The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've read endless stories about the horrors that Landy put Brian through second therapy period: 1983-1991, and I know that those treatments damn near killed him. However, you hear markedly less about the first era, which was about a year worth of treatment, 1976. Did he do a lot of harm during this period, and was his method of treatment different from the second time around?

I don't think Landy really treated Brian with meds the first time around, IIRC. It was more of a detox and monitoring program. So while the physical parts of the program were similar -- Brian followed around, forced to write and perform, etc. -- he wasn't being fed mass amounts of psychotropic drugs, either.

The other thing to remember is how short that first period of treatment was. Landy still had to work through the BBs organization -- which served to actually protect Brian in some ways. The second period, Landy insisted on complete control -- and because he was the only person to really get results with BW, he got it.

I thought Landy also insisted on complete control the first time around.

I don't think he did any damage. I think of the interview with Brian in 1980 (which seems to have vanished off YouTube) that includes him saying "I like food," cracking up Carl. Not only was Brian not slurring his words, but he had personality, which is something he doesn't seem to show much in recent years.

And on a related note, did Landy write any lyrics that first time around which ended up on Love You or Adult Child? I seem to remember him implying that he wrote or inspired some of them in the Wouldn't it Be Nice "biography."