Holland is the 19th studio album by the American rock group The Beach Boys, released on January 8, 1973. Self-produced by the band, the album peaked at number 36 in the US and number 20 in the UK. The album is the last to feature Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar, who joined the band the previous year to record Carl and the Passions - So Tough (1972).
Holland was mostly recorded in Baambrugge, Netherlands over the summer of 1972 using a reconstructed studio sent from California, and with two Brian Wilson tracks rush-recorded in Los Angeles and added to the album at the last minute. The photograph on the album's front cover is an upside down image of the Kromme Waal, a canal that runs through the center of Amsterdam.
Holland included a bonus EP, Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale), a musical fairy tale written by Brian Wilson about a magical transistor radio who appears to a young prince. Narration was provided by the group's manager: Jack Rieley.
Recording
To record the album, the band members and their families moved to Baambrugge, in the Netherlands, in an attempt to focus their efforts in recording a new studio album. Regarding this time, vocalist and guitarist Al Jardine later noted, "It was rough being in Holland. We were working 24/7 in a small homemade rebuilt piece meal little studio in a garage next to a cow pasture. Yeah, it was rough. We didn’t even have the correct electricity [...] so that kind of affected the sound of our equipment. It was a mixed blessing."[2]
Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale)
Holland's bonus EP, entitled Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale), was based on the intersection where the Love family lived in Los Angeles, and was primarily composed by Brian Wilson. Wilson originally intended it to be the centerpiece of a new Beach Boys album, consisting of the tracks from the EP and "Funky Pretty".
Brian Wilson has said that he listened to Randy Newman's 1972 album Sail Away "over and over" while physically writing down the lyrics which became the Mount Vernon and Fairway suite.[3]
The instrumental tracks for the album were later released on Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys as "Fairy Tale Music", with Jack Rieley's vocal narration removed.
Reception
At the end of the 1973, Rolling Stone named Holland as one of their picks for "album of the year". Critic Robert Christgau praised the production qualities of the album, but believed the album had strayed too far from what the Beach Boys did best, stating "I suppose that in time their tongue-tied travelogue of Big Sur may seem no more escapist than "Fun Fun Fun," but who'll ever believe it's equally simple, direct, or innocent?"[7]
In 2000, Elvis Costello ranked the album as one of his favorite records of all time.[9] Camper Van Beethoven have disclosed that when recording their album La Costa Perdida, Holland was an enormous inspiration to them.[10]
Accolades
Publication |
Country |
Accolade |
Year |
Rank |
The Guardian |
United Kingdom |
Top 100 Albums That Don't Appear in All the Other Top 100 Albums of All Time[11] |
1999 |
21 |
OOR Magazine |
Netherlands |
100 Best Albums of All Time[12] |
2007 |
100 |
Vanity Fair |
United States |
500 Albums You Need[9] |
2000 |
* |
(*) denotes an unordered list
Track listing
1. |
"The Trader" | C. Wilson/Rieley | C. Wilson |
5:04 |
2. |
"Leaving This Town" | Ricky Fataar/Chaplin/C. Wilson | Fataar/Chaplin |
5:49 |
3. |
"Only with You" | D. Wilson/Love | C. Wilson |
2:59 |
4. |
"Funky Pretty" | B. Wilson/Love/Rieley | C. Wilson/Jardine/Chaplin/Fataar/Love |
4:09 |
All narration by Jack Rieley, except "Magic Transistor Radio", narrated by Brian Wilson.
1. |
"Mt. Vernon and Fairway – Theme" | B. Wilson | |
1:34 |
2. |
"I'm the Pied Piper – Instrumental" | B. Wilson/C. Wilson | |
2:20 |
3. |
"Better Get Back in Bed" | B. Wilson | C. Wilson |
1:39 |
4. |
"Magic Transistor Radio" | B. Wilson | B. Wilson |
1:43 |
1. |
"I'm the Pied Piper" | B. Wilson/C. Wilson | B. Wilson |
2:09 |
2. |
"Radio King Dom" | B. Wilson/Rieley | |
2:38 |
1. |
"We Got Love" | Fataar/Chaplin/Love | Chaplin |
5:56 |
Charts
- Albums
Year |
Chart |
Position |
1973 |
Canadian Album Chart |
12[13] |
1973 |
UK Top 40 Album Chart |
20 |
1973 |
US Billboard 200 Albums Chart |
36 |
- UK Singles
Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
1973 |
"California Saga (On My Way to Sunny Californ-i-a)" |
UK Top 40 Single Chart |
37 |
- US Singles
Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
1973 |
"Sail On, Sailor" |
US Billboard Singles Chart |
79 |
1975 |
"California Saga (On My Way to Sunny Californ-i-a)" |
US Billboard Singles Chart |
84 |
1975 |
"Sail On, Sailor" |
US Billboard Singles Chart |
49 |
1975 |
"Sail On, Sailor" |
Boston WMEX Singles Chart |
1 |
Chart information courtesy of Allmusic and other music databases.[14]
References
- ↑ Partridge, Kenneth (June 5, 2015). "Why a Comprehensive Beach Boys Biopic Would Likely Fail". Consequence of Sound.
- ↑ "Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love Interview Part 3". Rock Cellar. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ↑ YouTube video: Brian Wilson 1976 Full Interview; 1976 interview with Bob Harris.
- ↑ Bush, John. "Holland - The Beach Boys : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
- ↑ The Virgin Encyclopedia Of Popular Music, Concise (4th Edition), Virgin Books (UK), 2002, ed. Larkin, Colin.
- ↑ Eccleston, Danny (2008-08-28). "The Beach Boys - Disc of the day - Mojo". Mojo4music.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved 2/11/2012.
- 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: The Beach Boys". Retrieved 2012-10-27.
- ↑ Miller, Jim (March 1, 1973). "Holland | Album Reviews | Rolling Stone". Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- 1 2 Costello, Elvis (November 2000). "500 Albums You Need.". Vanity Fair, issue no. 483.
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/474262/camper-van-beethoven-northern-california-girls-exclusive-song-premiere
- ↑ [Top 100 Albums That Don't Appear in All the Other Top 100 Albums of All Time, The Guardian, January 29, 1999]
- ↑ "100 Best Albums of All Time.". Muziekkrant OOR. 17 July 2007.
- ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4828&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=fcs5b5kmf511c6ombo6ki2alv3
- ↑ "UK Top 40 Hit Database". EveryHit.
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