Brian Reimagines Gershwin

[the captain]

Just checked its iTunes ranking: 26.

[Shady]

hey that's actually pretty cool!  good job brian and co.

how did lucky old sun handle?

Peaked at like #8

BTW TLOS and SMiLE are both back in the top 1000

[joe_blow]

#1 on Amazon!!!!

[Shady]

OK this is gold and very heartwarming

A grandfather and Dad singing to BWRG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxa6KgD99Yk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvqUpNJizHk

[the captain]

The NPR show: (On Point with Tom Ashbrook) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmQ0HutAFaE&feature=search

[Menace Wilson]

OK this is gold and very heartwarming

A grandfather and Dad singing to BWRG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxa6KgD99Yk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvqUpNJizHk

Loved watching those.

[the captain]

The NPR show: (On Point with Tom Ashbrook) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmQ0HutAFaE&feature=search

Two donuts and a Diet Coke for breakfast. Love it.

[the captain]

Also from the NPR piece, an odd little bit. "I never really heard much from Gershwin except for Rhapsody in Blue until I did this album. I had to be taught every song, all twelve songs, the way, all the way through, by my bandleader and my orchestrator, Paul Mertens."

[Menace Wilson]

Also from the NPR piece, an odd little bit. "I never really heard much from Gershwin except for Rhapsody in Blue until I did this album. I had to be taught every song, all twelve songs, the way, all the way through, by my bandleader and my orchestrator, Paul Mertens."

Even the songs that he co-wrote?    Geez, you never know what's gonna come out of BWs mouth. 

[absinthe_boy]

Doesn't seem to be in the official UK album top 100 at all

[Wirestone]

Curious and oddly charming. I think Brian likes to avoid taking responsibility for things!

He's clearly bending the truth. The man produced a version of "Summertime" in 1964.

My guess -- and this is only a guess -- is that while he may have been familiar with the songs, he didn't "know" them in the sense of being able to play them or being able to sing all the words. Paul likely brought over a bundle of sheet music for the two of them to go over.

Absinthe -- it hasn't been released in the U.K. yet. Not until Sept. 6.

[Ron]

OK this is gold and very heartwarming

A grandfather and Dad singing to BWRG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxa6KgD99Yk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvqUpNJizHk

Beautiful stuff, especially the first one, lol.  That could go Viral, somebody start spreading the link around. 

[Ron]

My guess about being taught the album is that he just said whatever popped in his mind.  Like usual.  LOL  

There's also a small chance that he thinks all the interviews are rediculous, so he doesn't really have a sense that it matters what he says.  

WOW! Look how happy he looks when they play Surfer Girl.  Damn!  The interviewer actually giggles. 

"George... what do you THINK?"  LOL

BTW, his memory grew two years while they went on break before the first interview and the second.  ha!

She says "When you're looking through so much of an other artists music, I wonder what effect it has on your music?"  and Brian says "Gershwin you mean?"

LOL! WHO THE f*** ELSE WOULD SHE BE TALKING ABOUT, BRIAN?

Love this guy.  Best interview subject ever.  I could watch days of him just talking about anything.  Him talking about a peanut butter sandwich would be fascinating.  I don't think the managers should protect him so much, he has an incredible amount of charisma. 

[absinthe_boy]

Curious.

Especially given that the man produced a version of "Summertime" in 1964.

My guess -- and this is only a guess -- is that while he may have been familiar with the songs, he didn't "know" them in the sense of being able to play them or being able to sing all the words. Paul likely brought over a bundle of sheet music for the two of them to go over.

Absinthe -- it hasn't been released in the U.K. yet. Not until Sept. 6.

How come I have it, then?

[Shady]

Curious.

Especially given that the man produced a version of "Summertime" in 1964.

My guess -- and this is only a guess -- is that while he may have been familiar with the songs, he didn't "know" them in the sense of being able to play them or being able to sing all the words. Paul likely brought over a bundle of sheet music for the two of them to go over.

Absinthe -- it hasn't been released in the U.K. yet. Not until Sept. 6.

How come I have it, then?

Where did you buy it?

Online or in the shops?

[matt-zeus]

This albums really growing on me now, at the moment it is my 'kitchen' album of choice...

[rab2591]

This albums really growing on me now, at the moment it is my 'kitchen' album of choice...

Ha! I do the same thing....Pet Sounds was one for quite a few months....now it is Blonde On Blonde....But dang, this album is growing on me too. Songs I disliked when I first heard them are really growing on me (Porgy and Plenty O Nothin') - I am really digging this album right now!

[Dave in KC]

The NPR thing was very insightful. A day in the life of Brian right to the limo pulling away. He was so happy to be in the safety of the car that he starts singing. During the interview, Brian spends an inordinate amount of time with his eyes closed, esp. when being questioned. It is so obvious. He hates doing these things and he knew the mic screen was blocking the interviewer from seeing his eyes, thus the eyes closed alot. In his own world so to speak. But start playing some of his music and it's like electricity is shot through him. He is such a cool guy who has been down such a long and rugged road and still pulls it off. His detractors have no clue about the real Brian Wilson.

[variable2]

The NPR thing was very insightful. A day in the life of Brian right to the limo pulling away. He was so happy to be in the safety of the car that he starts singing. During the interview, Brian spends an inordinate amount of time with his eyes closed, esp. when being questioned. It is so obvious. He hates doing these things and he knew the mic screen was blocking the interviewer from seeing his eyes, thus the eyes closed alot. In his own world so to speak. But start playing some of his music and it's like electricity is shot through him. He is such a cool guy who has been down such a long and rugged road and still pulls it off. His detractors have no clue about the real Brian Wilson.

well said. you nailed it.

brian wilson just wants to be your friend.   and make a few dollars and drink some diet cokes

[DSamore]

Just picked up the LP version at a local store. Also bought the iTunes version the day of, so BW has my money 2x.    Anyhoo, it sounds awesome as we all knew it would. Our beloved man is sounding a bit older here than ever, but then again, that's what he is! Fantastic overall. Killer, killer, killer. Brian Wilson is a musical God.

[buddhahat]

There's a three page feature on Wilson and the new album in the new Mojo, by Sylvie Simmons. Haven't had a chance to read it myself yet so can't describe the piece. Anything interesting and I'll post about it later!

Edit: Here goes I'll try and lift a few nuggest from the article. If I'm breaching board rules mods, just ditch this post.

Mertens:
"I asked if I could record him while he was playing, so that if he had any ideas for the project I would capture them and we could listen to them later. I have hours of Brian just fiddling around at the piano and there's a lot of interesting stuff. The first song on the album (Rhapsody In Blue) has an a cappella intro that I transcribed directly from one of Brian's improvisations and just transposed it into e flat so it would go with that song."

I can't work this out, as the a cappella Rhapsody, as far as I can tell, just copies the chords verbatim from the original. I wonder here if Mertens is actually referring to the a cappella intro to the Like In I Love You, but someone has erroneously assumed he's referring to the 1st track on the album, Rhapsody, which is also an a cappella 'intro' of sorts.

The intro to TLIILY sounds Gershwinesque, but is not a direct lift (again assumption on my part as I'm largely unfamiliar with Gershwin). This would make more sense. I'm trying to see if it's in E flat, but my guitar is out of tune so not sure!

[Roger Ryan]

Well, the intro to TLIILY is a direct lift from "The Spirit of Rock and Roll" 

[Wirestone]

The piano part is -- kind of. The vocals aren't.

Interesting quote. Any more nuggets?

[buddhahat]

Mertens again: "We have a completely different version of Nothing But Love - different lyrics, different key and 3/4 time. Finally after going through a lot of different lyric changes, sentimental to humorous, and trying different background vocal parts, Brian went, 'I don't dig waltzes, it's not my bag.' Evidently he came to the conclusion once we recorded the song, because at first he liked it. So I wrote a new chart in 4 and Brian described the kind of rocking groove that he wanted to try and the band threw down a new version."

"Once that groove was established, Brian dictated very specifically the other guitar parts, the stops and starts in the rhythm section, the keyboard parts. For all the sessions I made sure there was an array of keyboard instruments there for Brian to choose from if he had a particular sound in his head, and sure enough he told (keyboard player) Gary Griffin, 'I want you to play one note, slide up to one note and hold it on the organ.' Gary was like , Do you want me to play anything else?' and Brian was 'No, no, nothing else, just that.' I don't know how much it cost to rent a B3 for a day in the studio but we used it for one note. He gets an idea and he knows what he wants."

Scott Bennet: " Almost always when we record, there are instances where an idea he has seems odd, but when you hear it it's genius. For example, he suggested that the band lay out and Todd (Sucherman, drummer) hit the floor tom four times loudly before the key change in Summertime. It seemed Neanderthal until we heard it, and then it really made the impact of the change more dramatic. Clasic Wilson."

[gsmile]

Brian went, 'I don't dig waltzes, it's not my bag.'

Haha, classic Brian.  Some of my favorite BW songs are waltzes: Friends, Time to Get Alone, Let the Wind Blow, Be Here In the Morning.  Sounds like Brian just didn't like how the song turned out in 3/4 time and couldn't articulate properly that he wanted to start from scratch.  I would love to hear that alternate version though, even if it just exists in backing track form.