Nelson Bragg - We're Gonna Laugh About It
Big Stir Records is thrilled to welcome our longtime friend and beloved LA pop scene veteran NELSON BRAGG to our official roster with the new single “We're Gonna Laugh About It”. The first preview of a new and definitive collection on the way from Nelson in the coming months, it's a hopeful and harmony-filled example of his celebrated Southern California sound, out on all digital platforms May 9 and up for pre-order.
NELSON BRAGG has been known for decades as a fixture on the LA pop scene, having provided drums, vocals, percussion or guitar to live and recorded performance by local (and global) artists like Stew & TNP, Anny Celsi, The Quarter After, The Mockers, Wrecking Crew members Hal Blaine, Don Randi and Jerry Cole, Chris Stamey, and Andrew Gold. Worldwide, he's recognized by legions of Beach Boys fans for his years as a member of The Brian Wilson Band during Wilson's late-career renaissance period encompassing the long-awaited definitive release of the SMILE album with a lineup largely drawn from LA power pop heroes Wondermints. Along the way, between 2006 and 2021, Bragg himself issued a trilogy of acclaimed solo albums, blending the LA sounds of his peers with some key influences of his own from the pop-leaning side of the college rock scene (think The dB's, The Smithereens and R.E.M.) to create a distinct vibe of his own.
Those who follow Nelson may recall him having recently toyed with the idea of “retirement”, but happily such pronouncements have proven to be premature. Reuniting with Big Stir Records (who issued his 2021 7” 45 “I Want Love”), Bragg has crafted a captivating career summation of an album, packed with the highlights of his cult classic records, rarities and new mixes, and crowned by the glorious new song featured on this single. Of the Squeeze-inspired “We're Gonna Laugh About”, Nelson says, “It's a brand new song. I'd given up songwriting for good reason, but when I committed to this Best-Of collection, I knew I had to write one as an exclusive track. So I pulled out the 12-string. I think the state of the world right now created the title, but I didn't want it to be a message-heavy, life-lesson, therapy type song, so I wrote verses that spoke fondly about everyday life as a youth.”
“In the end, though, I'm singing 'after the monsters have come and gone, we're going to laugh about it'. So yeah, while this song reflects my years in the 70s and 80s, it's also a hopeful message for our future.” Of the sparkling recording, Nelson adds: “JK Harrison, all the way from Yorkshire UK, played the killer bass track, the electric guitars and that great lick in the middle. I played everything else... 12-string Rickys too.” Privately, Bragg has shared with us that he feels he's lived up to the Greatest Hits pressure of delivering what may be his best song ever, and we suspect that despite the high standards he's set for himself, his fans will agree. With a track this strong sitting atop a stack of should've-been-hits, one can't help but think NELSON BRAGG isn't done with music yet... and we join his followers in hoping that maybe one day we'll laugh about that, too!
