Skip to main content

Sail on, Sailor

   Looking for some inspiration in 1972 the Beach Boys packed their bags and their recording studio and settled down in the Netherlands to record their album "Holland". They hoped that the change of scenery would snap their band leader Brian Wilson out of his depression. Although they did end up getting Brian to come along, 3 attempts, he did not contribute much to the album. (except it seems his very creepy EP Mt.Vernon and Fairway{ A fairytale})

     Sailing and port towns are the themes of the CD which is applicable whether you are off the California coast or in the canals of Amsterdam. The single from the album "Sail on Sailor" sounds much like Stevie Wonder, who was a major player in the music scene around that time. "Holland" was famously expensive to record, which makes sense since they needed to send all of their gear to Holland; and it was recorded in the tiny town of Baambrugge which is in the interior of the Netherlands.

      It got good reviews from the Rolling Stone, and was by them labeled as one of the best albums of 1973. For me it is not the Beach Boys sound that I was expecting. The songs still follow a simple style with lots of vocal harmony that I associate with them, but the CD seems to be much more melancholy and introspective than their older music.

  The album cover is a upside down shot of the Kromme Waal, a canal that runs through Amsterdam.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

de Vries, Hans de Vries. Almost.

In 1967 THE James Bond (Sean Connery) decided to step away from the world of James Bond films. EOS studios thus had to find a replacement. It came down to 5 men. 2 Brits, an American, a Australian, and a Dutchman. John Richardson, Anthony Rogers, Robert Campbell, George Lazenby, and Hans de Vries. None of those names ring a bell? George Lazenby won the part for the 6th Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. A movie that has been lauded both as the worst and one of the best Bond films in the franchise. If you haven't seen it, you should. It was the Bond film that 'Breaks the Fourth Wall', Bond gets married, wears a kilt, and goes skiing. But the reason for this post is instead of this; (Yes, THAT is James Bond) We could of had this. Improvement? Probably not. He looks a wee bit angry. Plus, no one watches OHMSS anyway. So, did de Vries have a movie career after Bond? Ha, no. The only notable movie rolls I can find for him were pre bond. And that was ...

Feel the wind in your hair

             So I have bought my Raleigh bike but that doesn't mean that I should stop talking about them, ha!  Instead of talking about a Dutch bike brand let's talk about a Dutch cyclist shall we?  Here enters famous cyclist Joop Zoetemelk.  He is a bicycle racing legend.             He has finsished the Tour de France 16 times, which is a record, and he also won the race in 1980.  Not to mention the Olympics and 67 other professional races that he has either won or raced in the top 10 in.  Joop started off as a regional champion speed skater before turning to cycling.  This guy , who has actually become better looking as he ages (if that tells you anything), is an athlete and a robust one at that.  In the 1980 Tour de France which he won, it was claimed that he only won because a competitor Bernard Hinault had drop...

Dutch Actors - Rutger Hauer

I had a case of 'Hey, I know that guy" the other day. I found another actor who is Dutch, who knew. Rutger Hauer Born in Breukelen, Netherlands 1944. (Yes that is where Brooklyn in New York got it's name from, I think I should post about that more some other time). I posted the picture of him that made me say "oh that guy". Anyone guess what movie the above picture is from? Anyone? Batman Begins, He played Mr Earle. The 'corrupt' businessman CEO leading Wayne Enterprises while Bruce was gone/dead. He gets what's coming to him in the end; "Didn't you get the memo?" Great stuff. Rutger is also known for playing a villain in Blade Runner. Recently he hasn't played many high profile roles besides the occasional guest start on TV shows. More info on his early life thanks to Wikipedia . His films IMDB . The man even has his own website ! Neat did you know facts about Rutger. His first and last name both end with er! -Got his st...