Mark Eric - A Midsummer's Day Dream

As the title of the blog might suggest, the Beach Boys have long played a big role in my musical upbringing, and it goes without saying that I would be unable to provide a unbiased review of the Brian Wilson gig at the Philharmonic Hall three weeks or so ago. But it genuinely was ace. Aided by the acoustics of the venue and the superb backing band, Wilson's now cracked and scarred voice barely seemed to matter as almost all of the essential back catalogue was beautifully reproduced. My highlight - as I knew it would be before I walked in - was the almost stripped down version of 'God Only Knows', originally sung by his late brother Carl, that you would have to have been a harder man than I was to avoid shedding a tear at. As always with this kind of greatest hits tour, the selection of records is never 100% to every individual's taste and I would have been even happier with one or two fewer selections from the earliest part of the band's back catalogue and the inclusion of 'Breakaway', 'Surf's Up' or 'Heroes and Villains'. But then I'm a moaning sod at the best of times. As an emotional appeal direct to the soul, it was up there with the best gigs I've been to.

The work of many artists in the last half century has shown either direct or indirect influence by the Beach Boys, and many have attempted to emulate both the subject matter and sonic majesty of the records. Originally many, such as the likes of Tony Rivers and the Castaways, were British acts seemingly trying to cash in on the new found popularity among the public for early Beach Boys records. This has continued to the present day, with some acts - as with the recent Explorers Club album - at times almost displaying their love of the music to almost cloying, pastiche levels. The album closest to evoking the spirit of the Beach Boys stuff I hold dearest is Mark Eric's 'A Midsummer's Day Dream'. Mark Eric Malmborg was an occasional model and actor who in 1968 wrote a number of songs, intending to have them covered by others. At some point he changed his mind, recorded them himself and produced an LP that to this ear holds its roots in the Beach Boys' 1965 'The Beach Boys Today!' and 1966 'Pet Sounds' albums. Not only is this evident in the warm harmonies and beautiful orchestration, but in the subject matter which - through such tracks as 'Build Your Own Dream', 'Where Do the Girls of the Summer Go' and 'Don't Cry Over Me' carry a consistent themes of longing, thwarted love, frustration and of teenage change so frequently found in Wilson's early efforts. The album died at the time of its June 1969 release as the world's attention turned to Woodstock and the more aggressive anti-Vietnam recordings of the time, but in recent years has been reissued and developed a cult following.



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