Brian Wilson: Songwriter 1962-1969

[smile-holland]

I'm well aware of Bruce ranking Sunflower at the top of his list of Beach Boys albums. But that still does not change the fact that he's one of the harshest critics of their music after Pet Sounds and Smile. Not bashing the man or his personal tastes, just stating a fact that he's shared with us so many times over...

Bruce said in the documentary that it didn't surprise him that 'Friends' didn't make the top 100, because he thought it shouldn't even have made the top 1000. That's beyond criticizing, that's ridiculing.

... which reminds me... Mojo Magazine August 1995 (nr. 21): 100 greatest albums ever made....

Nr.1 was Pet Sounds. And the only other Beach Boys album that was mentioned ... in the so-called "bubbling under"-list, at nr. 112 was - surprise! - Friends.

(and I almost forgot a 3rd “Voted for in vain”-list (30 of the personal passions that appeared high and hopeful on some contributor’s lists): one of them was Pacific Ocean Blue


but that’s just a list, I know…   

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

found this a little boring, suppose i was expecting too much. It just goes over too much old ground covered on lots of other documentaries.

I found Philip Lambert and Fred Vail's interviews the most enlightening for new stuff. No offense to anyone involved though as it was very well put together. What happened to 20/20 though? that was 1969 right? - do it again, i went to sleep, time to get alone?

I would have liked if it could have gone more in the direction of philip lambert's book and left out the personal stuff about murray and mike love and so on and just looked at the songwriting but then that's just me.

[Myk Luhv]

I never finished Lambert's book since it was a little too music-theory-heavy for me (I am shamefully uninitiated in that arena) but what I did read -- and of that, what I understood -- was very enlightening and extremely well done. More books like that should be written about Brian Wilson. As I recall though it gave short shrift to his post-Smile stuff. Which, as Lambert himself readily admits, was not groundbreaking anymore but rather was simply excellent work within the confines of then-contemporary pop music. Nevertheless, I would still like to see Lambert write a book to cover in more detail 1967 to 1977 as I find it to be their most interesting period in some respects.

[Surfing Moose]

Found the DVD in my mailbox at last and watched it instantly. I really enjoyed it. It's the exact mix of interviews, narration and music clips that makes it a captivating documentary. I really think it shows the essential contribution of Brian to pop music.
Actually, I mostly enjoyed Prof. Lambert's music explanations (got to get his book). I dig it, when people explain music, not being a musician myself.

Hey Danny Hutton, get a new pair of spectacles, the one you have don't fit, you have to get them in place every 30 seconds. That must be annoying?

And Peter, I'm currently reading your book "Paul McCartney A Life" and now a have your voice in my head while reading it 

[Mike's Beard]

Yeah Danny definitely could do with getting those things adjusted!

[JimC1702]

Got my copy today.  I've watched the first disc.  Like others have said, nothing startling there, but it is well done and I enjoyed seeing Dave Marks getting some attentiona and offering his thoughts on the band the early music.

[DSamore]

It was great. Loved some of the footage that I had not seen before. Great insight etc. But Jeez- maybe a bit of variation in the music eh? That piano line was really nice and I like the idea of using it (what BW was playing supposedly and then it was re-recorded? very cool!) but using it THAT much almost exclusively? wow. Sometimes it would just cut out and not fade or anything. Strange editing choice I thought, considering how polished the rest of the doc was. Either way, I was so glad to watch this and will share with friends.

[Amy B.]

Watched the first disc and enjoyed it; put in the second disc and my computer ejected it 2 minutes later, telling me it was scratched. Annoying. Maybe I'll try it in the DVD player.

Anyway, I really like this documentary.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I ordered the thing two months ago and it just came in this week. I almost looked to buy it again.

I really enjoyed the fact that it gave props to certain songs that normally get ignored, such as 'In the Back of My Mind' and 'Wind Chimes'. I was thinking that once it passed Pet Sounds they would casually mention Good Vibrations, Darlin, and Do it Again. But they did post Pet Sounds a good. Except for the negative review of Friends by Bruce. How can he love Smiley and hate Friends? It doesn't make sense. I love them both, but I think Friends is better.

It still feels incomplete to me. I would have liked it to go all the way to the present with TLOS and BRG. Songs like At My Window, Til I Die, Sail on Sailor, Mt V & F, Love You lp, and solo career.

Maybe the 3rd part will come out eventually.

[punkinhead]

I ordered the thing two months ago and it just came in this week. I almost looked to buy it again.

I really enjoyed the fact that it gave props to certain songs that normally get ignored, such as 'In the Back of My Mind' and 'Wind Chimes'. I was thinking that once it passed Pet Sounds they would casually mention Good Vibrations, Darlin, and Do it Again. But they did post Pet Sounds a good. Except for the negative review of Friends by Bruce. How can he love Smiley and hate Friends? It doesn't make sense. I love them both, but I think Friends is better.

It still feels incomplete to me. I would have liked it to go all the way to the present with TLOS and BRG. Songs like At My Window, Til I Die, Sail on Sailor, Mt V & F, Love You lp, and solo career.

Maybe the 3rd part will come out eventually.

What version of Wind Chimes is mentioned? Smile or Smiley?

Also, can anyone tell me what post GV songs are mentioned/discussed or played?

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I ordered the thing two months ago and it just came in this week. I almost looked to buy it again.

I really enjoyed the fact that it gave props to certain songs that normally get ignored, such as 'In the Back of My Mind' and 'Wind Chimes'. I was thinking that once it passed Pet Sounds they would casually mention Good Vibrations, Darlin, and Do it Again. But they did post Pet Sounds a good. Except for the negative review of Friends by Bruce. How can he love Smiley and hate Friends? It doesn't make sense. I love them both, but I think Friends is better.

It still feels incomplete to me. I would have liked it to go all the way to the present with TLOS and BRG. Songs like At My Window, Til I Die, Sail on Sailor, Mt V & F, Love You lp, and solo career.

Maybe the 3rd part will come out eventually.

What version of Wind Chimes is mentioned? Smile or Smiley?

Also, can anyone tell me what post GV songs are mentioned/discussed or played?

Smiley. Bruce Johnston gives that album high praise. I was very surprised about that.

[PongHit]

Santa brought me a copy yesterday.  Looks great.  Hope to watch it today...

[PongHit]

Watched DVD 1 last night, & loved it.  Once of the best BB docs so far.  Although, probably more detail about the music than a casual fan would tolerate — probably best for mega-fans, & musicians.

[PongHit]

Something that bugged me though: Peter Ames Carlin, I think, said that when BW started using the Wrecking Crew, the BBoys 'never touched their instruments' again (I'm paraphrasing).

[bgas]

Something that bugged me though: Peter Ames Carlin, I think, said that when BW started using the Wrecking Crew, the BBoys 'never touched their instruments' again (I'm paraphrasing).

Hmm, haven't watched to verify what you're saying; but this is the way these nasty false rumours get started. Seemingly PC videos spreading non-truths as the gospel. 

[metal flake paint]

Something that bugged me though: Peter Ames Carlin, I think, said that when BW started using the Wrecking Crew, the BBoys 'never touched their instruments' again (I'm paraphrasing).

Yeah, I was disappointed to hear that too, especially from Peter who, I thought, would've known better

[PongHit]

Yeah, I was disappointed to hear that too, especially from Peter who, I thought, would've known better

Yeah, strange.  I wonder if the editing, or something, is to blame?

[rab2591]

"...to the extent that the Beach Boys had continued to play on the records, they were now, like, not touching instruments." - exact quote from Carlin on the 'BW Songwriter' DVD.

I think it was more of a vague comment not intended to be taken literally. Obviously Carlin of all people knows that the Beach Boys continued to play their instruments occasionally, he was just trying to quickly convey how important the Wrecking Crew were to Brian's music in making his own 'Wall of Sound'.

On to my review of the Documentary:

Just finished it today. I'm very impressed but at the same time I am not impressed. Honestly, as I recall, 30 minutes into the documentary and I was still listening to commentary on Surfin' USA. Given that the movie is only 3 hours long I expected to be further along into the discography at that point.

It was rather irritating that not once did they talk about the exotica music and it's influence on Brian's Pet Sounds work. Nor did it talk about the musical influences for SMiLE...which I am deeply interested in and have yet to get a concise answer for. It did talk a lot about the jazz chords Brian used, and how he meshed jazz chords together with a rock sound to make something very unique, especially in his early work. Also, a bit of time was set aside for SMiLE, but no new information was given...and only a few songs were talked about. I'd have loved to have heard more about the instrumentals for 'Wonderful' and 'Look' - but I understand that not EVERY song could be talked about. They did cover 'Wind-Chimes' - both for SMiLE and Smiley Smile - with some great footage to go along with it.

Philip Lambert was a great addition to this DVD. His commentary on 'God Only Knows' really stuck out to me. He started playing the chords for GOK on the piano and it sounded unreal...Making me wish Brian had kept more of his demos. Lambert plays us many Beach Boy tunes on the piano, giving us a glimpse at what Brian's songs sounded like well before he went into the studio. I also LOVED the footage of Specter in the studio, as well as the in-depth look at his influence on Brian. A real treat was the commentary on 'In The Back Of My Mind' - it finally gets some recognition for its beauty - lyrically and instrumentally.

In all, the documentary is VERY well put together. They did a great job balancing the story of the Beach Boys and the music itself. A great narration is peppered through the movie - guiding us from one album to the next. The footage during the song 'Cabinessence' is nearly worth the price of admission. Also, the incredible highway footage during the song 'Heroes and Villains' was a rush. Most of the footage/photos I had not seen, but then again I haven't watched too many Beach Boy documentaries.

I'm not going to spoil anything (and this story may be old news to many of you), but that last story that Hal Blaine tells us (about his last studio session with Brian) nearly brought me to tears. What a powerful story. The movie ends on a high note, as I think Carlin talks about Brian finishing SMiLE and releasing it to the public in 2004.

It gets 5/5 from me. Yes, I wrote some cons here, but this would make a great introduction for future Brian Wilson fanatics...paving the way for more beautiful music to be created by up and coming artists...and thus I love it.

[Peter Ames Carlin]

Rab does a nice job of reading my mind on this one. I was going for some kind of comic overstatement to emphasize the significance of the Wrecking Crew folk in BW's production style. Clearly, the other BB's played instruments here and there during BW's peak era, then played even more...almost exclusively, on some records...through the early 70s.

And just so you know, there's plenty of room for misstatements and blown attempts at making yourself clear when you're sitting across from a camera for five or six hours, going on and on, blah-blah-blah. A lot of balls hovering over your head. You're forever wrestling to balance the loads of stuff you've got memorized with the need to get to the point asap before everyone falls asleep. All that, plus how does my hair look? Am I slumping too much? Sitting too stiffly? And is it okay for me to scratch my nose now?

That's how it feels to me, anyway.

[Peter Reum]

I just finished viewing this documentary, and while I did not hear or see anything I had not seen before, I thought the people who put it together did a nice job of illustrating how Brian grew as a producer and songwriter over the course of the Sixties. Brian had a wonderful ability to absorb influences, synthesize them into his music, and create something his own in the process.

It was good to hear from Danny Hutton, who confirmed the data he told some of us many years ago. He was diplomatic, but the information was there. I also enjoyed Peter, Domenic, and especially Phillip Lambert`s commentary. It was good to hear from Bruce, but to again have the issue of Wild Honey`s production go undisclosed was too bad.

Friends as an album was well described by Domenic. I think it was too bad that Bruce saw it as a slight effort. I personally believe that Brian saw it as a vehicle for family healing, and recorded it with that intent in mind. The albums that got the most attention--Surfer Girl, All Summer Long, Today, Summer Days, Pet Sounds, and The Smile Era, are all my favorite Brian stuff from back then.

I also appreciated Peter bringing out Brian`s recent creative spurt, because I believe that his last few efforts have been most enjoyable. I think the point made in the  film about The Beach Boys being young and a family enterprise were critical to understanding Brian`s reaction to changes in the Sixties.

Thanks to all who contribted to this project, especially my old friend Gary Pig Gold, for bringing it into reality.

[Mikie]

Peter, what were you hoping Bruce would 'disclose' or at least discuss, concerning the production of Wild Honey?

[Peter Reum]

Mikie, from documents I had in my old collection that came from Capitol, I have concluded that the Wild Honey that Brian would have finished was quite different than the Wild Honey The group eventually submitted to Capitol. After the Darlin and Time To Get Alone blowout, I have come to the conclusion that, based on the documents I had in Carl`s hand that went to Capitol, along with Capitol`s memoranda in response, that Brother 9003 was the Brian Wild Honey lp, and that Capitol 2859 was finished by the group, with Brian`s occasional participation, with help from the rest of the group. As Bruce points out, Brian was "cooling out" by that time. Anecdotal evidence from David Dalton`s eyewitness account of the Brian of the period in Fish Wrap Magazine supports this conclusion. Wild Honey, as finished was the first evidence of Carl`s slow but sure transition into the leadership of  the group. Evidence from the earlier period would indicate that he took over day to day dealing with Capitol shortly after Best of the  Beach Boys was put out and promoted over Pet Sounds.

[Mikie]

Peter, I have a picture of the track line-up of which you speak of. I assume this is what you mean - it includes "Wild Honey", "Here Comes the Night", "Let the Wind Blow", "I Was Made to Love Her", "The Letter", "Darlin'", "A Thing or Two", "Aren't You Glad", "Cool, Cool Water", "Game of Love", "Lonely Days", and "Honey Get Home".


 

[Mahalo]

What is "Honey Get Home?"... and was Brian much more into the project b4 the whole TTGA/Darlin' blowout? That's kinda weird...

[bgas]

Peter, I have a picture of the track line-up of which you speak of. I assume this is what you mean - it includes "Wild Honey", "Here Comes the Night", "Let the Wind Blow", "I Was Made to Love Her", "The Letter", "Darlin'", "A Thing or Two", "Aren't You Glad", "Cool, Cool Water", "Game of Love", "Lonely Days", and "Honey Get Home".
 

YEah, I remember seeing that track lineup. 
Peter nice to see you bring your wisdom here more often. 
Was reminded of you as I listed a mag for sale today on Ebay....