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Poll
Question: Rate Wild Honey
5 - 67 (39.9%)
4 - 71 (42.3%)
3 - 25 (14.9%)
2 - 3 (1.8%)
1 - 0 (0%)
0 - 2 (1.2%)
Total Voters: 154

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Author Topic: Wild Honey  (Read 106420 times)
Manchini
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« Reply #175 on: November 18, 2012, 10:46:10 PM »

To a significant extent, this is the first album where I really start to connect with BW's songwriting in a different way than I can with Today through Smiley Smile. I hesitate to draw my comment away from Wild Honey, but I want to make my point a clearer. To me, BW as a songwriter appeals to me in these distinct forms:

1. The simple idea, the simple tune. No less brilliant, but more succinct, more narrow. This form is delivered on the albums Surfin' Safari through All Summer Long. Then a departure, and a return to this form on Wild Honey and Friends, a departure, then another return from Love You onward.

2. The complex structure, the ornately produced. Concepts are a bit more abstract, and even the simple ideas have a bit more dimension. Shown on albums Today! through Smiley Smile, return to the style discussed in [1.], and back to this form with Time to Get Alone, All I Wanna Do, This Whole World, Our Sweet Love, 'Til I Die, A Day in the Life of a Tree, Funky Pretty... then in like '75 or so he goes back to "older" form.

I really have some sentiment for this notion, so I hope someone else kinda gets what I'm saying. I can't speak to any method or reason for his going between songwriting styles -- it may simply be incidental, no intent on his part, and just that I happen to categorize his songs in such a way.

Back to the album specifically:

It contains great keyboard-rockers ("Wild Honey," "Here Comes the Night," "Darlin'"), my favorite melodic, sentimental expressions ("I'd Love Just Once..." and "Aren't You Glad"), one of my favorite sets of Beach Boy lyrics ("Let the Wind Blow"), an odd little harmony-rich, atmospheric joint ("Country Air"), and  then "A Thing Or Two" which I think is great and unique because of the chord it starts on, and "How She Boogalooed It" which is a lot of fun. And finally, "Mama Says" which sucks and is useless.

Love this album!
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« Reply #176 on: November 22, 2012, 01:15:03 AM »

To a significant extent, this is the first album where I really start to connect with BW's songwriting in a different way than I can with Today through Smiley Smile. I hesitate to draw my comment away from Wild Honey, but I want to make my point a clearer. To me, BW as a songwriter appeals to me in these distinct forms:

1. The simple idea, the simple tune. No less brilliant, but more succinct, more narrow. This form is delivered on the albums Surfin' Safari through All Summer Long. Then a departure, and a return to this form on Wild Honey and Friends, a departure, then another return from Love You onward.

2. The complex structure, the ornately produced. Concepts are a bit more abstract, and even the simple ideas have a bit more dimension. Shown on albums Today! through Smiley Smile, return to the style discussed in [1.], and back to this form with Time to Get Alone, All I Wanna Do, This Whole World, Our Sweet Love, 'Til I Die, A Day in the Life of a Tree, Funky Pretty... then in like '75 or so he goes back to "older" form.

I really have some sentiment for this notion, so I hope someone else kinda gets what I'm saying. I can't speak to any method or reason for his going between songwriting styles -- it may simply be incidental, no intent on his part, and just that I happen to categorize his songs in such a way.

Back to the album specifically:

It contains great keyboard-rockers ("Wild Honey," "Here Comes the Night," "Darlin'"), my favorite melodic, sentimental expressions ("I'd Love Just Once..." and "Aren't You Glad"), one of my favorite sets of Beach Boy lyrics ("Let the Wind Blow"), an odd little harmony-rich, atmospheric joint ("Country Air"), and  then "A Thing Or Two" which I think is great and unique because of the chord it starts on, and "How She Boogalooed It" which is a lot of fun. And finally, "Mama Says" which sucks and is useless.

Love this album!

That was a great review right up until you dismissed the lovely Mama Says as 'sucking and useless'. You can not like a song (although how you can not like such beautiful harmonising is beyond me?), but 'useless'? A little harsh for such a fun, inoffensive, nicely sung ditty, no?
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Manchini
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« Reply #177 on: November 22, 2012, 12:13:08 PM »

To a significant extent, this is the first album where I really start to connect with BW's songwriting in a different way than I can with Today through Smiley Smile. I hesitate to draw my comment away from Wild Honey, but I want to make my point a clearer. To me, BW as a songwriter appeals to me in these distinct forms:

1. The simple idea, the simple tune. No less brilliant, but more succinct, more narrow. This form is delivered on the albums Surfin' Safari through All Summer Long. Then a departure, and a return to this form on Wild Honey and Friends, a departure, then another return from Love You onward.

2. The complex structure, the ornately produced. Concepts are a bit more abstract, and even the simple ideas have a bit more dimension. Shown on albums Today! through Smiley Smile, return to the style discussed in [1.], and back to this form with Time to Get Alone, All I Wanna Do, This Whole World, Our Sweet Love, 'Til I Die, A Day in the Life of a Tree, Funky Pretty... then in like '75 or so he goes back to "older" form.

I really have some sentiment for this notion, so I hope someone else kinda gets what I'm saying. I can't speak to any method or reason for his going between songwriting styles -- it may simply be incidental, no intent on his part, and just that I happen to categorize his songs in such a way.

Back to the album specifically:

It contains great keyboard-rockers ("Wild Honey," "Here Comes the Night," "Darlin'"), my favorite melodic, sentimental expressions ("I'd Love Just Once..." and "Aren't You Glad"), one of my favorite sets of Beach Boy lyrics ("Let the Wind Blow"), an odd little harmony-rich, atmospheric joint ("Country Air"), and  then "A Thing Or Two" which I think is great and unique because of the chord it starts on, and "How She Boogalooed It" which is a lot of fun. And finally, "Mama Says" which sucks and is useless.

Love this album!

That was a great review right up until you dismissed the lovely Mama Says as 'sucking and useless'. You can not like a song (although how you can not like such beautiful harmonising is beyond me?), but 'useless'? A little harsh for such a fun, inoffensive, nicely sung ditty, no?

I prefer it as part of "Vegetables." It's nicely performed, yes. But it being inoffensive is just the problem: it's totally not invigorating to me, which is disappointing coming from a group whose catalog, in large part, is otherwise just that -- invigorating and memorable. So I think "useless" still describes the way I feel: I don't actively hate it, but I would've liked it left off the album.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2012, 12:18:00 PM by Manchini » Logged
Les Garçons de la plage
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« Reply #178 on: February 24, 2013, 10:46:28 AM »

In terms of actual duration, not a proper album! Goddammit!  Grin And thank god for these rulebreakers. Short and sweet, and if in my stupid opinion Surf's Up is really overrated, this one is really underrated (of course a firm favorite among those with an excellent taste). Nice home-baked sound bliss.
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« Reply #179 on: February 24, 2013, 11:57:37 AM »

For crying out loud, release a stereo version and take my money.
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Les Garçons de la plage
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« Reply #180 on: February 26, 2013, 11:56:08 AM »

if ifs and buts were candy & nuts:
this album would be pretty out there if the last two tracks had been dropped. And something of a truly kick-ass quality stuff of the era would've been there instead, like Can't Wait Too Long or Cool Cool Water or Lonely Days or whatever unfinished stuff there was.
 Can't Wait Too Long is probably my favorite song from the Beach Boys.
Love the mono, but
For crying out loud, release a stereo version and take my money.
a two-disc edition with bonus material worth six times the album's actual duration would be sufficient.
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« Reply #181 on: April 06, 2013, 11:50:26 AM »

I don't like that organ, but the songwriting and energy more than makes up for it all. 4
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« Reply #182 on: July 11, 2013, 02:39:29 PM »

The Wild Honey album has some rough garage-rock stylings and I dig it! I love how the Beach Boys have albums like Pet Sounds which are produced with magic, and also have gems like Wild Honey which sound like they were recorded in my basement. Let me just skip to How She Boogalooed It first. Don't throw tomatoes at me but I love that song. In the same way I love Sam The Sham's 'Wooly Bully' or Swingin' Medallions 'Double Shot Of My Baby's Love'. Great fun. Not everything has to be complex and prog. Give me The Ramones over ELP anyday.

Anyway... Darlin' rocks. So does Wild Honey and Here Comes The Night. Country Air is a highlight for me, very atmospheric. I'd Love Just Once To See You is a great tune and somehow reminds me of Velvet Underground (Who Loves The Sun, which came out 3 years later). A Thing Or Two has that two-part structure that I really liked on Gettin' Hungry from the previous album. Let The Wind Blow is a lovely gem with beautiful vocals. But I Was Made To Love Her sounds like Carl is straining his voice which is uncommon. Mama Says is cool but once you've discovered it belongs on Vege-Tables it all of a sudden sounds unfinished.
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« Reply #183 on: July 11, 2013, 05:43:48 PM »

4.8.

"Boogalooed" needs a bit of a rewrite but it's still an admirable rocker.
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« Reply #184 on: August 15, 2013, 05:29:31 AM »

I've given this album a 3/5. It's a good album and the first four tracks are cool, with "Darlin'" and "Here Comes The Night" also being noteworthy songs. I find the rest of the songs enjoyable, but not of a caliber that really stand out for me.

Smiley Mark
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« Reply #185 on: August 30, 2013, 05:40:57 PM »

One of the best Beach Boys albums. Love how it's a great rocker/R&B album, with touches of Psychedelia.
Completely different from anything else they made, before or since.
Love the title track! Plus it has the best version of "Here Comes The Night"
4 out of 5
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« Reply #186 on: September 21, 2013, 11:44:13 AM »

I love it.  Carl's really shines on it in his best soul voice.  It really grew on me since I first heard it and wasn't really impressed with the mix - especially how the drums were so blah.  But I've grown to love it and with each new stereo mix that surfaces, it gets better and better.  Kind of wished they finished things like Lonely Days to go on it.  It's a pretty short album.
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Lonely Summer
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« Reply #187 on: September 21, 2013, 01:21:52 PM »

I need to get the stereo version.
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« Reply #188 on: November 18, 2013, 09:48:27 AM »

The live versions of all of these fantastic songs are so much better than what's here (Darlin', Let the Wind Blow and Aren't You Glad especially) that it has really turned me off the album.

The songwriting is stunning, some of the best white soul and Bacharach-impressions ever... but it sounds like sh*t.

That's so true. Darlin' is like one of the best songs ever live, but I almost hate the studio version. The studio Wild Honey is OK, but hearing the live one from early 70's with Blondie on lead... Just WOW! The whole album is filled with awesome songs, but production uhmm sucks compared to what it could be. Don't get me wrong, I love this album, but it could've been so much better with a little bit different approach and that makes me sad.

My favorite tracks are:
Wild Honey
Aren't You Glad
Country Air (This one is perfect and I wouldn't change a thing in it)
Darlin'
I'd Love Just Once to See You (Here's another one where the "cheap" production works again perfectly)

How She Boogalooed It should have more recognition, it's so underrated. I'd pay anything to hear a fast rocking live version of it!

4/5, it's fun and cool and I love the cover art. Wild Honey is one of the best rock songs ever, LIVE! John Cowshill does it great too, actually I think that he's as good as Blondie.

Oh and the disco Here Comes the Night is soo much better than the original here!
« Last Edit: November 18, 2013, 09:49:34 AM by RiC » Logged
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« Reply #189 on: November 20, 2013, 04:55:28 AM »

How She Boogalooed It should have more recognition, it's so underrated. I'd pay anything to hear a fast rocking live version of it!
Hello, RiC! Check this audio link:The Beach Boys Live, Nov. 17, 1967 - Detroit, Michigan COMPLETE SHOW - fast forward to 13:28 where Mike introduces How She Boogalooed It (plus a little bit of banter) or go straight to the actual performance at 14 min. mark. Have fun!
Thank you very much! I didn't know they ever played it live, this is very cool!
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« Reply #190 on: November 28, 2013, 05:10:49 PM »

I think this might one of the coolest albums the Beach Boys ever did. I mean, it is not very often that we can link "cool" to them, but this album's got it all, really. It's unpretensiously genius and refreshing. I have to agree with someone who said that there was a lot of energy coming out of everyone, and it clearly shows on every song. It sounds very honest and full of life.

Special mention to Mike's lead on "Aren't You Glad". Even he sounded unabashedly cool.

"I'd Love Just Once To See You" epitomises a lot of the Brian Wilson we know and love. Indeed the cheap production works perfectly (though I wish more people payed attention to that beautiful ending-harmony), but the lyrics, on his voice, are so charming and endearing it's hard to resist. Brian Wilson alone with an acoustic guitar! And what a lovely melody, what a whimsical choice of words and theme.

I could utter a lot of peculiar traits about each song, but I think I should restrain myself. I'll just say that "Let The Wind Blow" is the kind of thing you'd expect to be playing as you're lifted into heaven at the end of your life - and Wild Honey is criminally underrated.

This album sounds something like Brian scraped off his head in a very lazy fashion, almost unwillingly so, as if he were pouring music just for passing by and living through the days - and that's why it sounds so honest. Those 29 minutes somewhat captured a much longer flow of music genius that their creator was emanating.
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« Reply #191 on: November 29, 2013, 09:43:14 AM »

I think this might one of the coolest albums the Beach Boys ever did. I mean, it is not very often that we can link "cool" to them, but this album's got it all, really. It's unpretensiously genius and refreshing. I have to agree with someone who said that there was a lot of energy coming out of everyone, and it clearly shows on every song. It sounds very honest and full of life.

Special mention to Mike's lead on "Aren't You Glad". Even he sounded unabashedly cool.

"I'd Love Just Once To See You" epitomises a lot of the Brian Wilson we know and love. Indeed the cheap production works perfectly (though I wish more people payed attention to that beautiful ending-harmony), but the lyrics, on his voice, are so charming and endearing it's hard to resist. Brian Wilson alone with an acoustic guitar! And what a lovely melody, what a whimsical choice of words and theme.

I could utter a lot of peculiar traits about each song, but I think I should restrain myself. I'll just say that "Let The Wind Blow" is the kind of thing you'd expect to be playing as you're lifted into heaven at the end of your life - and Wild Honey is criminally underrated.

This album sounds something like Brian scraped off his head in a very lazy fashion, almost unwillingly so, as if he were pouring music just for passing by and living through the days - and that's why it sounds so honest. Those 29 minutes somewhat captured a much longer flow of music genius that their creator was emanating.

Excellent summary of an excellent album - agree with every word (except the albums 24 minutes isn't it...)
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« Reply #192 on: December 12, 2013, 12:16:39 PM »

4/5 A back to basics LP that a lot of people at the time were doing.. There is not a bad cut on here + live versions sound even better.. Great period cover rockin songs good harmonies a classic BB LP that you can play anytime of day.. 
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« Reply #193 on: January 01, 2014, 12:53:20 PM »

 They could have pumped up the R&B elements for "Darlin" just a bit. I agree with Jon Stebbins that more guitar would have been nice. A good album but slightly overrated. Sometimes loved by critics who are not Beach Boys' diehards, such as Dave Marsh, who has praised the title track, and Robert Christgau who has deemed the whole album fairly essential.
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« Reply #194 on: February 20, 2014, 11:22:43 PM »

You could call this album: The Beach Boys Soul Jam Album.

Not intended to be masterpiece, just something you can listen to and enjoy. That's what it is.
This album does feature some of their bass playing on I was made to love her and Here comes the night.

4.5 Stars rounded to 5.
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« Reply #195 on: January 13, 2015, 10:22:33 PM »

I give it a 3. Pretty forgettable, a total musical regression from the most acclaimed pop album ever (Pet Sounds) the Mozart-level brilliance of SMiLE and the far-out, one-of-a-kind experiment of Smiley that all came before. It's just out of left field and not in a good way. A very short album in a style that isn't theirs and with no particular stand-out tracks. Mama Says being included is almost an insult. A fragment of genius taken out of context, stripped of all life and used as cheap filler. This was their chance to regain momentum after the commercial failure of Smiley and they blew it. Not even to make another cool progressive album either.
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« Reply #196 on: January 14, 2015, 02:03:37 PM »

I SO loathed Smiley Smile that I was glad to get and hear this simplistic little throw-away.  Kind of a 'party' like album in a 'soulful' style with SOME decent songs included like Country Air, Let The Wind Blow and Here Comes the Night.  [The ONLY version of HCTN worth hearing.]  I even dug How She Boogalooed it even though I knew that the title was dated before the album was even off the shelf.  Darlin was OK too.  The rest?  It depends on the weather and my mood.

The album cover isn't a favourite either.

All in all I'd say this one was filler.  A 'what the phuck do we do now' kind of cheapo throwaway to kill time and tread water while they sat in dumb awe and watched as the world collectively said UP YOURS' to Smiley Smile.  A purposeful back to simplicity album my arse!!!

No it was a collective  back to the drawing board...and put those damned hot knives down stupid.  You really and truly blew it.  1967 was a VERY bad year.
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« Reply #197 on: April 13, 2015, 10:13:10 AM »

I ranked Wild Honey as a 4.  Depending on my mood, it's either a low 4, or a very high 3. 

This is the album where The Beach Boys start to pick up the pieces after the debacle of Smile / Smiley Smile.   

One can make an argument that this album kicks off the second golden era of The Beach Boys, the more band oriented era. 

They go back to basics.  No Wrecking Crew on this one, but the great harmonies are still there, particularly on my favorite track - Country Air. 

Carl is in top form on the title track, Darlin, and the cover of I Was Made to Love Her. 

Brian has some good contributions with Let the Wind Blow and I've Love Just Once to See You. 

This album is proof that there's life after Pet Sounds after all. 
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« Reply #198 on: June 19, 2015, 02:56:13 PM »

Love be this song. A 5 from me.

 A perfect response to the events that preceded it. One this I don't get is all the negative views on 'mama says' on here. I love it as a filler in a playlist and in general listening. 1:07 of a harmonised series of variations on one of Brian's greatest riffs...sign me up....
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« Reply #199 on: June 20, 2015, 10:44:10 AM »

Weird... I didn't realize Mama Says was so disliked. I heard Wild Honey before Smile, so I actually think falling in love with the vocals on Mama Says just made me love Vege-tables even more. I'm a sucker for pretty vocals.

Overall, this isn't the best album ever or anything, but it has a good handful of songs that I love (Darlin', Wild Honey, etc.). I want to say 3.5, but owning this album has helped to expose me to more Beach Boys than just surf songs and Pet Sounds. So 4?
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