#13 on Billboard wasn’t too shabby for an artist whose peak was in the mid 1960’s.
The remake sounds quite different, due to the change in the vocal forces (especially Brian's voice), and the new arrangements.
To me, at least as interesting as the remake is the box set that assembled the album from legacy materials, and included all available outtakes. I am speaking of the non-bootleg release by Capitol that had some artistic input from Brian.
------
I got interested in the BB when Good Vibrations came out. Now there was a new and interesting sound! Way out of the generally boring mainstream of rock-n-roll. So I began seeking out their music. Some of their previous tunes, certainly, but especially their albums from 1970-73.
Hearing Surf's Up for the first time (from the album of the same name), I decided that nobody, including Brian Wison, would likely ever top what he and VanDyke Parks had achieved. That opinion has stood the test of four decades.
Ironically, the post-Capitol era, the era of Surf's Up, Sunflower, and Holland marked both their artistic peak and their commercial decline.
Didja know that Brian was/is deaf in one ear? He preferred to record/mix/engineer in mono since he couldn’t appreciate stereo. Obviously it didn’t stop him from creating amazing soundscapes.
Many accounts say his deafness was the result of a blow to the head by his abusive father Murry. The father denied it of course but frequent physical and verbal abuse was a near-daily occurrence.
Didja know that Brian was/is deaf in one ear? He preferred to record/mix/engineer in mono since he couldn’t appreciate stereo. Obviously it didn’t stop him from creating amazing soundscapes.
Many accounts say his deafness was the result of a blow to the head by his abusive father Murry. The father denied it of course but frequent physical and verbal abuse was a near-daily occurrence.
Talk about harmony, I went to a concert in 1991 that had the Beach Boys and the Everly Brothers on the same stage. Brian had his huge beard then and probably had just emerged from rehab but what a sound! The Everlys had been on and off as an act over the years yet they still had the great harmony. Most of the audience were of an age to be original fans of the groups and really got into it.
LOVE LOVE LOVE Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys —actually got to see them live at Madison Sq Garden a long time ago. SO thrilling. Such complex and beautiful music.