In 1972 the Beach Boys released their 18th studio
album CARL & THE PASSIONS: SO TOUGH (Brother Records/Reprise). It saw the addition of two new members to the
group. Blondie Chaplin (guitar/vocals)
and Ricky Fataar (drums/vocals) had both played for the South African band The
Flame. Soon after the sessions for this
album started, Bruce Johnston had a disagreement with manager Jack Rieley and
exited the Beach Boys. Of this album,
Elton John says: “This album is a step away from PET SOUNDS, but still has
moments of breathtaking genius and experimentation”. It reached #25 in the UK and #50 in the U.S.
Brian Wilson and Jack Rieley penned the upbeat rock and roll
song ‘You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone’.
It uses tack piano, banjo, slide guitar, and fiddle. The lyrics draw on nature to make a point: “I
need a breeze blowing softly/To keep my wind vane from standing/I need a whole
lot of sunshine/To keep my sundial advancing/I need some soil ‘fore my grass
will grow/I need some spark to make my candle glow/Relief I cried/Ain’t no
shuck ‘n’ jive/I need a mess of help to stand alone”. ‘Here She Comes’ was written by the two new
group members. It speaks of the power of
a lady: “Here she comes, breathing life into my thoughts/There she goes, leaves
a portrait in my soul/Rolling in madness/She does everything to me/Wherever she
goes, you know the devil dances/And the gods lay down in defeat/Am I
living?/Crazy woman can’t you see/That I’m giving/Giving to you?/Can you dig
me?”
‘He Came Down’ is a happy rock and roll song that uses
Hammond organ, piano, handclaps, and finger snaps. It is a lyrical hodge-podge of spirituality:
“Jesus came down to save the world from sin/Sayin’ ‘Seek ye first the kingdom
within’/Maharishi teaches us to meditate/To dive deep within, come out and
radiate/All of the saints through all creation/Sing the same song of
revelation”. ‘Marcella’ is a breezy pop
song of infatuation: “Mystic maiden’s more than soft and sexy/She can mess my
mind with the stuff that she knows/Her newfound beauty goes beyond her
covering/And sets a flame in her soul/One arm over my shoulder/Sandals dance at
my feet/Eyes that’ll knock you right over/Ooo, Marcella’s so sweet”.
‘Hold on Dear Brother’ is a piano based waltz that also uses
the pedal steel. It makes clear our need
for friendship: “Won’t you please/Hold on dear Brother (3X)/Brother, Brother/In
your heart you know it’s love/A simple feeling that you shout/I want your
love/You touch my hand/I need your love/To carry me home”. Daryl Dragon of Captain and Tenille fame is
responsible for the orchestration on the sweeping ballad ‘Make it Good’. Dennis Wilson delivers these simple, but
heartfelt lyrics: “All of my life/I haven’t known much/All I know is what I
feel/And what I feel (2X)/Love/I’m in love/Love, love”.
Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, and Mike Love wrote ‘All This is
That’. This easy listening number has a
decidedly New Age message: “Golden auras glow around you/Omnipresent love
surrounds you/Wisdom warming as the sun/You and I are truly one.../I am that,
thou art that, all this is that”.
‘Cuddle Up’ includes these passionate (pun intended) lyrics: “The night
has come/Cuddle up to me/Keep warm, mmm, close to me/In dreams/We’ll
dream/Making love to wake/To find/Mmm, we’re still one/Your love (3X)/Your love
for me is so warm and good to me/Growing every day/Honey, honey/I’m in love”.
I quite like CARL & THE PASSSIONS: SO TOUGH. It has a lot of feeling and emotional
investment to it. That doesn’t mean I
agree with every lyric. Really, it
sounds like a completely different group than that which recorded classic hits
like ‘Surfin U.S.A.’ and ‘California Girls’, especially when it comes to the
lead vocals. However, the group
harmonies are still present. This is
more mature music that should not be overlooked. I’m rating it 88%. For more info visit: www.thebeachboys.com.
The next year, 1973, the Beach Boys released their 19th
studio album HOLLAND (Brother Records/Reprise).
Much of it was recorded in Holland while Brian Wilson was back in the
U.S. with emotional and mental problems.
The album reached #20 in the UK and #36 in the U.S. The cover photo is an upside down picture of
the Kroome Waal, a canal in Amsterdam.
Tom Petty writes that this album “is not only a wonderful listening
experience, it’s a great case for The Beach Boys being more than Brian Wilson’s
backing singers”.
‘Sail on, Sailor’ was written by Brian Wilson, Tandyn Almer,
Ray Kennedy, Jack Rieley, and Van Dyke Parks.
Blondie Chaplin handles lead vocals on this soulful rock song that would
become a concert favorite. It tells a
story: “I sailed an ocean, unsettled ocean/Through restful waters and deep
commotion/Often frightened, unenlightened/Sail on, sail on sailor/I wrest the
waters, fight Neptune’s waters/Sail thru the sorrows of life’s
marauders/Unrepenting, often empty/Sail on, sail on sailor/Caught like a sewer
rat alone, but I sail/Bought like a crust of bread, but oh, do I wail”. ‘Steamboat’ sounds a bit like a Tom Waits
song musically. Tony Martin plays slide
guitar. The song includes these poetic
lyrics: “The river’s a bed of sweet berries and flowers/Banks of thirsty lies/(Please
be careful)/The stream is an eyeglass of heroes/Bridged with bright replies/The
creek is a funnel of forgiveness/Winning every prize/The steamboat of living
ever faithfully ride/The river’s a dream in a waltz time/Banks of jasper
glaze/Have a ball and sing”. Mike Love
wrote and performs lead vocals on the mellow country and western song
‘California Saga/Big Sur’. It uses
harmonica and pedal steel and finds one longing for home: “Big Sur, I’ve got
plans for you/Me and mine are going to/Add ourselves to your lengthy list of
lovers/And live in canyons covered with a springtime green/While birds and
flowers to be heard and seen/And on my old guitar, I’ll make up songs to
sing/Sparklin’ springs from the mountainside/Join the Big Sur rivers rushing to
the tide/Where my kids can search for sea shells at low tide/Big Sur, my astrology,
it says that I am meant to be/Where the rugged mountain meets the water”.
‘California Saga/The Beaks of Eagles’ is based on a poem by
Robinson Jeffers and makes use of the flute.
It is a mix of Kevin Max like spoken word and group singing. ‘California Saga/California’ was penned by Al
Jardine. It sounds closest to the good
time rock and roll sounds that made the Beach Boys famous. It begins with these carefree words: “On my
way to sunny California/On my way to spend another sunny day/Water, water, get
yourself in the cool, clear water/And the sun shines brightly down on Penny’s
place/The sun shines brightly down on the bay/The air’s so clean it’ll just
take your mind away/Take your mind away (2X)”.
Carl Wilson delivers the lead vocal on the soulful rock song ‘The
Trader’. It has been said to be
anti-imperialistic: “Trader said they’re not as good as folks who wear velvet
robes/Wrote home again and asked/’Please help, their breasts I see, they’re not
like me/Banish them from our prairies and our hillsides/Clear them from our
mountains and our seaside/I want them off our lakes, so please reply/Signed
sincerely’/Trader he got the crown okay/Cleared humanity from his way/He
civilized all he saw/Making changes every single day”.
‘Leaving This Town’ features a great, lengthy Moog solo by
Ricky Fataar. This is the ballad of one
who is lonely and searching: “Sometimes it’s hard to make it through the
day/Sometimes it’s hard to find my way/Sometimes it’s hard to notice the
changing days/When your friends have all gone/Leaving this town for another
one/The night is coming round/I can feel the weight of coming down/So afraid to
lose this dream/I want you to understand that I’m trying to do the best I
can/It’s so easy to lose my way”. Dennis
Wilson and Mike Love wrote ‘Only With You’.
It is a simple love song: “Love is so many things that I feel/I have
only felt with you/Only with you/And then there are the things that we do/That
I’ve only done with you/Only with you/Before love had always had its up and
downs/Until the love I finally found”.
‘Funky Pretty’ is a forgettable song that draws from astrology.
HOLLAND is artistic and creative. It does not sound rushed at all, but well
thought out. For the most part, it is
not music for the masses. The lyrics are
not always easily accessible to all.
Like its predecessor, HOLLAND has a mature vibe to it. There are, however, a couple of songs that
are reminiscent of the Beach Boys’ earlier, more commercial sounding
material. I’m rating this album
85%. For more info visit: www.thebeachboys.com.
Originally included with HOLLAND was MT. VERNON AND FAIRWAY
(A FAIRY TALE): A FAIRY TALE IN SEVERAL PARTS.
It was produced by Brian and Carl Wilson. Jack Rieley serves as a narrator. It was inspired by the boy’s time at the Love
home as teens, listening to a transistor radio.
It runs over thirteen minutes.
Both albums I have reviewed here, plus the fairy tale, can be found on
the 2000 double album CD released by Brother/Capitol Records.