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The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Twelve of Brian Wilson's greatest songs – from surf to psychedelia and beyond
Although co-written with Gary Usher, this reflective hymn to isolation was pure Brian autobiography, conceived as the pressures of pop success loomed. 'I had a room I thought of as my kingdom,' Wilson said, 'somewhere you could lock out the world.' The domain in question was the Wilson family's music room where Brian slept 'right beside the piano'. Part-inspired by the Charms' 1956 doo-wop hit Ivory Tower, which the Wilson brothers sang themselves to sleep with, In My Room sonically recreates Brian's feelings of sanctuary by blending his brothers' sweet-sad harmonies with finger cymbals, harp glissandi and Santo & Johnny-style Sleep Walk guitar. Soothing yet eerie, the song spoke to the nation of 60s teenagers whose only refuge was their bedroom, and whose worries and fears all waited for them outside that door. Only Brian Wilson could hear the Ronettes' Be My Baby and think it lacked a sense of dread. Originally written for Ronnie Spector and co as a sequel to their 1963 pop hit, Don't Worry Baby was finally recorded by the Beach Boys and released as flip-side to the exhilarating Saturday night cruisin' anthem I Get Around. Both are car songs but Don't Worry Baby taps into the shame and insecurity behind the A-side's masculine braggadocio. A love song told in the third person, with the girlfriend's titular words of reassurance sung in the high vulnerable falsetto of their fearful recipient, Don't Worry Baby is also one of Brian's finest productions, the longing and reassurance of the lyrics echoed in both the group's lush vocal arrangements and the warm click of Al Jardine's Fender Precision bass. Conceived while Brian was playing the piano in the wake of an acid trip, this knowing throwback to the group's early Chuck Berry-style list songs like Surfin' Safari and Surfin' USA is the sound of teen naivety realigned by LSD. A lyrical collaboration with Mike Love, it's a song that exists as both high art and disposable pop. Note how its divinely beautiful proto-psych opening bars – with those twin electric 12-string guitars played in chamber echo – give way to Al De Lory's almost comical roller-rink organ, or the way the vocal harmonies on that 'I wish they all could be California girls' chorus come with a note of weary disenchantment, as if to say: I've been around the world and had my fun but I'd just like to go home now. Simultaneously a work of artistic maturity and emotional anguish, God Only Knows captures the duality of Brian Wilson's genius better than any other Beach Boys composition. Lyrically, the song's opening two verses are a cumulative denial of love, a declaration of eternal love, a surrender to the heavens and a kind of emotional threat ('If you should ever leave me … '). Nothing is simple here, least of all the music. From the intro's union of french horn, piano and bells that suggest both sacred and sentimental to the angelic, interweaving harmonies that convey everything from contented sigh to delicate apprehension, God Only Knows is the pop song as exalted state, a transformative ineffable experience where euphoria and despair are one and the same. Once described by Brian Wilson as 'my whole life performance in one track', this psychedelic Rhapsody in Blue took eight months, and cost nearly $70,000, to record. Well, it was worth it, wasn't it? Recorded as six separate movements in four studios, Good Vibrations is boy-girl pop as abstract cut-up. Rooted in the simple idea of a young man spying a woman from afar, it blossoms into a swirling sonic puzzle whose miraculous beauty can be broken down into constituent parts – the ghostly female vocal of Paul Tanner's electro-theremin, those throbbing primal cellos, the boys' wordless, choir-like harmonies that turn lust into a prayer – but never fully comprehended. What is with that opening? Those four bars of Jerry Cole's detuned 12-string guitar that sound like a child's music box and then the cold thud of Hal Blaine's snare drum? Well that's the song: naivety and hope v the slammed-shut door of reality. Brian and his co-writer Tony Asher wrote the lyric from the perspective of a teenage boy dreaming of a serious relationship with a woman: standard 60s pop sentiments. But the rhetorical nature of those lyrics, the semi-mocking tone of Mike Love's middle eight ('Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray, it might come true') and Brian's key changes and tempo shifts lend the song a curiously introspective tone. Yes, it's bright, happy radio pop and you can always hear it as that, but it's one where the dream is forever out of reach. What price genius? Here is the answer. Working with the Mississippi-born poet and songwriter Van Dyke Parks in a fevered attempt to top Good Vibrations, Brian set about transforming a Marty-Robbins-style country ballad into an overstuffed, wild west operetta that became a sonic encapsulation of Brian's own encroaching paranoia. The song went through dozens of variations before Parks was fired over 'indecipherable' lyrics, and a shorter, rougher incarnation was recorded for 1967's Smiley Smile. Although dismissed by Jimi Hendrix as 'psychedelic barbershop', it now sounds stranger than ever, a baroque layering of weird instruments and complex vocal harmonies hurtling towards a mournful second half that signifies both artistic contentment and psychic exhaustion. A cornerstone of 1967's unfinished Smile project, Surf's Up is an abstract three-part suite lovingly reassembled by brother Carl for the Beach Boys' album of the same name in 1971. Overdubbed with Moog synthesiser bass, and Carl's 1971 vocals perfectly blending with Brian's original 1966 take, the finished LP version is an undeniable masterpiece. It moves with stoned certainty through florid 19th-century imagery heavy with portent, before repurposing a line from an 1802 Wordsworth poem – 'the child is father to the man' – into a beautifully multilayered song of innocence and experience that repeatedly reflects back upon itself until it vanishes. Written in an hour-and-a-half at his Bellagio mansion, following a sudden late-night feeling that 'the whole world should be about love', this speedily recorded paean to global happiness, less than two minutes long, might be one of the most uplifting songs Brian ever wrote. On the one hand, it's rooted in loneliness and insomnia, centred on the pointed and painful line 'but when they leave you wait alone'. Yet the way the harmonies weave in and out of each other and the keys repeatedly take the song on different pathways feels so adventurous and optimistic that joy is undeniable. It's one thing for a lyric to remind you that you're 'happy 'cause you're living and you're free' but it's another for the song itself to actually make you feel that way. That's genius. Effectively a solo LP, with Brian producing and playing keyboards, synthesisers and drums, 1977's The Beach Boys Love You is one of the stranger recordings in the group's back catalogue. Yet, among the endearingly lo-fi songs about Johnny Carson, the solar system and 'honking down the highway' is this heartbreakingly fragile tune. Over quacking synths and synthetic chords, a vocally ravaged Brian and Dennis trade verses about losing out to the other man before Carl comes in on the bridge, insisting 'Don't you ever tell me that you're leaving' – his soaring vocal sounds like the angelic Beach Boys of bygone years. The result is a small moment of bittersweet perfection that captures Brian and the group between joy and despair. A semi-autobiographical song influenced by Jackie DeShannon's 1965 version of Bacharach and David's What the World Needs Now Is Love, and bound up in Brian's own desire to 'give love to people', this vulnerable benediction begins in the real ('I was sitting in a crummy movie with my hands on my chin') with Brian despairing at the state of the world ('A lot of people out there hurtin'') before realising that he has the power to bestow compassion on the world. If only through multitracked harmony vocals. Like This Whole World, it's a song that notices a lack of something in the world while simultaneously filling that lack, an exuberant secular blessing from a pop god. With their references to Surf's Up, Pet Sounds and such early melancholy Brian compositions as The Warmth of the Sun and Surfer Girl, the final three tracks on the last Beach Boys studio LP work as a kind of mournful valedictory suite. Lyrically, the individual songs – From There to Back Again, Pacific Coast Highway and Summer's Gone – reference familiar Beach Boys themes of sunshine, California and dreams of escape but shot through with thoughts of mortality and death. 'Sunlight's fading and there's not much left to say,' he laments on Pacific Coast Highway, and it's one of the finest songs about the acceptance of old age and the loss of inspiration. Arranged and produced by Wilson, the suite is as warm, poignant and wistful as a summer sunset, a quiet acceptance of beauty in its final dying moments.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Trendy village an hour from Manchester named one of UK's 'coolest places to live' in 2025
A charming village just an hour away from Manchester has been named as one of the UK's 'coolest places to live'. Hoole, a trendy suburb in Chester, is often likened to Notting Hill in west London for its array of independent stores, bars, bistros, and attractive Victorian terraces originally constructed for railway workers. Hoole had an overall average house price of £313,638 over the last year, according to Rightmove. The majority of properties sold were semi-detached properties, selling for an average price of £370,440. Overall, house prices were 6 percent higher than the previous year. The area gained national recognition when it scooped up the Great British High Street of the Year award in 2016. Seven years later, it still holds onto its cool factor, with The Times listing the CH2 postcode as one of Britain's 11 trendiest postcodes. READ MORE: Majorca issues stark warning as it plans to ditch UK tourists READ MORE: Christie consultant caught in sex act with man on train as passengers sat metres away The Times said: "It's Chester's oldest 'burb, but 'Notting Hoole', as the locals' tongue-in-cheek nickname goes, is the spot for indie spirit and cool café culture within a half-hour saunter of Chezza's city centre. "Beyond bagging a res at the neighbourhood favourite Sticky Walnut, the chef Gary Usher's flagship bistro (the rotation of hearty dishes includes chicken schnitzel and ox heart kebabs), foodies can head to Okells for breads, spreads and silky flat whites, or there are brill brunches on offer at Little Yellow Pig, a thoroughly cute café." It recommended: "The Faulkner is Hoole's go-to gastropub, while the veg boxes from the wholefood store Hoole Food Market are a must. And the crowd? The east London creative Oliver Hooson is a now a regular — he's currently renovating one of the smart Victorian red-bricks in his hometown — as well as cool young parents who have fled London for more space and Parent Power-approved state schools. "If that's your scene, there's pregnancy yoga at Hoole Community Centre and baby-friendly classes at Barre Esthetique. Slings at the ready." Hoole is an affluent area and a sought-after place to live, reports the Echo. In September 2024 Innes North, who relocated from Toxteth to Hoole, shared: "I retired from working at BT when I was 67 and decided to move here to be near my daughter. It's a lovely place to live." "My friends and family are in Liverpool, but they come here all the time for their holidays - I can't get rid of them! I don't miss Liverpool because it's so easy to go there on the train." Meanwhile, Leann Shaw, owner of Hoole Food Market, remarked: "It's just a lovely social shopping experience here. You can buy what you need and you get to talk to the nice people behind the counter." Kevin Bartlett, proprietor of Hoptons Butchers, commented: "Business is good, it's back to normal now after the pandemic. People come here for the quality of the produce and for the service. I think being able to buy what they want in small amounts is a big draw for them." Meanwhile, Sophie, who was employed at the local community centre, expressed her affection for Hoole and its "amazing community", but she is unable to afford living there due to the high cost of rent and property.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
15 of the best places for a roast dinner in the UK
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK) In Britain, the Sunday roast is sacrosanct. Gathering together around a beautifully cooked joint of meat, with lashings of gravy, vegetables and billowing Yorkshire puddings, is, for many, the weekend's social highlight. And where better to do to this than the pub? Not only do you avoid the washing-up but, centuries after the French dubbed Brits les rosbifs, you get to enjoy the roast at its most modern. In recent decades, Britain's best pub chefs have, by focusing on seasonal ingredients, rare-breed meats and painstaking preparations of roast potatoes or root vegetables, brought a fresh glamour to this Sunday afternoon ritual. Throw in good beer, well-chosen wines and compelling meat-free options, and you have a meal that — in stark contrast to sometimes sad, home-cooked attempts — is a true celebration of British food. Here's a selection of the best in the game: characterful pubs serving champion roasts. Cheshire chef Gary Usher's North West restaurant group, Elite Bistros, serves contemporary dishes elevated by classical cooking skills. His first pub, a convivial village local in rural Cheshire, embodies that rigorous MO. Expect a classy, caramelised apple puree with your stuffed pork Sunday roast while, in its depth of flavour, the beef's glossy, red wine gravy speaks volubly of patient stock reduction. Roasts from £19.50. Sustainability is a key tenet at this attractive Whitechapel pub-with-rooms. It supports growers using regenerative farming practices; principles the pub adheres to in its rooftop garden and at its small Deptford farm. Produce from both, found in everything from chutneys to fresh herbs, is woven through its menus. Served with reimagined trimmings, such as Yorkshire Pudding and swede mash, Sunday roasts might include Soanes chicken, beef with a helping of horseradish cream or a meat-free goat's cheese, squash and sweet potato wellington. Roasts from £22. Sharpen appetites walking the shores of Strangford Lough, then head to this warm, clubbable gastropub. A former farmhouse, its polished wood interior retains several original features: flagstone floors, open fires, a central stove. Among various accompaniments, roasts of shorthorn beef or fresh market fish are served in a delicious, double-carbs bonus with both mashed and roast potatoes. Two courses, £32. A boho hive of activity (pottery classes! live jazz!), the Mariner also serves a knock-out roast. Run by the Med restaurant team from neighbouring Brighton, the kitchen brings a cheffy élan to its roast chicken (brined for prime juiciness), or pork belly (dry-aged to create super-crispy, aerated crackling), or a meat-less smoked beetroot and mushroom wellington. Laine Brew Co. beers star at the bar (try its Sonar IPA), alongside ales from many of the best Sussex craft breweries. Roasts from £16. A chef with German and Japanese roots, Nina Matsunaga's deft command of global influences has earned this stylish inn's restaurant a place on the 2024 Good Food Guide among the UK's 'Best Sunday Roasts'. But during the Sunday lunch service, it's Nina's partner James Ratcliffe, a local lad from farming stock, who shines in his sourcing of stand-out Hereford beef or Herdwick lamb from the farms surrounding Sedbergh, on Cumbria's Yorkshire Dales border. Roasts £21.50. Cardiff schooled in seasonal, ingredient-led cookery at restaurants including London's St John, chef Tom Watts-Jones now runs three pubs (see also, Aberthin's Hare & Hounds and Bristol's Clifton), that share a similar ethos. At the Heathcock, feast on Torgelly Farm lamb or Welsh Black sirloin with duck-fat potatoes and fresh Glamorgan vegetables. In summer, Sunday barbecues are held in the large rear garden, serving barbecued meats with salads that utilise produce from the pub's kitchen garden. Roasts around £24. A handsome slab of 1930s architecture, the Rutty is, today, a friendly city-centre enclave for Sheffield's arty, creative set, renowned for its quirky interior, jukebox edicts (see, the banned bands list) and terrific beer. Its Sunday specials include a changing roast and vegan option, such as falafels made from roasted veggies. On the meat-front, think braised beef shin and sliced rump with exemplary gravy and home-style Yorkshire puddings, cooked in trays before portioning. Roasts from £14. Reopened in 2020 by two local friends, chef Mathew Reeder and Michael Singleton, this smart pub-with-rooms on Harpenden Common has fast gained a reputation for ambitious cooking. The Sunday roast menu may include sharing options, such as Aylesbury duck leg or lamb Scotch Egg, alongside plates of, say, 42-day aged beef sirloin, with duck-fat roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, salt-baked carrot and buttered cabbage. Two courses, £39. Sharing is caring, they say. That may explain why this Peckham favourite brings a glow to London's heart. It's legendary for its (generally, two-person) sharing roasts of, for example, spit-roast chicken or lamb saddle with mint and pine nut sauce, served with roast potatoes and perhaps creamed cavolo nero. The elegantly stripped-back aesthetic (scrubbed tables, blackboard menus, hip art), a lovingly assembled wine list focused on smaller producers and bottled beers from benchmark London brewery, Kernel, seal this appealing deal. Sharing roasts from £50. With its terraced garden, Tyne Valley views and colourful interior (check the chamber pots dangling from the bar ceiling), this historic drover's inn outside Hexham has much to recommend it, even before you get to its stellar food. The Rat enjoys national acclaim among in-the-know foodies, and it makes a big deal of Sunday roasts, offering four meats from local farms such as Nunwick or Dukesfield Hall. Two-courses £26.50. Descending into Ryburn Valley from the M62 motorway, you quickly leave hectic modern Britain behind. All ancient beams, flagged floors and roaring fires, the 14th-century Bridge Inn is a particularly atmospheric refuge. Perfectly conditioned regional cask ales, including several Timothy Taylor beers, accompany generous, tasty chicken or beef roasts. Trimmings include beef-fat potatoes and (yes!) cauliflower cheese. Two courses, £21.50. When exploring the Brecon Beacons or famously bookish Hay-on-Wye, don't miss the Griffin: one of the modern era's classic gastropubs. On Sundays, there are few better places to be than at a large, well-spaced table in the Aga Room, feasting on brown crab rarebit before a roast beef or, for the non-meat eaters, maple-glazed celeriac. The Griffin wine list is interesting, too, with up to 20 by the glass or carafe. Sunday lunch, two courses, £35. Popular with walkers, day-trippers and discerning locals, this buzzy Peak District spot is both a proper pub, where regulars natter at the bar over pints from local Distant Hills Brewing, and a dining destination, thanks to chef Luke Payne. His Sunday menu might range from dishes such as overnight braised lamb shoulder with all the trimmings to sea bream chowder or a carrot and tender-stem tart for special Sunday appetites. Roasts from £20. In the glorious views from its snazzy beer garden or the regional ingredients on your plate, this inn is woven into the rural splendour of the Scottish Borders. Roast beef is served weekly alongside seasonal, roast-adjacent dishes such as pork loin with Dauphinoise potatoes, orange butter & hazelnut roasted carrots and apple compote. Walk lunch off on the four-mile Blackadder Loop or by exploring this pretty conservation village. Roasts around £20. Set in a verdant nook by the village church, its beer garden bordered by a stream, this 15th-century inn is idyllic. The bar area particularly is a historic gem, complete with log-fire hearth. In both food and drink (St Austell Brewery beers, local gins, meats from butcher, Philip Warren), St Kew showcases Cornwall's best produce. A typical Kew roast might include sirloin with Yorkshire pudding, garlic and thyme roasties, cauliflower cheese and greens. Roasts around £20. To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
