http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tokxcbu_Uo It's a shame that the only way that some people know this song is through John Stamos' horrible cover version. This is my attempt to remedy that travesty. This is a Beach Boys song that nobody knows about, and that's a shame. A large part of this song's being overlooked is the fact that it was included on the album Sunflower, which, while being critically acclaimed, tanked commercially, being the worst-selling album in the band's history. Unfortunately, even many Beach Boys fans are unaware of this song, and, therefore, many people think of Dennis Wilson as a so-so drummer who was only in the band because he happened to be related to Brian and Carl. Such a belief would be wrong; Dennis, in fact, was a talented songwriter, and this song is the best of his efforts. This is one case where the knowledge of a song's backstory enhances the song itself; when one hears the story of why Dennis composed this song, one finds that the tune works on two levels, both as emotionally compelling as the other. As we've discussed briefly before, Murry Wilson was a domineering and abusive father. In fact, it's debated that Murry's beatings were responsible for Brian's being deaf in one ear. However, no matter how much Murry abused the three Wilson brothers (both physically and verbally), the boys still loved their father and sought to please him. Dennis, although he pretended not to care what his father thought of him, in fact cared very deeply, and he was hurt by his father's remarks that Dennis had no musical talent. Looking to prove his father wrong and, hopefully, gain his approval, Dennis crafted "Forever." Dennis played the song for Murry, who sat spellbound throughout the piece. When the song was finished, Murry told Dennis that he had loved the song. Once one knows about the relationship between Murry and Dennis, one can see that this song was written for Murry just as much as it was for any girl. Lyrics that were about trying to please a girl turn into lyrics about trying to gain a parent's approval, and there's one section of lyrics that seem to specifically describe the dynamic between Murry and Dennis in a way that's hard to overlook ("If the song I sing to you could fill your heart with joy, I'd sing forever"). Of course, however, one doesn't need to know any of what we've discussed above to appreciate this song as a simple, well-produced love song. Brian loved this song at that level, calling this song "the most harmonically beautiful song I've ever heard. It's like a rock n' roll prayer." I think enough said; Brian sums it up perfectly.
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).