{"id":806951,"date":"2020-04-30T08:43:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T14:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=992164"},"modified":"2020-04-30T08:43:58","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T14:43:58","slug":"brian-wilson-and-van-dyke-parks-share-cover-of-what-a-wonderful-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/brian-wilson-and-van-dyke-parks-share-cover-of-what-a-wonderful-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks Share Cover of \u2018What a Wonderful World\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Brian Wilson<\/a> and Van Dyke Parks<\/a> have unearthed their previously unreleased cover of the jazz standard, \u201cWhat a Wonderful World.\u201d The track is one of several rarities that will appear on the upcoming 25th-anniversary reissue of Wilson and Parks\u2019 1995 collaborative album, Orange Crate Art<\/i>, out June 19th via Omnivore Recordings.<\/p>\n

Wilson and Parks\u2019 cover of \u201cWhat a Wonderful World\u201d boasts a simple arrangement that finds Wilson crooning over some very lush keys. Backing harmonies that sound like the Beach Boys crossed with a church choir are peppered throughout, while Wilson even throws a little gravel into his voice toward the end in a nod to Louis Armstrong\u2019s enduring version of the song.<\/p>\n

Wilson and Parks first worked together in 1966 when the Beach Boys took their first stab at SMiLE<\/i>, and then they partnered again in 1972 for the Beach Boys\u2019 song \u201cSail on Sailor.\u201d In the early Nineties, Parks began working on Orange Crate Art<\/i>, an album paying tribute to California, and, as he recalled to Rolling Stone<\/i>, he knew from the start that he wanted Wilson to sing on the record.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d started with the title tune,\u201d he remembered. \u201cI didn\u2019t have to call Central Casting. Coincidentally,  <\/span>I knew the man who could pronounce \u2018Orange,\u2019 the way it was meant to sound. And not how they pronounce it on Miami Beach. That is precisely why I asked Brian to be the voice of America. And in this, he is. As for me? I arranged this album and wrote songs. Brian opted to coast and just unpack as a vocalist. He honored me that way.\u201d (Parks\u2019 full memories about making the album are below.)<\/p>\n

The 25th-anniversary edition of Orange Crate Art <\/i>will be released<\/a> as a two-CD or double vinyl LP set (this marks the album\u2019s first vinyl release). Both versions will boast the pair\u2019s cover of \u201cWhat a Wonderful World,\u201d as well as previously unreleased renditions of two George songs, \u201cLove Is Here to Stay\u201d and \u201cRhapsody in Blue.\u201d The CD version of the reissue, meanwhile, will come with a second disc of previously unissued instrumentals.<\/p>\n

Van Dyke Parks on Orange Crate Art<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever was I thinking?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the inevitable first-blush I ever have when I revisit any album. <\/em>Orange Crate Art is no exception. I see it suddenly as a time-piece, reminiscent of recording techniques a quarter-century spent.<\/em><\/p>\n

I like it a lot.<\/em><\/p>\n

A sharper image of America about more than a handshake away.<\/em><\/p>\n

As an album, it spreads out, taking its time to go anywhere but here.<\/em><\/p>\n

This album is most def a rearview escape. It\u2019s as pass\u00e9 now, as it was when we slugged our way through it 25 years ago. It took Brian and me three years in spasms of enthusiasm and when we decided to deliver, our patrons had literally left the building.<\/em><\/p>\n

Not kidding. The two top-tier execs at WB went off to other dream works.<\/em><\/p>\n

No one remained beyond grunge.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was the dull thud of one hand clapping, and more people played on this than would hear it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Whatever was I thinking when I sparked this album in visits to Brian in iso, on the waterfront, right at the roar of surf, on Latigo Beach.<\/em><\/p>\n

This would be my last studio album for Warner Bros. and I wanted it to matter to me.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019d started with the title tune. I didn\u2019t have to call Central Casting. Coincidentally, I knew the man who could pronounce \u201cOrange\u201d the way it was meant to sound.<\/em><\/p>\n

And not how they pronounce it on Miami Beach.<\/em><\/p>\n

That is precisely why I asked Brian to be the voice of America.<\/em><\/p>\n

And in this, he is.<\/em><\/p>\n

As for me? I arranged this album and wrote songs. Brian opted to coast and just unpack as a vocalist. He honored me that way.<\/em><\/p>\n

Uncorking the lyrics and hearing the near-nude tracks beyond those decades is like exploring a pharaonic tomb. Laughs come hard in \u201cAuld Lang Syne.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The tracks are peppered with great musicianship. Look at Tommy Morgan, the harmonica virtuoso. For instance. Tommy, who\u2019d played on so many of Brian\u2019s signature works, brought clarity, close to the vest simplicity, and <\/em>rapture to so much of this awed work. \u201cMy Janine\u201d bass harmonica? \u201cSummer in Monterey\u201d instrumental?<\/em><\/p>\n

The band brimming with talents like Lee Sklar and Grant Geissman pushing back and forth. I\u2019d like a close-up of the whole band (to quote Welk).<\/em><\/p>\n

This album consoles now as it did then, beyond isolated people, waiting at home.<\/em><\/p>\n

So I caught Brian, just when recording studios had fallen off his must-see list.<\/em><\/p>\n

Soon after (the three years) we finished recording, Brian pursued his interest in<\/em> SMiLE.<\/p>\n

The essence of our relationship was one of complete trust.<\/em><\/p>\n

From the get-go, we had a surreptitious joy in our role-reversals. It was Brian who opted to just coast in the vocals and honor me as <\/em>a producer, blind trust.<\/em><\/p>\n

So, whatever was I thinking, when I got the nerve to ask Brian to plunge in?<\/em><\/p>\n

I ask me.<\/em><\/p>\n

Maybe it was because I\u2019d seen the old black and white of the Wilson Grape Ranch, in Escondido. It graces our Omnivore package.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kinda gives it a sense of place. Let\u2019s you know who we\u2019re with here.<\/em><\/p>\n

Whatever was I thinking?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMake new friends, keep the old. One is silver, the other, gold!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This silver anniversary release, is all good news, at the Coda.<\/em><\/p>\n

Orange Crate Art<\/strong><\/em> 25th Anniversary Edition Tracklist<\/strong><\/p>\n

Disc One
<\/em>1. \u201cOrange Crate Art\u201d
2. \u201cSail Away\u201d
3. \u201cMy Hobo Heart\u201d
4. \u201cWings of a Dove\u201d
5. \u201cPalm Tree and Moon\u201d
6. \u201cSummer in Monterey\u201d
7. \u201cSan Francisco\u201d
8. \u201cHold Back Time\u201d
9. \u201cMy Jeanine\u201d
10. \u201cMovies Is Magic\u201d
11. \u201cThis Town Goes Down at Sunset\u201d
12. \u201cLullaby\u201d
13. \u201cRhapsody in Blue\u201d
14. \u201cLove Is Here to Stay\u201d
15. \u201cWhat a Wonderful World\u201d<\/p>\n

Disc Two \u2014 Previously Unreleased Instrumentals (CD only)
<\/em>1. \u201cOrange Crate Art\u201d
2. \u201cSail Away\u201d
3. \u201cMy Hobo Heart\u201d
4. \u201cWings of a Dove\u201d
5. \u201cPalm Tree and Moon\u201d
6. \u201cSummer in Monterey\u201d
7. \u201cSan Francisco\u201d
8. \u201cHold Back Time\u201d
9. \u201cMy Jeanine\u201d
10. \u201cMovies Is Magic\u201d
11. \u201cThis Town Goes Down at Sunset\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Popular on Rolling Stone <\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

via:: Rolling Stone<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks have unearthed their previously unreleased cover of the jazz standard, \u201cWhat a Wonderful World.\u201d The track is one of several rarities that will appear on the upcoming 25th-anniversary reissue of Wilson and Parks\u2019 1995 collaborative album, Orange Crate Art, out June 19th via Omnivore Recordings. Wilson and Parks\u2019 cover […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-806951","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-12 13:17:03","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}