Brian Wilson's L.A. Love Letter

The new disc began in Bennett's bedroom studio in the summer of 2006, while Wilson's wife, Melinda, and their three kids were on vacation. "He'd come over, and we'd have a Corona and get to work," says Bennett. "I think Brian thrived on the fact that we weren't anywhere there were going to be people peeking in and celebrities showing up — it was just him and me in a bedroom, and he was, like, on fire."

While the concept was to make a record about Southern California, Bennett says Wilson's lyrical ideas often led them in more personal directions. "He set the tone on songs like 'Oxygen to the Brain' — that confessional thing," Bennett says. "He was willing to admit, 'Hey, I lost it for a while. . . .' So I thought, 'OK, he's willing to go there.' "

"To me," he adds, "what moves people about Brian Wilson, beyond the beautiful melodies and harmonies, is 'Here's Brian Wilson. He's survived; he's alive.' I wanted this record to encapsulate that."

Wilson brought in his longtime collaborator Van Dyke Parks to write the spoken-word narrations and some songs. After most of the record was together, Darian Sahanaja, a band member who was Wilson's main collaborator on Smile, helped shape the material into a similarly interwoven, thematic song cycle. "I think it's very beautiful, very spiritual," Wilson says. "It gives me a good feeling."

After breakfast, Wilson says he's got to get home to pack because he's flying to Europe tonight to start his summer tour. But on the way, he changes his mind, pulls a U-turn in the middle of Mulholland and heads down Benedict Canyon because he feels like driving past the Bel-Air house where he lived in the 1970s. As we pass Cielo Drive, I point out that it's where Charles Manson's Family murdered the actress Sharon Tate in 1969. "My brother Dennis was friends with Manson," Wilson deadpans. "I don't think he had anything to do with it, though." Wilson turns onto Sunset Boulevard, then onto Bellagio, and stops in front of the old Spanish-style mansion where he spent some of his bleakest years, when he often stayed in bed for weeks at a time. He admits he drives by here fairly often. "I think about the past a lot," he says. "Some memories are good, but other ones hurt like hell."

On the way back home, I ask Wilson if he can imagine a time he'll retire. "I can't retire," he says. "If I retired I wouldn't have anything to do. It's still hard for me. It's a struggle. But I gotta keep singing."

"I'm working on a new album now," he says later, as we get near his house. "It's called Pleasure Island: A Rock Fantasy. It's about some guys who took a hike, and they found a place called Pleasure Island. And they met all kinds of chicks, and they went on rides and — it's just a concept. I haven't developed it yet. I think people are going to love it — it could be the best thing I've ever done."

[From Issue 1061 — September 18, 2008]