The other night this album came across my suggestions from Apple Music, so I figured why not give it a listen. Van Dyke Parks is a musician who has composed a number of soundtracks for movies and TV shows, and has been known for arranging albums for a number of popular musicians like Randy Newman, Phil Ochs, Little Feat, among others as well, and has worked with artists like Ringo Starr and U2, among many others as well. He seems to drawn in a number of influences from different American genres of the time period in this one, and I’m excited to give it a listen. With that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
Oh wow, “Vine Street” starts things off with an extremely palatable combination of twangy bluegrass and Americana flavors that are mixed with an interesting reverberated chorus vocal sound. Holy smokes, things just changed up completely to something that could be from a musical of sorts with the orchestral strings and sweet vocals. Oh wow, some ragtime piano comes on for a moment. Wow, this is sweet. I’ve already lost track of the number of genres covered so far in just this track alone, as things nearly have a cinematic sound to them. Super sweet and interesting track to introduce the album, and I’m looking forward to more.
Oh wow, “Palm Desert” starts really nicely off the heels of the previous tune. Wow, this is super interesting. The arrangement of and level of detail in the different vocals parts and instrumentations is really sweet, and reminds me of something akin to The Beach Boys or The Beatles. I really want to just sit back and listen as it feels nearly impossible to pick out the different details in the tune. There definitely feels like there’s a bit of a psychedelic manner in which some of the pieces are arranged, but that doesn’t necessarily feel to be the driving reason behind the music in this one, more so as influence of the times and the level of detail put into the music. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Widow’s Walk” really feels like it’s painting some sort of picture of a seaside area in Europe between the different bright strumming from the mandolin that seems to lightly rain into the soundscape, especially when combined with the super interesting accordion as well. Holy smokes, this is a super interesting tune. Great track, and I’m excited for more.
“Laurel Canyon Blvd (I)” is a quick little tune that has a super playful sound and really adds even more depth to the level of detail put into the album so far. Super sweet track.
“The All Golden” starts out with some bright and delicate mandolin that sounds to delicately rain some notes into the soundscape, which is only furthered when the ragtime-inflected piano comes into the soundscape and seems to continue the delicate rain-like effect. Holy smokes, this is super interesting. There’s so much going on in the music, it’s almost like someone made The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) into a live action movie set in the U.S., and then made that live action movie into an album of sorts, which sounds completely different from the original album but retains some of the qualities. Great track.
“Van Dyke Parks” is a relatively easy going track that almost seems like a palate cleaner of sorts with its sound effects and short duration. Great track, I can barely keep up with the album.
“Public Domain” starts out with some quite elegant harp playing, which it now occurs to me that the mandolin I thought I heard might have been a harp, and the harp is soon joined by a really pleasant acoustic guitar line before fading out in lieu of some super sweet orchestral strings that nearly sound as though it’s from the score of a movie. Oh wow, some different instruments join the orchestral strings for a moment and almost give the soundscape a bit of grit before exiting the soundscape. Great tune.
Holy smokes, “Donovan’s Colours” starts out with some very pleasant piano that really seems to personify the sound of spring, which is also soon joined by what seems to be an electric keyboard lightly in the background. Holy smokes, the soundscape has changed so much already, and now features a ragtimey sounding piano with a really pleasant concert piano as well. Holy smokes, the different cymbals crashing nearly cause the soundscape to swell until the the beat of the drums comes on and seemingly grounds to the tune. Oh wow, it sounds like the accordion is back in the soundscape as well at the very end. Great track.
“The Attic” seems to land you back in reality after the previous super dynamic instrumental track, in which you’re surrounded by a pleasant layer of sweet orchestral strings. Wow, it almost feels like you’re a character in a movie that this soundscape seems to be evoking, which continues to change and evolve throughout the listening experience. Really sweet tune.
“Laurel Canyon Blvd (II)” seems to bring you back to the super playful version introduced in the first part of this sequence of songs, which contains plenty of tasty instrumentation accompanied by tasty effects.
“By the People” starts out with some super falsetto chorus vocals that nearly have a sound similar to the typical western cowboy quick draw match would start in an old film, except that sound is mixed with a very heavy dose of baroque instrumentation and effects. Wow, this is a super interesting soundscape, which nearly seems to whir around as though being moved about by a breeze. This tune seems to take the soundscape far out there, stretching into a nearly exploratory territory in this avant-garde tune, before finding itself at a very logical step with the subsequent movement into the next part of the tune. Wow, this is super sweet. Oh wow, the rain storm sound is super pleasant. Wow, great tune.
“Pot Pourri” has a really interesting distant bluesy sound between the tasty piano and nearly muffled vocals, which sound like they were recorded from outside the concert hall that Parks might have been playing the piece in. Super sweet and great way to end the album.
Holy smokes, this album is super sweet. It’s not very often where you listen to something that sounds both incredibly original while containing such a high level of detail akin to that of The Beach Boys or even The Beatles. The entire album nearly made me feel like I watched a movie through my ears, and presented things in a super dynamic fashion throughout. If you enjoy avant-garde music or music made with a lot care put in the arrangement and details throughout, you might want to check out this album. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A