 You can never really tell how much the world’s going to change..as a small boy sharing a room with my older bother and his record player, The Beach Boys were constantly played and stories of the band’s leader soon became the stuff of legend in my house and in my own mind. For my Dad’s generation it was the audacious figure of Biggles in his spitfire, propeller turning but for me it was Brian Wilson at the helm of a revolving reel to reel, recording songs of sad songs about loneliness, sad songs of happiness..And then of course came the mystery of Smile, far more captvating and meaningful than the Ascension or the Grail..cut to seeing The Beach Boys live at the time of Holland and I was so impressed by Brian’s absence..a lad in love with mystery for mysteries sake. For me he was the ultimate musical magician.. But then I didn’t live in the real world and had no conception of the hardships some people face with their mental health.
 Later there were the cassette bootlegs of Smile that floated around my University Campus and I played them to death..at once thrilling to these wonderful fragments and simultaneously.lamenting the abandoned answer to Sgt Pepper that would never see the light of day..accompanied by an image of Brian forlorn and broken..All very romantic, all very tragic.. David Anderle’s painting.
 David Anderle's painting of Brian Wilson 2011 and here it is, my boyhood and teenage ruminations aside, I’m about to SMiLE afresh with different ears, in glorious sonority. Easy to say, but a situation I could never have envisaged, but the thing is, you can never tell how much the world’s going to change.
 We are the Sand is Peter Lacey’s 8th album and his 7th for Pink Hedgehog. It’s been over ten years since the release of Peter’s debut Beam! in 2000 – the album which Paul Williams (Editor of the legendary Crawdaddy magazine) hailed as “The best ‘child-of-Brian’ album of the many I’ve heard…”. That Brian is, of course, Brian Wilson, mastermind behind The Beach Boys. Through the progress of his albums, Peter ventured on to explore various different styles and genres in his songwriting; yet here in We are the Sand we see more than a slight return to his roots in the soundscapes of Wilsonia. Accompanied once again by a previous travelling companion, Beach Boys lyricist Stephen Kalinich, and this time by David Beard (Editor of Endless Summer Quarterly); an eclectic blend of influences reach the ear – while at the same time never straying far from the familiar tones of Peter’s original inspiration in the Beach Boysmusical odyssey.Officially released on 5th December 2011 as a limited/collectable CD (100 copies) and to download. Also available in the UK from HeyDay and in the USA from Kool Kat Musik.What’s been said about Peter’s music in the past…
 “Beach Boys fans will love it, as will anyone who still appreciates crafted melodies and harmonies”
(Kingsley Abbott, Record Collector)
“A singer-songwriter of great scope and vision”
(Paul Johnson, Uncut)
“Peter continues his bright and very rewarding journey into music from the heart for all of us seeking the stimulation and reassurance sincere and inspired musical exploration can bring.”
(Paul Williams, Crawdaddy)
You can buy it here
http://www.pinkhedgehog.com/shopwats.htm |
