New Monday #70
Happy Monday,
Last week was a sad one. First, Sly Stone, then two days later, Brian Wilson. Both men were 82.
Sly and Brian leave complicated legacies. The two were tremendous musical innovators who peaked fairly early in their careers but found the life of a pop star difficult to maintain. Both succumbed to drug abuse and mental illness. Post stardom, Sly and Brian were each reclusive, odd characters, remaining just out of orbit, tantalizing music lovers with a promise that wasn't quite fulfilled.
There is already so much written in depth on Sly and Brian. I can't add anything valuable to that, so here are links to a few things to read, and a few things to see.
A good written piece on Sly.
Sly and the Family Stone on Dick Cavitt. It's wonderful to see how uncomfortable he makes everyone, and even though he's somewhat out of his mind on something, he's still sharp, and he discusses how he composes while facing into a mirror.
Sly on Lettermen in 1983: he's funny, smart.
Nice breakdown of Sly Stone's arranging technique.
Brian interviewed in 1976. He's in rough shape and is quite frank about it.
Making Good Vibrations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVlSVkzbJDA
This guy, Dan Barracuda, does an amazing breakdown of Good Vibrations - the chords, the modes. Well done and interesting.
Same guy, breaking down God Only Knows.
Brian Wilson: a Playlist
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe6ZCJT_4KPkSLw9arrNbJZCu4_aNzeCs&si=MQ7fv_jmU2MBn3PZ
We know all the big ones, so I curated a list of some things that you've probably not heard that have something interesting about them. Brian Wilson really composed his entire life: He didn't stop with 'Good Vibrations'. And overall, if you listen to some of the older albums like Holland, Surf's Up, and especially the album Love You, there is a lot of talent in that whole group, and not just as singers. Heck, Al Jardine wrote a couple of very good songs. They were more than just Brian Wilson.
A lot of these later recordings were done at Brian's home studio and Brother Studios, which was owned by Brian, Carl, and Dennis. The Beach Boys worked with a brilliant guy, Stephen Desper, who engineered many of their 60s records and also built custom consoles for them. He also designed the Spatializer psychoacoustic enhancer.
I Want to Pick You Up — It's not about picking up young girls, it's about his children not being babies anymore.
Til I Die - Brian didn't often write lyrics. He did on this. Confessional. He seems lost and depressed, which was likely.
This Whole World - Carl Wilson on vocals. What key is this? It modulates all over the place.
Let's Put Our Hearts Together - Written with his first wife, Marilyn, this duet is about their relationship. Strange song. They hold some words out that shouldn't be held out. His voice is a blown-out rasp. Kinda cool.
Cool Cool Water - This sounds like something off Smile. One of Brian's favorite songs. Check out the use of space on the vocals, some close, some far... and then a breakdown featuring synth waves, and... all sorts of fun oddness.
Our Sweet Love - Such a good song. A classic Beach Boys ballad that is basically forgotten.
Busy Doing Nothin' - The Beach Boys do bossa nova. The lyrics feature detailed directions to his house.
Wake the World - Simply good. Interesting changes. A tuba.
Anna Lee, the Healer - Another semi-bossa nova tune about a woman. "When she gets a chance to help somebody, she's really happy."
When a Man Needs a Woman - Lovely song about dreaming about a son... After this, his wife gave birth to daughter Carnie Wilson.
Gettin Hungry - A very odd production of what is a basic pop tune. Ah, the fun of Smile, or rather, Smiley Smile!
Wind Chimes - More oddness off Smile. Two versions: one pared back, the other bombastic.
I Should Have Known Better - The Beach Boys did a mainly acoustic jam live collection called Beach Boys Party. This is their version of the Beatles tune. A bit of a mess.
Our Prayer - Recorded for Smile, this is a tour de force of the Beach Boys' amazing vocal prowess, and Brian's grasp of yet another musical form.
Here Comes the Night - A disco version. Brian hated this. They all hated it. You'll probably hate it, too.
Santa Ana Winds - The Beach Boys did a bunch of songs that were basically spoken word histories of California. It started on the very underrated Holland (an album Brian wasn't really a part of), and here's another. The Santa Ana winds, incidentally, fan the fires that plague LA.
Sly Stone: a Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe6ZCJT_4KPmT2l4peqn4X3ZAOsWBjXnq
Again, a curated playlist, but not the well-known things. Sly set up a home studio and started recording most of the Family Stone albums himself, playing virtually everything. This, and his increasingly erratic behavior at concerts, led to the end of the classic band line-up and most of the albums becoming basically Sly Stone solo records. Sly was an excellent bassist and guitarist, and a sonic experimenter. On many songs, he started with a Maestro Rhythm King to get a basic groove, then overdubbed everything else, then dubbed live drums over that. The results are really noisy—it sounds like he was bouncing a lot to open up track space.
By the way, here's Sly's custom Flickinger Console that was the heart of his studio, https://reverb.com/item/2334814-sly-stone-s-custom-flickinger-n32-matrix-recording-console
Trip to Your Heart - Very psychedelic fun off the first album.
Bad Risk - Kind of traditional JB kind of funk, but it is starting to sound like the Sly that blows the world open a few albums later. Mic distance, Sly! Or use a compressor!
Underdog - It begins with a French folk song, and then it kicks butt. Great vox and drumming.
I Get High on You - From his first solo album. Sly on bass!
Crossword Puzzle - More Sly on bass. The influence on Prince is made clear with this.
Blessing in Disguise - Lovely and upbeat. Sly and the Family, and its most positive.
Small Talk - Featuring his son, just a baby, at the beginning.
Loose Booty - What a red hot band.
Can't Strain My Brain - Amazing wha guitar on this. Sly? His brother Freddie? Both?
In Time - Sounds like a drum machine with overdubs. Strange guitar riff, fuzz bass, cool production.
If You Want Me to Stay - Amazing vocals, great bass by Sly.
Babies Making Babies - Sly was a great bassist. Supposedly, he cut a lot of vocals lying in bed. Maybe that's why the vocal volume is all over the place. You can hear him moving in and out on the mic,
Qué Será, Será - Great vocal, very different vibe than the Doris Day version. This is like a funk drinking song.
Skin I'm In - A jam with great horns. Fresh is a very underrated album.
Just Like a Baby - A Sly only recording using a Maestro Rhythm King drum machine with additional drum overdubs.
Spaced Cowboy - More drum machine, very distorted and really noisy!
Asphalt Jungle - Check out the guitar bass and vocal interplay.
Thank You for Talking to Me, Africa - A remake of 'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)'. Really interesting guitar parts and a heavy groove.
And that is it for now. Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there!
Warm regards,
Luke