SUMMER’S DAY SONGS – Brian Wilson Salutes Great Modern Songwriters
1. The Invitation – (Falkner)
2. The Ghost at Number 1 – (Sturmer/Manning)
3. London’s Brilliant Parade – (McManus)
4. Oh Well, Okay – (Smith)
5. When The Hangover Strikes – (Difford-Tilbrook)
6. Summer’s Day Song – (McCartney)
7. Wrapped in Grey – (Partridge)
8. All That That Implies – (Penn)
9. Amateur – (Mann-Brion)
10. Strings That Tie To You – (Brion)
11. Catherine Wheels – (Finn-Finn)
12. Time of No Reply – (Drake)
13. Curtains – (John-Taupin)
CD Trader in Reseda must have some great donators—besides that Brother Records bonus track CD set, this thing turned up just recently. I saw only the one copy, so I grabbed it. (Anybody else get one?)
It has a copyright date of 2015 on it, so my guess is this is a test pressing of next Christmas’ offering—I can’t imagine this is the “rock’n’roll” album we’ve been promised repeatedly, as a number of these tracks are pretty laid back. But wow: what a track list it is. I guess Brian really likes melody and harmony—go figure, with covers of everything from Macca to Jellyfish to Elliott Smith.
No way to tell at this point if these are rough mixes—they sound pretty slick to me, but who knows if they are final?
Here are my thoughts on a quick, first-time spin on the ol’ CD player:
1. The Invitation- this is longer and lusher than the little song scrap that kicks off Jason Falkner’s second solo album, “Can You Still Feel?” The orchestra is lush and suitable for Great American Songbook tunes, and Brian’s voice soars here—uber-romantic.
2. The Ghost at Number One – I was afraid this one was too obvious a choice, but on hearing it, I no longer care: it’s perfect for BW. It’s not quite as hard-hitting on the verses as the Jellyfish original is, but it’s more…bouncy. The middle-8 (“Mrs. Lynne, the fruit of your labors…”) is, I daresay, arranged even a little better than the original. Enchanting.
3. London’s Brilliant Parade – it feels a little weird hearing Brian sing about something so English—maybe it’s a tribute to the land where the BBs hit it extra-big? But it’s an Elvis song, making the “praise” fairly dark. But the melody is the star here. Is BW hitting all those high notes? Or is Jeff lurking about in there somewhere?
4. Oh Well, Okay – this may be my favorite so far. I have no idea when Brian started listening to Elliott, but Jesus, this is fantastic. The “whine” of Wilson’s voice just brings out the pathos of the lyrics like you wouldn’t believe. Whoever does the solo on this needs a pat on the back too—being as there aren’t any credits on the CD, I have no idea who it is, and can’t recognize styles enough to say.
5. When the Hangover Strikes – this isn’t especially unique, and the arrangement feels just a little too Diana Krall for me, but it’s nice enough. I still prefer the original (by Squeeze).
6. Summer’s Day Song – Wonder when this was recorded—could this be an outtake offering for the “Art of McCartney” CD? It’s pretty plain to begin with—not so different from “Wanderlust”—then the friggin’ harmonies come sweeping in in the last verse. Seriously, you will want to cry. Even better than Paul’s version, which I already loved.
7. Wrapped in Grey – Okay, this is my OTHER favorite. I thought maybe “Pale and Precious” might be a better XTC cover choice for Brian—I now take that thought back. This is simply breathtaking. When he gets to the part “Awaken you dreamers”, you’ll feel like you’re lifting off of the ground.
8. All That That Implies – a Michael Penn cover. I remember reading a long time ago that one of Penn’s early albums was a BW favorite—can’t recall which one. It’s pretty cool to hear Penn’s acerbic lyrics floating out across Brian’s voice—a good combo of salty and sweet. A nice surprise, surprise, surprise…
9. Amateur – Interesting: now we have a cover by Penn’s wife Aimee Mann! (I see that it’s co-written with Jon Brion; more about him later.) This is really nice—the melody always seemed a bit Burt Bacharach than Brian Wilson, but hey—it works. There’s a female vocal doing the harmony, and it doesn’t sound like Amy. Maybe Taylor? Maybe a young new guest star I’m too old to know? Wish those credits were here.
10. Strings That Tie To You – hey, it’s Jon Brion again. A Brian/Brion effort, you might say. And I’m betting some of the instruments here might be Jon as well—I hear a Chamberlin for sure, and maybe an Edison cylinder in there somewhere. This is crisper than the super-soft version on “Eternal Sunshine”, which to me serves the melody better.
11. Catherine Wheels – a Crowded House song from near the end of their first incarnation. This has got to be Al on the harmony vocal—it sure sounds like him. Wow. BB magic yet again. I bet the BW camp had a hard time picking what Crowded House song to cover—I’d forgotten how great this one really is.
12. Time of No Reply – a very sparse arrangement, this—mostly just piano and acoustic guitar. This is great, but it almost bothers me—the lyric always sounded just a hair morbid, but the tune is just so damn beautiful. With all Brian has been through, it just feels a little…heavy.
13. Curtains – from Captain Fantastic. Following the Nick Drake song, it could easily have been even more morbid. It ain’t. It’s joyous, especially Brian’s vocal arrangement, which adds lots of counterpoint harmonies over the “lum-de-lay” fadeout. This could be Brian’s “Hey Jude”. Fantastic. An unusual and uplifting way to end the album.
Again, my presumption is that this isn’t the “rock’n’roll” album we keep hearing about, but maybe a placeholder disk until that happens—sort of a BW “Hunky Dory”, if that makes sense? Whether it is or not, this is a covers album that will be very hard to beat.