11 Responses to Quick Question

1. Phil Obbard says:

   June 16, 2017 at 5:36 pm

   Both great choices, but I’d strongly prefer Nilsson (in part because your book California Dreaming got me into Nilsson last year; I’ve been enjoying his catalog ever since).

   Looking forward to the next Beach Boys book, too!!
   • Andrew Hickey says:

     June 16, 2017 at 5:46 pm

     Oh, I’m *very* glad it had that effect. One of the things I hoped about that book was that it would let people discover stuff a little bit outside their normal listening, and I think Nilsson was the single most naturally talented person from that entire scene (though he pretty much squandered the natural talent from about 1974 on).
     • Simon Colwell says:

       June 18, 2017 at 6:58 am

       Sorry for going off topic but is there any reason why your excellent California Dreaming book didn’t have a chapter on the Doors ? Been waiting for an opportunity to ask you that and since Phil mentioned the book…
       • Andrew Hickey says:

         June 18, 2017 at 10:20 am

         I tried to find a way to fit the Doors into the narrative, but while they were obviously a rock band in LA at the time, they weren’t especially collaborative — everything they did was basically just the four of them.
         While any book is about lots of things, to my mind one of the most important things about that book is the story it tells about how all the different musicians collaborated and interacted — you can trace threads from the members of the Gamblers at the start to the members of Little Feat at the end, and everyone in the chapters between them is connected. Anything on the Doors wouldn’t have that connection. With all the others, they were playing on each others’ records, joining each others’ bands, and so on.
2. TAD says:

   June 16, 2017 at 6:33 pm

   Hmmmmm……how about an alternate suggestion, which is Nilsson-related? Producer Richard Perry. He’s been involved in all kinds of great records, in different genres too. Including a few Harry Nilsson records, of course.
   • Andrew Hickey says:

     June 16, 2017 at 6:40 pm

     I don’t really like much of Perry’s work, outside the first Captain Beefheart album and some of his stuff with Ringo. In particular I think he’s partly responsible for Nilsson losing much of his vitality — the two albums they did together are the start of Nilsson’s decline, for me (though a slow decline).
     • TAD says:

       June 16, 2017 at 6:49 pm

       I’m not sure Perry would be to blame, rather Nilsson himself just became too much of a party animal. Perry and Nilsson were an odd paring though. Perry was very much a control freak, and Nilsson would want to call his own shots, I’d think. Maybe Perry was more humble while he was working with Harry. I didn’t know he worked with Captain Beefheart, though!
       • TAD says:

         June 16, 2017 at 6:54 pm

         I’ve been listening to the Perry-produced Pointer Sisters’ “Priority” album for the past couple weeks. Great record. Imagine the Pointer Sisters fronting 1975 Aerosmith. Other than maybe 2 songs, it’s all dirty rock n roll.
3. Andy Gaines says:

   June 16, 2017 at 6:46 pm

   I like the idea of as Harry and Roy have both been ignored when it comes to serious musical analysis.
   If push comes to shove I’d go for Roy Wood. I think that with his many incarnations and musical styles he deserves a proper analysis.

   Looking forward very much to the 3rd Beach Boys book!
   Thanks
   Andy
4. nobadmovies says:

   June 16, 2017 at 9:03 pm

   Personally, I’d prefer Nilsson. An in-depth look at his catalog is overdue.
5. Gavin Robinson says:

   June 17, 2017 at 2:18 pm

   Roy Wood.

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