"Wouldnt it be nice.. My own story"

[Jameswilliam]

Ive read this book a couple times, and i know what ive heard about it how true it is, and what brian says after the law suits.  But i really believe alot of it is from brian, hes the only one who could know some of the stuff in there.  I believe alot of it and disregard most the things that mention landy.  any thoughts?

[Jay]

I think you'll find out pretty soon that you're badly mistaken.  The only redeeming part of that book is the pictures.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Ive read this book a couple times, and i know what ive heard about it how true it is, and what brian says after the law suits.  But i really believe alot of it is from brian, hes the only one who could know some of the stuff in there.  I believe alot of it and disregard most the things that mention landy.  any thoughts?

The first section does indeed contain much that is accurate: these parts are stolen from the books of earlier BB/BW authors sucjh as David Leaf and Steve Gaines, often word for word. Todd Gold did this because, as he admitted later in a Billboard interview, he had to flesh out Brian's terse responses in the interviews he conducted with him. Brian has testified in court that his only involvement was several such interviews lasting maybe nine, ten hours. He's never read it and in private he's called it "a load of sh*t".

The second section was heavily influenced by Landy.

Now you know. 

[SMiLE Brian]

Glad I wasn't introduced to the Beach Boys through this book, course i might still read it for a good laugh. Thats funny how Brian called it a "load of sh*t" because that is exactly what it is. But at the same time, its the most widely spread book about Brian Wilson around, so thousands of people still think it is true.

[Matt H]

I thought I had heard that there were early versions of the book with handwritten edits by Brian, are these fake?

[Micha]

However true or not, it was a fascinating read for me and really got me into Brian and the Beach Boys. Pretty soon I found lots of the stolen passages in LLVS. You can take the book as a kind of novel based on actual incidents.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

I was 19 when the book came out, and had been a fan for a few years by then. This was in the pre-internet days, and also before The Beach Boys were re-discovered by genX.
Because of these reasons, I had only heard Brian interviewed a few times, so I believed every word of the book as I didn't know any different.

It was this book that made me very anti-Mike and pro-Brian, and If I'm honest I still have these prejudices though I have reassessed somewhat, and have travelled from outright hatred of Mike, through to dislike and I'm currently at grudging re-acceptance.

Looking back now, I think the anti Mike thing, though hinted at by David Leaf before this, really came into it's own when this book was published. And though I still think a lot of the criticisms against Mike are justified, it's rather unsettling that a lot of these sentiments came from a completely discredited book.

Sh#t sticks eh?

[The Heartical Don]

I was 19 when the book came out, and had been a fan for a few years by then. This was in the pre-internet days, and also before The Beach Boys were re-discovered by genX.
Because of these reasons, I had only heard Brian interviewed a few times, so I believed every word of the book as I didn't know any different.

It was this book that made me very anti-Mike and pro-Brian, and If I'm honest I still have these prejudices though I have reassessed somewhat, and have travelled from outright hatred of Mike, through to dislike and I'm currently at grudging re-acceptance.

Looking back now, I think the anti Mike thing, though hinted at by David Leaf before this, really came into it's own when this book was published. And though I still think a lot of the criticisms against Mike are justified, it's rather unsettling that a lot of these sentiments came from a completely discredited book.

Sh#t sticks eh?

"Those Shoes Are Hideous!"

[rogerlancelot]

I got it from the library back in the 90's and believed it. I didn't have a reason not to. I'd love to have a copy to have in my library just for the pictures alone.

Just about every book I own or have read about the Beach Boys makes you hate Mike Love. And if that doesn't do it for you, read one of his interviews or listen to his between song banter on a vintage 70's show. Maybe one day I'll meet him (he lives in Nevada) and be pleasantly surprised that he's actually a very nice and humble guy. I'll stop here before I get some "bad vibrations" from all of you.

[Jon Stebbins]

Looking back now, I think the anti Mike thing, though hinted at by David Leaf before this, really came into it's own when this book was published.

The anti Mike thing was prevalent among many BB's/Wilson fans in the '70's. It hit its absolute stride in '88 with the rock and roll hall of fame debacle.

[The Heartical Don]

Looking back now, I think the anti Mike thing, though hinted at by David Leaf before this, really came into it's own when this book was published.

The anti Mike thing was prevalent among many BB's/Wilson fans in the '70's. It hit its absolute stride in '88 with the rock and roll hall of fame debacle.

Hi Jon -

do you reckon the anti-Mike mood started after the success of Endless Summer/Spirit Of America, and the BBs then slowly turning into a band living ever more off of its past glories (live, at least)? Or was it already present earlier?

[Emdeeh]

IIRC, when it came out, the book was exposed as a fraud in Billboard by David Leaf, Timothy White, and some other BB authors.

[Autotune]

I was 15 when I read it, and to me it seemed a pro Landy pamphlet.

Neal Umphred destroyed it in his review (Goldmine, I think).

Oh, and David Leaf was instrumental in spreading the anti Mike Love gospel. The 1977/8 was unbearably biased. And IIRCC the 198? edition ended up with an anti Love statement.

[Emdeeh]

I'm not disputing Leaf's role in the anti-ML movement for one moment, just reporting that he was one of the early whistle-blowers on the faux-BW "auto" bio.

[The Heartical Don]

IIRC, when it came out, the book was exposed as a fraud in Billboard by David Leaf, Timothy White, and some other BB authors.

Didn't know that, interesting. For me, the words put into Brian's mouth and pen could never have come from him. There's a lot of therapist's lingo in there... one paragraph struck me in particular, IIRC Brian 'reports' his own symptoms of OCD, and his description seems to be lifted straightaway from some handbook. Some of the photo's are quite endearing... Bri in a hammock, being hugged by mr Landy...

[Dead Parrot]

When I first read it, I didn't know much about the circumstances surrounding the book, but even then I took most of what is wriiten in it about Landy with a fairly large pinch of salt.
However, later in the book, there's a part where it basically lays the blame for Dennis' death at Carl's door. Something, which to be perfectly honest I find utterly disgusting.

[Slow In Brain]

This book has the cache of obese photos of Brian, apart from the John Tobler book 30 odd years ago.

[37!ws]

Just a few thoughts...

First of all, I have to say that while I have to agree that WIBNMOS is a hunk of crap, I do suspect that the day-by-day detail-by-detail description of Landy's treatments probably are accurate; it makes the book serve as a commercial for Landy's services. It is interesting how a lot of the chapters are a bit vague, but then when Landy is introduced suddenly "Brian" discusses everything.

I love how in the list of different tracks recorded for Smile "Brian" actually has "George Fell" in the list!

And the picture of Brian with the dog that's allegedly Banana....uhh, no, beagles don't look anything like that!

Brian laying down a bass track for Pet Sounds?? Sure.

BTW, am I the only one who despises the Timothy White book?? You could probably write a small book just about the inaccuracies in it...

[endofposts]

I know a lot of it was plagiarized from other Beach Boys bios.  There are things in there, though, that only Brian would have known so it's either from Brian or Landy or both.  According to the lawsuit testimony, Brian delivered several cassette tapes of his therapy sessions with Landy.  While the claim is that he only talked to Todd Gold for an hour or so, I'm sure Gold listened to those tapes and got some stories/anecdotes from them that are repeated in the book.  Gold also did some interviews with Landy himself, so all the details about events and Brian's life with Landy were new and unique to that book.  The fact that the spin favored Landy doesn't change that fact.  Gold also did some new interviews with people like Van Dyke Parks, so there are a couple of things here and there that while they're not exciting, they are different.  There are also things in there about Brian's relationship with Diane Rovell that aren't in any of the other books.  It was a pretty significant relationship for both of them. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Got it when it was first published and once I got past reading the pieces lifted wholesale from Leaf & Gaines, there was very little, if anything, in the first part that wasn't already known, could be deduced or reasonably guessed (or invented to order). As for the second part, it's generally assumed that Gold wrote it with Landy looking over his shoulder (metaphorically speaking).

[endofposts]

But there are no other accounts of his life with Landy, other than the McParland/Usher book, which is a limited window.  Sure, it's very positive and glowing, but it's an interesting look at a very Orwellian world.  All of the books are basically gossip.  There's nothing edifying about the Gaines book, either.  I'm not sure how accurate some of those stories are and a lot of it is for prurient interest.  The Gold book is for prurient interest, also, it's just that the one mostly original part, the Landy part, is self-serving propaganda.  I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it.  I think it is worth reading.  I would think most people would be so creeped out by the way his life with Landy is described, that even in the most positive light it's presented,  they would realize something was very wrong with it.

[endofposts]

Although I would add that as an "autobiography," calling it that is bogus.  I don't think Brian had or has that great of a memory, even given that some of the material may have been lifted from therapy tapes or a couple of hours of direct interviews with the man.  I think he remembers some things, but there are more gaps than average in his memory due to substance abuse and mental illness.

What I find interesting is that Keith Richards' purported autobiography may not be that much better of a source about Keith as WIBN is about Brian, and that the author of that book was forced to "borrow" as much from previous bios due to his subject's memory gaps from substance abuse and age.  Keith's book is huge, and it's been highly priased, but I think his co-author James Fox borrowed a great deal from previous bios published by Victor Bockris and other Keith biographers (including Tony Sanchez, aka Keith's drug dealer).  I'm not sure Todd Gold is unique in "borrowing" information and stories wholesale from previous works and calling it "autiobiography."

[Andrew G. Doe]

Although I would add that as an "autobiography," calling it that is bogus.  I don't think Brian had or has that great of a memory, even given that some of the material may have been lifted from therapy tapes or a couple of hours of direct interviews with the man.  I think he remembers some things, but there are more gaps than average in his memory due to substance abuse and mental illness.

What I find interesting is that Keith Richards' purported autobiography may not be that much better of a source about Keith as WIBN is about Brian, and that the author of that book was forced to "borrow" as much from previous bios due to his subject's memory gaps from substance abuse and age.  Keith's book is huge, and it's been highly priased, but I think his co-author James Fox borrowed a great deal from previous bios published by Victor Bockris and other Keith biographers (including Tony Sanchez, aka Keith's drug dealer).  I'm not sure Todd Gold is unique in "borrowing" information and stories wholesale from previous works and calling it "autiobiography."

Not read Keef's book, but I'm assuming that his co-author credited the people you mentioned. Gold stole parts of other people's book and not only did he not credit them or even admit to it, he also put the words of other people - Hal Blaine, Steve Desper - into Brian's mouth... and when he was called on it, he said, in essence, that he had to do that to flesh out Brian's mostly terse interview replies.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

Although I would add that as an "autobiography," calling it that is bogus.  I don't think Brian had or has that great of a memory, even given that some of the material may have been lifted from therapy tapes or a couple of hours of direct interviews with the man.  I think he remembers some things, but there are more gaps than average in his memory due to substance abuse and mental illness.

What I find interesting is that Keith Richards' purported autobiography may not be that much better of a source about Keith as WIBN is about Brian, and that the author of that book was forced to "borrow" as much from previous bios due to his subject's memory gaps from substance abuse and age.  Keith's book is huge, and it's been highly priased, but I think his co-author James Fox borrowed a great deal from previous bios published by Victor Bockris and other Keith biographers (including Tony Sanchez, aka Keith's drug dealer).  I'm not sure Todd Gold is unique in "borrowing" information and stories wholesale from previous works and calling it "autiobiography."

Brian actually has a fantastic memory, especially when it comes to music and numbers. Dates, names and events as well. In fact you can safely say that if there is one thing that wasn't damaged by drugs it was his memory.

[Micha]

BTW, am I the only one who despises the Timothy White book?? You could probably write a small book just about the inaccuracies in it...

One of nthe few books where I got stuck in the middle permanently. Not because of inaccuracies but because of the writing style. Disgustingly highfaluting, if that is the word.

The only book I've seen with a picture of the SMiLE album with the duophonic bar though.