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Post by lonelysummer on Jul 20, 2022 20:22:54 GMT -5
Even though I love Carl, I voted "What the hell was he thinking". I have tried so hard to like this album. It literally puts me to sleep. It's not even great background music for work. I'd rather listen to Nickelback . To me - the only saving grace is "Heaven", which is a beautiful song. I have seen and heard clips of him performing some of the songs live, and they do sound better without all of that awful slick 80's production. I have never purchased the LP or the CD - but have access to it on Apple Music. At least I didn't waste my money. "awful slick 80's production" Well, the Beach Boys weren't exactly known for rough, raucous garage rock. And as another former teen idol said, "you can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself".
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Post by E on Jul 21, 2022 2:51:30 GMT -5
I wouldn't call the production of Carl Wilson, 'slick.' Youngblood, however, has that 'slick' empty AOR feel to it.
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Post by jk on Jul 21, 2022 4:25:56 GMT -5
I wouldn't call the production of Carl Wilson, 'slick.' Youngblood, however, has that 'slick' empty AOR feel to it. Agreed. I'd say the one truly slick (possibly without the L) element on CW is what AGD calls the "lounge orchestra-style sax break" on "Seems So Long Ago". Now that is a major blot on what to me is otherwise an okay album (unlike its successor).
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Post by Awesoman on Jul 22, 2022 8:35:00 GMT -5
Yeah neither of his solo albums seem to hold much weight in terms of production. Kind of sad, really. If anyone from that group had the best potential of a healthy solo career you'd think it would be Carl. He was by far the strongest and most radio-friendly vocalist at that point in the group and his success should have been a no-brainer. Instead, his solo output gets the least attention and acclaim when compared to both of his older brothers' offerings.
That had to be rather frustrating to return to the group (especially after Dennis had passed) just to ride the rest of his career out mostly in the oldies circuit. Thankfully he was able to do that album with Lamm and Beckley but Carl deserved to have more personal successes outside of the Beach Boys.
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Post by lonelysummer on Jul 22, 2022 23:45:59 GMT -5
Yeah neither of his solo albums seem to hold much weight in terms of production. Kind of sad, really. If anyone from that group had the best potential of a healthy solo career you'd think it would be Carl. He was by far the strongest and most radio-friendly vocalist at that point in the group and his success should have been a no-brainer. Instead, his solo output gets the least attention and acclaim when compared to both of his older brothers' offerings. That had to be rather frustrating to return to the group (especially after Dennis had passed) just to ride the rest of his career out mostly in the oldies circuit. Thankfully he was able to do that album with Lamm and Beckley but Carl deserved to have more personal successes outside of the Beach Boys. I was just starting to get into the Beach Boys when Carl's albums came out, so my memories may be a bit biased, but I remember the first album getting quite a bit of play on our local stations. The local AOR station was regularly spinning "What You Gonna Do About Me" and "Heaven" regularly, and when the latter became a single, I was hearing it on other stations, too. One of the A/C stations really took to "Givin' You Up" off the second album. In contrast, I don't recall ever hearing ANY of Dennis or Brian's solo stuff on the radio. Brian's 1988 album got tons of press, but that didn't seem to translate into great sales. A lot of the press around Carl going solo was "is he going to return to the Beach Boys?" It seemed like that was of more interest to some than listening to his new music. For the most part, the reviews I recall seeing were very positive. It wasn't until I got online and started seeing fan comments about his albums that I became aware that a lot of people didn't like them. Initially, the same was true of "Like a Brother"; now years later, that album seems to have been re-assessed.
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Post by boogieboarder on Jul 23, 2022 10:18:23 GMT -5
Speaking of the Carl Wilson song “Giving You Up,” for me the lyrics of a song aren’t normally as important as a good melody, but in this case the singer comes across as a very unlikable fellow. I can’t imagine singing that song and getting any favorable response or sympathy.
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Post by lonelysummer on Jul 24, 2022 0:04:02 GMT -5
Speaking of the Carl Wilson song “Giving You Up,” for me the lyrics of a song aren’t normally as important as a good melody, but in this case the singer comes across as a very unlikable fellow. I can’t imagine singing that song and getting any favorable response or sympathy. I guess you wouldn't be sympathetic unless you had walked down that road.
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