"Let the Wind Blow"
Song by the Beach Boys
from the album Wild Honey
ReleasedDecember 18, 1967 (1967-12-18)
RecordedNovember 1967[1]
GenreBallad
Length2:19
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)The Beach Boys
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"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 3
4 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

References

  1. ↑ Doe, Andrew G. "Tours & Sessions 1967". Bellagio 10452. Endless Summer Quarterly.
  2. ↑ Greenwalk, Matthew. "Let the Wind blow". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ Doe, Andrew; Tobler, John (2004). Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys: The Complete Guide to Their Music. ISBN 9781844494262.
  4. ↑ Lambert, Philip (2007). Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4411-0748-0.
  5. ↑ Hickey, Andrew (2011). The Beach Boys On CD: Volume 1 1961-1969. lulu.com. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-4475-4233-9.
  6. ↑ Harrison, Daniel (1997). "After Sundown: The Beach Boys' Experimental Music" (PDF). In Covach, John; Boone, Graeme M. (eds.). Understanding Rock: Essays in Musical Analysis. Oxford University Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN 9780199880126.
  7. ↑ Faust, Edwin C. (September 22, 2003). "The 1967-1971 Beach Boys: Long Promised Road". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  8. ↑ Sculatti, Gene (September 1968). "Villains and Heroes: In Defense of the Beach Boys". Jazz & Pop. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
  9. ↑ Blum, Jordan (September 27, 2013). "Made in California". PopMatters.
  10. ↑ Slowinski liner notes, ESQ Issue 121
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