A great song period. The mystery here for me is why is this specific 45 rpm single of "Caroline, No" under Brian Wilson's name and not The Beach Boys? For one, none of the other Beach Boys are on "Caroline, No" and I wonder if Brian was thinking of life outside the Beach Boys? One thing consistent with Brian Wilson is that he often composed music, even with a happy motif, often sounded sad. "Pet Sounds" is a very dark album which hints of a troubled life. The great irony of something like his masterpiece "Smile," which according to stories was a miserable time for him and the band, is very happy as an album. On the other hand, even though the early songs were about cars/surfing, the melodies strike me as sad, which to my mind, makes the Beach Boys the greatest white blues band ever. Mike Love likes to present 'his' band as happy-go-lucky lads in search of surf, sun, girls, and hot wheels, but in fact, there is a desperation behind these recordings. Beach Boys are one of the few bands that I can't listen to a lot because it really depresses me.
"Caroline, No" is one of those songs that I put on, just to reflect on life, or a meditation of sorts on what went wrong in one's life. Even the b-side "Summer Means New Love" is not a happy melody. It's looking back at that summer that 'had' promise, but the romance didn't really happen. I wished Brian Wilson at this time, ditched The Beach Boys and made more music under his name. His main instrumentation at this time was really the recording studio. The vocals of the lads are remarkable, but still, it is Brian Wilson all the way.
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