Departed
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2019 5:50:10 GMT -5
I always had this idyllic picture of Brian's solo career before I started delving in. I imagined that surely, these must be great works of art that he'd always wanted to do but was hampered by the other guys, or the Beach Boy image/brand. Sadly, the deeper I get though, the more I have to admit that his solo stuff largely just isn't very good. Perhaps on some level it's losing the old spark to age and mental damage from illness and Landy's drug cocktails. On another, it's CERTAINLY poor choice of collaborators, from Landy himself to in this case the dreaded Joe Thomas.
But on the most basic fundamental level, I think Brian's biggest issue is management. Truly, I believe that more often than not, Brian's NOT interested in doing at least half of these solo projects, and is being goaded into it by those around him. I think Landy did it for the fame and money. I think Melinda and others do it more because it keeps him occupied and it's what he was born to do than any nefarious purposes. But I DO sense that Brian's (as often as not) not interested in making great albums anymore so much as just shooting the sh** for lack of a better phrase. I see this reflected in the often subpar performances on much of his solo work. As I've seen others say, when Brian cares about a project, you can HEAR it. BWPS and TLOS are perhaps the best examples. And when he couldn't be bothered because he's just going through the motions, either for a paycheck or to please those around him, you can hear that too.
More than the performances though, it just doesn't sound like the same Brian muse anymore from BW88 on to me. He doesn't have that same offbeat sincerity to his music that I loved so much in SMiLE, Smiley Smile, Busy Doin' Nothing, Mt Vernon and Love You. Nor does he have that universal angst and longing from Today, Pet Sounds and some of the earlier stuff either. He sounds reigned in, manufactured, and attempting to fit into the commercial sensibilities of the times. That's understandable and his right to do, but that was never him before and it's not what I personally love about his music. In the 60s, he seemed out to top the competition and make the best music ever. In the 70s, he had nothing to prove and just did what he wanted damn it all what anyone thought. 80s and on, it sounds like he's trying to fit in with the trends and fads. Im not sure if this is conscious on his part, or if it's his collaborators and managers pushing it, but I strongly suspect the latter. Either way, I hate it, and the music suffers because of it.
Nowhere does this seem to manifest itself more than No Pier Pressure, with the endless guests, as if to prove to the world (or the other Beach Boys as a "hey, you missed out fellas! Look who I can get to work with me instead!") that Brian Wilson is a big deal and worth paying attention to. But the thing is, there's no NEED to prove that to anyone who matters. It's like a mid-life crisis in musical production form, trying to impress the young cool kids that you're still "with it." It fascinates me too hear the conflicting tales of what this album was supposed to be during production, with one source saying it might have been three albums due to the various styles, but then Joe Thomas calling it the final piece in Brian's three-part "Life Suite" with the other two being Pet Sounds and SMiLE. This unintentionally ties in with the "musical mid-life crisis" I just described.
But I think Brian already created a Life Suite with his work as a Beach Boy. The pre-'65 albums are the "kid stuff" Thomas claims Pet Sounds is. Today and Pet Sounds are a teenager's mind set to music. SMiLE and Smiley Smile represent the bold experimentation only a young man in his 20s could truly do. And then the scattered 70s stuff, especially Love You and Adult/Child reflect that more adult-looking-back, nothing-to-prove-anymore perspective. As I laid out above, once you get to the solo stuff, including this, that Life suite ends as does any sense of growth of experimentalism as an artist. No way in hell is NPP representative of the final stage in Brian's growth, much less the equal in stature to PS and SMiLE. Listening to the album itself, I find it hard to believe these lofty heights were even the intent of Brian. I think he just wanted to make some music if anything, and the association with his two highest praised works was just empty hype.
I vividly remember the circus on SmileySmile that happened when this thing was being hyped up and finally dropped. That was when things really started unwinding at that place for a bunch of reasons. I won't get into specifics but I will just say I think it showed who's a fan and who's a fanboy in the Beach Boy circles. For me, the distinction is that fans are those that appreciate the music for their own personal reasons, and thus they aren't afraid to say when something doesn't hold up to that aesthetic they appreciate from the musicians, whatever that aesthetic or ideal may be. And the fanboys are those that will blindly praise whatever an artist (or company or whatever it may be) releases, simply because it has their name on it.
Brian was well within his rights to send that Facebook message expressing his hurt feelings at fan reactions to the guest vocalists...but we fans were well within our rights to voice dissatisfaction as well. I dislike being compared to those that told him not to "f*** with the formula" all those years ago. It's not stifling creativity to criticize--sometimes it's necessary for creativity to get constructive feedback. And I think that message was a very deliberate PR move to call back to his magnum opus, and give the defenders an emotional rallying cry bludgeon the skeptics with. It rubbed me the wrong way, and while I can't be sure, I have my suspicions it was written by someone else. Im not saying Brian didn't express a similar misgiving to the critics, but I think the wording was crafted/influenced by his PR machine, definitely. I bring all this up with the PR and fallout because for me it's a big part of the album and my feelings/perceptions surrounding it.
As for the actual MUSIC itself...it's not terrible. It's not unlistenable or offensive to the years...for the most part. But it's bland as dry white bread. Like Orange Crate Art, it sounds like something you'd hear playing at the mall over the loudspeakers. It makes me feel like I'm trapped behind the cash register at Sears again, or browsing some cheap, tacky gift shop at an airport. Not quite the mental image you'd expect, or that an artist would want to convey huh? It doesn't even sound like Brian Wilson, it sounds like someone TRYING to write like Brian Wilson--and those are the good songs! The bad ones sound like old generic cheesy easy listening artist. It might as well be anyone. It doesn't gel at all as a unified package. It sounds like a series of outtakes--from a variety of DIFFERENT artists no less--crammed into one throwaway package. Something you'd find in the bargain bin at Walmart, or the backshelf cutout bin at a used record store, with the curator begging you profusely to take it off his hands.
I have to agree with the critical consensus--this is Brian Wilson in name only. He's an afterthought on his own album, with even the arrangements lacking his creative punch. I truly believe, especially after listening, that his managers and collaborators did most of the work, had him do some vocal work, slapped his name on it and called it a day. And if Im wrong, all I can say is it's time to retire from writing new material, because it's just sad to see the most innovative musician of all time descend into producing this soulless dreck. I'm sorry if that's harsh, but hearing the man who gave us Pet Sounds, SMiLE and Love You reduced to recording hotel lobby elevator music like this is just too much to bear. Any of you guys seen Angry Beavers, the nickelodeon cartoon? Well, this is like when Norbert meets Treeflower again, and instead of a free spirited hippy chick, she's now a corporate suit LITERALLY playing elevator music. Basically a real life Caroline No situation, with Brian as Caroline.
I will say, I absolutely love the cover art and title. It's the best titled and covered solo album Brian has ever had, as well as the best for any Beach Boy related project since Holland. I could see that coming off as a backhanded compliment but I do genuinely appreciate these aspects of LPs as much as anything else. However, the title does indeed come off as ironic considering I firmly believe this project was largely influenced by--maybe even totally pushed on Brian by--his management and collaborators. The cover too is wasted here. The cover is badass and vaguely foreboding. It makes me feel like we're about to see the hidden underbelly of someone/something. Like, we're journeying somewhere hidden that goes unnoticed to those walking on the pier above, and we might not like what we find. It doesn't belong adorning this safe, boring, whitewashed...PRODUCT (not art, not music...PRODUCT).
I give it a 2. Hopefully someday he releases something new and goes out on a high note. At the same time, if he doesn't have another great one in him, I hope he'll have the sense to just keep to touring and enjoy the legacy he already has. No need to churn out PRODUCT for its own sake.
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Post by Beach Boys Fan on Jan 3, 2019 6:20:18 GMT -5
I find it very sweet that Brian's daughter Daria went with friends to enjoy walking by the pier, took pictures, then selected the best to use for Brian's album cover. Besides, she discussed with Brian which current artists she liked. He should pitch new album ideas with his kids like that again.
About the music - mixed bag. Bonus tracks like "Don't Worry" is cool, the best songs would be lead vocals by usual suspects like Al, Blondie. Best guest tracks feature Zooey (who's got voice which appeals to these ears, very attractive), then Nate (song about boulevard at Saturday). The last songs bring down the album. 7/10.
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Departed
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2019 6:58:19 GMT -5
I'm fond of NPP--it has an early summer feel to it. In fact, I'd put it at #2 after Brian Wilson (1988) in a list of BW's solo work. (I've never understood the vitriol poured on "Runaway Dancer".) I really like what I'm hearing--I have the Deluxe edition--up to and including "Saturday Night". I can do without the closer and the two bonus tracks. That's why I only gave it an 8.
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Post by kds on Jan 3, 2019 8:38:52 GMT -5
Ah, No Pier Pressure, the most divisive MOR album in history.
I think it's actually one of Brian's better solo albums, and as I believe Sheriff John Stone mentioned, it's probably his most BB sounding solo album. And it's not hard to imagine this as a potential follow up to TWGMTR.
I do think the decision to fill the album with guest artists had extremely mixed results. I think Runaway Dancer is one of the worst songs in the BB universe, up there with HCTN '79, Wipe Out, and Summer of Love. While on the subject of rap and dance music, I remain thankful that Frank Ocean was left off the album. Guess You Had to Be There is also pretty bad IMO. However, Saturday Night is a really good song IMO. Half Moon Bay is also a really good instrumental piece. On the Island is OK.
I think Sail Away is one of the best songs in Brian's solo career. Whatever Happened is up there too. Having Al Jardine on the album was a great decision.
The closing Last Song tries to replicate other recent album closers like Southern California and Summer's Gone, but sounds forced and flat IMO. It would probably be even worse with the Lana Del Rey on vox.
And as per usual with BB solo albums, there has to be some sort of BB remake, this time adding lyrics to Summer Means New Love. It's not bad, but not really necessary either.
For it's foibles, I still find NPP to be mostly enjoyable. 7/10
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dumbchops
Dude/Dudette
Posts: 83
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Favorite Album: Sail On Sailor
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Post by dumbchops on Jan 4, 2019 1:50:20 GMT -5
I have never been able to make it through the whole album awake. 3 out of 10. I like "Runaway Dancer" even though it belongs somewhere entirely else. "In The Back Of My Mind (1975)" is great as is "Love And Mercy" from the Katrina benefit. I still feel ripped off though having bought this entirely forgettable album by a legendary artist.
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Post by The Cap'n on Mar 8, 2019 10:21:28 GMT -5
8, which is probably a little generous. But 7 feels stingy.
The best of this album is pretty doggone good. "Saturday Night..." is a really good song; could have been a hit (30 years earlier). The worst is, sadly, similarly bad. However, "What Ever Happened," "On the Island," "Half Moon Bay," "The Right Time," "Guess You Had to Be There," "Don't Worry," "Tell Me Why," "Sail Away," "One Kind of Love," "Saturday Night," and even the forced "The Last Song" make a pretty solid album's worth of material.
Even some of the songs I don't include among the best of the bunch have their moments.
I'm not a fan of all the guest singers, but this album did prove to me that Brian Wilson cannot be the only, or probably even the primary, singer on an album anymore. His vocals are not good. They end up sounding OK, but that's multitracked to hell, buried in reverb and other processing. Syllables fade into echoey oblivion. He can't enunciate. He can't hit high notes, or even medium-high notes. He struggles with wordy lines. There's a lot of magical blending into and out from other people to give the impression Brian is doing more than he's doing vocally.
To be fair my opinion was already that he should lean on other singers. So maybe NPP was confirmation bias for me.
But let's end on a high note: I gave it an 8. Some of these songs are really good. Some of the arrangements are great. It's often a lot of fun.
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Post by aquarius on Mar 15, 2019 13:52:42 GMT -5
I like No Pier Pressure.
I think I get what Brian (and I mean Brian, not some zombie puppet) was going for and I think they mostly achieved it.
To me No Pier Pressure paints the picture Brian kind of wanted to paint: the picture of a sad, slightly confused man at the end of his life, with failing health and memory issues looking back on it all: remembering his youth and the fun he had, remembering his marriage, remembering his adventures, remembring lovers lost and gone to time. The music that accompanies this can be maudlin and sentimental and syrupy sweet...but the fact is, that's actually how your average man in that position feels and that is who I think the album is ultimately aimed at -- people Brian's age. In my opinion the album achieves a thematic unity that only That Lucky Old Sun had achieved before it among Brian's solo work.
As to the music, the melodies are uniformly good. Some of the songs might be more Thomas than Wilson, but I"m sure some of it is more Wilson than Thomas. The guest vocals work well for me -- once you accept the theme of the album, and see the young voices as the voices of a youth as seen from the past, they work even better.
My only quibbles are these: "The Right Time" is a transparent rewrite of "Lay Down Burden" and once you hear it, you can't unhear it.
Also, My version has 16 tracks on it (not counting "Love and Mercy" and "In the Back of My Mind".) I really think it's too long. I think cutting two or three tracks makes it a much stronger album. This goes for almost all albums that are over 40 minutes for me. Finally, I also think that the sequencing is slightly off. So I have tweaked it. But having done that, I have no problem rating it a 8.
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Post by AGD on Mar 15, 2019 18:21:35 GMT -5
Interesting theory, but not one I can subscribe to. For one thing, his daughters picked the collaborators (he later admitted he didn't know any of them). The least "Brian sounding" of all his solo albums, GIOMH included. If I had to rate it, it'd be at best 4.5. More honestly a 4.
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Post by lonelysummer on Mar 15, 2019 22:37:41 GMT -5
I always had this idyllic picture of Brian's solo career before I started delving in. I imagined that surely, these must be great works of art that he'd always wanted to do but was hampered by the other guys, or the Beach Boy image/brand. Sadly, the deeper I get though, the more I have to admit that his solo stuff largely just isn't very good. Perhaps on some level it's losing the old spark to age and mental damage from illness and Landy's drug cocktails. On another, it's CERTAINLY poor choice of collaborators, from Landy himself to in this case the dreaded Joe Thomas. But on the most basic fundamental level, I think Brian's biggest issue is management. Truly, I believe that more often than not, Brian's NOT interested in doing at least half of these solo projects, and is being goaded into it by those around him. I think Landy did it for the fame and money. I think Melinda and others do it more because it keeps him occupied and it's what he was born to do than any nefarious purposes. But I DO sense that Brian's (as often as not) not interested in making great albums anymore so much as just shooting the sh** for lack of a better phrase. I see this reflected in the often subpar performances on much of his solo work. As I've seen others say, when Brian cares about a project, you can HEAR it. BWPS and TLOS are perhaps the best examples. And when he couldn't be bothered because he's just going through the motions, either for a paycheck or to please those around him, you can hear that too. More than the performances though, it just doesn't sound like the same Brian muse anymore from BW88 on to me. He doesn't have that same offbeat sincerity to his music that I loved so much in SMiLE, Smiley Smile, Busy Doin' Nothing, Mt Vernon and Love You. Nor does he have that universal angst and longing from Today, Pet Sounds and some of the earlier stuff either. He sounds reigned in, manufactured, and attempting to fit into the commercial sensibilities of the times. That's understandable and his right to do, but that was never him before and it's not what I personally love about his music. In the 60s, he seemed out to top the competition and make the best music ever. In the 70s, he had nothing to prove and just did what he wanted damn it all what anyone thought. 80s and on, it sounds like he's trying to fit in with the trends and fads. Im not sure if this is conscious on his part, or if it's his collaborators and managers pushing it, but I strongly suspect the latter. Either way, I hate it, and the music suffers because of it. Nowhere does this seem to manifest itself more than No Pier Pressure, with the endless guests, as if to prove to the world (or the other Beach Boys as a "hey, you missed out fellas! Look who I can get to work with me instead!") that Brian Wilson is a big deal and worth paying attention to. But the thing is, there's no NEED to prove that to anyone who matters. It's like a mid-life crisis in musical production form, trying to impress the young cool kids that you're still "with it." It fascinates me too hear the conflicting tales of what this album was supposed to be during production, with one source saying it might have been three albums due to the various styles, but then Joe Thomas calling it the final piece in Brian's three-part "Life Suite" with the other two being Pet Sounds and SMiLE. This unintentionally ties in with the "musical mid-life crisis" I just described. But I think Brian already created a Life Suite with his work as a Beach Boy. The pre-'65 albums are the "kid stuff" Thomas claims Pet Sounds is. Today and Pet Sounds are a teenager's mind set to music. SMiLE and Smiley Smile represent the bold experimentation only a young man in his 20s could truly do. And then the scattered 70s stuff, especially Love You and Adult/Child reflect that more adult-looking-back, nothing-to-prove-anymore perspective. As I laid out above, once you get to the solo stuff, including this, that Life suite ends as does any sense of growth of experimentalism as an artist. No way in hell is NPP representative of the final stage in Brian's growth, much less the equal in stature to PS and SMiLE. Listening to the album itself, I find it hard to believe these lofty heights were even the intent of Brian. I think he just wanted to make some music if anything, and the association with his two highest praised works was just empty hype. I vividly remember the circus on SmileySmile that happened when this thing was being hyped up and finally dropped. That was when things really started unwinding at that place for a bunch of reasons. I won't get into specifics but I will just say I think it showed who's a fan and who's a fanboy in the Beach Boy circles. For me, the distinction is that fans are those that appreciate the music for their own personal reasons, and thus they aren't afraid to say when something doesn't hold up to that aesthetic they appreciate from the musicians, whatever that aesthetic or ideal may be. And the fanboys are those that will blindly praise whatever an artist (or company or whatever it may be) releases, simply because it has their name on it. Brian was well within his rights to send that Facebook message expressing his hurt feelings at fan reactions to the guest vocalists...but we fans were well within our rights to voice dissatisfaction as well. I dislike being compared to those that told him not to "f*** with the formula" all those years ago. It's not stifling creativity to criticize--sometimes it's necessary for creativity to get constructive feedback. And I think that message was a very deliberate PR move to call back to his magnum opus, and give the defenders an emotional rallying cry bludgeon the skeptics with. It rubbed me the wrong way, and while I can't be sure, I have my suspicions it was written by someone else. Im not saying Brian didn't express a similar misgiving to the critics, but I think the wording was crafted/influenced by his PR machine, definitely. I bring all this up with the PR and fallout because for me it's a big part of the album and my feelings/perceptions surrounding it. As for the actual MUSIC itself...it's not terrible. It's not unlistenable or offensive to the years...for the most part. But it's bland as dry white bread. Like Orange Crate Art, it sounds like something you'd hear playing at the mall over the loudspeakers. It makes me feel like I'm trapped behind the cash register at Sears again, or browsing some cheap, tacky gift shop at an airport. Not quite the mental image you'd expect, or that an artist would want to convey huh? It doesn't even sound like Brian Wilson, it sounds like someone TRYING to write like Brian Wilson--and those are the good songs! The bad ones sound like old generic cheesy easy listening artist. It might as well be anyone. It doesn't gel at all as a unified package. It sounds like a series of outtakes--from a variety of DIFFERENT artists no less--crammed into one throwaway package. Something you'd find in the bargain bin at Walmart, or the backshelf cutout bin at a used record store, with the curator begging you profusely to take it off his hands. I have to agree with the critical consensus--this is Brian Wilson in name only. He's an afterthought on his own album, with even the arrangements lacking his creative punch. I truly believe, especially after listening, that his managers and collaborators did most of the work, had him do some vocal work, slapped his name on it and called it a day. And if Im wrong, all I can say is it's time to retire from writing new material, because it's just sad to see the most innovative musician of all time descend into producing this soulless dreck. I'm sorry if that's harsh, but hearing the man who gave us Pet Sounds, SMiLE and Love You reduced to recording hotel lobby elevator music like this is just too much to bear. Any of you guys seen Angry Beavers, the nickelodeon cartoon? Well, this is like when Norbert meets Treeflower again, and instead of a free spirited hippy chick, she's now a corporate suit LITERALLY playing elevator music. Basically a real life Caroline No situation, with Brian as Caroline. I will say, I absolutely love the cover art and title. It's the best titled and covered solo album Brian has ever had, as well as the best for any Beach Boy related project since Holland. I could see that coming off as a backhanded compliment but I do genuinely appreciate these aspects of LPs as much as anything else. However, the title does indeed come off as ironic considering I firmly believe this project was largely influenced by--maybe even totally pushed on Brian by--his management and collaborators. The cover too is wasted here. The cover is badass and vaguely foreboding. It makes me feel like we're about to see the hidden underbelly of someone/something. Like, we're journeying somewhere hidden that goes unnoticed to those walking on the pier above, and we might not like what we find. It doesn't belong adorning this safe, boring, whitewashed...PRODUCT (not art, not music...PRODUCT). I give it a 2. Hopefully someday he releases something new and goes out on a high note. At the same time, if he doesn't have another great one in him, I hope he'll have the sense to just keep to touring and enjoy the legacy he already has. No need to churn out PRODUCT for its own sake. I agree with much of what you wrote, but I hear a lot of real, pure Brian in the 1988 album - and the b-sides and outtakes from that era. In fact, that's what made me fall in love with that music. I sensed his loneliness, his longing for companionship in songs like There's So Many, Being With the One You Love, Melt Away, Let it Shine, Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight. I was at a similar place in my life when I was hearing those songs. I listened and thought "Brian understands! He knows what it's like!" There was Brian, in that strange phase of his life, 1987/88, surrounded by Landy's people, but longing for love, someone to understand him. So maybe it's natural that when he married Melinda, that kind of feeling was no longer in his music. Orange Crate Art sounds like the music of a guy who is settled; to paraphrase one of the songs, his traveling days are through, he's ready to settle down as a married man; no more searching, looking around for fulfillment, he's found it, he's content being with the one he loves. Imagination is similar in that respect - the edginess is gone from his music. It's very happy music. But I have to agree that Brian's solo career has mostly been a disappointment. After reading countless stories from David Leaf and others about how the Beach Boys had held back Brian's creativity, it seemed like being a solo artist was the chance for Brian to finally be unleashed, and share his new works of genius with the world. But mostly what we've gotten is Brian doing what others around him want him to do.
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Post by aquarius on Mar 17, 2019 8:32:36 GMT -5
Interesting theory, but not one I can subscribe to. For one thing, his daughters picked the collaborators (he later admitted he didn't know any of them). The least "Brian sounding" of all his solo albums, GIOMH included. If I had to rate it, it'd be at best 4.5. More honestly a 4. i have no idea what “theory” you are talking about but then it doesn’t matter either. I was simply talking about the music and explaining why I like it: how some of the guests were chosen (which I did not mention) is not really relevant to my enjoyment of that music. Nice try but I’ll still enjoy it.
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Post by aquarius on Mar 17, 2019 8:51:56 GMT -5
I always had this idyllic picture of Brian's solo career before I started delving in. I imagined that surely, these must be great works of art that he'd always wanted to do but was hampered by the other guys, or the Beach Boy image/brand. Sadly, the deeper I get though, the more I have to admit that his solo stuff largely just isn't very good. Perhaps on some level it's losing the old spark to age and mental damage from illness and Landy's drug cocktails. On another, it's CERTAINLY poor choice of collaborators, from Landy himself to in this case the dreaded Joe Thomas. But on the most basic fundamental level, I think Brian's biggest issue is management. Truly, I believe that more often than not, Brian's NOT interested in doing at least half of these solo projects, and is being goaded into it by those around him. I think Landy did it for the fame and money. I think Melinda and others do it more because it keeps him occupied and it's what he was born to do than any nefarious purposes. But I DO sense that Brian's (as often as not) not interested in making great albums anymore so much as just shooting the sh** for lack of a better phrase. I see this reflected in the often subpar performances on much of his solo work. As I've seen others say, when Brian cares about a project, you can HEAR it. BWPS and TLOS are perhaps the best examples. And when he couldn't be bothered because he's just going through the motions, either for a paycheck or to please those around him, you can hear that too. More than the performances though, it just doesn't sound like the same Brian muse anymore from BW88 on to me. He doesn't have that same offbeat sincerity to his music that I loved so much in SMiLE, Smiley Smile, Busy Doin' Nothing, Mt Vernon and Love You. Nor does he have that universal angst and longing from Today, Pet Sounds and some of the earlier stuff either. He sounds reigned in, manufactured, and attempting to fit into the commercial sensibilities of the times. That's understandable and his right to do, but that was never him before and it's not what I personally love about his music. In the 60s, he seemed out to top the competition and make the best music ever. In the 70s, he had nothing to prove and just did what he wanted damn it all what anyone thought. 80s and on, it sounds like he's trying to fit in with the trends and fads. Im not sure if this is conscious on his part, or if it's his collaborators and managers pushing it, but I strongly suspect the latter. Either way, I hate it, and the music suffers because of it. Nowhere does this seem to manifest itself more than No Pier Pressure, with the endless guests, as if to prove to the world (or the other Beach Boys as a "hey, you missed out fellas! Look who I can get to work with me instead!") that Brian Wilson is a big deal and worth paying attention to. But the thing is, there's no NEED to prove that to anyone who matters. It's like a mid-life crisis in musical production form, trying to impress the young cool kids that you're still "with it." It fascinates me too hear the conflicting tales of what this album was supposed to be during production, with one source saying it might have been three albums due to the various styles, but then Joe Thomas calling it the final piece in Brian's three-part "Life Suite" with the other two being Pet Sounds and SMiLE. This unintentionally ties in with the "musical mid-life crisis" I just described. But I think Brian already created a Life Suite with his work as a Beach Boy. The pre-'65 albums are the "kid stuff" Thomas claims Pet Sounds is. Today and Pet Sounds are a teenager's mind set to music. SMiLE and Smiley Smile represent the bold experimentation only a young man in his 20s could truly do. And then the scattered 70s stuff, especially Love You and Adult/Child reflect that more adult-looking-back, nothing-to-prove-anymore perspective. As I laid out above, once you get to the solo stuff, including this, that Life suite ends as does any sense of growth of experimentalism as an artist. No way in hell is NPP representative of the final stage in Brian's growth, much less the equal in stature to PS and SMiLE. Listening to the album itself, I find it hard to believe these lofty heights were even the intent of Brian. I think he just wanted to make some music if anything, and the association with his two highest praised works was just empty hype. I vividly remember the circus on SmileySmile that happened when this thing was being hyped up and finally dropped. That was when things really started unwinding at that place for a bunch of reasons. I won't get into specifics but I will just say I think it showed who's a fan and who's a fanboy in the Beach Boy circles. For me, the distinction is that fans are those that appreciate the music for their own personal reasons, and thus they aren't afraid to say when something doesn't hold up to that aesthetic they appreciate from the musicians, whatever that aesthetic or ideal may be. And the fanboys are those that will blindly praise whatever an artist (or company or whatever it may be) releases, simply because it has their name on it. Brian was well within his rights to send that Facebook message expressing his hurt feelings at fan reactions to the guest vocalists...but we fans were well within our rights to voice dissatisfaction as well. I dislike being compared to those that told him not to "f*** with the formula" all those years ago. It's not stifling creativity to criticize--sometimes it's necessary for creativity to get constructive feedback. And I think that message was a very deliberate PR move to call back to his magnum opus, and give the defenders an emotional rallying cry bludgeon the skeptics with. It rubbed me the wrong way, and while I can't be sure, I have my suspicions it was written by someone else. Im not saying Brian didn't express a similar misgiving to the critics, but I think the wording was crafted/influenced by his PR machine, definitely. I bring all this up with the PR and fallout because for me it's a big part of the album and my feelings/perceptions surrounding it. As for the actual MUSIC itself...it's not terrible. It's not unlistenable or offensive to the years...for the most part. But it's bland as dry white bread. Like Orange Crate Art, it sounds like something you'd hear playing at the mall over the loudspeakers. It makes me feel like I'm trapped behind the cash register at Sears again, or browsing some cheap, tacky gift shop at an airport. Not quite the mental image you'd expect, or that an artist would want to convey huh? It doesn't even sound like Brian Wilson, it sounds like someone TRYING to write like Brian Wilson--and those are the good songs! The bad ones sound like old generic cheesy easy listening artist. It might as well be anyone. It doesn't gel at all as a unified package. It sounds like a series of outtakes--from a variety of DIFFERENT artists no less--crammed into one throwaway package. Something you'd find in the bargain bin at Walmart, or the backshelf cutout bin at a used record store, with the curator begging you profusely to take it off his hands. I have to agree with the critical consensus--this is Brian Wilson in name only. He's an afterthought on his own album, with even the arrangements lacking his creative punch. I truly believe, especially after listening, that his managers and collaborators did most of the work, had him do some vocal work, slapped his name on it and called it a day. And if Im wrong, all I can say is it's time to retire from writing new material, because it's just sad to see the most innovative musician of all time descend into producing this soulless dreck. I'm sorry if that's harsh, but hearing the man who gave us Pet Sounds, SMiLE and Love You reduced to recording hotel lobby elevator music like this is just too much to bear. Any of you guys seen Angry Beavers, the nickelodeon cartoon? Well, this is like when Norbert meets Treeflower again, and instead of a free spirited hippy chick, she's now a corporate suit LITERALLY playing elevator music. Basically a real life Caroline No situation, with Brian as Caroline. I will say, I absolutely love the cover art and title. It's the best titled and covered solo album Brian has ever had, as well as the best for any Beach Boy related project since Holland. I could see that coming off as a backhanded compliment but I do genuinely appreciate these aspects of LPs as much as anything else. However, the title does indeed come off as ironic considering I firmly believe this project was largely influenced by--maybe even totally pushed on Brian by--his management and collaborators. The cover too is wasted here. The cover is badass and vaguely foreboding. It makes me feel like we're about to see the hidden underbelly of someone/something. Like, we're journeying somewhere hidden that goes unnoticed to those walking on the pier above, and we might not like what we find. It doesn't belong adorning this safe, boring, whitewashed...PRODUCT (not art, not music...PRODUCT). I give it a 2. Hopefully someday he releases something new and goes out on a high note. At the same time, if he doesn't have another great one in him, I hope he'll have the sense to just keep to touring and enjoy the legacy he already has. No need to churn out PRODUCT for its own sake. After reading countless stories from David Leaf and others about how the Beach Boys had held back Brian's creativity, it seemed like being a solo artist was the chance for Brian to finally be unleashed, and share his new works of genius with the world. But mostly what we've gotten is Brian doing what others around him want him to do. I could not agree more with this last sentence: it is a VERY filtered Brian we are getting. I still enjoy most of the music, and what we get is what we get, but you wonder what we would have got in a different situation.
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Post by AGD on Mar 17, 2019 17:22:32 GMT -5
Interesting theory, but not one I can subscribe to. For one thing, his daughters picked the collaborators (he later admitted he didn't know any of them). The least "Brian sounding" of all his solo albums, GIOMH included. If I had to rate it, it'd be at best 4.5. More honestly a 4. i have no idea what “theory” you are talking about but then it doesn’t matter either. I was simply talking about the music and explaining why I like it: how some of the guests were chosen (which I did not mention) is not really relevant to my enjoyment of that music. Nice try but I’ll still enjoy it. This: "I think I get what Brian (and I mean Brian, not some zombie puppet) was going for and I think they mostly achieved it. To me No Pier Pressure paints the picture Brian kind of wanted to paint: the picture of a sad, slightly confused man at the end of his life, with failing health and memory issues looking back on it all: remembering his youth and the fun he had, remembering his marriage, remembering his adventures, remembring lovers lost and gone to time. The music that accompanies this can be maudlin and sentimental and syrupy sweet...but the fact is, that's actually how your average man in that position feels and that is who I think the album is ultimately aimed at -- people Brian's age. In my opinion the album achieves a thematic unity that only That Lucky Old Sun had achieved before it among Brian's solo work." Your opinion that NPP was a cogent attempt by Brian at a twilight version of Pet Sounds rather than the grab-bag of odds and ends & random guests that it patently is. The only unity I can discern is that Brian wasn't that fussed about it, and it shows. YMMV, of course.
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Post by Al S on Mar 17, 2019 20:48:25 GMT -5
When I first got my hands on NPP, I played it a lot and had a great penchant for Right Time and Sail Away - for the whole, most songs were pretty solid, Brian sang well and my few reservations were saved for Last Song, One Kind of Love Zoey Deschanel on anything anywhere and the Two banana skin side step of Somewhere Quiet.
However, like BWPS, it’s overall appeal faded pretty quickly in the coming weeks. I don’t think I’ve even thought or desired to listen to it for some years now, probably since 3 months post it’s release.
As I run it through my cranial juke box, I still dig Moonlight Bay and This Beautiful Day - possibly because of their mutual tantalising glimpses of things still left unfinished; the Life Suite for the former and (I’m speculating) the Jeff Beck hook-up for the latter, but little else makes me want to crack it out for a stream.
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Post by Jason (The Real Beach Boy) on Apr 2, 2019 7:38:53 GMT -5
1.5. Sure, it's not as horrible an experience as Gettin' in Over My Head was, but this one just does not add up in the end. Remove Our Special Love and Runaway Dancer and this becomes a 6.5 - never have two festering turds dragged down an album so much, in my view.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2019 8:27:06 GMT -5
I turned on this record for the first time in a few years and thought I'd share my track-by-track thoughts.
Overall it was a better listening experience than I had recalled.
1. This Beautiful Day --Gorgeous lush Brian harmonies. What more can one ask for in a 2000s Brian Wilson solo album? 10/10
2. Runaway Dancer --This is a pretty awful track. 2/10
3. What Ever Happened --Personally, I think this track is gorgeous. The harmonies are terrific and Al's vocal soars. Maybe the best full song on the album. 9/10
4. On the Island --It's not great, but it's a better island diddy than Bill and Sue from TWGMTR. I give it a 4/10.
5. Half Moon Bay --Ok, maybe this is the best full song on the album. It's gorgeous and nostalgic. I find no flaws with this track. 10/10
6. Our Special Love --I happen to enjoy this one though I know others do not. The lyrics needed some work. The intro and bridge are nice. 6/10
7. The Right Time --Perfectly enjoyable 2000s beach boys track. No, this is not 60s/70s good. But it's perfectly fine for a band that's been touring for 50+ years. 7/10
8. Guess You Had To Be There --This one has grown on me a lot. There's a nice message in this song, and the production and vocals are good (though not great). I give it a 7/10.
9. Tell Me Why --I understand why beach boys fans find this track unnecessary or even heretical. I don't think it's such a big deal. I don't think it's meant to 'replace' the 60s track. I just think it's a nice little addendum to some pleasant music. 5/10.
10. Sail Away --This one is pretty corny but there's some nice imagery in here and Blondie's vocal is excellent. 4/10.
11. One Kind of Love --This sounds more like a typical BW solo song that we've been accustomed to over the years. The lyrics don't really make sense though. 7/10.
12. Saturday Night --Kind of dull, but good execution similar to the Kacey Musgraves track. I enjoy this one less. 5/10.
13. The Last Song --What a dud! As a person who holds Summer's Gone in a divine light, this track does next to nothing for me. The chord progression is boring and lame. It's sappy and over the top; almost to the point of being unlistenable to me. 4/10.
All in all, not a devastatingly bad album. I think that TWGMTR set the bar really high, and this album doesn't come close to its peaks. However, there is some good stuff on this one. The instrumentation, nostalgic vocals, and harmonies are good to great on most of these tracks. The chord progressions are a bit stale and the lyrics leave a lot to be desired.
Overall I give the album a 6/10. I still think of it as an accomplishment for Brian, and not a mistake. I hope it is not the final solo BW album, as I believe he continues to demonstrate through the years he is still capable of A++++ songwriting when the conditions are right.
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Post by jds on Nov 10, 2019 15:57:54 GMT -5
I give it a 2 because it's not unprofessionally made or anything.
It's a shame that in 2015 Brian Wilson solo projects were still being treated as boondoggles for industry hacks and well-meaning superfans. Just look at the personnel listing -- albums are cheaper and easier to make than ever, there's no good reason that it took over fifty people to make this.
Managerial malpractice.
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Post by Micha on Nov 13, 2019 8:56:29 GMT -5
Not my album. So boring it makes me angry. The only song I can find anything worthwhile in is "On the Island", while "Runaway Dancer" is the least disappointing track as is not like Brian in any way whatsoever, so one doesn't expect anything of it. Once in a while I put this album on and disappoints me just like the first time. The vinyl track sequence is a bit better than the CD. The worst of it all is that it sparked the great disharmony between fans on the SS board between those who worship Brian and those who worship the incredibly great music Brian created decades ago. I'm glad this isn't a Beach Boys album. I had hoped for another TLOS or TWGMTR, but it wasn't to be.
I remember reading an interview at the time where Brian hinted that he originally wanted to use the whole Beach Boys on this album before he had to turn to guest vocalists. I think if that was the case and had Mike bowed to Brian's wishes and allowed this to be another Beach Boys album, Mike would be the lead singer on "Sail Away" and Blondie wouldn't be on it.
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Post by AGD on Nov 16, 2019 12:39:47 GMT -5
Actually "Runaway Dancer" sounds a lot like its original, pre-Sebu, incarnation as "Talk Of The Town".
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Post by lonelysummer on Nov 18, 2019 2:48:09 GMT -5
Is this going to be Brian's last studio album? If we do get another album from Brian and crew, i'm sure it will be a live one - Brian Wilson Presents Pet Sounds Live - Again!
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Post by AGD on Nov 18, 2019 11:13:04 GMT -5
I sincerely hope with all my heart that Brian never does another live album.
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Post by filledeplage on Nov 18, 2019 11:40:46 GMT -5
I sincerely hope with all my heart that Brian never does another live album. Some of the NPP stuff I really like and has a BB feel to it. I like the cover photo - and how they incorporated it into the Sound Stage performance which featured the best songs from that group, which might have been a great release with Blondie doing WH, Nate Ruess doing Hold on Dear Brother, and Darlin’ which is very watchable. And, Al/Blondie doing The Right Time and Sail Away. I like that performance a lot.
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Post by AGD on Nov 18, 2019 14:09:52 GMT -5
I hear this guy called Wilson was there too - how was he ?
Seriously, I've got that DVD and She & Him aside, I like it a lot... but the thought of a 2020s BW live album makes me shudder.
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Post by filledeplage on Nov 18, 2019 14:29:27 GMT -5
I hear this guy called Wilson was there too - how was he ? Seriously, I've got that DVD and She & Him aside, I like it a lot... but the thought of a 2020s BW live album makes me shudder. Of course he is - but one of the criticisms of NPP was the guests. I thought this performance was really good.
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Post by John Manning on Dec 12, 2019 9:10:16 GMT -5
I keep forgetting that there's a CD of the Soundstage stuff as well… must search through the collection…
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Post by John Manning on Dec 12, 2019 9:11:02 GMT -5
I sincerely hope with all my heart that Brian never does another live album. Never thought I'd say "agree", but "agree".
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