Stephen Kalinich and Alan Boyd

You're The Beautiful
Stephen Kalinich and Alan Boyd

ALAN BOYD:
Steve Kalinich and I had started writing at some point. He brought over some lyrics and was putting music to them. We had a really nice collaboration going. I really enjoy working with him. "You're the Beautiful" started off as a completely different concept in the wake of 9/11 as "It's the Beautiful" (It reference to the incident]. The track is really Stevie's concept.

The music was starting to come out fairly easily. At one point we both kind of looked at each other and said, let's call it "You're the Beautiful" and make it a more personal thing. From that point on the track kind of wrote itself. As I recall, it was a fairly fast collaboration. At some point when I was with Dane and Marisa Conover up at their studio in Sacramento I brought that along. We were working on the "Beach Boys Britain" song. I figured that while I was there they could do some backing vocals on it.

Other things started happening, so it got put aside. When this project came up it was kind of sitting there - saying - record me. (laughs) So I did. It's just a very simple, from-the-heart little love song, very direct and to the point. The title sums it up.

STEPHEN KALINICH:
"You're the Beautiful" to me, is a masterpiece. I can't tell you how beautiful the music is. Alan told me that I was the catalyst to bringing him out. Also, he was helping me. Really, what I am saying and what Brian's saying is: You've got to have the music come alive in you; you've got to have the spirit come alive in you; you've got to have the truth, the feeling, the touch come alive in you where you are.

(The truth is) I don't know what the hell I'm doing. It comes out: the lyrics. These things that I'm telling you are after thoughts. It's so spontaneous (and) it's so magical as it's coming. There's no thought process. It's instant love moving through my experience. Alan Boyd is a monster (talent). He is so good!

Even though we turned this song into a love song to a woman, it was originally written as a love song to America to counteract all the ugliness (from 9/11).
I love it man! I'm so thrilled over it. I'm just honored.

Channel Surfing

The 16 track album, which includes a pair of recent collaborations with longtime Beach Boys’ lyricist STEPHEN KALINICH, was officially released in December 2004.