Printer Friendly

URL: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/22826735/brian_wilson_the_essential_album_guide

Rollingstone.com

Back to Brian Wilson: The Essential Album Guide

Brian Wilson: The Essential Album Guide

From the Beach Boys' "Surfin U.S.A." to his latter-day solo masterpieces, the best of the pop genius

ROLLING STONE

Posted Sep 18, 2008 11:10 AM

• Brian Wilson's L.A. Love Letter

SURFIN' SAFARI (1962)
Key Tracks: "Surfin' Safari," "Chug-A-Lug"
Quick Take: Brian Wilson formed the Beach Boys in 1961 when he was 20, with his two younger brothers, Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and neighbor Alan Jardine (who was replaced on two early albums by another childhood friend David Marks). The group's first recording, the crude doo-wop anthem "Surfin'," became a regional radio hit and drew the attention of Capitol Records. Capitol put out Surfin' Safari in 1962, which also contained the hit title track. Listening to the Beach Boys' early material is a thrill — you can hear Wilson's confidence and abilities grow with each new song, as he crafts increasingly daring instrumental arrangements, drives the group's sunny vocal harmonies into unexpected, often magical places, and develops ingenious ways of using the studio to make his music come to life.

SURFIN' USA (1963)
Key Tracks: "Surfin' USA," "Stoked"
Quick Take: Though there are some excellent surf instrumentals on it (including Brian Wilson's thrilling "Stoked"), Surfin' USA exists mostly as a conduit for the title track, which gave the Beach Boys their first big pop hit. No song mapped Wilson's vision better than "Surfin' USA," which combined Chuck Berry's rock & roll guitar with the intricate vocal harmonies of the Four Freshman for a buzzing, infectious rush of pop perfection.

SURFER GIRL (1963)
Key Tracks: "Surfer Girl," "Your Summer Dream"
Quick Take: Though many of Brian Wilson's early hits revolved around infectious fun, not all of the songs were about waves and cars. From the start many were about Wilson's own loneliness, vulnerability and deep psychic pain. Many of the songs on Surfer Girl, including the delicately melancholy "In My Room" and the yearning title track, hinted at a heavy undertow pulling below the group's frothy surface. "Your Summer Dream" is also a heartbreaker.

LITTLE DEUCE COUPE (1963)
Key Tracks: "LIttle Deuce Coupe," "No-Go Showboat"
Quick Take: Shortly after the release of Surfer Girl, Capitol put out a compilation called Shut Down that contained two Beach Boys songs. Upset that he had not been consulted about the release, Brian Wilson recorded Little Deuce Coupe as a way to protect his band. Cut and released in little over a month, Little Deuce Coupe is a remarkably strong album featuring the hit title cut and the bracing "409."

SHUT DOWN VOLUME 2 (1964)
Key Tracks: "Don't Worry Baby," "The Warmth of the Sun"
Quick Take: Though it's got more filler than any of the Beach Boys' early hits, Shut Down Volume 2 contains some of the highest peaks of their '60s work. "Pom Pom Play Girl" is a fun song that contained Carl Wilson's first lead vocal, while "Don't Worry, Baby" and "The Warmth of the Sun" are among the most lush and wonderful songs the Beach Boys ever recorded. Brian Wilson's production on "Don't Worry Baby" is tight and crafty — only Phil Spector could be counted amongst his peers at the time.

ALL SUMMER LONG (1964)
Key Tracks: "I Get Around," "Wendy"
Quick Take: Starting with All Summer Long, Brian Wilson became consumed with competing with the Beatles and making the Beach Boys the premiere rock group. He became more focused on intensive songwriter and production sessions, and the results are stunning. "Wendy" is a raw, tender tune and "I Get Around," with its handclap rhythm, surf guitar riff and Wilson's wild falsetto, is a career high point.

TODAY! (1965)
Key Tracks: "Kiss Me, Baby," "Please Let Me Wonder"
Quick Take: Today! marked a turning point — while the rest of the Beach Boys toured without him, Brian Wilson had unlimited time to perfect his arrangements and develop his studio craft. The Beach Boys had essentially become Brian's band. And Brian wasn't writing novelty surf songs anymore. The results crystallize on the second half of Today!. The music is orchestral, idiosyncratic, and revealing — a direct line into Wilson's troubled romantic soul. "Kiss Me, Baby" and "Please Let Me Wonder," in particular, are as complex and personal as any pop music ever made. While Pet Sounds remains Wilson's masterpiece, the second side of Today! is where that album really starts.

SUMMER DAYS (AND SUMMER NIGHTS!!) (1965)
Key Tracks: "California Girls," "Girl Don't Tell Me"
Quick Take: Following Today!, the Beach Boys rushed out Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!), notable mainly for the stellar single "California Girls," then Brian went back to the studio to finish Pet Sounds. Even though it was recorded quickly, Wilson's songcraft is still evident on "The Girl From New York City" and the lush "Let Him Run Wild."

PET SOUNDS (1966)
Key Tracks: "God Only Knows," "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
Quick Take: Inspired by the Beatles' Rubber Soul, Pet Sounds was Wilson's attempt to make an entire coherent, emotionally honest record — a song cycle of loneliness, hope, and the search for love. It was also his most elaborate production, for which Wilson created complex, unorthodox instrumental landscapes to give his songs a breathtaking majesty. "God Only Knows," one of the great love songs of all time, and "Caroline, No," Brian's heartbreaking meditation on lost innocence, may be the most remarkable tracks, but from start to finish Pet Sounds is mind-blowingly transcendent even decades after it was made.

SMILEY SMILE (1967)
Key Tracks: "Heroes and Villains," "Good Vibrations"
Quick Take: Brian soon returned to the studio with the idea of making an album even more complex than Pet Sounds — one he intended to change pop music forever. Collaborating with lyricist Van Dyke Parks, Wilson started on Smile, which featured intricate vocal sections, songs divided into suitelike parts, and generally the most far-out experiments he'd attempted. The other Beach Boys didn't support Brian's extravagant efforts, and Wilson, already wrestling with his own mental instability and the emotional fallout from experiments with pot and LSD, buckled under the pressure. The album was abandoned. The group attempted to salvage the Smile fiasco with the inconsistent Smiley Smile, for which they pieced together rerecorded portions of Smile's epic "Heroes and Villains," "Vegetables," and the lovely "Wonderful," as well as the hit single "Good Vibrations." Released in September 1967, at the height of the summer of love, LSD, and political turmoil over the Vietnam War, the album was like a strange throwback — it highlighted how out of touch these suburban California surfers had become with the psychedelic times.

FRIENDS (1968)
Key Tracks: "Meant For You," "Busy Doin' Nothin'"
Quick Take: Following the 1967 release of Smiley Smile (which bombed) and the further division between Brian and the rest of the band, the Beach Boys' commercial career never quite recovered. But they continued to make some fascinating, mostly overlooked music. If you can get past sappy wannabe-hippie tracks such as "Wake the World" and "Transcendental Meditation," Friends is gorgeous, with standout moments including "Meant for You," one of Mike Love's finest vocals, and Brian's "Busy Doin' Nothin'," a samba shuffle in which Wilson details his homebound life — the lyrics even include a to-do list for the day and an invitation to come visit him (complete with directions to his house).

SUNFLOWER (1970)
Key Tracks: "This Whole World," "Our Sweet Love"
Quick Take: Following a lawsuit against Capitol, the Beach Boys landed at Reprise. Sunflower is the epitome of '70s California cool. Songs such as "This Whole World," "Add Some Music to Your Day," "Forever" and "Cool, Cool Water" are filled with crisp melodies, delicate harmonies, and a mood of hope and sunshine. While it's often written that the Beach Boys never recovered once Brian abdicated leadership , Sunflower is a testament to what they could still do as a group.

HOLLAND (1973)
Key Tracks: "Sail on Sailor," "Funky Pretty"
Quick Take: Holland was an attempt to give the band a fresh start, so they went to Holland to record. Brian backed out at the last minute, though it does feature a pair of his excellent songs, "Sail on Sailor" and "Funky Pretty" (both sung by drummer Ricky Fataar.) Holland is a mess, but an interesting one.

LOVE YOU (1977)
Key Tracks: "Good Time," "I'll Be He's Nice"
Quick Take: Brian Wilson floated in and out of the Beach Boys universe sporadically throughout the '70s, which is why many of those albums (like 1976's covers-heavy 15 Big Ones) were forgettable. But Love You is one of Wilson's most overlooked works, essentially a Brian solo album, with gentle piano melodies in songs that show a man who's been damaged but not destroyed. It also features some hilarious and bizarre tunes, such as "Johnny Carson," an adoring ode to the late-night television host. The album didn't get much attention, and the Beach Boys went on without Brian.

THE BEACH BOYS (1985)
Key Tracks: "Crack at Your Love," "California Calling"
Quick Take: Brian Wilson was back in the fold (albeit in limited capacity) for the band's self-titled 1985 album. Beach Boys was an attempt to embrace technology like synthesizers and drum machines, but the pieces don't quite fit. The album also welcomes a number of guests (including Stevie Wonder, Roy Hay and members of Culture Club), which makes the whole thing sound like a strange '80s all-star album rather than a Beach Boys release. As usual, Brian Wilson's contributions (most notably "I'm So Lonely") are the clear highlights.

BRIAN WILSON (1988)
Key Tracks: "Love and Mercy," "Little Children"
Quick Take: Brian Wilson's return to recording and touring without his longtime band was among rock's most heartwarming stories. Here at last was an opportunity for Wilson to bask in the glow of his past achievements and to create songs that, while hardly the equal of his best works, suggested that he was once again engaged with his audience and the world outside his bedroom. For his solo debut, Wilson demonstrates that his songwriting muse has not abandoned him completely with the man-out-of-time innocence of "Love and Mercy," "Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long," and "Melt Away" harkening back to his mid-'60s heyday, while the weird mix of paranoia and vampirish anticipation on "Night Time" bespeaks Wilson's troubled life. However, dated synth-heavy production makes the album almost unlistenable.

I JUST WASN'T MADE FOR THESE TIMES (1995)
Key Tracks: "Melt Away," "Still I Dream Of It"
Quick Take: The Don Was?produced soundtrack to the Wilson documentary I Just Wasn't Made for These Times that best represents the post?Beach Boys Wilson. It presents him in a small-combo setting, singing with a frayed openness that is oddly moving. In this setting, "Love and Mercy" and "Melt Away" bloom, while some of his more profound if lesser-known Beach Boys songs ("The Warmth of the Sun," "'Til I Die") are illuminated. There's also a harrowing moment, a 1976 demo of "Still I Dream of It," with a ragged and off-key Wilson pouring out his pain at the piano.

IMAGINATION (1998)
Key Tracks: "Your Imagination," "She Says That She Needs Me"
Quick Take: The sound of Imagination strongly recalls Pet Sounds; unfortunately, the songs aren't anywhere near as good. Like most rock & roll visionaries, Wilson thrives on teamwork, and this time he doesn't get much help from his friends. His rural Illinois neighbor and co-producer, one Joe Thomas, doesn't add anything fresh either in the songs or in the sonics, and a legend like Wilson could find snazzier collaborators than J.D. Souther and the keyboardist from Survivor. But Imagination perks up when Wilson gets ahold of decent tunes like "Your Imagination," "Dream Angel" and "Sunshine." He writes a touching elegy for his late brother Carl in "Lay Down Burden" and also remakes a pair of Beach Boys oldies in "Let Him Run Wild" and "Keep an Eye on Summer."

GETTIN' IN OVER MY HEAD (2004)
Key Tracks: "City Blues," "Don't Let Her Know She's An Angel"
Quick Take: Gettin' In Over My Head, Wilson's first studio album in six years, is an agreeable piece of work with cameos from Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and Elton John. Wilson is still frighteningly detached from the moment, though; it's best to think of this one as a celebrity children's record.

SMILE (2004)
Key Tracks: "Heroes and Villains," "Child Is the Father of the Man"
Quick Take: Thirty-eight years after he abandoned Smile, Brian Wilson was nudged back into the studio to re-create the album he once intended to be his masterpiece. And while rock's most famous lost recording could not possibly live up to its own legend, Smile is a joy on its own terms — filled with majestic harmonies, lush string and horn arrangements, gorgeous melodies and Wilson's sly sense of humor. Shaped largely by Darian Sahanaja, the musical director of Wilson's touring band, the album is arranged into three suites built around key compositions: "Heroes and Villains," "Surf's Up," and "Good Vibrations." And while none of these familiar songs is necessarily better sounding than the original version listeners have heard before (Wilson's voice is nowhere near as expressive as it once was and clearly strains in parts), the arrangements are terrific.

THAT LUCKY OLD SUN (2008)
Key Tracks: "Good Kind of Love," "Midnight's Another Day"
Quick Take: A series of compact tunes and spoken reveries written by Wilson with Scott Bennett and original Smile lyricist Van Dyke Parks, That Lucky Old Sun is blatantly nostalgic in its pre-acid California dreaming (the title cover was a 1949 hit for Frankie Laine) and echoes of Wilson's early less-troubled bloom: the surf-side doo-wop of "Good Kind of Love," the deep saxes and vibraphone in "Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl." His voice is drowsy and uneven in the narratives, but he sings with a reborn will, even when the truth hurts.