Skip to main content

Sail on, Sailor

By
   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.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

de Vries, Hans de Vries. Almost.

By
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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

General Recommendations for Amsterdam

By
Do not be sucked in by Argentinian or Italian restaurants, they are everywhere instead go to the outskirts of town for some excellent local food. Come in through central station-> if coming with luggage prepare yourself to wheel your bags over rough cobblestones to your hotel. Walk streets before biking them, otherwise you will get hopelessly lost. Rental bikes- find one close to hotel or a spot that you want to see as you walk back to the hotel, scout out prices, check your bike before you leave to see if you have a small map attached on the back, be careful about brightly colored bikes because they mark you as a tourist [which tells the Amsterdamers to take it easy on you when biking but also draws unsavory types], always lock your bike completely Try to get off Damrak (main tourist street)- it's really crowded with luggage wheeling tourists, full of souvenir shops, and lousy restaurants Canal boat tours are worth it especially if your feet are tired from walking ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Voedsel

By
If you enjoy eating delicious food and/or being gastronomically adventurous your entertainment surrounds food.  That being said I will try almost anything once and the Netherlands does not have many foods that really scare me ( cow tongue, squid, chitlins) When we set our feet down in Amsterdam I immediately thought of all the foods I wanted to try.  Some words that I quickly became familiar with were 'gesloten' (closed) and open and the abbreviations for the days of the week The food. Pickled herring-> no I didn't try them.  I know, I know; during the winter they only have the canned variety so you need to wait until May-June to get the years fresh catch called 'hollandse nieuwe' Bitterballen-basically hush puppies.  They can be filled with different things. Frites-normally with frites sauce which is most similar to mayonnaise, but it is a tad lighter with a hint of lemon in my opinion.  The food to eat in Amsterdam, no you can not start a diet whil...
Post a Comment
Read more