Sgt.Pepper special on PBS
Another way to gain insight into Brian Wilson’s talent, particularly the making of the Smile album (which was envisioned by Brian to achieve what Sgt. Pepper instead did, though Smile on a much higher musical level), is to read Paul Williams’ book Outlaw Blues. The book is a compilation of Paul’s writing in the original Crawdaddy magazine, the first magazine containing writing about Rock ’n’ Roll from an adult perspective (Rolling Stone followed it by two years). Three chapters of the book are reprints of what Williams was writing about the making of Smile, as it was happening. The absolute best stuff ever written about Brian, and Smile, by a mile (thank you VDP ;-). |
If this thread interests you, there's a special on called "The Beach Boys: The Making of Pet Sounds" which (obviously) explores Brian Wilson's masterpiece. Unlike the Beatles, who collaborated on Sgt Peppers, this Beach Boys movie reveals the genius of Brian Wilson. All of the Beach Boys had talent but it was Brian Wilson's determination to deliver words and melodies that would become classics by forming a time capsule of suburban American life in the 60's. If you were sixteen in 1966, then you know what I mean. |
Im a fan of the Beatles. But The Stones recorded there music. i m o Easyer to listen to Drums dont work out of the left ch with voice. No one talks about it in here. They over look it. All the bouncing Around. But i also don't like In a music video some moron making Oil spots on the film. Like your Tripping i want to see the band Play only |
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@tonykay The plot thickens-LOL!! https://medium.com/cuepoint/how-the-beatles-revolver-gave-brian-wilson-a-nervous-breakdown-4b3939c4e... |
A column in the latest issue of "the absolute sound" discusses this subject and acknowledges that Brian Wilson was exploring creative multilayering in the making of "Good Vibrations" around the same time as the Beatles were crafting "Sgt Peppers LHCB." What I found interesting was the statement that "Paul McCartney would say years later that (Frank Zappa’s) Freak Out inspired the Beatles to stretch out creatively on their influential 1967 concept album Sgt Peppers’ LHCB." Frank Zappa...who knew? |
I thought the program was mostly good--I question whether, at this point, they were still mixing 3 tracks down to 1 (I’d like to see an example of that on any song from the LP), but there were a lot of good new factoids and the rest seemed right on the money. I liked that they went deep with a few tracks rather than trying to cover them all. |
Great special, a must see. Agree with bdp24 though. While Sgt Pepper can certainly stand on it's own merits as a seminal moment in pop music the fact that the influence of Brian Wilson and his pet sounds project was not mentioned as a profound influence on Lennon/McCartney/Sgt Pepper is quite surprising. Not to neglect the contributions of George, too often the unsung Beatle. |
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Fantastic! The best sections are where the host sits at a piano, explaining the technical construction of the songs. There is a video on You Tube of a musical theorist sitting at a piano, explaining and demonstrating the construction of Brian Wilson’s 1965 song, "God Only Knows". My only beef is with the hosts assertion that what Lennon and (especially) McCartney were doing musically was heretofore unheard of in Pop music. Brian Wilson had been using Classically-informed compositional techniques in his songwriting for two years before the Sgt. Pepper album. McCartneys rapid growth as a songwriter and bassist (the use of inversion, in particular) was in fact the result of hearing the Beach Boys 1965 Pet Sounds album, a record the existence and significance of which the host ignores, not citing it as a source of some of the musical ideas and techniques found in the Sgt. Pepper album. They can be traced directly back to Pet Sounds, which McCartney has unashamedly acknowledged. |
Great insight on the Beatles’ creative process. The exploration of the unique sounds created by diverse instruments helped me remember that it took several listenings to get comfortable with this album. I just wasn’t ready for the revolutionary change this album introduced. This program increased my appreciation for all the effort that went into making Sgt Pepper’s LHCB. |
