Post by The Curmudgeon on Sept 11, 2017 2:10:24 GMT 2
So this week we're looking at an old album that I've just recently bought, and it's on constant rotation ever since I got it, and the minute I heard this week's track, the opening track of the record, I knew I'd love it.
And you'd think this week's artist wouldn't really need an introduction, as the band he came from are one of the biggest selling of all time. In fact, if you get asked to name bands from the 60's, the usual order is "Beatles, Stones.." depending on your tastes or maybe where you're from, you might say the Who. You might say the Kinks. Or you might just say The Beach Boys.
But we're not looking at the Beach Boys today. Not exactly. We're moving on from Pet Sounds and California Girls and Good Vibrations and the surfboards and the smiles and we're looking at Dennis Wilson. While Brian was the songwriter and the brains behind the Beach Boys music, his eventual mental breakdown lead to the break-up of the band. That leads us to this weeks entry, his brother Dennis.
Even though Brian wrote the songs, it was Dennis who really was the only one in the group who actually lived the surfer lifestyle their music often mentioned.
Before we go into that, little fun bit of history for you, during the writing and recording of his (sadly only finished) solo album, Dennis would befriend two girls he found hitchiking and invited them back to his place. They did. And then a bunch of other girls showed up too, as mentioned in the below interview.
You sure do, Dennis. And later that year those same girls and a young chap called Charles would become more of a.. family. The Manson Family, to be exact. Huh.
Anyway, back to the music. And Dennis' 1977 solo album did nothing on its original release, but has gained a huge cult following since then, and it's usually found on all kind of critic lists ("The 50 Coolest Albums Ever" and "100 Albums to Hear Before You Die" on my last check). It's got that classic 70's American rock n roll vibe to it, that unmistakable REAL quality that you just don't get now. It's soul, it's got a bit of funk and honky tonk guitar in there, and years of booze had killed off Wilson's falsetto and so his is a more gruff and weathered voice, and the album is all the better for it. This was the only complete solo album he would release before his sad death in 1983.
Anyway, see what you think. Here's "River Song."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Iy1-V4N0wE
And you'd think this week's artist wouldn't really need an introduction, as the band he came from are one of the biggest selling of all time. In fact, if you get asked to name bands from the 60's, the usual order is "Beatles, Stones.." depending on your tastes or maybe where you're from, you might say the Who. You might say the Kinks. Or you might just say The Beach Boys.
But we're not looking at the Beach Boys today. Not exactly. We're moving on from Pet Sounds and California Girls and Good Vibrations and the surfboards and the smiles and we're looking at Dennis Wilson. While Brian was the songwriter and the brains behind the Beach Boys music, his eventual mental breakdown lead to the break-up of the band. That leads us to this weeks entry, his brother Dennis.
Even though Brian wrote the songs, it was Dennis who really was the only one in the group who actually lived the surfer lifestyle their music often mentioned.
Before we go into that, little fun bit of history for you, during the writing and recording of his (sadly only finished) solo album, Dennis would befriend two girls he found hitchiking and invited them back to his place. They did. And then a bunch of other girls showed up too, as mentioned in the below interview.
You sure do, Dennis. And later that year those same girls and a young chap called Charles would become more of a.. family. The Manson Family, to be exact. Huh.
Anyway, back to the music. And Dennis' 1977 solo album did nothing on its original release, but has gained a huge cult following since then, and it's usually found on all kind of critic lists ("The 50 Coolest Albums Ever" and "100 Albums to Hear Before You Die" on my last check). It's got that classic 70's American rock n roll vibe to it, that unmistakable REAL quality that you just don't get now. It's soul, it's got a bit of funk and honky tonk guitar in there, and years of booze had killed off Wilson's falsetto and so his is a more gruff and weathered voice, and the album is all the better for it. This was the only complete solo album he would release before his sad death in 1983.
Anyway, see what you think. Here's "River Song."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Iy1-V4N0wE
