What A Wonderful World of Music

Click on the orange link below to read a review of Good Vibrations: The Physics of Music by Barry Parker.

http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/2010/08/29/wonderful-world/

Do the Beach Boys Shine on Summer Love Songs?

Here's a preliminary review of the new collection of summer season songs from The Beach Boys; click on the orange link below to read the review.

http://tinyurl.com/ldt7hf

Image: Amazon

The Question of Favorite Music... (Part III)

Memories...

Music has been called the soundtrack of our lives and we tend to both like and remember songs that we associate with new and special events. In my case, for purposes of illustration, when I think of my first date I hear To Sir With Love by Lulu; first high school dance, Mr. Soul by Buffalo Springfield; first college party, Born On The Bayou by Creedence Clearwater Revival; first USC baseball game, Y.M.C.A. by The Village People; and the most recent wedding that Mrs. Bear and I attended, At Last by Etta James.

We also like songs that remind us of particular places. One morning I got off of a plane in Tucson, and as I climbed into the rental car and turned on the radio I heard Linda Ronstadt singing her cover version of Chuck Berry's Back in the U.S.A. Yes, she is in fact the "local girl made good" in Tucson, but I'll never be able to hear this cover without picturing a bright, sunny, morning in southern Arizona.

Similarly, to this day some of us visualize southern California when we hear the Beach Boys... Interestingly, Metro Media Radio's Million Dollar Weekends in the Southland always began with a Beach Boys song and the phrase: The Beach Boys are southern California, and southern California is the Beach Boys!

In My Life

Each year I used to visit a cousin in Palo Alto, California during the Christmas break period. That's when we would drive our bikes to White Front to buy the latest Beatle album. This is why, to this day, whenever I hear Beatles '65, Beatles VI, or Rubber Soul, I'm transported back to the clear and clean streets of P.A. and nowhere else. And this is probably why these are my favorite Beatle albums.

Invincible

The smart people who make movies, of course, know all about the connections we make between what we see (the visual) and what we hear (the audio). They understand that if viewing a select film is pleasurable, we'll want to own the music we associate with the positive visual images. The music then serves as the literal soundtrack of an acquired - if artificial - life.

I've Got A Name

What's quite amazing to me is how a film can not only cement our musical preferences - and don't we feel superior when one of our favorite songs is used in a film - but it can also cause us to re-examine and even reverse our preferences...

I was never much of a fan of the music of Jim Croce. That is, until I saw the film Invincible... The movie begins with Croce's I've Got A Name being played behind the highly visual opening scene. As soon as the film finished, I decided I wanted to hear more of Croce's work.

So today it is not unusual for me to play Mrs. Bear's copy of his original greatest hits CD. I'm also considering adding the new remastered and expanded 20-track collection of Croce's best to our music collection.

What a turnaround: I went from dis-interested to being interested and now very interested simply because a Jim Croce song was used in a key scene of an inspiring film!

Photographs and Memories

Jim Croce's music happened to be included on the soundtrack because he was born and raised in Philadelphia, and Invincible is the true story of Vince Papale, who went from East Philly bartender to member of the Philadelphia Eagles football team. On such a slim reed, I rediscovered and finally heard Croce's fine music.

Next in this series: How movies have heightened and revived musical careers and legends.

mouse to cat and cat to dog...

It's Semantic by The Web Laureate

when everything is related

from mouse to cat and cat to dog,

of types and forms so varied,

the websites, web products, and web logs,

connected and intertwining -

social chatter, thither-hither-thither and fro,

more sharing and fun-fun-fun,

richer experiences will surely grow.

Photo: flickr (thedangling)

The Question of Favorite Music... (Part II)

The second test or rule involves emotion. When you hear a favorite piece of music you tend to feel a basic emotion such as happiness, sadness, sorrow, joy or anger. This may manifest itself in wanting to get up and dance, or simply smiling or laughing. The key is that no thought is required... Music is not an intellectual exercise. You either connect with a piece of music or you don't.

Recently I was driving into work, late, on a highly stress-filled morning, and turned on an oldies station by habit. I drove on automatic pilot and wasn't really hearing the songs being played until... I heard the hand claps and bright guitar notes opening I'm Into Something Good by Herman's Hermits. Suddenly, I was smiling and happy, feeling the youthful optimism of so many years ago. Why this happiness and sense of contentment is tied to this particular song is a mystery to me, but it is.

The Power of One

When Elvis' second greatest hits album was released in the late 1950's it bore the subtitle/headline: 500,000 fans can't be wrong! Conversely, a half-million critics can be wrong. It's true... If today's most respected critics write that the Jonas Brothers are producing the best music on the planet and you do not agree, then you are right. And if the critics label someone as a musical genius, and you do not see it, then you can - in the words of Dave Mason - say that we just disagree.

One of my late uncles bought a minimal amount of music during his lifetime. But he went out and paid good money for every one of Ray Charles' singles and albums the moment they were released. Did I, then, grow up loving the music of Ray Charles? Honestly, no. I can respect it but I never quite "got" what one was supposed to get from it.

The same holds true, for me, with the music of The Righteous Brothers. I don't dislike it, but when I hear a song like You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling I kind of tolerate my way through it... and I have no desire to hear it again.

Emotions...

When I hear one of my very favorite albums - like Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, Beatles VI, Straight Up by Badfinger, Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan, or The Rising by Bruce Springsteen (the Boss) - I tend to go through the entire range... I'll smile, laugh, feel like celebrating or dancing, and I'll feel like crying. That's because, for me, these collections represent the reality of life, from good to bad, bad to good.

Anger...

One thing that has surprised me is that I'll find that some music that I actively disliked or disdained as a younger person is now music that I understand and/or appreciate. That which may have seemed threatening earlier - like teen angst or alienation - is now understood. (The years supply context.)

Of course, the point is that the anger or dislike means that the music had an impact on me even back then, back in the day.

It's the music that you ignored back then - to which you felt no emotional connection - that will be ignored today and into the future.

(To be continued... part of a series.)

Photo: flickr

A Retro-Review of Brian Wilson's Smile...

Note: I originally wrote this record review in early 2004, when the long-delayed Smile was released. However, at that time I had no place to post it; now I do.

"God is not subtle." Albert Einstein. But could God have a sense of humor?

A REVIEW OF SMILE

OK, so first of all, forget everything you've read or heard about this being Brian Wilson's Sgt. Pepper's album. This is not Sgt. Pepper's - Pet Sounds was that and more - but another Abbey Road, side two.

Side two of the Beatles' Abbey Road was basically a collection of unfinished songs, ideas for songs that Paul McCartney called "bites." Brian Wilson called his song ideas "bits" and today, in the age of digital recording, they might appropriately be called "bytes," but that's another story. (The idea of playing song pieces derives from the English music hall and American burlesque halls, where musicians who ran out of sheet music to play filled in with their ideas for future songs.)

Smile is a collection of bites and bits and more; and like Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper's the work is more than the sum of its parts. It is a collection of musical ideas intended - like the Who's Tommy or Chicago II - to be experienced by the listener as one piece, from start to finish, for better or worse.

Let me get the worst out of the way right now. The biggest flaw with Smile is Brian's need, then and now, to show us what a comprehensive student of music he is. The pivotal and repeating "Heroes and Villains" theme borrows from Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf." Further, as we listen we hear the influences of Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copeland, Gershwin, Erik Satie, Mozart, Dvorak, movie soundtracks such as How the West Was Won, casino crooners, Spike Jones and his City Slickers, and the colored vinyl children's records that Brian first digested. Some also hear Bach and/or Schubert.

It is all, at first, a bit too much, a kitchen sink approach to music. Just like the 23 tracks on the symphony-like Chicago II was at first too much, especially with the producer's note: "This endeavor should be experienced sequentially." But the more you listened, the more the whole effort made sense and eventually you couldn't consider re-arranging the track order.

This is what happens with Smile. Initially, it seems too cute, too bloated and busy. But then you remember the very appropriate title of this collection, and the original album art that looked very much like the cover of a children's book.

Oh... This isn't meant to be SERIOUS, this is for fun, deliberately childlike and childish in a deliberately non-grown up way.

Come to think of it, too much of our music is far too serious. From Springsteen's post-9/11 The Rising, to Sinatra's aging album September of Our Years ("Tonight is not for fun, tonight is for serious..." said the liner notes), to personal and brilliant but troubling confessionals like Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks and Joni Mitchell's Blue, it is all too serious. It is all so tiredly adult.

So, Smile isn't Paul Simon's Graceland nor Peter Gabriel's Us, but it is equally life-affirming when heard with a different ear; a child's ear, before the end of the innocence. (Interestingly, like those two albums, Smile is acceptingly multicultural and not Anglo-Saxon ethno-centric.)

Smile is not one of those hard to absorb albums about the weariness of life or life's losses or heavy lessons. It's not a divorce album or an album about eventual survival or death. It is a simple collection of songs about enjoying life simply ("eat your vegetables") and having fun. Let's play that funny horn and make silly noises! Let's pretend to fly! I'll be Davy Crockett!

Smile is an album dedicated to the enjoyment of music, the enjoyment of life no matter how short - even if your siblings (like two of Brian's) pre-decease you. Enjoy life even if the worst is going to happen, when you grow up someday.

Smile tells us that music is enough. Smile reminds us that life is a miracle and so this music is Brian's prayer, his tribute, a child's contribution to God. A simple prayer, a fun prayer, a prayer meant to make even God smile.

Smile is not a masterpiece, but for human beings it is close enough.

Thank you, Brian.

50 of The Best Ever Bands/Musicians...

The Plebeian Music Club (PMC) is a book club that revolves around music rather than books. Recently, the PMC decided to establish a music Hall of Fame (HOF) that will induct fifty musicians/bands into the PMC HOF each year. As is clear from the initial selections listed below, the five PMC electors support good music without regard to strict categories... Some of the inductees would be categorized as rock, some as folk, some as popular, some as soul... It doesn't matter, as music is one of the very best things in life.

Here the 2009 inductees in alpha order:

1. The Animals
2. Badfinger
3. The Band
4. The Beach Boys
5. The Beatles
6. Chuck Berry
7. The Blues Project
8. David Bowie
9. Jackson Browne
10. Buffalo Springfield
11. Kate Bush
12. The Byrds
13. Ray Charles
14. Chicago
15. Bo Diddley
16. Bob Dylan
17. The Eagles
18. The Everly Brothers
19. Peter Gabriel
20. Marvin Gaye
21. The Grateful Dead
22. George Harrison
23. Buddy Holly
24. John Lee Hooker
25. The Jefferson Airplane
26. Elton John
27. Carole King
28. John Lennon
29. The Mamas and the Papas
30. Paul McCartney
31. Joni Mitchell
32. Van Morrison
33. Rick Nelson
34. Gram Parsons
35. Elvis Presley
36. John Prine
37. The Rolling Stones
38. Todd Rundgren
39. Paul Simon
40. Simon and Garfunkel
41. Bruce Springsteen
42. Cat Stevens
43. Barbra Streisand
44. The Traveling Wilburys
45. The Who
46. XTC
47. The Yardbirds
48. Yes
49. Neil Young
50. Warren Zevon

Note: An error was made in the original compiling of this list, and this error has now been corrected.

Another source

Some of the readers of this blog like the record/CD reviews of new albums and the retro-reviews of albums that may be two, twenty or even forty-plus years old. I found another blogger whose site is listed to the left on My Blog List: Garage of Cheese (you can go to the site by clicking on the title). The subtitle of this blog is Memoirs from the Mind of Kurt Baker. Caution, there is some mature/adult language on the site.

Kurt doesn't post that often but I found two album reviews on his site that I appreciated or enjoyed. The first is a February 25, 2008, review of the then recent Green Day one-off EP, a 60s style collection - with, yes, a very retro cover - called Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop, Drop & Roll! I'll admit to knowing virtually nothing about the band Green Day; nevertheless, I found this write-up to be entertaining and worth the read.

Earlier, on February 17th, 2008, he posted a fine review of the Beach Boys album Wild Honey, an album actually released back in the 60s. Not only does he do a nice job of reviewing the music on the album but he also explains how he came to both discover and love the music of the Beach Boys. Again, his review is worth a read.

Speaking of the Beach Boys, they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If so, the CD Freedom Wind by The Explorers Club out of South Carolina is an extremely flattering tribute to the Beach Boys style of music. Naturally, it also has a retro-cover of the band members frolicking on the beach like it's 1964 or '65.

We may have more to say about this extremely interesting musical release at some point in the future.

A Glorious Christmas Album...

As the Beach Boys sang, Christmas comes this time each year, and if there's one thing we need this time of year its Christmas music. In order to meet this obligation, I went out recently and purchased Christmas With the Beach Boys. I had read earlier that this CD is actually a compilation of two Beach Boys vinyl Christmas albums, so my expectations were not high. I fully expected a low-fidelity, monophonic collection. Instead, I found that this 25-track collection contains only one song recorded in mono; the rest are all in fabulous stereo with many of them wonderfully produced and arranged by Dick Reynolds. Reynolds worked with The Four Freshman who had a tremendous influence on the young Brian Wilson.

The collection includes not one but three versions of the huge seasonal hit, Little St. Nick - a plain version, the '63 single version and a unique alternate version that only be described as fun, fun, fun (the story about Santa's sled being, in fact, a cleverly disguised hot-rod song). The Man With All The Toys, the number 3 single of the 1964 Christmas season, is also included. The Man... has a great stereo mix with a very audible bass line.

Another track with a great bass line is the very Elvis-like Merry Christmas Baby. The legend is that one of Elvis' own bass players put down the bouncy bottom on this one. Then there's Christmas Day, the first time Alan Jardine sang a lead vocal on a Beach Boys song. A year later Al was to sing the lead on Help Me, Rhonda. Which goes to show that they should have let him sing lead more often.

Frosty the Snowman is beautifully produced and arranged by Reynolds and sounds like something from a 60s TV special. I could go on and on, track by track, but I'll instead comment on only a few more songs...

Blue Christmas is just Brian singing Elvis' hit in front of an arrangement seemingly made for Sinatra. This one is simply awfully nice. It was a very good Christmas.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town recalls Brian's fondness for Dean Martin. This silly, goofy, arrangement is one that Dean would have loved! Santa's Got An Airplane will appeal to, and make sense for, fans of the Endless Harmony CD/DVD. Winter Song is another example - as if the world needed it - of Brian's genius, a Blood, Sweat and Tears/Chicago-style track.

White Christmas, the old Bing Crosby-staple, is re-invented as a Pet Sounds-style track (Caroline no). I'll Be Home for Christmas features the Beach Boys as The Four Freshman.

Melekalikimaka is a Hawaiian Christmas song, recorded in 1977, that fans of the single Kokomo will love. Finally, Bells of Christmas brings back memories... of a Beach Boys song called Don't Worry, Baby.

The only flaws with this collection are that, first, it ends with Brian explaining it in an interview that should have been placed as track one (as a prelude to the music rather than a conclusion); and, second, that it is over in just 58 minutes and 55 seconds. But, again, the sound is absolutely glorious - such a rarity in these days of harsh CDs - and may leave you thinking that maybe Christmas should come around more than just once each year.

Highly, highly recommended!

Honestly, this is like beating a dead horse...

As you can see from these photos, the Big 3 auto executives are not exactly having a great time in D.C. And Ford and Chrysler say, hey, we're willing to talk merger again. You betcha!

It will be fun, fun, fun 'til daddy takes the T-Bird away. Oh, wait, they already took the T-bird away.... Sigh.