Holland: From A Musician’s Prospective

I’ve been at this music criticism/admiration business for quite a while, beginning with a long stint as a radio DJ doing a weekly show for over 10 years for then critiquing album releases for another decade plus. Whenever I was in conversation with musicians, they always have had the guard up about their opinions of other musician’s music. Some may worry that their influences were too transparent, others would rather articulate themselves through their music.

Recently, I was at a dinner party with a free-flowing access to some well-appreciated and disorganized vinyl. Like attempting to shoot a bird by simply tipping upwards a rifle and firing, I happened across The Beach Boys’ Holland album. I hadn’t heard the album in a very long time and so I dropped in on the stereo and grooved away to “Sail On, Sailor.”

By this time the rest of dinner guests had returned from the nicotine trip to enjoy this trip down memory lane with me. One friend, an accomplished musician with a resume as long as your arm, was intrigued by my selection. He was curious who was responsible for the different lead vocals on several songs and remarked on the font size of the writing credits while studying the album’s back credits for the additional musicians on the album.

As the first side of the album unfolded with the expansive three-part California Saga, the album shifts gears back and forth between the classic Beach Boy sound and granola-tinged hippie dippy folk. It was quite interesting to watch a musician really listen to this more obscure Beach Boys album with such intrigue. For the record, the lead vocals on “Sail On Sailor” were actually courtesy of Blondie Chaplin, a touring band member asked to contribute to this last great Beach Boys album.