Back in the 'sixties I liked the Beach Boys but didn't shout it from the rooftops because I knew my friends felt that they were too "commercial" - the dreaded put-down in those days, and probably today as well. In the intervening years, I have come to appreciate them more and more, and to admit that, in music as in so many other ways, I suffer from a sweet tooth.
I do not deny, either, the overpowering, nostalgic pull of America and California, no doubt amplified by the fact that I have hardly set foot in the place. Most of all and rather late in the day, I have taken the full measure of the genius of Brian Wilson.
I will probably be laughed out of court, but I can see certain similarities with the Four Freshmen whose close harmonies bored and still bore me to death...
I do not deny, either, the overpowering, nostalgic pull of America and California, no doubt amplified by the fact that I have hardly set foot in the place. Most of all and rather late in the day, I have taken the full measure of the genius of Brian Wilson.
I will probably be laughed out of court, but I can see certain similarities with the Four Freshmen whose close harmonies bored and still bore me to death...
Stay right there in the courtroom. Brian venerated (and, I'm sure, still venerates) the Four Freshmen. The Beach Boys even did their own version of "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring."
ReplyDeleteI hope you've discovered Smile, which Brian began working on in 1966 and finally put out in 2004. If it had been finished back then, it would have appeared before Sgt. Pepper. In other words, the Beach Boys would have been with a hugely new kind of pop album. For many reasons, the project fell apart. It's really an epic effort. Happy listening!
Thank you for not laughing me out of court, and not hauling me over the coals like my sister. And thanks for reminding me of Smile (I can't generate italics in Comments). Am going to check it out now!
ReplyDeleteMay I remind you that your grandson is a huge fan of the Beach Boys, so much so that he cried with happiness when we took him to see them (or rather, what remains of them) at The Royal Albert Hall last year, as a surprise!
ReplyDeleteI expect he's more into the Beastie Boys now!
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