No Pier Pressure (board member reviews)

[RubberSoul13]

After giving the album full two listens, here's my track by track thoughts...

1. This Beautiful Day: This recording works far better than the live version from Jimmy Kimmel. Hopefully Brian won't try this one out this summer...it will never be done the justice it deserves. This is one of many songs I think could benefit from the vocal contributions of Mike and Bruce for a Beach Boys album.

2. Runaway Dancer: Hell. No. I couldn't take more than thirty seconds of this. This is NOT the Brian Wilson I know and love.

3. Whatever Happened: A clear continuation of the first track...same sentiments...don't try it live, coulda been the BB's...

4. On The Island: Love her voice...the music really embodies the lyrics...almost to the point of cheesy, but her vocal inflections save it.

5. Half Moon Bay: Could've been a left over Pet Sounds instrumental...but definitely left-over for a reason...

6. Our Special Love: Beat Boxing...really? Kills the track. Next...

7. The Right Time: The strongest track on the album, no doubt. This should have been on TWGMTR...this could've been a kick ass song to have attached to the entire C50 experience. I can really see and hear the whole thing now...such a shame...

8. Guess You Had To Be There: Another great guest spot on a nice song! I'd like to hear a full Brian version though...the lyrics seem far more personal to him than to Kacey...

9. Don't Worry: This just sucks. The horns, the drums, the production...thanks Joe. Anyone else notice the "Don't Worry"'s in this song have the same intervalic values as in "Don't Worry Baby"? Hmm....

10. Somewhere Quiet: Nice! I feel like this would've fit in nicely on "Summer Days..." I'll take it!

11. I'm Feeling Sad: This feels like something that should've been on Ringo's new album...skip...

12. Tell Me Why: I love this! But don't try and tell me you can't smell the dash of "Kokomo" hidden inside this one.

13. Sail Away: It's the Sloop John B riff...with a slightly updated melody and lyrics. As said above, Blondie doesn't even sound like Blondie. It's a "Sloop John B" knock off...I'll be okay with that if they medley it live this summer!  

14. One Kind of Love: A cute and gentle track, I enjoy it a lot...but I can't help but think somebody else's voice may have done it more justice.

15. Saturday Night: The SECOND best track on the album....Thank you NATE!

16. The Last Song: Pretty trite. I never like when aging artists write about the end...it sounds incredibly forced.

[lostbeachboy]

This Beautiful Day: Good album opener.. Very Much 'From There To Back Again' and Summer's Gone...
Runaway Dancer: Hands down the best song on the album.. In my opinion. Very George Michael and WHAM! Definitely could be gettin jiggy wit it on the dance floor with this one.
Whatever Happened: Can't go wrong with AJ & DM. But where is David..?
On The Island: Very Jimmy Buffet! Would like to be "On An Island" with Zooey.
Half Moon Bay: Great jazzy track.
Our Special Love: Peter has a really good voice. Sounds very 80's.
The Right Time: Eh.. This one doesn't do much for me.
Guess You Had To Be There: I don't do Country..But I'll Accept this. Put this on a Country Station.
Somewhere Quiet: Sounds like Al but doesn't say featuring Al Jardine...?
Sail Away: It's ooook.
Saturday Night: Catchy Tune. Put it on the radio.
The Last Song: This one Lasts a little too long.

It's about time BW had current artists on an album.
I loved that Brian wished Carl & Dennis could have sang on the record.

After 11 Studio Albums this is my favorite... It hits all the right spots.
Bravo Brian Bravo.

[Shady]

Anyone else surprised they didn't push "Saturday night" as a single and get it out on the radio. It's easily the most commercial song on the album.

Maybe they're saving it to try and give the album legs, hopefully.

[the professor]

re: whatever happened: Dave must be playing all that lovely guitar here, as in Summer's Gone. a great part. no room for a surf solo.

This Beautiful Day: Good album opener.. Very Much 'From There To Back Again' and Summer's Gone...
Runaway Dancer: Hands down the best song on the album.. In my opinion. Very George Michael and WHAM! Definitely could be gettin jiggy wit it on the dance floor with this one.
Whatever Happened: Can't go wrong with AJ & DM. But where is David..?
On The Island: Very Jimmy Buffet! Would like to be "On An Island" with Zooey.
Half Moon Bay: Great jazzy track.
Our Special Love: Peter has a really good voice. Sounds very 80's.
The Right Time: Eh.. This one doesn't do much for me.
Guess You Had To Be There: I don't do Country..But I'll Accept this. Put this on a Country Station.
Somewhere Quiet: Sounds like Al but doesn't say featuring Al Jardine...?
Sail Away: It's ooook.
Saturday Night: Catchy Tune. Put it on the radio.
The Last Song: This one Lasts a little too long.

It's about time BW had current artists on an album.
I loved that Brian wished Carl & Dennis could have sang on the record.

After 11 Studio Albums this is my favorite... It hits all the right spots.
Bravo Brian Bravo.

[18thofMay]

After giving the album full two listens, here's my track by track thoughts...

1. This Beautiful Day: This recording works far better than the live version from Jimmy Kimmel. Hopefully Brian won't try this one out this summer...it will never be done the justice it deserves. This is one of many songs I think could benefit from the vocal contributions of Mike and Bruce for a Beach Boys album.

2. Runaway Dancer: Hell. No. I couldn't take more than thirty seconds of this. This is NOT the Brian Wilson I know and love.

3. Whatever Happened: A clear continuation of the first track...same sentiments...don't try it live, coulda been the BB's...

4. On The Island: Love her voice...the music really embodies the lyrics...almost to the point of cheesy, but her vocal inflections save it.

5. Half Moon Bay: Could've been a left over Pet Sounds instrumental...but definitely left-over for a reason...

6. Our Special Love: Beat Boxing...really? Kills the track. Next...

7. The Right Time: The strongest track on the album, no doubt. This should have been on TWGMTR...this could've been a kick ass song to have attached to the entire C50 experience. I can really see and hear the whole thing now...such a shame...

8. Guess You Had To Be There: Another great guest spot on a nice song! I'd like to hear a full Brian version though...the lyrics seem far more personal to him than to Kacey...

9. Don't Worry: This just sucks. The horns, the drums, the production...thanks Joe. Anyone else notice the "Don't Worry"'s in this song have the same intervalic values as in "Don't Worry Baby"? Hmm....

10. Somewhere Quiet: Nice! I feel like this would've fit in nicely on "Summer Days..." I'll take it!

11. I'm Feeling Sad: This feels like something that should've been on Ringo's new album...skip...

12. Tell Me Why: I love this! But don't try and tell me you can't smell the dash of "Kokomo" hidden inside this one.

13. Sail Away: It's the Sloop John B riff...with a slightly updated melody and lyrics. As said above, Blondie doesn't even sound like Blondie. It's a "Sloop John B" knock off...I'll be okay with that if they medley it live this summer!  

14. One Kind of Love: A cute and gentle track, I enjoy it a lot...but I can't help but think somebody else's voice may have done it more justice.

15. Saturday Night: The SECOND best track on the album....Thank you NATE!

16. The Last Song: Pretty trite. I never like when aging artists write about the end...it sounds incredibly forced.

This is in keeping with your tone and pattern of the negative- Brian band/everything Brian from your last 40 odd posts. Well done!

[Rocky Raccoon]

Probably the best album of new material Brian has put out as a solo artist.  The guest performers are great without being gimmicky, they complimented Brian's sound and Brian complimented them with songs that suited their respective talents.  Al Jardine continues to prove that he's an incredible vocalist, he and Brian make a great team and I hope they continue to work together for as long as they can.  I'm going to have to listen a few more times before I can say what my favorite tracks are but I do know there's not one I don't like.  Even though Brian leaves us with a "Last Song", I hope he continues to grace us with even more.

[Don Malcolm]

So many great reviews from many of the usual stalwarts here...definitely sensing a bit of an age dichotomy in the responses, but it's fascinating to mentally collate the judgments as they accumulate on a song-by-song basis. It seems that there's a consensus that the collection starts off a bit wobbiy, but rounds into form with "Half Moon Bay" and only missteps once after that ("Don't Worry") on its way to being a flat-out wonderful ride. Perhaps those "professional critics" who've taken after it really did stop listening (either literally or figuratively) after track #4. If so, it's definitely their loss.

I see it as a collection of tunes where some impeccably reference and reanimate Brian's classic sounds and arrangements AND where others bring a new dimension to same, blending genres and styles into the overall framework with voices that stray but don't distract from same. Brian's entry into several of these songs is especially canny, often adding just the right change of tone/timbre/emphasis.

Tears of joy shed already for this one, with more (I'm sure) to come. Thank you, Brian. And to all who helped. We can count this among our blessings--and we should all be counting our blessings!  

[Summertime Blooz]

Don't Worry is Brian's new Darlin'. It would kick ASS live should they decide to play it in concert. It should have been in the Runaway Dancer spot on the album. They could've done a better job with the horn arrangement, but still- damn! It's Brian Wilson Soul music, folks. How rare is that? I'll bet this is the song that Brian really wishes that Carl could have sung. Runaway Dancer has the beat, but this one's got the groooove! And uhhh- the first full-length song on a Brian Wilson album should be sung by Brian, dammit, not a guest vocalist that will be forgotten 5 years from now.

[coco1997]

here is a round of professor quiz: what song on the album sounds like the association's hit, Windy? And which song borrows directly from the melody and phrasing of the Buckingham's "Don't You Care?
prises for the winners.

"Don't Worry" sounds like the Buckinghams song.

Which one sounds like "Windy"?

[TV Forces]

Here are my thoughts on "No Pier Pressure" after only one spin. I'm always a glass is half-full guy when it comes to Brian. Maybe loyal to a fault because of how much he's meant to me in my life. So I couldn't wait to hear this "Runaway Dancer" track everyone is talking about. I admit to not really looking forward to the album all that much due to all the duets, but it wasn't the duets that bothered me about it... it was the music, which just doesn't SOUND like a Brian Wilson production. I'm not going to believe at the age of 72 he just decided to change things up. The album doesn't "feel" like him through a majority of it's duration. I guess that's the best way I can put it.

 While "Runaway Dancer" is a shock at first, it's no "Smart Girls," and instead I give the award for Worst Thing Ever to "Our Special Love." That track doesn't seem to have ANYthing to do with Brian. I'm not feeling him in the song, the production, anything. "Don't Worry" is also a WTF moment. Sounds like the Bee Gees or something.. I imagine roller skates, a disco ball, and maybe the cast of the Wonder Years by a vending machine. "Half Moon Bay" sounds like Uncle Jesse is walking with some chick on the beach.. three times longer than it needs to be. So early in the album, and after the very short and not-very-Brian "On the Island," it adds to "Runaway Dancer" and gives off the feeling that this will be an odd album.

 Positives include "Whatever Happened" and "The Right Time." I could only sit through the video for the later once, but here it was very welcome and works better in this environment. Sounds like Al is on "Somewhere Quiet" a lot even though he's not credited. "I'm Feeling Sad" was a big highlight for me. Really liked the ending. About as close to quirky-Brian that we'll get here. "Sail Away" was also really good, despite some unfortunate flutiness at the end. I also really liked Nate Ruess' voice on "Saturday Night." I didn't know who this guy was, but it sounded a lot like a guy I used to listen to long ago whose name I can't put a finger on.

 So after one spin, I'll say it's better and more entertaining than the Disney album. I don't know if I'll be ranking it ahead of anything else at the moment. No doubt because it's Brian I'll dig into it a lot more. My issue is the production. The music doesn't sound like Brian Wilson music a majority of the time. I can handle these guest stars better than I expected (except that dreadful Peter Hollens track.) But it seems he gave way too into their styles in a bid to be modern/current, and didn't leave enough room for himself.

[Micha]

Even all those la-la-la's make sense now.

Please explain how they make sense, as I don't get it.

[sea of tunes]

I braced myself after reading some of the negative reviews.

The ballads that are sprinkled throughout the album ("This Beautiful Day", "Whatever Happened", "Somewhere Quiet" and "The Last Song") are all quite passable and sound like the makings of what could have been a pretty good record to stand next to BWPS and TLOS.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album gets in the way of that happening.

P.S. The autotune drives me absolutely bonkers. I want to hear Brian unfiltered the way he is now at age 72. I don't need the 'smoothing over' nor the Joe Thomas oddball pop inclinations.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[the professor]

right! A+. Saturday night, in the rousing chorus, sounds like the chorus of Windy: "saturday night on h-wood blvd" = "who is reaching down the streets of the city." Is the Professor crazy?

here is a round of professor quiz: what song on the album sounds like the association's hit, Windy? And which song borrows directly from the melody and phrasing of the Buckingham's "Don't You Care?
prises for the winners.

"Don't Worry" sounds like the Buckinghams song.

Which one sounds like "Windy"?

[18thofMay]

I braced myself after reading some of the negative reviews.

The ballads that are sprinkled throughout the album ("This Beautiful Day", "Whatever Happened", "Somewhere Quiet" and "The Last Song") are all quite passable and sound like the makings of what could have been a pretty good record to stand next to BWPS and TLOS.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album gets in the way of that happening.

P.S. The tunafish drives me absolutely bonkers. I want to hear Brian unfiltered the way he is now at age 72. I don't need the 'smoothing over' nor the Joe Thomas oddball pop inclinations.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

There is none, your ears are f***ed.

[sea of tunes]

There is none, your ears are f***ed.

My ears are just fine.  It's the album that isn't that good.  Just one man's opinion...  no need to be nasty.

[18thofMay]

There is none, your ears are f***ed.

My ears are just fine.  It's the album that isn't that good.  Just one man's opinion...  no need to be nasty.

There is no Auto tune, none at all. If you hear it your ears are f***ed.

[sea of tunes]

There is none, your ears are f***ed.

My ears are just fine.  It's the album that isn't that good.  Just one man's opinion...  no need to be nasty.

There is no tuna fish, none at all. If you hear it your ears are f***ed.

Do you go through life that hostile?  Good Lord...  you must be fun at parties.

Let's say for the sake of argument there is none.  I could be wrong — I often am.  The use (or lack thereof) is not even at the forefront of what I view as the albums overall faults.  Notice that I mentioned it as a post script.

Sheesh.

[18thofMay]

I have sat back for weeks listening to absolute drivel and ridiculous comments regarding this subject. I could not give two shits about your thoughts on the album unless your opinion is based on some other agenda or modus operandi like some others! If you don't like it that's fine, but if your mentioning that the presence of something THAT IS NOT EVEN THERE is driving you "BONKERS"?? What relevance is your thoughts or perceptions on the rest of the album??

[Niko]

12. Tell Me Why: I love this! But don't try and tell me you can't smell the dash of "Kokomo" hidden inside this one.

Is that a joke? Because no, I can't smell Kokomo or anything Mike Love related inside this album.

[sea of tunes]

Perhaps I use 'Auto Tune' as a ubiquitous catch-all for any kind of 'smoothing' done to the vocals.  At any rate, it was only a comment I have been wrong before and I'm certain to be wrong again.

My opinion about the album is really only relevant to anyone that wants it.  Otherwise, not relevant at all.  I'm just a dude.

[Bud Shaver]

On The Island isn't about an actual island. It's about the time Brian spent isolated from the outside world. A drink in the hand, cigarette burns on the furniture, taking it slow with no place to go... he's not on the beach he's in his house, wearing his robe and avoiding 'civilization'.  Zooey is just the voice in his head singing the song while he adds background vocals.

[Lonely Summer]

First listen...nothing rises much above the level of "nice", and the whole thing seems to be overshadowed by the collaborators, i.e. not enough Brian in the mix.
I'm glad he's still alive and well and making music, but "That Lucky Old Sun" was probably his last great album.

That's my feeling, too. Honestly, his solo recording career has been mostly retreads of older material. Of the released albums, only BW88, Imagination, and TLOS consisted of (mostly) new songs. Don't know why I was expecting a really strong album this time out.

[Jim V.]

So I was writing a track-by-track review like a bunch of the other posters but I decided against it.

I'll just say that I really like a lot of stuff on this album. I think "Whatever Happened" and  "Somewhere Quiet" are both top-shelf ballads. Both feature Brian and Al and both showcase them both in top form vocally. Both are just nice, sweet little songs.

I think "The Right Time" is pure ear candy. It is just such a lovely song. Once again a great Jardine vocal. It's nothing astounding, but it's just such a feel good tune, and that's what Brian is great at. And although I wouldn't rank them as highly as "The Right Time", I think "Guess You Had To Be There" and "Saturday Night" are catchy as all get out. I could honestly imagine both of those songs on the radio. Just quality, top-notch songwriting and singing. I'll tell you, I never thought I'd actually really care for these songs. And I'm saying that as someone who was a fan of Nate Reuss' old band, The Format (sorry everyone, fun. was not his first group).

I also really dig "One Kind Of Love." I wasn't sure about it at first, but now I can totally hear why it'll be featured in Brian's new movie (during the credits right?). It's an uplifting ode to unconditional love and truly a triumphant song and I can imagine the sound of it comforting moviegoers while they get up to leave after the movie ends.

There's just a few tracks that don't do it for me (at least thus far). Unfortunately, "On An Island" just doesn't sound interesting to me. Just sounds bland. I like Zooey, I like her in the movies I've seen her in, and her music is nice. And Brian sounds decent on there, but it's just not moving me. I also am not really moved by "Tell Me Why" yet. Obviously, this one was on my radar as it features Al, but this one really does just seem like a nondescript song from the Imagination album. It kinda reminds me of something like "Where Has Love Been" where it's well sung and sounds nice, but just doesn't engage you. I also have to say that "The Last Song" was not half as "epic" as I expected. I expected a soul-baring tearjerker like "Midnight's Another Day" or "Summer's Gone". Instead, it just seems like another ballad to me, albeit with some real bummer lyrics!

Lastly, I'd like to point out that "Sail Away" is such a nice tune. Obviously, I was very excited to hear the song once I saw that we'd have Brian, Al and Blondie all together on a new song for the first time since "Funky Pretty" but I have to say I was kinda let down the first time I heard a stream or something of it on some website. Well anyways, the more I listen to it, the more it's becoming clear to me that it really is a beautiful little tune, that truly does evoke THE BEACH BOYS even more than some of the That's Why God Made The Radio album. Sure, one can complain about the instrumental nods to other stuff, but whatever.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

On The Island isn't about an actual island. It's about the time Brian spent isolated from the outside world. A drink in the hand, cigarette burns on the furniture, taking it slow with no place to go... he's not on the beach he's in his house, wearing his robe and avoiding 'civilization'.  Zooey is just the voice in his head singing the song while he adds background vocals.

That's an interesting way to look at it!

My thoughts on the album? Got to wait til next week when I get paid. And no, I'm not going to download it...I'm not stealing from my hero.

[sea of tunes]

Wisdom from the stairs...

I've seen a few reviews online that kind of jeered at the album title and even the cover art. Oddly, I think the cover and the title might be two of the strongest things going for it. I think they are both very fitting for what might be Mr. Wilson's swan song.