I'm finally biting the bullet and listening to more Beach Boys. I blame this thread. And that one night where I did a little drinking and listened to Pet Sounds five times in a row.

I'm listening to Smiley Smile and boy it feels weird. Can't really put my finger on why though. 'Vegetables' made me giggle with the chomping sound incorporated into it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...nter/EGG03.png

too much filler, although Let Me Roll It is probably the best thing he did outside of the Beatless

Great song

I don't see where the filler is though.

As for Vegetables I think it's great, just accept it for what it is, a fun song.

1985, Mrs. Vanderbilt and some others which titles escape my mind

they sound like Paul wrote them in his sleep

Mr Vanderbilt perhaps is filler, though there is that melacholic 70s vibe with the harmonies that adds a bit to it and makes it more than average to me and spices it up. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five is just a rollicking good tune, best part for me is the 'ohhhhh I' hook. The switch to the quieter section adds a nice contrast. The ending is pretty good too, building up dramatically and then a sudden end. The Band on the Run except from the end is a bit unnecessary perhaps. While both might not be his most perfectly constucted songs I think they are way better than most. And if he did them in his sleep it just what a good songwriter he is. :D

"Mrs. Vanderbilt" is dum-dum-de-dum monotonous

1985 by using bits from other songs on the album, shows he's running out of ideas

the Paul of yore would have constructed a mini-suite of other different song sections, not already on the album

I think you have to see the songwriting as changing and going into different territory. It's not about to be as direct as some of his 60s melodies, there is a more introspective 70s feel. For what it does I think the Band on the Run album is very good.

i'm not saying it's bad, but there are some mediocre stuff that prevent it from being "great"

unlike Ram, which is far more consistent, and even has a Beatles-esque feel to it, if you took the best bits from it and the best bits from Plastic Ono Band, it would have been a terrific Beatles album of the 70s

I wouldn't say mediocre myself. Haven't heard Ram for a while, but remember liking little off the Lennon album ('Love' was alright). Maybe you just prefer the more different rock style of the earlier stuff over his more pop melody later.