Love You: Was It the Last Great Album of BB?

[JK]

Arrangement has a nice, chunky texture. Classic Brian arrangements are translucent -- we can hear each instrument -- but here Brian has gone the Spector route : though not a Wall of Sound so much as maybe a Block of Sound.

The structure is interesting -- the verse drives forward, but the chorus stops the song in its tracks. Gives a transcendent, floating feel to the number that's very Brian.

Also, the chorus echoes 'Wendy' ("Guess I was wrong").

Wow. This sums it up to perfection. :=)

[Kid Presentable]

My thoughts that haven't been mentioned yet-
-I actually love the aforementioned "Viking yell".  (though I always pictured it as Brian doing it at the keyboard, I realize that is probably wrong)
-The minimalist use of the snare and the single tom are fantastic.  I also really like the fart synth on this song- perhaps the most memorable use on the record.  It interacts really well with the backbeat drums.  In particular the melody between the verse lines (when the saxophone joins in for a fart duet) is a great interaction.
-Overall this is a very middle-of-the-pack song for me on this album, but it is indeed the most suitable opener for this record.  If not this, then I guess Ding Dang.

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

I love Let Us Go On This Way. It's so zany and exciting... almost sounds like a mashup of four or five different songs... that it sets the tone for the album just right.

Carl's yell at the beginning is perfect, and is still a bit shocking. Has a bit of a punk feel to it. Just a few seconds in, you know: these are not your 1960s Beach Boys!

[CenturyDeprived]

Also, the chorus echoes 'Wendy' ("Guess I was wrong").

I'm trying to hear this similarity, but I don't hear it. Not in the slightest. Am I missing something?

[clack]

Also, the chorus echoes 'Wendy' ("Guess I was wrong").

I'm trying to hear this similarity, but I don't hear it. Not in the slightest. Am I missing something?

'God please, let us go on this way" is markedly similar to "Oh Wendy, Wendy left me alone".

[CenturyDeprived]

Also, the chorus echoes 'Wendy' ("Guess I was wrong").

I'm trying to hear this similarity, but I don't hear it. Not in the slightest. Am I missing something?

'God please, let us go on this way" is markedly similar to "Oh Wendy, Wendy left me alone".

Got it. I kinda hear it a bit now that you mention that.

[Wata]

Notice:I won't make wrap-up posts anymore. It's not so constructive and takes too much time for me. Just discuss, then you know what has been discussed by looking over the thread.

Edit: I'll post short wrap-up post if I have time and I think I will join in the discussion and make replies more than I do.

[Wata]

The third discussion
Theme: All Things 'Roller Skating Child'
Main Question: Did they choose roller skating as the song's theme as they chose surfing in 60's?

There was no need for them to choose roller skating as the theme of the song, I think. it could be an ordinary love song of students without any particular theme, but they didn't make it so. IMO, they tried to appeal to the masses by putting commercial lyrics on a rather commercial song （in their opinion） on the album, and intended to cut it as a single. （Actually, it was made A side to a single in Japan instead of 'Honkin' Down the Highway'）. Above all, I could say they chose roller skating as the song's theme as they chose surfing in 60's, just for commercial reasons and probably members' personal interest on it.

As for the song itself, nice follow-up to 'Let Us Go on This Way' and keeps the power of ’Let Us...' to pass it to 'Mona'.　Lyrically I don't think it's that bad, even Brian's terribly childish lyrics （which I do dig）.

There were some interesting discussions on PSF: The point was 'Is it possible to judge from this song that Brian was a pedophile?' All the posters there were disagreeing with that. what do you think about this?

Now, you can discuss anything about 'Roller Skating Child'. Looking forward to seeing your interesting opinion on it.

Video: https://youtu.be/2_THKcG20aM

Edited: I fixed some wrong words above. Thanks a lot to JK for pointing them out.

[Rick5150]

Well, what can I say about Roller Skating Child? Hmmm, I always liked when the Beach Boys rhymed words with noises.   This song has my second favorite instance.

I go and get my skates on and I catch up to her
We do it holding hands, it's so cold I go "Brrrr"

My first favorite, due to it being so asinine is in Everybody Wants To Live.

A cigarette butt when you throw it in the water goes "ssst"
But the trick, but the trick is you shouldn't laugh

Seriously though, the words on much of this album are peculiar and give the album an honest, raw feeling. Well, Oh My, Oh Gosh, Oh Gee...

• I do not think Brian is a pedophile and I think that people who try to say that are really reaching. I think that most of the time when the songs sounded creepy, Brian was writing as he felt, not his actual age. Or he is writing about an age-appropriate relationship based on the people in the song are appropriate ages rather than an older guy singing about young girls.
• Child is not necessarily a literal 'child'. Someone in their 30's can be called a flower child. Everybody is someone else's child.
• Does anyone think Brian is singing about an actual baby in Don't Worry Baby?  Is it weird? Of course not.
• Only Brian knows what the real context is.

People were appalled when they heard the Kink's Art Lover and had Ray pegged as a pedophile. He is singing about secretly watching little girls. But someone wrote that the lyrics  for Art Lover  are about a divorced man who is not allowed to visit his children, and can only watch them playing on the playground without making contact with them. Still sounds a little odd, but then you hear that Ray's first wife got the courts to forbid Ray from seeing his daughters, I becomes heartbreakingly personal. Artists can often appreciate things and express them on different levels than the average listener can comprehend. Songs are often left vague and open to interpretation by the listener - just like movie endings.

Roller Skating Child rocks. It is really catchy and well sung. I even like the 3 ending notes.[/list][/list]

[JK]

It certainly rocks. But there are subtleties too, such as those lead guitar lines and the pitch-bending in the background vocals in a kind of give-and-take with the guitar.

[RangeRoverA1]

About some chap taking roller skate lessons & meeting some girl. Banal stuff. Musically, not favorite, repeats LUGOTW in some way. Don't like Mike's vocals here. Al saved it in middle 8 but not by much. & no, they didn't choose roller skating as they did surfing in the 60s. Surfing was used many times. Skating - just for this song.

[bringahorseinhere?]

actually, i don't like this song very much, its ok, but a bit meh.... for me

[hideyotsuburaya]

roller skating child -

100% authentic genuine honest-to-goodness real Beach Boys POLKA!

[Kid Presentable]

I am not old enough to really know, maybe others on here can shed some light.  But aren't I right that as the 70s went on, roller skating really surged in popularity?  (roller disco, etc.)  Maybe that drives their idea to branch out.

This song is a shame to me- I think it might be the last great "rock" song that Brian wrote, but it was ruined by awful lyrics.  No, they don't mark him as a pedophile.  But he should have known better.  "We'll make sweet lovin' when the sun goes down, we'll even do more when her momma's not around" and "her folks let me stay with her until late at night" insinuates that she is young enough to be a dependent of her parents.  And they are all twice (or more) that age range when this song hits the shelves.  You can be "channeling" a young man writing a rock and roll song but that doesn't mean that the actual reality of your finished product isn't in poor taste.  Also, I know, in the late 70s attitudes towards statutory behavior was far different from subsequent decades, but still....

The music is great.  I love how it starts out with a lot of energy with hand claps and a verse- no intro.  That is really creative for a rock song.  Then a 4th 1-2 on the snare brings a really hard-hitting chorus hook.  The bridge with Al is also great, as are the tasteful guitar melodies between lines- and when it goes into a third verse I am still really taken aback by the energy that the verses bring.  And though it is not necessarily a great moment, the outro of Brian singing the title of the song, followed by a cha-cha-cha, always makes me smile and appreciate having just heard that song.  

[Rick5150]

...and "her folks let me stay with her until late at night" insinuates that she is young enough to be a dependent of her parents.

Then that is not the singers fault. That's just bad parenting.     Remember that Brian start dating Marilyn when he was 20 and she was 15 or something.

[Steve Latshaw]

I was 17 when this record came out and I can tell you that roller skating was a big deal at the time.  Huge.  Personally, I think this was the album's best shot at a single; it's unfortunate that they didn't push it.

I think the album mix is lacking... what the song is missing is a punchy bass line.  With a slight bit of a remix ala the previous years' Rock & Roll Music single version and some real organic electric bass under the moog line I'm convinced this would have been a strong hit single, perfect for the skating rink and the dance floor.  Friends I played it for at the time loved it (as much as they said 'What the f--k?" to the rest of the album).  To a one, they said it reminded them of I Get Around, which was still in heavy recurrent radio rotation at that time.  It's a really great record... blistering guitar... a real rock & roll anthem.  As for the "infantile" lyrics?  Nobody gave a crap in 1977.  To question in those days whether the Beach Boys should be singing about high school girls would be to question whether they should be doing half their set list on stage.  We considered them "old" or "older" in their early to mid thirties than we were, on the upper edge of cool, if you will, but still relevant.  Like older brothers who were still cool.  The guys who came by the old high school in hot cars years after graduating.  And the fact that they still had an eye for teenage girls was accepted with a wink in those less progressive but more innocent days.  It was, after all, the 70s.  It ain't pretty, but there it is...

To get a sense of what the song would have sounded like with a real (non-moog) bass line, check out this live recording of the song from 1979:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cu0SCxEths

[Wata]

The Fourth Discussion
Theme: All Things 'Mona'
Main Question: How does the repetition of the same melody work for the song?

Maybe it was a wise decision to put this 'really repetitive song' here. It completely works as a bridge from RSC to Johnny Carson. Well, if this was on 15 Big Ones or M.I.U. Album with the same production, people would call it a 'filler'. But since it was not on those but Love You, I rarely see opinions that claims this is a filler.
(I got many disagrees with my opinion with underline above on PSF. What do you think, all you smiley smilers? )

As for the song itself, there are not much to say. Reference on Phil Spector in the lyrics is interesting and shows that Brian still respected him at the time.

Now, you can discuss anything about Mona. Looking forward to seeing your interesting opinions.

Video: https://youtu.be/oTFOu8lSoYs

[RangeRoverA1]

Repetition works terrible. I get bored by it. Doesn't help it features Dennis' worst vocal. It's filler, definitely, if "Mona" was in M.I.U., which is good album, it would bring it to mediocre level.

[Wata]

Repetition works terrible. I get bored by it. Doesn't help it features Dennis' worst vocal. It's filler, definitely, if "Mona" was in M.I.U., which is good album, it would bring it to mediocre level.

Oh, you dislike it. How about Mona in 15 Big Ones, Adult/Child or Light Album? How do you think it'd work on them?

[RangeRoverA1]

Yes, dislike that song very much. 15 Big Ones is more like 10 Fillers & 5 Big Ones. It would be fitting there. Ditto Light Album, the worst 70s album. Adult Child differs stylistically than "Mona". Wouldn't work, it would be out of place.

[Wata]

Yes, dislike that song very much. 15 Big Ones is more like 10 Fillers & 5 Big Ones. It would be fitting there. Ditto Light Album, the worst 70s album. Adult Child differs stylistically than "Mona". Wouldn't work, it would be out of place.

Sorry to be off-topic, but what do you consider as 5 Big Ones off 15 Big Ones?

[RangeRoverA1]

"The TM Song", "It's OK", "Susie Cincinnati", "A Casual Look", "Blueberry Hill".

[Wata]

"The TM Song", "It's OK", "Susie Cincinnati", "A Casual Look", "Blueberry Hill".

I'm a little surprised at your inclusion of A Casual Look and Blueberry Hill (which IMO the worst covers here), and exclusion of Had to Phone Ya.

But, it's ok, to each your own.

[JK]

Unlike RR, I'd say the repetition works well. Just imagine if there'd been a middle eight! It would have sounded so silly.

"Mona" is a fine example of why I consider Love You to be Outsider Music. It's in a field of one. 

[Summer_Days]

The song could've been improved with the addition of a bridge; that might've helped the song along for those that don't care for the repetition. Myself, I love pretty much everything about this song. I tend to listen to what is said, not how in this case. Great tune.