RIP Billy Hinsche

[Dave W]

Billy Hinsche, longtime Beach Boys collaborator, dead at 70

He was a RIC artist and collector.

[uwe]

Pleasant voice - did Tom Petty take a listen?

Rest in all glorious 12-string jingle-jangle.

[Dave W]

Pleasant voice - did Tom Petty take a listen?

Rest in all glorious 12-string jingle-jangle.

Never thought about D D & B possibly influencing Tom Petty. Could be.

[uwe]

He certainly seemed to dig the Beach Boys' Holland, the album the deceased had a hand in:

"1973's Holland is not only a wonderful listening experience, it's a great case for The Beach Boys being more than Brian Wilson's backing singers.

Much of this disc was initially recorded in Holland. However, resident genius and leader Brian Wilson did not make the trip. Brian was struggling with his much documented emotional and mental problems at the time, leaving the rest of the boys to share the composing and production chores that had almost always been Brian's forte within the group. Happily for us they more than rose to the occasion and indeed Brian himself came through with two great songs, the first being the album opener, and now something of a classic number, Sail On, Sailor. With Bruce Johnston's defection The Beach Boys added two South African musicians, Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar, on guitar and drums respectively, into their permanent lineup.

It is Blondie takin' the lead vocal here on Sail On, Sailor. Dennis Wilson offers two compositions to this LP. The whimsical Steamboat and the romantic Only With You both produced by Dennis with brother Carl.

It is fun to admire the different vocal timbre of The Beach Boys as they each sing lead throughout Holland. Al Jardine and Mike Love are both familiar sounds as they sing their composition California Saga. The group's voices are all similar and distinctive at the same time making the lush harmonies, when they join together, all the more wondrous.

Not enough can be said about the greatness of Carl Wilson's talent, never more obvious than in this LP. Carl co-produces every track here, and his vocal on his song The Trader is, well, something of a miracle. The Trader may be the best piece of work ever by a man who did many, many great vocals. The Trader is the centerpiece to Holland and all these years later still leaves me with my mouth hung open when I hear it.

The sequence of tunes is beautiful. The playing shows The Beach Boys to be one of the U.S.' strongest rock bands at this time. I saw this line-up in concert several times and the shows seemed not only contemporary, but perhaps a little ahead of us all.

Brian's second offering Funky Pretty, again with Blondie singing lead, ends the album leaving the listener in a great place. When issued on vinyl way back when, the LP included an extra 7" disc called Mt. Vernon and Fairway – A Fairy Tale, which is just that, a fairy story with narration, written and composed by Brian Wilson. It is included in this CD package. Certainly nothing to do with Holland. One wonders why it was included with the original album. Listening to it, for me, is a little bit hard. At best I would call it "weird."

But then these are the people and personalities who made that wonderful thing that was more than the sum of its parts, The Beach Boys.

Enjoy."

– Tom Petty, 2000