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Wouldn't It Be Nice

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For the Brian Wilson autobiography, see Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story.
"Wouldn't It Be Nice"
File:Wouldn't It Be Nice cover.jpg
Single by the Beach Boys
from the album Pet Sounds
B-side"God Only Knows"
ReleasedJuly 18, 1966 (1966-07-18)
RecordedJanuary 22 (22-01)–April 11, 1966 (1966-04-11)
StudioGold Star Studios and CBS Columbia Square, Hollywood
Genre
Length2:33
LabelCapitol 5706
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Sloop John B"
(1966) 		"Wouldn't It Be Nice"
(1966) 		"Good Vibrations"
(1966)
Audio sample
"Wouldn't It Be Nice"

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is a song written by Brian Wilson, Tony Asher and Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released as the opening track on their 1966 album Pet Sounds. The song was also released as a single two months after the album's release with "God Only Knows" as its B-side.[4] In other countries, the sides were flipped, with "Wouldn't It Be Nice" as the single's B-side. Its lyrics describe a couple in love lamenting about being too young to run off to get married, fantasizing about how nice it would be if they were adults.

Like other tracks for Pet Sounds, Wilson constructed the song's orchestral Wall of Sound arrangement using a variety of instruments not normally associated with popular music of its time, including accordions and a twelve-string guitar. The music contains classical music devices that are unusual for a rock song, such as ritardando. After recording the instrumental track, the Beach Boys overdubbed their voices to Wilson's exact specifications. Love was not originally listed as co-writer, and only received his credit after a 1990s court case.[5]

The song's "happy"-sounding music supported by a sense of yearning and longing was influential to the genre of power pop.[3] In 2006, Pitchfork Media placed "Wouldn't It Be Nice" at number 7 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".[6]

Background

Tony Asher credits the song's idea to Brian Wilson: "The innocence of the situation—being too young to get married—seemed to be immensely appealing to him."[7] Wilson composed the music, while the lyrics were written almost entirely by Asher over the course of one or two days. Mike Love's contribution was the ending couplet "Good night oh baby / sleep tight oh baby".[5]

Love's contributions are disputed by some. He has claimed that he revised or added other lyrics beyond the ending tag, while Asher asserted it was not possible due to Love's absence during songwriting sessions. Since he was touring with the group in Japan while the Pet Sounds album was being composed, Love's attorney proposed that it may have been possible that Brian consulted Love by telephone during occasional bathroom breaks. Asher, believing the argument was "so absurd", responded with incredulity.[8] Love did not receive an official co-writing credit on the song until after 1994.[citation needed]

Composition

Earlier Beach Boys songs celebrated adolescent fun and teenage love; "Wouldn't It Be Nice" subverts this convention in its very first lyric: "wouldn't it be nice if we were older".[9] In the Endless Harmony documentary, Wilson described the song as "what children everywhere go through ... wouldn't it be nice if we were older, or could run away and get married".[full citation needed] Wilson added in 1996, "'Wouldn't It Be Nice' was not a real long song, but it's a very 'up' song. It expresses the frustrations of youth, what you can't have, what you really want and you have to wait for it."[10] The song expresses "the need to have the freedom to live with somebody," according to Brian. "The idea is, the more we talk about it, the more we want it, but let's talk about it anyway. Let's talk it over, let's talk about what we might have if we really got down to it."[5][11] Asher has said that Wilson was "constantly looking for topics that kids could relate to. Even though he was dealing in the most advanced score-charts and arrangements, he was still incredibly conscious of this commercial thing. This absolute need to relate."[12] Music journalist Nick Kent responds:

To this effect, "Wouldn't It Be Nice", the song that would lead off their finished creation, was little more than a sophisticated lay-off on the old "We're too young to get married" teen angst dialogue that Wilson had already zeroed in on in "We'll Run Away", the song he'd written a year or so back with Gary Usher, not to mention his plaintively fulsome reinterpretation of the Four Teens' vintage heartbreaker "I'm So Young". But this time Brian Wilson was out to eclipse these previous sonic soap operas, to transform the subject's sappy sentiments with a God-like grace so that the song would become a veritable pocket symphony: two minutes of limpid harps imitating a teenage heartstrings in a tug of love, growling horns, joyous little bells, cascading strings, harmonies so complex they seemed to have more in common with a Catholic Mass than any cocktail lounge acappella doo-wop—in short, a fantasy island of the most exquisite musical longing imaginable.[12]

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" begins with an eight-beat introduction in the key of A major. Following a single drum hit, the song shifts to the remote flat submediant key of F.[13] Classical composer John Adams called this key change "nothing new in the classical or jazz world, but appearing here in the context of a standard rock-and-roll song, it felt novel and fresh. More than any other songwriter of that era, Brian Wilson understood the value of harmonic surprise."[14] The verse bass line was inspired by the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" (1963).[15] The bridge section features players in different keys. Bassist Lyle Ritz, who was playing in D major, mistook the arrangement as an error, as he explains: "[The] rest of the band was in another key. I knew that was wrong. So during a break, I looked at everybody else's music to see if it was a mistake. Because you can't do that. But he [Brian] pulled it off."[16] The song uses a ritardando before its bridge, a device that doesn't often appear in pop music, but does in classical music.[17] When the bridge is entered, the song modulates down a minor third from F to D major; this same key change from F to D also occurs in "Let's Go Away for Awhile", another Wilson composition from Pet Sounds.[18]

Recording

Backing track of "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
An excerpt of the section leading into the bridge via tempo modulation. The distinctive harp-like instrument is a 12-string guitar run directly into the console with added reverb.[19]
Vocals of "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
Isolated vocals-only excerpt taken from the song's bridge and coda.
Problems playing these files? See media help.

The instrumental track was recorded at Gold Star Studios on January 22, 1966.[20] The session was engineered by Larry Levine and produced by Brian Wilson. It took 21 takes of recording the instrumental track before Brian deemed it the master.[citation needed] The musicians present on that day were a group of Los Angeles session players commonly referred to as The Wrecking Crew. Wilson says, "Listen for the rockin' accordions and the ethereal guitars in the introduction. Tony and I had visualized a scene. We had a feeling in our hearts, like a vibration. We put it into music, and it found its way onto tape. We really felt good about that record."[21] During the recording, the two guitarists who played the intro were plugged directly into the mixing board, and no one in the studio could hear them. Drummer Hal Blaine was required to wear a pair of over-the-ear headphones so that he could signal the rest of the band.[22]

The vocals were recorded over two sessions at Columbia engineered by Ralph Balantin.[citation needed] The first vocal session took place on March 10, which also saw vocal work on "I'm Waiting for the Day", "God Only Knows" and "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times".[20] The next session around a month later on April 11 was the session at which the lead vocal for the song was recorded. Vocals for "God Only Knows" were also worked on at that particular session.[20]

The backing vocal sessions were problematic, as Bruce Johnston recalled, "We re-recorded our vocals so many times, [but] the rhythm was never right. We would slave at Western for a few days, singing this thing, and [Brian would say], 'No, it's not right, it's not right.' One time, he had a 4-track Scully [tape recorder] sent to his home, but that didn't really work out."[5] During sessions, Brian taught brother Dennis Wilson a recording technique involving cupping his hands over his mouth, elaborating: "Well, he had a lot of trouble singing on mic. He just didn't really know how to stay on mic. He was a very nervous boy. Very nervous person. So I taught him a trick, how to record and he said, 'Hey Brian. That works great. Thank you!' And I said, 'It's okay, Dennis: He was really happy. I showed him—not how to sing, but I showed him a way to get the best out of himself—just 'cup' singing."[10]

Release history

On July 18, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" was released backed with "God Only Knows" in the United States, which was the third single from the Pet Sounds album, released two months before.[20] It entered the Billboard chart on July 30 and remained there for 11 weeks, peaking at number 8 in September 1966.[23] The single also peaked at number 7 on the Cash Box chart and number 5 in Record World.[24] It also peaked at number 4 on Canada's RPM national chart. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" was re-released as a single on Reprise Records in July 1975 to coincide with the release of the Good Vibrations – Best of The Beach Boys compilation album. The single reached number 103 on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart.[24]

In the United Kingdom, the song was released in July 1966 as the B-side of "God Only Knows",[25] which reached number 2. The song was reissued in November 1966 in the UK on the God Only Knows EP.[25] In June 1976 It was re-issued again in the UK as the B-side of the re-issued "Good Vibrations" single. The single peaked at number 18.[citation needed]

Variations

"Wouldn't It Be Nice (Live)"
Single by The Beach Boys
from the album Live In London
Released1971 (1971)
Recorded1968
GenreRock
Length1:53
Songwriter(s)
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Cool, Cool Water"
(1971) 		"Wouldn't It Be Nice (Live)"
(1971) 		"Long Promised Road"
(1971)

Live versions appear on two of the band's live albums. The 1970 release Live In London and the 1973 release The Beach Boys in Concert, the former was released as a single.[citation needed] On the 1986 Made in U.S.A. compilation, an alternate version with different vocals was used.[citation needed] That same version was also released on the 1989 Beach Boys album Still Cruisin'.[citation needed] In June 1990, a different recording of the song from 1966 that had appeared on the 1989 Still Cruisin' album was released in the United Kingdom as a single with the B-side featuring a "Beach Boys Medley" as well as the original recording of "I Get Around", which had also been released on the Still Cruisin' album.[citation needed]

The song appears on several occasions from different stages of the recording process and in different formats on The Pet Sounds Sessions box set, including the song in its original monophonic mix; the first ever original stereo mix of the song, which was remastered by Mark Linett; over seven minutes of highlights from the tracking date, which documents the progress of the recording of the instrumental track; the finished instrumental track; the stereo track with the background vocals; an a cappella mix of the song; and two alternate mixes of the song one of which has a slight difference lyrically. In it, the song begins with the line "wouldn't it be nice to live together, in the kind of world where we belong", instead of the finished version of the song which opens with the line "wouldn't it be nice if we were older, then we wouldn't have to wait so long" and follows with the aforementioned lyric. The 2001 stereo remix of the song restores Mike Love's original bridge vocal, utilizing a mono mix, which causes slight phasing and sound quality issues.

The full recording of the instrumental track with all 21 takes can be heard on the bootleg Sea Of Tunes Unsurpassed Masters series Vol. 13 box set.[26][better source needed]

Chart performance

Personnel

Per Alan Boyd and Craig Slowinski,[32][33]

The Beach Boys

Additional musicians

Technical

  • Larry Levine – engineer (instrumental session)
  • Ralph Valentin – engineer (vocal session)

References

  1. ^ Adams 2011, p. 41.
  2. ^ Ames Carlin, Peter (September 5, 2008). "That Lucky Old Brian Wilson". Oregon Live.
  3. ^ a b Chabon, Michael. "Tragic Magic: Reflections on Power Pop". Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  4. ^ Badman 2004, p. 142.
  5. ^ a b c d Elliott, Brad (August 31, 1999). "Pet Sounds Track Notes". beachboysfanclub.com. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  6. ^ Pitchfork Staff (2006-08-18). "Staff Lists: The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  7. ^ Kent 2009, pp. 17–18.
  8. ^ Carlin 2006, p. 278.
  9. ^ Rogovoy, Seth (June 14, 2016). "'Pet Sounds' On The Road: Revisiting The Sad Genius Of Brian Wilson". WBUR.
  10. ^ a b "Interview with Brian Wilson". The Pet Sounds Sessions (Booklet). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records. 1997.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ Fornatale, Pete (November 3, 1976). "Interview with Brian Wilson" (MP3). NY Radio Archive. WNEW-FM 102.7.
  12. ^ a b Kent 2009, p. 17.
  13. ^ Adams 2011, p. 40.
  14. ^ Adams 2011, pp. 40–41.
  15. ^ Turner, Dale (June–July 2000). "The Low Down on the Low End". Bassics.
  16. ^ "Musician Comments: Lyle Ritz". The Pet Sounds Sessions (Booklet). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records. 1997.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Dillon 2012, p. 110.
  18. ^ Lambert 2007, p. 227.
  19. ^ a b Dillon 2012, p. 109.
  20. ^ a b c d Doe, Andrew G. "GIGS66". esquarterly.com. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  21. ^ "Song by Song Notes". The Pet Sounds Sessions (Booklet). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records. 1997.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ Granata 2003, p. 205.
  23. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 78 (38). Nielsen Company: 26. 1966. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  24. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2015). The Comparison Book. Menonomee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-89820-213-7.
  25. ^ a b "UK 1960's Singles Charts". Archived from the original on September 16, 2007.
  26. ^ "The Alternate Pet Sounds Album Vol. 1 C 9835/36/37/38" (TXT). Beachboys.com. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  27. ^ https://www.goldminemag.com/articles/beach-boys-1966
  28. ^ "Canadian Singles Charts". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  29. ^ "US Singles Charts". Btinternet.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
  30. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 9/10/66". Tropicalglen.com. 1966-09-10. Archived from the original on 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  31. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  32. ^ Boyd, Alan; Slowinski, Craig (2016). "Pet Sounds Sessionography". Pet Sounds (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
  33. ^ "beachboysarchives.com". www.beachboysarchives.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  34. ^ Wilson & Greenman 2016, pp. 177–78.

Bibliography

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