BWRG 2nd week - #53.

[Ron]

The Honeymooners.  Now THERE is a racist show.  It makes all us white guys be stereotyped as stupid and out of shape.

Nevermind Jackie Gleason was one of the greatest comedic minds that ever lived, we should ban the honeymooners. 

Also, it promoted spousal abuse; Alice was clearly battered and constantly in fear of his TOO THE MOON! threats. 

[absinthe_boy]

Little Black Sambo is still in print here in LimeyLand too. Mind you, we can no longer buy 'gollywogs' we have to call them 'gollies'.

We did go through a ridiculous phase in the 80's when some left wing local authorities banned black trash bags on the grounds that maybe somebody would be offended...and replaced them with pink! The same people who thought kids shouldn't be reading fairy tales or competing in competitive sports in case somebody is psychologically scarred by losing.

Sooner or later, governments will realise that the world has been shrunk by the internet and that 'banned' media can be obtained very easily....and that there is nothing they can do about it.

[Jon Stebbins]

I think this is just another in a long line of Brian's fan base going ape-sh*t over his latest release, and then the reality of how its really being received by the general public sinking in. This release is doing fairly well with critics, 72 score on Metacritic...not bad. TLOS was a 70, POB Legacy was an 87, BWPS was a 97, Getting in Over My Head was a 55. The media critical perspective is only one yardstick....BWRG was not a critic's darling, it was a medium success. Another yardstick is sales, chart placing etc... BWRG sold about 12,000 in its first week, pretty good, #26 on the charts. I felt that performance must have been a bit of a disappointment to Brian's camp because TLOS debuted higher with much less buzz and clamor, not to mention media attention. If anybody actually thought BWRG would rise in the charts the second week they are not in touch with reality or the state of the music business. Falling to #52 isn't horrible...if it had stayed in the top 40 that would have been great. Some have called this record his career topper, of course that is not and was never going to be the case. A lot of BW's fans absolutely love the record and that's a positive. Will it rank as his best solo release once the glow wears off and it is assessed in a more sober way...say in a year? I'd say probably not. It'll probably be ranked in the top 3 BW solo releases for sure. Personally i think Brian's singing is great on it, a few tracks are really enjoyable...but many of the arrangements IMO are kind of bland. I grew up listening to Gershwin interpretations by a lot of great artists...this is another one, its not the best, and nowhere close to the worst. Brian and his team have dialed in a few very good records over the last 6 or 7 years. BWRG is very good too. Will it have a lasting effect? Probably yes with a good number of his hardcore fans. Will it become a classic? I think the odds on that are very slim. It still could win a Grammy or two and then sales will spike again...and maybe that's what Disney is counting on.

[Wirestone]

On one hand, the tone of that previous post is a bit much, but on the other hand, it's not exactly wrong.

[Custom Machine]

When the Beach Boys debuted a new album, they often did that "talk show" circuit, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, The Tonight Show. 

Yeah, and when those Beach Boys albums didn't do well, people claimed that they were poorly promoted.

[Custom Machine]

I think this is just another in a long line of Brian's fan base going ape-sh*t over his latest release, and then the reality of how its really being received by the general public sinking in. This release is doing fairly well with critics, 72 score on Metacritic...not bad. TLOS was a 70, POB Legacy was an 87, BWPS was a 97, Getting in Over My Head was a 55. The media critical perspective is only one yardstick....BWRG was not a critic's darling, it was a medium success. Another yardstick is sales, chart placing etc... BWRG sold about 12,000 in its first week, pretty good, #26 on the charts. I felt that performance must have been a bit of a disappointment to Brian's camp because TLOS debuted higher with much less buzz and clamor, not to mention media attention. If anybody actually thought BWRG would rise in the charts the second week they are not in touch with reality or the state of the music business. Falling to #52 isn't horrible...if it had stayed in the top 40 that would have been great. Some have called this record his career topper, of course that is not and was never going to be the case. A lot of BW's fans absolutely love the record and that's a positive. Will it rank as his best solo release once the glow wears off and it is assessed in a more sober way...say in a year? I'd say probably not. It'll probably be ranked in the top 3 BW solo releases for sure. Personally i think Brian's singing is great on it, a few tracks are really enjoyable...but many of the arrangements IMO are kind of bland. I grew up listening to Gershwin interpretations by a lot of great artists...this is another one, its not the best, and nowhere close to the worst. Brian and his team have dialed in a few very good records over the last 6 or 7 years. BWRG is very good too. Will it have a lasting effect? Probably yes with a good number of his hardcore fans. Will it become a classic? I think the odds on that are very slim. It still could win a Grammy or two and then sales will spike again...and maybe that's what Disney is counting on.

Thank you, Jon Stebbins, for an accurate, fair, and balanced (and not in the Fox News sense!) assessment of what is going on here.

[TdHabib]

A Beach Boys album, not a compilation or hits package, hasn't sold well since 15 Big Ones. That's thirty four years.

[filledeplage]

I think this is just another in a long line of Brian's fan base going ape-sh*t over his latest release, and then the reality of how its really being received by the general public sinking in. This release is doing fairly well with critics, 72 score on Metacritic...not bad. TLOS was a 70, POB Legacy was an 87, BWPS was a 97, Getting in Over My Head was a 55. The media critical perspective is only one yardstick....BWRG was not a critic's darling, it was a medium success. Another yardstick is sales, chart placing etc... BWRG sold about 12,000 in its first week, pretty good, #26 on the charts. I felt that performance must have been a bit of a disappointment to Brian's camp because TLOS debuted higher with much less buzz and clamor, not to mention media attention. If anybody actually thought BWRG would rise in the charts the second week they are not in touch with reality or the state of the music business. Falling to #52 isn't horrible...if it had stayed in the top 40 that would have been great. Some have called this record his career topper, of course that is not and was never going to be the case. A lot of BW's fans absolutely love the record and that's a positive. Will it rank as his best solo release once the glow wears off and it is assessed in a more sober way...say in a year? I'd say probably not. It'll probably be ranked in the top 3 BW solo releases for sure. Personally i think Brian's singing is great on it, a few tracks are really enjoyable...but many of the arrangements IMO are kind of bland. I grew up listening to Gershwin interpretations by a lot of great artists...this is another one, its not the best, and nowhere close to the worst. Brian and his team have dialed in a few very good records over the last 6 or 7 years. BWRG is very good too. Will it have a lasting effect? Probably yes with a good number of his hardcore fans. Will it become a classic? I think the odds on that are very slim. It still could win a Grammy or two and then sales will spike again...and maybe that's what Disney is counting on.

Thank you, Jon Stebbins, for an accurate, fair, and balanced (and not in the Fox News sense!) assessment of what is going on here.

First, let me say that I respect the work you have done as a Beach Boys historian.  Thanks for your contribution.  I am not a "Brianista" or whatever they call them, just a "lifer." 

Second, I have had the opportunity to see other recording artists and songwriters "CD" work, presented in a media context which has not happened with Brian. IMHO 

Third, Pet Sounds was my first LP. It was not "out" very long, and you can check the veracity of this by any Capitol "time line" release order, before it was marginalized by the "BB Hits Vol 1."  And its non-promotion is a fact. I lived it and I saw it, hands on.  I did not know (like everyone else) what happened til the history enfolded much later.

That said, just to compare in the "not so distant past," Barry Manilow had some new CD released, maybe a year ago.  He was paraded through every daytime and some of the night time programs, with a full blown press package which is absent, here.  Free CD's for the audience which put the product immediately in the homes of those people.  That is the "route" which appears to be "custom and practice" in the trade or industry.  It appears to be the standard. 

The apparent problem is that the recording industry standard does not appear to be met.  They might even have a legal "duty to promote" the CD better than the less than impressive way they have done so far.. And "so far," in my opinion it is only cursory.   

It has nothing to do with having a fan "melt down." That is a value judgment.  If I sound harsh, I don't mean to. 

This is a fan discussion board, not the Supreme Court. 






   

[Wrightfan]

Brain may not be the best interview subject in the world but he has definitely improved since the days of this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q72y52p7IM

Hint - wait till near the end of the clip.

Did he just compare groupies with Phil Spector?

This should go in the Brianisms thread. 

[Mike's Beard]

The bit that cracked me is when you can hear Bruce off camera say in a very sarcastic tone "Is Phil a groupie Brian?"

[Mike's Beard]

Little Black Sambo is still in print here in LimeyLand too. Mind you, we can no longer buy 'gollywogs' we have to call them 'gollies'.

We did go through a ridiculous phase in the 80's when some left wing local authorities banned black trash bags on the grounds that maybe somebody would be offended...and replaced them with pink! The same people who thought kids shouldn't be reading fairy tales or competing in competitive sports in case somebody is psychologically scarred by losing.

Sooner or later, governments will realise that the world has been shrunk by the internet and that 'banned' media can be obtained very easily....and that there is nothing they can do about it.

As a fellow Limey I also remember blackboards being replaced with whiteboards in schools and reading how nurseries had children singing to "Ba ba BLUE sheep"

It is my opinion that is not often coloured people that see racism in these things, more the white, upper middle class 'ethnically aware" do-gooders (who probably don't have a blackman living within 5 miles of their property) feeling the need to speak on their behalf about what offends them.

BACK TO BRIAN WILSON!!!

Jon's post may have been heavy handed but it's true. 99.9% of the planet don't give a fig about Brian Wilson. At least not as a contemporary recording artist. In the general public's conscious Brian's doomed to remain in a 1960's timewarp along with Ray Davies.

[Quincy]

 Brian Wilson "Reimagines Gershwin"

Sales this week: 8,150
Percentage change: -41
Weeks on: 2
Cume: 22,269

And almost no one cares.

Based on the hype, all the ink spread about this, you'd believe the audience was waiting in rapt attention, salivating, ready to buy.

But we've given up on Brian. His vocals are broken/cheesy and he's disappointed us too many times.

One summer track as good as "Fun, Fun, Fun" to knock off Katy Perry and we'd care again. I'd like to believe Brian's got that in him. But projects like this are good on paper, but irrelevant in the marketplace...like Renee Fleming goes pop..... On Bob Lefsetz web blog week ending 8/29

[Andrew G. Doe]

One summer track as good as "Fun, Fun, Fun" to knock off Katy Perry and we'd care again.

No, we wouldn't. I can think of some folk who would, but Brian left 'summer tracks' behind him in 1968

[MookieZ]

Also dropped out of the Jazz Top 15. 

Are you sure?
http://www.billboard.com/charts/jazz-albums#/charts/jazz-albums

[Andrew G. Doe]

Also dropped out of the Jazz Top 15. 

Are you sure?
http://www.billboard.com/charts/jazz-albums#/charts/jazz-albums

I know... that's odd. I checked the Jazz chart right after the 200, made sure it was for 9/11, and BWRG wasn't in the top 15. Then.

[Runaways]

can't say i'm too surprised on this.

[filledeplage]

Also dropped out of the Jazz Top 15. 

Are you sure?
http://www.billboard.com/charts/jazz-albums#/charts/jazz-albums

Bravo to Brian!

Donald you can google an interesting "shareholder" lawsuit involving Michael Eisner from a few years back...there was some stuff going on which Mickey's (Mouse) white gloves would not touch.  

I still maintain that is badly under-promoted.  There are plenty of newspaper reviews; who many non Beach Boys fans would even read them.  Even Justin Beiber gets out on the road to promote.  The argument that is it not "Brian's medium" does not hold water for me.

Brian is in the music industry 50 years and knows how the game is played.  Even if, for example, he were to do a "taped" interview with someone like Barbara Walters, it could be run right through the whole ABC/Disney network affiliates, and that base is covered.   Most of those interviews are only a few minutes at most, and several more to do the performance.  

If the Nightline interview was an example of "where he is" with being relaxed and loquacious, it seems as he is in pretty good shape at the moment, never mind going back to when he was not as much at ease.   Volumes have been written about how the "under promotion of his work" affected him.  

And that YouTube with Joan Rivers was hilarious...loved "Graduation Day" and Joan's miscalulation of the 1957 start date of the Boys!
Her people did not do their homework. Mike's ability to land on his feet to "reform" the date and put her at ease at the same time shows his showmanship and quick wit.

Glad it is at the top of this list and thanks so much for the info!

Still, IMHO; The overall promotion is still "conspicuous by its glaring absence."  

[The Shift]

One summer track as good as "Fun, Fun, Fun" to knock off Katy Perry and we'd care again.

No, we wouldn't. I can think of some folk who would, but Brian left 'summer tracks' behind him in 1968

I care. We had Midnight's Another Day. That had the edge. Lyrically OTT (too many metaphors piled in), but damn-near as essential as Surf's Up, and certainly up there with 'Til I Die, This Whole World and many other top flight Wilsonians.

[Andrew G. Doe]

One summer track as good as "Fun, Fun, Fun" to knock off Katy Perry and we'd care again.

No, we wouldn't. I can think of some folk who would, but Brian left 'summer tracks' behind him in 1968

I care. We had Midnight's Another Day. That had the edge. Lyrically OTT (too many metaphors piled in), but damn-near as essential as Surf's Up, and certainly up there with 'Til I Die, This Whole World and many other top flight Wilsonians.

Those are not 'summer tracks'.

[The Shift]

One summer track as good as "Fun, Fun, Fun" to knock off Katy Perry and we'd care again.

No, we wouldn't. I can think of some folk who would, but Brian left 'summer tracks' behind him in 1968

I care. We had Midnight's Another Day. That had the edge. Lyrically OTT (too many metaphors piled in), but damn-near as essential as Surf's Up, and certainly up there with 'Til I Die, This Whole World and many other top flight Wilsonians.

Those are not 'summer tracks'.

Yes, aware -  I'm referring to Butch's reference to tuns that make us care; these are simply tunes (not specifically summer themed) that make me care about BW's output... to be frank the summer themes are incidental and that theme isn't a prerequisite of my caring about his output.

Hmm, doubting my own clarity now -  hope my point comes through... it's a bit muddy... like a summer puddle...

[Andrew G. Doe]

One summer track as good as "Fun, Fun, Fun" to knock off Katy Perry and we'd care again.

No, we wouldn't. I can think of some folk who would, but Brian left 'summer tracks' behind him in 1968

I care. We had Midnight's Another Day. That had the edge. Lyrically OTT (too many metaphors piled in), but damn-near as essential as Surf's Up, and certainly up there with 'Til I Die, This Whole World and many other top flight Wilsonians.

Those are not 'summer tracks'.

Yes, aware -  I'm referring to Butch's reference to tuns that make us care; these are simply tunes (not specifically summer themed) that make me care about BW's output... to be frank the summer themes are incidental and that theme isn't a prerequisite of my caring about his output.

Hmm, doubting my own clarity now -  hope my point comes through... it's a bit muddy... like a summer puddle...

I'd love to see Brian - or the BB... or both - chart with a cracking good, contemporary song, but the old sun/fun/cars/girls formula ain't gonna do it.

[Menace Wilson]

I think the average pop music listener in 2010 couldn't care less about Gershwin.  Doubt most young people even know who he was.  From the start, this project was going to appeal mostly to hardcore BW fans (people who were aware of BW's history with Rhapsody In Blue) and Gershwin fans.  That's not exactly a huge chunk of the population. 

When I went to my local music store to pick up a copy of BWRG (a day early!), my friend who owns the store actually thought that I was joking when I first told him I wanted it.  Pissed me off, to be honest.  But that's the climate. 

(I realize this is a separate issue from whether Disney dropped the ball)
     

[Rocker]

One summer track as good as "Fun, Fun, Fun" to knock off Katy Perry and we'd care again.

No, we wouldn't. I can think of some folk who would, but Brian left 'summer tracks' behind him in 1968

I care. We had Midnight's Another Day. That had the edge. Lyrically OTT (too many metaphors piled in), but damn-near as essential as Surf's Up, and certainly up there with 'Til I Die, This Whole World and many other top flight Wilsonians.

Those are not 'summer tracks'.

Yes, aware -  I'm referring to Butch's reference to tuns that make us care; these are simply tunes (not specifically summer themed) that make me care about BW's output... to be frank the summer themes are incidental and that theme isn't a prerequisite of my caring about his output.

Hmm, doubting my own clarity now -  hope my point comes through... it's a bit muddy... like a summer puddle...

I'd love to see Brian - or the BB... or both - chart with a cracking good, contemporary song, but the old sun/fun/cars/girls formula ain't gonna do it.

I think "Soul searchin'" could've been just that song.

[BJL]

Honestly, I find this conversation a bit perplexing.  The idea that I, personally, went to the store last week and bought a new brian wilson album, and it was friggin awesome...well, that's about as much of a miracle as I can imagine!!  The idea that there is still, after 50 years, great NEW beach boys related music for me to get excited about, that's a miracle.  Of course no one bought it!!  People haven't been buying the Beach Boy's music in any serious, non-nostalgic sense since 1966.  I don't care that Sunflower hit 152 anymore than I care that Beach Boys Concert hit 1. 

[phirnis]

One summer track as good as "Fun, Fun, Fun" to knock off Katy Perry and we'd care again.

No, we wouldn't. I can think of some folk who would, but Brian left 'summer tracks' behind him in 1968

I care. We had Midnight's Another Day. That had the edge. Lyrically OTT (too many metaphors piled in), but damn-near as essential as Surf's Up, and certainly up there with 'Til I Die, This Whole World and many other top flight Wilsonians.

Those are not 'summer tracks'.

Yes, aware -  I'm referring to Butch's reference to tuns that make us care; these are simply tunes (not specifically summer themed) that make me care about BW's output... to be frank the summer themes are incidental and that theme isn't a prerequisite of my caring about his output.

Hmm, doubting my own clarity now -  hope my point comes through... it's a bit muddy... like a summer puddle...

Personally I don't think Midnight is up there with 'Til I Die and This Whole World, not even close. It strikes me as an attempt to write a 'Til I Die-like song (especially in terms of the lyrics) and to my ears it even was mostly successful at that (loved the demo recording in particular), but it's still very different from Brian pouring his very heart out in a song such as the original 'Til I Die.