Brian Wilson - Brian Wilson (Dlx)
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Free Music Notes for Brian Wilson (Dlx)
Free Music Review: Spirit Rock
Hit: 4 Stars
Though the events which surrounded this album upon its release lent the public to think this album was tainted by an over-ambitous Pop Psychologist to the Stars, the album was, and still is, a wonderful testament to the will-power and creativity of one of America's most influential popular culture architects. The album has an overall sound of lush and intricate harmonies that belie the complexity by sounding simple. This degree of sonic wonder has not graced a Beach Boys album since the highly aclaimed Pet Sounds. In fact, the theme of this album, contained in the pleading opening track, is much akin to Pet Sound's theme, love. But Brian tacks on Mercy showing the wisdom he's gained as he finds himself in middle adulthood rather than at the beginning.
After Love and Mercy, Brian lightens things up (something he didn't do much on Pet Sounds) with Walkin' The Line, a simple rock tune that plays with the listener by changing the tempo and layering the instruments in such a way to make your toes tap involuntarily.
One For The Boys is a prime example of Brian's strength at forming very expressive background vocals. Done entirely by himself A Capella and without words, the song says more than most lyrics ever could.
The album closes with a nod to his unreleased Smile album. Rio Grande is the ultimate Rock Opera, slipping from a blue grass bouncy tune to an indian chant, to a tender ballad, to a spooky Night tune, and then back to the triumphant cowboy song that ends with a thunderous vocal tour de force.
And that doesn't even touch on the bonus tracks offered in this compilation. Together this album and the bonus tracks offer more positive vibes and spiritual strength than anyone could expect from a battered and bruised Rock Icon.
Buy this album. Listen to Brian Wilsons Spirit Rock. And then spread his Love and Mercy to you and your friends tonight.
Free Music Review: Is "Rio Grande" a tribute to "River Song"??
Hit: 4 Stars
Great solo album by Brain Wilson that just so happened to be released the same year his band the Beach Boys got their first number one hit since "Good Vibrations" with "Kokomo".I'm not sure which came out first,but maybe the success of Kokomo was what it took to inspire Brian to show everyone who the real genius was.So far this is my favorite Brian Wilson solo album as it seems to retain some of the same magic which made his work in the sixties so special.And oddly enough this is when Brian was under complete supervision of Dr. Landy.Say what you want about Eugene Landy,but I have not heard Brian Wilson this inspired since this release.Not that his others("Imagination","Smile",etc.)are bad.Obviously "Love and Mercy" is a killer song to open the album with,but it doesn't seem to go downhill after it."Walkin the Line" is great."Melt Away" could have been written in the sixties,I love the fade out."Baby Let your Hair grow Long" is a killer song.Listen to the changes in it,this guy didn't go to music school!The middle part makes my jaw drop.Another one of my favorites is "Let it Shine".Nobody could make a song with such simple lyrics as meaningfull as Brian does.It all sounds very sincere.Every song works on it's own and this a great album,but there is one more song I would like to mention."Rio Grande" is kind of a throw back to his Smile era stuff and it is a really cool 8 minutes of music,but there is something about it that I haven't heard anyone mention yet.The "roll on,roll on river" part is clearly a nod to his younger brother Dennis's "River Song".It is almost the same thing and Brian definatley uses it to make his own thing,but I'm surprised nobody addresses this in the liner notes,including Brian.Don't take my word for it;listen to this and then listen to "River Song" off of Dennis's "Pacific Ocean Blue" album from 1977.See what I'm saying?Free Music Review: Flawed gem.
Hit: 4 Stars
This album is a bit of an enigma to me, the material stands up, really well, but there's definitely weaknesses throughout it as well.
Let's start with the good-- certainly, the songs are brilliant-- "Love and Mercy" and "Melt Away", both really great sentimental pieces (the latter in particular is a personal favorite), "There's So Many" and "Let It Shine" both feature great vocal arrangements, and "Rio Grande" is just magnficiant. And certainly many of the others ("Walkin' the Line", "Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight") are more than good enough.
But there are some flaws-- Brian's voice sounds odd to me, I can't place it, almost forced, and his falsetto is definitely limited, probably most obvious on "One For the Boys" and "There's So Many". Beyond this though, the biggest problem with the album is the '80s production, too many synthesizers, some of the songs would (and did in recent live performances) benefit from more acoutic arrangements.
Overall however, the album is rewarding, and you sort of get used to its odd sound.
The bonus tracks on the reissue are so-so, my favorite is actually the track titled "Brian on 'Love and Mercy'", which also features a snippet of a piano-and-vocal demo of the song. The b-sides are kind of blah, but the demos are all really interesting.
Free Music Review: It Just Wasn't Made For Those Times
Hit: 4 Stars
If you compare the vocals on this album to the Beach Boys, there's something missing in the way of tonal variety. They occasionally sound a little compressed, too, and Brian is seemingly intent on following the click track a little too closely for his phrasing. But that's the down side of what is a wonderful album; for me, the finest Brian Wilson product since Sunflower (yeah, I know ... that wasn't exactly a Brian album.) Of course, nobody wanted beautifully crafted pop back then; they were all buying ... what? I certainly can't remember. But I'm still playing this, and I'll still be playing it in another ten years time. I just wish he'd called it "Love And Mercy", as he'd intended.Interesting that this was produced in the notorious "Landy" period, and that "Imagination", in my view a lesser work, was produced in his recently-achieved state of personal freedom and happiness.
This is sung from the heart, and played and produced immaculately. Everyone gave their best for this album, and it shows. There's even the cinematically epic "Rio Grande" for those who still dream of a completed "Smile". If you want a further reason for adding this to your cart, here it is;
It's the tunes.
Free Music Review: Great re-issue of a flawed yet welcome comeback album
Hit: 4 Stars
Rhino really know how to repackage, remaster and deliver the goods with those bonus tracks. Lots of contemporaneous b-sides, out-takes, demos and bits of Brian talking here. Wonderful! The album itself suffered a little from the 80s drum and keyboard sounds (a common problem of the times) and having too many hands on deck (including the controversial Gene Landy), but it was still a welcome return to the kind of form we never thought Brian Wilson would ever reach again. And he still has yet to match this album with any subsequent official release (what exists in the vaults and in the hands of bootleggers is a different story.....). Love and Mercy should have been a hit, Melt Away and There's So Many are gorgeous - Brian's melodic flair is very much intact here. Rio Grande is a breathtaking finale. All that Brian's Back nonesense seemed so much like hot air in 1976, in 1988 it rang a lot truer! Beach Boys fan or just a lover of great tunes that come from the heart? Buy this CD.