Uncanny

BOSTON MUSIC SPOTLIGHT "I was in India at the Maharishi’s place and Paul McCartney came to the breakfast table with his acoustic guitar and said, 'Hey, listen to this, Mike: [sings] Flew in to Miami Beach B.O.A.C. …' and all that. He sang me the verses of 'Back in the USSR' and I said to him, 'Paul, you ought to talk about all the girls around Russia – Moscow girls, Ukraine girls, Georgia on my mind…' and he did. He did the entire music thing, and I just gave him the idea for that – for the bridge. The next time I heard it was when it was out on the 'White Album.' But I guess my being there influenced him in the Beach Boys way. [laughs] We’ve even done 'Back in the USSR' on stage because it’s fun to do; it’s sort of like 'Fun, Fun, Fun' only with different lyrics, you know?"

BOSTON GLOBE

Brian Wilson On Tour

USA
BROOKLYN VEGAN
TICKET NEWS
CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND
STRANGE GLUE
LIVE DAILY

UK
MIRROR UK
INDEPENDENT
NME
JOURNAL LIVE
CLASH MUSIC
UNCUT
MUSO’S GUIDE
METRO UK

Mike Love & the Beach Boys band
SEA COAST ONLINE
CONCORD MONITOR
SHERBROOKE RECORD
CAPE COD ONLINE
THE HERALD BULLETIN
NEW HAMPSHIRE.COM

Brian Wilson & Peter Blake book
RETRO TO GO
EYESTORM
SWITCHED ON ART

Vintage Q&A w/ Brian Wilson
AMERICAN SONGWRITER

The time has come for a Sandy Bull revival. His first three albums are reissued on vinyl. His daughter, K.C. Bull, made a documentary film about her father called “No Deposit No Return Blues.” Sandy Bull came out of the mid-20th century folk revival and created an idiosyncratic style on a variety of stringed instruments (guitar, banjo, oud, etc.). Even more so than his contemporaries (John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Steve Mann, Peter Walker, Peter Lang, Max Ochs, Sunni McGrath, Harry Taussig) Bull drew from an incredibly wide range of genres- folk, jazz, rock, blues, classical, country, middle eastern and Indian, to name but a few. He recorded two side-long improvisations with legendary jazz drummer Billy Higgins (Ornette Coleman), one on each of his first two albums, and later worked with another great jazz drummer, Dennis Charles (Cecil Taylor), on his fourth album.

The Too Cool To Die blog has a video excerpt from K.C. Bull’s documentary “No Deposit No Return Blues.” You can see Bob Neuwirth and Wavy Gravy reminisce about Sandy Bull.

SUTRO PARK reissued Sand Bull’s 1st three albums on vinyl: "Fantasias for Guitar & Banjo (1963), "Inventions" (1965), "E Pluribus Unum" (1968).

FORCED EXPOSURE sells Sandy Bull CDs and LPs

Sandy Bull on MYSPACE

Sandy Bull on WIKIPEDIA

GLOBAL VILLAGE IDIOT has an interview with Sandy Bull

SIBLINGSHOT has MP3s from Sandy Bull's 4th album "Demolition Derby"

Here are three articles about Sandy Bull:

NEW PARTISAN
HUFFINGTON POST
TIN HOUSE

The Beach Boys/Brian Wilson connection to this promo is slightly obscure. There’s no mention of BB/BW on the disc. However, well informed BB/BW fans will know that track 15, “Be Still,” by Stephen John Kalinich, was co-produced with Brian Wilson. This track comes from the album “A World of Peace Must Come.” Although it was recorded in 1969, “AWOPMC” was not officially released until 2008 by Light in the Attic Records. “AWOPMC” features the poetry of Stephen John Kalinich with spare musical accompaniment by Brian Wilson. Some tracks have SJK reading his poetry alone. Others have light background touches- occasional background vocals by BW and Marilyn Wilson, acoustic guitar, music box, electronic noises, etc- but the poetry is the overall focus. It’s definitely a period piece, drenched in late ‘60s peace and love, but it’s still fascinating. It shows what can happen when two hep heads get together and let the moment take over. The prevailing tone/mood is somber and reverent. “Be Still” begins as BW and SJK have a brief discussion about the origins of the poem and the connection to the song SJK wrote with Dennis Wilson. BW asks SJK if he can add some organ, SJK says OK, and off they go.

This promo was packaged as a bonus with THIS LP CRASHES HARD DRIVES, an album released in conjunction with Record Store Day. “TLPCHD” was released by no less than 10 different labels:

NUMERO GROUP
SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
DAPTONE
NOW AGAIN
HONEST JONS
JAZZMAN
FINDERS KEEPERS
VAMPI SOUL
TIMMION
LIGHT IN THE ATTIC

This is an eight song EP pressed to promote the 3-CD Beach Boys compilation ”The Platinum Collection: Sounds of Summer Edition”. It’s a “silver” disc, not a CD-R. The disc is housed in a simple, two-sided card sleeve. While I enjoy the use of the “classic” typography on the words “The Beach Boys,” I’m not a fan of the rest of the design, which was also used on the official release. Both the promo and the official release were manufactured in the EU. It consists of eight songs- “California Girls,” “Good Vibrations,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “God Only Knows,” “In My Room,” “I Get Around,” “Surf’s Up,” and “Kokomo.”

I think this promo got wider exposure than other promos. As I recall, I got this as a freebie with a purchase I made at a record store. I can’t remember which store. This promo came out way before the official release. (The promo’s copyright date is 2004, while the official release is copyrighted 2005.) I seem to remember that the release date for “TPC” was pushed way back, and for a prolonged time it was not even clear if it would ever come out. But, in the end, “TPC” finally saw release.

Compared to other Beach Boys collections, “TPC” stands up very well. It’s basically ”Sounds of Summer” on steroids. With 60 songs total, you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Front of outer sleeve with inner sleeve inserted

Front of outer sleeve without inner sleeve inserted

Back of outer sleeve with Swedish sticker

Front of inner sleeve

Back of inner sleeve

Top of disc

This CD single was pressed by Nonesuch to publicize the release of “Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE.” It’s a “silver” disc and not a CD-R. For a promo single it has fairly elaborate packaging. The disc slips into a two-sided card sleeve which then gets housed in it’s own die-cut outer sleeve. The sun’s smile is cut out which allows the words “Good Vibrations” to peak through when the inner sleeve is inserted. When you remove the inner sleeve you see that the word “SMiLE” is printed on the inside of the outer sleeve. A sticker with Swedish text is affixed to the back of the outer sleeve.

Most of the text on the back of the inner sleeve is difficult to read; the tiny white letters on a yellow background are hard to make out. Here’s the text in a readable format:

Good Vibrations
Written by Brian Wilson/Michael Love/Tony Asher Published by Irving Music (BMI)

Taken from Brian Wilson’s masterpiece “SMiLE” released September 27th, 2004

SMilE is inarguably the most long awaited album in modern pop history. It’s been more than 37 years since the title first appeared on a label release schedule intended as the January 1967 follow up to the groundbreaking art rock of the Beach Boys’ PET SOUNDS. 100,000 SMiLE record jackets and booklets were printed; ads were taken out in BILLBOARD and teen magazine; admiring journalists allowed in the studio to observe what Wilson and his precocious lyrist/arranger, the 22 year old Van Dyke Parks, were so fastidiously creating. “GOOD VIBRATIONS’ was a harbinger of this concept album to come: a startlingly arranged, spiritually uplifting, goose-bump inducing ”pocket symphony,” in Wilson’s words, that became in 1966 the Beach Boys first million selling single, topping the charts in both the US and the UK.

But SMiLE never made its initial release date, delays mounted along with the pressure, and the project as Wilson had originally envisioned, it was finally abandoned. SMiLE was, as NEWSWEEK declared, “the most famous pop album never released.” Until now.

Wilson’s all new studio recording of the completed SMiLE includes “GOOD VIBRATIONS” featuring the original unreleased verses by PET SOUNDS lyricist Tony Asher.

In the annals of rock-and-roll history, there is no greater legend than Brian Wilson’s lost masterwork known as “SMiLE.” THE WASHINGTON POST, February 2004

Brian Wilson’s lovely and long-anticipated work is a masterpiece of Americana… Wilson and Parks created a glorious piece of music whose grand ambition is outstripped only by its inherent beauty and cumulative power. LOS ANGELES TIMES 2004

This is for promotional use only. Not for sale.

THE INDEPENDENT "By now a pattern was set for the Brian Wilson interview technique. Talking to him is like feeding a corpse. You spoon in questions, clarify what you just said, repeat the original question, put your head on one side, smile, flirt, nod – and when he's ready, he'll offer the tiniest quantum of communication known to mankind. Often it's one laconic word. Sometimes he'll repeat your question as a statement. Disagree with him and he'll hastily agree with you. Sometimes his answers are rather sweet and childish."

EUCLID SUN JOURNAL has an interesting quote from legendary songwriter/musician Jimmy Webb. I don't recall ever hearing about this exact quote being attributed to VDP. I'll have to check some reference books to see if it jogs the memory. Nevertheless, it certainly sounds like something VDP would say.

"[Jimmy] Webb, a music writer and lyricist, often writes lyrics that leave people wondering. In 'MacArthur Park,' for example, the cryptic line 'someone left the cake out in the rain' is found. When asked what that means, Webb said, 'I don't answer that.' He then laughs, apologizes and says he isn't trying to be difficult. 'It's just that I don't have a particularly good explanation,' he said. Citing lyricist Van Dyke Parks' answer when confronted by singer Mike Love about an obtuse lyric in a Beach Boys song Parks had written, Webb quotes Parks as saying, 'I have no excuse, sir.'"

EDIT 1: "Tunesmith", a book written by Jimmy Webb, has the VDP quote.

EDIT 2: Webb doesn't give an exact citation for this quote, but from the context it seems that the quote comes from "Heroes & Villains", a book written by Steven Gaines that was first published in 1986. I have not looked at that book in ages. Now I have a reason to flip through it again.

I previously blogged about this advance copy of "What I Really Want For Christmas" at UNCANNY MARK 1. I didn’t have access to a scanner back then, so no scans on the original blog. There’s not too much else to write because I covered it pretty well back in 2005. I would add that unlike most advance promo discs, this one is not a CD-R; it’s a factory-pressed “silver” disc. Also, the printing on the top is not too dissimilar from what you’d expect for an “official” release. The design even has elements from the official release’s packaging, like Brian’s green signature and the red and white coloring. In the legal fine print there’s a warning that “certain computers may not be able to access the digital file portion of the audio disc.” I never put this disc into my computer because I’m worried about the malicious root kit that Sony BMG hid in some discs around the time this album came out. Better safe than sorry.

My views on the album are pretty much the same as they were back when it first arrived. With the exception of the two “new” tunes, there’s nothing really that outstanding here, just solid renditions of classic Christmas songs. The two new songs, “Christmasey” and “WIRWFC” are still the standouts and the only real reason for buying this album, unless you are a tremendous fan of Christmas songs.

Here are my original notes:

On Friday, September 16, 2005 I finally received a promo disc of Brian’s upcoming solo Christmas album, "What I Really Want For Christmas." There are no inserts in the jewel case. Printed on this disc: “Album Advance” & "For Promotional Use Only. Not For Sale." The disc is protected by a copy control system. The disc artwork is simple---a red background with a graphic of a piece of paper that's curled at the bottom, with Brian's signature in green and the album title below it.

Here’s the track listing, and track times, from the disc, along with some of my own notes:

ALBUM ADVANCE
1. The Man With All the Toys (2:59)
2. What I Really Want for Christmas (3:50)
3. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (3:27) country ‘n’ western feel a la "Theme From Rawhide", funky sax outro
4. O Holy Night (4:28)
5. We Wish You A Merry Christmas (2:36) nice flute solos, towards the end big change, turns real rock ‘n’ roll, kids (Brian’s?) say "Merry Christmas and a happy New Year"
6. Hark the Herald Angels Sing (3:34)
7. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (3:08) a capella intro, set in waltz time, Ray Charles gospel feel
8. First Noel (4:47) also waltz, keys & electric guitar intro sounds very "Pet Sounds"
9. Christmasey (4:08) nice harmonica solos and outro, kinda like from an Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western, also has touches of Brian’s "crooner" album, "Adult Child"
10. Little Saint Nick (2:11) standard rendering, nice little rocker
11. Deck the Halls (2:36) Caribbean lilt with rock flavor
12. Auld Lang Syne (1:29) a capella, no real lead vocal, if Brian’s voice is there, it’s hard to distinguish
BONUS TRACKS
13. On Christmas Day (3:23)
14. Joy to the World (2:06) subtle synth (?) beds provide solemn atmosphere
15. Silent Night (0:49) a capella, Brian on lead, at end Brian says, "Hi, this is Brian. I’d like to wish all of you and your families a very merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year."

Total Time: 46:06

This promo disc came with a "one-sheet", written by David Leaf. Brian Wilson is quoted as stating the following: "Christmas music itself is a very special type of music. It seems to have been written by a godly kind of thing, a godly force brought that down to us."

"I love Christmas because family gets together for the holidays. We all share each other. It’s a wonderful time of year. [I] used to sing these songs to myself when I was a little kid, so recording this album was a little bit of a sentimental thing for me. I love Christmas music, ballads for sure but especially when it’s set to a rock ‘n’ roll beat and the chance to record some of my all-time favorites…well, it just seemed appropriate at this point in my career."

"I loved making this record. When I listen to it, I feel proud and sentimental. Me and my band put out heart and soul into playing the songs and recording the vocals, so I hope the music means as much to other people as it does to me."

Clive Davis, Chairman, BMG US is quoted as stating: "Brian Wilson is a real legend and unparalleled creative genius. The arrangements and the production, the interpretations of the songs all show his individual, unmistakable stamp. In working with Bernie Taupin and Jimmy Webb, Brian really had gone after collaborations with masters and it shows. The result is two new timeless Christmas songs that live up to the criteria for this kind of ‘Christmas classic’ album, that live up to the standard of the timeless great ones. On this record, Brian is ‘being Brian,’ doing a superlative job with the harmonies, the vocals, the tracks, really taking Christmas classics to the zenith of their respective potential. So it has been a joyous project from the beginning."

As I just received the disc, I haven’t really had a chance to thoroughly listen to the album. Nevertheless, here are some provisional remarks. First of all, I should note that I’m naturally disinclined to enjoy a Christmas album. You see, I’m Jewish and was not raised with Christmas songs around the house. Despite my natural bias against Christmas songs, "What I Really Want For Christmas" is a very fine album, expertly arranged, produced and performed by Brian.

Those fans unhappy with the fact that Brian handled both the lead vocals and background vocals on most of "Getting In Over My Head" will be pleased to know that while Brian takes all the leads on his new album, the background vocals are handled superbly by his band. In fact, it’s the vocals that really make this album shine; the harmonies are deep and rich. Furthermore, the production style is classic Wilson; overall, the "sound" of the record is very much in line with the sound Brian & Co. achieved recently with "SMiLE."

The standout tracks are the two new tunes: the title track, with lyrics by Bernie Taupin, and "Christmasey", with lyrics by Jimmy Webb. The title track slowly unfolds into an exquisite arrangement. The title track starts with an a capella intro; then, little by little, touches of piano, chimes, flute and harp caress Taupin’s sophisticated lyrics. The drums don’t come in until approximately 1:14 into the track. The track stands up very well against the other classic Christmas songs on the disc.

"Christmasey" also stands up very well. The song is full of fun and cheer. Two excellent harmonica solos, plus and instrumental outro, create tension and release throughout the song. The last lines of the song sum up the feeling Webb was trying to relate: "It didn’t snow/But we all agree/It’s still Christmasey."

The Beach Boys/Brian Wilson Promo CD Extravaganza will continue as I find time to go through more of my promos. Look for more entries in the up-coming days.

Amazing DJ/producer/musician Steinski heralds a victory against corporate dunderheads who want to take back promos they give away.

More on the victory here and here and here.

Foetusized discusses promos, cut-outs and their unique labels

BROOKLYN RAIL discusses some new films by legendary avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger.

"'My Surfing Lucifer' (2008, 5 min, video) 'My Surfing Lucifer' is a brief, rather uneventful but nonetheless enjoyable film of 'Surfing’s divine prince of decadence,' Bunker Spreckels (who inherited fifty million dollars at age 21), surfing to the Beach Boys Good Vibrations. Though 'My Surfing Lucifer' mostly consists of medium/long shots, Anger produces some interesting close ups as Bunky surfs in a slippery, jet black wetsuit in emerald green water against a heavily saturated blue sky."

FINANCIAL TIMES The USA needs politicians like Christian Engström of the Pirate Party. Mr. Engström writes that, "On MySpace and YouTube, creative people post audio and video remixes for others to enjoy, until they are replaced by take-down notices handed out by big film and record companies. Technology opens up possibilities; copyright law shuts them down. This was never the intent. Copyright was meant to encourage culture, not restrict it. This is reason enough for reform. But the current regime has even more damaging effects. In order to uphold copyright laws, governments are beginning to restrict our right to communicate with each other in private, without being monitored."

At least the US has bright minds like Lawrence Lessig, too bad he is not an elected official or a member of the FFC board.

EDIT 1: I'm pretty sure that "What Love Can Do" is just a re-packaged & re-titled version of this disc which came out some time ago.

EDIT 2: 429 Records has a website with more information & song samples

PRNEWSWIRE "429 Records is announcing the release of a one-of-a-kind collection of songs by some of the music world's most creative songwriters. Titled "WHAT LOVE CAN DO," it's a project put together by legendary producer Phil Ramone that brings together celebrated musicians such as Brian Wilson, Kris Kristofferson, Kenny Loggins, Burt Bacharach and many others each of whom have gone back into the studio to recreate one of their all-time hits as well as a brand new song. It's a unique idea where artists, under the creative genius of Phil Ramone, record a fresh take on a timeless classic while also offering an up-to-date example of their artistry. Brian Wilson's remake of "God Only Knows" sparkles next to his all new song and album title track "What Love Can Do" (the first single from the project going to radio) as an example. WHAT LOVE CAN DO will be released on 429 Records on August 4."

"WHAT LOVE CAN DO is more than just a nostalgic look back for the artist and the listener but it's a heartfelt message from each artist involved that their music is more vibrant and evocative than ever. The lineup of artists participating in the project is truly stellar representing the pop, rock, folk and jazz genres."

1) "God Only Knows" Brian Wilson
2) "Un Baile Del Corazon" Stephen Bishop
3) "Your Goodbye" Richard Marx
4) "A Love Song" Kenny Loggins
5) "Sunday Morning Coming Down" Kris Kristofferson
6) "I Still Remember" Burt Bacharach, John Pagano
7) "Rainbow Connection" Paul Williams, Willie Nelson
8) "Hold On To The Nights" Richard Marx
9) "The Wonder" Kris Kristofferson
10) "I'll Remember Your Name" Kenny Loggins
11) "New Music From An Old Friend" Paul Williams, Jane Monheit
12) "Save It For A Rainy Day" Stephen Bishop, Eric Clapton
13) "Alfie" Burt Bacharach, Peabo Bryson
14) "How About Now" Kenny Loggins
15) "What Love Can Do" Brian Wilson

I’ve already blogged about the “POB/Bambu” promo here and here. Nevertheless, this album deserves repeated attention since it’s just a killer. I can still remember the first time I came across “POB/Bambu.” It was the early stages of my interest with Brian Wilson & the Beach Boys, ca. 2002, and I had no clue that Dennis Wilson had released a solo album. But I was mad about BW/BB. Every time I walked into a record store the first thing I did was look under “B” for Beach Boys and “W” for Wilson. While browsing through the “W” bin at Kief’s Downtown Music I stumbled across a 2 CD-R bootleg that had “POB” on one disc and “Bamboo” (that’s how it was spelled pre-official release) on the other. Knowing nothing of their contents, I purchased the discs on a whim and a hunch. From the moment the first few notes of “River Song” flowed out of my speakers I was hooked. Since that moment, “POB/Bambu” has remained one of my most favorite album(s) in the BW/BB cannon. While not quite as sublime as “SMiLE,” with “POB/Banum” Dennis gave brother Brian a run for his money.

I was primed when the news circulated that “POB/Bambu” would finally get an official release. Years listening to the mediocre music on my bootlegs had made me eager to hear quality versions of these amazing tunes. (I was never fortunate enough to find an original copy of “POB” on vinyl or the first CD release. I had to settle for a CD-R rip of the official CD and other related bootlegs.) On April 1, 2008, when I finally got the advance promo of “POB/Bambu,” I was blown away for a second time. It was almost like hearing the album for the first time. The sound was so much deeper, richer, fuller and majestic than I could have ever hoped for. Even better, there were several tracks I had never heard of, let alone heard on bootlegs.

The promo advance was very spartan. The two CD-Rs and accompanying track lists didn’t even come in a jewel case. They came in a flimsy, generic plastic wallet. The track list for disc 1 had a typo and was crossed out in black by the record company before the discs were sent out. The record company also sent with the discs a substantial press packet that contained most of the album/liner notes, press releases from the original release of “POB” as well as several scans of vintage music magazine articles about the album.

For the record, do not assume that because I receive a free, advance promo of an album I don’t purchase the album. In fact, the day “POB/Bambu” first hit stores, I was there, money in hand, and purchased a copy the old fashioned way. The same thing can be said for most of the other advance promos I’ve received through the years. Without exception, if I received an advance promo of a BB/BW album, I also purchased the official release through official channels.