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"Let the Wind Blow"
Song by the Beach Boys
from the album Wild Honey
ReleasedDecember 18, 1967 (1967-12-18)
RecordedNovember 1967 [1]
Genre Ballad
Length2:19
Label Capitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)The Beach Boys
Audio sample
Licensed audio
"Let the Wind Blow" on YouTube

"Let the Wind Blow" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Wild Honey. Written by Mike Love and Brian Wilson, the song is a ballad with lyrics that metaphorically relate nature to the essence of love. [2]

Background and composition

According to biographers Andrew Doe and John Tobler, "Let the Wind Blow" was composed primarily by Love and "rearranged" by Brian. [3] [4] It marked the first composition recorded by the group that is in 3
4
time
from beginning to end. [5]

In his analysis of the song, musicologist Daniel Harrison called it "the most arresting and compositionally assured song on the album" adding that "it echoes the formal and harmonic technique of ' God Only Knows'." [6]

Critical reception

Stylus Magazine wrote: "'Let the Wind Blow' is a moody ballad that swirls and throbs with a subtle psychedelia more hinted at than indulged in; proof of a growing sophistication that improves upon the Smiley Smile formula." [7] In 1968, Gene Sculatti said the song was further evidence of Wilson's "weird ear for melody". [8] PopMatters wrote that, in contrast to the Wild Honey single " Darlin'", "'Let the Wind Blow' ... is forlorn and urgent, with a gripping chorus and somber production. It’s fantastic." [9]

Variations

Personnel

Sourced from Craig Slowinski. [10]

The Beach Boys

Cover versions

References

  1. ^ Doe, Andrew G. "Tours & Sessions 1967". Bellagio 10452. Endless Summer Quarterly.
  2. ^ Greenwalk, Matthew. "Let the Wind blow". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Doe, Andrew; Tobler, John (2004). Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys: The Complete Guide to Their Music. ISBN  9781844494262.
  4. ^ Lambert, Philip (2007). Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN  978-1-4411-0748-0.
  5. ^ Hickey, Andrew (2011). The Beach Boys On CD: Volume 1 1961-1969. lulu.com. p. 143. ISBN  978-1-4475-4233-9.
  6. ^ Harrison, Daniel (1997). "After Sundown: The Beach Boys' Experimental Music" (PDF). In Covach, John; Boone, Graeme M. (eds.). Understanding Rock: Essays in Musical Analysis. Oxford University Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN  9780199880126.
  7. ^ Faust, Edwin C. (September 22, 2003). "The 1967-1971 Beach Boys: Long Promised Road". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  8. ^ Sculatti, Gene (September 1968). "Villains and Heroes: In Defense of the Beach Boys". Jazz & Pop. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
  9. ^ Blum, Jordan (September 27, 2013). "Made in California". PopMatters.
  10. ^ Slowinski liner notes, ESQ Issue 121

External links