Classic Album Poll (#1)

Before the poll thing gets run into the ground again, I'm gonna try and do some "classic album" polls, just for the hell of it. This week, it's PET SOUNDS by the Beach Boys

Taboo, because im a lazy bastard, would you please do a poll question for Led Zeppelin IV???? THE GREATEST ROCK ALBUM OF ALL TIME!!!!!!

Originally posted by Mr. Streak Taboo, because im a lazy bastard, would you please do a poll question for Led Zeppelin IV????THE GREATEST ROCK ALBUM OF ALL TIME!!!!!!

That may come up, but right now I'm picking albums that DON'T SUCK!!!!

Nah, that may very well be next week's (having just stolen Mr. Streak's suggestion, I snicker malevolently away into the darkness)

muchas gracias senior. i just may have to send you some christmas tamales....

I've only actually heard one of these tracks !

Originally posted by Benny's Cobweb Eyes I've only actually heard one of these tracks !

That's alright, you can't account for your poor tastes.....:D

Theres alot of "classic albums" i dont own yet, and i dont have a good reason why not. as a passionate lover of music, i intend to eventually get such albums, money provided of course, like the first Doors' record, "Pet Sounds", which Ive heard alot about, the first VU album, ANYTHING by David Bowie. I am sure I will need something by Pink Floyd, and a whole boat load of other bands. This is a really good thread Taboo, hopefully you can tip me off to someone I have never given a listen to b4.

Originally posted by Taboo # 7 > Originally posted by Benny's Cobweb Eyes> I've only actually heard one of these tracks !

That's alright, you can't account for your poor tastes.....:D

Cheeky currant

I tried to vote for 'I just wasn't made for these times' but the page had a fit. If you're a fan, I highly recommend making yourself a CD of the album that substitutes the original speed version of 'Caroline No' for the one on the album. The original speed version exists in both mono and stereo mixes on the boxed set. It is much better than the sped up version, which wasn't Brian's idea. I consider it to be the best vocal performance I've ever heard from a pop singer. It's really not the Beach Boys but rather Brian as a solo artist, which is how it was originally released on 7". Another funny thing about that record is that Sloop John B was not supposed to be on it, Capitol threw it on at the last minute because it was the current hit and they were terrified that the record would not only not be a big hit but would also destroy the Beach Boys' fan base. I've listened to that record nearly every day for about the last 2 years.

Put my 2 cents in for Here Today. Incidentally, this album is one of the Martian's very favorites. Hope he's listening to it.

Sloop John B for me. If it wasn't meant to be on the album, was it recorded during the same sessions? Sloppy/Benny you should own this.

Never liked the Beach Boys. Never saw the point. Each to their own.

Originally posted by Benny's Cobweb Eyes Never liked the Beach Boys. Never saw the point. Each to their own.

Well I was a very late convert(this year). Probably in my all time top ten now.

I never liked the Beach Boys until I heard 'Smile', then I became a big fan of the Pet Sounds - Smile period and a few songs from a little later, and I do like some of the earlier stuff now too.

I guess you could say 'Sloop' was recorded at the same sessions, it's hard to draw an exact line because of the way Brian was working at the time, but he basically was recording a lot with the same core group of studio musicians with only occasional vocal or guitar overdubs by the other Beach Boys, and he always let Dennis play drums on at least one track per album. The rest of the band was generally out touring during that period. 'Sloop John B' was done before the work started specifically for the album that Brian wanted to do of all his songs (with lyrics by Tony Asher) the way he wanted in a more grown up, Beatles inspired style, but it wasn't long before, you can hear it develop in the box set. That song came out as a single while they were working on what Brian wanted to be the album. Fans generally consider the dividing line to be the early stages of 'Good Vibrations' which you can also hear on the box set. They would go on to record an insane amount of material for that song but the later versions and the single are clearly from the 'Smile' period.

I recently gave back the box set having had it on loan for a couple of months. Didn't they spend $75,000 recording good vibrations? Sounds like an insane amount for the time. The theremin sounds on the demo versions of Good Vibrations were shit compared with the commonly known version.

Originally posted by Benny's Cobweb Eyes I've only actually heard one of these tracks !

you must have heard three of them

god only knows sloop john b & wouldnt it be nice

you probably dont recognise them from the titles though

Originally posted by hibster > Originally posted by Benny's Cobweb Eyes> I've only actually heard one of these tracks !

you must have heard three of them

god only knows sloop john b & wouldnt it be nice

you probably dont recognise them from the titles though

We used to sing 'sloop john b' in music lessons in primary school. Is it not a very old song, i.e. not the Beach Boys creation?

The only Beach boys song I slightly like is surfing USA. Though I prefer the Jesus and Mary Chain version...

Hank - there's quite a few versions of Good Vibrations on the various bootlegs, including some really trippy ones with lots of tape echo and fuzz bass as well as more theremin, the one near the end of the 'Smiley Smile' CD among the bonus tracks has a sampling of some of those takes. The fuzz bass rules ! I highly recommend getting 'Smiley Smile' if you don't already have it, it has some great tracks (along with some filler and singles). Fall Breaks and Back to Winter, She's Goin Bald and Little Pad are all amazing. Fall... sounds like the Residents. It has some songs from Smile in greatly inferior versions (Vegetables and Wonderful). The Good Vibrations - 30th Anniversary box set includes about 1/2 of Smile, it's pretty essential. I've got about a half dozen different versions of the full album of Smile...

GV was a very expensive project, especially considering that the parts that actually made it onto the single are a very small fraction of what was recorded, the Smile version is much better though. It was a big hit and has been a money maker ever since, so I don't think anybody could say it wasn't money well spent. Some of the bootlegs have it with the original lyrics, which are cooler than the retarded Mike Love replacement lyrics.

yes 404, Sloop John B is an old traditional tune from the West Indies

There's much discussion of the song, but nobody actually VOTED for sloop john b. shame on all of you.

I, too, am a big fan of this thread and agree that there should be more of them, just as long as its on stuff I know about. (wink) Pet Sounds is a great album whatwith all the theramin and excellent production. However, I really can't get into the beach boys as much as some other people because to me it seems that their biggest selling point is their production, which I can appreciate, but I think due to technology being what it is and protools and all of that its easy to discount it.

A random question if anyone knows the answer.. I read an article about Brian Wilson and he mentioned that "Smile" never saw the light of day because the situation surrounding the recording of it was way too crazy and I don't think he liked it that much. Didn't they release "Smiley Smile" insead? (what a horrible, horrible name) BW mentioned that he destroyed the masters of "Smile" himself. I think its unfortunate because I'm sure its about 30 minutes of drug induced 60s pop magic =)

Nice thread Taboo; never thought I would see a thread about the Beach Boys here :) 'Smile' was never finished; it's true that things got too crazy. Brian Wilson has said recently that the pressure of the rest of the band (who wanted to continue with the succesfull surf sound) was the main reason he abandoned the project. This, plus drugs and an extremely fragile personality caused a nervous breakdown. He stayed in bed for about 3 years. Quite a lot of the Smile stuff has been released later on various Beach Boys albums in some shape or other. As said 'Smiley Smile' contains a few; other famous Smile tracks that were released are Surf's Up, Cabinessence and Our Prayer.

BTW I Just Wasn't Made For These Times is my favourite track on Pet Sounds.

Brian has indeed said that he destroyed the tapes, but that is not true, he says a lot of weird things in interviews. The GV boxed set with the Smile tracks came out *after* that interview. In any case there isn't a single master tape of the whole album, it never got to that stage, there are instead many, many multitrack tapes from the sessions and overdubs and a fair number of two track mixes of individual songs, plus a bunch of other tapes that include the tracking with the talkback mic mixed in, so you can hear Brian directing the musicians and engineers in real time as they were working, just like the stuff on the Pet Sounds box. Smiley Smile is hilarious to me because if you listen to Smile (there are bootlegs that are pretty much complete and in the same order that the record was slated for prior to the plug being pulled), which they didn't release, and then Smiley Smile, Smile actually sounds a lot more coherent and commercial, at least to me. It was definitely a break with the past, but it was '67 and change was afoot. Smiley Smile sounds kind of schizophrenic and thrown together as a collection, and that version of Wonderful is just creepy.

'god only knows' is one of the most perfectly perfect songs ever written. and it features in my favourite movie--boogie nights. this only makes it even more perfect. PERFECT!

Originally posted by bill stevens There's much discussion of the song, but nobody actually VOTED for sloop john b. shame on all of you.

b]

That bit were I say Sloop John B for me and the vote in that column are not immediately obvious then? Wasn't it a slave song?

Originally posted by 404 error > Originally posted by hibster> > > > Originally posted by Benny's Cobweb Eyes> > I've only actually heard one of these tracks !>

you must have heard three of them

god only knows sloop john b & wouldnt it be nice

you probably dont recognise them from the titles though

We used to sing 'sloop john b' in music lessons in primary school. Is it not a very old song, i.e. not the Beach Boys creation?

The only Beach boys song I slightly like is surfing USA. Though I prefer the Jesus and Mary Chain version...

wasn't that by jan & dean originally?

Originally posted by hibster > Originally posted by 404 error> > > > Originally posted by hibster> > > > > > > Originally posted by Benny's Cobweb Eyes> > > I've only actually heard one of these tracks !> > >

you must have heard three of them

god only knows sloop john b & wouldnt it be nice

you probably dont recognise them from the titles though

We used to sing 'sloop john b' in music lessons in primary school. Is it not a very old song, i.e. not the Beach Boys creation?

The only Beach boys song I slightly like is surfing USA. Though I prefer the Jesus and Mary Chain version...

wasn't that by jan & dean originally?

'Surfin' USA' was a cover/rewrite (done by Brian Wilson)of 'Sweet Little Sixteen' by Chuck Berry. Jan & Dean may have recorded it as well though.

thank you kindly.

Ohmigod I just freaked out. I'm sitting here at my desk at work reading the classic album poll and f'n Don Henley walks by my desk. I know its not too related, but I just felt like sharing.

If anyone's wondering, I work for an entertainment law firm.. supposedly one of our clients in Christina Aguilera.. oh the (violent) imagination runs wild..

Originally posted by bill stevens Ohmigod I just freaked out. I'm sitting here at my desk at work reading the classic album poll and f'n Don Henley walks by my desk. I know its not too related, but I just felt like sharing. If anyone's wondering, I work for an entertainment law firm.. supposedly one of our clients in Christina Aguilera.. oh the (violent) imagination runs wild..

As do other parts of your imagination i dont doubt!! hahaha!!