"Cabin Essence"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

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Every other year, I try to listen to all of my music, and while doing this (successfully!) last year, I started to notice the many different ways in which trains can be musically portrayed.  This included the sweeping vocal parts in "Cabin Essence" (I wrote that post really early in the project and got a lot better at writing things as it went on).  At the time, I didn't have the SMiLE Sessions box set, but once I did get it, I also noticed the dobro in the 1966 version of "Cabin Essence" (in track 9 on disc 3 ["Cabin Essence: Chorus"], Brian Wilson mentions it specifically).  It provides a sound that's apparently meant to reflect the hammering of railroad spikes.

Last month, I got a CD of Die Goldene Sieben - a German big band group from the mid- to late-30s.  One of their songs ("Weil der D-Zug-Führer heute Hochzeit macht" ["Because the Express Train Conductor Is Getting Married Today"] credited to Schröder and Beckmann and from 1938) also has - at the very end - this plinking sound to resemble hammering on railroad spikes.  I'm not sure if it's a dobro, but the same effect is achieved.

I remembered this when I listened to disc one of the SMiLE Sessions a few days ago, so I thought I would mention it here.  I don't think it's likely that Brian Wilson knew about Die Goldene Sieben or even "Weil der D-Zug-Führer heute Hochzeit macht" specifically, but I thought it was interesting that there is historical precedence for that dobro effect.