Customer Reviews

Orange Crate Art

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am baffled by the less than enthusiastic reviews of this CD I've seen online and elsewhere. Complaints that Parks' lyrics are too dense and pun laden, and that the music is too intellectual and complex, seem to come from Beach Boys fans who long for the simpler, more direct aspects of Brian Wilson's songwriting style. Orange Crate Art strikes me as a wonderful combination of Parks' adventurous songwriting and Wilson's gift for singing and harmonizing. I find the songs quite catchy and the lyrics full of humor and melancholy. The production is 90's clean and the arrangements inventive and lush. Wilson creates a true "wall of sound" with his wonderful vocal harmony overdubs.

Stop wishing for "Pet Sounds II" already! Brian Wilson still has a lot to say musically, and on this CD Van Dyke Parks gives him forum in which to say it.

With all the recent praise heaped on Smile, Orange Crate Art still remains largely under-recognized and under-appreciated. Sure, Smile was supposed to be this grand Copelandesque landscape of America, from Plymouth Rock to The Grand Cooley Dam. But for my money Brian and Van Dyke Parks did it so much better with Orange Crate Art. Having written, what everyone unanimously agrees to be the most California of all anthems, Fun Fun Fun, I Get Around and California Girls, Brian turns his attention to a California not of Hot Rods and Surf, but of sun drenched valleys rich with citrus and vine. Here Wilson and Parks celebrate and pay homage to the likes of Jack London and John Steinbeck. And if all this were not enough, we're treated to My Hobo Heart, a latter day Van Dyke Parks / Michael Hazelwood masterpiece. There's also the lovely Palm Tree & Moon, a dreamy little ode to a moonlit beach, territory not unfamiliar to Brian. And Summer In Monteray is so unabashedly nostalgic it would even make Clint Eastwood Blush. If you haven't become familiar with this so very underated collection yet, you really can't call yourself a Brian Wilson / Van Dyke Parks fan until you give this one a fair shot. You might even find yourself humming Sail Away or Hold Back Time while in the shower. I know I did.

I've been a Brian Wilson fan for the past 25 years, so naturally I've followed VDP's career a little bit as well. Of the few past VDP albums I've heard, "JUMP!" was my favourite - that is until this one came along. I don't know how to describe the music - it has strong traces of jazz, calypso, pop, broadway, etc. It defies categorisation but, what the hell, it's sheer great music from someone who's better known as a lyricist than a tune-crafter. The arrangements are brilliant, the musicianship is excellent, the harmonies are immaculate (further demonstration that Brian doesn't need the other BB's) and Brian's lead vocals are spot-on. I think the CD is worth buying even if only for the title track.
It's my most played album over the last 5 years. I pray for more Wilson-Parks collaborations in future. Whichever of them is writing the music, there seems to be magic when they work together. Popular music needs this kind of stuff!

Some music can encapsulate the stress and strain of being alive and thus provide a catalyst for tears. In this case the catalyst for tears is provided but the tears are tears of joy.

Van Dyke Parks provides the idiosyncratic, heartfelt, positive songs about a California long gone and Brian Wilson provides the sincere vocals. How Van Dyke actually got Brian to sing these melodic but harmonically complex songs is amazing in itself considering Brian's voice has been ravaged by time. That curiosity alone is worth the purchase of this masterpiece.

The CD booklet art is beautiful and perfectly paints the picture of these vibrantly orchestrated songs. Songs that were obviously written for the love of writing songs. I doubt Van Dyke Parks and his crew ever considered whether this CD would be a hit. Who cares? This is art. And it is realized in a most honest way here.

An Americana oddity well worth having in any CD collection.

I would rate this album as one of the best of the decade -- the music on here is so lilting and nostalgic. I could say that Brian Wilson's vocal arrangements are inventive, but that is as big an understatement as you can possibly make. The man is still at the top of his game.

Parks' music evokes memories of a California (and America) long since past. You'll find yourself imagining rolling hills, lush scenery and all the wonders of the outdoors as you listen. Not the 1960s fun n' sun of the Beach Boys' best work, but older still -- and much simpler.

Orange Crate Art has to grow on you. But it is infinitely more complex and satisfying than Wilson's other 90s albums. As with the best music, once this album takes hold, you'll keep coming back to it. It's a great, great album.

This one certainly is a masterpiece(stayed in my cd player for months).Mosy aspects have been covered here.Bottom line is it's a Parks album,no input from Bri,so many of Bri's fans hate it.As a VDP fan,I find it's his greatest yet(the Live Moonlighting disc is right up there with this one).This music is timeless and gorgeous.A true gem!

This is really a Van Dyke Parks CD. Writen and arranged by him. It is definitely his best too, "Jump!" would be my next favorite. Parks uses Wilson's voice to create his masterpiece. Brian hasn't sounded this good for some time. This is intelligent, strange and beautiful pop music. Meticulous arrangements, nice tunes and great word play. This is art! California landscapes rather than California Girls. Culture rather than youth culture. If you live in Beach Boy's past it is not for you. If you're a Parks fan or simply looking for something inventive rather than fashionable give it a try.

A musical journey designed by Wilson and Parks to evoke the California that Brian's parents and his other ancestors would have found when they made their pioneering treks there at the turn of the century. This is beautiful songmaking, every bit as good as "Holland" and "Song of the Yankee Reaper," and on a par with Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey" and "Veedon Fleece" for atmosphere. Essential.

This is a Van Dyke Parks album about California. Parks brought in his old friend Brian Wilson to sing the lead vocals. And why not? Wilson is a much better singer than Parks, and who better than Brian to sing a concept album about California? It works well, and fans of Brian and/or Van Dyke should enjoy it.

This is a wonderful CD, a nostalgic look at living in the California of the '40's and '50's. But, despite the nostalgia, this CD is chock full of inventive and clever lyrics, arrangements, vocals, and tunes -- the boys put their own spin on all sorts of musical genres, all, that is, except rock and roll. It's wonderfully melodic and laid-back music, but never bland, and the consistently best set of music that either Van Dyke or Brian has put together in decades.