In 1966, the Beach Boys released Pet Sounds, which included the hit tracks "God Only Knows," "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" and the re-arranged traditional "Sloop John B." It marked a creative crescendo in the career of primary songwriter, producer and arranger Brian Wilson.
The album went on to reside at or near the top of virtually every rock critic's list of the most influential pop albums of the last 50 years, including a 2003 Rolling Stone tally of the "greatest albums of all time." It took the number two spot on that prestigious roster, just below the top-ranked Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles, which according to (Sir) Paul McCartney was greatly influenced by Pet Sounds.
The album was followed directly by the Beach Boys' biggest chart success in the #1 hit single "Good Vibrations," one of the earlier records to use the theremin and to earn a "platinum" (million-selling) designation.
In the wake of such massive success, the young Brian Wilson imploded for a time, struggling with issues from drugs to mental illness to eating disorders and antisocial behavior, as well as undergoing a period of what many might have called highly questionable therapy by the controversial Dr. Eugene Landy. The legendary album SMiLE, on which production was halted during 1967's "summer of love," languished as an unfinished, unreleased masterpiece until it was resurrected decades later with the aid of Brian's latest touring band, which includes former Beach Boy guitarist/vocalist Jeff Foskett and members of the Wondermints. The recording was finally finished/re-tooled and released after a highly unexpected live performance of its entirety in 2004 at London's Royal Festival Hall.
Having just turned 66, Wilson seems to have hit a renaissance in his life and musical career—he and his band have been touring frequently. Since releasing his second solo album, Imagination, in 1998, he's managed to conquer the stage fright that contributed to his reputation as a recluse and a studio mole, and seeing him play live again has warmed the hearts of even the iciest Los Angeles music moguls, retrieving him from the land of myth and reminding everyone how human he is. In 2006, his band kicked off a tour at a sold-out UCLA show wherein they performed the entire Pet Sounds album, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the record's release. The band will close the 2008 summer season in September with three shows at the Hollywood Bowl.
Wilson has been a man to whom making music is both a refuge and a religion, an art and a science, a raison d'etre. Interviewing Brian was like—well, interviewing a living legend. That said, it was hard to tell if his somewhat impenetrable demeanor was due to a probably incessant stream of inquiries from people like me, a 'California' attitude that subscribes more to the zen notion of 'the doing' than the 'talking about the doing,' or just a limited aptitude and/or taste for verbal or telephone interaction. I was a bit nervous, but he was perfectly calm, personable and reasonably lucid if somewhat terse in his responses as he waited to board a plane for London. (Small portions of our conversation were drowned out or garbled by airport noise.)
Valley Advocate: Let me first say, Happy belated birthday.
Brian Wilson: Oh, thanks.
Friday (June 20) was your birthday, correct?
Yeah.
I'm a fellow Gemini.
Oh, good.
I was supposed to talk to you on your birthday, but Jean [Sievers, Brian's publicist] said your friends kidnapped you or something.
Yeah. They… (Airport noise.)
So what was it like growing up playing music with your family, with all your brothers?
It was fun; we had fun together. We used to sing in our bedroom, we'd harmonize together and stuff, yeah—we had a good time. I was 14 or about 15 and they were like 13 and 11.
Have you ever lived outside California?
No, I haven't ever. Well—I moved to St. Charles, Illinois for about two months, near Chicago. I went there to make an album, but then I moved back to L.A.
What do you think of the Internet and the effect it's had on music?
Well, a lot of people can hear music that way, you know, instead of going to the record store. You know what I mean? They can have a phone listening on the Internet.
I saw a great video that you guys made on your website (www.brianwilson.com). So are you touring with that whole orchestra?
Yeah, yeah, uh—(After some confusion and consultation with bandmate/travel buddy Jeffrey Foskett)—no, there's just 11 of us. Twelve of us.
A few years ago you did something to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims, where you called a zillion people on the phone [anyone who donated $100 or more].
Right, right, I'd call lots of people, and they'd donate money. I'd answer questions for them, like—trivia kinds of questions& It was pretty tedious, but it was worth it.
Well, it seems like you did a lot of good. [Wilson and his wife, Melinda, raised over a quarter of a million dollars for the cause.]
Yeah, we did. We did a lot of good.
Are you interested in doing any more [charity] work like that?
Well, not really, not really—I just want to do my tours, you know?
Can you tell us about finally bringing the SMiLE record out a few years ago?
Yeah—we decided it was time for people to hear it, you know? So we premiered it in London, and it went over fantastic.
Wilson's new record, slated to be released on September 2 on CD, deluxe CD/DVD, limited edition vinyl and digitally, appears to be largely a group effort, featuring a host of studio musicians including brass and string sections, a tightly-polished core band and a Brian who looks (in the promo video) happy as a clam in his preferred element. The camera crew follows his somewhat historic return to Capitol Records to record the album, his reactions to being back in the same studio where he cranked out so many hits 40 years previously, and the complex processes of production and arrangement of the myriad layers and bit parts that go into making a Brian Wilson record. In the rest of our interview, Brian described the project and talked briefly about his musical influences and evident preference for the tunes of his time.
Can you tell me a little about your new record, That Lucky Old Sun?
Well, it's sort of like a narration album, with narrations, a theme song, and 10 original songs. It's pretty crisp—it's put together very well.
What is the narration about?
It's about L.A., about life in L.A.
Is there any new music that you like right now?
I still like [noted '60s producer] Spector's music—Phil Spector's music, and I like, um& the Beatles.
I mean, is there anyone more current that you've listened to?
No, not really& I mean, I don't listen to music! [Erupts into laughter.] I never listen to music.
I've read surfing that Paul McCartney called your song "God Only Knows" the greatest song ever written. That's got to be pretty high praise.
It really means a lot to me to hear him say that. It really does.
Do you have a favorite song of all time?
Of his?
Of anybody's.
I think "The Long and Winding Road" is my favorite song.
Have you heard the acoustic version of that on the Beatles Anthology album?
No.
It's pretty cool.
Uh-huh.
So you're flying to England and then you'll be coming through here mid-July, right?
Yep. (Pause—airport sounds signaling time to go.) Oop—hey, it's been a great interview.
Yeah, yeah, Brian, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me.
Sure, okay—I'll see you when we hit your place. Your town.
Wilson's music has influenced nearly everything that happened after it in the world of pop. He has been at the heart of several tribute concerts, become the subject of books, films, documentaries and parody songs, been honored by museums, received a Grammy award and Kennedy Center Honors for his lifetime of achievement. In particular, his songwriting, production and arrangement skills have been hailed as truly brilliant, and his legacy is one of inspired focus, bordering-on-obsessive aural perfectionism and unique, deeply personal vision.
In a way, he has also been a being trapped in a time-warp of nostalgia, a musical Austin Powers unfrozen after decades of being essentially out of circulation. I daresay it will be fascinating to see if, like that hairy-chested hero of the psychedelic counterculture, Brian has maintained an eerie 1960s authenticity that few who were more exposed to the cultural milestones of the years in between could ever hope to mimic half as well.
Brian Wilson and his current touring band play the Calvin Theatre this Tuesday, July 15, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $55, $65 and $75. Brian has hinted that songs from throughout his career will be performed. For more information call (413) 596-8686 or visit www.iheg.com.
