Mission Statement: to do very little, for very few, for not very long. Disappointing the easily pleased since 1819. Not as good as it used to be from Day One. History is Bunk - PT Barnum. Artificially Intelligent before it was fashionable. Fat camp for the mind! Nothing lasts, but nothing is lost. The Shock of the Old! Often bettered, never imitated.
https://workupload.com/file/tucNTqWLThG
ReplyDeleteAll kidding aside, this is pretty good. No - I'm kidding, of course I'm fucking kidding, it's dreadful. There's some batshit crazy commentary over at Steve Hoofman, with someone claiming it reminds him of Pet Sounds - in a good way!
It is exactly the kind of music Brian Wilson would have made had he suffered irreversible brain damage at birth and conducted studio musicians with a stick taped to his forehead. It's a drool cup compared to Brian's Grail. And this fetid gene pool is what Brian struggled from - not from a classical, academic background but Lawrence Welk World, where the Mighty Wurlitzer got Mr. and Mrs. Smalltownamerica up off the couch and dancing awkwardly in front of their embarrassed kids.
If nothing else, it's great context for both Brian Wilson and Frank Zappa, and it only makes their achievements more extraordinary.
Yes, I've got this and the best thing about it is the type face on the cover.
DeleteIt's utter dogshit.
One of the earliest uses of a "computer" font on an album sleeve. Bizarre.
DeleteMore from The Hoofman:
ReplyDelete"My untrained ear hears 9th and 1th chords, or at least more complex than maj7th's."
[Those 1th chords are the mark of a master! - Ed.]
"... has some amazing moments."
"Honestly not as bad as people say ... makes for good background noise while doing something else, and I think that's an art in it's own right."
Is "1th" a typo for "11th"?
Delete1th chords don't exist.
As for maj7 chords being less complex, it's not what a chord is that counts, but rather what its context is.
I expect it's a typo, but I think his brain is a typo.
Deleteyou might as well say there's no santa claus. don't ruin it for those of us who believe in major 1th chords!
Deletenow i have to republish my songs!!!
As in "Uh-oh. Murry's in one of his moods again."
ReplyDeleteHe's a genius too, you know.
Thanks.
Blink And You'll Miss It Dept. ------ I rather wish I had blinked.
ReplyDeleteMy Eyes, My Eyes
DeleteThis is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteSteveShark
https://boltrecords.net/2020/10/10/murrywilsonlp/
That's a fascinating article. Must-read. But any reassessment of Murry "The Artist" has to allow for the fact that he wasn't a great songwriter, just one of the many (how many? hundreds? in L.A. alone?) adequately-talented tunesmiths hustling to make a buck. Yes, his management style was what the Beach Boys needed early on (and may have found elsewhere - he wasn't the only manager/promoter in L.A.), but no, he wasn't any sort of musician any more than he was any sort of father. I'm against him being respected as either - it's part of a general "good people on both sides" complacency that conveniently ignores what victims suffer - in Brian's case psychological and physical abuse (we all know the details). Murry was a jerk. Some people are. No big deal.
DeleteDid he have moods other than angry or jealous?
ReplyDeleteIs grandstanding a mood or an attitude?
And why are the many moods of Murry Wilson visually represented by young and cute women, when it probably should be the flaming head dude from "Inside Out"?
Questions upon questions upon questions...
Just noticed that the comments box on Twilight Zone still works the old way, which is curious. You haven't forgotten to put some pennies in the meter again, have you Mr T?
ReplyDeleteBugger it, I keep telling you I'm Nobby, not Anonymous.
DeleteTwilight Zone is a different blog template - a very old one, and I don't think Blogger is trying to update it. Just "sign" your comments, so we know it's you!
DeleteI don't find it dreadful. It's "of a type" - easy listening, Muzak. The 90s guys would call it "space age bachelor pad" if the titles were more Cape Canaverally. Background noise is a good description. It is only of interest to me because it's Murray Wilson....I see that there's a CD version issued in Japan in 2006. The original version also had a MONO mix. So...I listened to half the tracks (yes, all the way through...), none of them offended my sensibilities in any way, but none of them made an impression, either.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to know who played on the sessions. They're good because I suspect they were the same bunch that Brian used.
DeleteHi, SteveShark...AllMusic says, " The contents are pure orchestral schmaltz, similar to the ersatz easy listening and so-called 'beautiful music' being produced by the 101 Strings Orchestra or Capitol Records' own Hollyridge Strings. In fact, it is presumed the latter unit are instrumentally responsible for much (if not all) of the actual performances on this 12-track platter." Hmmm...."presumed" is not the same thing as "proven" but that's what I've tracked down so far.
DeletePerhaps one of those string ensembles with the usual suspects - Blaine etc - or did they have their own rhythm section?
DeleteCartoon Murray: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wusBujhXxoc
ReplyDeleteSpace age bachelor pad lounge music can be swell, sorta, if you're in the mood. This album just sounds wrong to my ears (maybe it's the 1th chords). The arrangements are cluttered, with no sense of restraint or taste or cleverness. It never swings, in the corny way this-type music can. There's no fun or exotica. It sounds like showing off, a touch of desperation to it. That it didn't sell - with the Wilson name and Capitol behind it (and the cover is at least professional, pretty cool in comparison to others in the genre) - tells us something. Mainly, that it's blechh.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm not a fan of the style in general so I lack comparision...dimly remembered elevator music from fifty years ago. Deffo no swing. I think The Plumber's Tune leans towards an attempt at "fun" but it's clunky and has ending that vears towards spy movie music. The LP is a "one listen and never again" experience, there's not enough here to enjoy (even ironically). The cover...I like the cover.
Delete