By Patrick J. Miller | Observer Contributor
Title: Our Sweet Love/
Artist: The Beach Boys/
Writers: Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson & Al Jardine/
Album: Sunflower/
Release: 31 August, 1970
The Beach Boys are a group of five, maybe six young and cute Californians composed of brothers Brian, Carl & Dennis Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, childhood friend Al Jardine, and later on, Bruce Johnson. Together, these six lads would compose many high-hitting compositions that would end up as hit singles [California Girls, Good Vibrations]. They would be best known for their brilliant harmonies and their work leading up to their monumental “Pet Sounds” album.
However, I feel that their legacy shouldn’t end there. They pretty much continued to make good content post-1967, with their “reinvention” as a feel-good harmonic group while maintaining a high degree in professionalism. Their Sunflower album highlights this perfectly.
One of the tracks that I’ll look at for now is “Our Sweet Love.” It is an original composition written by Brian & Carl Wilson, as well as Al Jardine, all regular members at this point.
The composition distinctively feels like Brian wrote it himself. To me, he tends to push for some “out-of-the-norm” experimentation when it comes to composition and structure, as well as pushing the boys, including himself, to evoke their best vocal-wise. Here, the lead vocals are provided by Carl Wilson, whose melodic voice complements this album perfectly.
Adding to the song is a string arrangement, which was headed by Michel Colombier. For reference, Colombier is a composer who worked on a multitude of films between 1962 and 2003. He also wrote some ballet and chamber music, but this song, as well as two more on this album, “Tears in the Morning” and “Deirdre,” seems to be one of his only diversions away from all three. Also present in the arrangement is Igor Horeshevsky. The overall string arrangement manages to elevate the “feel-good” atmosphere without overdoing it.
The lyrics are deceptively simple and to the point. They relate to the desire to express one’s love for another, with verses relating to summer and winter for example. The chorus, in its simplicity, relates to wanting “Our Sweet Love” to last forever, fitting in perfectly with the rest of the composition. The lyrics are overall simple, but that was probably intentional.
Overall, “Our Sweet Love” exists as a reminder that The Beach Boys were still relevant for the rest of the sixties even when their home-country reputation has sunk low. Its overall melodic composition and theme of everlasting love should be able to easily attract anyone who would be looking for something that evokes blissful happiness without overdosing on it.
It is available on their Sunflower album, a hotbed for more songs like this one. The album itself has been remastered in 2012, and the remaster is available on Amazon.com for $23.15, with used copies starting at $6.60. [9/10]
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