Official "Our Sweet Love" Appreciation Thread

[Outie 315]

  Sunflower = The Sonic LP.

  Desper = GOD!!!!!

[sockittome]

To me, OSL is one of those feel-good take-you-away kinda songs that doesn't try to spell out anything profound in the lyrics, much like "Time to Get Alone" or "All I Wanna Do".  You can completely ignore the lyrics if you want, and just kick back and enjoy the multi layered sounds.  Beautiful song, and I don't think technical comparisons to GOK is a bad thing at all.

[Dove Nested Towers]

It should be noted that the bizarre patois parts of the song are spoken by Brian Wilson not Jardine

Sorry, my mistake. And I do greatly admire the production on the song, just find it a little
syrupy (or am I jaded? Possibly, I hope not.)

[Big Bri]

Mutedtrumpeterswan,

  I'm being very serious when I say that "At My Window" is one of the best songs on "Sunflower"!!
What more validation for the song do you need then from Brian Wilson himself who rates that little Masterpiece as one of HIS favorite BB songs!! 
  The Harmonies are impeccable, the child-like innocence draws you right back to your very own childhood(at least it does for me since I started listening to Sunflower when I was 10 years old in 1973).
  Simply appreciate it for the Beauty that lies within it.........................

Big Bri

[slothrop]

"At My Window" totally blew my mind when I first really sat down and listened to it. It's bizarre and childish but that's what makes it amazing. At the exact halfway point is where the song starts getting really trippy...the "puff" part, "he came to my window" vocals, the discordant piano behind Al's last verse, and then the incredible tag. A really psychedelic song when you pay attention, much like the rest of the album.

"Our Sweet Love" is also a wonderful song. I see the comparison to GOK even though the two have obvious differences. They just move similarly somehow, although "Our Sweet Love" is something I can listen to any day because it's just so beautiful and uplifting. GOK is a bit of a downer at times. My favorite part is the guitar (or is it a horn and guitar playing the same line? I can't tell) that begins at 1:44, when Carl sings "I feel it down inside my soul". Such a beautiful little flourish that just helps push the song higher.

[Dove Nested Towers]

Mutedtrumpeterswan,

  I'm being very serious when I say that "At My Window" is one of the best songs on "Sunflower"!!
What more validation for the song do you need then from Brian Wilson himself who rates that little Masterpiece as one of HIS favorite BB songs!! 
  The Harmonies are impeccable, the child-like innocence draws you right back to your very own childhood(at least it does for me since I started listening to Sunflower when I was 10 years old in 1973).
  Simply appreciate it for the Beauty that lies within it.........................

Big Bri

You know what, Big Bri? After pondering your post, I just had an epiphany that brings me around full circle again re: At My Window. I really liked it when I first started listening to Sunflower 25 years ago, and gradually lost enthusiasm for it after countless listenings through the years, not sure exactly why. It IS an incredible production, a very childlike song, beautiful and profound in its simplicity. I had always heard the song associated with Al, and didn't realize that Brian was saying the (nonsense or French?) words. I didn't used to think a lot about which band member was singing each part until fairly recently.

The "poof" voice still strikes me as cutesy and self-conscious, and the rise in volume and treble is a bit harsh and jarring on the last "he came to my window" before the tag, but other than those minor quibbles I am thinking about it with a fresh perspective and it does have a timeless quality of youthful wonderment and openness to nature.

I know this sounds extremely wishy-washy, but it is sincere. Thanks for your
perspective.

[Andrew G. Doe]

idn't realize that Brian was saying the (nonsense or French?) words.

French - very poor French, but French nonetheless (not Portuguese as Steve Desper states in his book): a rough translation would be "a sparrow has arrived and is sitting on my windowsill"

[Aegir]

Wait, besides Brian's French part, isn't Bruce the lead singer?

[lance]

yeah, but it was written by al and bri.

[Aegir]

I know.

[Andrew G. Doe]

yeah, but it was written by al and bri.

Strictly speaking , adapted by Alan  from "Raspberries, Strawberries" by Will Holt, a Kingston trio classic.

[Sound of Free]

Our Sweet Love is a terrific song, but when the box set came out in 1993, I was surprised to see that as thew fourth cut from Sunflower. I figured This Whole World, Add Some Music and Forever would be on there, but I was surprised OSL made the cut over Slip on Through. Not only do I think Slip on Through is a better song on its own merits, but it's an uptempo (or at least midtempo) Dennis song with one of Denny's best vocals. Our Sweet Love is a  great Brian melody with a fabulous Carl vocal, but those are much more plentiful.

It's just another case of Dennis being slighted.

Our Sweet Love is still a great song, though. The only ones from Sunflower that don't work for me are Tears in the Morning and At My Window.

[lance]

I cant stand Tears i the Morning, everything else on the record I like....even Got To Know the Woman.

[Dove Nested Towers]

I cant stand Tears i the Morning, everything else on the record I like....even Got To Know the Woman.

A previous poster said that both of Bruce's songs should have been replaced by others
for the album. I disagree about Dierdre, but agree with him (and you) about TITM. It IS a
masterfully written and produced song, with Bruce's unique sensibility in abundance (for better or worse, USUALLY better IMO), but is just too mawkish and maudlin for my taste.

[hypehat]

I cant stand Tears i the Morning, everything else on the record I like....even Got To Know the Woman.

A previous poster said that both of Bruce's songs should have been replaced by others
for the album. I disagree about Dierdre, but agree with him (and you) about TITM. It IS a
masterfully written and produced song, with Bruce's unique sensibility in abundance (for better or worse, USUALLY better IMO), but is just too mawkish and maudlin for my taste.

It's that bit at the end that gets me..... 'tastefully' echoed piano, playing those annoying trills he loves so much, complete with sax, predicting the 80's ten years in advance. I'd possibly swap it out for 'Games'.

Also throwing my hat into the ring for the 'At my Window' love-in. Some of the best harmonies on Sunflower, and that's saying something

[lance]

I would say the track is masterfully produced, but I don't know about written...IT's pretty much one line in two keys, repeated ad infinitum.