Page 27 - the NOISE November 2012

b Ugh
bb Eh
bbb Solid
bbbb Gold bbbbb Total Classic
Dr. Dog
Boys’ popularity, especially by Murry, who was beside himself at the amount of promotional bucks Capitol was throwing at the Liverpool quartet.
But Brian loved the Beatles’ music. It inspired him to keep aiming higher. The competition between the two groups was more hot air from Capitol. Brian and the boys had met the Fab Four and found them to be decent enough fellas, just four more young men caught up in the web of managers, concerts, studios, record labels, etc., all in the name of getting their mu- sic heard.
Still, the “competition” was fun. It kept both bands on their toes. Rubber Soul influenced Pet Sounds which influenced Revolver which influ- enced “Good Vibrations” which influenced the
“Penny Lane”/”Strawberry Fields Forever” single. Brian knew it was his move. His idea was to take the complexity of “Good Vibrations” and
create an entire LP out of it. He had the no- tion for many years to make an album telling the story of America: the Pilgrims, Plymouth Rock, The American Indian, log cabins, farmers, the great trek Westward, the railroads, all the way up to surfing and Blue Hawaii. He knew he could do it, all he needed was the right col- laborator.
Enter Van Dyke Parks. Van Dyke was a former child actor turned acidhead and L.A. hipster and smartass. He had a small coterie of devo- tees, his own little scene happening. It was rumored his I.Q. was near genius level. Brian’s concept for Smile excited him greatly. Luckily for Brian, Van Dyke was also an immensely tal- ented musician, if a little idiosyncratic. The two new best friends began making Smile a reality.
The work progressed for a while. Smile’s leadoff track, “Heroes And Villains” was being prepped as a single. The album’s centerpiece was “Surf’s Up”, a lush three-part suite orna- mented by Van Dyke’s abstract lyrics.
It was here that the team faced their biggest obstacle, namely the other Beach Boys. “Good Vibrations” was one thing, the words Brian now expected them to sing sounded like psychedel- ic gibberish. Mike Love asked Van Dyke Parks what “Calumniated ruins domino” meant and Van Dyke responded that he didn’t know, but they could mean whatever Mike wanted them to mean. The boys were not amused.
Murry, of course, hated Van Dyke and thought that Smile was garbage. He told Brian he was washed up. “Good Vibrations” had been the pinnacle of Brian’s career and now it was all downhill. Brian’s fragile ego, fueled by self- doubt and LSD, began to crumble. After several ugly confrontations with Murry, Van Dyke ex- ited the scene, leaving the half-finished Smile in Brian’s lap.
Brian soldiered on with his masterpiece, but there were more setbacks. A truncated “Heroes And Villains” failed to duplicate the success of
“Good Vibrations” on the charts. During the re- cording session for the “Fire” sequence, several random fires popped up around the Los Ange- les area. Brian was convinced his music had cre- ated something destructive. He began pulling away from Smile and retreating further into his head.
Then Murry dropped a bomb.
... To Be Concluded Next Month: A Christmas
Miracle.
— Tony BallZ
REVIEW’D
Unless otherwise noted, by Frank Chipotel aka Chipotle Frank
Dr. Dog/Cotton Jones 10/02/12
Orpheum
jjj
It’s a lovely autumn evening. I put on blue, because my girl asked me to, and it’s just a hop and a skip over to the Orpheum. One of the many pleasures of living in our small Flagstaff. Aftertheobligatorypeoplewatching(Ifeellike I am in a poorly conceived Where’s Waldo book) my lady and I get settled into our seats shortly before Cotton Jones takes stage.
Hey, I had to work this morning, plus I’ve done this show thing enough, I don’t need to be uncomfortable if I don’t wanna. I’ve heard these guys’ records and was never really that impressed, but I’m definitely seeing the ap- peal live. Especially on songs where singer Whitney McGraw’s voice shines through with her pleasantly familiar, yet entirely unique tangy drawl. There are a few times where I feel like the music just becomes too dense,
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