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Yes, folks, it has now been expanded into a 232 page book, unfortunately sold out, but I will search for it:

(http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/4269/twt1.jpg)

from http://www.garyusher.com/cmusic.html

THE WILSON PROJECT TAPES 1-10

SOLD OUT !

This 232 page book brings together the acclaimed 1993 book, THE WILSON PROJECT, telling the story of the struggle encountered by Gary Usher in his attempt to provide a creative musical atmosphere for his old friend, Brian Wilson, then encumbered by the shadow of Dr. Eugene E. Landy, and BRIAN WILSON TAPE #10, the briefly available and limited issue that brought the story to its end, complete with reproductions of various documents, court depositions, memorabilia and handwritten lyrics.  Now as the one book, THE WILSON PROJECT TAPES 1-10 is an insightful look at the dealings that prevailed during the mid to late '80s that eventually led to the release of BRIAN WILSON, the Beach Boy leader's first solo LP issued by Sire Records in July 1988.  THE WILSON PROJECT TAPES 1-10 is based on a 10 audio cassette diary maintained by Gary Usher during the "ordeal" and captures the day by day interaction, the creative out-pourings and the problems faced by Usher and Brian Wilson as they struggled to produce a foundation upon which Wilson could be re-introduced to contemporary music.  THE WILSON PROJECT TAPES 1-10 exposes the total control exercised by "the good doctor" over his patient. It also concerns the battles that ensued for Brian's well-being and musical soul. It is a story that proves beyond a shadow of doubt that FACT is STRANGER than fiction.  THE WILSON PROJECT TAPES 1-10, besides the main story, includes full recording particulars and a total of five appendices to expose the full INSIDE story; a sad melancholy tale with humour, drama and all the machinations of a Shakespearean play.

PRICE PER BOOK $US45 PLUS POSTAGE

It looks like half the stuff on that page is out of stock.

I know, it's a bummer.

I saw a CD of The Wilson Project Gary Usher sessions on amazon, but no longer available. Another item to look for, it's simply called The Wilson Project.

Probably vanished because someone tipped amazon the nod that it was several degrees less than legal.  :)

And all based on the delusional memoriesof one, grandstanding, Gary Usher.

 ??? care to elaborate a bit?

Yes, please clarify.

1. Was unaware that there was a CD version of "The Wilson Project" available. Are the two books consolidated and available on CD now? And it's unauthorized?

2. Was unaware that Gary Usher was dilusional and was grandstanding. Why do you say that, Bgas? Please, do tell.

Think we're getting our Wilson projects in a twist. The book, authorised by and with immense input from Usher, is only available as a book. or would be, were it, er... available.  :-[

The CD mentioned is, of course, an entirely unofficial release. Usher's son mantioned several eyars back that he'd like to see the Wilson/Usher demos as a legal release, but nothing else was heard on that score.

As to the book and the contents, there's been some debate as to the accuracy of Usher's recollections at certain points, and of course he had a personal agenda that included presenting himself in the best possible light at all times.

This is probably going to get me excommunicated in certain quarters, but I just cannot understand the adulation for Usher's surf/car/fun early sixties material and productions. Even compared with his immediate peers, without exception they sound weedy and thin: set alongside what Brian was achieving as early as spring 1963, it's acutely embarrassing. Usher in those days was a knock-off merchant: he went on to do credible work with the likes of The Byrds, but otherwise...

Ah, OK.  Yeah, the book was a two-parter; Vol. 1 & 2.  That is currently unavailable. So you're saying there's a CD out now containing music (the Wilson/Usher demos, presumably from around 1986).

I wonder what Steve McParland thinks about  the accuracy of Usher's recollections. I imagine Gary's memory of Landy, Mike Love, and Brian was pretty clear 3 or 4 years after what transpired at Usher's house/studio.

I bought a Gary Usher boxset recently called "Barefoot Adventure". It's average at best and a few tunes are terrible! Gary could not sing period. I think the sheer size of his early 60's output meant the quality controll was pretty low. Crappy Moogs aside, his Byrds stuff was amazing and so was the first Sagittarius record. As proud as I am to have got my hands on a copy of "The Wilson Project" after months of scouting, Gary does paint himself as somewhat Saint like in it and frankly songs such as "Heavenly Bodies" suck. 

Wait. The CD that was recently available on Amazon. Is that the same "Wilson Project" CD that was put out by Invasion Unlimited many years ago? Or was it a knock-off of that? And there was another one put out by Vigotone called "21 Little Ones" that also had most of the Brian/Usher stuff on it.

Agreed on "Barefoot Adventure".  Sorry you had to pay for that........

Most probably, yes.

Thankfully, I was able to listen to that on Spotify... or rather, not listen to it after maybe four tracks. Dreck.

Oh well if there is a silver lining, it's that being the only person who's bought the bloody thing it will one day be very rare and worth alot.

Sorry, this one has a different title, it's still up on http://www.amazon.com/Project-Wilson-Brian/dp/B0018C73S6/ref=sr_1_17?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1286988772&sr=1-17

Project Wilson [Special Edition, CD]
Brian Wilson (Author) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details
Audio CD
Format: Special Edition, CD
Label: Darkside Production

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
This is Love (Piano Solo). Gary Usher Sessions: Spirit of Rock & Roll/Turning Point/Just Say No/Heavenly Bodys/Christmas Time/Walk the Line. Miscellaneous Tracks: Barbie/This Could Be the Night/Sweets For My Sweet/Too Much Sugar (B Side)/Good Night Irene/Your Imagination (Accapella)/Christine/In My Car (Live)/Lets Do It Again. TV Show Live: California Girls/God Only Knows/Surfer Girl/Spirit of Rock & Roll/This Song Wants to Sleep With You Tonight/In My Room/Heavenly Lovers/Soul Searchin'/Down to San Diego.

About Gary Usher's early productions - I've got the complete Hondells and Super Stocks and Kickstands and Knights on CD, and recommend them all. Usher has legions of fans all over the world. Early surf music didn't have elaborate production, I'm just playing the Bel-Airs right now, it was all about energy.

That "Project Wilson" CD looks like a home-brew comp.  Lots of stuff not even associated with the Usher sessions. Some Paley things, some live. A hodge podge. Not even close to "The Wilson Project" noted above.

"Down to San Diego". Is that another title for "Down South In San Diego", the Boyd song played at the San Diego BB convention, or is that another one?

Nope, that's Boyd.  ;D

I quite like those as well - but at the same time I can understand Andrew's perspective. They ARE certainly quite run-of-the-mill and Gary's voice certainly wasn't cut out for this type of music.

Actually, of all Usher's projects, the one which has appealed the most to me has been the set of nearly finished songs he worked on with Curt Boettcher and Dick Campbell during the late 60s & early 70s. They were released by a Japanese label several years ago with the title 'Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt' reflecting the title of one of the songs. I think his voice suited this material really well. The songs have a kind of mellow, countrified sunshine pop-feel. Very dreamlike and melodic - and with great vocals by Curt and Dick to boot.

I've got that Japanese one. Also Add Some Music on Poptones. And Sagittarius, Kickstands, Knights, Hondells, Super Stocks, yeh, I like Gary Usher.

Finally! Someone who agrees with me! :lol

As for the book, it's good for what it is, but there are a few factual errors in there (some of the details about the Wipeout sessions for example), and I could go the rest of my life without reading about Usher's dream about Brian Wilson's soul needing to be saved.


I once had a "Barefoot Adventure" of my own, but since it involves waking up in a strange place with branches in my hair and a few teeth missing, I'll let it pass.  :hat



Obviously kidding.



I think.

Old thread I know but was browsing amazon earlier and found that there is a new expanded version of The Wilson Project available:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001INZFH6/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001INZFH6/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wilson-Project-Edition-Beach-Brian/dp/B00CGB3O7C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368883013&sr=8-1&keywords=the+wilson+project (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wilson-Project-Edition-Beach-Brian/dp/B00CGB3O7C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368883013&sr=8-1&keywords=the+wilson+project)

I've ordered mine as I have wanted to read this book for a long time but it has always been ridiculously priced, very happy that there is now a revised edition.

Talking of revised editions, any update on the revised version of The Real Beach Boy Mr Stebbins?

Many thanks man, ordered it now! I tried it once, but only found with absurd prices. I bought and finished read Stephen's book Inception and Conception, telling the Boys history from 61 to 63. A definitive book, highly recommended!

Andrew, I'm not that different; I collect Usher's work unconditionally (I have copies of Usher's rare first two singles, on the Titan and Lan-Cet labels), but his voice didn't win any prizes, and his timing/phrasing could at times be awful.  His early productions were very derivative.  That being said, I am a fan of his middle period and later work, starting with his work at Decca Records, through his work at Columbia Records, and on to Together Records.

"The Wilson Project" presents a very self-serving view from Usher's own perspective.  It will be interesting to see how Brian's upcoming autobiography will present that period, if at all.

Lee

Usher's singing is awful but I really like the instrumentals on Surf Route 101.

Thanks so much for bumping this! So glad I finally have a copy of this book now. Can't wait to read it!

Have just read this book and it is a cracker. The picture painted of Brian isn't exactly positive and the tale about him attending a swanky evening and farting in Marie Osmond's face is both hilarious and disturbing.

I am almost finished reading the updated 2013 edition, and that is by far my favorite part of the book - a funny diversion from an otherwise disturbing and difficult read. 

Does anyone have information on the song "Carl and Gina" that Brian wrote for Carl's second wedding?  It is mentioned toward the end of the book.

Good gosh, I remember seeing the old Wilson Project books (pink) at Rockaway Records in LA for years (along with Denny Remembered). And I never picked either up. Kicking self now, of course.

Though, after several in-store flips through the Project books, I had decided they were too utterly depressing to buy.

I found The Wilson Project anything BUT depressing. Angering? Sometimes. And at one point Usher, referring to Landy, said something like, "What does that little worm want now?" Actually made me LOL...

It's still gettable via Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/2954483407/ref=sr_1_2_twi_1_pap_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1437676242&sr=8-2&keywords=wilson+project+mcparland

I found myself shaking my head again and again at Usher's incredible naivety when dealing with Landy. Also, I feel he was, at this juncture, a better friend than a musical collaborator.

Usher comes across as a sweet, kind guy who was indeed probably too naïve. Interestingly, while I had heard the circulating Usher stuff way back when, I didn’t listen to the material while reading the book (of which I picked up the 2013 edition). After, I went back and tracked the stuff to remind myself.

As I mentioned in my review (on my blog linked below) back in 2013, the one area where Usher doesn’t fare well is when you actually listen to the music he was making with Brian. Usher discusses several times how Brian didn’t have an ear for what would be a hit in 1986 (which was undoubtedly true), but the stuff Usher offers up isn’t any better (Usher seems sure of himself about his writing and producing in the book, not excessively cocky or anything). There are a few solid moments, and most of those were the things that got aired in some format (e.g. “The Spirit of Rock and Roll”, “Let’s Go to Heaven in My Car”, etc.). But stuff like “Heavenly Bodies” is as embarrassing as anything Brian was bringing to the table back then.

Compositionally, the eventual ’88 album material has mostly stronger material than the bulk of the Usher sessions.

That was my impression as well.  Why did he continue to meet with Landy even after a year of dealing with him and all of the drama, non-payment for services rendered, arguments, manipulation, broken promises, etc?   Usher said himself that he must have been a glutton for punishment - I agree.

Ultimately Usher was a loyal friend to Brian and I believe he sincerely wanted to help his friend create and succeed, but he could only take it so far.  He was a little naïve fish in a big pool of sharks.  I wish he would have been given more credit for being that initial impetus and collaborator that sparked Brian's solo career. 

A very fascinating read. I got some lulz out of Brian telling Melinda that he had "this strange urge to take my menu and hit you on top of the head w/ it...not very hard, just a small whack." That's how the date should've been depicted in Love & Mercy. Also, Gary's Usher's kid upon seeing a bald Mike Love: "God, who is that old man?"  :lol

Amazing how everybody around here is so anxious to slam Usher.  I guess you all wrote hit songs with Brian too...right?

Usher never claimed to be a singer so give the insults a rest, he sang when necessary but his job was to write lyrics and produce, he even said so himself in the book.

I didn’t go back and read all the posts in this thread, but did anyone claim Usher was trying to be a vocalist? I don’t think that was an issue.

As I’ve said before, Usher seemed to be a down-to-Earth, kind (to a fault) sort of guy. While doing so relatively humbly, he does tout his skills in the book in terms of songwriting as well as production and commercial instincts (essentially A&R sort of stuff), and the material, when you actually listen to it, is pretty weak in my opinion. I cut Usher plenty of slack, as Brian was not on his A-game at the time (as Usher points out, and this is has as much to do with Brian dusting the cob webs off as it does being under the weird thumb of Landy). I don’t think Usher was only touting himself as a lyricist, but even if he was, it’s worth noting that his “new” lyrics to “Still I Dream of It” are pretty jaw-droppingly awful.

I’m not particularly convinced that Landy broke off the deal with Usher because of sharp musical instinct. Usher was getting fudged the whole time in terms of putting time and money into the whole project. While Usher continually points out that they’re cutting demos (and interestingly and distressingly points out numerous times that Brian seems to think they’re cutting finished album tracks), and therefore I can cut him some slack in the production side of things based on the extant demos, the compositions (whomever was writing them) were uneven at best. Later on in the sort of epilogue, Usher doesn’t seem to be a big fan of the ’88 album. I can understand why he’d be pissed off about it, and the ’88 album isn’t amazing either, but the compositions on it (music more so than lyrics) are far superior to the songs we’ve heard that were cut with Usher. “Let It Shine” is a better song than “Heavenly Bodies”, whether Jeff Lynne or Gary Usher or Brian or anyone else wrote them.

Usher had about a million studio/side projects going in the '60s which he sang on and frankly his vocals do suck.

I've never got my hands on a copy of the book itself, but nonetheless I'm quite familiar with a bootleg version that a friend of mine played to me once or twice.

I remember enjoying "Black Widow" and "Turning Point" quite a lot, but really out of context so. May anyone supply a complete or approximated "sessionography" of Brian's and Gary's mutual work around that specific point of time? I'm still not that sure which recordings are genuinely countable as part of their sessions, and which sessions actually just got attached to the bootleg release(s). Some clarification would be welcome!

Bellagio is your friend: http://www.esquarterly.com/bellagio/gigs86.html  and then carry on into 1987.

I have a total soft spot for Heavenly Bodies, and while the vocal may be a scratch one, I like it more than a number of songs from BW88.

Agree with all that bar the "down-to-earth" bit, as Usher's spiritual leanings and mindset do come to the fore now and then (and are occasionally unintentionally amusing, or irritatingly twee). Were Usher a tad more grounded in the real world, I doubt he'd have been so repeatedly shafted by Landy.

I read the book back when it resurfaced in 2013, so it has been a bit since I read it. But I do recall Usher offering up some sort of hippy-dippy stuff. It struck me, when reading, as more innocuous than anything else. If it was detrimental to anyone, it was probably to himself more than anyone else.

While Bill Champlin comes off as kind of a d**k in the small portion of the book that discusses him (are there swaths of people super-clamoring for Champlin-era, Chaplin-heavy "Chicago" material these days?), Usher does use a rather blunt commentary from Champlin to highlight his (Usher's) naivety, when Champlin asks Usher who is paying for all of the sessions and who isn't getting reimbursed, and then asking the rhetorical question of who's crazy in that scenario.

Unlike at least *some* of the "Paley sessions" material, I've never viewed much of Brian's work with Usher as any sort of tragic, "what could have been" moment, either in terms of Usher producing a BW album or, as occasionally floated during that era, possibly even producing a BB album. The Usher book is really primarily a rare *detailed* insight into at least part of the Landy machine in that era, and also serves more generally as an interesting insight into the industry in general.

It's true that any book written entirely from one person's perspective is going to be rather one-sided. But, with a few exceptions of horn-tooting and some hyper-criticism of the '88 album, Usher's book is about as non-axe-grinding as a one-sided portrayal of an abandoned project could be.