The SMiLE Sessions - The Beach Boys

The SMiLE Sessions (recorded 1966-67, released 2011)

1. Our Prayer - 1:04
2. Gee - 0:51
3. Heroes and Villains - 4:51
4. Do You Like Worms? (Roll Plymouth Rock) - 3:34
5. I'm In Great Shape - 0:27
6. Barnyard - 0:47
7. My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine) - 1:55
8. Cabin Essence - 3:30
9. Wonderful - 2:03
10. Look (Song for Children) - 2:30
11. Child is Father of the Man - 2:09
12. Surf's Up - 4:12
13. I Wanna Be Around/Workshop - 1:23
14. Vega-Tables - 3:48
15. Holidays - 2:32
16. Wind Chimes - 3:06
17. The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O'Leary's Cow) - 2:34
18. Love to Say Dada - 2:32
19. Good Vibrations - 4:15

SMiLE might be the most famous unreleased album of all time. A lot has been written about it by those far more informed than me, so I'll confine my comments to the music. What we have is a quirky, experimental, multifaceted album that plays like a song suite and has many delicately beautiful moments.

There are a lot of different musical projects going on in the album. The stellar vocals from the Beach Boys are reason enough to listen. These guys could harmonize like no one else, and the melodies and harmonies throughout bring a lot of tenderness and emotion, even when working with Van Dyke Parks' esoteric lyrics. Folk, classical, barbershop, even some jazz intermingle with the more traditional pop vocalizing, and the melodies are always memorable and creative.

However, that's not all that's happening. The instrumentation is about as eclectic as you can get: orchestra, sound effects, horns, kazoos, banjos, penny whistles, vegetable chewing... and of course my favorite, Carol Kaye's heavily distorted Fender bass guitar.  Brian seems to be trying to elevate instruments of all sorts - childhood toys, found sounds, homemade percussion, sirens, electronic effects - to a classical status.  This works better in some songs than it does in others.

Finally, the album plays as a fairly cohesive unit, which is impressive considering it is unfinished. The song suite traces various moods - nostalgia, wistfulness, contemplation, playfulness, all are evoked by the stream of melodies.  Certain themes repeat throughout at just the right time to connect the music as a whole. The pacing of the album allows the different themes to make a subtle impact.

Looking back in time, if this album had been completed and released in 1967, there's no telling how it might have been received. It is definitely a unique piece of music, almost separate from its time - after all, everyone else was making groovy psychedelic sitar harpsichord tunes about rainbows. There is a restrained elegance to SMiLE that might not have translated well to people expecting a Sergeant Pepper type of album. It's definitely in a class of its own.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 subtle impacts

Master of the World - Jules Verne

Master of the World (Verne, 1904)

In sort of a precursor to the X-Files, federal policeman John Strock is drawn into unexplained happenings throughout the country. His first adventure, investigating reports of volcanic fires and rumblings on an inaccessible (non-volcanic) mountaintop, quickly gives way to the pursuit of several mysterious vehicles: a car terrorizing the highways at the unheard of speed of 150 miles per hour (so fast you can't see it with the naked eye!), a boat with the same type of speed flashing up and down America's east coast, and then a submarine menacing a mountaintop lake. When the governments of the world publish offers to buy the technology from the inventor, a note comes in to the federal police office, rejecting all offers, signed by "The Master of the World."

The premise here is fairly interesting - a crazy inventor has harnessed unheard of speed and power in all known forms of transportation, rejecting fame and fortune to retain his exclusive power over anyone who might stand in his way. In true Verne fashion, we find out late in the game that this is Robur from The Clipper of the Clouds.  (Nemo made a similar cameo at the end of The Mysterious Island).

However, the story has such strong foreshadowing, there is no real mystery, and it just makes Strock seem ignorant when he is surprised by something the reader has known for awhile.  Also, the banter between Strock and his boss is pretty goofy ("I shall not fail!" "I hope not, the American people are depending on you", etc).  The story hints at more than it delivers - even Robur, once discovered, is mostly silent, and his actions remain unexplained at the end.

There are a couple great scenes, including one involving Niagara falls that, though very heavily foreshadowed, is still exciting. Verne's wonder at technology is less apparent here, though, and the tone is darker throughout.  An interesting read, but not one of Verne's best.

Arbitrary rating: 3 out of 5 inaccessible (non-volcanic) mountaintops

The Clipper of the Clouds - Jules Verne

The Clipper of the Clouds (Verne, 1886)

Though a lot shorter than the more famous Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne's The Clipper of the Clouds (the original French title translates to Robur the Conqueror) is very similar - a borderline megalomaniac inventor kidnaps skeptics and takes them on a trip around the world in his invention.  The kidnapped spectators can't help but admire the ingenuity and power of the invention, but ultimately they realize they must escape if they hope to rejoin the world of men.  Only instead of a submarine, Robur's invention is a heavier-than-air flying machine - styled an "aeronef" by Verne, though he considers using the terms "aeroplane" and "helicopter".

One of the best parts of this book is Verne's enthusiasm and awe for technology. His excitement and vigor are contagious, even when he waxes eloquent on the astounding speed of "one hundred and twenty five miles an hour" and the dizzying height of "four thousand feet above the ground"!  For me, these anachronisms add a charm to the book and shine a light into a different era, when the fastest forms of transport were locomotives and steamships.

The scenes of suspense and action are top-notch throughout.  The mysterious beginning of the book, where people all over the globe hear unexplainable music in the sky, is great science fiction.  There are also gripping moments when the ship gets caught in storms (including a mid-ocean waterspout) that are written at white-knuckle pace.

Unfortunately, the characters aren't too memorable, and one is a racist stereotype.  Robur kidnaps three Americans to convince them of his ship's superiority: the two leaders of a balloonist society and their black servant.  The two balloonists begin as fairly innocent victims but become vengeful and bloodthirsty by the end of the story, while their servant is portrayed more as a monkey than as a man, presumably for comic relief.  Meanwhile, Robur's crew is fairly faceless, and as for Robur... what to make of him?  One minute he's the villian, the next the hero; one minute a grand speechmaker, the next a recluse.  He's definitely the most interesting of the cast.

There were also a lot of distracting errors in geography.  Either Verne in his enthusiasm failed to research, or the translator was lazy.  My edition is a pretty cheap paperback, and I caught other typographical errors, so maybe we can blame the publisher for the idea that Yosemite is southwest of Nebraska, or Beijing is due east of Tokyo...

Arbitrary rating: 3.5 out of 5 aeronefs

White Jacket - Herman Melville

White Jacket, or The World in a Man-of-War (Melville, 1850)

Though Melville dismisses this book in the same breath as Redburn as a "job done for money", White Jacket is actually a good book.  It reads more like a non-fiction book than a novel, and I'm sure a lot of it is straight from Melville's experiences, but it has enough recurring characters, connected incidents, and linear continuity to distinguish it from Redburn as a very worthwhile read, perhaps the best of the pre-Moby novels.

A nameless narrator, known merely as White Jacket by virtue of his distinctive overcoat, recounts life as a sailor in a United States Navy ship in peacetime as it makes a homeward voyage from Peru, around Cape Horn, and up the east coast. The level and quality of humor in this book is excellent.  Melville's philosophizing includes a healthy dose of wit, and while somber incidents occur on board, there's some pretty funny stuff too.

One of the best storylines is the "great massacre of the beards," when the captain's edict to the sailors to get their facial hair within Navy regulations almost results in mutiny. If ever there were a No-Shave-November Bible, this vignette would be it: "Were the vile barbers of the gun deck to reap our long, nodding harvests, and expose our innocent chins to the chill air of the Yankee coast? ... Captain Claret! In cutting our beards and our hair, you cut us the unkindest cut of all!"

The narration and prose throughout is straightforward yet eloquent. Melville paints a vivid picture of life on the ship, and he raises more than one outcry at the injustices done to sailors by the officers, particularly at the arbitrary and violent punishment of flogging.  The scene where White Jacket is called before the mast to be flogged for shirking a heretofore unknown duty is gripping and intense.

Throughout the pages of this book, we are treated to bullies, smugglers, saw-happy surgeons, actors, poets, teachers, rogues, and about anyone in between - they are all on board.  Melville effectively uses the ship as a metaphor for the world, constantly at war, pursuing its wilful way regardless of the good doctrines of the Sermon on the Mount.  Ultimately, it's Melville's portrait of the dignity of man mixed with the parsimony of men that makes this an excellent book, and more than just another historical curiousity.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 great massacres of the beards

In a Perfect World - Karmakanic

In a Perfect World (Karmakanic, 2011)

1. 1969 - 14:12

2. Turn It Up - 6:53

3. When the World Is Caving In - 8:59

4. Can't Take It With You - 5:43

5. There's Nothing Wrong With the World - 7:24
6. Bite the Grit - 4:57
7. When Fear Came to Town - 9:54

On their fourth album, Karmakanic provide another stirring session of adventurous, exploratory, and exciting music.  Flower Kings bassist Jonas Reingold succeeds where many other great players have failed - while he could have made Karmakanic purely a showcase for his virtuoso bass playing, he takes a back seat to his band, crafting an intricate and satisfying album that stands proudly on its own, not as a mere side project.

Reingold gets songwriting credits, but the whole band shines in the songs and arrangements. It starts out with "1969", a symphonic delight with gorgeous piano, stately electric guitar, and fantastic harmony singing.  Part history lesson, part philosophic musing on idealism versus reality, it incorporates many movements seamlessly and sets the tone for the rest of the album. Indeed, it's almost a concept album about the economic crisis - the sunny rocker "Turn It Up" features sly lyrics against capitalist bigwigs, but "When the World is Caving In" flips it, examining the soul of one of those bigwigs looking for repentance and redemption. Our tendency to ignore or justify problems informs the soaring, melancholy "There's Nothing Wrong With the World", while "Can't Take It With You" is a highlight, juxtaposing Latin piano and percussion against distorted, chugging metal guitar. One minute you're doing the cha-cha, the next you're headbanging. And if features great lines like "Money makes any day sunny" and "Money, money, sweeter than honey", delivered with supreme irony.

The songwriting is high quality throughout, culminating in the restrained, emotive "When Fear Came To Town."  Starting with soulful, bluesy acoustic guitar and the lone lead vocal, it gradually adds calming jazz piano and brushed drums, with some truly sweet fretless bass. This song is all class, no flash - yet another impressive display of Reingold's songwriting ability.

This Swedish band may owe a lot to those other Swedes, The Flower Kings (and to the prog bands of yore - Genesis, Yes, ELP, Kansas...), but they have truly carved out their own identity. Lead vocalist Goran Edman has a very good singing voice (something to be treasured in progressive rock), and at least four other guys in the band contribute superb backing vocals. Guitar, bass, keyboard, drums - all are top notch players that value melody and interplay over show.  Add in some very thoughtful, well-honed lyrics (seriously, is English really their second language? I can't write that well), a strong jazz/fusion leaning, and a general love of excitement, and you have Karmakanic's In a Perfect World.

Arbitrary rating: 5 out of 5 truly sweet fretless basses

Testimony 2 - Neal Morse

Testimony 2 (Neal Morse, 2011)

Disc 1:

1. Mercy Street - 5:12

2. Overture No. 4 - 5:25

3. Time Changer - 6:08

4. Jayda - 6:05

5. Nighttime Collectors - 4:25

6. Time Has Come Today - 4:55
7. Jesus' Blood - 5:26
8. The Truth Will Set You Free - 8:07
9. Chance of a Lifetime - 7:02
10. Jesus Bring Me Home - 4:59
11. Road Dog Blues - 3:06
12. It's For You - 5:42
13. Crossing Over/Mercy Street Reprise - 11:46

Disc 2:
1. Absolute Beginner - 4:41
2. Supernatural - 6:11
3. Seeds of Gold - 25:59

When Neal Morse left progressive rock powerhouse Spock's Beard in 2002, his first solo album was 2003's Testimony, a powerful, diverse, soaring album telling the story of how God found him and saved him from his sin. He has had other great albums since then, but for me, Testimony is his magnum opus. So when I heard he had recorded a continuation, I had to hear it, even though I was sceptical it would be as good.

It is certainly not as moving a portrait.  The narrative here is smaller - Neal strays back to the party life while on the road with Spock's Beard, then he repents and prays for a way to provide for his family off the road, and God gives him... a solo career?  In Testimony 2, the mundane "it's tough on the road" story doesn't pack the emotional punch of its predecessor's "no matter how hard I try my life is still a mess".  It even savors a little of pride - "I was in this band, Spock's Beard, and we were rocking, and my band, Spock's Beard, was touring Europe..."  That could be uncharitable - it may just be he felt the need to explain more fully why he left.

The music is solid, but it suffers from sameness.  Neal is great at crafting driving, upbeat rockers and string-soaked ballads, interlaced with occasional complicated or progressive themes. However, without a band to rein him in, his approach becomes formulaic and a little stifling.  It doesn't help that, since this is Testimony 2, he recycles themes from Testimony, which makes it sound like he has no new musical ideas (which is not true).

That said, there are several gems here.  "Time Changer" has the boys from the Beard guesting on vocals, with a rare and exciting slab of madrigal singing. "Jesus' Blood" is a down-tempo, slow-building blues with a killer guitar solo, and some true prog rock glory comes to the fore in the insistent, dramatic "The Truth Will Set You Free" (with soulful wailing from 2nd Chapter of Acts' Matthew Ward) and the horn-driven "Chance of a Lifetime". The penultimate "It's For You" delivers on an emotional and theological level, figuratively tying the disparate ends of the story together a lot better than "Crossing Over", which does so literally.

Disc 2 forms sort of a bonus EP - two more decent Morse rockers and a 25-minute prog epic "Seeds of Gold", which features some superb six-string work from virtuoso Steve Morse (no relation). It's a good song, with some grand, classically influenced piano themes, adventurous synthesizer, and effective transitions between multiple parts, but it's not on par with Neal's past glories - it seems to be about some sort of soul search, but the lyrics don't really make anything clear (and the oft-repeated "Look away" sounds a little too much like Dixie...).

I love Neal Morse, but I think he might be running out of steam.  He needs a band dynamic to flesh out his song ideas and make them fully breathe.  Maybe Spock's Beard will promise not to take him out drinking anymore? *fingers crossed*

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 soulful wailers

Redburn - Herman Melville

Redburn (Melville, 1849)

Melville is such a strange beast.  Objectively considered, he's not a very good writer. Of his first six books, only Mardi and Moby Dick are true creative works, the rest being fictionalized autobiography.  In all his books I've read so far, his "formula" seems to be this: start out interesting, go on lots of philosophical, metaphysical, poetical, and intellectual tangents for most of the middle, then rev back into what little is left of the plot for the end.  From anyone else, it's bad writing.  However, those tangents are good enough to keep me interested, even in a book Melville himself wasn't particularly proud of.

Such is Redburn.  There is very little plot to speak of: young Wellingborough Redburn, son of a bankrupt gentleman, sees his opportunities for a better life dwindle and so ships to sea on a merchant vessel.  He is woefully uneducated and unprepared for the life and duties of a sailor, but he gradually gets his sea legs on the voyage to Liverpool and back. That's pretty much the whole plot, the interim consisting of various episodes and philosophical asides.

There are some genuinely good episodes interspersed: the depiction of poverty, crime, and vice in Liverpool; the attempt to retrace his father's footsteps from an earlier visit, only to find the city drastically changed and his father's fifty-year-old guidebook useless; the plight of the immigrants to America packed into the steerage like cattle, suffering disease and death; the "final salute" by the crew to their despised captain.  Though Melville detracts Redburn as a "job done for money", he still slips in plenty of philosophy and moral indignation, probably to the chagrin of his editors.

Unfortunately, Redburn has many false starts and undeveloped avenues.  There is the infirm sailor Jackson, whose nihilism and tyranny over the other sailors is illustrated offhandedly in a couple episodes but never brought to the forefront as a plot element, as it should have been.  Then we have some humor in non-drinking, non-smoking Redburn's falls from grace in the course of sailor life, but they too drift away in the wake of the ship, when they could have furnished the makings of a full-fledged story.  As with most Melville, the first-person narrator is barely a character, doing very little, mostly observing and recounting the actions of others.

Though ultimately unsuccessful as a whole, Redburn has enough worthwhile chapters to keep it afloat.  And there are more than a few embryonic flashes that will come to full fruit in Moby Dick.

Arbitrary rating: 3.5 out of 5 embryonic flashes