Stephen Kalinich has been a force in poetry, lyric writing, and numerous other art forms for almost 50 years. He has written with members of several groups, most notably The Beach Boys. Moreover, his ability to write with a wide variety of performers has been an amazing accomplishment matched by only a few other writers. To honor Stevie, a wonderful group of performers have come together again to honor him by recording his works.
Stevie's songs are in a way snapshots of his feelings at a given point in time, yet also have a quality of being outside of time. They are Zen-like in the insights they offer. Take Little Bird, for example ...the beautiful version on California Feelin' 2 by Steve Cropper highlights the lovely music composed by Dennis and Brian Wilson. Hopefully, hearing it will inspire listeners to go to the Friends album and listen to Stevie's marvelously spare and descriptive lyrics.
This album succeeds in its purpose, in that the songs and poetry amply demonstrate the imaginative manner in which Stevie approaches his art. The variety of emotions the 17 songs and poems express are remarkable. The album's prime weakness is the weakness that albums with many artists represented have, in that there is a bit of sonic discontinuity which can be jarring at times. There are a number of artists that have new songs on this album. David Marks offers a new tune that hearkens back to his times with The Beach Boys and Dave and the Marksmen. P.F. Sloan is also here and brings a freshness to the album. Alan Boyd has a tune on this album, and it is excellent. Most moving are the tunes done by Dennis's sons. A version of Rainbows, my favorite Dennis Wilson and Stephen Kalinich composition, is performed here with all of the intense energy and beauty that Dennis's original recording has.
Perhaps the most interesting song from a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson perspective is the original 1974 recording of Lucy Jones. Brian counts off the tune and what sounds like Stevie sings the tune in a manner which recalls some of the humorous recordings of the Fifties by groups like The Coasters. This particular song appears to be a demo, and applying normal criteria of music criticism is not helpful. Suffice to say that the tune has that whacky melody and lyrics not unlike Brian and Stevie's Child of Winter, recorded around the same time.
If you love Stevie's poetry there are two spoken word poems on this album. The one that knocks me out is the Helen Keller tribute voiced by Stacy Keach. If you know Ms. Keller's story, you will smile when you hear this poem, as it is the first selection to be heard here. I recommend this album to listeners who have come to love Stephen's work. Long may he run...
Stevie's songs are in a way snapshots of his feelings at a given point in time, yet also have a quality of being outside of time. They are Zen-like in the insights they offer. Take Little Bird, for example ...the beautiful version on California Feelin' 2 by Steve Cropper highlights the lovely music composed by Dennis and Brian Wilson. Hopefully, hearing it will inspire listeners to go to the Friends album and listen to Stevie's marvelously spare and descriptive lyrics.
This album succeeds in its purpose, in that the songs and poetry amply demonstrate the imaginative manner in which Stevie approaches his art. The variety of emotions the 17 songs and poems express are remarkable. The album's prime weakness is the weakness that albums with many artists represented have, in that there is a bit of sonic discontinuity which can be jarring at times. There are a number of artists that have new songs on this album. David Marks offers a new tune that hearkens back to his times with The Beach Boys and Dave and the Marksmen. P.F. Sloan is also here and brings a freshness to the album. Alan Boyd has a tune on this album, and it is excellent. Most moving are the tunes done by Dennis's sons. A version of Rainbows, my favorite Dennis Wilson and Stephen Kalinich composition, is performed here with all of the intense energy and beauty that Dennis's original recording has.
Perhaps the most interesting song from a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson perspective is the original 1974 recording of Lucy Jones. Brian counts off the tune and what sounds like Stevie sings the tune in a manner which recalls some of the humorous recordings of the Fifties by groups like The Coasters. This particular song appears to be a demo, and applying normal criteria of music criticism is not helpful. Suffice to say that the tune has that whacky melody and lyrics not unlike Brian and Stevie's Child of Winter, recorded around the same time.
If you love Stevie's poetry there are two spoken word poems on this album. The one that knocks me out is the Helen Keller tribute voiced by Stacy Keach. If you know Ms. Keller's story, you will smile when you hear this poem, as it is the first selection to be heard here. I recommend this album to listeners who have come to love Stephen's work. Long may he run...
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