If he wanted to, could Brian do it again?

[AWoPS]

Reading the Peter Aims Carlin book, I really like it.  Up to this point (I'm in the 80's, Dennis has just passed away) it seems PAC is saying that Brian really just doesn't give a damn anymore (in addition to psychological/emotional issues).  It sounds as if he's had the life sucked out of him from those who want to use him to write more hits.  My question, for those who know or at least have an informed opinion: If Brian could find it in himself to care, could he write good songs?

It is a shame that the rest of the Beach Boys didn't follow his lead, and that he couldn't stay mentally healthy.  It is sad to sit and think about what could have been...

[Chris Brown]

Very good question.  I think he might be able to do good work if he really felt motivated to do so.  But I think he probably feels like he has already done his work, and he doesn't have the itch to really push himself anymore.  He worked like a madman back in the day, and being older, he probably doesn't have anywhere near that amount of energy anymore.  Which is totally understandable, especially considering all that he's been through.  I really think Brian would be perfectly happy just sitting around all day and spending time with his family.  No touring or recording pressure, just living his life like any guy his age.

Then again, I still think that if Brian locked himself in a room with a bunch of synths, he could come up with a great album that would surprise us all.  Unfortunately though, he probably has no desire to do so (like many have suggested), and others around him might not be too keen on the idea either.

You are right though, it is a tragedy to think of all the great music lost to his mental illness and lack of support from the band.  Had Brian been able to keep it together during and after Smile, who knows what mindblowing music he would have come up with next.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Well, both originals on WIRWFC were good. Depends on how motivated he is...

[Pretty Funky]

Could he write a hit today? I doubt it. But could any artist at his age except say Willie Nelson and the country market.
Of interest to me is could he make some interesting music and I would say yes! At least to most of us here and in a non-commercial form.

I'll explain.

Take just about any Beach Boys or Brian Wilson album and you will find some fantastic snippets, chord-changes, harmony mixes etc. Brian has said he often hears music in his head. Not complete songs but segments that I imagine are incredible. These I think have often been ruined in the search of a hit or in the production by others.
Lets just imagine if he decided to put some of these snippets together, produce etc without the pressure of a album, tour or time. I watched a DVD the other day on "The Band" album and was amazed with some of the sounds Garth Hudson could come up with off the cuff. Prehaps Brian could do the same.

[Bicyclerider]

I think Brian's peak period was at a time when he was creating music out of an inner necessity and drive, doing it to please himself more than to "get a hit" - think Pet Sounds/Smile/Smiley/Friends/Love You.  I think those days are over - Brian is creating music to please others, not himself - at least I think that's what's uppermost in his mind.  He's not doing it out of creative necessity, the music isn't forcing it's way out of him, he's forcing it out.  That's not to say he doesn't try to make the music conform to his standards, but the more avant garde impulses of his music that make it unique and makes us fanatical fans is not really in him anymore. 

That said, with the right collaborator pushing him, and the support of Melinda and a more experimental record company, maybe the creative force that drove him in the 60's might return.  We know his mind still works differently than anyone else's, the problem is that for the past twenty years he's been trying to make his mind work more like everyone else's, for his own mental stability which is understandable.  He no longer wants to "scare a lot of people" with his music.

[Chris Brown]

"He no longer wants to "scare a lot of people" with his music."

And such is the tragedy.  I'd absolutely love to see Brian back in that place, where he feels the need to make an album of "quirky" Brian songs in the vein of Smiley or Love You.  Unfortunately I don't think the confidence is there anymore to the point where he wants to "scare a lot of people" with his music, although I'd love to see that return as well.  Obviously nobody maintains such a God-like confidence for long, and it seems to have left Brian after Smile collapsed.  Brian was, in my opinion, at his peak when he could say "ok, I'm going to make this mindblowing album/single" and know darn well that he was capable of doing it.  I think that once he lost confidence in himself, he started to lose interest, and he's never recovered since.

[Dancing Bear]

No.

But neither can any of his contemporaries, so I think it's not a matter of wanting.

[Smilin Ed H]

You're right.  Not many people can.  Cash's late flourishing, the perennial Dylan, Tony Bennett... Maybe Paul Simon, but if you look at his career, there aren't many original albums there. Maybe Steely Dan.  Maybe Neil Young, but only maybe. A lot of other people, including those who came after BW, are running on empty - Stevie Wonder, Van Morrison, Jackson Browne himself, Springsteen (for me, his last good album was Tunnel of Love, although I like odds and ends of the later stuff), Bowie, assorted former members of the Byrds.  I'd love to think he'll produce the goods for the RFH and remain optimistic, but realistically, he'd produced nothing outstanding since 88, only the odd good thing (I'm excepting BWPS here).

[MBE]

It depends on what he you want him to "do". Singing no he couldn't, writing perhaps not consistently, producing yes I think his recent productions are great. I personally don't think he has made a GREAT all round album since Spring. Smile is very good but not as good as it would have been before his voice changed. Yet I think he has continued in drips and drabs to release some very good music along with some that isn't worthy of his talent. For what he has been through I think what he does now is the best that can be expected, and better then I ever thought he would be before he resumed touring in 1999.

[Smilin Ed H]

Hmm, on reflection, I may have come across as too harsh on BW.

[No. Fourteen]

Isn't there some debate on how involved with Spring production Brian was? 

Love that album!

[voxnut]

I think that writers and artists and songwriters tend to have a shelf life. Once the inner drive to create is either satisfied or has been knocked down and rendered useless it's just gone. I think that there are some who can rely on craft at that point, but I think the inner need and intensity to create is the element X that makes those folks for a given period great. But you just can't maintain that degree of intensity forever.

The reason I feel this way is that I think that kind of drive tends to be borne out of things in the artist's life that don't fit together very well on a personal level and it creates a certain anxiety or energy in the artist's life to create as a remedy, either to help them make sense of the conflict or to nullify the negative effects of the conflict - but it's at a precarious balance. At some point the artist either works out the conflict or becomes more consumed by it. Either outcome dillutes the intensity they once felt for their art to be able to, on some level "save" them.

Just a theory, of course.

I think Brian just became overwhelmed by the conflict in his life, and the fire that initially drove him to create ended up consuming him for a number of years. This was obviously exacerbated by a number of his own behaviors, but I think that maybe those were partly an offshoot of the fact that the thing - creating music- that had originally acted as a balm on his soul started becoming a source of more conflict. When he was creative king of the Beach Boys he in essence had a degree of control in the family dynamic that wasn't there in the other arenas. In the beginning he was the big brother hero - but eventually that role betrayed him as well. His creativity had fostered a safe space in the dynamic, but as he pushed his creativity it ended up just creating another if not hostile, conflict-filled environment. That is at the heart of what I think castrated Brian's real creative spirit.

So I think that Brian is probably very proud of his best work, but is aware of the fact that "that" Brian doesn't really exist anymore - for better or worse. I'm sure there are artists that wish they could turn that kind of inspiration on and off, but I don't think it's controllable. Plus I just think that the more miles you log in life you just reach a point where you have to deal with your own merda head on and you come to the realization that songwriting isn't the emotional panacea you'd believed it to be.

Again, just a theory.

Dean

[Jonas]

Take him away from his current influence (Melinda, Bennet, etc), take him to an ocean side house. Feed him two hits of acid and put a tape recorder in the room.

He'll find that special place.

[buddhahat]

I only heard the 88 BW album about a year ago and was stunned by the fact that in 88 Brian was capable of writing melodies (Melt Away, One For the Boys) that echo his finest work in the 60s. I'm no expert in his solo career and don't know how much evidence there is for great BW tunes post 88 (BWPS aside) but would think if he still has the ability for beautiful tunes in the late 80s, then why not now? I doubt he'll write a hit as he's not in touch with modern sensibilities as little of his contemporaries are, but I reckon he could still write an achingly beautiful melody if the circumstances were right - maybe I'm just blindly optimistic!

[the captain]

Depends on what you mean.

Get a hit? Almost certainly not, but that has virtually nothing to do with music and a lot to do with promotion. In other words, who gives a f***.

Write, perform and record some good music? Almost certainly--musical abilities don't go away, and BW has continued to show he can write melodies, chord changes, etc. They will seem anachronistic to anyone caught up in modern music because BW himself has said he isn't involved in the modern scene. Fans of oldies/classic rock (ie most of the people on boards like this, from what I gather) will be more inclined to like it (although they'll bicker about this version or that, and whether he used some verboten digital production methods...) than anyone else, but the quality of the songs themselves will be fine.

Sit down to write, perform and produce a consistently brilliant album? No. I believe he has neither the ability (due to natural aging and his obvious historical problems) nor desire to do that. And frankly, it isn't as if he down BY HIMSELF and did all those things consistently to begin with! Almost every Beach Boys album had its fair share of filler/misses to go along with the hits. So to expect consistent masterpieces just because you have done it before seems pretty unrealistic.

I think the most a realistic optimist could hope for would be either some cool singles now and again when the mood strikes him and maybe an album every few years--an album with a combination of new material and re-recordings of older, unreleased stuff. After all, that's what he's been doing anyway, and I don't think you can expect dramatic growth from a guy in his mid-60s.

[Sheriff John Stone]

By asking the question, "If he wanted to, could Brian do it again", you are assuming that he NO LONGER wants to do it again. Whenever Brian's more recent (post 1975) albums have not met expectations/past glories, people usually resort to those reasons - Brian doesn't care, Brian is disinterested, Brian doesn't want it anymore.

I believe that for every album that said "Produced By Brian Wilson", Brian cared, Brian wanted it. And that includes albums spanning from 15 Big Ones to What I Really Want For Christmas. And I also believe his "degree of wanting it" was pretty close to his early days of the 1960's. And that's what bothers me. I believe Brian did the best he could, and we got what we got. I believe the effort was there. I don't believe there was disinterest or a lack of effort or not wanting a hit.

Yes, in the 1960's Brian had his share of motivation - his dad, The Beatles, Phil Spector, and to some extent, money. But don't forget the most important thing that was motivating Brian to create his timeless music. He heard the music in his head. He has admitted in interviews to hearing the notes, the notes coming out of the sky, writing these great melodies in a matter of minutes. While producing the music was hard work, a lot of the music came easy to him. Call it a gift, call it genius, call it whatever.

For whatever reason - illegal drugs, prescription drugs, mental illness, you fill in the blank -Brian doesn't hear those notes anymore. At least that's what he has said. But I never heard him say that he didn't want it. Not that he would anyway... 


 

[Fun Is In]

How many of us boomers can do anything as well now as what we did best in our early 20s to early 30s?

Not so many.

There are some things that we can probably do better now than then, but not the things that we were best at 40 years ago.

Add on the burden of chronic mental illness and long-time drug use and you have a recipe for it being unlikely, but not impossible, that he could regain the full glorious skills of the past.

Still I dream of it......

[MBE]

Isn't there some debate on how involved with Spring production Brian was? 

Love that album!

Well there is, but what he did do is classic Brian. He was also promoting it personally far more then the Beach Boys current music.

[MBE]

I guess what also makes people sad is how much Brian's personality changed. He seemed like such a fun loving prankster, and very commanding before Murry died.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

In my opinion, his first solo album is every bit as good as Love You. The song Rio Grande is as creative and amazing as any non Smile thing he has done ever. I don't think that his other solo albums have been good, but a handful of the songs have been very nice songs such as Lay Down Burden, Happy Days, Rainbow Eyes and Desert Drive. There are also a few magical moments, such as the bridge to Sunshine and to Make a Wish.

[Rocker]

In my opinion, his first solo album is every bit as good as Love You. The song Rio Grande is as creative and amazing as any non Smile thing he has done ever. I don't think that his other solo albums have been good, but a handful of the songs have been very nice songs such as Lay Down Burden, Happy Days, Rainbow Eyes and Desert Drive. There are also a few magical moments, such as the bridge to Sunshine and to Make a Wish.

True, but there are songs where we don't know how much of them really came from Brian.

[phirnis]

In my opinion, his first solo album is every bit as good as Love You. The song Rio Grande is as creative and amazing as any non Smile thing he has done ever. I don't think that his other solo albums have been good, but a handful of the songs have been very nice songs such as Lay Down Burden, Happy Days, Rainbow Eyes and Desert Drive. There are also a few magical moments, such as the bridge to Sunshine and to Make a Wish.

In terms of songwriting and even backing vocals BW88 is a magnificent work to my ears, yet I think it lacks the joyous beauty and even the strange melancholy of the Love You record. Brian should really be encouraged to include as many humorous and quirky elements as he desires into his creative output.

[Daniel S.]

No.

[PMcC]

No, but he could probably do Do It Again again....

[Peter Reum]

You know, threads like this really bother me, because they assume that because a person is mentally ill, that his illness impacts his whole life, thereby rendering him incapable of functioning. Brian is working on an extended composition as we speak, and I don't know whether I'll like it or whether I won't when he does it in London next September, but the fact that this sort of thread is still appearing on these boards makes me wonder about the attitude toward people with mental illness that some folks have. So I am left wondering more about the extended naysaying on threads like this and the naysayers than I am about Brian's compositional ability, which based on his output since 1977 appears intact, if a bit uncommercial.  There's Rio Grande, Melt Away, Don't Let Her Know She's An Angel, Desert Drive, and Smile as released, just to mention a few tunes. Any artist would be proud to claim any of those songs as his own.