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The Beach Boys’ “The Beach Boys” (1985) – The Weekend Review

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By Chris Moore:

RATING:  4.5 / 5 stars

Never before has such an excellent album been so universally scorned.

From the reviewers on down to the liner notes of the CD itself, every writer who has taken pen to paper in the name of The Beach Boys — perhaps better known to fans as “1985” — has had much in the way of criticism and, at times, outright derision for what ended up being their last full-length studio album of predominantly original material.

Take it as another subtle disapproval when only one track from this year was included on the Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys box set.

One track out of well over one hundred tracks.

The truth is that The Beach Boys sounds a bit dated, clearly a product of the eighties and the decade long flirtation with digital and synthesized sounds.  Andrew Doe, writer of both the liner notes for the album and Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys: The Complete Guide to their Music, claims that the decision to experiment with this technology “removed any sense of immediacy from the proceedings.”

He also has negative commentary to share for just about every track that I like.

As Doe is one of the few writers to take the time — or, certainly, to be paid — to review these tracks, it may be useful to revisit his sentiments.  In his mind, the Mike Love/Terry Melcher-penned “Getcha Back,” one of the true gems of this period, “has a curiously unfinished feel about it.”  Bruce Johnston’s heartfelt performance on “She Believes in Love Again” is “(unusually) less than silky smooth.”  Brian Wilson’s admittedly simple but — as the Laptop Sessions have proven — beautiful song “I’m So Lonely” is simply “in no way objectionable.” “Passing Friend,” the stronger of the two covers here, is described as “a second-string Culture Club discard [that] really isn’t appropriate, nor up to par.”  (Whereas the other cover, “I Do Love You,” is “good,” even if it’s “not the Beach Boys.”)

To be fair, “Where I Belong” gets the attention it deserves, although Doe overstates it a bit as “the undoubted album highlight.”  The other track that he endorses is “California Calling,” a perfectly enjoyable track that is nostalgic of classic early Beach Boys.  Predictably, Doe again overstates, writing “why this wasn’t a single is an eternal mystery.”

Herein lies the rub: that frustrating ever-present perception of the classic early Beach Boys sound.

The Beach Boys' "The Beach Boys" (1985)

The Beach Boys' "The Beach Boys" (1985)

For nearly two decades by this point, the Beach Boys had been suffering from commercial and critical expectations.  Anyone could understand why Smiley Smile fell disappointingly flat, but strong later releases — like the placid but endearing Friends and the masterpiece Sunflower — stalled in the triple digits on the charts.

Is it a coincidence that an album on which the Beach Boys experiment with new technology and stretch out beyond some of their more typical arrangements is so widely disdained?

I think not.

Consider for even a moment the runaway success of their subsequent album (more like an EP) Still Cruisin’ based on the merits of the crowd-pleasing “Kokomo” and in spite of the downright embarrassing “Wipe Out.”

When this band sings within the ranges of their image (i.e. anything related to summer, the beach, waves, sun, etc.), they are met with far more success than when they stretch out beyond the expected.

As for me, I can see beyond the eighties textures.  I don’t feel the compulsive need to value this music primarily in comparison to the other albums in the Beach Boys catalog; even if I did, it would hold up as one of the pillars, particularly post-Holland.  And I applaud the Beach Boys for rebounding from a tumultuous series of years that saw Carl temporarily quitting the band, Brian falling under the influence of Dr. Landy, and Dennis passing away, due to drowning.

Despite all the tension and tragedy, The Beach Boys is the combined effort of five adults still able to perform with positive energy, adding the element of uplift to nearly every track.  This album is host to what have become lost Beach Boys tracks, including excellent little numbers like “It’s Gettin’ Late,” the catchy “Crack at Your Love,” and the electric, rockin’ “Maybe I Don’t Know.”  And, as much as I like Keepin’ the Summer Alive (1980) for a spin or maybe two, this is the album I put on repeat for days at a time to kick off or to recharge my summer spirit each year.

Few may agree with me, but that’s okay.  The Beach Boys truly is the under-appreciated pinnacle of the Beach Boys final full decade as a band.  Not since Holland had they produced such a strong album, and they would sadly never match it again.

At this point, I’ve written all that can be communicated, and I’ll have to agree to disagree with the masses, tolerating “Kokomo” and loving The Beach Boys (1985).

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The Weekend Review: February 2013 Report

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By Chris Moore:

 

Spirits of the Western Sky (Justin Hayward)

Producer: Justin Hayward & Alberto Parodi

Released: February 26, 2013

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “In Your Blue Eyes” & “One Day, Someday”

 

For Moody Blues fans, it has been a long stretch indeed since the band last released a studio album of all-new material: since 1999’s Strange Times to be specific.  With the release of this latest Justin Hayward solo album, his first since 1996, it would be difficult not to see this as the most exciting Moody Blues-related recording of the past decade and a half.  (No pressure, right?)  Whether you are a glass-half-full person who sees any new Moodies-related music as a win or a glass-half-empty person who feels his/her expectations impossible to meet after all this time, Spirits of the Western Sky has something to offer, though it may be less than a new Moodies album would offer.  From the signature Hayward opening track “In Your Blue Eyes” to the soaring “One Day, Someday” and the beautiful, expansive “The Western Sky,” Spirits gets off to a strong start.  “The Eastern Sun” is well-rendered, if a bit underwhelming, but the pacing is promptly reinvigorated by the rollicking “On The Road To Love,” a track vaguely reminiscent of a late sixties rock-paced album track.  The pace again slows down for the aptly titled “Lazy Afternoon,” though this track offers many more subtle layers and charms for repeated listens.  “In the Beginning” follows, offering up one of the mid-album gems that have practically become expected on Moody Blues albums since the sixties.  The following three songs form a suite of country/bluegrass tracks, only one of which is previously unreleased.  (Ironically, at least one Spirits  review has referred to these songs as a new direction for Hayward.)  Fans will quickly recognize Present alum “It’s Cold Outside of Your Heart,” as well as his solo track “Broken Dream” that was first released as track two on The View from the Hill (1996).  “What You Resist Persists” is the clear standout here, and not only because it is the only new effort.  The album proper concludes with “Captivated By You,” a fittingly dynamic ending to a strong solo effort.  What follows – an alternate, extended version of “One Day, Someday,” the hiccup of “Rising,” and two progressively worse remixes of “Out There Somewhere” – is a bit baffling, especially considering that it is not separated from the core tracks by so much as an extra space on the back of the album.  All told, with a couple exceptions, Spirits of the Western Sky is what you would expect from a Justin Hayward solo album and should only serve to fan the flames of desire burning in the hearts of Moody Blues fans for another release from what is perhaps the greatest, most ambitious studio band in the history of rock music.  For now, Spirits will have to do; and, to be fair, it is clearly a labor of love that is equal parts soaring energy and careful production, evidence that Justin Hayward’s smooth vocals and expert guitar work are as strong as ever, and a reminder that time and age have not removed or diminished the ambition and vision of this Moody Blue.

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“A Singer Must Die” by Steven Page and the Art of Time Ensemble – The Weekday Review

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By Jim Fusco:

Do you know how much work I have to do tonight?  In addition to running three miles?  It’s a LOT- take my word for it.  But, I just had to write this article- that’s how strongly I feel about this.

Let me start off by saying that I love Steven Page’s music. I believe him to be the greatest songwriter since Brian Wilson.  Quite simply, he’s the man.  But, with “A Singer Must Die”, his first official solo effort, he proves once again that, with few exceptions (George Harrison being one of them), the whole (his former group, Barenaked Ladies) is greater than the sum of its parts.  Now, it might not be fair to judge his new solo career based on one album yet (and I won’t, as his real solo album with original songs comes out later this year), but I feel it necessary to get my two-cents in.

I hadn’t purchased the album (and I’m glad I didn’t)- my brother Mike let me borrow his.  I noticed that it got all of one play rotation in his car, as he readily handed it over just a few days after getting it himself.

As a person who records covers each week, you’d think I’d be open to this release.  But, this doesn’t sound like an “album”- it sounds like a collection of songs.  The styles all too different to make it sound like a cohesive album.  And when I hear Steven Page’s voice, I want it to be singing his own songs in his own style.  Hearing it on other people’s songs sounds odd and “untrue” because he didn’t write it.

Then, I put the CD in my player in the car.  I’ve never been so disappointed.

The first song was forgetful, at best.  But then, it all went very, very wrong.

“I Want You” (an Elvis Costello song) may possibly be the worst recording I’ve ever heard.  Not only is the song terrible, but the out of key strings and the weird timing makes it almost unlistenable.

Then, it’s followed by a Rufus Wainwright durge that I lasted only about a minute into.

Then, the most embarrassing track of all- Steven Page’s own cover of his OWN song, “Running Out of Ink”.  No drums, no harmonies- just strings and him.  It was like he was making fun of himself.  I was crushed.  I listened to about a minute of this one, then switched the track one more time.

“A Singer Must Die”, another real jump-starter to the album (by now, I hope you know that I’m being facetious), and I just sighed disgustingly and took the CD out of the player so fast you’d think it was physically hurting the machine.

With all due respect to amateur reviewer Chris Moore of the Laptop Sessions Music Blog, this album could NEVER garner itself four stars.  I’m wondering who paid him off to write such a review.  For me to think that an album like Ringo’s “Y Not” was given two stars and this atrocity four stars really, for me, takes away a lot of credibility from “The Weekend Review”.

“I’ve said my piece and I leave it all up to you.”

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The Weekend Review: March 2012 Report

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Wrecking Ball (Bruce Springsteen)

Producer: Ron Aniello & Bruce Springsteen

Released: March 5, 2012

Rating:  2 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “We Take Care of Our Own” & “This Depression”

Diverging from the string of excellent albums Springsteen has been releasing steadily since his return from a seven year hiatus (with 2002’s The Rising), Wrecking Ball comes across as a bunt where his past several albums have felt more like full-force swings aimed at the fences.  It’s not so much that this is a bad album: it is, just as disappointingly, a mediocre album.  Most songs fall into one beat from the opening bars on, often establishing a chorus line that becomes the repetitive chant throughout.  There are standouts, such as the album opener “We Take Care of Our Own” and “This Depression.”  And, of course, the tone and textures of Springsteen’s Americana sound are impressively rendered, incorporating acoustic and electric elements intermittently, as well as choir-style background singers (see: “Shackled and Drawn” to begin with) and other cultural textures (see: Death to My Hometown, itself perhaps a frown of an update to his 1985 hit “My Hometown,” then the seventh top ten hit off Born in the U.S.A.).  Still, these elements are not enough to lift Wrecking Ball into any real sense of artistic accomplishment, nor does it live up to the rock music energy and promise of the Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band performance of “We Take Care of Our Own” at the Grammys earlier this year.

 

 

 

Port of Morrow (The Shins)

Producer: Greg Kurstin & James Mercer

Released: March 20, 2012

Rating:  4 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Simple Song” & “No Way Down”

Fresh off his 2010 collaboration with Danger Mouse as the indie duo Broken Bells, James Mercer returns with the Shins to deliver an alt pop/rock punch in Port of Morrow.  From the fast-paced opener “Rifle’s Spiral” to the lead single and album standout “Simple Song,” through three more excellent though more understated tracks, to the second standout “No Way Down” (which, unlike “Simple Song,” requires little warm-up to get up to full speed), and up to the subsequent ballad “For A Fool” and then the quirky, sonically unique “Fall of ’82,” finally arriving at the penultimate “40 Mark Strasse,” there isn’t a clunker in the set.  The final track feels, like so many title tracks throughout history, like a bonus track or a tack-on rather than a full member of the record.  The Shins are certainly guilty of finding a sound and falling into it, destined to draw claims of “the Shins are a good song,” and yet when you like the sound – as I certainly do – it’s difficult to criticize the nine tracks of gorgeous, bright, modern alt rock music that await you on Port of Morrow.

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