This Whole World

"This Whole World" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson, that was released on their 1970 album Sunflower. The song features Carl Wilson on lead vocals and is credited as a Beach Boys production. Earlier in the year, it had been included on the Warner Brothers promotional sampler album The Big Ball, and as a single, fronted with "Slip On Through", but did not make the US or UK pop charts.

"This Whole World"
Single by The Beach Boys
from the album Sunflower
A-side"Slip On Through"
ReleasedJune 29, 1970 (1970-06-29)
RecordedNovember 13, 1969 (1969-11-13)
StudioBeach Boys Studio, Los Angeles
GenreRock
Length2:00
LabelBrother/Reprise
Songwriter(s)Brian Wilson
Producer(s)The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Cotton Fields"
(1970)		 "This Whole World"
(1970)		 "Tears in the Morning"
(1970)
Audio sample
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Brian said of the song: "A very special vocal by Carl, and the lyrics are very spiritual. The melody and chord pattern rambles but it comes back to where it started."[1] On the lyrics, he says: "It’s about love in general. ... That song came from deep down in me, from the feeling I had that the whole world should be about love. When I wrote that song I wanted to capture that idea.'"[2]

Recording

The track was recorded in one session on November 13, 1969 at Beach Boys Studio.[3] According to Brian: "I produced that record. I taught Carl the lead and the other guys the background vocal, especially the meditation part at the end: 'Om dot dit it.'"[2]

Critical reception

AllMusic wrote: "Brian reestablished his reputation as one of the most brilliant melody writers and arrangers. With a buoyant melody and an effervescent, classy vocal arrangement, Brian wipes away three years of artistic cobwebs."[4]

In 1978, Beach Boys supporting keyboardist Daryl Dragon commented on the song's various key changes: "From a harmony standpoint, I've never heard a song like that since I've been in pop music. I've never heard a song go through that many changes and come back."[5]

Personnel

Sourced from Craig Slowinski[6]

The Beach Boys
Additional musicians and production staff

Cover versions
See also: List of cover versions of Beach Boys songs
gollark: Er, beaten.
gollark: I've never beat it in vanilla.
gollark: This lighting system has the energy budget of a small nation.
gollark: Ah, *vanilla*.
gollark: Oh, do you run a minecraft server?

References
  1. Wilson, Brian (2002). Classics Selected by Brian Wilson (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
  2. Wilson, Brian; Greenman, Ben (2016). I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-82307-7.
  3. Doe, Andrew Grayham. "1969". Bellagio 10452. Endless Summer Quarterly.
  4. Greenwalk, Matthew. "This Whole World". AllMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  5. Leaf 1978, p. 134.
  6. Slowinski, Craig (Summer 2020). "Sunflower: 50 Year Anniversary Special Edition (Issue 130, Volume 33, No. 3)". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine (Magazine). Charlotte, North Carolina, USA: David Beard. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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