This Whole World
1970 single by the Beach Boys
| "This Whole World" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by the Beach Boys | ||||
| from the album Sunflower | ||||
| A-side | "Slip On Through" | |||
| Released | June 29, 1970 (1970-06-29) | |||
| Recorded | November 13, 1969 (1969-11-13) | |||
| Studio | Beach Boys Studio, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:00 | |||
| Label | Brother/Reprise | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Brian Wilson | |||
| Producer(s) | The Beach Boys | |||
| The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
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| Licensed audio | ||||
| "This Whole World" on YouTube | ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
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"This Whole World" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. Written by Brian Wilson, the song features his brother Carl on lead vocals and is credited as a Beach Boys production. Earlier in the year, it had been included on the Warner Brothers promotional sampler album The Big Ball, and as a single, fronted with "Slip On Through", but did not make the U.S. or UK pop charts.
Background
Brian recalled writing "This Whole World" during one night at his Beverly Hills mansion when he was "stoned and confused".[2] He stated that the song was written in approximately 90 minutes at around 2:00 a.m. "I got up and went to my white Baldwin organ and I was playing around and thinking about the love of this whole world and that’s what inspired me to write the song."[3]
He also said of the song: "A very special vocal by Carl, and the lyrics are very spiritual. The melody and chord pattern rambles but it comes back to where it started."[4] Regarding the lyrics, he said, "It’s about love in general. ... That song came from deep down in me, from the feeling I had that the whole world should be about love. When I wrote that song I wanted to capture that idea.'"[5]
Composition
Biographer Mark Dillon characterized "This Whole World" as an "old-fashioned" rock song with "doo-wop trimmings" that contains an unorthodox structure and numerous key modulations.[2] Musician Scott McCaughey said that the structure followed an A/B/C/A/B/C pattern, however, "it seems to never repeat itself once. Every section has something new and different going on."[2] Musicologist Philip Lambert offered a summary of the song's exceptional "tonal transience":
First, a C-major phrase ends on IV, which becomes ♭VI in A, and then an A-major phrase ends on iii, which becomes a new i in C♯. This new phrase then moves through a diatonic bass descent from 1̂ to 5̂, eventually arriving at the key of B♭ using the same pivot relationship heard earlier between C and A (IV = ♭VI). Finally, the phrase in B♭ concludes on V, which is reinterpreted as IV to return to C major ...[6]
In 1978, Beach Boys supporting keyboardist Daryl Dragon commented on the song's various key changes: "From a harmony standpoint, I've never heard a song like that since I've been in pop music. I've never heard a song go through that many changes and come back."[7]
Recording
The track was recorded in one session on November 13, 1969 at Beach Boys Studio.[8] According to Brian: "I produced that record. I taught Carl the lead and the other guys the background vocal, especially the meditation part at the end: 'Om dot dit it.'"[5] The track originally ran "far longer" but was trimmed down.[9] Brian later commented, "I remember 'This Whole World' took a couple of days to record. It took a lot of hard work to get that one but I’m real happy with it."[10] Another version with an alternate ending was created for an Eastern Airlines commercial that the group briefly appeared in.[11]
Critical reception
AllMusic wrote: "Brian reestablished his reputation as one of the most brilliant melody writers and arrangers. With a buoyant melody and an effervescent, classy vocal arrangement, Brian wipes away three years of artistic cobwebs."[12]
Cover versions
- Brian produced a version of the song (which also incorporates "Star Light, Star Bright" in the bridge) for then-wife Marilyn's pop duo American Spring on their 1972 album Spring.
- Brian re-recorded the song for his 1995 soundtrack album I Just Wasn't Made for These Times.
- Dolour covered the song for the 2002 Brian tribute album Making God Smile: An Artists' Tribute to the Songs of Beach Boy Brian Wilson.
- The Lemon Twigs have covered the song live on numerous occasions.
Personnel
Sourced from Craig Slowinski.[13]
- The Beach Boys
- Brian Wilson – intro lead vocals, backing vocals, piano, production
- Mike Love – intro lead vocals, backing vocals
- Al Jardine – backing vocals
- Carl Wilson – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, production
- Dennis Wilson – backing vocals
- Bruce Johnston – backing vocals
- Additional musicians and production staff
- Jerry Cole – rhythm/lead guitar
- David Cohen – lead guitar
- Jack Conrad – bass
- Ray Pohlman – six-string bass
- Daryl Dragon – electric harpsichord, chimes, tubular bells
- Dennis Dragon – drums
- Gene Estes – chimes, glockenspiel
- Stephen Desper – engineer
References
- ^ a b Segretto, Mike (2022). "1970". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. pp. 228–229. ISBN 9781493064601.
- ^ a b c Dillon 2012, p. 183.
- ^ Sharp, Ken (January 2, 2009). "Brian Wilson: God's Messenger". American Songwriter.
- ^ Wilson, Brian (2002). Classics Selected by Brian Wilson (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
- ^ a b Wilson, Brian; Greenman, Ben (2016). I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-82307-7.
- ^ Lambert 2016, pp. 87–88.
- ^ Leaf, David (1978). The Beach Boys and the California Myth. New York: Grosset & Dunlap. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-448-14626-3.
- ^ Doe, Andrew Grayham. "1969". Bellagio 10452. Endless Summer Quarterly.
- ^ Dillon 2012, p. 184.
- ^ Sharp, Ken (2 March 2011). "Best Individual Artist: Brian Wilson". Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ Willman, Chris (August 31, 2021). "Beach Boys' Archivists on the 'Feel Flows' Boxed Set, and How the Group Was Peaking — Again — While the World Wasn't Looking". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- ^ Greenwalk, Matthew. "This Whole World". AllMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
- ^ Slowinski, Craig (Summer 2020). Beard, David (ed.). "Sunflower: 50 Year Anniversary Special Edition". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine. Vol. 33, no. 130. Charlotte, North Carolina.
Sources
- Dillon, Mark (2012). Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys: The Songs That Tell Their Story. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77090-198-8.
- Lambert, Philip (2016). "Brian Wilson's Harmonic Language". In Lambert, Philip (ed.). Good Vibrations: Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys in Critical Perspective. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-11995-0.
External links
- This Whole World (Long Version & Backing Vocals Mix) on YouTube
- This Whole World (A Cappella) on YouTube
- This Whole World (Backing Vocals Section) on YouTube
- This Whole World (Alternate Ending) on YouTube
- This Whole World (Live/1988) on YouTube
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Sunflower
| Side one |
|
|---|---|
| Side two |
|
- "Back Home"
- "Carnival"
- "Fallin' in Love"
- "Loop de Loop (Flip Flop Flyin' in an Aeroplane)"
- "Games Two Can Play"
- "Good Time"
- "I'm Going Your Way"
- "I Just Got My Pay"
- "Raspberries, Strawberries"
- "San Miguel"
- "Soulful Old Man Sunshine"
- "Susie Cincinnati"
- "Take a Load Off Your Feet"
- "When Girls Get Together"
- The Beach Boys
- "Break Away"
- "Celebrate the News"
- Cows in the Pasture
- Feel Flows
- Surfin' Safari
- Surfin' U.S.A.
- Surfer Girl
- Little Deuce Coupe
- Shut Down Volume 2
- All Summer Long
- The Beach Boys' Christmas Album
- The Beach Boys Today!
- Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
- Beach Boys' Party!
- Pet Sounds
- Smiley Smile
- Wild Honey
- Friends
- 20/20
- Sunflower
- Surf's Up
- Carl and the Passions – "So Tough"
- Holland
- 15 Big Ones
- The Beach Boys Love You
- M.I.U. Album
- L.A. (Light Album)
- Keepin' the Summer Alive
- The Beach Boys
- Still Cruisin'
- Summer in Paradise
- Stars and Stripes Vol. 1
- That's Why God Made the Radio
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