| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| geertos |
Posted - 05/18/2005 : 05:44:35
Anybody's going to check out Brian Wilson's European tour this summer? It's going to be a hits-oriented show, as opposed to the Smile-shows last year. I've seen two of those Smile-shows, but I'll pass for this one - mainly because the only show he'll be doing in Belgium is a crappy festival. Imagine this: first a local band, then Brian Wilson, then two more local bands, and finally Duran Duran and Lenny Kravitz as headliners.
Also, a new album will be released in October '05. A Christmas album. His third one. It contains only two new songs, new versions of his sixties-Xmas-album, and some traditionals. What the f***?! So that's probably his 5th or 6th album in a row with re-recordings of old material. I would have thought he'd finally got that monkey off his back after Smile.
(I wouldn't bother you with these ramblings, except that I like to talk about Brian Wilson, and that I wasn't able to activate my account for a Wilson-forum. And there seem to be some Beach Boys fans over here.) |
| 22 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| billgoodman |
Posted - 05/26/2005 : 07:22:55
nice!
 "I joined the cult of Jon Tiven/Bye!" |
| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 05/26/2005 : 07:06:14
Oh, I forgot to mention, you get an awesome poster inside the DVD with this picture on one side: 
and another cool picture of the current Brian on the other side (I can't decide which side to put up).
ˇViva los Católicos! http://adrianfoster.dmusic.com/ |
| billgoodman |
Posted - 05/25/2005 : 23:31:49
I will consider it NimrodsSon
thanks for the info
"I joined the cult of Jon Tiven/Bye!" |
| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 05/25/2005 : 18:55:59
Buy a 5.1 sound system! Not only for this, but for everything else that comes in 5.1. It's definitely worth it. I got mine for only about $150 (which probably means it's pretty crappy, but I don't care, it's still 5.1 and it still sounds amazing to my ears).
On the live show vocals about as good as they can get from him, very good in some spots with a few bum notes here and there. Of all the bootleg concerts floating around, I'd say this is the best one, the mix is great, the performance is great, and you get to see it on video (and it's 5.1, but you don't care...).
ˇViva los Católicos! http://adrianfoster.dmusic.com/ |
| billgoodman |
Posted - 05/25/2005 : 15:24:12
I don't have 5.1 sound system
so I couldn't care less
but that's a pretty amazing review though
got to have it
how are Brian's vocals?
"I joined the cult of Jon Tiven/Bye!" |
| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 05/25/2005 : 09:33:50
The DVD contains Beautiful Dreamer, an amazing SMiLE concert (in 5.1 audio), Mrs. O'Leary's cow from the opening night of the SMiLE tour, about 5 or six great interviews (including an amazing one with Van Dyke interviewing Brian), a cool picture slideshow with music playing in the background (which doesn't sound that great when you think about it, until you realize that the music in the background is 5.1 mixes of instrumental only SMiLE tracks--Roll Plymouth Rock, On a Holiday, and Wind Chimes), an approximately 15 minute piece with "after the show" reactions (from the first SMiLE show) from fans, band members, and others (this doesn't necessarily sound that great either, but it is--you'd have to watch it), a 15 minute segment showing recording sessions for the new SMiLE album (in which Brian is in complete control of everything, producing the tracks just like he did in the 60's), and some great videos of Brian playing songs off SMiLE, as well as the Andantino Moderato section from Rhapsody in Blue, on the piano and some with Carol Kaye accompanying him on bass. It's got a few other odds and ends as well. Did I mention 5.1 mixes of SMiLE songs? For example, if you watch the fan Heroes and Villains video (which is probably the least appealing part of the DVD), you get to hear the complete Heroes and Villains song in 5.1. Also, you probably noticed when you saw the documentary that all throughout it, instrumental SMiLE tracks are playing in the background. Well, on the DVD there is a great feature that allows you to hear the music only in the documentary, without the talking, so thats several more instrumental tracks in 5.1. It's well worth the $20, trust me!
ˇViva los Católicos! http://adrianfoster.dmusic.com/ |
| billgoodman |
Posted - 05/25/2005 : 09:08:06
Amsterdam last year was packed
sold out in minutes
"I joined the cult of Jon Tiven/Bye!" |
| Newo |
Posted - 05/25/2005 : 04:48:44
He´s playing Barcelona in July, which seems mighty appealing. I can´t see it selling out here so I can probably just walk right in.
--
"Here love," brakes on a high squeak, "it´s not backstage at the old Windmill or something, you know." |
| billgoodman |
Posted - 05/25/2005 : 02:59:20
yeah I downloaded Beautiful Dreamer months ago
Great stuff
Would like to have the original DVD with the concert
going to buy it soon!
"I joined the cult of Jon Tiven/Bye!" |
| geertos |
Posted - 05/25/2005 : 01:41:06
Don't have it (yet)
It contains the "Beautiful dreamer" documentary by David Leaf on the making of Smile 67 and Smile 04, doesn't it? Seen it twice already on television, great stuff indeed. My favourite moment is Bernsteins speech and the solo performance of Surf's up. And the finale with the performance of Good Vibrations in London had me in tears.
And a complete performance of Smile in LA... Well, I've seen that twice for real, so I'm not really interested anymore.
What else is on it? Apparently "nearly two hours of never-before-seen bonus footage", but what does that exactly mean, Nimrod?
BTW: if you order the DVD at LSL-production, you get a bonus audio disc, but I don't know if it's that interesting apart for an instrumental version of Surf's Up 04 http://www.lslproductions.com/store.htm
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| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 05/24/2005 : 18:33:01
So has anyone besides me gotten the DVD? It's incredible! Everything you could possibly want is on this DVD...well, okay, not everything, but a hell of a lot of great stuff. If you like Brian, and especially if you like SMiLE, GET IT!
ˇViva los Católicos! http://adrianfoster.dmusic.com/ |
| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 05/20/2005 : 12:23:13
He sings in tune on SMiLE, though you may not like his voice. He's pretty out of tune live at times, but he's definitely gotten a lot better over the past several years and even over the past year. He doesn't have his falsetto anymore, but on songs that are right in his range he can sing in tune.
ˇViva los Católicos! http://adrianfoster.dmusic.com/ |
| Kirk |
Posted - 05/20/2005 : 12:04:38
so...when's Brain Wilson gonna start singing in-tune? |
| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 05/20/2005 : 12:01:44
It's a crappy name, but oh well. I agree that Smiley, Wild Honey, Friends, Sunflower, were great albums, and other acts followed in pursuit, so I don't know what happened there. I guess you've got acts like Hendrix entering the picture and to a lot of people it just sounds like pussy rock. But I think, obviously, people were expecting a lot with SMiLE, and though the subsequent albums were great, they just weren't what people were expecting and that hurt the Beach Boys a lot.
But then look at another issue, the current Beach Boys (Mike and Bruce) are, I'm sure, doing far better than Brian, selling much more tickets, and playing far bigger venues. And I think part of the reason may be that, though the general public immediately acquaints Paul McCartney with the Beatles, not as many people know that Brian Wilson was a Beach Boys, or if they did, they don't know the role he played in the Beach Boys, so perhaps they just don't care and would rather spend their $40 on Mike and Bruce's act (which I have to admit is decent enough, though I would much rather see Brian any day).
ˇViva los Católicos! http://adrianfoster.dmusic.com/ |
| geertos |
Posted - 05/20/2005 : 06:21:32
OK, so they didn't release Smile and lost the race for the new sound. But they released Smiley Smile, Wild Honey and Friends, a low profile back-to-basics direction, which the Beatles and the Stones would soon follow after their experiments with production and psychedelia (White Album after Pepper; Beggar's Banquet after Satanic Majesties Request). So sonicly, nothing really went wrong... But it's a fact, they really fell out of favor from that moment on, probably due to the combination of factors you pointed out, and never recovered since.
My 0.02 $: it's mainly the band name. The Beach Boys, that's one bad band name, that is. I feel even more ashamed in record stores when I go looking through the Beach Boys section, than when I go through the Monkees, the Byrds (kool spelling mistake) or the Zombies. |
| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 05/19/2005 : 17:57:05
Well, the reason for that all dates back to 1967 when Brian failed to release SMiLE and chose to pull the Beach Boys out of Monterey, and of course, the Beach Boys really fell out of favor with the hip crowd. There are a lot of interesting theories on the subject, and you've got questions like, why are the Stones, the Beatles, etc. played on classic rock radio stations and you only hear the Beach Boys on oldies radio? I think if SMiLE was released back then, we would be seeing something totally different. Brian dropped SMiLE and basically fell by the wayside in the race for the new sound, while the Beatles, on the other hand, finished Sgt. Pepper. If Brian had gotten SMiLE out in the 60's, and even more importantly, gotten it out before Sgt. Pepper, I think Brian would be as popular or more popular than, say, Paul McCartney today and we would be seeing sold out shows across the board, potentially, in much bigger venues.
ˇViva los Católicos! http://adrianfoster.dmusic.com/ |
| geertos |
Posted - 05/19/2005 : 06:30:00
I agree, highly appreciated ... among journalists and hardcore fans.
But as far as the general public is concerned... Hardly any concert in the Smile-tour was sold out. And we're talking about lousy 2000-seat venues, or even smaller
(source: http://www.mydadstruck.com/cabinessence/viewtopic.php?t=383&sid=a36758d71b590b1dfa15ab0676ba7560)
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| billgoodman |
Posted - 05/19/2005 : 05:55:03
but at least they made some records (well not all of them)
brian and ray didn't release that much
and besides Brian's SMiLE-tour is highly appreciated worldwide
"I joined the cult of Jon Tiven/Bye!" |
| geertos |
Posted - 05/19/2005 : 04:56:55
quote:
Originally posted by fbc
quote:
Originally posted by geertos
and finally Duran Duran and Lenny Kravitz as headliners.
oh my god that made me shudder. I'm sorry you had to witness such dross.
I didn't, luckily. Because I Don't feel like witnessing B.W. as a reduced opening act, playing for one hour in daytime, for an uninterested audience. But it shows you exactly what his relevance is in today's music industry. And releasing another Christmas album won't change that image, I'm afraid, rather on the contrary.
But I don't get it. Why is he fallen out of grace so much (and Ray Davies as well actually), and not people like Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Randy Newman, John Fogerty, Lou Reed? It's not like they've done anything very interesting the last 15 years or so.
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| billgoodman |
Posted - 05/18/2005 : 23:36:46
I'm optimistic too
why not
Smile was beautiful, even it was not the real thing, even it was written 35 years ago
it was still a great achievement that he produced it so well.
"I joined the cult of Jon Tiven/Bye!" |
| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 05/18/2005 : 11:52:19
A great Brian Wilson forum, by the way, (the one on his official website is shit!--although he and his wife stop by and talk on it occasionally) is the Smile Shop, if you haven't been there already.
Anyways, I saw the SMiLE show in Atlanta last year and was very impressed, but I don't plan on going to any of his U.S. shows this year. About recording old material: yeah, I wish he would write more songs (I believe there are maybe two new ones on the Christmas album), but I can't help but be optomistic about the Christmas album. I mean, maybe he's really back into producing great albums again after SMiLE, and maybe (though it's highly unlikely, but one can hope) he's made a Christmas album as good as Spector's masterpiece. But on a positive note in regards to new songs, he's said he's written many new songs for an album he plans on doing sometime soon, possibly with Van Dyke Parks.
And the SMiLE DVD comes out next week!
ˇViva los Católicos! http://adrianfoster.dmusic.com/ |
| fbc |
Posted - 05/18/2005 : 11:05:30
quote:
Originally posted by geertos
and finally Duran Duran and Lenny Kravitz as headliners.
oh my god that made me shudder. I'm sorry you had to witness such dross.
I'll be making the cruise down to London to see him play.
Me a big Beach Boy/Brian fan.
Loop de loop flip flop |
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