The Smiley Smile Message Board

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2009/nov/27/nice-work-if-you-can-get-it-covering-classics-by/

Drop the needle. Lift it up. Drop the needle. Lift it up. When genius songwriters have time on their hands, this is what they do: They dissect the works of other genius songwriters. If a vinyl record is scratched to oblivion in the process, so be it.

The record Brian Wilson sacrificed in the name of musical deconstruction was a copy of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” The sweeping, classically influenced instrumental, written in 1924, marked the arrival of Gershwin as a “serious” composer, much like the landmark 1966 single “Good Vibrations” would cement Wilson’s own transition from Beach Boys hit maker to visionary songsmith.

These two music makers may have been born in different centuries and on opposite coasts, but they were cut from the same cloth, each possessing the guts and determination not only to top the charts but also to resist the urge to stagnate once they got there. Aided by their brothers — George’s lyric-writing sibling, Ira, wrote the words to many of his biggest hits; Brian’s siblings, Carl and Dennis, were his compatriots in the Beach Boys — they were unafraid to rewrite the rule book, hurtling past the pop conventions of their times to create new, sophisticated sounds.

The composers never met; the Brooklyn-born Gershwin died in 1937, five years before Wilson came into the world on June 20, 1942, at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood. It didn’t take long for the young Wilson to discover Gershwin; “Rhapsody in Blue” is his first musical memory, a song that’s been etched into his soul since 1944, the year he first heard the tune at his grandmother’s house. Though he was just 2, he would plant himself in front of the turntable for hours, riveted by the melody.

Wilson’s needle-dropping dissection of the song came in the early ’70s. With help from pal Tandyn Almer, who wrote “Along Comes Mary” for The Association (and co-wrote, with Wilson and others, “Sail on Sailor” for the Beach Boys), Wilson spent a week — yes, a week — dropping the needle and lifting it up as he painstakingly dissected every bar, every note of “Rhapsody in Blue.” After seven days, the record was trashed, but Wilson knew every chord change by heart.
Brian Wilson

The legendary musician will mix Beach Boys classics and solo tunes when he performs with his 10-piece band at 8 p.m. Thursday at The Canyon, 28912 Roadside Drive, Agoura Hills. Tickets, $62.50 and $88.50, are available by calling 818-879-5016 or visiting http://www.canyonclub.net. Wilson’s Web site is http://www.brianwilson.com.

Wilson also will perform a rare acoustic set at 8 p.m. Dec. 6 at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. The Songs of the Sun concert, part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s West Coast, Left Coast festival, will also feature performances by Dave Alvin, The Living Sisters and Harper Simon. Tickets, $28-$42, are available by calling 323-850-2000 or visiting http://www.laphil.com.

Wilson’s analysis will serve him well on his latest musical adventure, reinventing classic Gershwin songs for a new CD. Due sometime in 2010 as part of Wilson’s new, two-record deal with Walt Disney Records, “Wilson Sings Gershwin” will find the Beach Boys mastermind putting his own unique spin on such Gershwin standards as “Summertime,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “I Loves You, Porgy” and, of course, “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Even more intriguing, Wilson has been granted permission by the Gershwin estate to work on a pair of musical fragments, which George Gershwin left unfinished when he died suddenly of a brain tumor in 1937 at age 38.

In a phone interview last week from his Los Angeles home, the 67-year-old Wilson said he’s honored — and a little daunted — by the trust the Gershwin estate has placed in him. “Nothing could have influenced me like Gershwin’s music,” he said. “Gershwin’s music was the best music I’ve ever heard in my life.”

Since last month, Wilson has been in and out of Los Angeles’ Ocean Way Recording studio. Instrumental tracks for nine of the Gershwin songs are largely done; still to come are percussion overdubs and vocal sessions. He’s taking a break from the project next week to pay some bills, performing a greatest hits concert at The Canyon in Agoura Hills and a rare all-acoustic set at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Dec. 6. The latter show, titled Songs of the Sun, is being presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic as part of its West Coast, Left Coast festival. It’s Wilson’s final concert appearance this year; when the last note sounds, it’s back to Gershwin — and on to the holidays.

Strike up the band

Fans at The Canyon won’t hear any of the Gershwin material — it’s too soon for that — but they will be treated to more than two hours of Beach Boys hits and Wilson solo songs, all played to perfection by Wilson’s phenomenal 10-piece ensemble, hailed by Paul McCartney as “the best touring band in the world.” The group, anchored by keyboardist-singer Darian Sahanaja and singer-guitarist Jeff Foskett, will saturate The Canyon with Wilson’s lush harmonies and intricate orchestrations.

The set list for this tour is stacked with Beach Boys songs from the early ’60s (“Surfer Girl,” “Salt Lake City,” “In My Room”), the band’s big hits (“I Get Around,” “California Girls,” “Wouldn’t it Be Nice,” “Surfin’ USA”), a supercharged selection of car songs (“Custom Machine,” “Shut Down,” “Little Deuce Coupe”), genre-pushing album cuts (“Please Let Me Wonder,” “The Little Girl I Once Knew”) and an emotion-charged, three-song medley from “That Lucky Old Sun,” Wilson’s critically acclaimed 2008 ode to Southern California. As an early Christmas present, Wilson also will slip in the Beach Boys’ 1964 holiday hit, “Little St. Nick.”

“We do 90 minutes plus a 25-minute encore,” said Foskett by phone last week from Los Angeles, where he was busy producing Micky Dolenz’s coming CD. “You can sing the words to 85 percent of the songs and the other 15 percent you’ll go, ‘Wow, I wish I had known about that song earlier.’”

Onstage at the center of all this beautiful noise is Wilson. Sitting behind a keyboard that he may or may not play, given his mood, the famously troubled musician is both the band’s weakest link and its unbending emotional anchor. The decades he spent battling crippling self-doubt, debilitating mental illness and the ravages of drug addiction have clearly taken their toll. His voice no longer soars as effortlessly as it did in the ’60s; it can waver, it can break and it can wander off pitch. His onstage demeanor can sometimes be impassive, as if he’s a bored spectator at his own show. Moments later, that cloud can lift and he’ll snap back to attention, cracking jokes and nailing the high notes. For all his problems, Wilson’s spirit remains defiantly resilient. Look past the damage and you discover a man who, against all odds, remains committed to the musical mission he mapped out in 1966 as he recorded the groundbreaking “Pet Sounds” album. Put simply, Wilson wants to create sounds “that make the listener feel loved.”

Kickin’ the clouds away

When the ’60s ended, Wilson was no longer in shape — emotionally or creatively — to continue making that kind of music. His ballyhooed “Smile” project, an album that could have rivaled The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper,” was abandoned and, despite occasional bursts of creativity, he spent much of the ’70s and ’80s living the unproductive life of a rock ’n’ roll casualty. As the years ticked by, he gradually distanced himself from the Beach Boys.

A musical metamorphosis begin in 1988 with the release of his first solo album, “Brian Wilson.” It continued tentatively in the ’90s, as Wilson collaborated with “Smile” lyricist Van Dyke Parks on the “Orange Crate Art” album in 1995 and his daughters, Carnie and Wendy, on the “The Wilsons” album in 1997. Along the way, Wilson lost his brothers; Dennis drowned in 1983, and Carl died of cancer in 1998. Later that year, when Wilson’s second solo album, “Imagination,” was released, he dedicated the ballad “Lay Down Burden” to Carl.

When Wilson decided to tour behind “Imagination,” he hired Foskett to put the group together. Foskett brought in Sahanaja and three other members of the Los Angeles power-pop band The Wondermints, guitarist Nick Walusko, guitarist-horn player Probyn Gregory and percussionist Mike D’Amico. Sax/flute/harmonica player Paul Mertens also signed on, as did singer Taylor Mills and, soon after, multi-instrumentalist Scott Bennett. As the millennium dawned, the band gelled and Wilson found himself surrounded by a core group of musicians willing and able to bring his musical vision to life, both on stage and on record.

Spurred on by their skill and dedication, not to mention the emotional security provided by his new wife, Melinda Ledbetter, Wilson saw his confidence level soar and his creative floodgate burst open. He took the bold step of performing the complex “Pet Sounds” album live in 2000, complete with a symphony orchestra, then surprised the music world by bringing “Smile” to life onstage in 2003 and on record in 2004. Another solo album (“Gettin’ in Over My Head”) came out the same year, followed in 2005 by a holiday album (“All I Really Want for Christmas”).

A year after receiving The Kennedy Center Honor in 2007, Wilson released “That Lucky Old Sun” to glowing reviews. Uncut Magazine hailed the song cycle for its “force, verve, and sheer musical imagination” and Rolling Stone said the record leaves you feeling “warm all over.” Now he’s ready to wrap up the decade with the all-Gershwin record. Foskett calls this nine-year body of work, and Wilson’s own personal evolution, nothing short of “phenomenal.”

“When we first started touring in 1999, to say that Brian looked like a deer in the headlights would be a pretty accurate description,” said Foskett, who attended UC Santa Barbara in the 1970s before joining the touring Beach Boys. “Now, especially on this last tour, here’s a guy who introduced every single song with a really cute story or a novel bit about when it was written or why it was written. He’s joking with the audience, being funny and really super-engaged. He’s playing piano. It’s just incredible. It may not be incredible for a ‘normal’ performer, but for Brian Wilson it’s way out of the norm. It’s very enlightening and very satisfying to see that.”

’S wonderful

Fleshing out Gershwin’s musical fragments has been both challenging and rewarding, Wilson said. The two pieces, each two to three minutes in length, are “romantic and beautiful” piano works. “They want to see if I can add or insert some of my stuff into his stuff,” Wilson said.

“I’m not adding lyrics, just piano parts,” he said. “It’s quite a thrill to work on these. It’s like a collaboration without really being with him. I was a little scared of trying to do something as good as Gershwin, but I’m trying. I think I can, you know? I don’t know. I think so. I hope so!”

Foskett hasn’t heard Wilson’s progress on the piano pieces yet but said the tracks for the Gershwin standards — including a three-song medley — are coming along nicely. “To hear Brian’s very cool, genius interpretations of a genius writer has been very, very fun,” Foskett said. “Obviously, he hasn’t changed the melodies of them at all. He’s been very faithful to the chords, but he does Brian Wilson-ize them.”

Foskett’s favorite track so far is “Ain’t Necessarily So,” a song featured in the Gershwins’ famous 1935 opera “Porgy and Bess.”

“You’ve got to hear this track,” Foskett said. “It’s incredible. The Hammond B3 organ makes it. It’s very, very bluesy. Gershwin, of course, didn’t have the luxury of having a Hammond B3 hooked up to a Leslie speaker, so Brian’s version of this is going to be very, very cool.”

“Rhapsody in Blue” will be done a cappella, Wilson said, an artistic choice that should thrill fans of his vocals-only pieces, like the majestic “Our Prayer” from “Smile” or the soaring “One for the Boys” from “Brian Wilson.” Foskett can’t wait for the vocal sessions to begin. “That’s where I’m really going to enjoy it,” he said. “As cool as the tracks are that we’ve laid down, I think the real genius of Brian’s touch and arrangement skills is going to come into play when he starts doing the vocals.”

Wilson, with buoyant understatement, said he’s looking forward to the “Rhapsody in Blue” sessions, too.

“That’ll be good, huh?”

Woah,"Rhapsody" acapella, been waiting for that for a hell of a long time.

i think my hesitance with this will come from the vocals.  I'm not sure brian singing "summertime" will be much now.  rhapsody in blue will be interesting. 

I think I have heard an acapella version of Rhapsody before, I wonder how it will compare.

I know what you mean, but remember; when Brian really loves something or is  really into it, his vocals seem to go above and beyond. I still can't believe how could he sounds on BWPS....

Check out:

 http://www.a-cappella.com/product/1801/pop-mixedgroups

There are two acapella excerpts on the page.  Makes me very excited to hear what Brian will do with the song

Is there a release date for the album, or does anyone have an idea?

We do 90 minutes plus a 25-minute encore,” said Foskett by phone last week from Los Angeles, where he was busy producing Micky Dolenz’s coming CD. “You can sing the words to 85 percent of the songs and the other 15 percent you’ll go, ‘Wow, I wish I had known about that song earlier.’”



Did anyone catch the quote from Jeffrey Foskett about producing Monkee Micky Dolenz's new cd?  He hasn't put out a cd in 15 years or more, & those albums were aimed at children.  

He's such a great vocalist & songwriter, yet it seems like he hasn't had the confidence or a good producer to release his stuff after the Monkees disbanded in 1970, except for a few early '70s singles.  I know that's off-topic, but there's more than one BB who would fall into that category, including Dennis.

Not to hijack the discussion....

but the Micky album will be all covers of  Carole King songs called "King For A Day". Brian sang on one of the tracks.

Bummer. His Monkees originals were perhaps the most interesting of the bunch (e.g. "Rosemarie" and "Mommy And Daddy"). Would love to hear new compositions of his more than anything. Wait a second, his songs for Justus weren't really that special...

About Micky Dolenz, I didn't know Brian helped on one of those Carole King covers.  I look forward to hearing the collaboration.  Still, I wish Micky would put out an original album.  He's very talented.  The next best thing would be Rhino or Rhino Handmade exhuming his 1970's solo stuff.

That would be cool, if there was a Rhino.

Brian's already got an acapella version of "Rhapsody" in the can, from the Orange Crate Art sessions.

How does it sound?

Probably similar to his version of What A Wonderful World, done during the same sessions.

Highly doubtful - that wasn't acapella.

so...knowing brian, he'll probably just use this? or at least the skeleton of it for the new record?

Interesting!  (thanx for redirecting the thread back to the subject)

I don't think the Rhapsody version from OCA has ever been booted. So it's difficult to know what kind of a arrangement it is, or how much of it was used.

I suspect that it was a VDP creation, too, which means Brian's version may go in a totally different direction. (Very little from the OCA sessions has leaked -- just that one version of What a Wonderful World, which was played at Brian's wedding to Melinda).

Ahh...so THAT is when WAWW was done. Usually it's booted as part of the Paley sessions.

There will be a high degree of scruntiny from the critics on this one.  If Brian isn't up to this, he'll get slammed hard.  I approached TLOS with trepidation and was more than a little surprised.  I hope that his improved mood on the recent tour is an indication that something great is in the works.

Has there been any word from any of the band on this? I know Jeff has commented in the press, but he's sort of a cheerleader for Brian. I wondered if the band had privately said anything, just as they did during the making of TLOS.

I think the answer is yes, and I think the mood is good. Publicly, tho, I don't they're allowed to say much.

This is highly exciting as if someone has had the foresight to combine all my interests in one place- Disney, Gershwin and Mr Wilson! Incredible I'll have to wait till 2010 though which is not so incredible

It is 100% incredible that mr. Wilson will release two new themed albums in the coming year.

woah- did I miss one? what's the other one?

A Disney album where Brian will record the "classic" Disney tunes. Who knows what the songs will be, but I'm guessing it will include stuff like "When You Wish Upon A Star" etc.

I wish he would do 'Heigh Ho' in the arrangement of Tom Waits... now that would be something to look out for...

ah right- I thought he wasp uttign out Gershwin o nthe diney abel I must have missed the part where he talked of doing a disney album- probably thorugh being too excited about him doing Gershwin- still, no points for me

...what

Both albums are coming out on the Disney label Pearl.

Noncommunicative, but some nuggets.

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20091203/LIFESTYLES01/91203020/Brian+Wilson+interview+reveals+no+plans+past+Gershwin

QUESTION: Have you gotten back into working on the Gershwin project?

WILSON: Yeah.

How was it leaving the project to go on the road? Do you take a tape recorder or note pads so you can work on it?

Yeah. I take a tape recorder with me.

So, how does that work for you? Do you come up with ideas while you’re working?

Well, whenever I get inspired.

Do you have a routine where you sit down to make the inspiration come?

No, it’s just whenever it happens, it happens.

Did it happen?

Yeah. I got some stuff on tape.

Are you pleased with the way that project is going?

Yes.

A lot of people are kind of surprised that you were influenced by Gershwin. Can you recall your first inspiration from the Gershwins?

I first heard Gershwin when I was two years old. Then, later on, I learned how to play that pretty part in “Rhapsody In Blue.”

How old were you when you learned that -- the improvisational part of “Rhapsody,” right?

Yeah. I was 28.

28? So you were already acclaimed as a genius and were looking for something new to do?

Right.

Where did that lead you? Did it make you want to learn more about Gershwin?

No, no. I just learned that part. I really didn’t learn anything else from him.

I know you got this project when you signed with Disney, but, how did you get (to finish) his compositions -- the scraps of them, so to speak?

Well, the Disney people called us and asked if I would like to work on some unfinished tapes, and that’s what we did.

I know the Gershwin estate is very particular about even who gets to give a Gershwin concert. Did you have to go through any type of conversations with the family to assure them...

No. They sent us the tapes.
Can you tell me what your inspiration for those tapes are?

Ah, what my what?

What your inspiration is. Where you’re going to take them.

I have no idea. I’m just working on it now. I haven’t got much done.

Gershwin is so New York and you’re so Southern California, will there be a meeting of geography here?

No. Actually the stuff I’m going to do is completely different from his stuff.

Will it be like what you did with “Lucky Ol’ Sun” -- bringing the Brian Wilson-Beach Boys harmonies to it?

No. We’re just doing piano stuff.

No vocals at all?

No.

So you’re not using any Ira Gershwin material?

No. We’re doing 10 Ira and George Gershwin songs, but we’re doing two unfinished piano things.

I was talking with Barry Manilow, who got some of Johnny Mercer’s unfinished material and turned that into what I think is his best album ever. He told me he thought you were perfect for this project. He calls you a genius.

Great.

You’re performing against him. He’s at (the McCallum Theatre) the night you’re in Rancho Mirage... Ah, you’ve been coming out to Indian Wells for a while now, right?

Right.

How do you feel about playing in this area now that you’re a part-time resident?

You mean, Palm Springs?

Yeah.

I like that place a lot. Yeah.

I know your wife likes to play golf. What have you found enjoyable about your home out here?

In Palm Springs?

Yeah.

Not much. I just like the weather.

So, going back to the Gershwin thing for a moment. I know Phil Ramone is also coming out with a Gershwin project in 2010. Do you feel any pressure to compete with him?

No, no. They will probably be two different kinds of things.

They’ll be coming out around the same time. Do you concern yourself with the practicalities of how a piece does commercially?

Well, yeah. I don’t know if this is going to sell, but they have a lot of money, so they can promote it.

Right. Are you looking at this as something that will top “SMiLE” or “Lucky Ol’ Sun”?

No. It will be a completely different kind of album. It won’t top “SMiLE.” It’s not a concept album. It’s just an album of “Wilson Sings Gershwin.”

(edited out)

Are you working with any collaborators on this Gershwin project?

Well, yeah. I’m working with my friend Paul Mertens. He’s one of my band members. He’s a horn player.

So you’ll have a horn arrangement on this?

He’s going to make the horn and string arrangements for the Gershwin songs that Ira wrote and George wrote.

Are you working on any more popular music in addition to Gershwin now?

No, not really.

Do you know where you’re going to go after that project?

I don’t know.

You have another album to satisfy your contract with Disney, but you don’t know what that’s going to be yet?

No.

OK. Do you ever have ideas that pop into your head that don’t fit the Gershwin project? And, if so, what do you do with them?

Well, you mean if they’re not related to Gershwin?

Yeah.

I just discard them.

Really?

Yeah.

Wow. You write them down but you throw them away?

Actually, my whole project now is Gershwin. Anything not Gershwin, I don’t use.

I would think you’d be afraid of losing some idea that might be valuable in five years to you.

I don’t know.

You’re just so confident that you’re going to come up with new ideas, huh?

Right. right.

How did you get so confident?

I don’t know. I just have a lot of will power and creativity in me.

OK. Well, is there anything else you want to tell me?

No. It’s a great interview. Thank you very much.

bet that reporter "Loved" Brian  ::)

When he's not into it... hes NOT into it!   :lol

Paul Mertens is going to make the string and horn arrangements.    Just wondering.....would that make this also a Mertens Gershwin collaboration?

Just sayin/pondering......not to be dismissing Brian's contribution? :shrug

Once again, Foskett slighting Brian. Definitely not the first instance - it bothers me.

You have to feel so sorry for that interviewer - they were trying so hard it hurts but Brian just wasn't playing ball. Damn fine questions, too.

Some nice new info, mind - never knew Melinda was a golfer (possibly not the best time to learn this, mind).

"So you’re not using any Ira Gershwin material?

No. We’re doing 10 Ira and George Gershwin songs...."

 ???


OK. Well, is there anything else you want to tell me?

No.

Man, I love Brian.  ;D

Hmmm... there's an edited version of the interview at http://www.mydesert.com/article/200912030300/lifestyles0101/912020369 - which kind of makes me wonder why they bothered editing it.

If the reporter had wanted, he could have added chunks of background and come up with a half-decent, entertaining feature that didn't seem so negative and "whatever".

Ah well...

No more than BWPS or TLOS would be considered Wilson/Mertens collaborations. Obviously it's very real and important input, but it will be credited as "strings and horns arranged by..."

And she knows about Cadillacs....

I thought there was going to be an acapella Rhapsody in Blue...

He has also already talked about needing to do vocal sessions, so it's obviously not all instrumental. I think that he's just referring to the new pieces he's finishing as being instrumentals.

I think this is a case of poor punctuation in the printed article. Brian thinks the interviewer is asking about the two "new" unfinished Gershwin pieces when he asks about vocals. Brian responds that they (the new pieces) will just be instrumentals. When the interviewer responds (probably in surprise) with "So, you're not using any Ira Gershwin material (meaning lyrics)?", Brian is probably trying to clarify ( :lol) by saying "No (you misunderstood), we're doing 10 Ira and George Gershwin songs (in addition to the two new instrumentals)".