Holland (album)

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Holland
Studio album by The Beach Boys

Publication
(s)

January 8, 1973

Label (s) Brother Records , reprise

Format (s)

LP, CD

Genre (s)

skirt

Title (number)

15th

running time

48 min 33 s

production

The Beach Boys

chronology
Carl and the Passions - "So Tough"
(1972)
Holland The Beach Boys in Concert
(1973)

Holland is an album by the US band The Beach Boys . It is considered the best Beach Boys album without Brian Wilson's active participation .

History of origin

While the band's success was slowly waning in the US, it was at the height of its popularity in Europe - especially in England and the Netherlands. On their European tour in 1970 the band wanted to fly from England to a concert in Holland, but could not start due to fog. From neighboring Gatwick they only got one flight to Brussels, from where they were brought to Amsterdam by car convoy, while the waiting fans were constantly informed of the band's whereabouts. When they finally took the stage at 5 a.m., the hall was still full and the band was greeted enthusiastically.

They continued their European tour but soon returned to the Netherlands due to a television special and expected to stay in Amsterdam for a week. The group finally fell into the charm of this country and the one week turned into months. Amsterdam became the coordination point for the European tour and at the end of it another concert in the Netherlands was added. The Beach Boys wanted to stay in the Netherlands immediately to be able to record their new album. However, the few recording studios were already fully booked for a long time.

A good two years later, in 1972, they took up this idea again. They commissioned a state-of-the-art studio in the USA that was to be shipped to Holland and set up there in an old barn. During this work, the Beach Boys went on another European tour and then temporarily settled in Holland.

Above all, the group hoped that the seclusion in Holland and the distance to their problems in the USA would give them new inspiration. They spent a total of half a year in Holland to work on this album. Brian Wilson also took part, although due to his fear of flying he needed three attempts to actually arrive in Amsterdam.

The cornerstone of the album was the California Saga Trilogy, a three-part tribute to California by Al Jardine and Mike Love. Brian Wilson contributed the song "Funkey Pretty" for the album, which he wrote and played the drums on. Otherwise he only sings a single line.

After the Beach Boys had broken up their tents in Holland, they flew back to Los Angeles and handed the finished recordings over to their record company Warner Bros. At the time, they consisted of 9 songs including "We got Love" by Ricky Fataar, Blondie Chaplin and Mike Love was written. Although they were satisfied with the material, they complained that they could not hear a clear single. So they asked for a track to be exchanged for a single, preferably one written by Brian Wilson. The result was the song "Sail on, Sailor" which the Beach Boys finally recorded in Los Angeles, replacing "We got love".

Meanwhile, Brian Wilson wrote the fairy tale Mount Vernon and Fairway, which he set to music. This was sold as an EP together with the album.

Holland was finally released in January 1973 and peaked at number 36 on the Billboard charts, where it lasted for 30 weeks. It came in 20th in England and 11th in the Netherlands.

Track list

  1. Sail On Sailor (Brian Wilson / Jack Rieley / R. Kennedy / T. Almer / Van Dyke Parks) - 3:19
  2. Steamboat (Dennis Wilson / Jack Rieley) - 4:33
  3. California Saga / Big Sur (Mike Love) - 2:56
  4. California Saga / The Break of the Eagles (Al Jardine / Lynda Jardine / Robinson Jeffers) - 3:49
  5. California Saga / California (Al Jardine) - 3:21
  6. The Trader (Carl Wilson / Jack Rieley) - 5:04
  7. Leaving This Town (Ricky Fataar / Carl Wilson / Blondie Chaplin / Mike Love) - 5:49
  8. Only With You (Dennis Wilson / Mike Love) - 2:59
  9. Funky Pretty (Brian Wilson / Mike Love / Jack Rieley) - 4:09

Additional Information

  • Sail on, Sailor - Jack Rieley turned the footage over to Warner Bros. However, they pointed out that they couldn't hear a single and demanded one, preferably one with Brian Wilson's name on it. Van Dyke Parks , still a close friend of Brian, remembered an older bluesy song by Brian, but it wasn't quite finished. He pulled him out of the heap. Brian didn't want to come into the studio, he sang the parts to Carl on the phone and taught him the song. With a co-writing team consisting of Jack Rieley, Tandyn Almer, Ray Kennedy and Van Dyke Parks, the song was finally completed.
  • Steamboat It was a text by Jack Rieley that Dennis Wilson had set to music. Carl and Dennis produced the song, Tony Martin plays the steel guitar .
  • California Saga / Big Sur is about the beauty of nature and homesickness. The first song Mike Love wrote both lyrics and music for. It is the introductory part of the "California Saga Trilogy". Mike Love is also the lead singer.
  • California Saga / The beaks of eagles is based on the poem "Jefferson County" by Robinson Jeffers, which Alan Jardine discovered one day. He added music to the work and added new text passages with his wife Lynda.
  • California Saga / California - The third part of the trilogy and again written by Alan Jardine. The song also includes the only appearance by Brian Wilson, who sings the line "On my way to sunny california".
  • The Trader - Carl Wilson wrote the song with Jack Rieley. It is about the effects of imperialism . The "Hi!" At the beginning comes from Jonah Wilson, Carl's son.
  • Leaving This Town - The song deals with deep and inner experiences. Ricky Fataar plays a Moog solo. The song was written by Ricky Fataar, Blondie Chaplin, Carl Wilson and Mike Love.
  • Only with You is a beach boys love song written by Mike Love and Dennis Wilson. Dennis wrote this song for his then wife, Barbara Wilson.
  • Funky Pretty - The album closes with a song by Brian Wilson, he shares the credits with Jack Rieley and Mike Love. Brian even played the drums on this track. Every band member was equally involved in the singing. It consists of four melody voices that run parallel through the verse.

Versions

The album was reissued in 2000 together with its predecessor Carl and the Passions and the EP Mt. Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale) . The liner notes were written by Tom Petty and Scott McCaughey.

There are about 500 copies of the first European pressing, which incorrectly contains the studio version of the song "We got love" instead of "Sail on Sailor". The error was only noticed when the LPs were already on sale.

Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale)

Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale) was designed by Brian Wilson as the focus of the Holland album. It is supposed to represent a modern fairy tale, which processes the memories of nights in Brian Wilson's teenage years. Brian Wilson was often with Mike Love and they were listening to a transistor radio in the dark . Love lived at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Fairway in Hawthorne (California) , hence the title.

While writing, Wilson let himself be sprinkled with Randy Newman's Sail Away , which he played over and over again. Carl Wilson and Jack Rieley helped him complete the piece. Jack Rieley appears as the narrator. The EP was used as a bonus for the Holland album and was included with it.

  1. Mt. Vernon And Fairway (Theme) (Brian Wilson) - 1:34
  2. I'm the Pied Piper (Instrumental) (Brian Wilson / Carl Wilson) - 2:20
  3. Better Get Back in Bed (Brian Wilson) - 1:39
  4. Magic Transistor Radio (Brian Wilson) - 1:43
  5. I'm the Pied Piper (Brian Wilson / Carl Wilson) - 2:09
  6. Radio King Dom (Brian Wilson / Jack Rieley) - 2:38

Original playlist

  1. "Steamboat"
  2. "California Saga: Big Sur"
  3. "California Saga: The Beaks of Eagles"
  4. "California Saga: California"
  5. "We Got Love"
  6. "The Trader"
  7. "Leaving This Town"
  8. "Only with You"
  9. "Funky Pretty"
  10. "Mount Vernon And Fairway"

Individual evidence

  1. a b Archive link ( Memento of the original from June 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / thunder.prohosting.com
  2. a b c Booklet of the CD Carl & The Passions / Holland, Capitol Records 2000