June 13, 2006

"Orange Crate Art"


From the Wikipedia entry:

"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.

Nearly 30 years after their legendary collaboration on the ill-fated Smile project, Wilson and Parks teamed up again for this Orange Crate Art, which in essence, is really a Van Dyke Parks album, full of his dense, complex songwriting and lush orchestrations, while featuring Brian Wilson on vocals. The album's title refers to the sun-drenched, idealized paintings that grace wooden fruit crates, and its theme is a nostalgic view of the history of California.

Given the history of its principals, the album came with high expectations, but upon release it received mixed critical reviews and had lackluster sales, failing even to chart. Nonetheless, Orange Crate Art still remains an interesting curio for most Wilson and Parks devotees."
The footage is from Brian Wilson - I Just Wasn't Made for These Times, a program The Disney Channel (of all channels) played during one of their free preview weekend deals. And guess who taped it?


Speaking of orange crate art, this site has five pages of examples you can see and buy.

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