What fans thought of BW 89 back in 89

[Magic Transistor Radio]

The first time I heard the album was when I bought the cd in the late 90s. I'm just curious what Brian's general fans thought of it when it first came out. What did you think of it when you first heard it? Personally, I like it. It has a lot of energy. Perhaps my favorite BW solo album released before BWPS. Since then they are all better except GIOMH (after SMiLE?).

Rio Grande might be the best song by Brian in his solo career, and near the top since SMiLE IMO. Was there a great reaction by critiques and fans with that song when it first came out?

[grillo]

I remember being really excited (I was 14 in '88 when it came out) and liked about half the songs right away. I still like about half of it. We were painting my brother's bedroom listening to it and my dad thought the lyrics were really lame.  I also found the Love and Mercy cassette single that summer when I was in Pennsylvania. It was an awesome time to be into the BB 'cos all sorts of things were coming out (and rumored) on CD and you could find almost any of their records for super cheap at a used record store. POB was like $8.00 at second hand tunes in Evanston for the whole 80's.

[Mark H.]

I was flat blown away that the damn thing was actually released.  I had more or less given up on Brian ever doing anything significant in music ever again.  That album has 3 or 4 classics on it - about as much as any BB album.  It's a major part of the cannon IMO.

[Summertime Blooz]

It seemed to me at the time like the album was horribly produced with harsh unpleasant vocals that kept some good songs from  reaching their potential. The only songs I really liked  a lot were baby Let Your Hair Grow Long, One For The Boys, Melt Away, and Rio Grande. Even today, when I put the songs on my Ipod, I EQ a lot of the treble out of some songs to take some of that brittle edge off the vocals. I was working for a record wholesaler at the time and it seemed like WB was really behind the album and gave it a lot of hype, but the product was just not good enough and Brian's solo careered stalled out. There were also some, let's just call them "uncomfortable" TV appearances that did nothing to further his cause in supporting the album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a301ceauaA

 You have to remember, for a lot of people, myself included, it was the pre-internet era and this was our first extended close-up look at the elusive and sometimes reclusive Mr. Wilson since he was a practically a kid playing with the Beach Boys in the 60s. I didn't know quite what to make of his performances back then, but I've come to accept, and even embrace, his quirks over the years

[Andrew G. Doe]

I don't have this album. What's on it ? Is it legit ?

[Mikie]

I remember when Brian's album (vinyl and CD) came out in July, 1988. I played it a lot. Not as much as Dennis' album, but I played it quite a bit. I also remember searching down the two singles that had songs on them that weren't on the album. There was also an interview disc available and quite a few other collectible goodies that were obtainable at that time.

[Summertime Blooz]

I remember when Brian's album (vinyl and CD) came out in July, 1988. I played it a lot. Not as much as Dennis' album, but I played it quite a bit. I also remember searching down the two singles that had songs on them that weren't on the album. There was also an interview disc available and quite a few other collectible goodies that were obtainable at that time.

I have a cloth-bound promo copy of the CD. Anybody know if it's valuable?

[Wirestone]

I have it too, so the answer is probably not.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I remember when Brian's album (vinyl and CD) came out in July, 1988. I played it a lot. Not as much as Dennis' album, but I played it quite a bit. I also remember searching down the two singles that had songs on them that weren't on the album. There was also an interview disc available and quite a few other collectible goodies that were obtainable at that time.

I have a cloth-bound promo copy of the CD. Anybody know if it's valuable?

Yes, that's an un-numbered limited edition promo - quite rare.

[Mikie]

I have a copy of one of those blue cloth-bound promo CD's with the 15 page booklet too. Nice piece. Promo kits, posters, and other stuff too. Warners/Sire didn't skimp on the promotion of this record.

[MBE]

Just became a fan then but even though I was only 12 I already could tell Landy was evil and just couldn't enjoy it as much as the stuff he didn't have input on. Also I hated the production. I even sold my copy for a while. I'm glad I bought the LP again because it is pretty nice if one ignores the backstory. It's not a great album, Brian's voice is gone to hell, the keyboards and fake drums sound like crap, yet some of those melodies number among his best. Let It Shine, Love And Mercy, Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long, those three are classic.

[Awesoman]

The first time I heard the album was when I bought the cd in the late 90s. I'm just curious what Brian's general fans thought of it when it first came out. What did you think of it when you first heard it? Personally, I like it. It has a lot of energy. Perhaps my favorite BW solo album released before BWPS. Since then they are all better except GIOMH (after SMiLE?).

Rio Grande might be the best song by Brian in his solo career, and near the top since SMiLE IMO. Was there a great reaction by critiques and fans with that song when it first came out?

I also didn't pick this album up until about the mid-90's.  I initially liked it a lot.  However production-wise, this album has aged terribly.  There are still some good songs to be had on here though.  "Rio Grande" is definitely one of the most ambitious things Brian has done in his solo career.

[Slow In Brain]

Little Children should have stayed unreleased though There was a lot of hype with this album and I got swept along with it. This was pre internet days for me and I filled a large scrapbook with clippings of this period. Adios, Goodnight Irene and Living Doll were from this time and I thought the next album would have been even better...

[Jay]

I remember when Brian's album (vinyl and CD) came out in July, 1988. I played it a lot. Not as much as Dennis' album, but I played it quite a bit. I also remember searching down the two singles that had songs on them that weren't on the album. There was also an interview disc available and quite a few other collectible goodies that were obtainable at that time.

I have a cloth-bound promo copy of the CD. Anybody know if it's valuable?

Yes, that's an un-numbered limited edition promo - quite rare.

Speaking of promotional items, I have an interview cd that was apparently a promo for Brian's 1988 album. Is it rare at all? I actually have quite a few promo cd's from the album. I also have a 3 inch cd single of I believe Love and Mercy.

[Slow In Brain]

Wish I kept the Barbie doll that the blue flexi disc came with. Does anyone know how much that would be worth now ?

[William Bowe]

The publicity that attended the release of the album was what got me into the Beach Boys. I was 16 at the time, and bought in short order Pet Sounds, BW88 and the six-album Capitol Years boxed set that was issued here in Australia at around the same time (the earlier Japanese issue featured The Brian Wilson Productions as a seventh album). I thought BW88 quite spectacular in parts, and I still retain an unfashionably favourable view of it. There's So Many in particular I have always found jaw-droppingly beautiful, and I've been consistently surprised to discover that no one else seems to think so. I think it equally as good as Melt Away, the one song here that gets its due. Rio Grande is another masterpiece, and again I've never understood why people don't get more excited about it. Of the rest, Walkin' the Line and Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long are agreeable; Litte Children and Night Time are disasters; Love and Mercy's potential is suffocated by sterile production and some wince-inducing lyrics; One For The Boys doesn't need to exist in a world that has Our Prayer in it; and Let it Shine and Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight are probably okay in their way, but they're not really Brian Wilson. I'd be quite a bit happier with the album if one of the duds had been dropped in favour of Being With The One You Love.

[Keri]

I had been a Beach Boys fan for a few years. Brian input on the post Love You albums wasn't that great for me. The mere fact that he was doing a solo album amazed me, I got it and loved it. It was a feast after a famine. Brian doing all those vocal parts, some great arrangement ideas, quirky songs. i was bowled over and played it a lot. I still love it, the production is very eighties but it's OK still has some great use of percussion even if it is programmed. Cool song changes. It was featured on one of Radio programmes and got very positive cover. I thought he was back, but there were more long waits in store.

[Ian]

I think it has some major flaws but is still the best non-compilation Beach Boys related release in the 1980-2000 period.  It is certainly far more listenable than The Beach Boys (1985), Still Cruisin' (1989) and the dreadful Summer in Paradise (1992).  That's not necessarily saying much though.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

Ok then it was Still Cruisin that came out in 89, and BW was 88. My bad! If I knew how to edit my topic title I would

So anyway, I am not the biggest 80s fan. BB 85 and BW 88 suffer with some extreme 80s production, but I consider it as the BB and BW being current. Even if they didn't produce it themselves. Not sure that Brian was up to the task to produce it himself at that time or not, but I will say that I do hear some very Brian magic in several of those songs. It is the best BB related album since LY or POB. IMO.

[Mike's Beard]

The bad production is very much of it's time but BW88 is still my favourite Brian Wilson solo album.

[oldsurferdude]

I couldn't get the goods in the player fast enough. I had heard L&M before it was released and was hoping and listening for things that weren't going to be. I had wished that it had been more fleshed out with better songs but still played the crap out of RG, LIS and MA. The production was a bit in your face. While listening I found myself pining away for better lead vocals. I have a cd 3" mini single with L&M, OFTB, and HCGHPOBTM which is from France and "Brian Wilson Words and Music" cd (promo) with tow segments and 8 songs with the David Leaf interview.

[Smilin Ed H]

I managed to get an advance copy in 88 and while the production irked me, the production on a lot of stuff from that era did.  Some very good songs on it.  Still my favourite BW solo.

[Jcc]

I still like BW88 but in a way, it was kind of a missed opportunity for the Beach Boys.  In a perfect world (other than one in which SMiLE came out in 1967), you could have combined the best of the BW solo material with Kokomo and "Somewhere Near Japan" and put out a killer Beach Boys album in 1988.  It probably would have been a major comeback album and possibly restarted the Beach Boys' career.  Just a what-if, I guess.

[The Heartical Don]

The bad production is very much of it's time but BW88 is still my favourite Brian Wilson solo album.

I dearly loved the LP way back then and played it a gazillion times. In '88, I did not think about the production at all, and did not see its shortcomings (because that was the style en vogue in those years, I guess - you only see the flaws of some form of fashion years after that fashion went, um, out of fashion, don't you?). Plus, I bought all of the 'comeback' saga wholesale, dr Landy's involvement and healing included.

Now, I like half of it, and I don't really like the syndrums and other artificial sounds. But nevertheless: Love And Mercy, Melt Away, and Meet Me In My Dreams are great songs.

[pobbard]

The first Beach Boys album I heard was BEST OF THE BEACH BOYS VOL. 2, sometime in the early 80s, when I was 7 or 8 years old. It was a hand-me-down from an older sibling. I may have heard the ENDLESS SUMMER comp at some point too, but I'm not sure exactly why I bought a copy of BW88 on cassette when given the opportunity to buy "any album you want" by a relative at a local record store in the summer of 1988. I knew who Brian Wilson was, but didn't consider myself a BBs fan -- my strongest memory is simply liking the cover (which I still do).

Anyway, I was hooked by the album quickly, and it remains a favorite today. Yes, much of the criticism is fair -- the production is dated, it's overproduced in general, "Little Children" and "Night Time" are both pretty weak -- but to me the strengths outweigh the weakness. I love so many of the tracks on there -- "Rio Grande", "Melt Away", "Walkin' the Line", "There's So Many", "Let It Shine", "Meet Me...", etc. Great songwriting. And while I recognize the vocal quality people describe as "shouting", to me he sounds strong and focused.

Now, my impressions are no doubt influenced because I heard BW88 before I heard most of the BBs catalog! And the press in 1988 was very positive about BW88. I remember reading Rolling Stone's review saying "Brian Wilson's endless bummer is finally over" and calling BW88 "the best Beach Boys long-player since SUNFLOWER". I remember an evening news magazine/entertainment show interviewing Brian, who played a track from the album on the piano and then showed footage of a fit, energetic Brian running on the beach.

And finally, I remember reading in 1989 or so that Brian was working on a new album, to be called SWEET INSANITY, and spending the next few years searching the record racks for it when the opportunity arose. By the time I finally did hear it, in 1994, I'd already heard and learned to love much of the BBs classic (1960s) catalog, and learned the band and Brian's long and difficult history, and so I saw SI as a cynical, mostly empty exercise -- something I never saw in BW88.

Maybe if I had known more about Brian and his history when I first heard BW88, I might have heard it differently, too. But that's not the way things went, and it remains a top 10 or top 20 album for me today.

To finish a thought... I liked the 1995 IJWMFTT soundtrack although I was disappointed it contained no new material. But I LOVED "This Song Wants to Sleep With You" from the CD single -- I remember thinking, why can't we have an album like this? I vividly remember my crushing disappointment when I got home with my new copy of IMAGINATION in 1998... and even then it took a few days to figure out that 2 of the only songs I liked on the album were remakes of classic BBs tracks! It was clear to me then that BW88 would always likely be a fluke, both in how it was made and sounded, and it how I had grown so attached to it. There have been other BW albums I've really liked since then -- namely BWPS and BWRG -- but none equals BW88.