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Andrew and I have diverse tastes in music from Cajun Zydecco to Classic, Beach Boys to Bruce Springstein, Streisand to Sinatra, Military Bands to Classical Film Scores - we enjoy music!
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What Andrew likes and what Anna likes - share our enjoyment.
2018
IT'S FRIDAY MUSIC: Now the Beach Boys come with strings attached as heritage act gives them the orchestral treatment
By Adrian Thrills for the Daily Mail | Published: 01:57, 8th June 2018 | Updated: 02:01, 8th June 2018
Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys has described the band's 1966 single Good Vibrations as 'a pocket symphony'. Speaking about Pet Sounds, the classic album from the same year that rolled back the boundaries of pop, he coined the phrase 'chapel rock' to sum up its bold experimentation. So it's no surprise that The Beach Boys are the latest heritage act given the orchestral treatment on an album that pairs their peerless vocal harmonies with new arrangements recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road.
The Beach Boys have recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - image as it appeared in the Daily Mail article.
The gambit has been used before by the production team of Don Reedman and Nick Patrick. They successfully road-tested it with Elvis Presley's The Wonder Of You and refined it with Roy Orbison's A Love So Beautiful. But if there's one act whose songs have the sophistication and substance to warrant such a makeover it is 'America's band'. Formed in 1961, The Beach Boys were Uncle Sam's Beatles. Mixing the rock 'n' roll of Chuck Berry with the harmonies of The Four Freshmen, their early hits celebrated sun, surf and hot-rod racing cars. By the middle of the decade, though, their music had become more complex and introspective. God Only Knows, from Pet Sounds, featured tuba, harpsichord, cello and flute. Good Vibrations, written by Brian and fellow band member (and cousin) Mike Love, took six months to finish at a cost of $16,000, a princely sum in 1966.
Brian Wilson has described the band's 1966 single 'Good Vibrations' as a 'pocket symphony' - image courtesy & © of Getty as used in the Daily Mail
And, while the new album spans the years from 1964's Fun, Fun, Fun to 1988's Kokomo, it's the songs of the mid-Sixties that stand out, with the new enhancements adding nuance while preserving the integrity of the original recordings. Wouldn't It Be Nice and Good Vibrations are granted atmospheric preludes, while horns have been added to Sloop John B. Some of the older songs fare less well, with the strings on Fun, Fun, Fun veering too close to ELO, but most of the changes are subtle rather than overwhelming. Mike Love says both his current Beach Boys line-up, and a second group led by Brian Wilson, were involved in choosing tracks for the Royal Philharmonic, leading to the inclusion of lesser-known fan favourites, such as Bruce Johnston's nostalgic 1971 ballad Disney Girls, alongside the hits. 'We've kept the original performances, but they have been re-imagined in a respectful way,' he adds. 'I always felt the prelude to California Girls was somewhat symphonic and now we can hear it that way. The Warmth Of The Sun is one of my favourite co-writes with Brian. We wrote it in 1963, and it's beautiful with an orchestra.'
How fans react to a string-driven Beach Boys remains to be seen. But for the band that broke the mould making Pet Sounds, trying something new comes with the turf, as Love testifies: 'We all worked incredibly hard on Pet Sounds. I remember doing one part of Wouldn't It Be Nice 25 times. It was a total departure from what we'd done before. 'Some say I was resistant to that album, but that's hogwash,' he adds. 'When Brian and I went to Capitol and played it to the marketing people, they didn't know what to do with it. They wanted another California Girls. The initial reaction to Pet Sounds was concerning, but it's now acknowledged as one of the best of all time.' Love, 77, and Wilson, 75, are both spreading the good vibrations this summer by touring the UK with their bands. There are no plans for a full symphonic accompaniment on either tour, although Love has experimented with orchestral dates in the States. 'It's fair to ask how much longer we can go on doing this, but I look at Tony Bennett and he gives me the answer. He still sings beautifully because he prepares himself so well. I meditate to eliminate stress and I still enjoy performing. 'We did 185 shows last year, and I love the challenge of replicating these exceptional songs on stage.'
The Beach Boys play Hampton Court Palace Festival on June 15 and 16 (hamptoncourt palacefestival.com). Brian Wilson starts a summer tour at Fairport's Cropredy Convention on August 9 (brianwilson.com).
2017 - My favourite Beach Boy is 75
It's been a long infatuation starting sometime in the mid-1960s when Bruce briefly joined the Beach Boys to replace Brian Wilson who felt he could no longer create the songs and travel. Bruce was actually replacing Glen Campbell who had filled in for a while and happily for me he then returned and stayed with the Beach Boys as well as continuing his own single career. I was lucky to see him and Mike Love on one of their pre-reunion tours in Nottingham! Read his biography here and his collaboration with Terry Melcher here
2017 - Compassion
The Beach Boys pay tribute to the victims of the Manchester bombing on 22nd May 2017 - Source : express.co.uk
Beach Boys paid tribute to the Manchester victims last night
The Band's show was just 110 miles away from Manchester
Manchester bombing Beach Boys pay emotional tribute to terror victims at nearby concert
THE BEACH BOYS and John Stamos paid emotional tribute to the Manchester bombing victims at a concert last night, approximately 110 miles away from where the atrocity took place.
The group were playing in Scarborough and called on the gathered audiences to hold a moment of silence. “Our job as artists is to spread joy and peace and love,” Stamos told the crowd. “And most importantly to bring people together through the power of music.”
Bruce Johnston added: “The violence in Manchester Monday evening was heartbreaking. Our prayers tonight are with all the victims, the wounded and their loved ones.” He continued: “We stand with the people of Manchester. We stand with all of the U.K,” said Beach Boys band member Bruce Johnston.
Mike Love added: “We stand with all those who cherish freedom. We’ve been bringing young people together for 55 years. “We are all those kids at the concert tonight. They are in our hearts forever. “Please join us for a moment of silence honouring all affected by this horrific event.”
According to People, the entire crowd stood in solidarity during the tribute, with the song The Warmth of the Sun dedicated to the deceased. It was written on the morning of the Kennedy assassination and released in 1964.
2016 - Here come the Books!
Mike Love gets in first, so I'm reading it first and my reviews are here
Image courtesy and © of Mike Love.com
"On April 30th 2016, Mike kicked off his 50 Years of Good Vibrations tour. The hit “Good Vibrations,” which is widely considered one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of rock and roll, celebrates its 50th anniversary on October 10th of this year. In honor of this prolific time in the life of the Beach Boys, Mike will release his highly-anticipated memoir titled GOOD VIBRATIONS: My Life as a Beach Boy, on September 13th. The book will be published by Blue Rider Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA)."
Image courtesy and © of Mike Love.com - (I just liked it!)
Image courtesy and © of The NY Daily News
"Mike Love's new book “Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy” recounts bandmate Dennis Wilson claiming to have witnessed Charles Manson commit murder."
Then in October Brian opens up his innermost self :
Image courtesy and © of Brian Wilson.com
"I Am Brian Wilson is the story of Brian Wilson's life, told by Brian Wilson. But he's not the same man who had a nervous breakdown on an airplane in 1964 or the one who ballooned to 300 pounds and couldn't get out of bed in the 1970s. This Brian Wilson is older, calmer, filled with perspective regarding his extraordinary accomplishments and forgiveness for the people who complicated those accomplishments, and his life. Wiser, more measured, though still possessed of the youthful spark that helped him rise to the top of the rock and roll world, Wilson relates his life with a level of emotional honesty that has eluded authors of scores of previous works on Brian and The Beach Boys: "Telling my story honestly means remembering things I sometimes prefer to forget. I would like people to get to know what I've gone through, and I hope that my story will give them strength."
2015 - The Film
Quite a sensational cast - IMDB
Beach Boys 50 Year Reunion
The new CD 'That's Why God Made the Radio' has already been announced and the "Anniversary Collection 'ZinePak (Walmart Exclusive)" is already sold out! More information about this item here:
I'm so not ashamed to admitting being absolutely thrilled that the Beach Boys are going to reunite and have their inaugural concert on my birthday in New Orleans 2012!!!
Posing during their rehearsals for the Grammy awards - l to r Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine, Brian Wilson (seated), Mike Love and David Marks
But first there was the 25 Year Reunion
From left to right - Bruce Johnston, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Mike Love and sitting in front, Al Jardine prior to the 25-year reunion concert which did not feature Dennis.
The link takes you to a web-site which more or less takes you through the whole television programme using screen dumps and narrative - not unlike the sort of thing I do myself on occasions - a real labour of love and I'm very glad I don't have to do it! The DVD does exist but it is very hard to source!
The DVD featuring the 1986 25-year Reunion of the Beach Boys - in addition to Brian, Bruce, Mike and Al, it is good to see a healthy Carl who, sadly, won't be participating in the 2012 50-year reunion.
Page updated : 8th May 2019 (G)