Weekly Album - Week of 07/02 - 07/08 - Song Cycle

This week I listened to Song Cycle by Van Dyke Parks. This album came to my attention through Parks' involvement with the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson on their unfinished Smile album. I was always a fan of Parks' writing for many of the Smile songs, and always thought I should give this album a shot. It took me a while to work up to it, as I fell out of my intense love for the Beach Boys for a time, but I came back to them just prior to Brian Wilson's death. As a result of that and getting back into the Smile material, I put this album on the list for the weekly album so I could finally listen to it. I can tell you that this album certainly did not disappoint. It blends together so many things that I love: Old-style dance band music, orchestral influences, some psychedelia/experimental elements, historical/Americana references, and Parks' fantastic wordplay. All of the songs are fantastic, even ones like the short sound collage, "Van Dyke Parks". They add so much to the feel and pacing of the album, which isn't something I think about too much but the pacing on this album is incredible. It is up there most perfectly paced album in my opinion. The songs are all in this style that is part orchestral/progressive pop and part psychedelic, where they might sound a little weird or obtuse at times but those are the things that make it so interesting to me. All of this also has this "old-timey" tint over it so to speak, with the orchestral arrangements invoking 1920s and 30s musicals and the use of instruments like the mandolin and tack piano invoking the southern and western parts of the United States, which is fitting considering this album is largely about the USA and California. It all meshes together so well and almost feels like it was made for me. Overall this is an amazing album and certainly one of the best I've ever heard. 10/10