Let the Wind Blow explained

Let the Wind Blow
Artist:the Beach Boys
Album:Wild Honey
Recorded:November 1967[1]
Genre:Ballad
Label:Capitol
Producer:The Beach Boys

"Let the Wind Blow" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Wild Honey. Written by Mike Love and Brian Wilson, the song is a ballad with lyrics that metaphorically relate nature to the essence of love.[2]

Background and composition

According to biographers Andrew Doe and John Tobler, "Let the Wind Blow" was composed primarily by Love and "rearranged" by Brian.[3] [4] It marked the first composition recorded by the group that is in time from beginning to end.[5]

In his analysis of the song, musicologist Daniel Harrison called it "the most arresting and compositionally assured song on the album" adding that "it echoes the formal and harmonic technique of 'God Only Knows'."[6]

Critical reception

Stylus Magazine wrote: "'Let the Wind Blow' is a moody ballad that swirls and throbs with a subtle psychedelia more hinted at than indulged in; proof of a growing sophistication that improves upon the Smiley Smile formula."[7] In 1968, Gene Sculatti said the song was further evidence of Wilson's "weird ear for melody".[8] PopMatters wrote that, in contrast to the Wild Honey single "Darlin'", "'Let the Wind Blow' ... is forlorn and urgent, with a gripping chorus and somber production. It’s fantastic."[9]

Variations

Personnel

Sourced from Craig Slowinski.[10]

The Beach Boys

Cover versions

See also: List of cover versions of Beach Boys songs.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Doe. Andrew G.. Tours & Sessions 1967. Bellagio 10452. Endless Summer Quarterly.
  2. Web site: Greenwalk. Matthew. Let the Wind blow. AllMusic.
  3. Book: Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys: The Complete Guide to Their Music . 9781844494262 . 2004 . Doe . Andrew . Tobler . John . John Tobler. registration.
  4. Book: Lambert, Philip . Philip Lambert

    . Philip Lambert. Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius . 2007 . Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-1-4411-0748-0. registration .

  5. Book: Hickey, Andrew. The Beach Boys On CD: Volume 1 1961-1969. 2011. lulu.com. 978-1-4475-4233-9. 143.
  6. Book: Harrison, Daniel. Daniel Harrison (music theorist). Covach. John. Boone. Graeme M.. Understanding Rock: Essays in Musical Analysis. 1997. Oxford University Press. 9780199880126. http://www.lipscomb.umn.edu/rock/docs/Harrison1997_BeachBoys.pdf. After Sundown: The Beach Boys' Experimental Music. 50–51.
  7. Faust. Edwin C.. The 1967-1971 Beach Boys: Long Promised Road. Stylus Magazine. September 22, 2003. August 5, 2015. September 7, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150907221648/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/the-1967-1971-beach-boys-long-promised-road.htm. dead.
  8. Sculatti. Gene. Gene Sculatti. Villains and Heroes: In Defense of the Beach Boys. Jazz & Pop. September 1968. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714191639/http://www.teachrock.org/resources/article/villains-and-heroes-in-defense-of-the-beach-boys/. 2014-07-14.
  9. Blum. Jordan. Made in California. PopMatters. September 27, 2013.
  10. Slowinski liner notes, ESQ Issue 121

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