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Author Topic: Listen to Sail Away in its entirety  (Read 13603 times)
MarcellaHasDirtyFeet
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« Reply #50 on: March 24, 2015, 09:06:10 AM »

It's just so bombastic and exuberant. Makes me smile with every listen
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The Cincinnati Kid
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« Reply #51 on: March 24, 2015, 10:13:56 AM »

Sail Away Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUSHyKhpSis
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the professor
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« Reply #52 on: March 24, 2015, 10:22:30 AM »

Fantastic! wow. gentle, strong, meaningful, urgent, exuberant, familial, poignant, nostalgic but not contrived. Amazing--an instant classic.



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joshferrell
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« Reply #53 on: March 24, 2015, 10:26:34 AM »

Al and his hypnotic hand gestures... "You are under my power"....  LOL
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bonnevillemariner
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« Reply #54 on: March 24, 2015, 12:35:18 PM »

I wish this track were the second single released instead of Runaway Dancer.  I'm taking a California road trip next week and would love to integrate it into my playlist!  I get home the day before the album drops.  Bad, bad timin'.
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phirnis
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« Reply #55 on: March 24, 2015, 01:11:39 PM »

Reminds me of the original renditions of Santa Ana Winds and Lookin' Down the Coast - which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

I don't really get into Runaway Dancer but this is very nice indeed!
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phirnis
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« Reply #56 on: March 24, 2015, 01:50:09 PM »

Like I said...NPP will be the best Beach Boys album since Love You.

Light Album was the best BB album since Love You. Tongue
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job
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« Reply #57 on: March 24, 2015, 02:33:29 PM »

Everyone here knows that I love LA...almost annoyingly so to everyone here.  This will be better.
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GoogaMooga
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« Reply #58 on: March 24, 2015, 02:59:57 PM »

I've been avoiding links to advance listens of NPP; I want my first listen to be on my stereo, but today on FB I caved in and played Sail Away from the Vegas soundstage, man, it's an instant classic! No other artist from his generation can come up with something as beautiful and fresh like that, after more than 50 years! Brian Wilson is peerless in that respect.
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Generation42
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« Reply #59 on: March 24, 2015, 06:31:48 PM »

I quite enjoyed the tune.  Very 'Beach Boys-y.'  Oh, and... Irish?  Did it sound Irish-y to anyone else?

Most of the lyrics were pretty neat, too.  I've shared before that I invariably dig Brian writing on the nautical theme, so no surprise there.

Including Blondie like this is awesome.  Al continues to knock it out of the park.

I guess my only constructive (and relatively minor) criticism is that the drums on the album version don't quite do it for me.  Generic, sort of rock 'n' roll, drums still usually feel out of place to me in a Brian Wilson production.  Even just a less prominent, less boom-y, less in-your-face snare would have helped a whole lot, I think (though it likely wouldn't have rocked in quite the same way).

Incidentally, I'd love a remix of the studio version which features a little less prominent Drum.  Like, I think I would adore it.


But in a live setting?  It's much easier for me to see past those big ol' drums in that atmosphere.  To embrace them, even.

I think that's why I kind of prefer the Soundstage version.


And I know I've said this before, too, but just as an aside, every new thing I hear only serves to increase my anticipation for NPP.  BW is really killing it.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2015, 06:40:42 PM by R. Smith » Logged
Generation42
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« Reply #60 on: March 24, 2015, 06:32:46 PM »

DP.
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Generation42
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« Reply #61 on: March 24, 2015, 06:39:38 PM »

Sweet Jesus, I did it again.
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tony p
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« Reply #62 on: March 24, 2015, 07:17:04 PM »

This song is very boring. I can't be alone in thinking that, can I? Also, I don't like Blondie Chaplin's voice at all.

no your not. 'Runaway Dancer' was terrible. This is just 'meh'. Its not bad, but its nothing great either

I dont understand all the love these songs are getting to be honest. I guess i was expecting a whole lot more based on people's opinions here.

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Pretty Funky
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« Reply #63 on: March 24, 2015, 08:51:07 PM »


The surfing clip playing behind the band during this song has what relevance?
« Last Edit: March 24, 2015, 09:11:09 PM by Pretty Funky » Logged
NickandthePassions
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« Reply #64 on: March 25, 2015, 07:30:36 AM »

I like it, I just think the intro is sorta hard to listen to.
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Ron
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« Reply #65 on: March 25, 2015, 09:27:27 AM »


The surfing clip playing behind the band during this song has what relevance?

It's a Boy.  On a Beach. 


(duh)
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Rick5150
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« Reply #66 on: March 25, 2015, 10:33:40 AM »

Do you know what part they sing?  Almost every kid, regardless of course, year, or semester?  The falsetto parts.

I have noticed that too. I think that singing the soaring falsetto is something of an emotional release. A chance to really let go and scream, but in a musical fashion. People like singing the falsetto because it makes them feel good. In Brian's case, he had such a great, inimitatable falsetto. That is the part that people sing out when they are alone in the car because you cannot sing those parts quietly.
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bonnevillemariner
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« Reply #67 on: March 25, 2015, 12:09:47 PM »

In Brian's case, he had such a great, inimitatable falsetto.

You're right, nobody can match Brian's 60's falsetto, but I've heard some people get close-- at least in tone and delivery.  I've heard Jeff get *really* close both live and in album tracks (especially on his own solo work).  Matt Jardine gets it almost dead on "...be the right, could it be THE RIGHT TIME..." of "Right Time", though not so much on the vocal interlude near the end.  Truth be told, whoever sings falsetto in the Explorers Club is on the right track, particularly on songs like "Forever" and "Last Kiss."

Though it would be much preferred, I don't necessarily need Brian's 60's falsetto in his modern work.  The part itself is always there, just buried.  I just wish he'd bring it further to the surface, let it be overpowering and sweeping like it was.  Give Matt (or whoever) a chance to shine.
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« Reply #68 on: March 25, 2015, 05:40:38 PM »

Much like "Shelter" from Thats Why God Made the Radio, I was slightly underwhelmed at first, but have quickly come to regard "Sail Away" as a classic Brian Wilson track.

First listen: "Not terrible."
Third listen: "Pretty decent."
Seventh listen: "Great song."
Twentieth listen: "Modern classic."

"Sail Away" references the past, but constitutes an evolution of Brian's style. (I wish I could say the same about "Runaway Dancer.")

The combination of synthesizers, horns, melodica, flutes, accordions, bass harmonica, et. Al. sets the perfect musical backdrop for "Sail Away." The melodic references to "Sloop John B." are tasteful and just subtle enough to work.

"Sail Away's" strengths are its unique structure and an embarrassment of melodic riches. The first half of the song is fairly conventional structurally - verse/chorus/verse/chorus - but soon, it spreads out, rapidly chucking out new melodic and harmonic ideas, while repeating the "Sail Away" hook just often enough to keep things grounded.

VERSE / CHORUS / BRIDGE / VERSE / CHORUS / FALSE ENDING A / MODULATED CHORUS / MODULATED BRIDGE / FALSE ENDING B / BUILD-UP / ENDING

The song is made extra special by having Blondie on the first verse, a sterling vocal performance from Al on the hook, and Brian filling in the rest of the leads.

As with some other tracks on NPP, the harmony blend here sounds more like The Beach Boys than many of the songs on Thats Why God Made the Radio. This could be due to the addition of Matt Jardine and Blondie. If Foskett is singing harmony here, he doesn't stand out like he did on TWGMTR.

Lyrically, the song clearly calls back to "Sail on Sailor." However, more broadly, it is a song about escape. The narrator wants to sail away... There's a million places he has in mind (although he doesn't actually name a single one - this isn't "Kokomo").

This song could be seen as a companion piece to "Shelter" from TWGMTR.  In "Sail Away," the narrator sings about all the places he wants to go, whereas "Shelter" is about how his home protects him from the outside world.

"Sail Away" is quintessentially Brian - a new pocket symphony.
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Ron
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« Reply #69 on: March 26, 2015, 08:52:37 PM »

In Brian's case, he had such a great, inimitatable falsetto.

You're right, nobody can match Brian's 60's falsetto, but I've heard some people get close-- at least in tone and delivery.  I've heard Jeff get *really* close both live and in album tracks (especially on his own solo work).  Matt Jardine gets it almost dead on "...be the right, could it be THE RIGHT TIME..." of "Right Time", though not so much on the vocal interlude near the end.  Truth be told, whoever sings falsetto in the Explorers Club is on the right track, particularly on songs like "Forever" and "Last Kiss."

Though it would be much preferred, I don't necessarily need Brian's 60's falsetto in his modern work.  The part itself is always there, just buried.  I just wish he'd bring it further to the surface, let it be overpowering and sweeping like it was.  Give Matt (or whoever) a chance to shine.

I think Brian kind of has an issue with the Falsetto... to be honest, I don't think he really likes that sound much anymore.  Of course he uses it in all the harmony pads but the way he used to be front and center with the falsetto, I just don't think he appreciates that much anymore (don't we have him way back saying that he wanted his voice in the 70's to sound more husky?). 

I'll put it like this.  I've seen lots of older singers in their 70's that were in doo wop bands, that can still sing their falsetto just fine.  It's my personal opinion that Brian could still sing in falsetto pretty strongly if he wanted to, and he does do it in the harmony parts still. 

I don't think he leaves that out because he can't do it, or he doesn't think Matt can competently do it, I think he just doesn't like that sound anymore so he mixes it back into the background more.
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bonnevillemariner
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« Reply #70 on: March 27, 2015, 08:28:28 AM »

I think Brian kind of has an issue with the Falsetto... to be honest, I don't think he really likes that sound much anymore.  Of course he uses it in all the harmony pads but the way he used to be front and center with the falsetto, I just don't think he appreciates that much anymore (don't we have him way back saying that he wanted his voice in the 70's to sound more husky?). 

I'll put it like this.  I've seen lots of older singers in their 70's that were in doo wop bands, that can still sing their falsetto just fine.  It's my personal opinion that Brian could still sing in falsetto pretty strongly if he wanted to, and he does do it in the harmony parts still. 

I don't think he leaves that out because he can't do it, or he doesn't think Matt can competently do it, I think he just doesn't like that sound anymore so he mixes it back into the background more.

Sadly, Ron, I think you may be right.  I wonder what would have happened had Brian abandoned the front-and-center falsetto earlier on.  Would the Boys have skyrocketed to fame so quickly and had such staying power?  I've touched on this in several different threads the last few days, but I maintain that while several factors contributed to the Boys' success, Brian's falsetto was the gateway drug for many-- if not most-- fans.   So for me it's not such a big leap to posture that if Brian wonders why he isn't getting #1 hits anymore, he shouldn't be so quick to bury the falsetto.  My HS/college students don't sing along so much to modern BB or Brian songs.  But put on some early 60's BB and I've got a chorus of falsettos.

That's really my point.  Listening to Brian-produced/arranged songs is cool, I guess.  I appreciate them as a fanboy.  And I'll listen to Brian sing bass "bom-bom's" all day.  But give me that pure, up-front falsetto and I melt.  Food for thought, Brian.
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Wirestone
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« Reply #71 on: March 27, 2015, 08:41:40 AM »

Brian's issues with the falsetto go back to 15 Big Ones. He couldn't do it smoothly anymore, so he didn't like to feature it as much, IMO.

He did feature it relatively prominently on Imagination, but he also did all the vocals there, so ...
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bonnevillemariner
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« Reply #72 on: March 27, 2015, 08:55:57 AM »

So which is it?  Does he have a problem with it because he can't do it as perfectly any more (per Wirestone), or because he doesn't like the sound of it generally anymore (per Ron)?
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« Reply #73 on: March 27, 2015, 09:52:46 AM »

So which is it?  Does he have a problem with it because he can't do it as perfectly any more (per Wirestone), or because he doesn't like the sound of it generally anymore (per Ron)?

all the above, and more
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« Reply #74 on: March 27, 2015, 10:50:38 AM »

I think it also comes down to a simple choice of wanting or not wanting to feature that falsetto style on any given song or performance. Perhaps as much if not more of a factor than being able to do it. Consider the notion of setting up expectations as well, where doing something that was such a solid "trademark" of sorts, sonically, would become something fans would expect and perhaps be let down by if they didn't get it versus making a choice not to do it for reasons as simple as aesthetics (i.e. it wouldn't fit a particular song) or simply choosing not to do it.

Consider many examples from Brian's peers in the 60's and 70's who established a similar trademark sonic stamp and became identified by it, then later simply didn't want to go back to those sounds. A lot of those fanbases too were saying for years why didn't he/she sing it or play it again like they did before, and some of these artists did actually return to those sounds later in life, but there were long periods of time where these artists just chose not to do certain things which fans had come to expect.

Jimi Hendrix - spur of the moment at Woodstock, totally unrehearsed and leaving his backing band wondering what to do (wisely they eventually chose to sit it out), starts playing The Star Spangled Banner. It became an icon, a legendary performance enhanced by the Woodstock film, and one of the best guitar performances I've personally ever seen. But he would not play it again, he did not want to feature what was a transcendent and impromptu performance at every show even though fans perhaps wanted him to play it live when they saw him.

Same with Hendrix at Monterey, the film clip that helped put him on the map - Did he ever again burn and destroy one of his guitars on stage? I believe there are interviews where he mentions the expectations of fans that they'd pay to see him live and expect him to repeat the Monterey Pop guitar sacrifice, and it completely missed the point. He simply didn't do it again, despite expectations of fans wanting to see another guitar sacrifice ritual on stage. Good for him.

Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are doing another Who reunion stint this year, do fans really expect Pete to go on a gear-bashing rampage and start smashing his guitar on stage in 2015? How often has he done that routine at all since perhaps the early 70's, yet that act of destruction was (I'd argue) a key element of the Who's live performances for a number of years to the point where fans would expect it to happen as they paid to see a Who show.

Another falsetto voice from the 60's, Frankie Valli, started making records and having hits where he wasn't doing anything close to the type of high falsetto that was perhaps the main sonic hook of his biggest hits with the 4 Seasons. Late 60's, into the 70's, he used it on some very successful hits but nowhere near as much as he had done when that voice was his calling card.

Barry Gibb, perhaps the most successful and identifiable male falsetto after Brian and Valli in the 60's, his falsetto defined that incredible run of Bee Gees hits in the 70's. I'd say that sound gets parodied as of 2015 more than Gibb himself had used it regularly in the past 35+ years, but I could be wrong.

Eric Clapton in the 70's turned his back on the tone, style, and approach he used on the guitar to make him the guy who being touted on graffitti as "Clapton Is God" in the 60's. All of the fiery, heavily overdriven, aggressive, and loud guitar playing he used with Cream and other 60's projects was replaced by clean tones, lower volumes, and a totally laid-back approach in general compared to what he became famous and idolized for as a guitarist. It was like a total 180 degree reversal in many ways. He, though, was one who eventually did revisit what fans had been expecting for years, and not only got back together with Cream, but got back into the blues in general after many years of his fans wondering when he'd start playing blues again. So his choice was to throw out all of the 60's and Cream styles and sounds for several decades, then return to it many years later.

With Brian, keep in mind that video I posted a link to in the "Brian's Best Vocals" thread or whatever it was called, of him doing "Please Let Me Wonder" at one of the final C50 shows in the UK. There is that one note at the end which you see him preparing for, and there is that pure Brian falsetto we all know and love coming out. I genuinely believe he did that for reasons beyond just singing a note - I think he wanted to make it special for that time and place and everything going on. He sang that note, it was the tone and timbre everyone was asking for years "what happened to his falsetto voice?", and he gave just a tantalizing glimpse of it...which in turn made it special, and made it for me at least an almost crushing moment. One which I have replayed many, many times and which never ceases to blow me away.

Listen to the track he did with Peter Hollens for the new album, "Our Special Love", and you'll hear Brian hitting some of "those notes" in the vocal blend. In that case, it was perhaps a sound he wanted to add to a track like that and one which would fit that sound and style, so he sang in that high register.

I think a lot of it could be up to the artist simply deciding what to do or what not to do in bringing out some of the sounds the fans know and might expect to hear based on the choice of what would work for the songs they're doing.
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"All of us have the privilege of making music that helps and heals - to make music that makes people happier, stronger, and kinder. Don't forget: Music is God's voice." - Brian Wilson
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