Blueberry Hill

[Smilin Ed H]

The sax on this album.  That's how to do it.  Not like that synthetic sounding crap on California Dreamin' and Kokomo.

[The Heartical Don]

The sax on this album.  That's how to do it.  Not like that synthetic sounding crap on California Dreamin' and Kokomo.

Roy. Wood.

[matt-zeus]

When used as a rhythm instrument sax is great - think of the great rock'n'roll songs, Little Richard etc... Also when doing low chords with several of them (Steely Dan do this quite a bit) or at least having them play lower notes it can sound good. If you get any of that horrible Kenny G sh*t then that's up there with the worst musical crimes imaginable (along with fretless or slap bass and plugged in acoustic guitars), I think of Bill Clinton and his sax crimes....

[Andrew G. Doe]

The sax on this album.  That's how to do it.  Not like that synthetic sounding crap on California Dreamin' and Kokomo.

Roy. Wood.

... did not play sax on 15 Big Ones, despite what the liners notes might say. Drums. Saxes on "It's OK" are Nick Pentelow & Mike Burney.

[Sheriff John Stone]

The thing I like best about BH is that Brian didn't just do a straight cover, he made it his own... I think an all-oldies album could've worked if he took the same approach with other oldies...

Good point about Brian "making it his own"; I appreciated that, too. Brian was very creative in 1976. There were a lot of ideas flowing.

To some extent, I do think Brian took that similar approach to the rest of the oldies, or most of them. "Chapel Of Love" is very different from the original(s). It was already mentioned how "Talk To Me" was unique with "Talahassee Lassie" spliced in there, a slower version of "TL" than Freddie Cannon's. "Palisades Park", also being slowed down incorporated with BB harmonies, gives a different feel than the original. And, oddly enough, "Just Once In My Life" has more of a "wall of sound" than Spector's version!

Two that didn't make the cut, "Sea Cruise" and "Mony Mony" are also a bit of a departure from the original versions.

[mtaber]

Though "Chapel of Love" wasn't a copy of the "hit version", wasn't it a copy of Spector's version?

[MBE]

Though "Chapel of Love" wasn't a copy of the "hit version", wasn't it a copy of Spector's version?

Marty you are right it is a clone of Spectors which by the way is far better in this case.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Though "Chapel of Love" wasn't a copy of the "hit version", wasn't it a copy of Spector's version?

Marty you are right it is a clone of Spectors which by the way is far better in this case.

On further listening, you guys are right. I just thought Brian's version was a lot more stripped, but I do hear a lot of similarities. Anybody surprised that, of all of the Spector tunes, Brian chose "Chapel Of Love" to cover?

[mtaber]

I think Brian figured he could kill two birds with one stone.  Cover a "hit" while also doing a Spector song not normally associated with Phil.

[MBE]

I think Brian figured he could kill two birds with one stone.  Cover a "hit" while also doing a Spector song not normally associated with Phil.

That's my take on it too.

I would have liked it a lot more had Brian cut it a few years earlier though. I can put up with the lead as he stays on key, but his back up vocals are painful.

[Mr. Cohen]

Well, I guess I'll use this topic to also proclaim my love of the farting synthesizer bass. It's a really unique sound, it's like a fuzz bass, but with a more robotic sound. I always thought it had pixel-like sound, like an 80s video game, as opposed to the smooth, rounded sound I feel a bass usually has. It gives the music a very cartoony vibe, which I thought fit the childishness of the lyrics very well. And I don't think that Love You's arrangements are simplistic or lazy like some people do. They're quite layered harmonically, even if the parts are simplistic if isolated individually ("I'll Bet He's Nice" is just crazy). Brian even uses the drums similarly to how he did on Pet Sounds! Love You is to Brian's music what Switched on Bach is to Bach's music. The music is broken down to its essential parts, usually with the precision of electronic sound, without any superfluous orchestration. This is how Brian does 'rock music'. It's obvious that he hates (or, maybe, to use a softer word, merely dislikes) using the level of guitar distortion typically associated with rock music, as well as the crashing cymbals and etc. He'd rather use a smooth organ, a drum machine or a synthesizer to fill out the sound, at least in 1976 and 1977.

[Mr. Cohen]

Oh yeah, speaking of 1976 Phil Spector tributes, how about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcrafHxuONQ (kills most of the covers on 15 Big Ones)

[The Heartical Don]

Well, I guess I'll use this topic to also proclaim my love of the farting synthesizer bass. It's a really unique sound, it's like a fuzz bass, but with a more robotic sound. I always thought it had pixel-like sound, like an 80s video game, as opposed to the smooth, rounded sound I feel a bass usually has. It gives the music a very cartoony vibe, which I thought fit the childishness of the lyrics very well. And I don't think that Love You's arrangements are simplistic or lazy like some people do. They're quite layered harmonically, even if the parts are simplistic if isolated individually ("I'll Bet He's Nice" is just crazy). Brian even uses the drums similarly to how he did on Pet Sounds! Love You is to Brian's music what Switched on Bach is to Bach's music. The music is broken down to its essential parts, usually with the precision of electronic sound, without any superfluous orchestration. This is how Brian does 'rock music'. It's obvious that he hates (or, maybe, to use a softer word, merely dislikes) using the level of guitar distortion typically associated with rock music, as well as the crashing cymbals and etc. He'd rather use a smooth organ, a drum machine or a synthesizer to fill out the sound, at least in 1976 and 1977.

Lovely call. I completely agree. I also am fond of the synth bass. Whilst a normal bass, or a fretless, or a standup all are more organic, the synth has that peculiar drive. I don't find 'Love You''s sound outdated at all, by the way.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Oh yeah, speaking of 1976 Phil Spector tributes, how about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcrafHxuONQ (kills most of the covers on 15 Big Ones)

It's good to hear that again. Brian really seemed to enjoy producing some of that 1976-77 stuff; you can almost hear it in the music, even in some of his vocals.

Also, agree with your observation regarding Brian's arrangements circa 1976-77. He still had that talent intact, and that was his great gift, wasn't it. I STILL have to shake my head at some of the Love You material. And the 15 Big Ones backing tracks.

[MBE]

Oh yeah, speaking of 1976 Phil Spector tributes, how about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcrafHxuONQ (kills most of the covers on 15 Big Ones)

That has long been my favorite of the 1976 Brian vocals. I guess I am not a huge Love You fan because I see what he could do when he was trying like here. That doesn't apply to every song of course but so many of those vocals were just thrown out. The production for that period is unqiue but I like his previous clean(early) or minamalist (most if not all mid period) sound better.

[mtaber]

Yeah, MBE, Brian seemed to just throw out a vocal and didn't seem interested in having it be his best shot (during 15 Big Ones and Love You).  But for YLTLF, he nailed it. 

[TdHabib]

Well I always thought of Brian's 1976 songs and productions as being purely instinctual; he was being forced initially to do it but he ended up enjoying himself (I'd say mid-15 Big Ones) and did exactly what he wanted to do.

[variable2]

"I wish I had written “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” It was such a great record; nobody could believe it. I think what makes that song is the background track, the chord pattern, the melody, the lyrics and The Righteous Brothers’ voices. I liked Bill Medley better than Bobby Hatfield. His voice had a good sound to it. I did a version of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” with The Beach Boys, but we never released it. I did it all by myself. I did the track, the piano…all the instruments and voices all by myself."

-Brian Wilson
http://www.americansongwriter.com/2009/01/brian-wilson-gods-messenger/

[Sheriff John Stone]

Thanks for the link, variable 2. After all of these years, Brian's love for Spector's work is still obvious. If Brian wasn't expected to produce "hit" albums, I wonder how close he would've come to doing a complete Phil Spector cover album.

[MBE]

Well I always thought of Brian's 1976 songs and productions as being purely instinctual; he was being forced initially to do it but he ended up enjoying himself (I'd say mid-15 Big Ones) and did exactly what he wanted to do.

I think he did end up enjoying recording by the middle of 1976 but one thing that sticks out in my mind is an interview (with Earle Mankey I think) that talked about how Brian would rush his mixes and vocals. In other words he was somewhat inspired and happy to work, but didn't have the ability or patience to give the material a professional follow through. Which may indeed be exactly what he wanted to do. My view is that YLTLF is one he did stick with and give the very best he could with his now somewhat more restricted vocal skills. His mix is clean, and he is really singing his heart out. I can pick out a handful of other songs I think he gave his all too (the Dick Reynolds sessions for example) but several of his best late 70's recordings (It's OK and Good Timin') were started in 1974 when he was still really putting polish on the records. I mean that dirty "Hard Times' ditty from 1974 has a more complex and accomplished arrangement then almost anything he did afterwords and that says something to me.

To be fair if we are talking purely about his production on his last four solo albums, it has been great. Of course how much he did himself is open to valid debate. BWPS and TLOS are the best he can do today and that's good enough for me. Of course GIOMH and WIRWFC we have problems with vocals and some of the songs themselves. I think Brian was fairly flawless pre "15 Big Ones" but since I think his work has been up and down. Sticking to 1976-77 I think some of his very best songs and very worst songs were cut then. Frankly I never thought he would come back to the point he did in the last ten years. As disturbing as some of the backstage stories may be, as much as his involvement may be overplayed, he has delivered (if increasingly less not counting TLOS) at a level I never thought I would hear again.

[Mr. Cohen]

I mean that dirty "Hard Times' ditty from 1974 has a more complex and accomplished arrangement then almost anything he did afterwords and that says something to me.

Really? What about "TM Song" and "Had to Phone Ya" off 15 Big Ones, for example? And I think sometimes that the farting synths (which tend to play simplistic but catchy parts) on Love You distract people from all the things going on in some of those songs. How about "Roller Skating Child"? Talk about a 'WTF' arrangement. That's not to say some of the songs aren't simple, but I think you're selling him short.

Brian was always infamous for rushing mixes. Engineers couldn't believe that he'd use 20+ takes to get perfection from the Wrecking Crew, only to spend almost no time mixing it. He always wanted to move on to the next big thing (which is why I don't know why he didn't just let other people mix it). Brian Wilson gets held to a very high standard. A lot of Brian songs and arrangements that get called "minimalist" would be normal or complex for most bands. A song with bass, guitar, drum, and organ parts with four freshman vocal arrangements gets called "Brian not trying" by fans. I wish I could do that when I try!

Oh yeah, and speaking of 15 Big Ones, looking at that terrible cover made me think of some alternates. One would have a photo of Brian with an unbuttoned shirt on as the cover with the phrase "Cover Songs" in white on the front in the upper left hand corner, with the the cover songs listed below it and the title 15 Big Ones in the bottom right corner. The back would have a picture of Brian's back turned to the camera with the phrase "Brian's Back" with all of the new songs listed below it and the phrase "Back Catalog" for "Good Time". My other idea was to have a huge cake with 15 candles on the cover, with Brian breaking out of top of the cake like one of those 'show girls' on the back, preferably with no shirt on. Could someone let me design Brians album art from now, please?   

[Sam_BFC]

YLTLF??

[The Heartical Don]

YLTLF??

Hint: they weren't real brothers.

[Steve Mayo]

that's one righteous clue there don........

[The Heartical Don]

that's one righteous clue there don........

  ...as Van Dyke Parks noted, in a Dutch after-show get-together: 'First Righteousness, And Then Thirst'...