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Author Topic: My TLOS LP review (warning spoiler)  (Read 6388 times)
Rich Panteluk
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« on: August 21, 2008, 02:02:15 PM »

Brian Wilson  - That Lucky Old Sun  Review

I bought That Lucky Old Sun on vinyl on the day of release because I couldn’t wait for the cd release on Sept 2.  And even though I already have a great turntable I splurged on a new USB record player so I could make a cd of it and put some high quality 320 KBPS mp3s on my ipod, and enjoy listening to this album in a multitude of formats everywhere I go.

The album cover looks great (it was a joy to see on the shelves, and an easy find on the morning of Aug 19) and is on beautiful thick 180 gram vinyl.  The back picture of Brian in black and white shadow with sunlight up above is classy and dignified (where I found all of the pictures of Brian of GIOMH to be less than tasteful).  Nice to have the lyrics and album credits on the inner sleeve too.

I have listened to the album more than ten times (complete from start to finish) and I think it is (excepting Brian Wilson Presents Smile) Brian’s most cohesive solo release so far.  Some incredible moments; it rocks in places, soothes in others, and has moments of heartbreaking beauty.  There may be some other songs of Brian’s solo career that I may feel are perhaps stronger or better songs, but this album functions so well as one complete thought, I feel it is also his most consistent album as a solo artist.

I’m sure much thought went into the sequencing of this album, and that is why after a couple of listens on vinyl, using my USB turntable I didn’t rip up the album into separate tracks, instead I spliced side 2 right after side 1 and now TLOS is a one track cd in my car and one mp3 track on my ipod.  Just listening to one track or putting it on shuffle doesn’t seem right.

Track By Track review:

That Lucky Old Sun –
Like much of the album, Brian’s leads are single tracked and he sounds great.  Some of Brian’s previous leads have gotten a bit muddy through overdubbing and generous use of reverb but that doesn’t happen on this record.  In fact I might even say that the cd could use a bit more reverb or echo on the vocals (as is the Beach Boys and Brian’s norm).  But I enjoy the vocals on this whole album, Brian’s articulates and emotes very well.  A bit of a different sound, but very natural, bare and emotional.  The backing vocals and strings sound full and give the listener a strong into to the cd.  The maumamayama segue, like many of the between segments really make the album seamless and contributes to the whole being more than the sum of its parts.

Morning Beat-
This song rocks!  Great performance from everyone and wonderful production.  Tremendous groove.  Love the backing vocals and Brian sounds like he is happy to deliver a bit of rock n’ roll here.  An extra verse added to this song from the live show and demo – good stuff. The production touches i.e. - gently strummed guitars and voices humming are great.  The clip clop percussion is great too!  The full rock stops after “I’ll listen” at the end are a highlight for me.

Room With A View-
I have heard that some are not a big fan of the narratives.  Fair enough, different strokes for different folks.  But I like them a quite a bit.  First off the music underneath them is great and they remind me of the Mount Vernon and Fairway.  I also love the wordplay of Van Dyke Parks.  Brian sounds really good reading them but I think it may have been nice to let Van Dyke do the narration.  I love the way he talks.  The words further explore the LA theme.  They fit very well with Scott’s lyrics and I feel the album benefits from having both Scott and Van Dyke’s lyrical presence.

Good Kind Of Love-
Nice strings.  Love the female vocal presence here.  I could have used a bit more Taylor in the final mix but it still sounds great.  One fussy complaint is that on a few places on the album I would have liked to hear the backing vocals louder in the mix.  The Beach Boys used to have the harmonies just or almost as loud as the leads and there are times on Brian’s solo material when I wish Brian’s leads and the backing vocals were similarly blended.  Love the piano playing.  Very much a Brian Wilson signature plunky sound (regardless of who is playing them).  Soothing instrumental break.  The album notes say this is a Brian Wilson solo composition.  Great song.

Forever She’ll Be My Surfer Girl-
Simple but “so sweet” a song.  This is much improved from the demo (which I quite liked to start with).  Love the arppegiated guitar part that comes in on the second verse, a pleasant surprise.  I love the bridge on this song – so sweet indeed.

Venice Beach-
This is my favorite of the narrative sections. The words are very evocative.  For anyone who has been there – don’t these words really evoke the spirit of Venice beach?  They certainly remind me of the place I have been several times.  Venice beach is a pretty crazy place and to this day is still is “poppin’ like live shrimp dropped on a hot wok” and those “hucksters, hustlers and hawkers” are still there.  I can picture Dennis Wilson fitting right in when he lived on Venice Beach.

Live Let Live-
I have heard some like the other set of lyrics that are on the Arctic Tale soundtrack but though I enjoy both sets of lyrics I prefer these ones.  Apparently they are both Van Dyke’s lyrics.  The performance of this song on the final album is much, much better than the demo version.  Brian, Scott, Darian, Paul and the fantastic band did a great job of fleshing out the demos and making them sparkle in finished form.  I love Brian’s vocal on this song.  Great strings on the outro.

Mexican Girl-
Not my favorite song the record by any means but I like the spirit on this recording.  From the clapping, creative percussion, mariachi horns, Spanish guitar (fits better here than it did on the songs on the imagination cd), character voices who hoot and howl and laugh; the band really nail the Mexican vibe.  Scott does the Spanish part well but I miss Brian’s go at it as heard on the live versions.

Cinco De Mayo-
Once again the narrative section makes the transition from one song to another so smooth it is hard to tell when the song actually ends.  The words ease us from Mexican topics into movie roles.

California Role-
I love Scott’s vocal on this song.  The music and the vocals take us to a bygone  Hollywood movie making era.  Much of the music on this album is not just typical rock n’ roll.  So many styles (music hall, classical touches, mariachi, pop etc.), sometimes even changing mid song.  Nice ukulele work from Jeff.  Great clarinet work from Paul.
I dig the reprise of TLOS here.

Between Pictures-
The music sounds very Mount Vernon-ish to me (in a good way).

Oxygen To The Brain-
Another song to add to Brian’s collection of heath / exercise songs (Poor Old Body To Move, H.E.L.P., Life Is For The Living etc).  I like how the song transitions from ballad to up-tempo a couple of times.  Great bridge.

Can’t Wait Too Long-
Wonderful job of recording this one as it is so faithful to the Beach Boys recording it is tough to tell them apart.  Beautiful vocals and track.

Midnight’s Another Day-
Gorgeous song and my favorite on the album (and I’m sure many others as well).  Thanks Brian and Scott – I will be listening to this song for many years to come.  Heartbreakingly beautiful piece – the melody, subject matter, vocal arrangement, strings – everything.  I agree with those who have said the demo had a better crescendo moment “make me feel so alone” when the backing vocals explode behind the lead vocal.  The demo sounded more desperate and I enjoyed hearing Brian’s falsetto behind his own lead.  But the final album version still has that haunting moment though it is more restrained.  This final version does have many things going for that the demo did not.  The string arrangement is stunning (The triplets after the second “make me feel so alone” are so beautiful).  The other backing vocals sound smoother with the band being used more.  Great churchy organ.  I also didn’t realize that the line is:
When there’s no morning without “u”
I always thought it was:
When there’s no morning without “you”
Nice word play Scott!  I like that even better!

That Lucky Old Sun reprise-
Nicely ties the work together.

Going Home-
Might be my second favorite on the album (or maybe it is Morning Beat, or Good Kind Of Love, or Southern California).
This song seriously rocks and this recording trumps the demo or any live version by a long shot.  It has different backing vocals than the demo (I like them better).  Nice bass vocals Brian “Home Home Bee Doo Bee Doo”!  This song has a growl and an energy that is infectious.  I previously thought the lyric was:
Homesick, the sun shines nowhere else
But I was wrong and I like the actual lyric better:
Homesick, this son shines nowhere else
(Makes me glad I will be seeing him at all 3 shows at the Hollywood Bowl!)
Many people have said how much they enjoy the “At 25 I turned out the light” line and it is great but that is my least favorite part.  I can’t wait for that part to be done so the band can get back to rockin’ out again.  There is a funny synth line that is not on the demo or any live versions that I have heard.  They could have let Taylor go further with her wailing at the end of the song like they do live but that is a minor concern.  Rock on Brian!

Southern California-
I have heard others say that this was one of their favorites but from the demo and live versions I had heard, it was not a favorite of mine.  It is now!  Brian’s lead is much stronger than I have heard on the live versions.  The additional verse and bridge (especially the bridge) are stunning both lyrically and musically.  I hope when he plays it live he will include the new additions.
The new bridge:
“Oh, it’s magical
Living your dreams
Don’t want to sleep, you might miss something
Oh, it’s magical
I’m glad it happened to me
Nodded off in the band room
Woke up in history”

I’m glad it happened to you too Brian!

The return of the Maumamyama as well as the little bonus Roll Around Heaven snippet is a nice way to end the record.

To sum up,
This album is great.  Way better than we should possibly expect from Brian at this stage in his career.  But great it is.  Nice work Brian!  Thanks to Scott, Van Dyke, Darian, Paul and Mark Linett and to Brian’s wonderful band for all of their contributions and for making it all sound so good. 
What a joy to listen to. 
Love you Brian!
« Last Edit: August 21, 2008, 02:04:30 PM by Rich Panteluk » Logged
MBE
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« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2008, 04:23:05 PM »

Brian Wilson  - That Lucky Old Sun  Review

I bought That Lucky Old Sun on vinyl on the day of release because I couldn’t wait for the cd release on Sept 2.  And even though I already have a great turntable I splurged on a new USB record player so I could make a cd of it and put some high quality 320 KBPS mp3s on my ipod, and enjoy listening to this album in a multitude of formats everywhere I go.

The album cover looks great (it was a joy to see on the shelves, and an easy find on the morning of Aug 19) and is on beautiful thick 180 gram vinyl.  The back picture of Brian in black and white shadow with sunlight up above is classy and dignified (where I found all of the pictures of Brian of GIOMH to be less than tasteful).  Nice to have the lyrics and album credits on the inner sleeve too.

I have listened to the album more than ten times (complete from start to finish) and I think it is (excepting Brian Wilson Presents Smile) Brian’s most cohesive solo release so far.  Some incredible moments; it rocks in places, soothes in others, and has moments of heartbreaking beauty.  There may be some other songs of Brian’s solo career that I may feel are perhaps stronger or better songs, but this album functions so well as one complete thought, I feel it is also his most consistent album as a solo artist.

I’m sure much thought went into the sequencing of this album, and that is why after a couple of listens on vinyl, using my USB turntable I didn’t rip up the album into separate tracks, instead I spliced side 2 right after side 1 and now TLOS is a one track cd in my car and one mp3 track on my ipod.  Just listening to one track or putting it on shuffle doesn’t seem right.

Track By Track review:

That Lucky Old Sun –
Like much of the album, Brian’s leads are single tracked and he sounds great.  Some of Brian’s previous leads have gotten a bit muddy through overdubbing and generous use of reverb but that doesn’t happen on this record.  In fact I might even say that the cd could use a bit more reverb or echo on the vocals (as is the Beach Boys and Brian’s norm).  But I enjoy the vocals on this whole album, Brian’s articulates and emotes very well.  A bit of a different sound, but very natural, bare and emotional.  The backing vocals and strings sound full and give the listener a strong into to the cd.  The maumamayama segue, like many of the between segments really make the album seamless and contributes to the whole being more than the sum of its parts.

Morning Beat-
This song rocks!  Great performance from everyone and wonderful production.  Tremendous groove.  Love the backing vocals and Brian sounds like he is happy to deliver a bit of rock n’ roll here.  An extra verse added to this song from the live show and demo – good stuff. The production touches i.e. - gently strummed guitars and voices humming are great.  The clip clop percussion is great too!  The full rock stops after “I’ll listen” at the end are a highlight for me.

Room With A View-
I have heard that some are not a big fan of the narratives.  Fair enough, different strokes for different folks.  But I like them a quite a bit.  First off the music underneath them is great and they remind me of the Mount Vernon and Fairway.  I also love the wordplay of Van Dyke Parks.  Brian sounds really good reading them but I think it may have been nice to let Van Dyke do the narration.  I love the way he talks.  The words further explore the LA theme.  They fit very well with Scott’s lyrics and I feel the album benefits from having both Scott and Van Dyke’s lyrical presence.

Good Kind Of Love-
Nice strings.  Love the female vocal presence here.  I could have used a bit more Taylor in the final mix but it still sounds great.  One fussy complaint is that on a few places on the album I would have liked to hear the backing vocals louder in the mix.  The Beach Boys used to have the harmonies just or almost as loud as the leads and there are times on Brian’s solo material when I wish Brian’s leads and the backing vocals were similarly blended.  Love the piano playing.  Very much a Brian Wilson signature plunky sound (regardless of who is playing them).  Soothing instrumental break.  The album notes say this is a Brian Wilson solo composition.  Great song.

Forever She’ll Be My Surfer Girl-
Simple but “so sweet” a song.  This is much improved from the demo (which I quite liked to start with).  Love the arppegiated guitar part that comes in on the second verse, a pleasant surprise.  I love the bridge on this song – so sweet indeed.

Venice Beach-
This is my favorite of the narrative sections. The words are very evocative.  For anyone who has been there – don’t these words really evoke the spirit of Venice beach?  They certainly remind me of the place I have been several times.  Venice beach is a pretty crazy place and to this day is still is “poppin’ like live shrimp dropped on a hot wok” and those “hucksters, hustlers and hawkers” are still there.  I can picture Dennis Wilson fitting right in when he lived on Venice Beach.

Live Let Live-
I have heard some like the other set of lyrics that are on the Arctic Tale soundtrack but though I enjoy both sets of lyrics I prefer these ones.  Apparently they are both Van Dyke’s lyrics.  The performance of this song on the final album is much, much better than the demo version.  Brian, Scott, Darian, Paul and the fantastic band did a great job of fleshing out the demos and making them sparkle in finished form.  I love Brian’s vocal on this song.  Great strings on the outro.

Mexican Girl-
Not my favorite song the record by any means but I like the spirit on this recording.  From the clapping, creative percussion, mariachi horns, Spanish guitar (fits better here than it did on the songs on the imagination cd), character voices who hoot and howl and laugh; the band really nail the Mexican vibe.  Scott does the Spanish part well but I miss Brian’s go at it as heard on the live versions.

Cinco De Mayo-
Once again the narrative section makes the transition from one song to another so smooth it is hard to tell when the song actually ends.  The words ease us from Mexican topics into movie roles.

California Role-
I love Scott’s vocal on this song.  The music and the vocals take us to a bygone  Hollywood movie making era.  Much of the music on this album is not just typical rock n’ roll.  So many styles (music hall, classical touches, mariachi, pop etc.), sometimes even changing mid song.  Nice ukulele work from Jeff.  Great clarinet work from Paul.
I dig the reprise of TLOS here.

Between Pictures-
The music sounds very Mount Vernon-ish to me (in a good way).

Oxygen To The Brain-
Another song to add to Brian’s collection of heath / exercise songs (Poor Old Body To Move, H.E.L.P., Life Is For The Living etc).  I like how the song transitions from ballad to up-tempo a couple of times.  Great bridge.

Can’t Wait Too Long-
Wonderful job of recording this one as it is so faithful to the Beach Boys recording it is tough to tell them apart.  Beautiful vocals and track.

Midnight’s Another Day-
Gorgeous song and my favorite on the album (and I’m sure many others as well).  Thanks Brian and Scott – I will be listening to this song for many years to come.  Heartbreakingly beautiful piece – the melody, subject matter, vocal arrangement, strings – everything.  I agree with those who have said the demo had a better crescendo moment “make me feel so alone” when the backing vocals explode behind the lead vocal.  The demo sounded more desperate and I enjoyed hearing Brian’s falsetto behind his own lead.  But the final album version still has that haunting moment though it is more restrained.  This final version does have many things going for that the demo did not.  The string arrangement is stunning (The triplets after the second “make me feel so alone” are so beautiful).  The other backing vocals sound smoother with the band being used more.  Great churchy organ.  I also didn’t realize that the line is:
When there’s no morning without “u”
I always thought it was:
When there’s no morning without “you”
Nice word play Scott!  I like that even better!

That Lucky Old Sun reprise-
Nicely ties the work together.

Going Home-
Might be my second favorite on the album (or maybe it is Morning Beat, or Good Kind Of Love, or Southern California).
This song seriously rocks and this recording trumps the demo or any live version by a long shot.  It has different backing vocals than the demo (I like them better).  Nice bass vocals Brian “Home Home Bee Doo Bee Doo”!  This song has a growl and an energy that is infectious.  I previously thought the lyric was:
Homesick, the sun shines nowhere else
But I was wrong and I like the actual lyric better:
Homesick, this son shines nowhere else
(Makes me glad I will be seeing him at all 3 shows at the Hollywood Bowl!)
Many people have said how much they enjoy the “At 25 I turned out the light” line and it is great but that is my least favorite part.  I can’t wait for that part to be done so the band can get back to rockin’ out again.  There is a funny synth line that is not on the demo or any live versions that I have heard.  They could have let Taylor go further with her wailing at the end of the song like they do live but that is a minor concern.  Rock on Brian!

Southern California-
I have heard others say that this was one of their favorites but from the demo and live versions I had heard, it was not a favorite of mine.  It is now!  Brian’s lead is much stronger than I have heard on the live versions.  The additional verse and bridge (especially the bridge) are stunning both lyrically and musically.  I hope when he plays it live he will include the new additions.
The new bridge:
“Oh, it’s magical
Living your dreams
Don’t want to sleep, you might miss something
Oh, it’s magical
I’m glad it happened to me
Nodded off in the band room
Woke up in history”

I’m glad it happened to you too Brian!

The return of the Maumamyama as well as the little bonus Roll Around Heaven snippet is a nice way to end the record.

To sum up,
This album is great.  Way better than we should possibly expect from Brian at this stage in his career.  But great it is.  Nice work Brian!  Thanks to Scott, Van Dyke, Darian, Paul and Mark Linett and to Brian’s wonderful band for all of their contributions and for making it all sound so good. 
What a joy to listen to. 
Love you Brian!


Good review, I agree with your overview of the albums importance.
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Ron
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« Reply #2 on: August 21, 2008, 06:16:42 PM »

I"m listening to the streaming versions, Brian sounds 25 on parts of "Forever She'll be my Surfer girl"

"as endless as the SKY!!!!" is just f-u-c-k-i-n-g gorgeous. 
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« Reply #3 on: August 22, 2008, 01:25:15 AM »

Brian Wilson  - That Lucky Old Sun  Review

I bought That Lucky Old Sun on vinyl on the day of release because I couldn’t wait for the cd release on Sept 2.  And even though I already have a great turntable I splurged on a new USB record player so I could make a cd of it and put some high quality 320 KBPS mp3s on my ipod, and enjoy listening to this album in a multitude of formats everywhere I go.

The album cover looks great (it was a joy to see on the shelves, and an easy find on the morning of Aug 19) and is on beautiful thick 180 gram vinyl.  The back picture of Brian in black and white shadow with sunlight up above is classy and dignified (where I found all of the pictures of Brian of GIOMH to be less than tasteful).  Nice to have the lyrics and album credits on the inner sleeve too.

I have listened to the album more than ten times (complete from start to finish) and I think it is (excepting Brian Wilson Presents Smile) Brian’s most cohesive solo release so far.  Some incredible moments; it rocks in places, soothes in others, and has moments of heartbreaking beauty.  There may be some other songs of Brian’s solo career that I may feel are perhaps stronger or better songs, but this album functions so well as one complete thought, I feel it is also his most consistent album as a solo artist.

I’m sure much thought went into the sequencing of this album, and that is why after a couple of listens on vinyl, using my USB turntable I didn’t rip up the album into separate tracks, instead I spliced side 2 right after side 1 and now TLOS is a one track cd in my car and one mp3 track on my ipod.  Just listening to one track or putting it on shuffle doesn’t seem right.

Track By Track review:

That Lucky Old Sun –
Like much of the album, Brian’s leads are single tracked and he sounds great.  Some of Brian’s previous leads have gotten a bit muddy through overdubbing and generous use of reverb but that doesn’t happen on this record.  In fact I might even say that the cd could use a bit more reverb or echo on the vocals (as is the Beach Boys and Brian’s norm).  But I enjoy the vocals on this whole album, Brian’s articulates and emotes very well.  A bit of a different sound, but very natural, bare and emotional.  The backing vocals and strings sound full and give the listener a strong into to the cd.  The maumamayama segue, like many of the between segments really make the album seamless and contributes to the whole being more than the sum of its parts.

Morning Beat-
This song rocks!  Great performance from everyone and wonderful production.  Tremendous groove.  Love the backing vocals and Brian sounds like he is happy to deliver a bit of rock n’ roll here.  An extra verse added to this song from the live show and demo – good stuff. The production touches i.e. - gently strummed guitars and voices humming are great.  The clip clop percussion is great too!  The full rock stops after “I’ll listen” at the end are a highlight for me.

Room With A View-
I have heard that some are not a big fan of the narratives.  Fair enough, different strokes for different folks.  But I like them a quite a bit.  First off the music underneath them is great and they remind me of the Mount Vernon and Fairway.  I also love the wordplay of Van Dyke Parks.  Brian sounds really good reading them but I think it may have been nice to let Van Dyke do the narration.  I love the way he talks.  The words further explore the LA theme.  They fit very well with Scott’s lyrics and I feel the album benefits from having both Scott and Van Dyke’s lyrical presence.

Good Kind Of Love-
Nice strings.  Love the female vocal presence here.  I could have used a bit more Taylor in the final mix but it still sounds great.  One fussy complaint is that on a few places on the album I would have liked to hear the backing vocals louder in the mix.  The Beach Boys used to have the harmonies just or almost as loud as the leads and there are times on Brian’s solo material when I wish Brian’s leads and the backing vocals were similarly blended.  Love the piano playing.  Very much a Brian Wilson signature plunky sound (regardless of who is playing them).  Soothing instrumental break.  The album notes say this is a Brian Wilson solo composition.  Great song.

Forever She’ll Be My Surfer Girl-
Simple but “so sweet” a song.  This is much improved from the demo (which I quite liked to start with).  Love the arppegiated guitar part that comes in on the second verse, a pleasant surprise.  I love the bridge on this song – so sweet indeed.

Venice Beach-
This is my favorite of the narrative sections. The words are very evocative.  For anyone who has been there – don’t these words really evoke the spirit of Venice beach?  They certainly remind me of the place I have been several times.  Venice beach is a pretty crazy place and to this day is still is “poppin’ like live shrimp dropped on a hot wok” and those “hucksters, hustlers and hawkers” are still there.  I can picture Dennis Wilson fitting right in when he lived on Venice Beach.

Live Let Live-
I have heard some like the other set of lyrics that are on the Arctic Tale soundtrack but though I enjoy both sets of lyrics I prefer these ones.  Apparently they are both Van Dyke’s lyrics.  The performance of this song on the final album is much, much better than the demo version.  Brian, Scott, Darian, Paul and the fantastic band did a great job of fleshing out the demos and making them sparkle in finished form.  I love Brian’s vocal on this song.  Great strings on the outro.

Mexican Girl-
Not my favorite song the record by any means but I like the spirit on this recording.  From the clapping, creative percussion, mariachi horns, Spanish guitar (fits better here than it did on the songs on the imagination cd), character voices who hoot and howl and laugh; the band really nail the Mexican vibe.  Scott does the Spanish part well but I miss Brian’s go at it as heard on the live versions.

Cinco De Mayo-
Once again the narrative section makes the transition from one song to another so smooth it is hard to tell when the song actually ends.  The words ease us from Mexican topics into movie roles.

California Role-
I love Scott’s vocal on this song.  The music and the vocals take us to a bygone  Hollywood movie making era.  Much of the music on this album is not just typical rock n’ roll.  So many styles (music hall, classical touches, mariachi, pop etc.), sometimes even changing mid song.  Nice ukulele work from Jeff.  Great clarinet work from Paul.
I dig the reprise of TLOS here.

Between Pictures-
The music sounds very Mount Vernon-ish to me (in a good way).

Oxygen To The Brain-
Another song to add to Brian’s collection of heath / exercise songs (Poor Old Body To Move, H.E.L.P., Life Is For The Living etc).  I like how the song transitions from ballad to up-tempo a couple of times.  Great bridge.

Can’t Wait Too Long-
Wonderful job of recording this one as it is so faithful to the Beach Boys recording it is tough to tell them apart.  Beautiful vocals and track.

Midnight’s Another Day-
Gorgeous song and my favorite on the album (and I’m sure many others as well).  Thanks Brian and Scott – I will be listening to this song for many years to come.  Heartbreakingly beautiful piece – the melody, subject matter, vocal arrangement, strings – everything.  I agree with those who have said the demo had a better crescendo moment “make me feel so alone” when the backing vocals explode behind the lead vocal.  The demo sounded more desperate and I enjoyed hearing Brian’s falsetto behind his own lead.  But the final album version still has that haunting moment though it is more restrained.  This final version does have many things going for that the demo did not.  The string arrangement is stunning (The triplets after the second “make me feel so alone” are so beautiful).  The other backing vocals sound smoother with the band being used more.  Great churchy organ.  I also didn’t realize that the line is:
When there’s no morning without “u”
I always thought it was:
When there’s no morning without “you”
Nice word play Scott!  I like that even better!

That Lucky Old Sun reprise-
Nicely ties the work together.

Going Home-
Might be my second favorite on the album (or maybe it is Morning Beat, or Good Kind Of Love, or Southern California).
This song seriously rocks and this recording trumps the demo or any live version by a long shot.  It has different backing vocals than the demo (I like them better).  Nice bass vocals Brian “Home Home Bee Doo Bee Doo”!  This song has a growl and an energy that is infectious.  I previously thought the lyric was:
Homesick, the sun shines nowhere else
But I was wrong and I like the actual lyric better:
Homesick, this son shines nowhere else
(Makes me glad I will be seeing him at all 3 shows at the Hollywood Bowl!)
Many people have said how much they enjoy the “At 25 I turned out the light” line and it is great but that is my least favorite part.  I can’t wait for that part to be done so the band can get back to rockin’ out again.  There is a funny synth line that is not on the demo or any live versions that I have heard.  They could have let Taylor go further with her wailing at the end of the song like they do live but that is a minor concern.  Rock on Brian!

Southern California-
I have heard others say that this was one of their favorites but from the demo and live versions I had heard, it was not a favorite of mine.  It is now!  Brian’s lead is much stronger than I have heard on the live versions.  The additional verse and bridge (especially the bridge) are stunning both lyrically and musically.  I hope when he plays it live he will include the new additions.
The new bridge:
“Oh, it’s magical
Living your dreams
Don’t want to sleep, you might miss something
Oh, it’s magical
I’m glad it happened to me
Nodded off in the band room
Woke up in history”

I’m glad it happened to you too Brian!

The return of the Maumamyama as well as the little bonus Roll Around Heaven snippet is a nice way to end the record.

To sum up,
This album is great.  Way better than we should possibly expect from Brian at this stage in his career.  But great it is.  Nice work Brian!  Thanks to Scott, Van Dyke, Darian, Paul and Mark Linett and to Brian’s wonderful band for all of their contributions and for making it all sound so good. 
What a joy to listen to. 
Love you Brian!


Good review, I agree with your overview of the albums importance.

I know this makes me a bad person for raising the issue, but is it really necessary to quote the whole foda post just to say that you agree...?

There. I've said it.
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« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2008, 01:48:10 AM »

... and repeated it again  Roll Eyes

Now, where was I - oh yes .... 'I bought That Lucky Old Sun on vinyl on the day of release ....' zzzzz

No, great review, for which thanks.
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« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2008, 03:22:07 AM »

What I love (listening to a stream) is that there enough differences on this to make it a whole different listen to the demos. Worth getting hold of...

if only I knew which version came with the gold-plated, engraved, limited edition, signed Blue-Ray disc containing all the tracks, bonus tracks and Brian's complete unreleased back catalogue, available only between 2pm and 2.05pm at Toys R Us in Sydney, Oz on second-week Tuesdays in months that have a "P" in them. Or something...
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« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2008, 07:24:07 AM »

What I love (listening to a stream) is that there enough differences on this to make it a whole different listen to the demos. Worth getting hold of...

if only I knew which version came with the gold-plated, engraved, limited edition, signed Blue-Ray disc containing all the tracks, bonus tracks and Brian's complete unreleased back catalogue, available only between 2pm and 2.05pm at Toys R Us in Sydney, Oz on second-week Tuesdays in months that have a "P" in them. Or something...

Really? In Sydney, Australia? Awesome, I gotta get me one of those. Roll Eyes

Wee Helper, where are you from? Your profile suggests that you are from Yorkshire, so if so where in Yorkshire?
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« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2008, 07:46:17 AM »


Wee Helper, where are you from? Your profile suggests that you are from Yorkshire, so if so where in Yorkshire?

T'Yorkshire Dales, just outside Settle. You a Tyke too, Mikey?
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« Reply #8 on: August 22, 2008, 08:06:15 AM »

Thanks for the comprehensive review, Rich.  I agree it would've been a nice touch to have Van Dyke do the narration. 

I just picked up the vinyl last night.  Waiting for the right moment!
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« Reply #9 on: August 22, 2008, 09:30:17 AM »

Miss the tamborine/bells on CWTL
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« Reply #10 on: August 22, 2008, 09:36:02 AM »

... and repeated it again  Roll Eyes

Its called irony.
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« Reply #11 on: August 22, 2008, 01:59:19 PM »

What I love (listening to a stream) is that there enough differences on this to make it a whole different listen to the demos. Worth getting hold of...

if only I knew which version came with the gold-plated, engraved, limited edition, signed Blue-Ray disc containing all the tracks, bonus tracks and Brian's complete unreleased back catalogue, available only between 2pm and 2.05pm at Toys R Us in Sydney, Oz on second-week Tuesdays in months that have a "P" in them. Or something...

Really? In Sydney, Australia? Awesome, I gotta get me one of those. Roll Eyes

Wee Helper, where are you from? Your profile suggests that you are from Yorkshire, so if so where in Yorkshire?

Hey Mikey, see you at Toys R Us at Miranda Fair at 2PM on Tuesday, 9th September!!
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« Reply #12 on: August 23, 2008, 12:07:09 AM »


Wee Helper, where are you from? Your profile suggests that you are from Yorkshire, so if so where in Yorkshire?

T'Yorkshire Dales, just outside Settle. You a Tyke too, Mikey?

Na, I'm born and bred in Sydney but my dad (and indeed most of his side of the family) is from Yorkshire and more specifically Wibsey. So I am pretty proud of my Yorkshire heritage and I follow Bradford City, Bradford Bulls, Yorkshire CCC etc.. I've only been there once but I hope to get back there again someday.
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« Reply #13 on: August 23, 2008, 12:09:46 AM »

Hey Mikey, see you at Toys R Us at Miranda Fair at 2PM on Tuesday, 9th September!!

Yep see you there!! Cheesy
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« Reply #14 on: August 23, 2008, 11:56:42 AM »

I just listened to the whole ding-dang album streaming on usatoday.com and it left me with tears at the end. Mesmerizing and beautiful.
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« Reply #15 on: August 23, 2008, 11:39:44 PM »

I just listened to the whole ding-dang album streaming on usatoday.com and it left me with tears at the end. Mesmerizing and beautiful.


And free!

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2008-08-22-brian-wilson-tracks_N.htm


« Last Edit: August 24, 2008, 10:00:44 AM by brother john » Logged

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« Reply #16 on: August 24, 2008, 06:59:44 PM »

Hey thanks for the link. My first listen!

Nice album.

Two comments. Mexican Girl 1.46 in. What a Mike Love sound-a-like.

Live and Let Live. Given the subject, a Mike, Al, Bruce, Dave backing cameo would have been fitting in a perfect world.


Hope the album sells well.
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« Reply #17 on: August 24, 2008, 09:12:49 PM »

Mexican Girl 1.46 in. What a Mike Love sound-a-like.
The "que bonita muchacha" part? I don't think so at all.
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« Reply #18 on: August 25, 2008, 02:47:13 PM »

Really?

Think of the line 'Aruba, Jamaica ooo I wanna take ya'  next listen.

 Grin
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« Reply #19 on: August 25, 2008, 03:45:49 PM »

Eh, it's a bit of a stretch.
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« Reply #20 on: August 25, 2008, 07:53:06 PM »

I think "aruba jamaica oo I wanna take ya" has more resemblence to  "eat a lot, sleep a lot, brush them like crazy" than to "que bonita muchacha"  Grin
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« Reply #21 on: August 26, 2008, 01:04:30 PM »

OK, here's my review. Note that it's not really written for serious BB/BW fans; instead think mostly twentysomething indie fans who know Pet Sounds, Smile and the hits. I know there are a lot of people expressing opinions that don't agree with mine, and some that do. I'm not looking for a fight, just sharing my thoughts.
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On the surface, That Lucky Old Sun is a grand statement, thematically and musically linked music presented as a suite. But that presentation may miss the truth about the album, which is that it's a collection of enjoyable, generally lightweight pop songs. That's no slight: it's the best collection of songs--and the best-sounding recordings of songs--that that Wilson has released in his 20 years as a solo artist, one famous exhumation project notwithstanding.

(That it's far, far better than anything his former band, the Beach Boys, has created in that time frame goes without saying. Or it nearly went without saying, anyway, until just being said.)

Forget the façade of "serious work." Yes, the Royal Festival Hall in London commissioned the work, and it was debuted live there in autumn 2007. However, this material was not written as a coherent piece for that purpose. Instead, Wilson and band members Scott Bennett, Darian Sahanaja and Paul Mertens pieced together and rearranged a batch of songs Wilson had already mostly co-written with Bennett. (Those songs, in fact, had been previously discussed as being intended for a "rock 'n' roll album"--a reappearing promise Wilson has made to journalists for virtually the entire duration of his solo career, by the way.) The linking pieces are brief musical interludes topped with recitations written by Van Dyke Parks. Voila: songs become a "work."

The theme injected throughout, the one holding everything together, is the oft-recorded song "That Lucky Old Sun" (Gillespie/Smith); Wilson names Louis Armstrong's version as particular inspiration. Wilson sings:

Up in the morning, out on the job,
work so hard for my pay.
But that lucky old sun's got nothing to do
but roll around heaven all day.


Much of the album is dedicated to that Norman Rockwell painting of California that the Beach Boys' career was built upon, a west-coast life that could lift you up with the sun to roll around heaven all day. "Morning Beat," "Good Kind of Love," "Mexican Girl," "California Role," "Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl" and others are good-time music, playful, nostalgic and not too heavy for sunny-day listening. If that last title has you wondering, yes, the album is for better (no) or worse (yes, that) loaded with such self-referential material. Sometimes it's Bennett's lyrics: "Summer, '61, a goddess became my song" in "Forever ..." Other times it is a musical reference, as when a piece of Wilson's 1988 song "Rio Grande" finds its way into "Morning Beat."

Wilson's melancholy fits the title track's spirit of lamentation, which is revisited several times, most notably in the centerpiece ballad, "Midnight's Another Day." A transported 1960s Beach Boys fan would be shocked to discover that the thin baritone stretching for these notes is the man who so easily managed acrobatics such as "The Warmth of the Sun," but the lyrics to this somber, haunting song and the more playful "Oxygen to the Brain" explain much of the back-story to such a listener. "Midnight's Another Day" opens with a stately piano soon joined by Wilson's shaky voice. Then subtle percussion and harmony voices, french horn, organ, strings, still more voices, bass. The flawed narrator, Wilson is the only audible imperfection. After a Wilsonian break of piano, bells, light strings, sleigh bells and wordless, winding harmony vocals, the background voices continue to swirl around the leader's melody as he emotes: "All these voices, all these memories made me feel like stone. All these people, they make me feel so alone."

The music winds down and into a revisitation of the title theme, the first of several false endings. "He rolls around heaven all day..."

Silence.

"I'm goin' home," Wilson roars, "back to the place where I belong." "Goin' Home" may be the surprise standout of the album. Throughout the slow rocker's groove is a perfect demonstration of Wilson's gift for cleverly intertwining simple, disparate parts into a deceptively complex whole: burbling synth bass, electric bass, piano, layered vocals, bluesy guitar licks and harmonica (by Tommy Morgan, one of the hit-making L.A. studio musicians collectively known as The Wrecking Crew for their '60s work).

Flaws? Bennett lays on the overt nostalgia and Wilson references a little thick in the lyrics. "Southern California" ... IT'S ABOUT BRIAN! GET IT!? And while we're talking words, Parks' narratives are out of place on such a simple pop album, a forced fit, particularly with Wilson himself awkwardly reciting them.

Most of all, if you're looking for groundbreaking, music-changing innovation from the darn-near septuagenarian Wilson, you're about 30 years too late. (That last flaw is yours, not the album's.)

Successes? The songs are fun and almost unfailingly catchy, with refrains that beg to be sung. The arrangements are inventive, even compared to the live versions of last year. The band's excellent backgrounds and harmonies support Wilson's deteriorated voice, even while keeping him front and center ... and in a surprisingly effective move, often single- or only subtly double-tracked, a welcome change from the "wall of Brian" approach of previous albums. Really, the sound is spectacular, a well-played, well-sung, well-recorded, well-produced, well-mixed album.

But perhaps the best thing about That Lucky Old Sun--and certainly the most refreshing thing--is the lack of pressure. This isn't a 40-year-old myth or Wilson's first album in a decade. The old guy has released three studio albums and a handful of singles and compilation tracks (with mixed results) since summer 2004. The novelty is gone, and hopefully with it, both the unfair criticisms and unearned praise. There aren't so many ghosts lingering around That Lucky Old Sun as haunt other Wilson solo projects. It's just a pop record.

Well, not quite. It's a really good pop record.
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« Reply #22 on: August 26, 2008, 01:43:31 PM »

Nice write up, Luther.
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