The Chemistry of Collaboration

[Doo Dah]

Like many of us, I've been listening to and digging on the streaming link of TLOS. And like 'some of us'  , I also came across access to demos of said material, which has proved fascinating to me as to how it's flowered into something really exciting on this release.

I was thinking about how interesting it is that Scotty ended up collaborating with Brian on this. You think of all the 'mighta couldas' that have attempted a completed work with Brian (Roger Manning / Jellyfish, Andy Paley) only to run into interference of one kind or another. Amongst this nucleus, this freaking musical family that he's so fortunate to have around him, we've never heard of him writing with Probyn, Darian, or even Jeff.

I mean you would think it would've been a natural wouldn't you? Amongst all of these folks - loyal and receptive to the Brian Wilson vibe, I've never heard of any of these songwriters actually writing with Brian, let alone driving an entire body of work. That's pretty interesting to me.

Think of what a balancing act it must have been for it all to come together with Brian and Scott. Or think of yourself (a fan) in Scott's shoes - you want to be supportive, but you want to get your ideas into the mix as well. Do you come on too strong, or not enough? I recall someone posting about how Darian was always careful to respect the boundaries of his role within the band, as opposed to saying 'hey Brian...let's write a whole album together' (thereby running the risk of being accused of riding the gravy train to promote the Mints' career).

I don't have an answer as to why it came together so nicely, but obviously we're all the better for it. And it's interesting how Scotty stepped up and brought it all home. Hell, the co-mixer on the project was a colleague of his as well, so give him points for taking the bull by the horns. We ended up getting a 'clean' record, that still remains faithful to the melodies and those Brian harmonies. When it clicks, it CLICKS.

[Wirestone]

It was a long and slow trust-building project, I think.

Scott was just a backing singer when the band started in 99. He stood and swayed with Taylor.

After Joe Thomas departed, the band needed an extra keyboard player. And Scott, to folks' amazement, proved proficient on keyboards and guitar.

When it came time to record Gettin' In Over My Head, Scott worked closely with Brian on the "City Blues" track. The guitar solo Eric Clapton plays on that song is pretty much an exact reproduction of the solo Scott created for the song. And when it came time to give the song an extra verse, Scott added some words. So Scott helped Brian out.

During sessions for the album, an exclamation by Brian over Scott's playing: "There's no wrong notes in heaven!" prompted Scott to write a song with that title. Brian then helped Scott record it a little bit later, adding vocal harmonies. (That song is available on iTunes, and is a catchy little number.)

We come to the summer of 2006. Brian gets the itch to write. By that point, I believe, Darian had a day job for Disney. The band was more or less on hiatus (Brian played only three or four shows that year). So when he wants to write, he calls up someone who is in town, available, and who can play practically any instrument -- voila! It's Scott.

And what's important here is that Brian is actually the dominant force for many of the songs. As I note on anther thread, Brian co-wrote the lyrics for more than half of the TLOS tracks. So Scott's statement in an interview that Brian brought along nearly completed songs for their collaboration seems to have truth to it. Scott wasn't the one forcing Brian to work -- Brian was the one wanting Scott to help him polish up these songs. As they worked together, things shifted and deepened, as they do in collaborations. Scott took a much larger role in shaping "Midnight's Another Day," recasting an up tempo Brian tune into a mournful ballad. Can we argue with the results?

So the two work out nearly 20 songs. There are rumors Brian is recording an album, but that's shot down by other band members; they're just demos.

However, the Royal Festival Hall has commissioned Brian to write a piece. As we go through 2007, Brian considers different approaches to the commission (or ignores it altogether). It's finally decided that because the band and Brian need something new to play, they might as well use the Brian-Scott tracks. Scott, Darian and Brian (supervising from overseas) work out a track list and later bring on Van Dyke Parks to write the connecting bits.

The road has been long -- and if the commission hadn't come along, who knows if we'd be hearing the songs at all.

But Scott has turned out to be a far better collaborator for Brian than I imagined possible. He has a good way with words, and he's a seriously talented musician and songwriter who can help Brian structure the various "feels" he produces. Who knows if they'll work together again -- but it could be great.

[Beach Bum]

What great reads both of those posts were! Does anyone -- beside me, wonder if Brian ever felt he was creating something special here? He certainly seems committed to it in a way I haven't heard in a while. And I agree -- Scott's lyrics are excellent and they seem to make a nice team.

Can't argue with the results.

By the way, has anyone else noticed how prominent Taylor's voice is on the album? I love it, especially her singing on Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl. Man, she sounds like an angel on there!

[Amy B.]

You know, I was surprised when I watched that DVD from the early days of the BW band and Scott was standing there just singing. I doubt that his multi-instrumentalism wasn't known, considering that he worked on the Imagination album, right? And he probably would have mentioned it in passing anyway or been seen noodling around on a piano somewhere. Or are we going to find out down the road that Taylor also plays a killer guitar but just hasn't had the opportunity to mention it to anyone?

As far as Scott's/Brian's roles on TLOS, I like the TLOS material so much better than I like the Taylor Mills material, which Scott also worked on. And the Scott solo stuff I've heard is good, but not my favorite. So either Scott is really versatile in his writing, or Brian or Darian had a huge role in the TLOS material. Regardless, Scott is enormously talented, and I think we're all really fortunate that he doesn't have a bigger ego, or he'd have been off to pursue his own career (to a larger extent than he already has) a long time ago, and TLOS never would have happened. All the members of the BW band seem interested in doing solo/non-BW material, but are content to do it as a sideline.

[Doo Dah]

I guess what struck me was not the talents of Scott, Darian or whomever - that much is beyond reproach. What struck me was that Scott happened to be the one to play the role (California Role) of a 'Roger Christian' in all this.

Think about it; with Brian's oft repeated quote 'I wanna make a Rock n Roll record,' don't you think if you locked Jeff and Brian into a workshop for oh, three weeks you would have your rock n roll record? Listen to Thru My Window...if Brian released a record like that, hosana. The sun would come down and it would be 1963 all over again

Then again, who knows? Maybe that IS the formula for the rock n roll record!

"left a good job in the citAHH..."

[Amy B.]

I think it might be that when Brian thinks "Scott" he thinks, "Multi-instrumentalist." He thinks "Guy who has made a few albums." He thinks "Guy who played a major role on someone else's album before (Taylor)." He thinks "Guy who is a lyricist as well as a musician," and he thinks "Guy who lives in the area and happens to be home when I call him"!

Brian has talked about songs as entities that just come to him. He's been talking about a rock and roll record for years, but it just hasn't been in the cards. He may have been trying to make that album this time (with MAD apparently starting as a rocker), but the music didn't seem to lend itself to that. And Scott is versatile enough to help Brian mold the songs and apparently straightforward enough to tell Brian what's what. I suppose it could have easily been one of the other guys, but maybe Brian feels that he can trust Scott too. Maybe it's an intangible feeling that he got-- his instinct telling him this was the guy to work with. It's like , "Why did he pick Tony Asher?"

[Wirestone]

Doo Dah -- As I said, I think Scott was in the right place at the right time, and he and Brian had worked up a level of trust over several years. That's why he's the guy.

Honestly, despite some decent tunes, I don't think Jeff is really much of a songwriter. Darian or any of the Mints would have been good, I suppose, but they've been very hands-off in working with Brian over the years, and that level of respect and admiration might actually be a barrier to collaboration.

[the captain]

My guess is that some combination of chemistry (I like the use of that word in the subject) and coincidence/circumstance is what led to that particular pairing instead of another one. Of course there are other current and past members of Brian's bands who had the technical ability to write songs with Brian. And you know what? There are hundreds or thousands of other people across this country (and others), too. It's not a slight on anyone in Brian's band, but every city in the world is loaded with really, really talented people who can nail those vocal parts, play a wailing guitar, sit down to the keyboard, etc. I don't mean they're a dime a dozen, but they're not one in a million, either. These are the people who ended up in the band for the same reasons we're the people who ended up in our own jobs, and it's a combination of qualifications or skill, people we knew, referrals, luck and whatever else. So yeah, Scott's really, really talented...as is Nelson, Darian, etc. And why did Brian choose him? Probably in large part because they get along well. Maybe it's just like Clay said: he was there. But in addition, maybe Brian just likes Scott and wanted to mess around; Scott was a fun guy to mess around with, and once they got on a roll they kept rolling. Who knows? (Scott...and probably nobody else. Brian probably forgot 15 months ago.)