{"id":1268,"date":"2013-03-12T21:24:09","date_gmt":"2013-03-12T21:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atantalus.com\/blog\/?p=1268"},"modified":"2013-04-09T12:00:36","modified_gmt":"2013-04-09T12:00:36","slug":"time-to-get-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atantalus.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/time-to-get-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"Time To Get Alone"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"slopes\"<\/a>Out of all the songs that Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys have produced, it’s odd that this one\u00a0particular song has always struck such a chord with me.<\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0I’m not all together sure. The wintry sentiment coupled with the charmingly personal lyrics are all very endearing. And, if you pay attention, the production will blow you away.<\/p>\n

Dig deeper and you’ll find classic Brian\u00a0innocence\u00a0and heartfelt\u00a0yearning for escape, with more nods to that\u00a0earth-mother-goddess character\u00a0we’ve spoken about before<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The lyrics may be idealised escapism, but the story around the production of the song is somewhat tragic, starting with hope and ending in\u00a0emotional\u00a0manipulation.<\/p>\n

The song was eventually released on 1969’s\u00a020\/20 Album, where it was sandwiched among a rag bag of left overs to\u00a0fulfil\u00a0a recording contract. All very “Beach Boys”.<\/p>\n

Listen, listen, listen<\/h2>\n

But let’s start with the song.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brian has said (in the Friends \/ 20\/20 Liner Notes)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTime To Get Alone\u201d was another waltz. The intimacy of the lyrics, such as \u201cI looked in your eyes and what did I see, I saw love in your eyes,\u201d coupled with the moving instrumental track and Carl\u2019s voice and our voices made for a spectacular record.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And it is a\u00a0spectacular, shining record.\u00a0Listen to how the waltz background is constructed. Instead of a single instrument playing a straight 3 hits of the chord we find a staccato pattern created by different instruments merged and intertwined with each other. Piano, Harpsichord, Harmonium.\u00a0Fantastic stuff and classic Brian.<\/p>\n

Out of the two Beach Boys versions available, you really must seek out the the\u00a0alternate\u00a0version<\/a>\u00a0on the “Hawthorne CA<\/a>”\u00a0collection. This adds something very special to the middle eight. (More of which, later).<\/p>\n