by RIP Brian Wilson… Sequel songs… Cheap Trick and more
Check out the latter half of Beach Boys Today! an album I didn’t know much about until Wilson’s death earlier this month at age 82.
As his writing and production begin to grow in sophistication, leaving behind the surfing and the cars, Brian Wilson moved closer toward pop genius territory on 1964’s, “Don’t Worry Baby” written with Roger Christian — a track that Brian called, “a heart and soul song.”
The year 1965 was a busy one for The Beach Boys. The band released three LPs: Beach Boys Today! on March 8, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) on July 5 and Beach Boys’ Party! on November 8.
With Summer Days, the second of three 1965 releases, Brian’s perfectionism really begins to gain ground. The harmonies and the arrangement on “Let Him Run Wild” are like nothing else, in a song about a really rare thing: chivalry. Wilson later said he shouldn’t have done the song. We’re so glad he did.
But you can really feel the emerging, eventual Pet Sounds (May 1966) elements, the meticulous arrangements, the trademark instrumentation/sounds and superb harmonies Wilson worked really hard to create, falling into place, within a four-ballad ‘suite’ found on side two of Beach Boys Today!
Within this micro symphony, the introspective, “Please Let Me Wonder” captures a young man’s preference for uncertainty over romantic rejection, quite well.
“I’m So Young” covers The Students’ 1958 doo-wop single. This one points toward Pet Sounds’ opener, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”
I’m so young, can’t marry no one /
But I love her, I’m so young.
But this album side truly peaks with “Kiss Me, Baby.”
Please don’t let me argue anymore /
I won’t make you worry like before.
Written by Wilson and Mike Love, and inspired by Brian’s tumultuous relationship with his wife, Marilyn, “Kiss Me, Baby” (about regret and forgiveness, after a fight) reflects Brian’s growing mastery of orchestral pop and his increasing ability to insert the personal within the more universal themes of love and forgiveness. It’s a standout on Beach Boys Today!
“She Knows Me Too Well,” concludes the terrific ballad foursome on a note of apology. The harmony parts are glorious here and the lead break is terrific.
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Heard The Kinks’, “Destroyer” on the way back from a morning meeting. The song is a sequel to “Lola.” Could this track the best sequel song ever in rock?
It got me thinking: What makes a good sequel song?
Obviously, the truly bad ones (“Let’s Twist Again”) are mercenary, and far outnumber the smart ones.
Are there rules? Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom” is a fairly literal sequel to “Space Oddity.” But is this “lawful,” given that Schilling is riffing on the David Bowie original (Can he even do this?), and because Bowie extracted a darker, damned good sequel of his own, “Ashes to Ashes“?
While Schilling’s vision is more cinematic — the doomed astronaut’s journey, with isolation and technological failure and, “Give my wife my love” — Bowie’s theme is nightmarish and metaphoric. Major Tom is now a disillusioned stand-in for Bowie’s addiction struggles.
I’ll keep exploring.
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I Can’t Take It, Cheap Trick
The DJ at our friend’s birthday party the other night was spinning actual classic albums and had great taste.
Super refreshing to have ANYONE playing music like this in mixed company.
I was pleased to hear “Paperback Writer,” “Little Willy,” by Sweet, “Same Old Song and Dance,” Aerosmith and a forgotten goodie, “I Can’t Take It” by Cheap Trick.
More on this upbeat Cheap Trick hook, which I didn’t know much about. The track in question definitely qualifies as a deep album cut in that it was a single that didn’t receive much airplay (at least none I can recall) from a Cheap Trick album produced by Todd Rundgren. Here’s the video: https://youtu.be/j-HZsigMODE?si=WTan5-Zay37jiX1Q
Post-Budokan (1978), Cheap Trick was searching. The band had cycled through four producers in four albums, with Rundgren recording this one (“Next Position Please,” 1983) at his Woodstock studio.
After their peak with albums like Dream Police (1979), the critics noted Rundgren’s heavy influence, with Rolling Stone suggesting, ‘Next Producer Please’ might have served as a more appropriate album title.”
Speaking of… I heard the cheesy Cheap Trick MTV track, “The Flame.” This is a major chart hit that I was nevertheless successful in avoiding, at its Muzak-y peak — much like I was able with “Kokomo” by The Beach Boys and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” — thanks to having the luxury of 93XRT (Chicago’s Finest Rock), WLUP (The Loop) and 105.9 WCKG, all competing and all strong into classic deep tracks. (WLUP was a bit more pop-metallic, plus it also had the hugely popular, Jonathan Brandmeier morning show).
Anyway, I’d heard about “The Flame,” long before I actually heard the song back then. Turns out it was written by some pro songwriting duo, and not by the band. Rick Nielsen hated it and fought to keep it off the album, but it’s their biggest-selling single. Hilarious.
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Recently heard again: “Heaven Knows,” the Robert Plant single from 1988. A cool find for me is that I had not realized that Jimmy Page played lead.
The unintentionally funny video for this song (looks like a Page stand-in here, though) draws its inspiration from Raiders of the Lost Ark, yet I can’t get past Robert’s awesome — and very tall — hair, on magnificent display here.
Anyway, the solo’s what caught my ear the other day and it reminded me that the solo Bob Plant career includes fun/ethereal singles, such as “Little by Little,” “In the Mood,” “Ship of Fools” and “Big Log.”
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Steve Winwood, “Holding On.” A fairly generic/polished ‘hit record’ from his Michelob-ad phase and wearing his Eric Clapton Outfit, the one with the blazer sleeves rolled up. Still, a pretty cool song and I had no idea it was a #1. (The video is directed by a young David Fincher.)
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Lastly, “Voices” by Russ Ballard. Never heard of him, but he was the co-lead singer for Argent. Apparently, it was used in the series Miami Vice. I hadn’t been aware of it until WXRT included it in a recent edition of the Chicago FM original’s brilliant Saturday Morning Flashback program.
Stuart Wade 