Great and poignant version of Tank Park Salute, St J...choked me up as my dear old Dad is suffering dementia.
I found a biography of the Beach Boys from 1984 on Prime last night, and apart from an hour and three quarters of gorgeous music, it reminded me what an utter genius Brian Wilson is. I love this song for many reasons, in all its different versions, but here’s Brian solo, doing the demo cut from 1967 which was, much later, released on Smile. If anyone has a clue as to what the words might mean, please divulge!
Did you know that Glen Campbell was a Beach Boy for about six months covering for Brian Wilson while he did his national service?
Not quite, Brian stopped touring with the band in 1964 after a panic attack and was replaced first by Campbell, and then by Bruce Johnson, who became a permanent member. Brian didn’t play another live gig with the Beach Boys until the mid-1990’s but was always the major musical influence and songwriter in the band. It’s all in the excellent movie The Beach Boys: An American Band that I mentioned above.
On a video of a Glen Campbell live concert he said National service. Probably sounded more professional than panic attack
Very true. Brian of course later became severely mentally ill, due mainly to drugs and alcohol, but the seeds were possibly sown in those early, intense, touring years. His brother Dennis also suffered from drugs and alcohol dependency and died in 1983 by diving off a friend’s yacht at Marina Del Rey. Brian repaid Glen Campbell for his help by producing one of his albums later on.
I watched this film recently and it appears that his therapist deliberately misdiagnosed him and basically controlled his life for a few years, well worth watching if you haven't seen it... https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903657/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1a
I love the way everyone clearly had so much fun making this video, and find myself smiling every time I watch it. Jimmy Somerville is a genius but so many people made this well worth watching. One of the best from the 80's .....
