Cabin Essence Blog

It’s been a while since we’ve looked at Brian’s hidden “booty” -so it’s worth remining readers what this series is about. Basically it’s songs penned by Brian Wilson that are not widely known in popular culture -so a California Girls would be excluded. Also excluded are all the tracks from Pet Sounds, SMiLE and That Lucky Old Sun -these are covered in separate track-by-track series.

So we resume our series with a song from the Wild Honey album, known for it’s boogie-woogie feel, and there is still a bit of that piano sound in this track.  However Country Air hearkens back to the more harmonic earlier Beach Boys sound with the great harmonies. The country sounds and humming give the song a homemade feel, but there is also an element of spirituality in the soaring harmonies – a sense of “going home” that Brian returned to on That Lucky Old Sun. It’s another wonderful track from the beautiful transcendental era of the Beach Boys music.

We’re completing our trilogy of Summer Love Songs tracks with a look at this classic summer ballad. And at the same time, here’s a preview of the album cover of the new compilation. Girls On The Beach occupies the same harmonic ballad territory as Surfer Girl and The Warmth Of The Sun, and while it may not have the simple yearning of the former and the deep emotion of the latter, there is still a real sense that one is being transported to a summer paradise of eternal youthful emotions. And the real surfer boy and ladies’ man, Dennis, sings the brief solo vocal section.

This was also the title song to the 1965 movie that featured the Beach Boys and contains a performance of this song. Although the song did feature on the famous Endless Summer compilation, it hasn’t been used much in Beach Boys or Brian Wilson concerts, so it does get a welcome place back in the limelight on the new compilation.

Continuing our Summer Love Songs look at some hidden beauties, we move onto another track that is generally unknown to the public, but has also featured in Brian Wilson’s shows. Good To My Baby is the second track on the strong Today album and features many hallmarks of that time – strong harmonies, main vocal by Mike, high parts sung by Brian.

There is also evidence of the increasingly sophisticated production that marks Today and the classic mid-60s Wrecking Crew sound. Overall, this is a strong, up-tempo and feelgood track that will certainly enhance the new compilation.

With Summer Love Songs looming, it seemed appropriate to look at one or two of the songs on the album. Keep An Eye On Summer is an interesting selection, both for that album and this article. It was a somewhat low key track on the mixed bag Shut Down Volume 2 album that mixed classics like Warmth Of The Sun and Don’t Worry Baby  with a bit too much filler. If you read David Leaf’s album notes, you may believe this is part of the filler, but this is actually a pretty love song, with nice vocals and a real atmosphere of longing.

Brian was interested enough in the song to revisit it for his Imagination album, and has done it in concert. Now it gets a higher profile compilation entry -so this beauty may not be as hidden now.

I’ve said it a few times on this blog, and I’ll probably say it a few times more – it was Disc 3 of the Good Vibrations box set that converted me from a casual to a serious Beach Boys fan, and made me realise there was a lot more depth to the catalogue than Pet Sounds and the hits. One of the songs that made Disc 3 great was Time To Get Alone ; a classic love song written originally by Brian for his friend Danny Hutton and Redwood (precursor to Three Dog Night).

However, presumably, the Beach Boys realised this song was too good to pass them by and it was included on the 1969 20/20 album. The song is noted for the chillingly beautiful “deep and wide” moment, but also shows Brian’s ability to write a simple, catchy and beautiful love song. Carl Wilson’s production also helps transform the Beach Boys recorded version. You can also a hear an alternative version with an a-capella tag on the Hawthorne, CA compilation.

“If Mars had life on it, I might find my wife on it” -these immortal lyrics come from one of Brian’s most quirky songs, and one that might draw a genuine line between hardcore Brian Wilson fans and the more casual variety.

Solar System, from Love You, is a light years from God Only Knows or even I Get Around in style and sound. At first listen, it may seem simplistic and primitive but underneath is a strangely beatiful and deep melody, supplemented by lyrics that show Brian’s confused state of mind, veering between childlike wonder and deep alienation.