March 20, 2008

"Heroes and Villains"

From the Wikipedia entry:

"Heroes and Villains" is the title of a song co-written by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys and Van Dyke Parks. Originally intended as the centerpiece of the fabled but ill-fated SMiLE album (which was not completed until 2004), the song was recorded in a number of versions by The Beach Boys during 1966-67.

Composed in early 1966, mostly in a large sandbox holding a piano built in Wilson's living room, "Heroes and Villains" was the first collaboration between Wilson and Parks. It is reported that when Wilson first played the melody to him, Parks devised the opening line on the spot. Various musical themes in the song recur in numerous other songs and musical fragments which Wilson recorded for SMiLE.



Here is the live version from 2005's Brian Wilson Performs Smile. The band Brian Wilson has is amazing. Even the percussionists are incredible musicians. Wilson looks like he's having a great time. He even looks straight into the camera and smiles a couple of times. The video:

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. I never noticed before that the Beach Boys had emo hairdos. The world makes sense to me now.

Chris said...

My God, you're right. If Brian had dyed is hair black, that picture might be mistaken for today. He certainly fit the bill, emotionally.