Customer Reviews

Carl & The Passions - So Tough / Holland

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Take the time to listen to these two albums and then begin to question why this music has been unavailable for so long. For those of you who only know the Beach Boys as a 60's Surf & Car band now is your chance to hear a little of the 'B side' of this truly wonderful group.

"So Tough/Holland" represents the band at a time when American popular culture was embarrassed to admit that it had ever heard of the Beach Boys. Times had changed and by the early 70's the Beach Boys - it was thought - were of a bygone era. This CD proves otherwise.

"Holland" is the better of the two albums, in fact Rolling Stone magazine named it as one of the top 5 albums of the year. Recording this album 5500 miles from home -in this case the Netherlands - inspired the Beach Boys to new musical heights. "Sail On Sailor", "Trader", and "Funky Pretty" are truly incredible tunes and the strongest of the lot, although the rest of the album is also very good and together represent a unified, somewhat magical sounding tribute to the bands home state. "Carl & The Passions - So Tough", while not having the same thematic cohesion as "Holland" still has some very special musical gems including the beautiful "All This Is That" the funky "Marcella" and the thoughtful "You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone". This album demonstrates Carl Wilson's leadership of the Beach Boys in the absence of his brother Brian, and more importantly, his incredible versatility as a vocalist. Through this album, one can begin to appreciate Carl as one of the most underrated vocalists of the rock era. Having his name in the album title was a fitting acknowledgment of his importance to the Beach Boys and their music.

I just want to say that this album contains one of the most beautiful songs of all time. "Only With You" is one of the greatest songs that I have ever heard. I actually heard that song for the first time on the movie "I'm With Lucy". It has a heartfelt message, it is soft and is so real-to-life.

I am a 22 year-old black man, and I am probably not the target audience for The Beach Boys, but I am so grateful to have crossed paths with their music. Thank you Beach Boys. Rock On.

What can I say about "Carl and The Passions: So-Tough" and
"Holland"? Definite necessities for ANY rock and roll
collection. The Wilson Brothers' soul and spirit are both present
especially on "Carl and The Passions". The ones that malign
these releases have stereotyped the group to high Heaven. OK there are
NO surf songs on here. This was the 1970's. Was it necessary for
Warner Brothers/Reprise to release "Carl and The Passions"
with "Pet Sounds"? No. This particular album didn't
"Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone". The first track
features Carl in great soulful fashion on vocal, and the group's
backing does the song justice as well. The Beach Boys took some risks
including Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin during this time.They gave
the group definition in the early 70s. Especially
"live". "Here She Comes" is a great song, nuff
said. "He Come Down" is a good example of how Al Jardine and
Carl Wilson could write an enjoyable (to say the least)
melody. "Marcella" is kick-butt Beach Boys--a great Brian
Wilson composition. "Hold On Dear Brother" HAD to be written
for Brian--no bones about it. Another one of those songs to tell
someone you care about to "hang in there". "All This Is
That" is magical. One of the group's shiniest moments. "Make
It Good" and "Cuddle Up" take us inside the heart of
Dennis Wilson. Think about it--how many drummers could write love
songs as tender as he? Not many. (Of course the music world would be
lost without Ringo's "Don't Pass Me By" from the "White
Album"--but that's another issue, another day). A brief effort?
Yes--but in this case, less is more. "Holland"--another
underappreciated masterpiece from the group(!)What was with the fans
back then? Yeh I know, you were all too busy singing along with Led
Zeppelin and Pink Floyd ("Dark Side of the Moon"--uh
huh....) "Holland" kicks off with "Sail On Sailor"
(I wonder if anybody but yours truly figured out that if you
abbreviate the title you get "SOS"? ) The BEST song to come
out of the Beach Boys early 70s career. "Steamboat" is great
songwriting. I love The "California Saga"
suite. "Trader" is pure Carl Wilson genius--his soul lives
on in his music. "Leaving This Town" is pure 70s--great
keyboard work, more than 5 minutes long--hey at least it brings you
back to earth and doesn't lose you unlike other 70s bands did (Too
many to mention). "Only With You" is a wonderful ballad--The
Wedding Song that never was--"Funky Pretty" is pretty
funky. "Mount Vernon and Fairway"--Brian was creative with
this little piece of wit--just different--how is it when others from
the 70s went out on a limb they were considered "gods" but
when The Beach Boys did this it wound up in the cut out bin? Enjoy!

As a longtime Beach Boys fan, it has been very disheartening over the years to read reviews that trashed "Carl and the Passions" and "Holland". This re-release is a masterpiece. Originally released in 1972, "Carl and the Passions" is a lost classic. It is a natural progression for the group following the experimentation of "Surf's Up" in 1971. The group allowed itself to continue to grow artistically on this album. "You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone" is perhaps one of the best opening tracks of any Beach Boys album. "Here She Comes" features the voice of Blondie Chaplin, and rivals his performance on "Sail on Sailor". "Marcella" is a great update of their sound and Dennis will make you cry on "Cuddle Up". "Holland" speaks for itself. Orignally released in 1973, it is a masterpiece with not one weak or mediocre song on the whole album. As a fan, I am grateful to Capitol for these stellar re-issues. I only wish that Carl and Dennis were still around to receive the long overdue praise they deserve!

For those who unconsciously view the 'official' Amazon reviews as more fact-based than those in the consumer section, I feel compelled to say that the Amazon critic really missed the boat in regard to the 'Carl & The Passions - So Tough' portion of this package; if you're only interested in fun, fun, fun or Smile-style seriousness, perhaps this isn't for you. But if the South African curve of the Blondie-Ricky era intrigues you, I don't think you'll be disappointed by this collection.
And though we may never hear Brian's ode-to-masseuse 'Marcella' in its original form, the 'clean' revision debuted on 'So Tough' is a splash of muscular pop perfection that even Noel Gallagher would love.

Ok, here it goes. I believe Carl & the Passions is the most criminally overlooked album of the Beach Boys. I've heard much of Sunflower, Holland, and even the BBs Love You (all great albums) and not very much in praise of Carl & the Passions "So Tough". If this album was released in the roots music, Americana hot bed of the current music market Ryan Adams would be opening for the Beach Boys circa 1972. This album was in line with what is now a current trend in music. This album has a countriefied rocker (Mess a Help to Stand Alone) Gospel (He Come Down), straight on Country (Hold on Dear Brother), 50's inspired rockers via 70's California (Marcella), a syphonic inspired piece from Dennis (Make it Good), one of the most sublime moments of the Beach Boys (All This is That), and Dennis's heartbreaking chorale closing number (Cuddle Up), all of the songs on this album are good. I hear and feel all of these influences in this album, it isn't outfront but an undercurrent of the music, it was a culmination of years of American influences being pulled through the current music of that time. I will admit this is a very different album for them and that's what makes it great. It is a band searching for a new voice and direction in which to grow. This is not good Beach Boys music it's great music period.

Step 1 : Ignore the critical consensus
Step 2 : Listen to Carl Wilson's voice on "All This Is That";
experience emotional bliss
Step 3 : Continue on with Dennis Wilson's "Cuddle Up"; fall in
love
Step 4 : Rue the day that Mike Love got his wish and, instead of
the band exploring new artistic realms, became men in
their middle thirties (and on into their middle fifties)
singing "Be True To Your School"

If these albums had come out in the early 70's WITHOUT the baggage of an out of favor band name (The Beach Boys) and the public's great expectations of a pop icon (Brian Wilson), the listener of the day would have lapped them up like honey-dew vine water. Even with those obstacles, Rolling Stone valued HOLLAND enough to rate it one of the top 10 albums of that release year. They are not the best ever from this band, but for god's sake, this was a band that put out a gajillion records. Tempest and termoil were what this country was about in the early 70's (war, govt. deception, mistrust.. etc.) These ablums reflect that. That was what the Beach Boys did. They reflected their times, whether it was cruis'n in the early sixties or feeling flow in the 70's... Bottom Line: Gonna own 3 BB cds? These aren't part of your collection. Gonna own 10? They are.

SUNFLOWER (1970) & SURF'S UP (1971) indicated to those who heard them that the Beach Boys were still alive both creatively and musically. But there were some shake-ups during the recording of the follow-up to SURF'S UP.

Bruce Johnston had left for a solo career, and new members Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar were added to the line-up. With outside help like that, SO TOUGH (1972) was guaranteed to be even further removed from what people wanted the Beach Boys to be...and it sure was. While SO TOUGH may have been one of the least Beach Boys-sounding records in their history, that's not to say it was terrible. The Beach Boys had always been masters at resilience, and SO TOUGH makes that all the more apparent. For this album, Brian Wilson was creatively at his quietest to date. Only the opening "You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone" has any instance of Brian's production. But it's little brother Carl that really makes the most important contribution to the song. In fact the album's subtitle CARL & THE PASSIONS was an early name for the Beach Boys. Unlike his beautiful vocals on classics like "God Only Knows", Carl contributes a rougher performance that suits the rockier sound of the song excellently. Carl also produces the ode to meditation on "He Come Down", the more traditional pop of "Marcella" (great doo-wop-derived harmonies) and "All This Is That", a much less obvious ode to that sense of spiritual oneness. The third Wilson brother Dennis makes the next big contribution to SO TOUGH with the sheer beauty of "Make It Good" (Brian's not the only one who can make the studio an instrument for emotions) and "Cuddle Up". Early in the Beach Boys' career, Dennis sang mostly uptempo rockers like "Do You Wanna Dance", but songs like previous two on here show that he had just as much a melodic voice as his brothers. New band additions Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin contribute "Here She Comes" and "Hold On Dear Brother". These are the songs that are often called the least Beach Boys-sounding, and they are after all. While Ricky and Blondie may not have fit in well with the traditional Beach Boys line-up, their songs mesh wonderfully with the uncharacteristcally rootsy sound of SO TOUGH. They probably haven't been performed much since 1972, but they certainly deserve some more recognition in spite of the fact that they're not essentially Beach Boys songs.

1973's HOLLAND was still quite edgy like SO TOUGH, but some of those rough edges are smoothed out a little more. Ricky and Blondie are still with the Beach Boys at this point, but their contribution to the album is somewhat lesser than that of SO TOUGH. "Leaving This Town" is the only song with the two new members contributing, and as expected it doesn't sound very Beach Boys-y, but is still a good song in its own right. Brian Wilson is back in vogue somewhat on HOLLAND, a wonder considering the fact that he would soon enter his 3 years of seclusion shortly after this album was released. "Sail On Sailor" saw Brian working with Van Dyke Parks again after they failed to see eye-to-eye on SMILE. The song was intended to be yet another comeback single for the Beach Boys, but because they were still considered uncool, it didn't get any higher than #49. Brian also contributes to the appropriately titled "Funky Pretty", showing that Brian might not be as hung up on nice melodies as people would think. His "Mt. Vernon and Fairway" suite was his most extensive production since the SUNFLOWER era, and while its childlike nature may have further showed how mentally far gone Brian was at this point, it's quite endearing really. The other Beach Boys contribute their usual good works on HOLLAND. Dennis contributes two very disparate tunes: the rocking "Steamboat" and the beautiful "Only With You". The latter may not overtake "Forever" as his all-time best song, but Dennis still makes a very moving love song out of "Only With You". Carl Wilson's one song on HOLLAND is again a memorable one with "The Trader". His vocal performance has been acclaimed to this day as another thing of sonic beauty, and no less than Tom Petty has professed amazement at "The Trader". HOLLAND's magnum opus is the "California Saga", which has the Beach Boys paying tribute to their home base. Mostly Al Jardine's idea, the suite is still an excellent tribute to the gold rush state that I wouldn't be surprised if it became the new state song someday.

With Brian Wilson retreating into himself, the Beach Boys were a bit lost without even the little bit of energy he was known for giving at this point in time. HOLLAND would be the last studio album for the 3 years Brian was in seclusion, as the Beach Boys concentrated on live performing, where they still had some fans to entertain.

The recent release of "So Tough" and "Holland" as a CD two-fer goes a long way to prove that the Beach Boys were still a vital band in the early '70's. In the absence of chief Beach Boy Brian Wilson, younger brother Carl Wilson assumed the leadership role, inspiring the boys to record some of their finest material since Pet Sounds.

"Holland" emerges as the stronger of the pair, but "So Tough" is certainly a worthy release. The bouncy "Marcella" is the best known track on 1972's "So Tough". Featuring Carl's soulful lead vocal , a funky fuzzy guitar, and an unforgetable chorus, "Marcella" would soon become a concert staple. If not for the fact that the Beach Boys couldn't get arrested in America in 1972, "Marcella" would have been a smash hit. The shimmering "All This is That", with its heavenly layer upon layer of vocals is "So Tough's" most stunning track. It too is a smash single that never was. So strong is this gorgeous track, that it would have been right at home on "Pet Sounds". Finally, there's "Cuddle Up", a classically arranged Dennis Wilson ballad which closes the set on an emotional high note. "Cuddle" rivals 1968's "Forever" as the underrated Dennis' finest composition.

The magnificient "Sail on Sailor" kicks off "Holland", announcing to the world that the Beach Boys were back. Of course no one listened and "Sailor", which featured a knockout vocal from South African guitarist Blondie Chaplin, stalled at #79 on the Billboard charts. The addition of Chaplin and drummer Ricky Fataar seemed to give the boys a much needed kick in the pants. The musicianship on "Holland" and the live shows of this era (check out the recently re-released live album from the '73 tour)is taut and muscular -- probably the finest in the band's history.

Among "Holland's" standout tracks are Dennis' "Steamboat", which features lush backing vocals and a slushy rhythm track which sounds like a late 90's tape loop. "California Saga/California", featuring an ecclectic mish-mash of instruments (banjo and accordian!!) is an immediately hummable track which production-wise is a throw back to the "Smile" era.

"The Trader", a soaring, climactic saga delivered by Carl is "Holland's" crowning moment. The track starts off gently, gains momentum through each verse, then pleasantly shifts gears concluding with Carl hypnotically repeating "a reason to live...reason to live..." This song alone is worth the price of admission. In fact, both albums are so chock full of overlooked gems that is is safe to assume that all Beach Boys fans, whether casual or hardcore, will be satisfied by this marvelous two-fer.