Read Online Secret History of Rock. The Most Influential Bands You've Never Heard by Roni Sarig - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Roni Sarig
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Beach Boys albums and on bootlegs), the legend of Smile has since assumed mythic proportions as pop’s great lost album.
Jeff Tweedy, Wilco:
His contribution to the Beach Boys is surreal, it’s unbelievable. I’m a big fan of Smile . To me, it’s not a record that could’ve become one of the best records ever made if it was finished, I think it is one of the best records ever made, unfinished. In a conceptual way, the idea of using strange instruments and intervals, horn and string parts, just an overall textural thing, was influential.
After his break with the Beach Boys, Parks set out to explore his own pop artistry (as well as audition for The Monkees). Following a single he recorded under the alias George Washington Brown, Parks released his first album in 1968. Reputedly four years in the works, Song Cycle was a unified collection of richly orchestrated songs that drew from traditional music and themes. It was in many ways what Smile aspired to be – an American equivalent to Sgt. Pepper’s. Though somewhat rambling and difficult, Song Cycle is full of great musical ideas. As with Smile , Parks’ lyrics are rich in wordplay and explore Parks’ own past as folklore. Song Cycle , however, was clearly not rock music, and so it isn’t surprising the record sold dismally (despite its record company’s considerable promotional backing). What Parks had created was an entirely unique chamber pop that drew freely from jazz, cabaret, show tunes, vaudeville, Tin Pan Alley, and the music of Stephen Foster, George Gershwin, and Charles Ives.
Jim O’Rourke, solo / Gastr del Sol:
Song Cycle is without doubt the greatest record ever made. At the time the guy was absolutely the greatest musical genius to walk the planet. It’s my Holy Grail, everything I’d ever want is there. It’s music made by someone who’s not dumb! There are great songs with the best damn lyrics he ever wrote, so incredibly articulate. Every bit of instrumentation makes sense, both musically and programmatically. It’s the only thing I know of that’s the logical extension of Charles Ives [early 20 th -century American composer]. Van Dyke’s records are the only link between the old way of Americana and the modern days.
Parks’ later albums explored similar territory, both thematically and in their highly intricate orchestrations. Discover America , in 1972, featured Van Dyke’s arrangement of Stars and Stripes Forever , but also added to the mix of styles, including steel drums and calypso songs. Clang of the Yankee Reaper , a 1975 collection of Parks’ reworking other composer’s music, also revealed a love for Caribbean music. Between solo recordings, Parks has worked as arranger for everyone from the Everly Brothers and Tim Buckley to Bruce Springsteen and U2, to Toad the Wet Sprocket and Fiona Apple. He also has scored films (including Popeye , Bastard out of Carolina , Private Parts ), played bit parts in movies, and even spent some time as a visiting lecturer at Harvard.
Parks’ 1984 release, Jump! , based on the Brer Rabbit tales, simultaneously invoked his roots in Southern folklore and the bygone era of Hollywood musicals. Tokyo Rose , released in 1989, concerned itself with U.S.-Japanese trade relations, a somewhat bizarre, but nevertheless fascinating subject for a pop album.
Eric Matthews:
Parks was another confirmation of what I wanted to do, or try to achieve. He introduced me to some instrument combinations that I hadn’t even thought about before.
In 1995, almost 30 years after Smile , Van Dyke reunited with Brian Wilson to create an album called Orange Crate Art . Featuring songs written by Parks and sung by Wilson, the album attempted to evoke the romantic image of California as a paradise that had drawn so many people there earlier in the century. Parks was still largely unsung, but still weaving his way through his American cultural heritage. And finally, he and Wilson had put a record out.
DISCOGRAPHY
Song
Jeff Tweedy, Wilco:
His contribution to the Beach Boys is surreal, it’s unbelievable. I’m a big fan of Smile . To me, it’s not a record that could’ve become one of the best records ever made if it was finished, I think it is one of the best records ever made, unfinished. In a conceptual way, the idea of using strange instruments and intervals, horn and string parts, just an overall textural thing, was influential.
After his break with the Beach Boys, Parks set out to explore his own pop artistry (as well as audition for The Monkees). Following a single he recorded under the alias George Washington Brown, Parks released his first album in 1968. Reputedly four years in the works, Song Cycle was a unified collection of richly orchestrated songs that drew from traditional music and themes. It was in many ways what Smile aspired to be – an American equivalent to Sgt. Pepper’s. Though somewhat rambling and difficult, Song Cycle is full of great musical ideas. As with Smile , Parks’ lyrics are rich in wordplay and explore Parks’ own past as folklore. Song Cycle , however, was clearly not rock music, and so it isn’t surprising the record sold dismally (despite its record company’s considerable promotional backing). What Parks had created was an entirely unique chamber pop that drew freely from jazz, cabaret, show tunes, vaudeville, Tin Pan Alley, and the music of Stephen Foster, George Gershwin, and Charles Ives.
Jim O’Rourke, solo / Gastr del Sol:
Song Cycle is without doubt the greatest record ever made. At the time the guy was absolutely the greatest musical genius to walk the planet. It’s my Holy Grail, everything I’d ever want is there. It’s music made by someone who’s not dumb! There are great songs with the best damn lyrics he ever wrote, so incredibly articulate. Every bit of instrumentation makes sense, both musically and programmatically. It’s the only thing I know of that’s the logical extension of Charles Ives [early 20 th -century American composer]. Van Dyke’s records are the only link between the old way of Americana and the modern days.
Parks’ later albums explored similar territory, both thematically and in their highly intricate orchestrations. Discover America , in 1972, featured Van Dyke’s arrangement of Stars and Stripes Forever , but also added to the mix of styles, including steel drums and calypso songs. Clang of the Yankee Reaper , a 1975 collection of Parks’ reworking other composer’s music, also revealed a love for Caribbean music. Between solo recordings, Parks has worked as arranger for everyone from the Everly Brothers and Tim Buckley to Bruce Springsteen and U2, to Toad the Wet Sprocket and Fiona Apple. He also has scored films (including Popeye , Bastard out of Carolina , Private Parts ), played bit parts in movies, and even spent some time as a visiting lecturer at Harvard.
Parks’ 1984 release, Jump! , based on the Brer Rabbit tales, simultaneously invoked his roots in Southern folklore and the bygone era of Hollywood musicals. Tokyo Rose , released in 1989, concerned itself with U.S.-Japanese trade relations, a somewhat bizarre, but nevertheless fascinating subject for a pop album.
Eric Matthews:
Parks was another confirmation of what I wanted to do, or try to achieve. He introduced me to some instrument combinations that I hadn’t even thought about before.
In 1995, almost 30 years after Smile , Van Dyke reunited with Brian Wilson to create an album called Orange Crate Art . Featuring songs written by Parks and sung by Wilson, the album attempted to evoke the romantic image of California as a paradise that had drawn so many people there earlier in the century. Parks was still largely unsung, but still weaving his way through his American cultural heritage. And finally, he and Wilson had put a record out.
DISCOGRAPHY
Song
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