R.I.P. Brian Wilson

I was a relative latecomer to Wilson fandom, given that in my childhood, the Beach Boys were pretty much only known as an oldies act that sang about surfing, which was not something that loomed large in my life. Once I hit my 20s and began reading appreciation of Pet Sounds, I saw the genius in his work and sought out the less well-known at the time stuff.

Hopefully his troubled mind is finally at peace.

Sly Stone and Brian Wilson passing within days of each other is brutal. Two of the greatest geniuses of pop music are gone. It's hard to imagine their likes being seen again.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2025 08:00AM by breno.

Noooooo! I hadn't heard that. Aw man, California is crying.

Of course, Beach Boys were "America's Band," the Beatles closest yankee rivals, one of the most (THE most?) successful US groups. But here in Southern California, Brian Wilson is so much more than a pop star. He's like our soul. He's venerated like a saint. Tho since he's so humble and modest, he would never accept as lofty a title as "saint,'' which of course made him all the more saintly! Anytime a mere mortal gets this kind of hero worship, it can seem a little silly to outsiders, but we were proud to have him rep us. Def getting a little misty-eyed here...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2025 08:18AM by MrFab.

Sad news, but as Reno said, he's hopefully experiencing the peace that his troubled mind (and brutal, abusive father) denied him in this life.

I read about Pet Sounds in one of the 33 1/3 books. The writer commented that you don't meet very many young Beach Boys fans. The Beatles continue to find new fans, from one generation to the next, but younger people will know the Beach Boys mostly from commercials. And if you tell a young Beatles fan that the Fab Four viewed the Beach Boys as their biggest rivals, they won't believe you.

So why is that? The author posited that it's mainly because the Beatles knew when to call it quits (and knew enough to keep it that way), whereas Mike Love has run the Beach Boys' reputation into the ground by keeping the show on the road with whatever ringers he can hire. (The Beach Boys' web site shows a concert calendar that's booked pretty solidly through September. Some legit venues on the itinerary, to be sure, but also a lot of casinos and county fairs.) Hell, I saw the Beach Boys in the early '90s at a chili cook-off.

But yeah ... this week is hard to take, losing Sly Stone and Brian Wilson within a couple days of each other.

The Beach Boys have two audiences: the one that knows their hits and the far smaller one that values albums like WILD HONEY, SUNFLOWER & THE BEACH BOYS LOVE YOU.

'THE BEACH BOYS LOVE YOU" - a proto-New Wave (or is it indie?) album. Daniel Johnston years before the fact.

> The Beach Boys have two audiences: the one that knows their hits
> and the far smaller one that values albums like WILD HONEY,
> SUNFLOWER & THE BEACH BOYS LOVE YOU.

I admit, we were in the former camp until we moved to Washington. Our new circle of friends included a couple who was a few years older than us, who still loved to go to concerts. We accompanied them to Jazz Alley a lot. And we went with them to the Paramount Theatre in 2019 to see Brian and his band. (The Zombies were the opening act -- four of the five originals, reunited to pay tribute to Odessey & Oracle. Colin Blunstone was in great voice that night.) Those friends are the ones who showed us what we'd been missing, when it came to the Beach Boys.

I had to check the date, but that book came out in 2005 and as someone was definitely a young person then, that's not my experience at all - Brian Wilson was a god among my true music-loving peers. That set him apart from "The Beach Boys" touring with Mike Love - it was actually cool to go see Brian Wilson and his new band, he had the same cred as any of the indie rock bands the under 30 and under 20 crowd worshipped. I actually met someone who knew someone in Wilson's band around 2005 because I had to go pick up something for a relative - he bought a computer via craigslist which had just taken off - and I saw all the memorabilia on the guy's wall. I told him "Brian Wilson? That's so cool!" and he said, "well at first it was NOT cool but he did it because he needed the money and then it turned out to be this huge thing that no one expected."

But believe me, he was big with the high school and college kids, he was not nostalgia but the godfather for so much of the up-and-coming bands that Pitchfork crowed about.

The best way to view the general public's perception of the Beach Boys is to ask what if everyone just stopped listening to the Beatles after Rubber Soul? "Sure, they wrote a few more complicated songs, but mostly they were just yeah yeah yeah music."

So they get to the point of yeah, "Good Vibrations" is more complex than "Surfin' Safari," but mostly the Beach Boys were just those clean cut boys singing party songs in the early 60s and then had a big comeback with "Kokomo." They have almost no clue that they spent the late 60s and a big chunk of the 70s laboring in obscurity as what was for all intents and purposes an art rock band.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2025 01:11PM by breno.

Yeah, I hear what you guys are saying. Until the mid '90s, I thought of The Beach Boys as being just that fun, fun, fun band. The only Beach Boys on my shelf was the Endless Summer compilation ... and I married into that one, so there's a clue that my wife viewed them more or less the same way. Eventually, we picked up on the general consensus that Pet Sounds had been their landmark album, so we checked that one out. That's where we both heard a different side of The Beach Boys ... one which we began to explore much more seriously after moving to Washington (which, unlike Colorado, has beaches) and connecting with our new friends Dave & Jocelyn. They live in Montana now, so we don't get to see them nearly as often as we would like. But they'll be coming back here in October, to join us to see Booker T Jones at The Triple Door.

[Addendum: We introduced Dave & Jocelyn to XTC's Skylarking. I felt bold enough -- or pompous enough, take your pick -- to tell Dave, "This album is our generation's Pet Sounds"]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/12/2025 06:48AM by Delvin.

I read today that the Beach Boys' unreleased album ADULT/CHILD, recorded with Brian Wilson around 1977, will finally come out later this year. Here's to more "Johnny Carson!"

Wow! Finally. I posted a bootleg of it on my old blog, and they took it down.

It's pretty bonkers, with some "cringy" (as the kids say) moments. I really don't need to hear "Hey Little Tomboy" again. But some real gems as well.

Sting actually gave a nice little tribute to Wilson. (From the sound of it, he may have been the one to break the news to some of his audience members.)

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Against all odds we saw Brian Wilson with Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin in 2016 perform the "Pet Sounds 50th Aniversary" tour. I was never a huge fan of the Beach Boys to say the least. They were similar to ABBA with me in that the songwriting and musicianship was undeniably impeccable on some songs; breathtaking, even. Yet other of their canon was tooth-grindingly awful. But better them performing "Sloop John B." than Simple Minds! Then there's Mike "Love." The Donald Trump of Pop! Don't get me started on him.

We admit to being entranced by the then recent "Love + Mercy" film and following that, When watching it with the sequences of "Good Vibrations" being recorded so we could hear the individual tracks in the mix was so thrilling! Those cellos!!!!!! Afterward, the notion of seeing Wilson in concert became interesting. We were intrigued, but ultimately demurred on an Atlanta tour date last in 2015 as we didn't want to spend the money that would engender. When he came to our town, it was a no-brainer though still a high-end ticket. Truthfully, the last 20 years prior had seen me begin to approach Wilson in a similar way to the way I mentally began warming up to Scott Walker after nearly a decade of intrigue.

The show sounded fantastic! There was a 12-piece band who played everything from theremin to french horn and the sound was perfection with every instrument onstage afforded ample space in the glorious mix. Subtle percussion and even the roving tambourine of Blondie Chaplin was no problem. My wife was so grateful to hear a live sound mix that was not attacking her body for a change. It was utterly beautiful and sonically peerless. It was the kind of show that just isn’t done anymore in the era of “laptop rock” and samplers. Hearing “Good Vibrations” live by those musicians was as good as it got!!

The show also looked fantastic. Lighting ran the gamut from subtle and moody to vibrant and kaleidoscopic with plenty of "dynamic range" to delight the eye.

Al Jardine of The Beach Boys was present and sang as did Brian but Brian was 74 by then and naturally sang the songs in his current lower register. The secret weapon was Jardine's son, who had the sound of young Brian down cold. Often they would split and share the leads for "young Brian" yielding to "old Brian" or vice versa for an intriguing effect on the same song.

Blondie Chaplin, now, as then, was there to provide rock grit. He looked like an exuberant Keith Richards type - rail thin and energetic as he sang and played guitar while roaming the stage. He took the lead on an excellent version of "Wild Honey" that was always a childhood favorite of mine.

The show was never less than gorgeous and uplifting and when playing a long-time, life long favorite of mine like "Good Vibrations," utterly spine tingling. A least likely concert, perhaps, but a supa-fine evening out of my comfort zone. Afterward I was open to getting some of Wilson's solo recordings. That man had a very sophisticated ear, but he looked like he was living under terrible burdens. I can't exactly call the last third of his life a triumph, but it had to be better than his middle period. I hope that his suffering was mitigated somewhat by the dynamic between him and his loved ones.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

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For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®

Wonderful review, Monk! Thanks for sharing.

Yeah, the Brian Wilson show we saw (three years later) was on just that level. Sound quality was outstanding, the song selection ran the gamut, and the musicianship was first-rate all around. Al Jardine was still in great voice, and Blondie Chaplin absolutely shredded on "Sail On Sailor."

Colin Blunstone came out to sing "God Only Knows," and did a marvelous job. When I interviewed Colin a few years later, I got to tell him how much we'd enjoyed seeing The Zombies, and how much we'd enjoyed his cameo on that song. He told me it was quite frightening to stand just ten feet from Brian Wilson while singing "God Only Knows" for an audience.

Same Brian Wilson show I saw! with The Zombies opening, only instead of Blunstone, the whole group came out.

and an appearance by Billy idol. I don't know why.

> and an appearance by Billy idol. I don't know why.

Guess he was in town. You know, like he just happened to be on board the plane in The Wedding Singer.