Holland is the 19th studio album by the American rock group the Beach Boys, released on January 8, 1973. Self-produced by the band, the album peaked at number 36 in the US and number 20 in the UK. The album is the second of two studio recordings to feature Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar, who joined the band the previous year to record Carl and the Passions – "So Tough". It is also the third and final studio album created under the management of Jack Rieley.
Recording
Former Beach Boy Bruce Johnston suggested that the group record their new album in France, "but somehow it ended up being recorded in Holland. I had to secretly come down and do vocals. ... even though I was out of the band, I still sang on albums."[2] To record the album, the band members and their families moved to Baambrugge, in the Netherlands, Vocalist and guitarist Al Jardine later commented: "It was rough being in Holland. We were working 24/7 in a small homemade rebuilt piecemeal little studio in a garage next to a cow pasture. Yeah, it was rough. We didn’t even have the correct electricity [...] so that kind of affected the sound of our equipment. It was a mixed blessing."[3]
Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale)
Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale) is a 12-minute musical fairy tale that was included as an EP with Holland. It was primarily composed by Brian Wilson and narrated by manager Jack Rieley, with Wilson providing the voice of the Pied Piper. (An instrumental version of Mount Vernon and Fairway without narration appeared on the 1993 boxed set Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys.)
Wilson has said that he listened to Randy Newman's 1972 album Sail Away "over and over" while physically writing down the lyrics that became the Mount Vernon and Fairway suite.[4]
Reception
Writing in Rolling Stone, critic Jim Miller called Holland a 'special album' and said: "Like the finest Beach Boys' work, Holland makes me consistently smile, as much at its occasionally unnerving simplicity of viewpoint as at its frequently ornate perfection. Although the Beach Boys may be an acquired taste, once the listener has granted them their stylistic predilections, their best records become irresistible."[12] Critic Robert Christgau praised the sound quality of Holland, but believed that the album had strayed too far from what the Beach Boys did best. He said: "I suppose that in time their tongue-tied travelogue of Big Sur may seem no more escapist than 'Fun Fun Fun', but who'll ever believe it's equally simple, direct, or innocent?"[7]
In later years, Elvis Costello ranked the album as one of his favorite records of all time.[13] Camper Van Beethoven have said that when recording their album La Costa Perdida, Holland was an enormous inspiration to them.[14] Tom Petty was also a fan of Holland and penned liner notes for the 2000 CD reissue, in which he described the album as 'beautiful' and said of Carl Wilson's track "The Trader": 'Carl's vocal on The Trader is, well, something of a miracle. The Trader may be the best piece of work ever by a man who did many, many great vocals. The song is the centerpiece to Holland and all these years later still leaves me with my mouth hung open when I hear it."[15]
In his 2016 autobiography, Brian Wilson said of Holland: 'There are some great songs on that record. 'Steamboat' kicks ass. I really like 'Only with You' and 'Funky Pretty', too. It's a damned good album no matter where or how we made it'.
Accolades
Publication |
Country |
Accolade |
Year |
Rank |
The Guardian |
United Kingdom |
Top 100 Albums That Don't Appear in All the Other Top 100 Albums of All Time[16] |
1999 |
21 |
OOR Magazine |
Netherlands |
100 Best Albums of All Time[17] |
2007 |
100 |
Vanity Fair |
United States |
500 Albums You Need[13] |
2000 |
* |
(*) denotes an unordered list
Track listing
|
|
1. | "The Trader" | | C. Wilson | 5:04 |
2. | "Leaving This Town" | | Ricky Fataar and Chaplin | 5:49 |
3. | "Only with You" | | C. Wilson | 2:59 |
4. | "Funky Pretty" | | C. Wilson, Jardine, Chaplin, Fataar, and Love | 4:09 |
All narration by Jack Rieley, except "Magic Transistor Radio", narrated by Brian Wilson.
|
|
1. | "Mt. Vernon and Fairway – Theme" | B. Wilson | | 1:34 |
2. | "I'm the Pied Piper – Instrumental" | | | 2:20 |
3. | "Better Get Back in Bed" | B. Wilson | C. Wilson | 1:39 |
4. | "Magic Transistor Radio" | B. Wilson | Brian Wilson | 1:43 |
|
|
1. | "I'm the Pied Piper" | | B. Wilson | 2:09 |
2. | "Radio King Dom" | | | 2:38 |
|
|
1. | "We Got Love" | Fataar/Chaplin/Love | Chaplin | 5:56 |
Personnel
Partial credits from Beach Boys archivist Craig Slowinski.[18][19][20][21]
- The Beach Boys
- Blondie Chaplin – vocals, bass guitar, guitar
- Ricky Fataar – vocals, drums except "Funky Pretty", slide guitar on "Big Sur," synthesizer on "Leaving This Town," percussion on "Funky Pretty"
- Al Jardine – vocals, guitar, banjo
- Mike Love – vocals
- Brian Wilson – vocals on “California Saga: California” and "Funky Pretty"; drums, synthesizer, and piano on "Funky Pretty"
- Carl Wilson – vocals, guitar, piano, electric piano, Moog bass on "California Saga: California" and "The Trader"
- Dennis Wilson – vocals, piano
- Additional musicians
- Daryl Dragon – Moog bass except "California Saga: California" and "The Trader"
- Bruce Johnston – backing vocals on “California Saga: California”
- Tony Martin, Jr. - steel guitar on "Sail On, Sailor" and "Steamboat"
- Charles Lloyd – flute on "California Saga"
- Marilyn Wilson, Diane Rovell — backing vocals on "Steamboat"
Charts
- Albums
Year |
Chart |
Position |
1973 |
Canadian Album Chart |
12[22] |
1973 |
Dutch Album Chart |
9[23] |
1973 |
UK Top 40 Album Chart |
20 |
1973 |
US Billboard 200 Albums Chart |
36[24] |
- UK Singles
Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
1973 |
"California Saga (On My Way to Sunny Californ-i-a)" |
UK Top 40 Single Chart |
37 |
- US Singles
Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
1973 |
"Sail On, Sailor" |
US Billboard Singles Chart |
79 |
1975 |
"California Saga (On My Way to Sunny Californ-i-a)" |
US Billboard Singles Chart |
84 |
1975 |
"Sail On, Sailor" |
US Billboard Singles Chart |
49 |
1975 |
"Sail On, Sailor" |
Boston WMEX Singles Chart |
1 |
Chart information courtesy of Allmusic and other music databases.[25]
References
- ↑ Partridge, Kenneth (June 5, 2015). "Why a Comprehensive Beach Boys Biopic Would Likely Fail". Consequence of Sound.
- ↑ Sharp, Ken (September 4, 2013). "Bruce Johnston On the Beach Boys' Enduring Legacy (Interview)". Rock Cellar Magazine.
- ↑ "Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love Interview Part 3". Rock Cellar. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ↑ YouTube video: Brian Wilson 1976 Full Interview; 1976 interview with Bob Harris.
- ↑ Bush, John. "Holland - The Beach Boys : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
- ↑ Wolk, Douglas (October 2004). "The Beach Boys Carl and the Passions: So Tough/Holland". Blender. Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: The Beach Boys". Retrieved 2012-10-27.
- ↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). London: Oxford University Press. p. 479. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
- ↑ Eccleston, Danny (2008-08-28). "The Beach Boys - Disc of the day - Mojo". Mojo4music.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved 2/11/2012.
- ↑ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 84. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- ↑ Brackett, Nathan; with Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York, NY: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. p. 46. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ↑ Miller, Jim (March 1, 1973). "Holland | Album Reviews | Rolling Stone". Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- 1 2 Costello, Elvis (November 2000). "500 Albums You Need". Vanity Fair, issue no. 483.
- ↑ "Camper Van Beethoven, 'Northern California Girls': Exclusive Song Premiere". billboard.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ↑ McCaughey, Scott (2000). Carl and the Passions – "So Tough" / Holland (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
- ↑ [Top 100 Albums That Don't Appear in All the Other Top 100 Albums of All Time, The Guardian, January 29, 1999]
- ↑ "100 Best Albums of All Time". Muziekkrant OOR. 17 July 2007.
- ↑ http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,25479.msg620355.html#msg620355
- ↑ http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,5673.msg90874.html#msg90874
- ↑ http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,2255.
- ↑ http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,5291.
- ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4828&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=fcs5b5kmf511c6ombo6ki2alv3
- ↑ Dutch Charts - THE BEACH BOYS - HOLLAND
- ↑ Billboard, March 24, 1973, page 67
- ↑ "UK Top 40 Hit Database". EveryHit. Archived from the original on 2007-07-18.
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Songs | Side one | |
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Side two |
- "The Trader"
- "Leaving This Town"
- "Only with You"
- "Funky Pretty"
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