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Author Topic: No Pier Pressure (board member reviews)  (Read 118201 times)
Nicko1234
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« Reply #425 on: April 12, 2015, 04:01:09 PM »

I hope it is ok to post it but this is Andrew Hickey`s lengthy and thoughtful review:

http://andrewhickey.info/2015/04/12/brian-wilson-no-pier-pressure/
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« Reply #426 on: April 12, 2015, 09:46:14 PM »

Thomas was not as involved as you think (and certainly much less than on TWGMTR)
Yup. It was also my understanding that Thomas was more involved in the early days of the project, back when Jeff Beck was still involved, but I could be mistaken.

I find this incredibly hard to believe considering his sonic imprint, the fact that Jim Peterik named him the album's sole producer, his presence in live shows, his presence in studio footage, and less ambiguously, that he was officially credited with co-production, instrumentation, and many cowriterships. And yet, in the early days of the project, it was BW who was credited as the sole producer. But the proof is in the pudding. I suspected (yes, this is just my own conjecture) that Joe Thomas was less involved with media and PR in order to avoid the flack that he received with TWGMTR, which is why we don't see as much of him now as we did in 2012.

There was also doubt around the time of Imagination on whether Thomas was as involved as everyone thought. Apparently, in whatever Chicago radio interviews he was doing with BW, he would severely understate his contributions and credit BW for mostly everything. However, whenever asked, BW made it unequivocal that Thomas was the one calling the shots. He doesn't have much of a track record for not imposing himself on whatever he works on.

I don't trust the word of anybody who attended this album's sessions and has something to lose if they say something that goes against whatever the PR story says. And the PR stories have been embarrassingly contrived in these last few years. I'd rather check back in a few years when the dust settles before I bother trying to understand how this album was completed the way it was. That's all I can do as a fan -- on the outside looking in.
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« Reply #427 on: April 13, 2015, 12:04:19 PM »

Standard version is far superior to the deluxe version imo. Flows much better. Not that I don't like the bonus tracks, but I think for the sake of cohesion, the standard version is superior.
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the professor
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« Reply #428 on: April 13, 2015, 12:40:32 PM »

Quite a harsh review. Who is AH?  His name is vaguely familiar. He hears processing and artistic emptiness everywhere, and he scorns BW's attempt to be popular or current. Really harsh on SN and RD.

The Professor divings the album into: (partial listing)
Philosophical/Emotional/Significant to the BB canon: Whatever Happened, Tell me Why, One kind of Love, The Right Time, The Last Song, Somewhere Quiet.

and
Various levels of fun/musical allusions/experiments, play with style: all the rest of the songs.

Note: Don't Worry is an homage to the 4 seasons (70s incarnation: Swearin to God).

Favorite: The Right Time and Whatever happened because , in part, Dave is on them beautifully.

I hope it is ok to post it but this is Andrew Hickey`s lengthy and thoughtful review:

http://andrewhickey.info/2015/04/12/brian-wilson-no-pier-pressure/
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« Reply #429 on: April 13, 2015, 01:18:53 PM »

I think Andrew Hickey is a decent writer and his review is interesting....

but stuff like saying Capital Cities is "a young persons’ skiffle group of some notoriety" strikes me as somebody trying to sound too cool for school. The kinda person that would hang out in the now vacant "Record Room" with former Smiley Smile board terrorist Ian Wagner. I mean, I didn't know who Capital Cities was either before this project, but the way he states it just reeks of musical elitism.
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« Reply #430 on: April 13, 2015, 01:23:21 PM »

The captain and I hang out on the Record Room. We don't project the image you ascribe to that venue. Very few do.

I'm sure Ian would get a kick out of the description.

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« Reply #431 on: April 13, 2015, 01:42:44 PM »

The captain and I hang out on the Record Room. We don't project the image you ascribe to that venue. Very few do.

I'm sure Ian would get a kick out of the description.



Yeah, considering Ian wrote this to me once...

"A negative trip would be stating that you should go through your house and kill anyone and everyone who has had to suffer through your presence in their life, and then shoot yourself directly through the head, because you are a waste of oxygen. And that it would have been much better for everyone concerned had your parents died in a flaming bus crash before your dear mother was forced to go through the painful ritual of excreting your odious, likely misshapen carcass.

THAT would be a negative trip. What goes here regularly isn't nearly that negative."

Pure class. Ask Billy, our moderator here, how ol' Ian treated him.
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« Reply #432 on: April 13, 2015, 02:12:11 PM »

Ian wished death on Billy and his children, so Internet hardman Ian can go ram a stiff one up his butthole as far as this board's concerned.
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« Reply #433 on: April 13, 2015, 02:15:07 PM »

Joe lives near Chicago. Brian lives in LA. Joe visited Brian and cowrote most of the songs, and participated in some tracking sessions. But it is my understanding that Brian largely recorded and supervised the vocals for the album on his own, as well as the string overdubs and additional recording, such as the Scott Bennett songs that originated as an entirely separate project. Brian did some of his own mixing for the album, and directed many of the creative decisions – like the album cover art – on his own.

As for less credit and more work, Brian gets a sole arrangement credit on the album. That means something. It's certainly not unprecedented given his history either. After all, he produced several of the albums credited to the BBs in the late 60s.

I’d find it odd if Thomas was not present at numerous sessions, yet was granted a co-producer credit when he didn’t even get one on TWGMTR. Not unheard of in the strange world of BB politics of course. We certainly have some anecdotes that indicate blocks of session time spent without Joe present. 

Thomas’ big production stamp has always been more on the instrumental tracks and arrangements as opposed to vocals. I hear this on NPP as well. Other than possible use of auto-tune, I don’t think Thomas puts any particular stamp on the vocal side of things. But his production touch is all over numerous tracks on this album as far as instrumentation and its arrangement. I swear, I’d do anything to have a remix of this album that simply and solely mixes out the damn plinky wood sound (claves or wooden block or whatever it is) and all the plinky things with the percussion.

But it’s difficult if not impossible to blame any particular thing on Thomas. Not only do we not know who was where, and when, we don’t know whose idea any particular aspect was. Brian might tend to like certain stuff Joe does, so then Brian might use some Thomas-influenced bits here and there on his own. But the fact that Thomas co-wrote nearly everything on the album, and garnered a co-producer credit, leaves plenty of room to ascribe overt Thomas-isms as likely due in part to Thomas’ hand in the album.

For sure, I’d say Brian’s penchant for recalling certain 60’s-era studio techniques and arrangements starts to blur into Thomas’ AC/AOR style, and it’s hard to ascribe certain things to one or the other.
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« Reply #434 on: April 13, 2015, 02:20:57 PM »

Ian wished death on Billy and his children, so Internet hardman Ian can go ram a stiff one up his butthole as far as this board's concerned.

I wasn't defending Ian, only said I'm sure he'd enjoy it. Ian has his histories with people, as do many of the regular posters here. I'm not gonna judge anyone. None of my business.

I did, however, defend the type of people who post at the Record Room. Ian has posted maybe a half dozen posts there in two years. Participation has dropped greatly, yes, but there are still good people with a genuine love of music who post insightful and interesting posts there.

One doesn't become greater by diminishing the efforts of others.

Swipe away, I guess.

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« Reply #435 on: April 13, 2015, 02:25:31 PM »

Obviously, it's hard for many of us on the outside looking in to know the extent of Joe Thomas' involvement. But the touch of Bob Clearmountain sure makes the album sound really nice. Smiley
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the captain
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« Reply #436 on: April 13, 2015, 03:04:18 PM »

I think Andrew Hickey is a decent writer and his review is interesting....

but stuff like saying Capital Cities is "a young persons’ skiffle group of some notoriety" strikes me as somebody trying to sound too cool for school. The kinda person that would hang out in the now vacant "Record Room" with former Smiley Smile board terrorist Ian Wagner. I mean, I didn't know who Capital Cities was either before this project, but the way he states it just reeks of musical elitism.

What's funny about this to me (as someone who, as luckyoldsmile noted, does actually write on the Record Room) was that I was thinking about posting something about how tiresome it is for me when I read someone say "[so-and-so], whoever he is," or "can't be that famous, I've never heard of him" ... and specifically how often I'd come across that sort of thing right here. Not at TRR. The attitude that I (the writer, not actually me), as the omniscient arbiter of all taste (wait, maybe this is me), couldn't possibly be lacking in knowledge of something important or good. Me? An uninformed dinosaur hanging on to the aggrandized false memories of my adolescence? Poppycock! This unfamiliar name must be bullshit.

That said, I thought the little "skiffle group" line actually added some much-needed humor to the preceding "someone named Sebu" (or whatever he said, exactly). So in my book, kudos to Mr. Hickey for putting himself in perspective.
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« Reply #437 on: April 14, 2015, 05:56:13 AM »

Don’t know if it makes any sense to post my personal review here any longer since the latest discussions about the album seems to, sadly, have curtailed into negativity in the ‘Many negative reviews of NPP’ thread. But here goes anyway – some basic thoughts. I haven’t read all the pages in this thread, so bear with me if I’m restating what others may have noted before me.

I was among those who purposefully kept away from listening to preview cuts from the album before release; when I received my Deluxe copy I had only heard Right Time, On the Island and Runaway Dancer (live version) via the youtube videos posted beforehand. I loved all three songs so that, along with some of the early praise from others here, had me stoked about the album.

I wish I could say it lived up to my expectations but I think it does fall a little short. For me, there’s definitely been much to enjoy but I don’t think it can touch TLOS, or perhaps even the Gershwin album in terms of Brian’s vocals and the overall production value. I’d say that I enjoy 2/3 of the album so, having said that, this is one happy fan though I had honestly hoped for a bit better album. Still, a fairly good Brian album is much better than most of the new releases out there so I’m not complaining.

A few opinions:

-   This Beautiful Day – THIS, as short as it is, is the stand-out track for me. GREAT opener! When I listened to the album in the car today I immidiedetly re-played the track after it ended so it basically sounded as if the verses were sung two times after each other. Works well that way. Brian could easily have stretched this one out with the second half having word-less harmonies like Think about the Days off TWGMR.

-   Al is otherworldly on the tracks where he sings lead! I wish he’d sung even more here. I particularly like him on Tell Me Why. Wow! I wish he’d sung lead on Saturday Night though – would have made an otherwise nice song much more compelling for me since the grit in Al’s typical vocal would have given the song a bit more power. Nate Ruess comes across as a bit to polished in his vocal for my taste.

-   I’m a bit perplexed by some of the negativity about Runaway Dancer. To these ears, it’s possibly the catchiest song on here. Really cool and kudos to Brian for trying something new. I guess the mixed emotions are due to the very modern, club-aimed production. And I must admit, had the production been toned down a little & more vintage-sounding like, say, Right Time, it would probably have fit the song better. But man, is this catchy!

-   I was curious to hear how almost all songs seem to end on a final drawn-out note instead of fading or having some of those gorgeous tags Brian is known for. It’s a shame he hasn’t incorporated a few into some of the dying seconds on these songs. Oh well, can’t have it all I guess.

-    The Right Time is such a great, catchy song. Unlike others here, I find it to be much superior to Lay Down Burdon.

-   I’m Feeling Sad is pure Brian. Super song. It reminds quite a lot of ‘Ticket to Wyoming’ by Ocean Blue. Has anyone else noticed this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Iq0-MUjn34

-   What’s up with the heavy processing on Kacey Musgreaves’ vocal? It really sticks out like a sore thumb and really annoys me whenever I hear the song.

-   My two least favorite tracks on the album are Half Moon Bay (boring to these ears, doesn’t really go anywhere) and Our Special Love. (I have always hated that kind of all-vocals backing tracks like on this one. Basically, I think it sounds very messy and annoying…)

-   Don’t Worry is a decent song and I quite like it. But don’t get me started on those fake synth horns. I don’t know what Brian was thinking. The production value on the album is high throughout so I can’t fathom why he wouldn’t feature real horns on this song. Had he done that it would have sounded much, much better. Others on here have made comparisons to the 70s output of the Four Seasons. That comparison is spot-on!

-   The Last Song isn’t quite what I’d hoped it would be. It’s nice enough and has some lovely harmonies but I don’t think it measures up to the last songs on TWGMR – which I’d hoped it would. And which I think This Beautiful Day does.

Overall – nice album which I’m thoroughly enjoying. Not as much as I’d thought I’d do but there’s lots on here for me to enjoy. Some have taken issue with the use of autotune. That doesn’t really bother me. On the other hand, I think the production sometimes come across as to white-bred, high-polished – and, to some extent, life-less. The sound on TLOS was more to my liking but if this is where Brian’s head is at right now I respect him for following up on it as decisively as he’s clearly done. (not wanting to open a can of worms in terms of the whole discussion of how much control Joe Thomas and other parts of Brian’s team have…)
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Nicko1234
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« Reply #438 on: April 14, 2015, 06:02:36 AM »

Don’t know if it makes any sense to post my personal review here any longer since the latest discussions about the album seems to, sadly, have curtailed into negativity in the ‘Many negative reviews of NPP’ thread. But here goes anyway – some basic thoughts. I haven’t read all the pages in this thread, so bear with me if I’m restating what others may have noted before me.

I was among those who purposefully kept away from listening to preview cuts from the album before release; when I received my Deluxe copy I had only heard Right Time, On the Island and Runaway Dancer (live version) via the youtube videos posted beforehand. I loved all three songs so that, along with some of the early praise from others here, had me stoked about the album.

I wish I could say it lived up to my expectations but I think it does fall a little short. For me, there’s definitely been much to enjoy but I don’t think it can touch TLOS, or perhaps even the Gershwin album in terms of Brian’s vocals and the overall production value. I’d say that I enjoy 2/3 of the album so, having said that, this is one happy fan though I had honestly hoped for a bit better album. Still, a fairly good Brian album is much better than most of the new releases out there so I’m not complaining.

A few opinions:

-   This Beautiful Day – THIS, as short as it is, is the stand-out track for me. GREAT opener! When I listened to the album in the car today I immidiedetly re-played the track after it ended so it basically sounded as if the verses were sung two times after each other. Works well that way. Brian could easily have stretched this one out with the second half having word-less harmonies like Think about the Days off TWGMR.

-   Al is otherworldly on the tracks where he sings lead! I wish he’d sung even more here. I particularly like him on Tell Me Why. Wow! I wish he’d sung lead on Saturday Night though – would have made an otherwise nice song much more compelling for me since the grit in Al’s typical vocal would have given the song a bit more power. Nate Ruess comes across as a bit to polished in his vocal for my taste.

-   I’m a bit perplexed by some of the negativity about Runaway Dancer. To these ears, it’s possibly the catchiest song on here. Really cool and kudos to Brian for trying something new. I guess the mixed emotions are due to the very modern, club-aimed production. And I must admit, had the production been toned down a little & more vintage-sounding like, say, Right Time, it would probably have fit the song better. But man, is this catchy!

-   I was curious to hear how almost all songs seem to end on a final drawn-out note instead of fading or having some of those gorgeous tags Brian is known for. It’s a shame he hasn’t incorporated a few into some of the dying seconds on these songs. Oh well, can’t have it all I guess.

-    The Right Time is such a great, catchy song. Unlike others here, I find it to be much superior to Lay Down Burdon.

-   I’m Feeling Sad is pure Brian. Super song. It reminds quite a lot of ‘Ticket to Wyoming’ by Ocean Blue. Has anyone else noticed this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Iq0-MUjn34

-   What’s up with the heavy processing on Kacey Musgreaves’ vocal? It really sticks out like a sore thumb and really annoys me whenever I hear the song.

-   My two least favorite tracks on the album are Half Moon Bay (boring to these ears, doesn’t really go anywhere) and Our Special Love. (I have always hated that kind of all-vocals backing tracks like on this one. Basically, I think it sounds very messy and annoying…)

-   Don’t Worry is a decent song and I quite like it. But don’t get me started on those fake synth horns. I don’t know what Brian was thinking. The production value on the album is high throughout so I can’t fathom why he wouldn’t feature real horns on this song. Had he done that it would have sounded much, much better. Others on here have made comparisons to the 70s output of the Four Seasons. That comparison is spot-on!

-   The Last Song isn’t quite what I’d hoped it would be. It’s nice enough and has some lovely harmonies but I don’t think it measures up to the last songs on TWGMR – which I’d hoped it would. And which I think This Beautiful Day does.

Overall – nice album which I’m thoroughly enjoying. Not as much as I’d thought I’d do but there’s lots on here for me to enjoy. Some have taken issue with the use of autotune. That doesn’t really bother me. On the other hand, I think the production sometimes come across as to white-bred, high-polished – and, to some extent, life-less. The sound on TLOS was more to my liking but if this is where Brian’s head is at right now I respect him for following up on it as decisively as he’s clearly done. (not wanting to open a can of worms in terms of the whole discussion of how much control Joe Thomas and other parts of Brian’s team have…)


Thanks for posting this review.

I certainly agree that it would have been really nice if Al could have sung Saturday Night on Hollywood Boulevard. Nate Reuss having a songwriting credit would have complicated that a little I guess though. Will be interesting if Al ever attempts that one in concert...
« Last Edit: April 14, 2015, 06:17:52 AM by Nicko1234 » Logged
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« Reply #439 on: April 14, 2015, 06:05:59 AM »

Nice one, kwan, great to be exposed to other points of view  Thumbs Up
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« Reply #440 on: April 14, 2015, 07:16:10 AM »

Are we entirely certain those are synth horns on "Don't Worry"? They sound real to me.
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« Reply #441 on: April 14, 2015, 07:59:18 AM »

Are we entirely certain those are synth horns on "Don't Worry"? They sound real to me.
Some of it sounds like live horns to me too. Other parts sound very synth-y. I really dig this song either way, but it would be nice to have a definitive ruling. I hope they do this song live with a real horn section.
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« Reply #442 on: April 14, 2015, 08:44:12 AM »

Odd thing is, there are at least a couple of songs with classic BW tags -- Sail Away and the Last Song -- but they don't fade out on them. Peculiar.
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« Reply #443 on: April 14, 2015, 08:52:06 AM »



Your mileage, of course, may vary.  If you like NPP, that's great - just, for me, personally, this one is a misfire.

I hear ya man, but I just want to illustrate from an outside voice speaking in, that your entire review perfectly presents that YOU are the reason you're not enjoying the album.  Your only critiques of it are that you don't like that whole sound, or that whole genre of music, or those type of guitars...  

I know it's hard because I do the same thing, but try listening to it with unprejudiced ears.  What if you decided to start liking (*gasp!) adult contemporary?  We might think you're old!  We might think you're soft!  We might think you're a poser!  Ignore all of that and just listen to the music for what it is, and see if you like it, regardless of what genre it's in or what the guitar tone is.  

I didn’t read Tomorrowville’s review as only focusing on the production or genre (although those things *can* impact one’s enjoyment, and can also go hand-in-hand with not liking the actual compositions).

I’m still working on my own review, but *very generally* speaking, I have similar thoughts to some of Tomorrowville’s. Some of the songs, the actual compositions, even after you strip away whatever the production style is, are not super memorable.

Been away for a week with a bad cold and a busy schedule - I thought I'd write a follow-up that ties in with what HeyJude has to say as well as Ron's response, which I appreciate.

HeyJude has it right - while the production & style *is* a major hangup for me, it isn't the only problem I have with the album.  I find a *lot* of the songs on NPP to be underwhelming, just at the basic writing level.  Unmemorable chord progressions, song structures, and a lot of (IMHO) very generic "hired songwriter" lyricism that I don't think comes from Brian.  One could write entire multipage threads debating Brian's lyric writing chops, and while I don't know that one could argue he's ever been known for brilliant lyrics when not collaborating - though he has had moments to be sure - even Brian's more simple lyrics have a quality to them that I find very unique and endearing, that I think may come from his unique mindset and his childlike qualities (not childish, child-like - it's a compliment, and one of the things I find most charming about Brian and his songwriting).  I find some moments of that sensibility on NPP - "I'm Feeling Sad" being a prime example, and one of my favorites of the songs I do enjoy - but there are many moments that just sound like they were delivered by generic songwriters-for-hire that have no relation whatsoever to Brian and his general "feel."  Rather than the weirdly simple but charming lyricism Brian often delivers on his own, I hear the sort of generic, banal gibberish writing I hear all over modern pop and adult contemporary songs, which is something I turn to artists like Brian to get away from.

It's been hard for me to put into words precisely, but after reading Andrew Hickey's review (linked elsewhere on the forum), I think there are several moments in his review where he touches upon the same thing I kept hearing, in such quotes as:

"On the other hand, Wilson is, and always has been, a very collaboratively-minded artist, and his collaborators’ contributions can’t help but show up. [...] Joe Thomas is an “adult contemporary” producer and writer, and so when Brian Wilson collaborates with him, you get something “adult contemporary” — glossy, shiny, with too much processing on the vocals, smooth-sounding, and often veering into something that could be off the soundtrack of a bad 80s teen movie (Thomas often brings in Jim Peterik, writer of Eye Of The Tiger, as a collaborator)."

And:

"My guess is that in the songwriting process Thomas provided most, but not all, of the lyrics, which are often in an 80s-AOR mode that’s completely alien from Wilson’s normal preoccupations; that he shaped and structured Wilson’s ideas — the songs tend to be far more verse/chorus and repetitive than most of Wilson’s work (oddly, for a man who’s come up with some of the great choruses of all time, Wilson tends mostly to avoid them); and that he supervised the recording of, at the very least, the drum parts — there is more hi-hat work on the average track here than in the whole of Wilson’s work from 1961 through 1988 inclusive (Wilson doesn’t like hi-hats, but they’re skittering all over this album)."

And:

"Lyrically, meanwhile, it sets up the *other* kind of lyric we get on this album — the string of meaningless lines that sound vaguely like the kind of thing that 80s MOR acts thought was cool"

And:

"another song straight out of 80s US radio — this time sounding like the kind of thing Kenny Loggins or Huey Lewis would write for a teen film starring Michael J Fox, right down to a line about “playing our music too loud”. There are some good arrangement touches [...] but this is uninspired, dull, hackwork."

When you combine the production I really do not like with songwriting that I really do not like and that doesn't remind me much at all of Brian even on a bad day, it becomes extremely difficult for me to enjoy the album.  I feel like songs like "Saturday Night" could have been done by almost any interchangeable hired songwriter, and that's just not my bag.

(I'm fully prepared to be told by Those Who Would Know that my gut feeling is wrong, as is Hickey's, and Brian was responsible for 100% of all the lyrics and songwriting I find extremely disappointing on NPP, in which case I fully preemptively admit my mistake, but the disappointment will remain, unfortunately.)

The handful of songs I find myself enjoying at least somewhat on NPP are the ones that feel like Brian songs, and which punch through the production choices I find regrettable to at least deliver some of what I so deeply love about the man's music.  "I'm Feeling Sad," is a good example, as is "Whatever Happened."  As a whole, though, I don't find enough of those moments on NPP for me to really enjoy it or recommend it.  Even some of the less "top 40" songs don't move me - despite having listened to "Tell Me Why" several times over the course of trying to form an opinion on the album, I cannot remember a single thing about it, unlike "Whatever Happened," the chorus of which definitely lodged in my head.

Ron - I appreciate your advice to "just listen to the music," but for me, the production is a huge part of that.  I'm not worried about being "cool" or whatever - I fully admit I am pretty deeply uncool in many, many ways.  At a certain point, I'm having to ignore so many aspects of the recording that I just turn it off and put on something that doesn't actively bug me.  There's a bunch of great stuff out there being made by bands that I really enjoy - I love Brian deeply but at a certain point it's just, if the stuff doesn't click with me, or if I have to ignore A, B, C, X, Y, and Z to enjoy it, why bother?  Move on and listen to something else.  I'll file NPP away with the other stuff from Brian's solo career that just didn't click with me.  It's OK.
« Last Edit: April 14, 2015, 09:08:29 AM by Tomorrowville » Logged

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« Reply #444 on: April 14, 2015, 09:05:23 AM »

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« Reply #445 on: April 14, 2015, 09:05:58 AM »

Sorry for the triple post - was trying to modify and accidentally kept hitting "quote."  Blame the cold medicine.  Smiley
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« Reply #446 on: April 14, 2015, 09:39:05 AM »

Are we entirely certain those are synth horns on "Don't Worry"? They sound real to me.

If it's real horns - how do you record real horns to have them sound like synth horns and why on earth would you do that? At least some fills in the chorus sound synthy.
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« Reply #447 on: April 14, 2015, 11:37:01 AM »

I have the deluxe CD but right now I'm on visit at my mother's and I don't have the CD with me. So I just share some thoughts that I had but maybe I mix up some lyrics or song titles.


"This beautiful day": This is a beautiful opener, just like "Thinking about the days". The whole album features Brian singing some high parts that he usually probably would have given to another member of the group. With Brian's hoarse, little cracking voice it sounds more emotional to me. And therefor I consider it a plus for the whole album.

"Runaway dancer" : Well, this one had to grow on me. It definitely get stucked in the head and it actually sounds like something that gets played on radio nowadays.

"Whatever happened" : Very nice. This is the first song on the album featuring Al Jardine and as soon as he gets his first solo spot you'll feel the difference it makes that he is present. I also like the idea "whatever happened to my favorite places - what will happen to me?". But I think the verses are not on a par.

"On the island" : Very cool. Love it! Zooey's lead sounds great. I just think that Brian's double tracked singing doesn't fit. Should've gone with the singletracked voice. It'ss too bombastic for this (in the best way) lightweight song.


The music video for "On the island" is typically disappointing to me. The lyric video was fantastic though. Don't know why they saw a need to change it.


"Half moon bay" : A cool number. Can't say anything else at this point.

"Our special love" : Not really my cup of tea. But the intro is very melodic. IIRC Ray Lawlor mentioned that it was written with the Beach Boys in mind. The rest of the song does nothing for me.

"The right time" : Great! Al kills it and Matt isn't far behind! And the chorus is so beatiful!

"Guess you had to be there" : Another totally winner! The lead sounds great and the change to Brian's voice sounds like it was written for these two singers. Can't get this out of my head. I wonder if the lyrics are about Brian's 60s self....?

"Don't worry" : I won't.

"Somewhere quiet" : As on some other tracks I think Brian's double tracked lower voice sounds too big for some numbers. This one is another case. This is of course "Summer means new love" with lyrics - written with Scott Bennet. Great that he is still working with Brian in songwriting terms.

"I'm feeling sad" : This is such a typical Friends/Love You- Brian Wilson song! Great to hear and so charming. His background singing sounds a little off key at some points in the chorus to me.

"Tell me why" : Wow! This is a classic already! Unfortunately it also shows one of the weaknesses of some of the songs: the lyrics!
First: it makes not very much sense to me that you beging saying that your love was "mostly bad" and "mostly sad" and in the next sentence say that it's so sad that it's over.
Second: there are some really fantastic lyrical phrases. The first "mostly bad, mostly sad" verse features some of them and then this awesome "How many times do I have to explain" which even get lifted to a higher ground with Al's great singing. With these two parts there was a lot of potential of writing really interesting lost love (- gone wrong) lyrics. Unfortunately what we have now is just average pop love song stuff. But musically this is blows my mind! Even the outro is great!

"Sail away" : Thankfully the Sloop John B. reference is not overemphasized. Blondie, Brian and Al all do great jobs singing this beautiful song. I hope Blondie sticks around for more recordings.

"One kind of love" : The verses sound very interesting. The chorus sounds like goin' by the book (but he hits one of the highest notes I heard from him in a long while during the chorus and sounds really sweet doing so). That's unfortunate. I had hoped for a chorus as good as the verses deserve. Again: Brian needs a lyricist!

"Saturday night" : Great lead and an ear catcher! But as I mentioned before, I wonder if Brian didn't go too far in using Bacharach's "I say a little prayer" for the chorus. Reminding of the case of using familiar melodies for "That's why God made the radio" (the song). The middle part, though, sounds like it was a different song and doesn't fit imo.

"The last song" : Not as epic as we were made to believe early during promotion but this definitely is a great song that will even grow on me emotionally.


It is so great to see how far Brian came after finishing and releasing Smile in 2004. After that he really began to get into music again. Each album showe some kind of evolution. And this one gives me the feeling of "Surfer girl". Not in a nostalgic way but in the way he seems to have fun in writing songs just to see what he can come up with and willing to experiment.
It alsso looks like, after the great success of TWGMTR, he is getting competetive again. He certainly wants another hit and is willing to try, therefor getting new ideas from modern music and artists.

As mentioned I love that he is singing some higher notes again as this gives it all a more emotional sound when you hear him trying and getting a little hoarse doing so.  
The background voices sound quite different compared to when Brian uses only his band. Mssrs. Jardine, David Marks and Blondie Chaplin bring something very special to the recordings they are used on.

Some of the songs were written or considered for the album after it was clear that a Beach Boys album wouldn't come to life and I don't think that all songs on this record would've worked for the Beach Boys. To stretch out a little: I was one of those who said no to another album after the great TWGMTR. That ist because I didn't think they could deliver something at least as good as that album. Releasing an inferior album would have been a bad scenario for the great way the reunion was done and for the legacy (after all, how many more albums will the band record?). But listening to the obvious fun and creativity Brian brought to No Pier Pressure, I kinda wished that we get one more album by the Beach Boys. The blend is missed on some tracks (the intro to "Our special love" for example) and Al's singing shows what the Beach Boys' individualy could add.
I am happy that some of the cliché Beach Boys-wannabe vocal arrangements are not to be found very often on this album that. They were heard more often on some of Brian's other solo albums.  
I also like the idea of Brian producing other artists again. It was mentioned more than once that Brian made them work really hard on their pitches and I wonder (considering Brian even writes about that in the booklet) if it was really a bigger concern.



All in all I'd give this album - which btw features very nice artwork - a 7.5 out of 10.


Thank you.

« Last Edit: April 14, 2015, 11:43:06 AM by Rocker » Logged

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« Reply #448 on: April 14, 2015, 12:17:27 PM »

Are we entirely certain those are synth horns on "Don't Worry"? They sound real to me.

If it's real horns - how do you record real horns to have them sound like synth horns and why on earth would you do that? At least some fills in the chorus sound synthy.

Well, I'm no horn player but I've listened to tons of soul and funk through the years and believe I'm pretty good at spotting fake horn sounds a mile away. The horn sounds on Don't Worry really does sound synthy to me - I don't hear any real horns anywhere on the track. I could be wrong of course but that's just what my ears are telling me - and it makes me cringe whenever I hear this otherwise quite nice and catchy song.
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« Reply #449 on: April 14, 2015, 12:20:04 PM »

"Saturday night" : Great lead and an ear catcher! But as I mentioned before, I wonder if Brian didn't go too far in using Bacharach's "I say a little prayer" for the chorus. Reminding of the case of using familiar melodies for "That's why God made the radio" (the song). The middle part, though, sounds like it was a different song and doesn't fit imo.

Nice review. And good call on the 'I Say a Little Prayer' thing on 'Saturday Night'. I knew there was something familiar about the chorus on the latter but hadn't thought of this comparison.
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