Friday, August 3, 2018

A Window Above: Heroes and Villains

Song: "Heroes and Villains"
Writers: Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks
Original Release: July 24, 1967
Band: The Beach Boys

In truth, I've never been much of a Beach Boys fan.  I own Pet Sounds - practically obligatory - and willingly acknowledge that "Good Vibrations" is a masterpiece.  But as for their old school surf music, it just doesn't do it for me.  I know, practically un-American!

So, perhaps it's not surprising that my favorite among their songs is out of character.  "Heroes and Villains" was intended as a follow-up on the success of "Good Vibrations."  While it enjoyed moderate commercial success - #12 on the charts - it was widely panned by critics.  Jimi Hendrix famously referred to it as a "psychedelic barbershop quartet."  While that sounds awesome to me, Jimi didn't mean it as a compliment.

I will admit that from a production standpoint, the song's kind of a mess.  But I think it represents a nice mix of the group's older vocal harmony charm and their late-sixties trippy frolics.


10 comments:

  1. Also notable for being part of the quagmire that was the Smile album; "Heroes and Villains" was the single released from the version of the album released at the time, but Brian Wilson's vision wasn't realized for four decades.

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  2. My mom had a couple of Beach Boys albums when I was a kid, but they were never listened to. She didn't really like the Beach Boys, so I was never sure why she had the records. I don't think she knew either.

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    1. My parents didn't have any Beach Boys. Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, Simon and Garfunkel, Mamas and Papas... but no Beach Boys.

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  3. This was my music along with the Beatles.
    Love the Beach boys.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. I will always favor the Beatles in that pairing but I know that for many, to love one is to love the other. The two groups evolved together - one more successfully than the other.

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  4. I do like a bit of Beach Boys nonsense, never heard of this track though - will have to find on my phone, still don't have speakers :-)

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  5. Yeah, this is an odd song. When I first heard it, I thought there was something wrong with my radio... I was young, didn't know any better. It's not a bad song; I do like it, but my favorite of theirs is God Only Knows.

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    1. I like that one, too. Again, Pet Sounds is a must-have in any respectable music collection.

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