"My Solution" is a song by the American rock band The Beach Boys that was recorded during the early sessions for their 1971 album Surf's Up. The track is a novelty Halloween song that features Brian Wilson doing an impression of Vincent Price over a descending chord progression and test-tube sound effects.[1] The song was officially released as part of the 2021 compilation Feel Flows.[2]
| "My Solution" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Beach Boys | |
| from the album Feel Flows | |
| Released | August 27, 2021 |
| Recorded | October 31, 1970 |
| Studio | Beach Boys Studio, Los Angeles |
| Genre | Novelty song |
| Length | 3:44 |
| Label | Capitol/UMG |
| Songwriter(s) | Brian Wilson |
| Producer(s) | Brian Wilson |
| Licensed audio | |
| "My Solution" on YouTube | |
Background
edit"My Solution" was written by Brian Wilson and recorded on October 31, 1970, shortly before the sessions for the group's album Surf's Up.[3] Photographs of the session show the band dressed in Halloween costumes, including Wilson, whose face was painted green a la Frankenstein.[2] Band archivist Alan Boyd said: "It’s kind of jokey track, Brian is playing a mad scientist and talking like Boris Karloff while the Beach Boys are singing (recites lyrics) 'What I have done with my solution, my instant aim to evolution.'"[4] His colleague Mark Linett surmised, "It's just having the studio in the house, and deciding, 'Let’s do a Halloween-inspired, clubhouse kind of event.' I don’t know that it was ever intended to be released."[2]
In a 1976 interview, Brian said: "We have a song called 'My Solution' which is a very odd song that has chromatic—strange chords, not regular triad chords. The notes are bunched up. It tells the story about how a guy found an old damsel outside his castle and decided to make her part of an experiment. ... It's about a guy who found his solution. It's a very odd, Boris Karloff-eerie type of thing, so it's one of our more far-out, left-field things that we've done."[5]
Biographer David Leaf mentions "My Solution" in the 1985 edition of his 1978 biography The Beach Boys and the California Myth:
One of the most unusual visits [since I had published my book] was when Brian came to my home to borrow a tape of one of his unreleased songs. He wanted to work on a new arrangement of the still-unreleased 'My Solution' and needed to hear how the old version went. I'd never told Brian about my tape collection. He just knew that I had it. Brian's behavior consistently demonstrated an uncanny omniscience which extended far beyond his musical gift and was most surprising, given his public playing of possum.[6]
Another attempt at "My Solution" was recorded during the summer of 1980, though no vocals were recorded.[3] This version was retitled "Song Within a Song" in medley with "Shortenin' Bread".[7]
"Happy Days"
editIn 1998, Wilson reworked the melody into the verse of a new song, "Happy Days", for his solo album Imagination.[4]
Personnel
editCredits from Craig Slowinski[8]
The Beach Boys
- Al Jardine - group vocals
- Bruce Johnston - group vocals
- Mike Love - group vocals
- Brian Wilson - group vocals, narration, Hammond organ, Moog synthesizers, drums
- Carl Wilson - group vocals, electric guitars (fed through a Moog)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Chidester, Brian (January 30, 2014). "Brian Wilson's Secret Bedroom Tapes". LA Weekly. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
- ^ a b c Willman, Chris (August 31, 2021). "Beach Boys' Archivists on the 'Feel Flows' Boxed Set, and How the Group Was Peaking — Again — While the World Wasn't Looking". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- ^ a b Doe, Andrew Grayham. "VAULTS". Endless Summer Quarterly. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ^ a b "Beach Boys Producers Alan Boyd, Dennis Wolfe, Mark Linett Discuss 'Made in California' (Q&A)". Rock Cellar Magazine. September 4, 2013. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
- ^ "INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN WILSON OF THE BEACH BOYS IN EARLY 1980'S". Global Image Works. 1976. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
- ^ Leaf, David (2022). God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys and the California Myth (3rd ed.). Omnibus Press. p. [page needed]. ISBN 9781913172756.
- ^ Doe, Andrew G. "GIGS80". Bellagio 10452. Endless Summer Quarterly.
- ^ Slowinski, Craig (Summer 2021). Beard, David (ed.). "Surf's Up: 50th Anniversary Edition". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine. Vol. 34, no. 134. Charlotte, North Carolina.