Spring | |
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Studio album by | |
Released | July 1972 |
Recorded |
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Studio | Beach Boys, Los Angeles, CA |
Length | 34:50 |
Label | United Artists |
Producer | Brian Wilson |
Singles from Spring | |
| |
American Spring reissue cover | |
Spring is the only album by American pop duo Spring,released in July 1972 on United Artists. It contains cover versions of popular songs as well as original material written or co-written by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Although Brian is the album's only credited producer,most of the production was actually handled by his collaborator at the time,David Sandler,alongside engineer Stephen Desper.
The album sold poorly,and in later years,became a valuable collector's item. [1] The record was soon renamed American Spring,along with the band,to avoid confusion with the English band Spring. In 1977,the Beach Boys included their version of the album's second single,"Good Time",on their album The Beach Boys Love You . In 1998,Spring was reissued on CD with four bonus tracks.
Thanks to a mutual connection with Bruce Johnston,Brian Wilson met David Sandler,a Minnesota-based songwriter/producer,at a session for "Good Time". [2] The song was intended for what became the Beach Boys' album Sunflower . It was left off the record,and the backing track (produced on January 7,1970) was ultimately used for Spring. [3] Wilson and Sandler kept in touch,and a few months later,Wilson asked Sandler to co-produce what became the Spring album. [2]
Spring was largely tracked in Wilson's home studio in Bel Air,California from October 8,1971 to May 1972. [4] [5] The album was produced by Wilson,Sandler,and engineer Stephen Desper. [6] According to Sandler,Wilson's actual role in the project "ebbed and flowed". Wilson was occasionally absent during sessions,leaving Sandler and Desper to produce the record by themselves,sometimes with assistance from Sunrays member Rick Henn. [2]
Sessions coincided with the Beach Boys' recording of Carl and the Passions –"So Tough" ,an album that featured less involvement from Wilson than Spring. [6] According to Sandler,Wilson "was definitely trying to establish some independence from the group,and the Spring album was part of that. He still had a lot of music in him,but I think he was depressed. And maybe some of the people who were supposed to be helping him were hacking away but not helping him that much." [7]
One of the album's outtakes was a medley of the Four Tops' "Baby I Need Your Loving" and the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin";the track was abandoned after Wilson received a lukewarm reaction from his bandmates. [8] There were also plans for Sandler to co-produce the Beach Boys' next album. Explaining why it never happened,Sandler commented,"There were personality things,family things,going on." [9] In 2021,the Beach Boys' unfinished recording of Sandler's "It's Natural",produced by Wilson and Sandler,was released on the box set Feel Flows . [10]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B+ [11] |
Spring was released in the US by United Artists in July 1972. Elsewhere,and on later reissues of the album,the record was renamed "American Spring" to avoid confusion with the English band of the same name. [6] The album was critically acclaimed but sold poorly. [6]
Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide:Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981),Robert Christgau wrote of the album:"In which Brian Wilson produces his old female backup group—the Honeys,featuring his wife Marilyn—in what sounds like the best and is certainly the most charming Beach Boys album since Sunflower . The old combination of ingenuousness and sophistication works as well as ever,only this time the vocals rather than the lyrics are naive—direct,pretty,effortless,thoughtless. And Wilson's studio work is as precise and humorous as ever." [11]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Tennessee Waltz" | Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart | 2:03 |
2. | "Thinkin' Bout You Baby" | Brian Wilson, Mike Love | 3:05 |
3. | "Mama Said" | Willie Denson, Luther Dixon | 2:34 |
4. | "Superstar" | Bonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell | 3:31 |
5. | "Awake" | Floyd Tucker | 3:24 |
6. | "Sweet Mountain" | B. Wilson, David Sandler | 4:13 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Everybody" | Tommy Roe | 2:20 |
2. | "This Whole World" | B. Wilson | 3:11 |
3. | "Forever" | Dennis Wilson, Gregg Jakobson | 3:14 |
4. | "Good Time" | Al Jardine, B. Wilson | 2:50 |
5. | "Now That Everything's Been Said" | Carole King | 2:16 |
6. | "Down Home" | Gerry Goffin, King | 2:44 |
Total length: | 34:50 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
13. | "Shyin' Away" | Diane Rovell, Sandler, Marilyn Wilson | 2:10 |
14. | "Fallin' in Love" | D. Wilson | 2:37 |
15. | "It's Like Heaven" | Rovell, B. Wilson | 2:36 |
16. | "Had to Phone Ya" | B. Wilson, Love, Rovell | 2:03 |
Sourced from the original album cover American Spring
Session musicians
Sunflower is the 16th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 31, 1970 on Reprise Records, their first for the label. It received favorable reviews, but sold poorly, reaching number 151 on the US record charts during a four-week stay and becoming the lowest-charting Beach Boys album to that point. "Add Some Music to Your Day" was the only single that charted in the US, peaking at number 64. In the UK, the album peaked at number 29.
Wild Honey is the thirteenth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on December 18, 1967, by Capitol Records. It was the group's first foray into soul music and was heavily influenced by the R&B of Motown and Stax Records. The album was the band's worst-selling at that point, charting at number 24 in the US. Lead single "Wild Honey" peaked at number 31, while its follow-up "Darlin'" reached number 19. In the UK, the album peaked at number seven.
20/20 is the 15th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released February 10, 1969 on Capitol Records. The LP was named for being their 20th overall release when factoring in live albums and compilations. Much of 20/20 consists of outtakes from earlier albums. It reached number 3 on UK record charts and number 68 in the U.S. Brian Wilson was absent during most of the album's recording after admitting himself into a psychiatric hospital, requiring brothers Carl and Dennis to retrieve several outtakes he had recorded years earlier. While Brian does not appear on the front cover, the inner gatefold of the original vinyl release features him alone, behind an eye examination chart.
Holland is the 19th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released January 8, 1973 on Brother/Reprise. It is their first album recorded without Bruce Johnston since 1965, their second with Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar, and their final studio album created under the de facto leadership of Carl Wilson and manager Jack Rieley. The LP was originally packaged with a bonus EP, Mount Vernon and Fairway, which consisted of a 12-minute fairy tale written and produced by Brian and Carl Wilson.
Surf's Up is the 17th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 30, 1971 on Brother/Reprise. It received largely favorable reviews and reached number 29 on the U.S. record charts, becoming their highest-charting LP of new music in the U.S. since 1967. In the UK, Surf's Up peaked at number 15, continuing a string of top 40 records that had not abated since 1965.
Carl and the Passions – "So Tough" is the 18th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released May 15, 1972 on Brother/Reprise. The album is a significant musical departure for the band and is the first to feature the Flames' Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar as additions to their official line-up. It sold poorly and was met with lukewarm reviews, but later gained stature as a cult favorite among fans.
15 Big Ones is the 20th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released July 5, 1976, by Brother/Reprise. It includes a mix of original songs and renditions of rock 'n' roll and R&B standards. The LP was the band's first album with production credited solely to Brian Wilson since Pet Sounds (1966). As such, its release was accompanied by a controversial media campaign that declared his comeback as an active member of the Beach Boys' recording and touring group.
The Beach Boys Love You is the 21st studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released April 11, 1977, on Brother/Reprise.
M.I.U. Album is the 22nd studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 25, 1978. Characterized for its easy-listening sound, the album was produced by Al Jardine and touring member Ron Altbach during one of the most acrimonious periods in the band's history. It sold poorly, peaking at number 151 in the U.S, and was met with confused reactions from critics and fans.
"Never Learn Not to Love" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was issued as the B-side to their "Bluebirds over the Mountain" single on December 2, 1968. Credited to Dennis Wilson, the song is an altered version of "Cease to Exist", written by the Manson Family cult leader Charles Manson. The blues-inspired song was written specifically for the Beach Boys, with Manson's lyrics addressing personal tensions that he had witnessed between Dennis and his brothers Brian and Carl.
"'Til I Die" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1971 album Surf's Up, subsequently issued as the B-side of the single "Long Promised Road". With autobiographical lyrics about death and hopelessness, it is one of the few songs in which both the words and music were written solely by Brian Wilson. An extended mix of the original recording, created by engineer Stephen Desper, was included on the 1998 Endless Harmony Soundtrack.
"Cool, Cool Water" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. It was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love and later issued as an A-sided single in March 1971.
"Add Some Music to Your Day" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys that was released in the US on February 23, 1970 as the lead single from their album Sunflower. It was written by Brian Wilson, Joe Knott, and Mike Love. Wilson later said that Knott "was a friend of mine who wasn't a songwriter but he contributed a couple of lines. But I can't remember which ones!"
"Deirdre" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. Written primarily by Bruce Johnston, it is a love song named after the sister of one of his ex-girlfriends, and is one of his two song contributions on the album, the other being "Tears in the Morning". Johnston has claimed that co-writer Brian Wilson's contributions were limited to a few lyrics, although music historians Andrew G. Doe and John Tobler wrote in 2004 that "Deirdre" had been "developed from a musical theme first used in 'We're Together Again,'" a 1968 composition credited to Brian Wilson and singer Ron Wilson.
"Our Sweet Love" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. Written by Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, and Al Jardine, "Our Sweet Love" features a lush sound that has been compared to the band's work on Pet Sounds. Brian Wilson originally left the song unfinished, resulting in the band completing it for Sunflower. Carl Wilson sings the song's lead vocal.
"All I Wanna Do" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the dreamlike production quality was created through liberal use of overdubbing, reverb and delay effects. It was influential to the development of lo-fi music and pioneered sounds that became associated with the shoegaze, dream pop, and chillwave music genres.
"Lady" is a song written by Dennis Wilson, recorded by him with Daryl Dragon and released under the name "Dennis Wilson & Rumbo" in the United Kingdom on 4 December 1970, on Stateside Records. The song served as the B-side of the "Sound of Free" single. The single was not issued in the United States.
"Good Time" is a song by American pop music duo American Spring from their 1972 album Spring. It was written by Brian Wilson and Al Jardine originally for the Beach Boys' album Sunflower (1970). In 1972, Spring released "Good Time" as their second single, recording their voices atop the Beach Boys' instrumental track. In 1977, the Beach Boys released their original version of the song on the album The Beach Boys Love You.
Beach Boys Studio was a private recording studio owned by the Beach Boys. It was located within Brian Wilson's home at 10452 Bellagio Road in Los Angeles. Six of the band's albums were recorded there in addition to his "Bedroom Tapes". In 1972, the studio was dismantled and later succeeded by Brother Studios in Santa Monica, California.
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Bibliography