I ****ing love the internet!, I'd never heard of this brilliant psychedelic concept album by American artist Keith from 1969 before... It's very early Bowie-esque.
When i got my first lap top in 2000 , i remember trying to 'test' the internet for the most obscure jazz i could find and managed to buy a book of sheet music by te obscure but cultish 1950s jazz pianist Herbie Nichols from America. Since then , most musicians post their music oj their websites ti buy but i was staggered by fibding tge Nichols 'unpublished works. ' Sorry....unable to post a link to his music.
Only one thing better than a jangly Tele, and that’s two of ‘em. Fabulous, a bit of a Manics vibe about them I thought.
There's no mistaking the Steely Dan influence of this Canadian band which is no bad thing in my book. Intelligent, melodic and well crafted songs never go out of style...
The brilliant Robyn Hitchcock playing a concert of a selection of songs from 1967? yes please! So good in fact I'll post the whole show...
He took Soul and Funk music to new levels of sophistication inventing Progressive Soul mixed with sometimes political social commentary and of course a massive influence on later bands... I'd love to have seen them live, their sound is just so joyous... R.I.P. Sly...
Talking of utter greats, there is no question that Brian Wilson is among the greatest musicians ever to have walked this mortal plain, from which he has now departed. God Only Knows what we would have been without him. RIP Brian
Musical genius. RIP Brian. Don't Worry Baby, you've left Good Vibrations behind. EDIT: If Everyone Had An Ocean.....
I have always felt that there is something missing from the assessment of the Beach Boys. Their musical ambition as pop artists was probably unprecedented for the 1960s. Tracks like 'God only knows' crambs in as many musical ideas within it's 3 minute duration as Jelly Roll Morton or Duke Ellington did between 1927 and mid 1940s. It does fascinate me because Brian Wilson understood jazz harmony but did not have a thorough formal education as i understand. I am perplexed whether the charts were notated by Wilson or improvised. I would imagine any notated scores would be complex. Either way, the results were pretty sophisticated and , as someone who loves colour in music , i think are almost unsurpassed in pop music. The backing musucians om 'Pet sounds' included some impressive names like Plas Johnson (better known for tenor sax in 'The Pink Panther' theme) , Barney Kessel , Frankie Capp etc. I do wonder if any of The Wrecking Crew had an input in the arrangements. Did Wilson write the string charts ? I think the 'word' genius is over used for 20th music. There were many individuals who radically changed music in 20th century ranging from Debussy to the likes of Bartok , Shostakovich , Scriabin , Messaien and on to more diverse artists like Ellington , Bird , Miles , Coltrane , Ornette and Hendrix. I would be hard pressed to include Brian Wilson amongst such a list but would argue that there have been relatively in pop music who have sought to experiment like him. The most obvious name to me after Wilson would be Bjork. I would argue that Wilson was more musically interesting than The Beatles and certainly more radical. The Beech Boys are effectively aural bubble gum yet there is sufficient going on in the music to inspire serious critical analysis. It is difficult to combine music which has popular appeal with musical intelligence. Wish more pop artists tried to be as ambitious or thought about musical production like him.
I suggest you listen to more of the Beach Boys’ catalogue Ian. The attached song is as far removed from “aural bubble gum” as you can get, and I find your lack of appreciation for one of the few who genuinely deserve the accolade of genius rather sad.
So in your eyes (or ears) is it just “aural bubblegum” because it’s not Jazz? When you use this term to describe someone like Brian Wilson, I think a lot of people might think that a little ignorant (I certainly do). Sometimes your assessments do come across as a little snobbish. Musical “intelligence” takes many forms and sometimes it can even happen outside Jazz! I actually like Jazz however your constant quality comparisons between it and popular music are a good example of why a lot Jazz musicians have earned a reputation for being elitist. Not personal at all, more an observation.
Chilco My point was the few people in pop music think 'musically' like Wilson did. I would struggle to think of other pop groups who think about harmonies like Wilson. The percussion parts on 'Pet sounds' also intrigues me 'I would also repeat that few bands are aubject to such serious critical analysis . This is really rare for pop music. My only query is how much of this was Wilsin's work and how much was others. Was improvisation involved ? I was not denegrating the music....just intrigued that the internet is vague on what Wilson orchestrated or whether it was his concept worked out in the studio. In my opinion, the music is obviously worthwhile exoloring.
NN I get your point and no offence taken. What i am trying to say is that the more you understand music theory, the more tools you have in your box to express yourself. I don't think it is elitist. Wilson was serious about this music and he was far more adventurous or curious than his contemporaries.
