The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've noticed Brian Wilson's media appearances in the mid to late 1990's were a bit odd.  To me, he acted very strange compared to any other period.  I've heard rumors that he started smoking again, he's changing medications, etc.  Does anyone have the slightest idea what was going on with Brian right after Landy's departure?

Many thanks.

Here are some examples of what I mean...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG6YHwjTTnc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG6YHwjTTnc)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6JZgzo3EOM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6JZgzo3EOM)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loHn4Be6cuQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loHn4Be6cuQ)

He may have just been recovering from the "Landy Experience."

I would imagine, after what Landy put Brian through, recovery would take years - the rest of the decade, at least.

It's amazing Brian has survived everything and is STILL TOURING in 2015 and releasing new music!

Brian was quite visible at the time his book came out - all over tv promoting it. Still looking very fit and trim, if a bit spacey. I kept waiting for Sweet Insanity to come out. 1992...nothing. 1993...nothing. 1994...nothing. I think the first glimpse I got of post-Landy BW was in a syndicated History of Rock 'N' Roll series, spring 1995. Obviously heavier, and still rather spacey. And then there was a report on Entertainment Tonight about him reuniting with Mike Love, writing new songs together. And finally, the film I Just Wasn't Made For These Times. It took me awhile to get used to seeing him older and wider, but there were moments in the film where he seemed very coherent, and it was good to see him back to making music.

The 1995 clip is beyond awkward.

I think through the nineties he and his proper doctors were working on finding the right balances and dosages of medications. As they were tweaked he had some weird times.

For one thing, he wrote over 100 songs with Andy Paley. He recorded albums with Van Dyke Parks and Don Was, and married  Melinda.

The casual fan could be forgiven for not knowing about the stuff with Paley; most of it has not been released. I remember reading about their collaborations in Pulse, December 1995, the issue with Brian and Van Dyke on the cover. I didn't understand why, if Brian had a bunch of great new songs, all we could get from him was an album of remakes, and an album singing Parks' songs.

Perhaps Andrew or one of the other experts could chime in, but didn't a significant amount of the songs that appeared on TWGMTR and NPP originate in the late 1990s?

As for the smoking, I remember reading an interview in which Brian said he quit smoking for good in 1995, via the patch.

In addition to his meds being tweaked, I heard that also Diet Rite cola, of all things, was one of his vices...and they did soemthing with the formula of that drink, and the new formula played hell on his meds, so he had to switch to Diet Dr Pepper. I swear, I'm not making this up.

He was also hanging out with Steve Dahl in the '90s when he had the second home in St. Charles, IL. I remember reading an account from Dahl about how the two went to a White Sox game together. Apparently at one point Brian commented how he loved going to baseball games because they're so relaxing, at which point he lit a cigar, took a puff or two from it, then extinguished it in Steve's drink. At some point, either during or after the game, Brian loudly announced, "I GOTTA PISS!" and ran to the bathroom. Someone jumped in front of him at the stall, so he just ran out and peed on someone's lawn. (Where I don't know, because The Venue Formerly Known As New Comiskey Park is nowhere near any residences.)

That's just the way it was. And is. Not sure if it was 100 songs or not, but they recorded at least a couple dozen and wrote far more. Melinda wasn't enthused with the material, apparently, and the Beach Boys (or at least Carl) didn't care much for it either. As we all know, BW will cut his losses on a project and abandon it if it doesn't seem to be working out.


Brian and Joe Thomas collaborated on a lot of material in the late 90s, but that was separate from BW's work with Paley. Of TWGMTR, five-six of Brian's songs date from that period. NPP features at least a couple, but the origins of most of the tunes there aren't known yet.

Perhaps Brian will address this is his autobiography.  Some of the songs on NPP definitely had a TWGMTR feel, so it would come as no surprise if they were written around the same time. 

Two songs that blow me away are Chain Reaction of Love and I'm Broke. The original Gettin In Over My Head is so much better than the released version as well. Were these part of the Payley sessions?

They were cut during the Paley sessions, but not all were necessarily written during that time.

According to Wouldn't It Be Nice (if it were) My Own Story, Brian wrote "I'm Broke" after the Landy trial. Strange, because it's mentioned in The Wilson Project as one of the songs Brian worked on with Gary Usher circa 1986-1988, and that book was taken right out of Usher's diary.

I'm Broke was written in 1985. There is a recent video someone put up on youtube of Brian on his current tour doing a medley of the old chestnut Honeycomb and I'm Broke. Look it up.

Brian also recorded The Boogie's Back In Town with Paley. That was from 1983.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see "I'm Broke" on Brian's next album. He doesn't seem like the type to do an unreleased original song live and not release it at some point.

It makes me so sad the Paley stuff didn't come out. It's truly the hippest BW/BB music since Love You, not to mention the best ... In their original form, not sterilized for the masses.

That Diet Rite thing is nuts! I remember when I met Brian he was drinking a can of Diet Coke.

"Originate" is a fine and entirely apposite choice of word here: as Thomas has stated, he has many tapes of Brian playing fills, feels and riffs that were (much) later worked up into full compositions. For doing this, I can almost forgive him for the auto-tuned pile of excrement that is the 2013 live album.

Almost.

Wait.....Bono?? Is that YOU!??   :)

Agreed. A great period for Brian (and Andy Paley) musically, judging by what's leaked out. I love so much of that material (the original Soul Searchin' and GIOMH, Must Be a Miracle,  Some Sweet Day ...). The only drawbacks are Brian's slightly odd voice at times and the less than pristine sound quality.

Brian truly sounds like he's having a ball on these tracks.

probably not considering how tight-lipped everybody has been about what happened and why it didn't come out.