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Wow monster song! I just charted out the chords for myself using your changes for guitar, and I noticed something. On the 4th chord of the intro, one of the harmonies sings a Gb against the Bbm7/Eb , another harmony sings a G# against it. One harmony rises, and one falls each by a half step, and both are then at G on the Eb(9) chord. So that Gb is a pretty bad clash with the 5th of Bbm7. I wrote that chord as Ebm11 = Eb, Ab, Db, Gb and it sounds better to me. Is that just a disability of mine to hear the harmony against a complex chord, or? All the other times in the song the m7 slash chord sounds correct. Hey thanks for a great explanation and demo! There's one 60's song I would REALLY like to hear someone with skill analyze the CRAZY modulations of. That's the original version of the Faster Pussycat Kill Kill theme by the Bostweeds (a band of studio musicians). The chart on Ultimate Guitar is pretty correct and a place to start. Check it out for your own enjoyment anyway. Cheers!

I am not musically inclined and I have loved Brian and The Beach Boys for 50 plus years now. The obvious love you have for this music shines through and even though my temples throb tying to understand music theory, you make it totally enjoyable. Thank you!

As far as their lyrics.... You have to look at them from a Prog Rock lens. Which means the lyrics don't have to make sense. They are about something, but not necessarily the same thing. Different parts of the verses are referencing different stories. Sometimes they are related and sometimes they aren't. When Fagen & Beker want to tell a definitive message, they do it. i.e... "Charlie Freak" or "Only A Fool Would Say That." I am NOT saying they are Prog Rock... i.e. Yes, King Crimson, etc.. But they were contemporaries.

I always felt the turnaround after the solo was intentionally reminiscant of the intro, but in reverse. It climbs (ascends) and leads to the return of the full intro which descends.

Who did the walmart smiley into the trade center? God that was gold. There is an old saying. If you lay with dogs, you get fleas. There is a lesser known saying. Behind every capable man are other capable men.

Love it, Tim!

Philip K Dick at the end

I could almost imagine the first two songs being covered by Mr. Bungle during their Disco Volante phase. Amazing, especially Casa Forte.

Excellent video - thanks!

Thanks!

love this series tim , keep em coming

What a gem Casa Forte turned out to be, it blew my mind! It was almost sounding like funky house music at times (killer bassline), two decades before it was even a thing!

What's the best way to find the songs we're listening to, at least the ones not in a private library?

Love it! And so glad you pointed out the descending bass line. Also very excited to hear that tip about throwing in/removing bars from a section--it's something I've played around with but presumed it was "wrong"--very glad to remember I should trust my ear first!

I love this tune too. I was obsessed with it about 10 yrs ago and learned it by ear to play on guitar with a drummer. We could never find a bassist who knew how to play on this level.

Are you cold?

Disco Volante was a record that blew my mind open even though I didn't fully get it or even like it when I heard it at 17. But throughout the years since hearing it, I would dive into the various musical languages displayed on it (and not just jazz, but electroacoustic, noise, italian soundtracks, exotica) provided much more context for what was going on in this album. It only gets deeper and richer. Really dig your analysis on this track... oh and I saw Estradasphere open for SC3 many many moons ago in Massachusetts. Really dug you guys.

Fantastic work as always. One thing I wanted to point out is that the bVII7 -> bII -> I movement is a variation of the Tadd Dameron turnaround, which reharmonizes a I -> vi -> ii -> V7 into I -> bIII -> bVI -> bII by tritone substitution on every chord but the tonic, then turning the progression all into maj7 chords. This leads to a really smooth chromatic movement back to the tonic maj7. Brian, being a jazz head, probably heard this turnaround on "Lady Bird" and decided to take it one step further by using the bII -> I as a setup for a downwards key change. The real genius move is selling the setup with the unannounced key change up a semitone. I think you're correct that the verse-chorus modulation is a Wilson original; he seems to have contributed several harmonic devices for modulating, as opposed to outright changing, keys within in pop song structure. From 1965-67 Brian was on a level of creativity and confidence that we've never seen before or since in pop or rock music. If only the listening public (and certain cousins of the Wilson family) were ready for it. Nevertheless, we're lucky for what we have, and Brian's revolutionary approach to harmony lives on.

I love this song, what a cool analysis of it! When you were talking about the key change by a half step up, and you said not to abuse it by constantly going up a half step, it reminded me of the song "Golden Lady" by Stevie Wonder, which has a large number of consecutive half-step-up key changes in the ending, and the effect is like an infinite staircase.

thanks for doing this. I get excited about unexpected modulations in songs I love so I know the feeling!

Bridge chords are nearly the same as the bridge chords to Wouldn't It Be Nice.

I love the beach boys. I love brians writing. I also love your channel and analysing the songs in depth. Thanks for the videos. One small criticism is the amount of reverb on your singing voice imo ia far too much and i would rather hear it more clearer. Thanks

That half diminished chord functions and feels like it does on Bachs harmonization of Bist Du Bei Mir! Great stuff

Is there a way to suggest songs via Patreon etc. to be analyzed by you? I know some tricky ones that I'd love to see dissected.

excellent analysis

The verses in Southern Man (Neil Young) repeat mi11- mi 7 (although I suspect he didn't conceive it that way).

I’ll have to check out your video on the bVII. In my mind, the bVII7, bIImaj7, III7, iv, iimin7b5 are all part the same dynamic of the raised 5th in the major key sounding really emotional. Excellent video, I wasn’t familiar with this beach boys song

Been waiting for this one!

Please Let Me Wonder

One of my favourite Beach Boy songs…..fantastic chord progression. Great job on your analysis. Thanks so much for your work!

being picky but suggest putting timestamps for when you start analysis

"This Whole World" has entered the chat. Lol. Love the analysis

In strictly "favourites" terms, my Top Three Beach Boys records are 1) "Let Him Run Wild" 2) "God Only Knows" 3) "The Girls on the Beach". I would argue that the diminished two bars between "Let him run wild, he don't care" and "Guess you know I waited for you, girl" and the arrangement as a whole make "Let Him Run Wild" Brian's most sophisticated effort prior to _Pet Sounds_ . I realise that the extended intro in "California Girls" was ground-breaking for '60s pop, but still, overall, I consider its 45 RPM flip-side, "Wild," to be the more adventurous record -- as well as the one I definitely prefer. ... Your very thorough discussions of Brian's work are much appreciated!

I always thought: "This is Surfer Girl but with next level key changes." Definitely a tune you can point to as a progression of Brian's songwriting genius 😁 Also, Brian credited "Wish Upon a Star" as the inspiration for Surfer Girl, so nice call-out there! 🌟

Such unique songwriting. Brian really hit the ball out of the park with this one!

I love this album and this song is one of the best for sure! Would you ever consider making a video of your experiences working on Book of Horizons?

That half-step modulation in Verse 3 blew my mind the first time I heard it. Just a wild and beautiful song. Great work, as always, Tim!

I took a deep dive this week into GOK, and this lovely, smart analysis was surely the high point. Thank you, sincerely, for this gift. (Why is it so cold in your studio? Hah!)

15:33

Truly great song. I love the whole section on the Smile album from Wonderful to Song for Children to Child is the Father of the Man and ending with Surfs Up!

Is it wrong that I hear this an Fsus7 chord? Love your videos!

34:50 *exactly my point. Bohemian Rhapsody wouldn't exist w/o Surf's Up!!!!!*

EVERYTHING Brian did from 62-67 was/is *the best of the best* . Period. 🇺🇲🎼👌🏻

Gosh, so many little angles. Nice job.

Very interesting analysis. However, a lot of extraneous verbiage/talking - just get on with it!

Been a fan as long as your dad!! Great music

"the expanded man" means getting fat and middle-aged

Pete Christlieb (pronounced Christleeb) plays Tenor, not alto.

The most complex chord progression to ever breach the top 20 is probably "Never Gonna Let You Go" by Sergio Mendes. Well, he didn't write it. But his version was a big hit. It has an absurd number of modulations and non-diatonic chords. Rick Beato did a video about it called "The Most Complex Pop Song of All Time." I like "Deacon Blues" better than that song, but that one edges this one out for complexity, imo.

That first Sublime Frequencies track is from Folk and Pop Songs of Sumatra Vol 2. I think that is my favorite comp they put out.