http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaDiwoACJ2Q If you follow music news at all (and logic indicates that, since you're in the music section of Whatculture, that you do), you probably remember all the articles last year about the surviving members of the Beach Boys coming back together for the first time since Carl Wilson's death in 1998. The reason for the reunion was the band's fiftieth anniversary; the celebration of the event included a world tour, the first full tour that Brian had gone on since 1965. More importantly, however, the Boys also released a new album to commemorate their golden anniversary: That's Why God Made The Radio. The album was a huge success, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album's success was well-deserved; in this writer's opinion, That's Why God Made The Radio is the Boys' greatest album since Pet Sounds. 28 songs were written and recorded for the album; however, in the end, only 12 made the final track list. The songs that were finally chosen for the album display the band's range, from light, sunny pop music to more serious ballads. The album's final three songs, though, were the most important part of the album. Said songs are the remains of what was originally intended to be a six-song set to be titled the "Life Suite." Although one mourns the fact that the suite didn't come to its full fruition, the songs we do have are beautiful. The most beautiful of all, though, is the song that kicks off the three-song set, From There To Back Again. The song is sung from the point of view of a guy asking his girlfriend to take him back. He asks his girl to take him back, to go on a weekend getaway with him. He asks her why their relationship fell apart. He wonders if she's been thinking about him and regretting what happened to the relationship. He tells her that it's in both their destinies to get back together, and that he hopes that, despite what's happened between them, that they can get back together again, or, in other words, get "from there to back again." The feelings at times like those that this song details run deep and are so powerful that they're remembered forever. Appropriately, the music that provides the backdrop for lyrics about such feelings is rich and melodic. Taking a page from his long-time idol, pre-murder Phil Spector, Brian uses the recording studio as an instrument in and of itself, combining multiple tracks of tons of instruments and harmonies into a "wall of sound" (to borrow the term often used to describe Spector's similar technique) that completely immerses the listener in the music. The experience of becoming surrounded by the music and lyrics causes the listener to feel the emotions conveyed in the lyrics. This is something Spector tried to achieve all his life, but never quite did. This song is the perfect example of the student upstaging the teacher; this is the song that Spector only wishes he could produce.
Alan Howell is a native of Southern California. He loves movies of any and all kinds, Hollywood, indie, and everywhere in between. He loves pizza, sitcoms, rock and pop music, surfing, baseball, reading, and girls (not necessarily in that order).