Holland

[Jason Penick]

I'm really starting to re-evaluate Holland  lately.   Here's a couple of my posts from the Smile Shop that summarize my feelings on this unique album:

Interesting the mixed responses here. Seems that some view the Beach Boys as being far ahead of the curve on Holland, while others see it as a futile attempt to play catch-up.

FWIW, I used to hate parts 1&2 of the Cal Saga, until I fell asleep listening to it one night. That's when it all started to come together for me, and I had one of those "ohhh!!" moments. There's a concept at play here-- "SOS" conjures images of European explorers searching for the new world. (Odd, I guess, in that it's sung by a South African black man.) We arrive in America, and start to revisited some of the same themes as SMiLE. "Steamboat" is kind of the template-- it slows things down to a crawl and guides (Ian would proabably say forces) the listener into this American pastiche the Beach Boys are shaping. It's effective musically, in that it words and sounds actually take us back to a particular place in time. For me at least, when I close my eyes and listen, I see the Beach Boys in 19th centrury garb, standing on the deck of the marvelous steamboat, watching the shore slowly fade away in the horizon. For some reason I picture this being a voyage from New Orleans to Northern California, where they arrive in "Big Sur" naturally enough. When that song commences I see Mike, wearing one of those old straw farmer's hats and peasant garb, walking around the countryside, playing with his kids, staring at the night sky. "Beaks of Eagles" of course brings to mind images of those majestic creatures, their struggles and their might. This is highly evocative music! The suite resolves nicely with a catchy song about modern day California, featuring the moog and lyrics about Country Joe and the Big Sur congregation.

Side two is where the concept breaks down. "Trader" is a great song but chronologically out of sequence-- I would have placed it as track #2 following "SOS", but I guess that would have had to split up the suite in the days of the LP. Thankfully we now live in the age of programmable CD players and iTunes playlists. The final three songs, "Leaving This Town", "Only With You" and "Funky Pretty" really have nothing to do with the Americana concept, and were probably added simply because they were the strongest new songs the band had left at the time. There is also an outtake from the Holland sessions called "Out in the Country" that would have been more in place with the concept of side 1, but the existing tapes sound unfinished.

It's almost ironic that the band would retreat to Holland to record an album so squarely focused on American themes-- and then title the album Holland!

Thanks Brian! This thread has got me listening to Holland and its outtakes again, and hearing things in a whole new way. It's almost two seperate albums here. Bear with me...

Holland #1/ Americana Suite:
Sail On Sailor -- We are sailing to the new world
The Trader -- We have arrived in the new world and are converting these heathens in the name of the Queen
Steamboat -- We have taken over this place, and are now building fantastic machines to better society
Big Sur/ Beaks of Eagles -- The trimph of nature vs. the folly of man; society has "improved", but at what cost?
California/ Out in the Country -- Even in modern times, there are places we can go to get back in touch with nature and the roots of this great land

Holland #2/ One Man's Challenge:
We Got Love -- message of optimism; one man's struggle vs. cultural adversity
Only With You/ Funky Pretty -- protaginist experiences love for his soul mate in both the direct and metaphysical senses
Hard Times -- the relationship has ended, things begin to go south
Leaving This Town -- spiritual soul quest represented by moog solo; should he stay in the same place where he is forced to deal with the negative emotions of a failed romance, or escape those bitter memories by going somewhere else?
Carry Me Home -- the culmination of the journey; protaginist enlists for battle and is killed during combat. his dying wish is to return to his hometown that he had tried so hard to escape from.


Okay, maybe i'm reaching here conceptually, but try this line-up out at home and let me know what you think...

[punkinhead]

those are good

[Mooger Fooger]

I find the original sequencing of Holland using Steamboat as the opening track, and We Got Love as the closer for side 1 is a more flowing record. Admittedly I didn't like Sail On Sailor at all until the backing track came out. Something struck me about it, and I now find it one hell of a classic tune. Full of power and energy that the BBs rarely seemed to have in the later years.

Holland is my favourite 70's BB record. Is has a dark feel that Sunflower doesn't have, and I actually like that aspect. Additionally Blondie and Ricky influenced the other guys in a way that the BBs themselves would never have arrived at on their own. The give Holland a bit of funk spice. Not alot, but enough to be noticeable at least to my ears.

Anytime I drive in Holland, I have Holland playing on the CD player. I still kick myself everytime when I think how close I came several times to Baambrugge without even realising it.

Furthermore, I shudder to think what kind of LP the guys could have made using songs of the calibre of River Song. _That_ would be one hell of a follow-up to Holland. Instead they chose the way that ultimately lead to 15 Big Ones.

cheers
Dwight

[punkinhead]

no kidding, using some of the 1974 material:

California Feeling (more california saga)
Hard Times (blondie/ricky)
Perhaps use Carry Me Home, Out in the Country, & We Got Love from Holland Outtakes
im sure some shortenin bread riffs would have come up, this was the year brian started getting fasinated with it, Ding Dang,and Rollin up to heaven...
Maybe the Jan Berry/Brian Wilson song: dontcha just know it
Battle Hymn of the Republic (jsut kidding, but would give an american feel to the album)


theres a nice little album right there

[Jason Penick]

no kidding, using some of the 1974 material:

...

Hard Times (blondie/ricky)

...

"Hard Times" is a legit Holland outtake from late '72.

[MBE]

If Brian sang more and Dennis sang any leads I would LOVE it but it is still a really good LP. Steamboat is a fave listen for Brian and Dennis.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Hard Times? Any info on this track?

[Bas Möllenkramer]

To me, the low point is the EXTREEEMELY dragging "Steamboat,"

I've never heard anyone say that. I don't agree, but congratulations on an original thought!

Really, to me, "Carl and the Passions" and 'Holland" are really one big long record that to me equals "Sunflower" as my very favorite period in the group's history.

I don't quite agree--I think that if you let me pick 10-12 songs from those two albums, I would put together something that far surpasses Sunflower for me.

Hi there. I love what you guys wrote about Steamboat. I adore that tune and I like to think of it as the Beach Boys doing their Pink Floyd act. Please also recall that in the original group-intended running order of Holland, Steamboat was the OPENING TUNE!!!!! Not many bands have ever had the nerve to kick an album off with a slow tune. Again Pink Floyd spring to mind.

May I make a recommendation Play Steamboat on a real hot-shot HiFi system, off a mint USA Brother promo vinyl pressing and crank it up as loud as it will go. Then listen to the myriad of stuff going on in the background, like the stunning held chords during the breaks and the awesome timing on the start of the guitar solo. Now that solo is damn close to Dave Gilmour, except his sound would have been a touch cleaner.

So there you have it. I adore Steamboat as much as Trader and the rest. For me the only tune on Holland that doesnt meet the standard is FUnky Pretty. Although it is interesting, quirky, intelligent, complex, challenging, multi-layered, clever etc, it is alas neither funky nor pretty. That review is not original. Someone else wrote a short review of Funky Pretty saying briefly that it was neither. I agree. I did once make a spectral analysis of the very high frequency bird bleeps on Funky Pretty. In fact I isolated them, then reduced the frequency 8 or 10 times. Then you can really hear they are synth notes played in time to the beat, more or less.

But if you dont agree with me, I am happy to listen!

I have recently attempted to get We Got Love to sound a little better. I have a near mint German pressing with We Got Love on it. I used my new Ortofon MC10 moving coil cartridge to get it into the PC at 24 bit resolution and 96 kHz sampling. On other discs this gives gorgeous results. But We Got Love remains quite scratchy and with very little stereo width. The only time the stereo width opens up is when all the harmony vocals are added in. I tried using Adobe Audition to widen the sound stage. The effect really works except alas more distortion is introduced.

Its really hard to get a good transfer of this track. I also have a UK test pressing with the same tune on it. That too sounds stressed and it appears to originate from the same cutting. So we must assume the original tape to acetate transfer wasnt dont with the maximume of care.

Bas Möllenkramer
webmaster www.the-flames.com

[The Trader]

It only takes one look at my BBS name to know that i love 'Holland' and " The Trader".

Although my favourite part of the album has to be the moog solo in 'leaving this town'! nothing better than cranking it up and getting lost within that floatin' solo!

Although, my one main gripe with Holland is thats it to short! It could of stood up next to Pet Sounds and Sunflower if it had one or two more really strong tracks..(atleast in my book)

[Daniel S.]

Far too serious of an album, pseudo-hip and pandering. Leaving THis Town is very overrated and Funky Pretty is horrid. The Beaks Of Eagles is pitiful. But the rest is nice at worst (Big Sur), incredible at best (Sailor, Only With You, Steamboat).

How can you say Funky Pretty is horrid? You don't know how much that hurts me. 

[Zander]

I LOVE this album, just the overall sound and the quality of the songs is phenomenal.

Sail on Sailor - I NEVER tire of hearing this track, I would have loved to hear a Dennis / Carl lead vocal on it.

The California Saga - Mike and Al's best collaborative work

The Trader - Carl Wilson's best song??

Man I could ramble on all day about it. Even the OUTAKES! They should have put We Got Love as an additional track with Sail On Sailor, without replacing one for the other. We Got Love has a fantastic piano riff. Out In the Country is excellent, Hard Times is great! And **THEN** |Carry me Home, somebody stop me, I'm on a roll!

Hard Times? Any info on this track?

Can be found on "Get The Boot - Volume 2", I think it's the second track. Search for it on www.bootlegzone.com

[Jonas]

We Got Love and Hard Times would have made PERFECT additions to the album, making it a lot more eclectic...

[Magic Transistor Radio]

This album has really grown on me. I think it is the most mature album the BBs ever did. Not the best, just the most mature. I think the Fairy Tale is what puts the frosting on the cake for me.

[pixletwin]

Question about Leaving This Town: Is the piano back drop during the instrumental solos from a SMiLE session? It sure sounds like the piano part from Child Is The Father.

[phirnis]

I found myself wondering about Randy Newman's Sail Away being an influence on the fairy tale, as BW has stated several times. Sail Away is in fact a very dark, at times even bleak yet always outstandingly humorous album. Even many fans tend to think of Mt Vernon and Fairway as the bland statement of a bewildered mind, while in fact it might be one of BW's most amazingly inspired post-Pet Sounds achievements. Just imagine the man listening to things like Lonely At The Top or Old Man and writing a fairy tale about his childhood days and his early success at being a composer afterwards. Not that lightweight at all, is it?

[thomasogg]

5/5.
An extremely under-rated record. It's heartbreaking to think that they would descend from the mature, emotional work and incredible song-writing feature on 'Holland' to the likes of 15 Big Ones and Love You. 'Leaving This Town' is nice but doesn't exactly set me on fire, but everything else on the record I adore! Steamboat, Trader, Only With You, Funky Pretty (what's with people not liking this track? Best fade-out EVER!!) - all brilliant, brilliant tunes! Sure the california saga is pretencious - so what? Would you rather they were singing about getting the hots for roller-skating children, as would soon be the case..? Al's 'California' is harmonic perfection! For this track alone he is forgiven for siding with Love all those years.. A great album, better than Sunflower, more coherent than Surf's Up, bettered only by Pacific Ocean Blue in terms of BB related 70's output. (Oh yeh, and Mt Vernon is a masterpiece! And they should've stuck 'Carry Me Home', another masterpiece, in between 'Trader' and 'Leaving..')

[Compost]

Would you rather they were singing about getting the hots for roller-skating children, as would soon be the case..?

Quite frankly...Yes, yes I would.  Despite some great songs, Love You owns Holland.

[pixletwin]

I completely agree. It felt like on Holland the BB were finally arriving somewhere again artistically. Not that I don't love Love You and 15 Big Ones. Heck, I even like Keepin the Summer Alive. But they were actually going to a new level on Holland. Too bad.

[MBE]

Got to agree Love You cannot shine Holland's shoes.

[NightHider]

Some interesting views on Holland.  I find it an interesting diversion from their normal sound and would like to have seen them continue on this track for another album or two.  This was definately a distinctive time period for many top bands with this same kinda sound.

A couple of questions for any experts reading:

Were the following the only rejected tracks from the Holland sessions?

Carry Me Home
Out in the Country
We Got Love
Hard Times

Did the BB help write/sing/play on Hard Times or was this strictly a Chaplin/Fataar song?
 
I have heard all of the above tracks except Out in the Country.  Who sang lead on this? What was the sound/style and level of completeion on this track?

What was the original track order upon the first submission of the album?


Thanks!

[smile-holland]

Were the following the only rejected tracks from the Holland sessions?

Carry Me Home
Out in the Country
We Got Love
Hard Times

Carry Me Home was an outtake. What I've read about it that it didn't fit with the image of the group. Out In The Country was nothing more than a demo. Little is known about it. I don't think it was ever considered for the Holland album. We Got Love was on the original line-up of the Holland but was replaced for Sail On Sailor. And I think Hard Times was copyrighted and recorded after the group released Holland.

Did the BB help write/sing/play on Hard Times or was this strictly a Chaplin/Fataar song?

I doubt they played on it, but I think I can hear Carl on the verses...Writers credits are Chaplin/Fataar

I have heard all of the above tracks except Out in the Country.  Who sang lead on this? What was the sound/style and level of completeion on this track?

As mentioned before. Little is known. It sounds like nothin more than a demo recording (a few takes). Al sings lead, my guess is he wrote it too. Very mellow-sounding, nothing more than an organ. It ends with some harmony-singing by the group which reminisces of some of the Mt.Vernon & Fairway musical-snippets.

What was the original track order upon the first submission of the album?

Original line-up:
A: Steamboat, California Saga (Big Sur - Beaks Of Eagles, California), We Got Love
B: Trader, Leaving This Town, Only With You, Funky Pretty

Check the Holland-section on www.the-flames.com. It has lots of information on this record.

[NightHider]

Thanks for the info and the link...appreciate it!!

[kshane]

Count me among those who doesn't think that "Leaving This Town" is overrated. It is one of my favorite BB songs, and Blondie's vocal is one of the better lead vocals that ever appeared on a BB album.

[donald]

Overall, I think Holland is the best single studio album of  Beachboys music to follow 20/20.  Period.  Unlike the other albums that followed, I can listen to the whole thing with relish.

I spend time in Big Sur at least once a year and as soon as I hit highway one south of the Monterey Peninsula I plug in Holland.   Mike and Al were never better.

[Daniel S.]

Leaving This Town and Trader are two of the best Beach Boys post Good Vibrations songs. The organ break on Leaving This Town is killer and the tag at the end is right up there with the tag of God Only Knows.