Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two CD's from the mid-70's doldrums, one good one ok., 21 Aug 2000
Chronologically I'll get 15 Big Ones out of the way first as the other cd in this collection,Love You is a lot more interesting. 'Big Ones was released to celebrate 15 years of the BB's in business and came out in 1976 when the bands stock was low both musically and in the business in general. The album was released on the back of a Brian is Back campaign and altho'he was in the studio twiddling knobs and singing this was not the BW of old. His voice had, due to a steady diet of cigarettes, got rough and the falsetto had gone forever.The album was supposed to be all originals but by the time the guys had fallen out with each other for the umpteenth time the record came out as a mix of old standards, RnR Music, Chapel of Love, and "new" originals Suzie Cinncinnati and Had to PHone Ya.With this back ground it's hardly surprising the album comes across as a bit of a hoch poch and with expectations at the time so high, a bit disappointing. To quote one of the songs,"It's OK" but not the most inspiring record they have ever cut, possibly because the listener gets the feeling Brian is being forced to do this and he's not enjoying it very much. Which is not the case with the 1977 follow up "Love You". This is nearly a Brian Wilson solo LP and is he enjoying himself!A variety of rockers,(Honking Down the Highway and Mona) plus ballads (The Night was So Young and Lets Put Our Hearts Together duetted with ex-wife Marilyn)and the strange make up the content. The downright quirky Solar System and the brilliant but mega weird Johnny Carson make this a hugely enjoyable record,jammed with variety and Brians childlike view of life.This was a big influence on REM's Michael Stipe and makes the price of admission worthwhile on its own.You've a treat in store if you havn't heard this before and 'Big Ones ain't that bad really. Enjoy!
|
|
|
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Uneven double album CD, but Love You is worth it all., 14 Feb 2002
This is the most uneven "two-fer" in the Beach Boys catalog. 15 Big Ones is mostly uninteresting oldies covers mixed in with lightweight originals, but it has some good moments, particularly "It's OK," and "Had to Phone Ya," and the covers of "In the Still of the Night" and "Just Once in My Life" are stunningly beautiful. Most of the rest, however, is below average, and "The TM Song" is atrocious. Love You, however, is one of the three best Beach Boys albums. It finds Brian Wilson back with his creative talent and it is a total blast. The first half is great fun, particularly with the raunchy "Let Us Go On This Way" and the ultra-catchy "Johnny Carson." The second half is full of ballads that rival Pet Sounds in their beauty. Particularly moving are "The Night Was So Young," "I'll Bet He's Nice," and "Let's Put Our Hearts Together," but the other ballads are almost as great.
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beach Boys Love You, 30 Sep 2006
The Beach Boys Love You ( "er..o.k were lost..Brian!") was Brians Baby really the beach boys floundering between becoming an oldies good time band ( like now) and their progressive sixties incarnation. There may also have been some " aw shucks sorry about smile Brian" and " gee maybe Brian really needs our support here" thinking behind the project. Whatever, the music is what it is, and what is it? well.. its great , its NOTHING at all to do with the Brian Wilson of pet sounds, the songs are way simpler in structure ,in fact it shares more affinity with Smiley Smile in its stripped back approach, early synth sounds ( still sounding good today) dominate on tracks that often hark back melodically to doo wap or early rock and roll, the lyrics too are often simple and honest' Mona' one of my personal favourites sounds a bit like it was written and sung by an over eager Homer Simpson ( in the best way) and it makes me feel good in a way that alot of Brians music often doesnt cause lets face it its often melancholy( which feels good in a different way), ive played this album to people who like pet sounds and they are surprised by its almost dumb enthusiasm, now of course Brian Wilson being dumb is still more musically advanced than a bus load of other song writer/producers you care to mention, and on tracks like ' the night was so young' and ' lets put our hearts together' we get tracks that combine the new sound with the former sadness, the lyrics , as i said , are a world away from the whistful angst of pet sounds and further still from the van dyke co written stuff, but thats not to write them off at all, there is an ungaurded simplicity and directness to alot of this stuff which particularly in the duet with his soon to be ex wife Audrey hits me as hard as anything else he wrote and sang. This is beautiful and silly music from someone who was in the process of trying to find a way out of the hell his life had become. I listen to it alongside his first self titled solo l.p. and marvel at the mans spirit and creative generosity. i hope you like it too.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ The Beach Boys
~ The Beach Boys
~ The Beach Boys
~ The Beach Boys
~ The Beach Boys
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Amazon Home