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Poll
Question: Rate Friends
5 - 106 (54.4%)
4 - 67 (34.4%)
3 - 18 (9.2%)
2 - 2 (1%)
1 - 1 (0.5%)
0 - 1 (0.5%)
Total Voters: 182

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Author Topic: Friends  (Read 119981 times)
ShenzhenLost
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« Reply #100 on: July 09, 2007, 12:21:15 PM »

the version of 'ol man river' on the 2001 release is different from the 1990 release of the twofer.  it's pretty obvious actually.  i prefer the 1990 version, to be honest.  i like the modulation back down to the original key as opposed to the bass-piano-guitar abrupt stop...  still, i like them both actually!

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« Reply #101 on: December 14, 2007, 10:24:36 AM »

Friends, just got it today 5 Stars
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« Reply #102 on: January 04, 2008, 02:21:07 PM »

the version of 'ol man river' on the 2001 release is different from the 1990 release of the twofer.  it's pretty obvious actually.  i prefer the 1990 version, to be honest.  i like the modulation back down to the original key as opposed to the bass-piano-guitar abrupt stop...  still, i like them both actually!


tank you vedy much...i know i'm not kwazy now!!!!
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« Reply #103 on: May 01, 2008, 09:33:56 PM »

One of their coolest albums, reminds me of a summer morning before it gets too hot. Transcendental Meditation is hilarious.
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« Reply #104 on: May 16, 2008, 05:36:59 PM »

4. Very overlooked album. I think I might like 20/20 better but this is still a gorgeous piece of work:

Best to worst:
Busy Doin' Nothin'
Little Bird
Wake the World
Friends
Diamond Head
Meant for You
Anna Lee, the Healer
Be Here in the Mornin'
Passing By
When a Man Needs a Woman
Be Still
Transcendental Meditation
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Luke_Barshack
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« Reply #105 on: May 26, 2008, 08:57:19 AM »


Best to worst:
Busy Doin' Nothin'
Little Bird
Wake the World
Friends
Diamond Head
Meant for You
Anna Lee, the Healer
Be Here in the Mornin'
Passing By
When a Man Needs a Woman
Be Still
Transcendental Meditation

I guess I agree with this.  I'd place 'Friends' a little higher perhaps - the 'Let's be friends' plea is just irresistible.  It's real tough to pick favourites but I do think that 'Be Still' and 'TM' are considerably weaker than the rest of the record. 

'Little Bird', by the way - is a revelation, people must've scratched their heads wondering where that one came from.  Unfortunately, I think that Be Still lets Dennis down.

In the liner notes to the twofer, Brian speaks of his writing process for the album.  At the time, this was interesting to me, as I had assumed (as so many have) that he just spent the latter part of the 60's as a recluse.  The find that this was another thoughtfully constructed and cohesive Brian-dominated album was, for me at the time, rather surprising.
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Poprocks
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« Reply #106 on: June 25, 2008, 10:48:24 PM »

I really like this one.  It's not perfect, but IMO it's *as good* as Wild Honey in its own little way.  The mix seems a lot better, that's for sure, and it flows really well.  A couple of duds bring this one down for me.  When a Man Needs a Woman had the potential to be a *great* song, but I find that what starts off as a great musical idea falls flat fast - I can't quite explain it but it feels unfinished.  Be Still sounds almost like it could have been a SS outtake.  It's not a bad song, but it's weak.  But Denny gives a good sneak preview for Sunflower with Little Bird.  Wonderful song.  Busy Doin' Nothin' improves on the theme/style of I'd Love Just Once To See You from WH (which was, incidentally, my favourite track on WH!) and is a true gem.  Diamond Head is amazing.   And TM, I don't hate that one as much as some people - in fact, I actually really like it.

4 stars.

Track picks:  Busy Doin' Nothin' (+++), Friends (+++), Diamond Head (+++), Little Bird (++), Wake The World (++), Anna Lee The Healer (+), TM (+)
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The Heartical Don
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« Reply #107 on: September 02, 2008, 06:39:00 AM »

Gorgeous little stereo LP. 'Passing By' and 'Diamond Head' are superb. It took me months to 'get' the rhythm shift in 'DH', to the waltzy ukulele sound.
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sockittome
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« Reply #108 on: September 12, 2008, 06:06:22 PM »

After reading this whole thread last night, I decided to put on the headphones and listen to the FRIENDS portion of my cd 2fer.  I hadn't done that in many years, and I was interested in seeing what I might think now that I am forty-something. 

My overall assessment is:  great instrumentation, production, and group vocals and harmonies, but really lame lyrics.  Brian should have collaborated with a lyricist on this one.  I would have liked to have heard about something more exciting then the group's masseuse, or Brian impersonating a housewife, or talking bird 'n' bees with the son he never had.  I know there are a number of people who like that simplistic quality in these songs, but I for one, find that minimalist approach a bit boring.  "Passing By" and "Diamond Head' give the listener a hint of what an instrumental FRIENDS album would sound like.  Now that is something I could put on in the background and go about my daily routines. 

On a positive note, I absolutely love the song "Friends".  The mix is just a bit odd, with the drums and bass almost drowning out the vocals, but what a great drum and bass sound!  And the vocals are just amazing!  Those ascending chords trip me out every time I hear them.  This song is so 1968.  And, I guess to be fair, so is the entire album.  It does hold up well next to other 1968 albums.  The Beatles' white album, Spanky and Our Gang--"Like to Get to Know You", etc.
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Poprocks
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« Reply #109 on: September 15, 2008, 09:35:04 PM »

I generally agree with you about the lyrics, sockittome - at least with the lyrics Mike wrote.  I think Brian showed he's actually a pretty capable lyric writer when he does it right - Busy Doin' Nothin' has a fine lyric, for example.  But Ana Lee The Healer, while I like the song a lot and think the harmonies are exquisite, the lyrics are awful - the "goes a gal who got her fame by goin' round and healin' folks" line makes me cringe every time.

But in terms of a the sound, I think it sounds a lot better than WH quality and mix-wise and don't have a major problem with the production overall.
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Thunderfingers75
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« Reply #110 on: September 26, 2008, 01:55:53 PM »

It's a nice snapshot of the late 60's. I guess I cant really say that since I wasnt born till 75 but its a nice snapshot of what I imagine the late 60's were like. One of my favorite records of all time. My wife and I love to put this album on while making dinner. Cool Guy
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the captain
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« Reply #111 on: September 26, 2008, 07:49:54 PM »

t really lame lyrics.  Brian should have collaborated with a lyricist on this one. 
He was collaborating. Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine...
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« Reply #112 on: September 26, 2008, 10:02:22 PM »

It's funny how people disagree about things. I think the lyrics to Friends are great and add to the album's beauty, not take away from it; they were something different from the high-falutin' wordplay of Smile and the classic love-song  lyrics of Wild Honey.
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the captain
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« Reply #113 on: September 27, 2008, 07:31:21 AM »

For what it's worth, I love a lot of them, too. Be Here in the Morning, Wake the World, When a Man Needs a Woman and a couple of the others are among my favorite Beach Boys songs ever, no question about it. Music, performance, production, lyrics, the whole thing. (I'm not so keen on Friends, Anna Lee or Transcendental Meditation)
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« Reply #114 on: September 27, 2008, 01:04:13 PM »

"Diamond Head" is by far my favorite track on the album. I like just about the whole thing except for "Trancendental Meditation".
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« Reply #115 on: September 27, 2008, 03:13:52 PM »

"I like just about the whole thing except for "Trancendental Meditation".

I like this song for its blatant, blaring dissonance in the horn parts; very jazzy (and progressive at that). Sounds like Charles Lloyd solos on it. If it's him, I wonder if it's his first appearance on a Beach Boys record?
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the captain
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« Reply #116 on: September 27, 2008, 03:22:32 PM »

There is nothing progressive (if taken in a jazz context) about Transcendental Meditation.
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« Reply #117 on: September 27, 2008, 03:30:59 PM »

Hell, I like the whole album, including Transcendental Mediation.
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« Reply #118 on: September 27, 2008, 04:07:03 PM »

There is nothing progressive (if taken in a jazz context) about Transcendental Meditation.

You're right, it's not Charles Mingus or Don Ellis...I was thinking of the type of horn charts that some of some of the British bands (Colliseum, Manfred Mann Chapter 3, etc.) used a little later; more of a jazz/rock kind of progressive. Still, it's kind of a jarring end to the side of the record; the album is so mellow. But,  I still like it.
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« Reply #119 on: September 28, 2008, 04:23:43 AM »

I love Transcendal Meditation. I have always thought it was a joke, a good example of Brian Wilson's puck-like contrariness. It mocks transcendental meditation itself, the lyric and its writers, the listener and the album's tranquil, slightly drugged out blissful mood itself.  The music is so willfully wrong, for the lyrics, for the album.
It's a dark, angry little joke, but a good one.

 As such, it's the musical equivalent of Bull Sessions with Big Daddy, but much better done.
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sockittome
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« Reply #120 on: September 29, 2008, 05:33:31 PM »

t really lame lyrics.  Brian should have collaborated with a lyricist on this one. 
He was collaborating. Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine...

You are absolutely correct, sir.   I've always been under the impression that the other guys' writing contributions were minimal on FRIENDS (then again, I'm probably way off on that).  I guess what I meant to say was perhaps Brian should have collaborated with a lyricist outside the group.  But then maybe that wouldn't have gone over so well after the VDP situation the previous year.

Oh, well, it is what it is.  Let's all enjoy it.
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« Reply #121 on: October 01, 2008, 11:50:16 AM »

about friends the song... it's an example of how many directions Brian's music can sometimes go. Deceptively simple.  I've got the piano score and as I play quite badly I make a lot of mistakes. But when I make a mistake, in timing or simply hitting the wrong note, it's possible to hear a number of different possible conurbations of this song. It's like Brian's music contains a core element and once it's somehow absorbed and improvised, the structure can be the base of other entirely different but somehow similar tunes. It doesn't work for the other music I try to play. Maybe it's just me. I'm just sure its something really special though.
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sockittome
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« Reply #122 on: October 02, 2008, 04:50:51 PM »

The song FRIENDS is yet another of Brian's tunes that defies catagorization; you simply can't compare it to any other song.  Think about it...'66--GOOD VIBRATIONS, '67--HEROES & VILLAINS, '68--FRIENDS...Not a bad streak in creativity!  They should've all been #1s!
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carl r
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« Reply #123 on: October 06, 2008, 12:18:44 AM »

Whilst it hasn't entered popular consciousness as much as you-know-what, Friends has got quite a few Friends.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1111158,00.html
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« Reply #124 on: October 06, 2008, 12:43:35 PM »

I'm convinced that Dennis wrote the section/tag just after the line, "life has to give." He uses ascending parallel major chord progessions in several of his songs (the fade of Got To Know The Woman is an example).  To me, that's the part that makes it psychedelic.
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