SURF'S UP ( BRIAN WILSON VAN DYKE PARKS BEACH BOYS COVER ) 02.06.11

[goldenoakretriever]

Great job dude!

[michaelthorner]

@goldenoakretriever Thank you!

[rjpg]

wow, you even have the guy reading Priore's book. Cool cover of the song!

[michaelthorner]

@rjpg lol yeah, Alex Cheung @alexfiddle on Twitter who was reading the Dominic Priore book in the background also helped me set the mic and piano levels. Big thanks to him for that.

[michaelthorner]

@rjpg And thank you for checking out my clip! I've always thought this song might be Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Park's greatest song.

[kennyg03]

Incredible cover ! It's so awesome that now you could officially enjoy the actual SMiLE album now as well !

[michaelthorner]

@kennyg03 Thank you! Yes, it's great that it's finally out officially. I'm saving up to buy the box set, as I don't think the 2-disc version would satisfy me, after all these years of waiting. :-)

[kennyg03]

@michaelthorner Exactly what I did. It's worth every penny. As fun as the bootlegs were, it's about time for the real thing. Hope you enjoy the album Michael and as always great music !

[dmorris395]

great performance

I'm a novice piano player who is trying to find the chords to this song. If you could point me in the right direction, I would be grateful

Once again, fantastic

[CeeRoyJenkins]

Would you happen to have the chords/sheet music to this piece? I would love to learn it!

[commonteri]

One of my favorite songs by Brian and you did a great rendition.

[eyedoc1956]

I quite familiar with the Wilson catalog. You did a superb job of Surf's Up, and capture many of the subtleties. The tempo was perfect, and you hit the high notes. What's more, there were undertones of Carl Wilson nasal resonance in there as well. I am extremely impressed. A phenomenal job. I'm subscribing at once.

[michaelthorner]

@eyedoc1956 Thank you for subscribing, and for your very kind words. I've had since around 1988 to digest this song, and have been playing it on piano since 1996, so it means a lot to me for you to say I've captured some of the subtleties of the song. It's one of the finest songs out there, and it's a pleasure to play it. I hope I do it some justice.

[michaelthorner]

@thestarproject80 Thanks for listening! I listened to your stuff last night. I like it!

[misterjoecool]

Surf's Up is so lovingly recreated that if the Oxford English Dictionary want a new definition of the word "respect", they should point folks to this video.

[alenbomb]

really nice

[michaelthorner]

@alenbomb Thank you! Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks are geniuses.

[adwolf16]

i can't even explain how much i love listening to your interpretations of Brian's masterpieces. i've been working on covering the entire SMiLE album (as structured in 2004) for the better part of the last year.. and just when i (foolishly) think i couldn't appreciate the music any more, your version shows me a new side of it. tremendous!

[michaelthorner]

@adwolf16 Thank you for listening to them. I love your version of 'Til I Die. Our Prayer is quite lovely too. I'm actually eager to hear more.

[MultiMickyt]

love it ..

[pigjamelectric]

All soul. You made it yours, man. Great job!

[michaelthorner]

@pigjamelectric Thanks for stopping by!

[thevigilanteoflove]

This was fantastic. It gets me even more excited for The Smile Sessions.

[michaelthorner]

@thevigilanteoflove Thanks man. I'm looking forward to it too!

[iamdavidnichols]

Great cover. I really like that you took the time to write about the song as well. I agree that Surf's Up is just as good as anything Bach composed. That's how I feel about a lot of Brian's music, as well as Van Dyke's. I too had a chance to meet him on his recent tour with Clare and the Reasons. He sat with my girlfriend and I during dinner before the show. We talked about elephant graveyards, college, t-shirt printing, and he called my girlfriend and I "young moderns". What a treat!

[michaelthorner]

@iamdavidnichols Thanks for listening. Glad you got a chance to meet Van Dyke Parks too! Aren't Clare and the Reasons great? I really enjoyed their collaboration with Parks.

[menziesmilngavie]

A lot bettter than most.

[michaelthorner]

@menziesmilngavie Thanks. Hey, I see you're from the UK. I went over to see BW at Royal Festival Hall in 2002 for the Pet Sounds Live tour. Great show. They did a stellar, cookin' version of Marcella that night, whoa.

[DorianLS]

Very nicely done cover!

[michaelthorner]

@DorianLS Thanks! Appreciate it.

[markanthony16]

well done! always a pleasure to listen to you

[michaelthorner]

@markanthony16 Thanks Mark!

[skotty1992]

great cover as always Michael, the audio sounds better then ever! nice set up. Hi person in the background! lol

[demiser]

I had already watched the scientist cover, it never hit me that it was Alex! Does Alex have a youtube channel aswell? Pause at 0:00 :) you look so serious!

[michaelthorner]

@demiser Alex Cheung's YouTube channel is "cyberac" . And I'm only serious when someone pushes the pause button on me. ;-)

[flowerdoodle]

Oh, good cover, Mike. Nice high notes there, too. Id love to be there to hit the velvety background vox (with help from your friend in the background) on the "dove nested towers" part and the end bits- the "chum, chum, pa- chum-chum". Love the work you put into these-thank you!

[demiser]

Micheal, i would subscribe to you again if i could xD

So now that you went all high quality upon us, you do realise you can't go back right?

Also is there a dual cover on the way with you and alex?

[michaelthorner]

@demiser Alex Cheung helped me out on violin on my cover interpretation of the Coldplay song The Scientist. Check it out, he's a great player!