Gary Usher - Beyond a Shadow of Doubt
Product Information
Track List: Beyond a Shadow of Doubt
More Gary Usher CDs and Albums
- Gary Usher Greats, Vol. 1: The Kickstands Vs. The Knights
- Add Some Music to Your Day: 1970 Symphonic Tribute to Brian Wilson
- Symphonic Salute to Brian Wilson
Album Details: Beyond a Shadow of Doubt
- Release Date:
- 12/11/2001
- Label:
- Japanese Import
- UPC:
- 667341738025
User Reviews: Beyond a Shadow of Doubt
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Amazingly complex in its simplicity
, March 2, 2006Reviewer: imaginationfarwell - See all imaginationfarwell's reviews
read all (1) user reviews for Beyond a Shadow of Doubt
Pro Reviews: Beyond a Shadow of Doubt
| EXPERT RATING: From AMG Reviews Gary Usher had been a prolific and successful producer of countless energetic (and somewhat formulaic) surfand hot rod records in the mid1960s, and when that fad passed, he did masterful production jobs on some classic albums, including Younger Than Yesterday, The Notorious Byrd Brothers and Sweetheart of the Rodeo by the Byrds. But he longed for more creative input in the studio, and he undertook the Beyond a Shadow of Doubt project, enlisting singer and writer Dick Campbell and fellow west coast producer Curt Boettcher to assist him. A concept album of sorts, Beyond a Shadow of Doubt was never really finished, and this Japanese import is essentially made up of preproduction demo recordings. Not that you'd know it, since Usher's demo work was as polished as most people's finished product, and this release has a lovely, hazy sonic quality. Unfortunately, the writing has that same trait, and haziness is the key word here, as rainbows, sunbeams and crystal lights pop up time and time again in the lyrics, which seem to drift along according to some vaguely New Age logic, and while the concept seems to be somebody on a journey, the journey is mostly an inner one, and those are always the hardest to chart. As long as you don't expect a whole lot of narrative sense from these tracks, but accept them as pure moods or the musings of a mind caught up in the rarified atmosphere of late1960s California, Beyond a Shadow of Doubt holds together pretty well, and individual songs like "Everything Turns Out Right," "Slippin'" and "Go Rocket Go" (which sounds like some great lost song the Byrds never got around to recording) have wonderful melodies and are delicately done. Edited, this could be one heck of a sunshine country pop record. Casual listeners will no doubt feel that this CD drifts by in a brightsounding but ultimately meaningless ennui, while fans of Usher's work (and there are many of those, thankfully) will conversely find it wise, brilliant and essential. The truth, as it does in most things, falls to the middle. - Steve Leggett , All Music Guide |
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Gary Usher Biography
Gary Usher's importance in the history of California rock is considerable. He co-wrote several of the Beach Boys' early songs with Brian Wilson, including classics like "In My Room" and "409," and produced the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday and Notori...Full Gary Usher Biography
-- ©2008 All Media Guide, LLC
Pros: Plenty of good vocals and arrangements
Cons: Never commercially produced
Demo cuts of great songs assembled 11 years after Gary's death in 1990. I used to listen to this album everyday when Gary first put it together. It's my favorite Gary Usher Album.