They were both wizards and visionaries in the recording studio, and their work sparked the continued interests of so many listeners over the years. And in both cases it occurred in spite of the fact that they were both messed up in the head in the rest of their lives.
Something about genius-level brains: They just are so far beyond the average that it has to be maddening for them. I'm not sure if hard drugs are a gateway to open up genius minds to new levels of thought and perception that others can't grasp or appreciate, or if they just provided an escape from the drudgery of being extra special in a world full of normal and drab.
I've had “Good Vibrations” on repeat in my brain most of this week, but I've also read so much about its creation and Brian Wilson's “madness” that it took MONTHS for him to get it “right,” and that fascinates me. Most artists would just move on after a couple of takes, but he pieced that song together like a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, piece by piece, until it was complete.
And he did all of it before he was 25 years old, which is just absurd. I could barely balance a checkbook at 23, and this guy's producing “Pet Sounds.” Otherworldly talent.
If you’ve heard outtakes from Wilson’s sessions, you know he was a very demanding taskmaster when it came to getting the instrumental parts right, and sometimes the vocals as well.
100 percent. No slouches in that group. Brian may have been a talented writer and producer, but those songs are not hits without the ridiculous talent behind them. If those arrangements and harmonies aren't studied and emulated in music schools today, it's a crime.
Al, Carl and Dennis sang background vocals on Chicago’s hit “Wishing You Were Here”, and made it sound much different than that band’s usual repertoire simply by their presence.
I have started to invest time in looking into that stuff. There's a YouTube video floating around recording the "Good Vibrations" sessions, which started this whole train of exploration for me.
Just yesterday, for the first time, I heard the version of "God Only Knows" where Brian did the lead vocals. He heard it, scrapped it, said it should be Carl doing it, which was a gutsy call because Carl didn't do much in the way of lead vocals to that point.
It went from a solid track to transcendental, all from that one move. The Brian vocals are terrific, but it's a completely different song. Blows my mind.
The shining of Brian’s sun has obscured the fact that the other guys in the band were talented singers, songwriters and musicians themselves. And they really stepped up after Brian broke down.
Amen.
Talking about these two (and now Ananda Lewis & Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas McCarthy) have been a nice diversion from all the other news.
They were both wizards and visionaries in the recording studio, and their work sparked the continued interests of so many listeners over the years. And in both cases it occurred in spite of the fact that they were both messed up in the head in the rest of their lives.
Something about genius-level brains: They just are so far beyond the average that it has to be maddening for them. I'm not sure if hard drugs are a gateway to open up genius minds to new levels of thought and perception that others can't grasp or appreciate, or if they just provided an escape from the drudgery of being extra special in a world full of normal and drab.
I've had “Good Vibrations” on repeat in my brain most of this week, but I've also read so much about its creation and Brian Wilson's “madness” that it took MONTHS for him to get it “right,” and that fascinates me. Most artists would just move on after a couple of takes, but he pieced that song together like a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, piece by piece, until it was complete.
And he did all of it before he was 25 years old, which is just absurd. I could barely balance a checkbook at 23, and this guy's producing “Pet Sounds.” Otherworldly talent.
If you’ve heard outtakes from Wilson’s sessions, you know he was a very demanding taskmaster when it came to getting the instrumental parts right, and sometimes the vocals as well.
100 percent. No slouches in that group. Brian may have been a talented writer and producer, but those songs are not hits without the ridiculous talent behind them. If those arrangements and harmonies aren't studied and emulated in music schools today, it's a crime.
Al, Carl and Dennis sang background vocals on Chicago’s hit “Wishing You Were Here”, and made it sound much different than that band’s usual repertoire simply by their presence.
I have started to invest time in looking into that stuff. There's a YouTube video floating around recording the "Good Vibrations" sessions, which started this whole train of exploration for me.
Just yesterday, for the first time, I heard the version of "God Only Knows" where Brian did the lead vocals. He heard it, scrapped it, said it should be Carl doing it, which was a gutsy call because Carl didn't do much in the way of lead vocals to that point.
It went from a solid track to transcendental, all from that one move. The Brian vocals are terrific, but it's a completely different song. Blows my mind.
The shining of Brian’s sun has obscured the fact that the other guys in the band were talented singers, songwriters and musicians themselves. And they really stepped up after Brian broke down.