More About Brian/ Beck and New Album.

[Lonely Summer]

Could it be the album is a turkey like GIOMH and they are trying to salvage it before release.......not to sound negative or anything....


Shane?   So famous he is known by a single name and can be counted among the elite: Sting, Cher, Bono, Beyonce, Lassie, Dracula, Popeye, and Lulu.

It's gonna be a turkey. If they are still mining 1998 (the best songs were recorded presumably for TWGMTR) and have a car song called "Run James Run" I have little doubt in my mind. Brian seems to no longer have any creative drive. Why make an album if it's only a half effort?
 

I have to wonder if Brian - and the other BB's, for that matter - would've done better to end on the high note that was C50/TWGMTR? Naw  Whoever heard of going out on top...unless your name was the Beatles?

The unfortunate thing is that I'm pretty sure Brian can still put out a reasonably good album if it's something he's half-interested in.

Which leads us back to the eternal questions, like does Brian still have an interest in recording? Or touring? Or is he just doing it because it's what he's expected to do?

Maybe the "new Landys" in his life believe he won't slip into severe depression again if he is recording/touring regularly. He's gonna be on the road forever.

And that is just plain sad. Brian is Not a performer, he's a songwriter/producer who happens to sing his own material. And I'm not even sure he wants to do that anymore. But this endless touring has gotta be like like the worst punishment conceivable for this man. I recall an interview where Brian was asked if he liked touring, and he said "yes, except for the performing part". Do I have the quote right, Mr. Stebbins?

[RiC]

Hasn't Brian been in the studio for what, over a year now? Many months anyway. Maybe he's doing it the old way, working many songs the same time and whatever he feels like doing. That's why they have so many unfinished songs, propably dozens. And when there's no Beach Boys finishing those songs they are just floating there somewhere and we just got to hope he has the energy to put those things together. But there must be pressure from the record company too, and Brian's fb-page has been lately so active that I'm sure something big is coming sooner or later. That's all promotion. Maybe they are waiting first to get the release date for the biopic, and after that they give the release date for the new album. Maybe.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I'm not a betting man - I just work in a bookmakers, trading in base human misery, literally snatching their hard-earned cash out of honest people's hands and FORCING them to squander it on slots and decrepit nags as their ill-clad children shiver outside in the wind and rain, whimpering with hunger while back home the bailiffs are evicting their wife, changing the locks and auctioning the furniture: I love my job -  but I'd wager a modest sum that the Beck/Wilson is withering on the vine.

[Lowbacca]

I'm not a betting man - I just work in a bookmakers, trading in base human misery, literally snatching their hard-earned cash out of honest people's hands and FORCING them to squander it on slots and decrepit nags as their ill-clad children shiver outside in the wind and rain, whimpering with hunger while back home the bailiffs are evicting their wife, changing the locks and auctioning the furniture: I love my job -  but I'd wager a modest sum that the Beck/Wilson is withering on the vine.

Best... post... in a long time. And one of the saddest (not because of the hypothetical children.. because of Wilson/Beck).

[The Shift]

Let's wait and hear what comes out before we write it off, eh? "New Landys' is a rather unfortunate phrase given that, to these eyes, BW's made great positive progress over several years in his mental and spiritual state… that's more important than the day job, really, but I count myself as a fan and anticipate whatever he choses to release with relish.

Call me a gullible softy, but if people we dissing my own work before they'd seen it, I'd want to lamp them.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Hasn't Brian been in the studio for what, over a year now?

Excellent shot - the first recorded session for the new album was February 19th last year. 

[HeyJude]

We obviously don’t know what’s going on with Brian’s new material, with Beck or otherwise. But these Beck interviews snippets in and of themselves don’t seem to be a big deal to me. When I read some of the comments about Beck’s interviews, I assumed I would read Beck detailing a huge debacle in the studio or something. But no, he’s simply stating (for at least the second time in an interview I believe) that he seems to believe it would be better to finish an album and then tour behind it, rather than mount a tour in the middle of the sessions. He may well be right that the tour stopped the momentum of the album, I dunno. But it’s also odd, because Beck presumably was not forced to join Brian’s tour. If Beck thought it was such a disastrous idea, he wouldn’t have signed on to do the tour. Beck even admits in the interview that they may have grabbed him for a tour simply because it was a period of time they had him available.

Also worth noting is that at no point was this stuff billed as a joint Wilson-Beck album (other than perhaps that one article that implied Brian had vaguely three album’s worth of material), but rather Beck playing on Brian’s stuff. The descriptions of the material in articles made it sound intriguing and somewhat different; Brian’s music with Beck’s guitar, Al’s vocals, etc.

But it sounds to me like Brian is just continuing to hammer out music in the studio, and at some point they will be vetting the material into some sort of album. In an overall sense, I don’t think anything is off schedule or weird. I do think the material Brian did with Beck, and last year’s recording sessions in general, were hyped to the degree in some articles that it is objectively a bit surprising the material still hasn’t been released and there is no evidence it is imminent (as in finished and due for release in the next few months).

On the one hand, it sounds indeed like Brian may be taking another approach to piecing together an album. Normally though, I’d say it would be bizarre after the hype of several articles and interviews, not to mention a joint tour, for Brian to release an album and leave off any stuff with Beck on it. But we’re also talking about a Beach Boy (or Boys), so we have to be prepared for anything.

Let’s hope that Matt Jardine’s recent guide vocals for Brian weren’t for Joe Thomas’ long-in-gestation “Stars and Stripes – Deluxe Edition.”

[Dancing Bear]

why do some things in Brian's career in the last 15 years must be so manoeuvred?

Then, I guess, maybe it's more a projection of his personal life than Landyisms.

[the captain]

why do some things in Brian's career in the last 15 years must be so manoeuvred?

Last 15? I'd say closer to 40.

[Gregg]

"Chicken Little had a big day today"  -Owsley

[Paul J B]

I have to wonder if Brian - and the other BB's, for that matter - would've done better to end on the high note that was C50/TWGMTR? Naw  Whoever heard of going out on top...unless your name was the Beatles?

The unfortunate thing is that I'm pretty sure Brian can still put out a reasonably good album if it's something he's half-interested in.

Which leads us back to the eternal questions, like does Brian still have an interest in recording? Or touring? Or is he just doing it because it's what he's expected to do?

On his best days he may be half interested in recording or performing. Brian's "people" persuade this. I think anyone can see that Brian would be living out his days away from the public and music scene were he not pushed to do so.
If that is wrong or not....I'm not exactly sure.

[Cyncie]

I thought this was a Brian solo project with some guests and the Brian/ Beck tour evolved out of that. I missed the announcement, apparently, that this was supposed to be a joint project.

Anyway, how did we get from "Jeff Beck says he would have done things differently" to "See? Brian's being manipulated because he hates recording and touring? OMG! Brian's being 'Landyfied again!"

Not seeing it.

[KittyKat]

I think people suspect the motives of Brian's people because of the hype that was created out of his sudden collaboration with Beck. Plus the updates of Brian's studio activities. Maybe they should wait until he releases an album to publicize it, instead of posting studio photos and mentioning song titles.

[leggo of my ego]

Well Ive been trying to clean my basement for three years so whats the big deal.

Old guys take their time. 

[Heysaboda]

I'm not a betting man - I just work in a bookmakers, trading in base human misery, literally snatching their hard-earned cash out of honest people's hands and FORCING them to squander it on slots and decrepit nags as their ill-clad children shiver outside in the wind and rain, whimpering with hunger while back home the bailiffs are evicting their wife, changing the locks and auctioning the furniture: I love my job -  but I'd wager a modest sum that the Beck/Wilson is withering on the vine.

well... perhaps not so ill-clad???......

[The Heartical Don]

I have to wonder if Brian - and the other BB's, for that matter - would've done better to end on the high note that was C50/TWGMTR? Naw  Whoever heard of going out on top...unless your name was the Beatles?

The unfortunate thing is that I'm pretty sure Brian can still put out a reasonably good album if it's something he's half-interested in.

Which leads us back to the eternal questions, like does Brian still have an interest in recording? Or touring? Or is he just doing it because it's what he's expected to do?

On his best days he may be half interested in recording or performing. Brian's "people" persuade this. I think anyone can see that Brian would be living out his days away from the public and music scene were he not pushed to do so.
If that is wrong or not....I'm not exactly sure.

I think this is a crucial question.

Let me try to make a semi-educated observation: assuming that Brian suffers from what's called schizo-affective disorder, with a component of depression. I dare conjecture that he has a tendency to retreat, perhaps enter a state of inactivity. It is a psychiatric fact that this would aggravate his problem(s). In forms of depression, the inactive state leads to a more prominent role of the so-called 'default system in the brain'. Without naming the Latin terms for the relevant brain areas, in effect this will in turn mean: more and more ruminating, quite sombre circular thinking, and thus: more inactivity, perhaps combined with severe disturbances of diurnal rhythms, and loss of normal, sound sleep structure.

It is also soundly proven by neurobiological science that such a state of affairs can be prevented by: daily activity (doing something you are good at), and much, much social contact. Leaving one's own premises helps; so traveling, and entering new settings may be very important; in science publications it's known as 'novelty seeking', and 'being in enriched environments'.

So it wouldn't surprise me at all if Melinda and Brian's doctor(s) together would frequently encourage Bri to do what he's been doing for years now.

(This from your local amateur psychologist.)

[Paul J B]

I have to wonder if Brian - and the other BB's, for that matter - would've done better to end on the high note that was C50/TWGMTR? Naw  Whoever heard of going out on top...unless your name was the Beatles?

The unfortunate thing is that I'm pretty sure Brian can still put out a reasonably good album if it's something he's half-interested in.

Which leads us back to the eternal questions, like does Brian still have an interest in recording? Or touring? Or is he just doing it because it's what he's expected to do?

On his best days he may be half interested in recording or performing. Brian's "people" persuade this. I think anyone can see that Brian would be living out his days away from the public and music scene were he not pushed to do so.
If that is wrong or not....I'm not exactly sure.

I think this is a crucial question.

Let me try to make a semi-educated observation: assuming that Brian suffers from what's called schizo-affective disorder, with a component of depression. I dare conjecture that he has a tendency to retreat, perhaps enter a state of inactivity. It is a psychiatric fact that this would aggravate his problem(s). In forms of depression, the inactive state leads to a more prominent role of the so-called 'default system in the brain'. Without naming the Latin terms for the relevant brain areas, in effect this will in turn mean: more and more ruminating, quite sombre circular thinking, and thus: more inactivity, perhaps combined with severe disturbances of diurnal rhythms, and loss of normal, sound sleep structure.

It is also soundly proven by neurobiological science that such a state of affairs can be prevented by: daily activity (doing something you are good at), and much, much social contact. Leaving one's own premises helps; so traveling, and entering new settings may be very important; in science publications it's known as 'novelty seeking', and 'being in enriched environments'.

So it wouldn't surprise me at all if Melinda and Brian's doctor(s) together would frequently encourage Bri to do what he's been doing for years now.

(This from your local amateur psychologist.)

Could be.

My wife was reading a book called Heads In Beds by an author named Jacob Tomsky. The guy worked in the hotel industry and I guess the book is about amusing things that happened (I only read the stuff about Brian). To the chase, he had a few encounters with Brian Wilson and the "two guys" Brian was always with when he stayed at that hotel in NY. These guys that basically direct him when he is out in public are not body guards, they clearly "help" Brian. Again ...not saying that's wrong, but I have witnessed that scenario myself when I met Brian , and it's stuff like that which leave me convinced that Brian would be a recluse if "people" were not there persuading/helping/guiding.....whatever... him.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Those "two guys" were most likely Evan Landy & Kevin Leslie.

[Andrew G. Doe]

And getting back on topic (how unlike this forum...), I'm forming the very distinct impression that the Wilson/Beck collaboration is, if not exactly dead in the water, then smelling rather odd.

[The Shift]

Aye, wondering if it needs an impetus to drug it forward. What are the terms of Brian's current contract? Any fixed dates for delivery of product? Are his band members currently working with him or are they doing their own things until the school bell rings?

[Andrew G. Doe]

[consults small print]

I could tell you the answers to your questions, but it appears I'd have to kill you, and then myself. The second part is the deal breaker, frankly. 

[KittyKat]

I'm not sure where I read Brian was working on multiple albums, including one exclusively devoted to a Brian/Beck collaborative album, but I suspect that was faulty info to begin with.  If Beck is now saying they only worked on three or four tracks, it sounds more like he's a guest on Brian's latest attempt at one album, and those tracks may or may not make the final cut.

[ArchStanton]

The latest Rolling Stone featured Jeff Beck in a little blurb under their Random Notes section, with a quote that backs up the negative feelings everyone seems to have:

And he isn't sure what's happening with the music he recorded with Brian Wilson last year. "They made a mistake by grabbing me for a tour instead of finishing the tracks. It was a bit stupid."

[Micha]

Very obviously Brian is trying to create a new mythical unfinished album after SMiLE has more or less been finished.

[KittyKat]

I wonder what Beck felt about the tour itself? Did he enjoy it, have any problems, etc.? I vaguely recall Paul Simon being unhappy with his tour with Brian, for reasons that were never fully specified. Of course, that was many years before, and Brian was the opening act rather than a co-headliner.