This double-CD set,
Brilliant Colors: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings, should be a no-brainer of a purchase for anyone who is an admirer of
Van Dyke Parks'
Song Cycle,
Richard Harris' two
Jimmy Webb collaborations (
A Tramp Shining and
The Yard Went on Forever),
the Free Design's classic '60s albums, the extant fragments of
Brian Wilson's previously lost
SMiLE album, or any of the other classic examples of ornate late '60s
psychedelic pop -- not that what's here is exactly
psychedelic, so much as
baroque pop, with lots of elaborate, occasionally "out-there"
orchestral arrangements that luxuriate in their own ornate weirdness, sort of like
Parks'
"The All Golden" or
"Palm Desert." The
Neon Philharmonic's two albums
The Moth Confesses and
The Neon Philharmonic are both represented (in superb sound) on the first CD, but the real treat is the 58-minute long second disc, which encompasses the group's singles -- once one gets past the four cuts lifted off of
The Moth Confesses, most of the rest is comprised of some very pretty and nicely produced non-LP single sides that are some of the most enjoyable unknown
sunshine pop of the period, and, as
Andy Zax, the annotator of this set observes, virtually a third LP in breadth and content.
"Flowers for Your Pillow" and
"To Be Continued" sound like lost
Jimmy Webb productions circa 1967, and
"A Little Love" is such a radiantly upbeat piece of
pop-rock that it's amazing it didn't do more for the act as a single; the disc finishes with a string of radio promotion spots for the group. Not all of singles are as inventive or impressive as those tracks -- a lot of it would make one think of what might've happened had
Richard Carpenter been given a budget and the job of generating upbeat
sunshine pop music without the services of his sister around, say, 1970 -- and some of what's here shows signs of marking time, but the overall vibe of this music is still seductive thirty-some years later, if not quite as compelling as the very best work in this genre. Additionally, the annotation is so extensive and fascinating as to seriously enhance the value of the set -- what it tells us about the music business and the era in which this music was generated makes it essential reading, almost more than some of the
Neon Philharmonic's music is essential listening. ~ Bruce Eder
![Wild in the Streets [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0715187929326_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Wild in the Streets [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]")
![3 in the Attic [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0715187929227_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "3 in the Attic [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]")
