Brian Wilson And Van Dyke Parks - Orange Crate Art (1995)

"Orange Crate Art" is a 1995 album by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks released on Warner Bros. Records, where Parks has been contracted since 1967.

Brian Wilson enlisted Van Dyke Parks as his collaborator for "SMiLE", the follow-up to the Beach Boys' groundbreaking album "Pet Sounds". One single, "Heroes and Villains," was released from the sessions and became a hit, but the rest of the album remained on the shelves. Over the years, the legend of "SMiLE" continued to grow, as bootlegs circulated and selected songs were recorded by the Beach Boys (including "Sail on Sailor," from 1973's Holland). Parks and Wilson didn't work again until 1995, nearly 30 years after the "SMiLE" sessions. However, the resulting album, "Orange Crate Art", isn't quite a collaboration  it's a collection of Parks songs as sung by Wilson. And that is the major flaw in the project. Van Dyke Parks' approach is intellectual, not instinctual, which means his compositions are over-labored and overwrought. Instead of making his melodies catchy, Parks makes sure they are complex, which means they are rarely memorable. Similarly, his lyrics are dense and laden with poetic imagery and metaphors, yet they are entirely too cerebral for a pop album. Then again, "Orange Crate Art" isn't a pop album  it's a self-conscious work of art. Parks may have set his sights high, but neither his music or lyrics fulfill his ambitions. For that matter, neither do Brian Wilson's vocals. On each track, he manages to pull of a couple of nice, sweet lines, but he often sounds forced and reedy, and he never breathes life into the still-born material.

Track listing

01.  "Orange Crate Art"  (Van Dyke Parks)  - 3:00

02.  "Sail Away"  (Van Dyke Parks)  - 5:15

03.  "My Hobo Heart"  (Van Dyke Parks, Michael Hazelwood)  - 3:16

04.  "Wings Of A Dove"  (Van Dyke Parks)  - 3:07

05.  "Palm Tree And Moon"  (Van Dyke Parks)  - 4:07

06.  "Summer In Monterey"  (Van Dyke Parks, Michael Hazelwood)  - 4:14

07.  "San Francisco"  (Van Dyke Parks)  - 4:28

08.  "Hold Back Time"  (Van Dyke Parks)  - 3:39

09.  "My Jeanine"  (Van Dyke Parks)  - 3:13

10.  "Movies Is Magic"  (Van Dyke Parks)  - 3:54

11.  "This Town Goes Down At Sunset"  (Michael Hazelwood)  - 3:21

12.  "Lullaby"  (George Gershwin)  - 6:06

Released:  24 October 1995

Genre:  Folk Rock

Length:  47:51

Label:  Warner Bros.

Producer:  Van Dyke Parks

Personnel:

Brian Wilson - vocals

Van Dyke Parks - keyboards

Ira Ingber - guitar, mandolin, programming

Grant Geissman, Fred Tackett, Dennis Budimir, Brian Otto - guitar, mandolin

Terry Schonig - hammered dulcimer

Richard Greene - violin

Tommy Morgan, David McKelvy - harmonica

Dan Savant - trumpet

Lee Sklar, Carl Sealove - bass

Bernie Dresel, Chili "Darryl Francis" Charles - drums, percussion

Robert Odin Greenidge - steel drums

Bruce Donnell, Marvin Saunders, Mike Watts - synthesizer programming

Danny Hutton, Doug Lacy, Donny Gerrard, Carmen Twillie, Arnold McCuller, David Joyce, Bob Joyce, Mona Lisa Young, Johnny Britt, Jules Greene - background vocals