Wouldn't It Be Nice by the Beach Boys revisited GUEST BLOGGER

Guest blogger, Craig R. Clemens, offers valuable insights into the musical aspects of "Wouldn't It Be Nice" not covered in the first post about the song.

 "...if it weren't for the glorious music on WIBN (Wouldn't It Be Nice), it's not a song.

I think there is a place for lyric analysis, but I also don't think the lyrics should stand alone without mentioning how the rhythmic flow of the words depends on the music to deliver the message.

In the case of WIBN, I've said many times on this board (Smiley Smile) and anywhere else that it is my all-time favorite song, #1 on the list without doubt. I can appreciate the lyrics, but from the first notes of that amazing guitar duet in the intro, it becomes special, it becomes a listening experience, I'd even say the original studio version captured all the magic of that song in one recording which no live or cover version can ever match.

In the case of the music on that song, Brian as a musician in his early 20's used nearly every technique he had perfected over the previous run of Beach Boys hit singles and song to create a classic. Everything from the seemingly disconnected intro theme which surprisingly reoccurs in the bridge, to the stop-on-a-dime pauses and breaks, to the soaring falsetto, to the surprising chord changes that take the song out of the verse and into the next section, and perhaps most surprising to the listener both a ritardando and a revisiting of the main groove as the outro but with brand new melodic material on top of that groove. And the structure itself - is there a chorus in the traditional way? yet the main hook of the song, the title "wouldn't it be nice?" is featured prominently enough for everyone listening to recognize that question as the main theme.

Brian threw everything that "worked" for him on previous songs into this one. His arrangement and production did the same thing - he took what he had done one step further, if not ten. And the melody working with the chords creates both a sophistication through the jazzy minor 7ths and ii-V-I standard jazz resolutions as well as a childlike longing and almost an aching quality by using his higher-range voice in a very masculine and powerful way. It's hard to describe, the way Brian belts out the song with pure grit and power, yet uses a high range, makes it sound like a kid approaching adulthood looking ahead and an adult man looking back at when he was that age at the same time...I can't explain it other than it's one of the most perfect lead vocals which fits exactly into the theme of the song and the story, and it could be any one of us at any age relating to what he's singing about.

Almost any cover, including the hundreds of live versions by the Beach Boys themselves, seems to miss the fact that Brian is going all out on that lead vocal, just sheer power and emotion to the point where even in his higher "sweet" voice you hear the gritty quality that comes from giving an all-out, no-holds-barred performance at the mic. Again, that quality of the voice has never been equaled from the original studio version by anyone, and those covering it seem to key in on the sweeter side of the vocal rather than the grit. 

That's just a few thoughts, I could ramble on for pages but I'll spare everyone. I'll say again that recording is my favorite, and one which I have always felt a deep connection with on a personal level that few recordings or songs can reach. So I tend to ramble about it…"

originally posted on Smiley Smile by Craig R. Clemens.  Reposted here with author's permission.  Thanks, Craig!
Visit Craig's blog here http://www.classicstudiosessions.blogspot.com/