Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again

[Cabinessenceking]

One group with two world-class songwriters and they each had a very distinctive style of their own, so best to sit back and appreciate. Personally I can relate to DW's heavier material and I think that both as a singer and a as writer he reached another peak very late in the game with the songs he contributed to the Light Album, especially "Baby Blue". In Brian's writing I don't hear any weaknesses whatsoever until M.I.U. (and even then I think that most of the stuff he did was really quite good). Before that, it's all brilliant to my ears and I love the particular style he developed with songs like "I'll Bet He's Nice" and "Let's Put Our Hearts Together", both of which manage to sound both thoroughly sad and goofy all at once. That is a style that's truly unique and somehow it speaks to me like no other style in pop music does.

But is the music itself so aweful on MIU? I'm not a big fan of production, orchestration or in particular the horrendous lyrics of over half the songs. The music itself I could defend. MIU is not a good album. But the musical capabilities of Brian were still intact imo!

[phirnis]

One group with two world-class songwriters and they each had a very distinctive style of their own, so best to sit back and appreciate. Personally I can relate to DW's heavier material and I think that both as a singer and a as writer he reached another peak very late in the game with the songs he contributed to the Light Album, especially "Baby Blue". In Brian's writing I don't hear any weaknesses whatsoever until M.I.U. (and even then I think that most of the stuff he did was really quite good). Before that, it's all brilliant to my ears and I love the particular style he developed with songs like "I'll Bet He's Nice" and "Let's Put Our Hearts Together", both of which manage to sound both thoroughly sad and goofy all at once. That is a style that's truly unique and somehow it speaks to me like no other style in pop music does.

But is the music itself so aweful on MIU? I'm not a big fan of production, orchestration or in particular the horrendous lyrics of over half the songs. The music itself I could defend. MIU is not a good album. But the musical capabilities of Brian were still intact imo!

I agree and I'd say it's basically the same with KTSA. More than anything else, these two albums suffer from bland production choices, lame lyrics, and overall bad selection/quality control. The melodies per se however are mostly quite strong and pleasant.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

I'm with Jay. Let's get back to piling on beachboys_fr--much more productive than trying to compare BW and DW.

Agree!

Now I like you again

[Mr. Cohen]

Bruce Johnston's comment that the Beach Boys literally spent countless trying to capture Brian's vision for "Sunshine" on KTSA mesmerizes me. How long did Brian spend coming up with the blend for that dirge-like bassline? What a weird scene that must've been.

In fact, as much as people hate on KTSA, Bruce actually said that for the album the group tried to be as deferential to Brian as humanly possible, to see if they could capture that magic again. For example, they literally begged him to do the vocal arrangement on "Oh Darlin'", and well, that's all Brian. "Some Of Your Love" was the result of Brian on top of his game, fully inspired, as the videos of the sessions revealed.

The flat production, though, probably wasn't Brian's fault too much. Sounds like he refused to participate much in the final stages of the sound. "Some Of Your Love", with better production, is basically "Roller Skatin' Child" or "It's OK" pt. 2. KTSA is such a weird album, a true crossroads for the band. It basically marked the end of the BBs as a truly artistic entity for a period, but because of the time period, those last vestiges of the '70s experimental vibe haunts the sessions here and there.

[Micha]

Had I seen the CD and bought it, I would have most certainly shared the track... however, I would have shared it under the radar, for no gain (financial or in kind) and in full, as, I strongly suspect, would most everyone here who found themselves in the same situation. The actions and motives of beachboy_fr are, to be generous about it, questionable.

As far as I remember, or the way I understand it, beachboy_fr did not sell the snippet for a CD in exchange, but bought rare CDs and sent the snippet as a gift. He used the snippet as a motivation to sell the rare CD he desired to buy. It's still a copyright infringement, I guess, but he hasn't made himself richer by sharing.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Hence my comment "financial or in kind".

[Jim V.]

Had I seen the CD and bought it, I would have most certainly shared the track... however, I would have shared it under the radar, for no gain (financial or in kind) and in full, as, I strongly suspect, would most everyone here who found themselves in the same situation. The actions and motives of beachboy_fr are, to be generous about it, questionable.

Exactly. beachboy_fr has proven himself to be pretty crass. I mean, maybe he's sharing the song with some people under the radar, and that would be great. But I think using the song to procure more collectibles, and then only giving 30 seconds to boot, is just pretty slimy. However, it's the way of the world now. If somebody has something, they wanna make sure they can maximalize their gains. Which is a shame. Whenever I've had something of this nature (rare BB/BW) and somebody wanted to have it, I gave it to them as long as they were respectful. There is no reason for me to profit off of something that I had the good luck to come across.

I personally don't want the song from him by the way. I'll wait 'til the box set comes out.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

When I found the H&V TSS Mix online, the first thing I did was share. I'd do it again in a second.

[bgas]

Had I seen the CD and bought it, I would have most certainly shared the track... however, I would have shared it under the radar, for no gain (financial or in kind) and in full, as, I strongly suspect, would most everyone here who found themselves in the same situation. The actions and motives of beachboy_fr are, to be generous about it, questionable.

Exactly. beachboy_fr has proven himself to be pretty crass. I mean, maybe he's sharing the song with some people under the radar, and that would be great. But I think using the song to procure more collectibles, and then only giving 30 seconds to boot, is just pretty slimy. However, it's the way of the world now. If somebody has something, they wanna make sure they can maximalize their gains. Which is a shame. Whenever I've had something of this nature (rare BB/BW) and somebody wanted to have it, I gave it to them as long as they were respectful. There is no reason for me to profit off of something that I had the good luck to come across.

I personally don't want the song from him by the way. I'll wait 'til the box set comes out.

When I found the H&V TSS Mix online, the first thing I did was share. I'd do it again in a second.

Of course, it should be noted that neither of you paid $400 for the items you speak of sharing. 
 His first round was mostly accepted by folks as OK( tho not what most people wanted to hear, of course) seems to me; the open criticism has come more when he decided  to post nonsense about the MIC release and then talking of doing more acquisitions for a snippet.   

 
Had he given the entire song away, to anyone "respectful", would he have been blatantly opening himself up to legal problems?

 My question:  Is there anyone that "traded" with him, that is truly unhappy with a deal they voluntarily made? 

[Cabinessenceking]

Had I seen the CD and bought it, I would have most certainly shared the track... however, I would have shared it under the radar, for no gain (financial or in kind) and in full, as, I strongly suspect, would most everyone here who found themselves in the same situation. The actions and motives of beachboy_fr are, to be generous about it, questionable.

Exactly. beachboy_fr has proven himself to be pretty crass. I mean, maybe he's sharing the song with some people under the radar, and that would be great. But I think using the song to procure more collectibles, and then only giving 30 seconds to boot, is just pretty slimy. However, it's the way of the world now. If somebody has something, they wanna make sure they can maximalize their gains. Which is a shame. Whenever I've had something of this nature (rare BB/BW) and somebody wanted to have it, I gave it to them as long as they were respectful. There is no reason for me to profit off of something that I had the good luck to come across.

I personally don't want the song from him by the way. I'll wait 'til the box set comes out.

When I found the H&V TSS Mix online, the first thing I did was share. I'd do it again in a second.

Of course, it should be noted that neither of you paid $400 for the items you speak of sharing. 
 His first round was mostly accepted by folks as OK( tho not what most people wanted to hear, of course) seems to me; the open criticism has come more when he decided  to post nonsense about the MIC release and then talking of doing more acquisitions for a snippet.   

 
Had he given the entire song away, to anyone "respectful", would he have been blatantly opening himself up to legal problems?

 My question:  Is there anyone that "traded" with him, that is truly unhappy with a deal they voluntarily made? 

as I said before: the price of the CD is completely irrelevant to sharing the file. He paid the money for the promo CD, which is unique. It cannot be replicated since there is only one that we know of which is genuine. If he had chosen to share the track, he would still have the CD. Nothing would change for his collection (for which purpose he invested the 400$).

[Micha]

Hence my comment "financial or in kind".

Yeah, but you specifically mentioned "financial".

I'm fine with beachboy_fr's acting in that case, by the way. Just ignore what he said about MIC.

[Loaf]

Hence my comment "financial or in kind".

Yeah, but you specifically mentioned "financial".

I'm fine with beachboy_fr's acting in that case, by the way. Just ignore what he said about MIC.

Yeah, but he also specifically mentioned "or in kind", so... y'know...just drop it. 

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

For example, they literally begged him to do the vocal arrangement on "Oh Darlin'", and well, that's all Brian. "Some Of Your Love" was the result of Brian on top of his game, fully inspired, as the videos of the sessions revealed.

are those videos online?

[beachboys_fr]

Hence my comment "financial or in kind".

Yeah, but you specifically mentioned "financial".

I'm fine with beachboy_fr's acting in that case, by the way. Just ignore what he said about MIC.

I said that WIBNTLA won't be on MIC which was a provocation. I have no private information. It was just to have a lot of fun by reading the posts after this nonsense statement...

[D409]

Don't feed the troll...

[Ziggy Stardust]

Hence my comment "financial or in kind".

Yeah, but you specifically mentioned "financial".

I'm fine with beachboy_fr's acting in that case, by the way. Just ignore what he said about MIC.

I said that WIBNTLA won't be on MIC which was a provocation. I have no private information. It was just to have a lot of fun by reading the posts after this nonsense statement...

Well you're just being a dick about this whole thing really in the end, but hey if you can make a decent collection out of samples, good for you.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

Hence my comment "financial or in kind".

Yeah, but you specifically mentioned "financial".

I'm fine with beachboy_fr's acting in that case, by the way. Just ignore what he said about MIC.

I said that WIBNTLA won't be on MIC which was a provocation. I have no private information. It was just to have a lot of fun by reading the posts after this nonsense statement...

Sorry, but you have to applaud the honesty of that unashamed bastardness..

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

unless Ive missed it, no one who got this 90 second sample has piped up yet. anyone?

[Cliff1000uk]

unless Ive missed it, no one who got this 90 second sample has piped up yet. anyone?

I think those that acquired the sample were asked not to disclose that they had it

[pixletwin]

I said that WIBNTLA won't be on MIC which was a provocation. I have no private information. It was just to have a lot of fun by reading the posts after this nonsense statement...

The very definition of troll. Stay classy. 

[theCOD]

(song kicks into sappy ballad mode)
IIIIIII
LLLOOOOOOOOOOVVVVEEEE
YOOOUUUUUUU
IIIIIIIII
DOOOOOOOOOOO

That's what every Dennis Wilson song sounds like to me. I think the only good song he ever wrote was "Little Bird."

[Mikie]

(song kicks into sappy ballad mode)
IIIIIII
LLLOOOOOOOOOOVVVVEEEE
YOOOUUUUUUU
IIIIIIIII
DOOOOOOOOOOO

That's what every Dennis Wilson song sounds like to me. I think the only good song he ever wrote was "Little Bird."

And speaking of nonsense statements........

Just my opinion!

[Jon Stebbins]

(song kicks into sappy ballad mode)
IIIIIII
LLLOOOOOOOOOOVVVVEEEE
YOOOUUUUUUU
IIIIIIIII
DOOOOOOOOOOO

That's what every Dennis Wilson song sounds like to me. I think the only good song he ever wrote was "Little Bird."

Every one huh? Slip On Through? River Song? Holy Man? Celebrate The News? San Miguel? Sound Of Free? Rainbows? You and I? They all sound like that? Reminds me of the people who say every Brian Wilson song has that same annoying WHOOO-OOOO falsetto thing, like at the end of Fun Fun Fun...every one, they're all the same. Not.

[pixletwin]

(song kicks into sappy ballad mode)
IIIIIII
LLLOOOOOOOOOOVVVVEEEE
YOOOUUUUUUU
IIIIIIIII
DOOOOOOOOOOO

That's what every Dennis Wilson song sounds like to me. I think the only good song he ever wrote was "Little Bird."

That is as ignorant as people who think every Beach Boys song sound like "Bop-bop Ditty-Wop Summertime is fun!"

[adamghost]

Dennis wrote -- and this is my charitable estimate -- about a half dozen excellent songs.

Forever
Cuddle Up
Only With You
River Song
Tug of Love
Baby Blue

And maybe one or two others (and even this short list has too much that sounds alike). Everything else repeats the same lyrical and musical themes at various levels of sobriety.

That would be true if it was...but it isn't.

Little Bird is not similar to Be With Me...which is not similar to Celebrate the News...which is nothing like Lady...which is totally different than Sound Of Free...which is completely different than Slip On Through...which is nothing like Forever...which is unlike 4th of July...which is nothing like Wouldn't it Be Nice To Live Again...which is totally different than Cuddle Up...which is nothing like Steamboat...which is so different than Holy Man...which is nothing like Carry Me Home...which is totally unlike River Song...which is nothing like Rainbows...which is completely different than You and I...which is nothing like Moonshine...which is nothing like Love Surrounds Me...which is nothing like Baby Blue...which is completely different than Love Remember Me...which sounds absolutely nothing like Be Still...which could not be more different than Wild Situation etc...etc... etc... That is one of the coolest things about Dennis is the wide range of textures themes styles and genre influences. Dennis favorite music was BW music...but to say he listened to nothing else is so so inaccurate. He was all over the place, probably more eclectic in his tastes than anyone in the band. Great quotes from him on tour in the '60's to 70's going on about his love for the music of Spector, Beatles, Lesley Gore, Lovin Spoonful, Temptations, Love, Doors, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Dusty Springfield, Barbra Streisand, Bach and Wagner and so many others.

I think there were periods when Dennis didn't listen to much music outside of his own clique/realm etc... those anecdotes have been shared but don't paint the whole picture. The periods of little interest in the music of others would have been later, probably after the explosion in his prolific streak of composing. I think to get to where got as a songwriter there was a period of major soaking up of styles and ideas...from  '64 to '73-ish he listened to tons of music outside of the Beach Boys and Brian, his enthusiasm about other artists and composers is touched upon in Ian and my new book.

Steamboat is brilliant and my favorite Holland track.

Jon, Adam Marshland posted about a newly discovered Dennis song, possibly better than WIBNTLA. Can you comment or are you sworn to secrecy?

Just for the record, that post, though it did have some basis in fact, was pretty tongue-in-cheek.