Smiley Smile-The Little Album That Could by Peter Reum

Smiley Smile: The Little Album That Could by Peter  Reum

The effort to assemble the Smile album was effectively tabled by Brian Wilson in late December 1966, when he was told by David Anderle that a new single was overdue. In Paul Williams pioneering rock journal, Crawdaddy, Anderle said telling Brian that a single was overdue was the hardest thing he had to do while at Brother Records. Brian, who had Smile roughly 75% complete, had to shelf the album in favor of working on a new single.

In a frantic manner, in the winter of 1967, Brian recorded several segments of Heroes and Villains, shuffling the segments in a manner that seemed unfocused. In several subsequent interviews through the years concerning why Smile was shelved, Brian attributed his difficulty in finishing Smile to losing his focus and perspective. As time marched into late Spring 1967, Brian's inactivity spoke volumes about his exhaustion and mental health's deterioration. March 1967 was consumed with a lawsuit stating Capitol Records owed Brother Records a substantal amount of money for unpaid royalties due to an outdated policy Capitol used in the 1940s to charge off to artists' 78 rpm records that broke in shipment.

In April 1967, Brian set Heroes and Villains aside like he did Smile, and began work on a new single--Vegetables. Nearly all of his studio time in April was concerned with Vegetables.  In effect, both Smile and the first single, Heroes and Villains, from the album were set aside.

Brian, exhausted from 6 years of hectic work as a songwriter and producer, had a nervous collapse, which led to him telling the Beach Boys that he wanted more involvement from the group in studio work, and that he needed the guys in The Beach Boys to take over production of future singles and albums, because he needed to rest following his nervous collapse in May 1967. A quote from Carl Wilson regarding Brian's emotional frailty during and after this breakdown intimated that had the group pushed Brian during his collapse to produce the single and album, they might have never gotten Brian to do any future work for the Beach Boys. In June 1967, The Beach Boys, with Brian and Carl Wilson co-producing, used both Wally Heider's Studio 3 and Brian's Home Studio, still a makeshift studio under construction, to record this most eccentric of Brian's albums with The Beach Boys. The  use of Brian's home studio had to accommodate use of the mixing board on Beach Boys Tours in the late Sixties.

Smiley Smile was recorded in very primitive conditions, partly in Brian's new home studio, and it tends to show. Nevertheless, it has some great innovation. Coming on the heels of the Derek Taylor Smile publicity horse opera, it was probably commercially doomed from the start. Smiley Smile is the antithesis of what Smile was promoted by Taylor to be.

Whereas Smile was ornate, broad brushed Baroque Rock Opera bathed in Americana and Elemental Mythology....Smiley Smile was a Zen Koan, a riddle, Minimalist in its approach, full of intuitive cues that were at once humorous, eerie, silly, and unexpected. To illustrate, some of the chants, spoofs, and some of the Van Dyke Parks written lyrics were retained for Smiley Smile, and others were shelved for future use. The influence of the shelving of Smile cannot be understated with respect to the minimalist approach on Smiley Smile. In a 1983 comprehensive interview with Geoffrey Himes, Carl Wilson reaffirmed the exhaustion and feelings of ambivalence Brian had after he ceased recording Smile. There is an observation by Carl in that interview that had The Beach Boys not understood Brian's state of mind after canning Smile, that "we might have lost him for good." It appeared to several observers at the time that the failure of Heroes and Villains to enter the top ten singles charts across the country drove Brian  further into self-doubt and fear, leading to sparse home brewed recordings in 1967. It is also likely that Brian's compulsive shuffling of recorded bits for Heroes and Villains led him to rewind his approach to studio recording, resulting in the homemade, subtle approach to Smiley Smile. In an interview that this author did with engineer Jim Lockert prior to his passing away, Lockert observed that Brian suspected several groups of spying on the Smile Sessions, with Brian then assembling Smiley Smile from five modular taped recordings into a finished album, thereby ensuring Smiley Smile's sound would not be copied by competing groups. In that sense, Smiley Smile was the first completed modular production approach album which was successfully assembled and then released in rock.

Author and musical analyst Daniel Harrison in a 1997 chapter in a book about musical structure made a crucial point that given the approach Brian took to Smiley Smile, it could not be regarded as a piece of art that could be compared to their albums of the late Sixties, and to compare it to those works does a disservice to Brian and his creativity. In a separate interview with Tom Nolan from a 1971 two part Rolling Stone article on The Beach Boys and Brian, fellow producer Terry Melcher makes two critical observations about the era of Smiley Smile. First, he recounts a story in which Brian and his friends formed a line of cars that went to a radio station in Los Angeles to offer that station the debut broadcast on radio of Heroes and Villains. The midnight disc jockey, not sure what to do, turned Brian down at first, then called his supervisor who screamed "put it on, you idiot!!!" Melcher goes on to say that the experience of not initially playing Heroes "killed Brian....it was like someone kicked him in the stomach and deflated him." With distance and perspective, it appears to this writer that whatever self-confidence Brian had regarding his songs being commercial disappeared forever. Later on, in 1975, Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher signed an agreement with Brian to produce 15 sides for their Equinox Records label. Both men remarked in separate interviews that Brian was loathe to touch the mixing board, and thereby could not meet the requirements of his Equinox contract. Terry Melcher remarked that "they ought to give Brian a grant to be able to write and record whatever he wants without any expectations so he could follow his own muse." The simple fact is that Brian's commercial instincts ebbed after Smiley Smile, partially due to his internal voices, partially due to his refusal to step on the commercial recording treadmill again, and partially due to his inability to produce artists on Brother Records, and his own doubts about his ability to produce hit records.

None of the factors cited above in any way diminish the beautiful simplicity of Smiley Smile. The creative heart of Smiley Smile is the non-verbal musical humor embedded in the tunes. When Carl Wilson called Smiley Smile "an album for Brian to cool out by," it was hard to imagine the levels of exhaustion and cross-talk that Brian was experiencing in his brain. The stark beauty of Smiley Smile, the subtle and idiosyncratic humor therein, and the overcoming of true and abject fear that Brian experienced because of the hostile voices he was hearing gave birth to Smiley Smile, but for Brian, the creative load was no longer bearable. The phrase "Produced by Brian Wilson" did not appear as a complete album credit until 15 Big Ones, recorded almost 10 years after Smiley Smile.

Here is a revised section on Brian's use of humor in recording partially taken from my article entitled Light the Lamp, with new material included, which I first wrote with the goal of searching for the sources of Brian's musically humorous approaches and expressions:

...So we begin our search for Brian Wilson's laughin' place....We know that Brian valued humor as a child and as a young adult from anecdotal evidence from childhood friends and The Wilson Brothers' own stories of his antics at home in Hawthorne, at school, later on the road, or in the studio. We also see that the albums we have enjoyed through the years have all had differing types of humor that evolved and changed as Brian grew older, became more worldly, and was more responsible for his extended family.

If we accept the definition of humor as outlined by Steven Sultanoff, Ph.D. from a well done 1997 article at the American Academy of Therapeutic Humor website entitled "What is Humor?", we find a definition in several parts. First, Dr. Sultanoff makes the point that "one way to experience humor is to experience incongruity in a familiar situation." Musically, this could be as complex as a song with a paradoxical twist at the end of it, a musical unexpected moment, or simply a picture of people that does not fit with standard behavior. An example of a musical punchline almost approaching a Zen koan in its emotional suddenness is the version of Wind Chimes on Smiley Smile. We are lulled into somnambulence listening to our wind chimes, almost to the point of total relaxation. If Brian were to loop the singing, it would surely have the quality of reducing distances between people. For Brian, humor was one way for a very shy and gifted teenager who was always on the edge of several social circles to be able to be accepted. This is well documented by David Leaf in his interviews with Rich Sloane and other high school friends of Brian's. A high school friend of Brian's tells the story of Brian's high school graduation, where Brian asked several friends to limp across the stage to get their diplomas. He told each person "everyone is doing it." Second, in the end, only Brian decided to limp. What would motivate Brian to do this?" The most likely answer is that Brian wanted to do something funny that would make the gesture by Brian the most memorable event at graduation.

Using Dr. Sultanoff's definition, the third purpose for humor is to dispel anger. In Brian's chaotic, abusive, alcoholic home, the major emotion he witnessed was anger. His father's volcanic temper could be tamed by two of Brian's gifts, music and humor. Brian used one or the other as often as he could in order to lighten the emotional tension in his mom and brothers' lives. There are several interviews with Brian, Dennis, and Carl which mention Brian telling funny jokes or singing songs to reduce the anger and fear that the boys routinely experienced and its consequential anxiety, which was always at a high level throughout their childhood. In this sense, we can attribute to humor a third and critical purpose for Brian, which was to alleviate anger, depression, and to reduce stress generated anxiety.

Another notorious part of Brian's sense of humor is the "put on." Even his best friends report difficulty determining at times whether the answers they are getting in conversations they have with him are complete fabrications or on the level. Don Was tells the story of asking Brian how he wrote Til' I Die during the I Just Wasn't Made for There Times Film. Brian replied by telling Don that he was trying to compose a song by "only playing the black keys." Don admits not knowing whether Brian's reply was true, or "Brian was just entertaining me." 

Dr. Sultanoff mentions a fourth purpose of humor as deflating or ridiculing the seriousness of a highly important topic. The song She's Going Bald is an example of this form of humor.  The song begins with a modified Brazilian jazz sound, with the topic of going bald being probably one of the worst problems a woman who values her appearance can have happen to her. Derived from a brief fragment in the Smile Session known as "He Gives Speeches,"  Mike Love added some lyrics that amplified the absurdity of the song. The sarcastic and angry tone of He Gives Speeches was altered to emphasize silliness instead of a more critical and sarcastic focus. One of the brilliant musical touches of humor Brian employed was to alter the vocals of part of the song using an Eltro Information Rate Changer. The Fifties tune "Get a Job" is quoted, only adding to the absurdity of the tune. The third part of the song mocks the urgent nature of the problem, a woman going bald. Finally, the call and response section of the tune's end, quoting a Fifties Rhythm and Blues type of singing breaks the news to the woman...."You're Too Late Mama, Ain't Nothin' Upside Your Head No more, No More, No More...."

Another purpose of Brian's Smiley Smile humor is  to dispel feelings of fear or being scared. Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (Woody Woodpecker Symphony) uses the same chord progression as Mrs. O'Leary's Cow from Smile.  Brian, quoted in an interview about Smile, remarks that the ominous chord progression from Mrs. O'Leary's Cow did not  have to be a "big and frightening tune." Instead,  he states that Fall Breaks and Back to Winter can be a "candle" instead of a "big scary fire."

The rest of the tunes on Smiley Smile can be placed in one or more of Dr. Sultanoff's purposes for humor. Smiley Smile's version of Wonderful, unlike the almost chamber music tone of the Smile version, is presented with an unusual spoken word bridge that is humorous instead. The song's bridge is somewhat discordant, lending an almost "musique concrete" feel to the song. The overall impression one takes away from repeated listens is an almost bemused wonder, bringing out the subtle smile the album's title evokes. The same feeling is generated by Little Pad and Whistle In, two modified "chants" which parallel some of Brian's work on Smile. Both tunes are repetitive. Whistle In simply repeats the phrase "Remember the day, remember the night, all day long...Whistle In." Little Pad is a little more developed, but still has the feeling of a Smile type of chant that has been modified to offer a feeling of living a more simplified life in Hawaii. The overall feel is a wistful type of happiness, as the listener places himself or herself in the vocalist's place.

A promotional album from the Smiley Smile period released by Capitol has an interview with Brian about the song With Me Tonight, in which Brian is asked why there is a loud "GOOD!!!" included in the otherwise hypnotic sounds of the song. Brian responds by saying "oh that was Arny Geller, and we liked how it sounded so we just left it in." This almost Zen acceptance of what could have been considered a blown take of the song again illustrates the whimsy and humorous attitude Brian and The Beach Boys took  in recording Smiley Smile. Brian instinctively understood the necessity of humor in his childhood to distract his younger brothers from the fury of Murry Wilson's outbursts of rage. Humor became a prime coping method for Brian to be able to laugh off the fear of his father when intoxicated, which in turn was also protective of his younger brothers using distraction to dispel their fear as well.

Gettin'  Hungry is the first tune written by Brian and Mike Love with Brian fulfilling his promise to write an album's worth of songs with Mike. This promise was made just before recording Pet Sounds, and the Smile Sessions using Van Dyke Parks as lyricist delayed the keeping of that promise, with Mike possibly feeling cast aside. Brian, deciding to keep his promise to Mike, wrote Getting Hungry with Mike, and this second single from Smiley Smile was not released as a Beach Boys song, but as performed by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Gettin' Hungry was a hit in some parts of the world, but not in the USA. The organ and other instruments in the song are more Rhythm and Blues in tone, making it sound more like a Wild Honey tune than a Smiley Smile track. It may have fit better there.

Vegetables is a song that makes fun of, yet promotes the dietary benefits of eating vegetables and fruit. The Los Angeles region of California has historically been obsessed with being healthy and trying to maintain a youthful appearance for as long as possible. Brian toyed with exercising and maintaining a healthy diet, but did not maintain a consistent approach. A few years later, Brian's Radiant Radish health food store graced the Hollywood area for roughly a year. The reversed laughs in the tag of Vegetables are from the Smile version.

For Brian, humor is indeed a gift from God. He has been quoted repeating that idea in several interviews down the years. For him, the good feelings and relief that came from being funny and getting laughs generated from brothers and friends were a lifesaver. Dr. Sultanoff mentions in his article that as anxiety increases, a person's ability to maintain healthy self-esteem, realistic self-perspective, and ultimately, sanity, decreases. He mentions that the effect that is commonly seen therapeutically is that "without humor, peoples' thoughts become increasingly  stuck and narrowly focused."  That phenomenon is one of the primary reasons Brian stopped working on Smile.

Brian got a form of emotional release from crippling social anxiety and humorous relief from seeing conflict. He scripted a scene at a rehearsal for Heroes and Villains after the 1967 Hawaiian Live Concerts in which Mike Love actually reads a Brian authored script making fun of Brian for having a less successful sales result with the Heroes and Villains single than anticipated. Brian is making fun of Mike making fun of Brian and Van Dyke's art during Smile's recording several months beforehand. There is a complex form of humor which is a form of payback for Mike's discomfort with Van Dyke Park's lyrics for Smile, yet Brian is also ridiculing himself for thinking that Smile would be accepted by the group as a Beach Boys album. Self-deprecation is a major form of expression of humor that Brian finds funny. 

If we carefully listen to Brian's humorous songs. we have a window into his feelings. For Brian, humor was the safe outlet to express the anger and hostility he felt for the wrongs that life had dealt him as a child and young adult. The Cassius Love vs. Sonny Wilson script is one written mostly by Brian on Shut Down Volume 2, and reflects some of the frustration Brian felt with his relationship with his cousin, but more importantly, his father, Murry. We see that Brian found humor in replaying the arguments of his childhood in his art. The famous story about Brian wanting to have his Smile era pals go out and provoke a bar fight to be tape recorded for Smile was serious. There is also Brian's skit from April 1967 which has Hal Blaine (imitating Murry) arguing with Dennis about whether Dennis can have some Vegetables because he is hungry. Hal says "get outta here you punk, and take your dog with you!" Does anyone else catch the similarity to the lines of a certain witch in the Wizard of Oz?

Above, in this article, we asked what Brian finds funny, and why he might limp across the stage at his high school graduation. One answer is that Brian finds the opportunity to sneakily get back at those who he perceives as hurting him as funny, and the actual act of doing so hilarious. To limp across the stage at his high school graduation was to say to his tyrannical father, "Hah! you won't be able to tell me what to do much longer, because I'm going to be my own boss. Screw you for wanting this to be a dignified occasion!" Brian finds humor in being able to put one over on people he considers intrusive, rude, pushy, or as bullies. 

Perhaps the ultimate expression of what Brian finds funny is his complex, yet hilarious send up of himself and his father regarding the ongoing and terribly damaging conflict in their relationship in I'm Bugged At My Old Man on Summer Days. The absurdity of a millionaire Beverly Hills musician singing 12 bar blues about having his phone ripped out of the wall and having boards tacked up on the windows, while "dad is out there eating steak" is brilliant, and went over everyone's heads in 1965. This is a valid yet hysterically funny expression of Brian's incredible anger at his dad for all that had happened in his life, most recently his dad's infidelity to his mom, which also spawned the more emotionally wrenching Let Him Run Wild, also on Summer Days.

Brian also is highly interested in the use of visual humor, and began to utilize pratfalls, camera tricks, absurdity, and even Three Stooges gags to illustrate his music beginning with Pet Sounds. We see Brian, in the Sloop John B promotional film greeting what we assume to be Brian, only to have the unseen person turn around and be Carl. They all carry a life raft into a swimming pool, then proceed to swamp it, turning it over and falling into the pool. In the Good Vibrations Promotional Film, several Beach Boys slide up a fire station pole after sliding down. In another Pet Sounds Promotional film, Brian employs the use of masks to create a surreal atmosphere involving confused identities. These ideas, had they been further developed in Smile, would have likely resulted in some ground breaking performance art comedies of the type later used on MTV. There were discussions of a complete album related to comedy with accompanying visuals. Instead, Brian's incorporation of humor into Smiley Smile was primarily expressed in sound, which helps distinguish the overall difference of Smiley Smile from Smile. 

Returning to the subject of therapeutic humor, Dr. Sultanoff's article points out that humor is a highly idiosyncratic experience which is unique to each human being. We are left to wonder what else Brian himself finds humorous. His use of humor in his music has had the effect of bringing him and his fans together. This phenomenon has been substantiated by several researchers in the field of humor. What we subjectively find funny is something that Brian intuitively grasped from the very first Beach Boy album, with its self-deprecating descriptions of the five band members in the song Chug-a Lug. Brian realized that in order to connect with his audience, he had to share humor with them in such a manner that they could find a universally common frame of reference in his music. The audience can picture themselves in The Beach Boys' place in Chug-a-Lug. His music transcended its immediate California locale to become something even teenagers in landlocked states and frosty foreign countries could understand. Humor in Brian's music had the quality of replacing mundane feelings of life with pleasurable experiences that everyone could feel were honest and truthful. 

According to humor researchers, we experience humor in three ways...through our intellect, emotions, and physiology. Brian's music primarily connected with us emotionally in the early years. We felt the honesty in his records, and how they reflected our experiences in life.  Smiley Smile began a shift from emotional humor, often called mirth, to cognitive humor, called wit. 

Brian had been influenced by the creative use of humor in the work of Jan Berry throughout his career, and at the same time Pet Sounds had been recorded, Jan had issued an album designed to piggyback the mid Sixties Batman television show craze. Undoubtedly, Brian admired Jan's ability to express humor on Jan & Dean records dating back to Schlock Rod Parts 1 & 2 on their Drag City album. Brian heard the Jan & Dean Meet Batman Album, and decided perhaps there were some ideas to develop there on Smile. By the time of Smile's distillation into Smiley Smile, humor was the central motif presented. 

During the Smile Sessions, Brian had the advantage of working for the first time with a musician whose abilities equaled his own. Van Dyke Parks brought a literate sense of word play in the writing of lyrics, hearkening back to the 1930s and 40s in American popular music when brilliant songwriters  like Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and the Gershwin Brothers dominated music with snappy wit and beautiful melodies. If Brian were aiming for a new American Musical Style, he had found his match. 

Parks' lyrics presented the listener with the challenge of deciding whether to take them somewhat literally or at levels of deeper meaning. There are multiple options for interpretation in each tune, and the lyrics to songs such as Heroes and Villains and Wonderful offer puns  double entendres, and whimsy, often quoting other American classics and favorite children's songs. Brian's musical tracks continued to connect on an emotional basis. What is fascinating is that for the first time , we consistently experience a multi-modal attack using humor on Smiley Smile. In Vegetables, for example, we hear funny pouring sound effects while listening to puns and whimsical lyrics at the same time. In Wonderful, the lyrics we hear are those that remind us of archetypal images from fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood. In Heroes and Villains, the picture of Bugs Bunny and his ongoing battles with Yosemite Sam in the Old West emerge, while also referencing a rooster's call in the lyric "what a dude'll do in a town full of Heroes and Villains.

It is ironic that in the recording sessions for Smile from 1966, an album that was intended to celebrate humor and its healing properties, caused Brian to become so anxious and out of self-control that his ability to see the big picture became narrower and narrower, to the point that he believed that he had to scrap Smile to save his life, his sanity, and his emotional balance and perspective. Brian instinctively drew back from Smile, and shared what had become the overbearing burden of creativity with his band mates. Together, in an environment of stoned silliness, Brian shifted some of the burden of creativity to his brothers, cousin, and friends, deciding to work on healing his fractured psyche  using the very human resilience that had preserved his human resilience for a future he did not think was possible until the Post Landy period of his life.

Smiley Smile, as released in 1967, began to take on the added dimension of highly pictorial musicak performance, giving we listeners the chance to interpret some of the nuances heard in this 1966-67 recording. In Smiley Smile, the intellectual and emotional connecting experience was turned on its ear by the use of slapstick, a third approach to humor, evoking deep laughter, the physiological component of humor. For the unprepared listener in 1967, Derek Taylor's publicity campaign had created an unprecedented anticipation for an American Rock album. Why did it leave Brian emotionally spent? Brian lost the ability to find the humor in his own Smile music, consumed with his rivalry with The Beatles. However, in asking for the group's help on Smiley Smile, Brian was able to back away from his work on Smile and to allow the other Beach Boys to contribute in a fully creative manner, creating a multi-modal approach that transcends his previous work by using and blending various types of humor to create a new form of art. Dr. Sultanoff, in a 1994 article entitled "Exploring the Land of Mirth and Funny" makes the following important observation...."the fullest, and most powerful experience of humor is one that is experienced with all three components (wit, mirth, and laughter) simultaneously."

We are left to wonder how Brian instinctively knew that his creative muse would return by inviting his fellow Beach Boys to contribute to the creation of Smiley Smile. For the close listener, the chance to experience humor in all its forms awaits on Smiley Smile. Perhaps it is the very resilience of Brian Wilson himself and his ability to see humor in the most tragic of circumstances that enabled him to create an work of art with his group that is so powerful that it meets we listeners on all possible planes of human levity.

If resilience is the ability of people to bounce back from the most deadening of experiences in life, it is no coincidence that Smile would be the most resilient of Brian Wilson musical works. We are left with a few thoughts from people about humor.... 

"Tragedy plus time equals humor." Carol Burnett 

"Humor is a great, the great thing, the saving thing, after all. The minute it crops up, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit takes their place." Mark Twain

"Humor is sacred, a gift from God." Brian Wilson 

Dr. Sultanoff's ground breaking work may be found at his website: HumorMatters 

Some Final Reflections on Smiley Smile:

Both Smile and Smiley Smile were recorded using modular formatting, but whereas Smile proved too complex to assemble, Smiley Smile was completed in a roughly three week period, and recorded "dry" without echo. Recorded in modular format and assembled in a final mix by Jim Lockert, Bill Halverson, and Stephen Desper, it proved that the modular method of recording was not only feasible, but capable of being used for an entire album.

Brian's self-preserving instincts seemed to tell him that if had kept up the pace of the first 5 years, under Capitol Records contract, he would have ended up either in a straight jacket or suicidal. In effect, Smiley Smile was the first "therapeutic album" that Brian did, some 10 years before 15 Big Ones, Adult Child, and Beach Boys Love You. Little did he realize that it would prove therapeutic for thousands of listeners as well. Carl Wilson, in a number of interviews from the Seventies and Eighties, often termed Smiley Smile "music for Brian to cool down/chill out while recording." Smiley Smile was also seen as a "back to basics album" in which Brian help produce but which other Beach Boys were expected to contribute actively as well. In a late Sixties interview, Brian termed Smile "music that was too personal to release."

Track by track:

Heroes and Villains

Undoubtedly my favorite Beach Boy 45. Incredible in its power. An example of how amazing the human voice can be used as an instrument. Had it been released at another time, when art rock was more accepted, e.g. after Hey Jude and MacArthur Park, it would have been a better seller. A perfect marriage of music and lyrics, it was rock critic Paul Williams's favorite single,  and is mine as well. A wealth of ideas in roughly three and a half minutes, and based on the River Deep Mountain High baseline, it is the aural equivalent of a three ring circus, with so much to hear that it reveals more upon each play. Recorded in small sound snippets, Heroes was the single tune that proved hardest for Brian to sequence and complete. He worked the equivalent studio time of recording and sequencing for entire previousBeach Boys albums on the Heroes and Villains single. From October 1967 until 1990, Brian refused to sing Heroes and Villains in live concerts. Since 1990, it has become a song Brian loves to sing with his incredible backing band.

Vegetables

This should have been the second single off Smiley Smile, but got shunted aside by group vote. A nice version, certainly commercial, with a catchy tag. The reverse laughs at the end are a marvel of rock music singing. The humor here is more subtle than on the Smile version. The heartbeat bass, the sounds of juice being poured, the crunching and "mmmms", and the break into  a Stephen Foster bridge just before the end all add a more subtle approach than one might expect.

Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (Woody Woodpecker Symphony)

Composed during the Smile period after a camping trip to Redwood Country, it of course contains the chord progression and vocals intended for Mrs. O'Leary's Cow. I have always believed this piece was linked to Elements in some manner. It has a similar chord progression to MOLC. In the true stereo mix, it sounds quite spooky. The distorted bass vocal combined with the various harmonicas make the tune at once gently mocking and foreboding. The tone of the tune is reminiscent of death and decay, with the promise of new life in the coming spring signified by the call of the woodpecker. The tune has a way of reminding me of Randy Newman's classic song "Snow."

She's Going Bald

Credited to Van Dyke as co-author, he can't remember writing it. It is possible his credit was put on here as a practical joke. The dope influenced tape effect and sophmoric lyrics are typical of Beach Boy humor of the time. Probably as close to an obvious humor track on this album as exists. Obviously derived from He Gives Speeches. Perhaps this is why it is partially credited to Van Dyke. He Gives Speeches was targeted at Murry, and it is likely that this reframing of the tune was Brian's way of not pulling the trigger in a negative manner and making fun of his father like he did on Summer Days.

Little Pad

This tune is a model of modular recording. Using five recorded modules with two of them repeated, Brian schools the group in how to assemble a full length tune. Great track, great Hawaiian guitar effect, nice wordless singing section. Like many of Brian's songs from here on out, an idea left incomplete. This one is an obvious stoner tune. The song begins with a "Do it!", then proceeds to a section shared by Mike's lead vocal, laughs, and kazoos. The Hawaiian Guitar module kicks in at 16 seconds into the tune, then lasts for 23 seconds, followed by a finger snap, then roughly 20 seconds of ukelele, then into Carl's second verse  at 60 seconds, followed by a reprise of the Hawaiian Guitar module for another 23 seconds, the ukelele section with wordless vocals pops in for 20 more seconds, Brian comes back in for a brief third verse, followed by the third reprise of the Hawaiian Guitar segment to fade.  The Hawaiian Guitar module is repeated three times, and the ukelele section is repeated twice.

Good Vibrations

Probably the Sloop John B of Smiley Smile. It doesn't fit with the rest of the album, but probably was needed for sales of this album. In this Minimalist context, it became more of a reminder of what was lost when Smile was shelved, and in this sense, it became a cement overcoat when The Beach Boys were doing their best to tread water.

With Me Tonight

An undeveloped tune based off a riff written during Smile. The weird "good" that you hear about 30 seconds into the song is by Arny Geller. It is one of those little Brian surprise artifacts that  make the album a Zen type of experience.  Better developed by Sandy Salisbury than by Brian himself. The Salisbury version should have been a hit, but got buried on the Together records label and disappeared.

Wind Chimes

Incredible example of Brian's subtle use of humor in his music. Brilliantly recorded and executed, perhaps the most influential Smiley Smile track on other musicians. The whole tune is a prank, lulling the listener into a near trance, then shocking one back to reality with an unexpected fuzztone. If you were stoned listening to it, you'd be even more shocked. I love the Yogi  Bear sounding ting-a-ling by Mike twice toward the end...more humor.

Gettin' Hungry

The last track recorded for the album, and sonically closer to Wild Honey. A departure from the rest of the album soundwise, it has a computer sounding organ piece alternating with a breathy lead vocal from Mike. Chosen to be the album's second single with the provision that it come out as a Brian Wilson/Mike Love single. Gettin' Hungry was also a gesture on Brian's part to make peace with a bruised Mike Love, who had been told by Brian that there would only be one ornate "arty" album, only to be put on hold for Smile. This song was chosen by Brian over Vegetables, which was the intended second single. A political "family peace" move.

Wonderful

A dramatic departure from Brian's almost classical approach to this tune for Smile, the track is riddled with sounds that play against each other, such as a clarinet playing out of tune notes, the sounds of children playing, and on the incredible bridge to the song, Brian singing "cool it....just cool it" over against Carl saying "don't think your God Vibrations will make it off the record." The bridge has been cited by numerous choral composers as a  radical use of the spoken voice to make music. A minimalist tour de force, and certainly the most radical of the innovations on an already innovative album.

Whistle In

The coda to the album....a fitting conclusion to an album so Minimalist, so subtle that it is missed by most who listen to it. Can you imagine the sound of one hand clapping????

Copyright 2017 by Peter Reum--All Rights Reserved

The View From Pedernal by Peter Reum

Growing  up in the mountains
Made my life feel small
Their presence seems eternal
When I am away from them they call

People in the mountains are honest
They tell you what they think
They never pull their punches
Even if their patience is on the brink

I feel at home when in the heights
Explanations are never needed
People long known offer acceptance
My oldest friends are quietly greeted

We speak honestly---lowering our guard
Time freezes though changes came
We speak of friends long gone
Sorrows and happy days-not the same

What we have in common is aging
So many we knew now are gone
They live on in our common memories
Vitally alive whether dusk or dawn

My hope is when I leave this Earth
people that live on in my heart
Will show me the ropes over there
My family and friends departed

Ms. O'Keeffe loved Cerro Pedernal
People say her soul lives up there
She fell in love with that mountain
Will she be so kind as to share?

Pedernal

The World's Worst Addiction by Peter Reum

Having been a licensed addiction counselor for several years, people often ask me "what is the worst addiction that anyone can have?" For many years, I answered that alcohol was the most destructive substance or behavior that I had worked to eliminate in people's lives. Despite such truly deadly substances like alcohol and opioids (prescriptions or street), and such horrible behavioral addictions such as gambling, I have decided that the worst addictive behavior around is the hoarding of money.

Before you roll your eyes and laugh until your side hurts, consider this....what other species accumulates valued "stuff" to the degree that the chasing of such "stuff" in a hoarding manner results in the progressive poisoning and contamination of the very environment they depend upon for life? The exchange of goods and services that results in 6% to 10% of the world's humans possessing between 50% to 60% of the money that exists worldwide, brings starvation, epidemics, and life expectancy being shortened by 15 to 20 years, or performing what is slave labor which seems incredibly self-destructive  and absurd.

Meanwhile, another 35% of the world's population controls the other 50% of the money. Furthermore, the people who are wealthy are addicted to the compulsive accumulation of money, and resent the desire of the poor and middle classes to feed, educate, and to keep their familes healthy.

We revere certain people through the centuries who teach the lessons of detachment from the material world. This does not mean living off the backs of working people. What it does mean, to quote Jesus of Nazareth or the Buddha, is to forego the accumulation of excess money or expensive luxuries that are not essential to one's day by day living. After all, how many laborers does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Why are wars fought? In my  mind, primarily to snatch/control a commodity (e.g.Iraqi Oil) or luxury  that makes life easier or less painful than before such a war is fought. I don't think that we should wear yellow robes and hit the road with a begging bowl. I find that those who are wealthiest are the very people who cannot be satisfied unless "yours, mine, and ours" until it becomes solely "mine." Sometimes these sorts of people develop the idea that they "will be happy when ______."

Happiness and sadness are human emotions that drive our compulsion to acquire that one thing we have to possess or to attract that one person that will make us happy forever, only to divorce them when they are no longer young and pretty/handsome. Those types of  people who marry hedonists do so because the hedonist has usually fooled the prospective husband or wife into believing they really matter. My experience in working therapeutically with addictive behavior is that there is usually some sort of event or events in the addictive person's life that causes a sense of loss or unfairness that cannot be resolved. Thus, they adopt an irrational sense of importance and think that if they can acquire______they will finally be happy. The reality is that such people can never be content because the hunt for whatever they think they compulsively need is never satisfied.

The person with the addiction therefore has what I would term an unconscious insatiable compulsion that hides the true reason that the addicted person cannot feel. Occasionally, a compulsive behavior replaces potentially self-enhancing behavior with addictive self-harming behavior due to a sense of unfairness or unsatisfied need in their life, often unresolved pain/abuse...or a feeling that they have never really been truly loved. The resentful behavior "numbs out" the terrible pain, and the addicted person regurgitates/repeats the addictive ineffective  behavior until the chemical or behavioral dependence is mistakenly identified as the primary problem being presented. Among other driven addictive peers, the financier who piles up such a fortune that it cannot be spent to meet the money driven addict's compulsion to accumulate money--will be judged as successful. No one in the money addicted person's circle will see the money addict for what he or she really is--addicted!

A sense of entitlement manifested by the addicted person, family, or even a nation envelopes the addictive behavior and family members, peers, and allies erroneously believe that the money addicted person, peer, or nation is "unique, destined for greatness, or entitled to whatever substance, commodity of value, or emotion for which they manifest desire." The addicted person, family, or nation will compulsively seek money or act out repeatedly ad nauseam, until the money addict destroys himself or herself and any unfortunate person, family, or aligned nation is destroyed along with the addicted person or group.

One last thought about public life and service.....to the extent that a nation helps its poor, aged, infirm, or disabled populations, or other nations that are suffering......that nation manifests the genuine compassion that is spoken of in great world religions or codes of ethics. Individuals in public service, as a corollary, show their true selves by what they can realistically assist  in caring for the impoverished, aged, infirm, or disabled. Unless I am ill informed, no person ever became a saint or exceptional person by being addicted to money.

Copyright 2017 by  Peter Reum - All rights reserved

Personal Favorites #8--Miles Davis and Gil Evans--Porgy and Bess by Peter Reum

Those people who have been friends of mine for quite awhile know that I love the combination of Miles Davis and Gil Evans. Their work together stands as a high point of jazz arranging and performance.   George and Ira Gershwin and DuBose and Dorothy Heyward assembled an American Classic in operatic form, based upon Porgy, DuBose Heyward's novel about the African Americans who lived on the barrier islands near Charleston, South Carolina. George Gershwin composed the original music for Porgy and Bess, with Ira Gershwin and The Heywards adapting Porgy from a novel to an opera lyrically. The original form of Porgy and Bess lasted almost four hours, a long performance by operatic standards.

Porgy and Bess premiered on September 30, 1935, with the premier performance in Boston and a tightened performance in New York City. The pre-debut run through of the opera was done in September 1935 at Carnegie Hall. Like many Gershwin efforts, there was more material prepared for the opera than was performed. Initial feedback from critics was mixed. No one, up to Porgy and Bess, had ventured the temerity to write an opera based in African-American culture as a person outside African-American culture. The opera's subject was a couple in love, Porgy and his great love, Bess. Todd Duncan and Anne Brown starred in the title roles. The famous vaudeville performer John Bubbles portrayed Sportin' Life, a powerful man who liked Bess, and denied Porgy the chance to speak with Bess. The role of Serena was played by Ruby Elzy.

John Bubbles (Sportin' Life), Porgy (Todd Duncan), and Anne Brown (Bess)

1935 Original Primary Cast Members

One of the reasons Porgy and Bess became an American Classic is the presence of characters who were fully developed. The Porgy role was also one of the first operas or plays which presented the lead character as a person with a disability. He was said to have had polio, paralyzing his lower extremities. While the original 1935 cast did sing in a form of barrier island dialect, most African Americans were unhappy with the dialogue, as written by DuBose Heyward. Reviews were warm generally or quite critical, especially by prominent African Americans at that time. For example, Duke Ellington found the dialect spoken by the barrier islanders to be more blackface than dignified, stating "the times are here to debunk Gershwin's lampblack Negroisms."

The Cast and George Gershwin After the Boston Premiere of Porgy and Bess

The opera was produced by Rouben Mamoulian, who also directed. Eva Jessye supervised the chorus. The play was set in a somewhat isolated African American neighborhood, Catfish Row. The set, pictured above, is the set used for the initial premiere and theatrical run of Porgy and Bess, which lasted 124 performances. This was a lower figure than The Gershwins and Heywards expected. Reviews were mixed, as any Gershwin project usually was. Subsequent restagings of Porgy and Bess have helped cement Porgy and Bess as the classic American opera. Numerous restagings, have been successful, with the 1952 Porgy and Bess performance being the first American musical performance in Russia since the Bolshevik Revolution. Recordings of several versions are in print, and can be heard or seen in several types of electronic reproduction.

The Original Cast Recording of Porgy and Bess

A close listen to the original cast recording of Porgy and Bess, recorded after George Gershwin's death in 1937, helps the listener to place Miles Davis and Bill Evans' classic jazz interpretation of  Porgy and Bess in context.

Original Artwork for Miles Davis and Bill Evans

Porgy and Bess

By the time Miles Davis and Bill Evans turned their attention to Porgy and Bess, both men's reputations as innovators and jazz giants were huge. The 1958 recording of Porgy and Bess is an unusual mixture of cool jazz and  big band virtuosity.  The recording of the album was completed in four separate recording sessions from July 22 to August 18, 1958. The album was released on Columbia (CBS) Records in February 1959. The reception for the album was enthusiastic, and Bill Evans' arrangements were heralded as a new direction in jazz.

The album, nearly an hour long at a times when 30 minute albums were considered long, begins with a brass flourish, followed by a very quiet entry by Miles Davis. This tune, entitled The Buzzard Song, sets the mood for the album as a whole. Miles first plays a quiet swing feel with his presentation being the opposite of bebop. In bebop, the emphasis is upon playing a fast pace with note changes passing the listener before they can often be understood. The tune passes into a 4/4 tempo with Miles' horn introducing a swing feel after the early first 2 minutes. Miles' playing is a quiet swinging pace, answered by trombones. The tune quietly ends, offering an emotional picture of a conflicted place, with warmth supplied by the drums and low brass.

A transition into the mournful  Bess You Is My Woman Now, with Miles' horn presenting Porgy and Bess. Porgy is played with a quiet intensity and brass flourishes offer a small hope that things will turn out for Porgy and Bess's getting together. Rising trumpet flares present a feeling of hope. Porgy, being a polio survivor with paralysis in his lower limbs speaks with Bess, who remains silent, so to support Porgy's hope they will be together. The conflict is Bess being attractive to Sportin' Life, a man without honor, who will do whatever life presents to get his way and proceeds to bend situations in his favor, without having reservations about killing to accomplish his goals.

A piece entitled Gone follows, not to be confused with Gone, Gone, Gone which follows Gone. This tune captures the confusion that Porgy has when he first realizes that Sportin' Life has made off with Bess. The tune presents a gradual building of tension with drums illustrating the growing anger and confusion when he realizes Bess has gone to New York City with Sportin' Life without Porgy even being told, The drums are important in this track in showing Porgy's mixed feelings.

Gone Gone Gone is a song helping to convey the sheer sense of abandonment that Porgy experiences after his initial period of feeling frantic and looking everywhere he can for Bess without results. His mood turns from hope to feeling completely desolate. The tones in this tune convey utter desolation, with no comfort possible. Summertime, perhaps the best known selection from Porgy and Bess, follows and sets a feeling for life in Catfish Row, where the story is set. Summertime can best be described as a quiet swinging tune with muted trumpet set off against the feel of Catfish Row residents greeting each other after work for the day is done. Miles Davis's trumpet leaves the feeling of neighbors sitting outside on the steps of their homes and having some quiet time, perhaps with talking with their neighbors. Miles is answered by quiet flutes, which offer a tone with gentle satisfaction. In Porgy and Bess, Summertime could be considered a transitional song in the overall sequencing of this album.

Oh Bess, Where Is My Bess is somewhat of a desolate lamentation from Porgy, whose woman is not around. The feel of the song is Porgy at first feeling  that he must have not been enough for her. As the tune progresses, the drums move into a swinging cadence, which seems to convey that Porgy realizes that Bess leaving was not her choice. Flutes convey a feel of uncertainty about what Porgy is trying to comprehend. As the tune progresses... Miles Davis's horn speaks to the flutes, which offer a small hope, with the tune quietly and hauntingly fading away.

Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus) is a musical staging of the Book of Job fwithgentOld Testament. Miles Davis's trumpet wails a desolate flourish, with his trumpet neighbors seeming to mock him in muted trumpet flourishes in a manner similar to Job's so called friends, who asked him what foul deed he had done to deserve the calamity of losing Bess. Like Job, the so called friends do not understand that Porgy has done nothing to hurt Bess. As the tune progresses, Porgy, represented by Miles Davis's trumpet, wails in a manner similar to Job, not understanding why he has lost the one presence in his life who is a blessing. With no answer for his suffering, Job wails to God, asking why God was punishing him harshly in that manner. A response from percussion in the manner of loud brass and cymbals could symbolize God, who is angry at Job for having the nerve to ask God why Job was suffering. The piece ends on a somber tone, with Job humbling himself and repenting. Porgy has a similar experience to Job's, with both men understanding that it is not God's fault in either case. As with God in the end of the book of Job in the Bible, the bass brass engages the trumpet authoritatively at the end of Prayer.

Fishermen, Strawberries and Devil Crab brings a feeling of evening life at Catfish Row. The feeling that emerges is relaxing over an evening meal that was obtained on the island. The music is langorous, communicating the feeling that the fishermen and their families are hot and exhausted from a day that began before dawn and ended at sunset. Miles Davis's tone on this piece is soft, simple, and is surrounded by music that combines brilliantly the blue notes shared by African American and Judaic musical forms. The flute parts played by Danny Banks on this tune and throughout Porgy and Bess are noted as excellent by the review done in Allmusic.

My Man's Gone Now-This track conveys the grief that Bess feels acutely when she believes that Porgy has gone away. It is communicated in the first thirty seconds by Miles Davis in a flurry of quietly intense segments alternating with what sounds to this listener as a quiet form of incredulousness. Having finally decided to give her heart to Porgy, he is nowhere to be found. Somber trombones and cornets eloquently restate a theme that Davis uses in a number of moods throughout the piece.  At 5:05 into the tune, a dramatic and intense final wail of sadness and bewilderment overcomes Bess, after which she quietly asks herself musically what she should do.

It Ain't Necessarily So-This tune, one of the best known from Porgy and Bess, was sung by John Bubbles in character as Sportin' Life in the first production of Porgy and Bess. The tune has a tone musically that is relatively unique in this opera. A quiet beginning which I interpret as Bess debating with herself as to Porgy's fate, is followed by three minutes of snappy swing, with Davis's cornet taking the part of Sportin' Life doing his best to convince Bess that Porgy has abandoned her, and that she should accompany Sportin' Life to New York City. He extols the desirability of New York City compared to Catfish Row, telling Bess whatever he needs to sway her to a decision to accompany him instead of waiting for Porgy.

Here Come De Honey Man-Performed vocally by Gus Simons in the 1935 Porgy and Bess production, the version here is a lovely interlude that shows an orchestra playing muted with Miles Davis playing quiet scales on his trumpet. The piece gets louder from a silent introduction, then fades as it becomes quieter and then disappears as mysteriously as it began. If you are a Brian Wilson follower, you may notice that the scales Miles is playing have a passing resemblance to Fall Breaks (Then Back to Winter) on the Beach Boys Smiley Smile album. Back in the days when fan tapes were traded like gold, I placed this track on a tape I traded and called it (The Elements: Air). A buffoon who tried to make money by pressing bootleg albums put it on the first Smile unauthorized album, telling me exactly who it was who betrayed myself and other Smile Fans by putting Smile on vinyl.

I Loves You Porgy-This song is the saddest, yet perhaps the most hopeful of the pieces that Miles Davis cut for this album. Bess needs someone to take care of her, and Sportin' Life is the only choice available. Bess is despondent about losing Porgy, but she leaves information with Catfish Row residents to pass on to Porgy when he reappears. The neighbors, who promised to tell Porgy what Bess had said to them, convey the message to Porgy, whose turn it is to be in grief. After mulling over his possible actions, Porgy makes the decision to follow Bess to New York City, without really having any idea of it's size or how to get in touch with Bess once he arrives. He raises the money to travel to New York City by boat, and commits to doing it.

There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York-First, this song swings! Brass fanfares accompany Miles Davis's muted trumpet that becomes more and more jubilant as the tune progresses. This tune is a joy to listen to, and is a perfect conclusion to one of my favorite jazz albums. This is jazz really designed for big band, and it delivers on all of my expectations. The ending is a bit strange, but after nearly an hour of listening to Miles Davis's mastery of Gershwin's music, and appreciating the brilliance of the Bill Evans arrangements, one is left with an appreciation for both men's artistry. If you buy any Miles Davis music, this would be a great beginning to his work, or could be bought as the instant classic that Porgy and Bess is.

A short interview with Miles Davis About Gil Evans

Porgy and Bess (1958)

Written by:
George Gershwin
Ira Gershwin
DuBose Heyward

Personnel:
Miles Davis — flugelhorn
Gil Evans — arranger, conductor
Ernie Royal — trumpet
Bernie Glow — trumpet
Johnny Coles — trumpet
Louis Mucci — trumpet
Dick Hixon — trombone
Frank Rehak — trombone
Jimmy Cleveland — trombone
Joe Bennett — trombone
Willie Ruff — French horn
Julius Watkins — French horn
Gunther Schuller — French horn
Bill Barber — tuba

Romeo Penque — flute, alto flute, clarinet

Cannonball Adderley — alto saxophone
Danny Bank — alto flute, bass clarinet
Paul Chambers — bass
Jimmy Cobb — drums

This work appears on CBS Sony Records and is copyrighted by them

My essay Copyright 2017 by Peter Reum - All rights Reserved 

Favorite Albums Volume 7-The Texas Tornados by Peter Reum

If there was to be a Latino Supergroup, these guys and Los Lobos would get my vote. Both groups have musicians who have integrity, longevity, and proven musicianship. I have several favorite Los Lobos albums, but today I would like to express my admiration of the Texas Chicano Supergroup The Texas Tornados. The lineup of this group reads like a who's who of Texas/Tejano music. Regrettably, the group's longevity was cut short by the untimely deaths of Doug Sahm and Freddy Fender. With Augie Meyers and Santiago "Flaco" Jimenez, these guys could play anything remotely approaching Tex-Mex music.

I will spend a little time talking about the various members' histories. If you have remotely listened to Tejano music from the Sixties forward, you have heard these guys on their own, or in the Sir Douglas Quintet. Freddy Fender's work has been on the Mexican Music Charts, Country Western Charts, and probably some others of which I am not aware. Augie Meyer and Doug Sahm shared a history of playing together for over thirty years, dating from the mid-Sixties up through Doug's untimely passing in 1999 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The history of any of these guys would parallel any of the rockers from the Sixties and Seventies. Doug Sahm's history in music dates from 1952 when he began singing. He eventually migrated to Texas in the early Sixties. The Sir Douglas Quintet formed in Texas, uniting Sahm with Vox Organ Master Augie Meyer. Their music was unique, and was noticed by Bob Dylan. Their first album, which is simply titled "Texas Tornados," begins right out of the starting block with Augie Meyer's Vox Organ, and Doug Sahm's vocal is immediately recognizable to any who has listened to Tejano music the last 50 years.

The Texas Tornados 1990 - Their First Album

Who Were You Thinkin' Of is a tune that follows the inner thoughts of a couple that have been together for awhile. Apparently their love life has fallen stale, and when his wife suddenly becomes reengaged in lovemaking, the first question that comes to the husband is "Who were you thinkin', of when we were makin' love last night?" It is unclear as to whether this an internal conversation in the husband's mind, or whether the confrontation is directed at the wife. Many men have had this experience, whether married or in a long-term relationship.

Doug Sahm in His Trademark Hat

A Young Doug Sahm With Hank Williams Sr. December 1952

Doug with Bob Dylan in the Early Seventies.

Hey Baby Que Paso follows, a tune that features Flaco Jimenez prominently. Like the previous tune, the singer focuses on a troubled relationship, asking his female friend not to leave him brokenhearted. The song has the feel of perhaps the singer (Doug Sham sings lead) getting drunk the previous night and pleading with his main squeeze, who knows what's up, not to leave him. Doug enjoyed life immensely, and was known to mood alter with some regularity during his life. Freddy Fender contributes several excellent guitar solos on this first album, including this one. Doug Sahm was an early performer, even playing with Hank Williams Sr. in late 1952, some 18 days before Mr. Williams untimely passing.

A Younger Flaco Jimenez

Flaco Jimenez in Concert Wearing Traditional Tejano Performance Regalia

Flaco Jimenez with the Grammy Awards He Has Won Through the Years

Laredo Rose, is a tune that reaches out to a woman of the night for whom the singer has feelings. The lead vocal is a Doug Sahm led group vocal, and Flaco Jimenez contributes fine accordian throughout the tune, including the song's bridge. The lyrics asks in "mancode" why a woman that lovely leads a life involving prostitution, asking "The Sun Is a Stranger to You, How's a Rose Supposed to Bloom?" The overall feeling is that the tune's protagonist views Laredo Rose as a golden hearted woman, slowly losing her own self-respect and inner and outer beauty.

A Man Can Cry, written by Freddy Fender (Born Baldemar Garza Huerta) and Wayne Duncan, is a lament from a man who has given up on any sort of intimate love.  The song is a form of blues, or as close to blues as Tejano Music gets. The narrative is a monologue with the singer explaining that he cannot abide another failed relationship. Freddy's life story reflects some of the emotions expressed in A Man Can Cry. Like Doug Sahm, he was a childhood performer, beginning at age 10 in Texas. Freddy's life reflected hard work, serving prison time for a pot possession charge. Freddy had a distinguished solo career, and finally reached the recognition as an artist he so richly deserved.

An Early Freddie Fender Album Recorded in 1959

Freddy Describing the Feelings in A Man Can Cry

Freddy Fender and Doug Sahm Texas Tornados

Soy de San Luis is a tune presented initially in Spanish, then changes to English on the second and fourth verses. The song's melody is carried nicely by Flaco's accordion, with a simple drum beat behind it. The song's narrator describes what sounds like a whirlwind courtship which morphs into marriage. Somehow, the new wife runs to places away from her new husband, probably meeting up with new pigeons to con. In the end, the narrator laments the stupidity of his impulsive marriage, saying his former wife "belongs to the devil, I don't want her any more." It seems that her "wave bait, catch naïve man, fool him with short term false adoration, run to another pigeon, and get the old pigeon to send money" scam is as old as creation itself.

Adios Mexico, which on the old album began side 2 of this record, is the tune on this album that can be considered the track that most closely resembles some of the mid and late Sixties Sir Douglas Quintet. The song is a straight ahead mid-tempo boogie number with Augie Meyer's organ playing a part that would probably be played by a rhythm guitarist. The tune is not complicated lyrically, and it appears to be a tribute to the lead vocalist's family home in Mexico.

The Sir Douglas Quintet-Augie Meyer top left

Augie Meyer Early Nineties

Sunset, Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico

If That's What You're Thinking is a very appropriate tune for Freddy Fender to sing, as he is the most prominent of several Tejano musicians who sing songs about heartbreak in a way that cannot be duplicated. In this case, Freddy is not the author of this tune, but owns it in this performance. The mood that this fine interpreter put forth is something similar to the old  sawhorse "once burned, twice cautious." There is a dignified quiet power in Freddy's delivery of a cowboy lamentation that is unique and heartfelt.

She Never Spoke Spanish to Me is a song about unrequited love, as are many of the great songs of Tejano Music. In this case, a young customer has fallen in love with a prostitute who lives in a small room presumably attached to a larger house of ill repute. Although this woman seems to have a personal interest in Doug's character in this song, what the john perceives as genuine attraction is simply part of the woman's mood setting for her job. Doug's character overhears her speaking Spanish to a few customers, and interprets this action as her being intimate. Of course, this action is again part of the mood setting for her job. Doug's character seems to think that if this woman spoke Spanish to him, that the feelings between them would be the intimacy he so badly craves.

Young Woman in Business for Herself-Mexico

Dinero-The final two tracks on this fine example of Tejano music reflect the two aspects of this supergroup of the Tejano style. Dinero, track nine, is an all out rocker that features excellent examples of the mixture of Spanish and English words to form Spanglish. Doug rips a fine guitar part and lead vocal for Dinero, which was a staple of the Tornados' live set for their entire time together.

Baby! Heaven Sent Me You- This tune goes back to the early days of Freddy Fender's career, to New Orleans and songwriter/producer Huey P. Meaux. This song is a beautiful love song, and is a fitting close to the album, which brought The Texas Tornados international sales and acclaim. Freddy's vocals are always sincere and highly emotional, which explains why so many women fell for him at his concerts throughout his distinguished career.

Text Copyright 2017 by Peter N. Reum - All Rights Reserved

Riding Life's Roller Coaster by Peter Reum

She presented as a wounded bird
Her gifts were plentiful nonetheless
He was looking for something new
How things would go he could not guess

She was complex--a female Rubik's Cube
Her moods were chimerical yet sad
He could not deny his new feelings
Nor curb his passion--emotions reeling

His marriage ending--a deeper void
Than any comfort could  redeem
New raging attraction left him annoyed
Breaking sacred boundaries it seemed

It began before the divorce was final
Appearances were horribly awry
The ex dropped hints he was a cheater
No wins for him, the picture bleaker

She found him wandering-so lost
Offering him herself, a high cost
Her health--waning he did discover
His heart grew deeper as her lover

The relationship gave them a brief time
To flow together in sickness and health
He learned to offer his whole self
Death stalked her quietly in stealth

She died quietly on an October day
Her heart, weakening, gave away
Alone once more, no sunshine there
Whether he would live or die he didn't care
Dazed and more dead than alive
He swore never again for love he'd strive

Several years passed, comfortably numb
To again be in love he thought dumb
Living through such pain wasn't wrong
Because what didn't kill him made him strong
Perhaps in the future he'd take a chance
If serendipity brought romance

Copyright 2017 by Peter Reum-All Rights Reserved