't hear anything eccentric in this song. Maybe it's just me. To me it sounds pretty slick overall.

[SamMcK]

Hmm, i'm not really sure what to think yet. I don't know if its the Vienetta advert style of saxophone or what but something is definitely off about this tune for me at the moment. I guess I was hoping for a more memorable hook or something.

[Yorick]

Its a lot more interesting than"the right time" - bit of a grower.

Yeah, I grow weary of the growers.  I want something to thrill me at first listen.  I get sick of hearing how much more I'd like something if I understood its context and just let it grow for a while.

For me --

Midnight's Another Day
Just Like Me and You
From There and Back Again

Great that you singled out Just Like Me And You, that's one of Brian's best and most unknown tunes of the last 20 or so years!!

[job]

Here's how the process goes for me, personally.  I hear a new song (of any genre, by any artist, and regardless of whether or not I'm aware of context), and one of three things happen:

a) I'm blown away.
b) I'm underwhelmed, but the song grows on me over time (and can even become a favorite).
c) I'm underwhelmed and it doesn't grow on me.  Added context may help me appreciate it more, but greater appreciation does not equal greater enjoyment.

 

Pretty sure that's the case for everyone.  There are no other options.

[Wirestone]

Its a lot more interesting than"the right time" - bit of a grower.

Yeah, I grow weary of the growers.  I want something to thrill me at first listen.  I get sick of hearing how much more I'd like something if I understood its context and just let it grow for a while.

For me --

Midnight's Another Day
Just Like Me and You
From There and Back Again

Great that you singled out Just Like Me And You, that's one of Brian's best and most unknown tunes of the last 20 or so years!!

It's a monster track. Probably my favorite from the TLOS sessions, with a hilarious instrumental break to boot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TEEMqNIlNI

[phirnis]

Just Like Me and You sounds a bit like the missing link between Today and Love You.

[Nothgual]

The songwriting on this one feels really natural and as if it was written with some abandon, which is really great. A lot of Brian's songs in his solo career have sounded like they were written very carefully, which is also a great way to write but it is nice to hear something a little looser too. It's hard for me to dislike a song when the songwriting's good.

[bgas]

Guess since it's on iTunes Brian felt like giving everyone a St Patty's gift : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgQQKnT0hv4&feature=youtu.be

[Too Much Sugar]

Hmm, i'm not really sure what to think yet. I don't know if its the Vienetta advert style of saxophone or what but something is definitely off about this tune for me at the moment. I guess I was hoping for a more memorable hook or something.

Agreed.  I like the verse Brian sings; that's a good melody, although the hook itself does seem a bit generic.  Overall, the song reminds me of what an updated version of Beach Boys '85 would sound like, today.

[Tony S]

Listened to this track a few times.....just not doing it for me. I've listened to some of the other tracks for a few seconds each, and there are many more I like better than this one. But still excited to hear the new tunes! IMHO.

[Wirestone]

The songwriting on this one feels really natural and as if it was written with some abandon, which is really great. A lot of Brian's songs in his solo career have sounded like they were written very carefully, which is also a great way to write but it is nice to hear something a little looser too. It's hard for me to dislike a song when the songwriting's good.

Apparently Brian did a lot of writing for the album in the studio, which would explain it. I think this might be the first time he's ever employed that approach.

[HeyJude]

Gave the track a listen. I think the synthetic (by design) sound of the track maybe distracts a bit from a pleasant, though simple, song.

The vocals, especially apart from the Brian-heavy beginning, kind of blend together to the point that Sebu isn't super prevalent. If I hadn't heard he was on the track, I'd almost assume it was a Brian track that he just kind of hands over to his group of band backing vocalists part way through the song.

I like the jazzy chord changes in the transition bits.

This is largely out of step with what Brian does sound-wise normally. But I agree with others, one track like this is as an experiment is compelling enough. If he had cut an entire album like this, I'd say it would be veering more towards pandering to a demographic or style.

I also caught the live version on YouTube, and I think perhaps the song sounds a bit better there. A bit less techno-ish (slightly more real-sounding drums for instance), and the vocal parts are more easily discerned. You can tell now (by both sound and picture) where Sebu is singing.

The live clip was also cool since it's the first real look at the Vegas show from December. Cool to see both Ike and Matt in the back. It sounds like their falsetto-ish bits were fitting prominently into the mix. I'm excited to see more of the show.

[Summertime Blooz]

Might this single actually get.....airplay? I could see Adult Contemporary giving it a chance. It's pretty darn catchy. The little nod to classic Brian at the end is great too.