Jack Rieley - Western Justice

[Yorick]

Hey all! I was wondering what excactly is the deal with this album.  It's name pops up every now and then, but it never really goes real deep. I'm asking this because I bumped into two official Dutch CDs by EMI last week. They were 2$ each. Should I pick them up? Anybody else here wanting the other one? PM me if interested!

See ya! Yorick

[punkinhead]

From Brad Elliot's Surf's Up Book:
"2 years after Holland, Rieley surfaced with a concept album titled Western Justice.  Set in the not-too-distant future, the album relates the trials and tribulations of the Western nations at the hands of the 3rd World, to whom the global balance of power has shifted.  The album was never released in the US and nothing has been heard from Rieley.
1975   (HOLLAND)  EMI Bovema ST 25160  (LP)
by Jack Rieley and Machiel Botman
Western Justice: Excerpts from a Diary
Tracklisting: America/Hot Spit/Cry Child Cry/Brother Sister And Sister Brother/Stuck (the Circle)/Organ Grinder/Much To Discover/No Rain But Me/Slightly/Frogs/Western Justice
Rieley sings lead on America, Much to Discover, and the title song.

[the captain]

Has anyone heard it? I'm really curious as to how it sounds. For all his, ah..., cleverly-crafted biography, I liked the Beach Boys' sound when Rieley was around. I don't know how much of that was his doing, but hey, that's why I want to hear his album.

[punkinhead]

i agree with you...
people give a lot of crap for his vocals on tree...
but i dont think i hear anybody complain about Mt. Vernon narration being bad. i like it.
i actually coulda sworn that was Brian's voice from like 76, but i was an early fan then.

[Andrew G. Doe]

It's an interesting CD, and well worth $2. I got mine from the official site full price, and don't regret it for one moment.

[jazzfascist]

It's kind of funny because Jack Rieley seems to be a new version of Van Dyke Parks, same kind of flowery langauge but seemingly not so educated as VDP. It seems as a kind of delayed reaction, that the BB's picked him as their guiding light in the seventies.

Søren

[runalot]

Andrew G. Doe ... I know your name from somewhere. Wait, I own your book! It's great that you're in this forum!

I would like to know where I can get Western Justice. Anyone have any ideas? Send me a PM.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Here would be a good place to start. 

http://www.western-justice.com/

[runalot]

Andrew... thanks! BTW, (and this is cliche of someone to say when they read someone's book)... but, I loved your book! Next to B. Wilson's autbio, it's the one that I found most interesting! There are not too many books out there that does what yours does: goes through EVERY song and gives some trivia and tidbits...

Only gripe: I wish the vocals were more "well put" when it comes to trying to figure who sang what... all these guys, with the exception of Dennis, have the tendency to sound the same!

[MBE]

I just got a vinyl copy looking forward to playing it. The film clips on the site were interesting. I never saw Jack before.

[punkinhead]

i havnt either, i'll have to check it out

[Glenn Greenberg]

What did Jack Rieley lie about, in terms of his background/biography?  I know very little about him, but I've read stuff where he was called a con man and a swindler.

Was he?

[Andrew G. Doe]

He claimed to have worked for NBC in their Puerto Rican bureau (they didn't have one) and to have won a Pulitzer prize (check out their website - you see any mention of any Jack Rieley ?).

[Glenn Greenberg]

And the Beach Boys hired him based on those claims?  What was he doing when he met them?

[MBE]

He was a disc jockey who in 1970  interviewed Brian, Mike, and Bruce for a radio show. He sold the transcript to Rolling Stone. It is Brian at his most "normal"

[Andrew G. Doe]

I think he first met Brian when he went into The Radiant Radish. The radio station was KPFK Pacifica.

[MBE]

That's right he did meet Brian at the store.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

I got a vinyl copy of this recently. It came with 2 newspaper cutouts as well as the booklet. Im wondering about the newspaper cutouts as there are 2 pieces. One is a 4 page broadsheet with the title "Het Laatste Nieuws" while the other is just a 3/4 length cut out broadsheet page with what looks like a review/interview with the band from a paper called "de Volkskrant" (12 July 75)

I know the 4 page broadsheet is meant to be there but I guess the other piece must have been left in by a previous owner?

[Jaco]

I found out that 90% album remains stabbing in the same piano 'shuffle' rhythm, similar to the rhythms in songs like Leaving This Town, Surf's Up, anyway with very little variation, and it is quite understandable it was not released in the 70s.  released in 1975?!

More shuffles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oez3NGU7cJQ (High Llamas - The Dutchman --> Holland)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dPoQWapQL0 (High Llamas - The Goat Looks On --> Pet Sounds)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7sJzJ9xkp8  (Jack Rieley & Machiel Botman: Western Justice)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W65YuoRkpM (Jack Rieley & Machiel Botman: America)

[runnersdialzero]

What did Jack Rieley lie about, in terms of his background/biography?  I know very little about him, but I've read stuff where he was called a con man and a swindler.

Was he?

I think this was more to do with some claims he made post-Beach Boys than lying about his credentials to become their manager.

[donald]

does remind me of some beachboys production and music from the early 70's......interesting in that respect and listenable as you work at the computer...not too intrusive....

[Andrew G. Doe]

What did Jack Rieley lie about, in terms of his background/biography?  I know very little about him, but I've read stuff where he was called a con man and a swindler.

Was he?

I think this was more to do with some claims he made post-Beach Boys than lying about his credentials to become their manager.

Read the Gaines book.