Catch a Wave : The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson

[Peter Ames Carlin]

Hey everyone: A few advance reviews of "Catch A Wave" have started popping up: the usual advance industry pieces in Booklist and Publisher's Weekly, and more recently a much longer piece in the AARP magazine. I'll be noting all this stuff on my website (peteramescarlin.com) as they come up, but if you're interested, here's the link to the AARP piece, plus also some blurbs I boiled down, 'cause I liked them so much. I've also been very gratified to see the very detailed (and still unfolding) reivew on the Uncanny website. Can't wait to see more of that.
 
Anyway, here's the link to the AARP Reivew:

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/books/catch_wave.html


And here are some quotes, only sort of extremely self-serving, and not even all that far out of context:

“This comprehensive and detailed account of the Wilson saga is a step above the standard rock bio. Here is a book that can be read on many levels, including cultural history, psychological study, or even as a crash course in ethnomusicology. As Carlin charts the turbulent story of the band and the intricacies of the Wilson family dynamic, a clear picture of the backdrop of national turmoil and unrest emerges, as the times they were a’- changing…

“Ultimately, the center of this story is Brian Wilson. As his mental health buoyed up and down, so went the fate of the band. Here Carlin hits his stride with an in-depth look, year by year, at Brian, the music, the group, and the times. . . Brian’s redemption, as promised in the title, does not come in the form of friends or family but from the enigmatic Smile, the much-talked-about album that had been languishing for almost 40 years. Finally released to critical acclaim in 2004, Brian was reintroduced to the world as a musical visionary. For Carlin, like Brian Wilson, this is the heart and soul of the book, as it all comes back to the music, and the rest of us are just along for the ride.”

[Rocker]

Peter, I am so excided. I can't wait to read your book. All the reviews make it even harder to wait.

BTW can you say if the pictures in your book will contain some rare or even unreleased ones?

[Peter Ames Carlin]

Hi Rocker: thanks for your note. In re: photos...Yeah, I think there will be some interesting things in there. I didn't expend tons of effort on getting photos, since I'm all about the words and stuff. But Rich Sloan had some cool images to share and I dug up a few others that you might not have seen before. Plus also my pal Ross Hamilton took some beauteous shots of Brian doing 'Smile' onstage in Portland last summer. Those rock extra hard.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Going through it for the second time, and taking notes.

Initial impression - an essential read, infinitely more credible than Brian's pseudobiography, less labyrinthine than Tim White's equally essential tome. New interview material from Mike, Alan and Brian. This is a major, well-crafted addition to the BB Bookshelf. Top 5, no question. Buy this book.

That said... some easily avoidable errors take a touch of the gloss off. Some are truly arcane (the claim by Tony Asher that Brian had never heard "Stella By Starlight" before December 1965 is somewhat invalidated by his recording it on 10/15/65), others unfortunate (despite what the makers of the Beautiful Dreamer DVD would like us to believe, Macca was NOT there for the Smile premier... and the old canard about Capitol forcing the inclusion of "Sloop" on Pet Sounds is repeated despite being discredited some five years ago).

Or... maybe I'm not the best person to review this book: too much knowledge. I think this might tell you what I think about this book more than any ramblings - I cancelled my amazon.co.uk order and travelled 10 miles to another town to lay hands on a copy. Again, buy this book.

edit - make that 'too much trivial knowledge'.

[Sir Rob]

No Macca was not there the first RFH night and the makers of 'Beautiful Dreamer' were wrong to give that impression...but it's just as well to point out that he was there on one of the subsequent nights lest anyone go away with the impression he wasn't there at all.

[DJ M]

According to a publicist for Rodale, "the new on-sale date for the book is July 25 ."  Bummer for those of us in the US.  Even though I have an advance copy, I'm still going to buy the book.  My advance copy is filled with pencil marks as I take/make notes.  It's a fascinating book.

[Peter Ames Carlin]

Hi guys: I've been on vacation for a couple of weeks, in NYC and environs, and so I've been away from the cyberloop. And yes, that pub date has slipped a week or two in the last week or two. But bear in mind that the July 25 "on-sale" date doesn't meant you won't be able to find the book before that. From what I understand, the book shipped from the warehouse sometime in the last week, and some/most/all bookstores are liable to put it out on the shelves the moment it comes in. So feel free to badger your local bookseller mercilessly.

To Andrew....thanks for reading so closely and being so complimentary. And yeah, I did base the McCartney anecdote on Leaf's film, which was apparently an error. I can't remember the precise wording of the "Sloop" anecdote right now, but the larger point of that story was about how essential the song is to the narrative of the album, even given its (seeming) departure from the innocence-to-desolation arc. And the story about Tony introducing Brian to "Stella" comes from both Tony and Brian. Whether that conversation took place in December or during one of their earlier meetings (at Western, between sessions) isn't clear. But they both recall (and Tony describes the conversation they had about the song; how he played it for Brian; how Brian's eyes lit up; etc) that Tony introduced the song to Brian.

I'm sure other errors will have snuck into the book here and there, due at times to varying memories of witnesses, at other times to my own mistakes. It's always embarrassing to have these things pointed out. But it's fair game, and so everyone should feel free to point out where details go awry. I just hope that the niggling errors don't seem to compromise the larger points of fact and (especially)  interpretation, because that's really where the guts of the book are. Because I saw it as a big American story full of big American themes and ideals and failings, and my real goal was to make these connections as real and vivid to readers as they are to me.

[DJ M]

Because I saw it as a big American story full of big American themes and ideals and failings, and my real goal was to make these connections as real and vivid to readers as they are to me.

That sums up the book very nicely in a single sentance.  I'm almost finisshed with my second reading, and the book is still a delight to read.  Thanks are due to PAC for writing such an excellent book, for discussing the book with us here and for owning up to some slight errors.

More thoughts
http://www.smileysmile.net/uncanny/index.php?s=Peter+Ames+Carlin&submit=Search

[matt-zeus]

Hi to Peter (if he's there)
Just finished reading the book, enjoyed it very much. Even though I have loads of BB books the only one that comes straight to mind as a straight biography is probably H&V by Gaines, though thats 20 years out of date and doesn't really delve that much into the music.
This one seems to fill the gap, pitched somewhere between the Gaines (with less of the sleaze) and Tim Whites book (The Culture and context), so it makes for accessible reading to the non-BB initiated and to the fan.
Its quite a fast paced book which I enjoyed rather than dwelling on the well worn era's it explores some other more forgotten parts of the BB history, though it does pretty much cover everything.
The 1980s in particular makes for grim reading and it hits home just how twisted the BB world is (and i'm one of those fans who attempts to see the good in everything), and it must be said that Carl doesn't come across particularly well but at least theres more insight into his character than has been explored elsewhere. The only real hero of the piece really is Brian (who is eternally imprisoned by someone - Murry, The BB, Landy), with Als soul being saved toward the end (Darth Vader turning against the Emperor thoughts again).
The thoughts on the music are welcomed, seeing as a lot of music biographies can foolishly overlook these quite important details. All in all, a fine read and the nicest looking BB book on my shelf. I'll read it again soon, albeit a bit slower!

[MusicLover1970]

I got the book last night and finished reading the last chapters this morning.

Well-written and entertaining it's one of the best books on BW/BB history currently available - still I must admit feeling slightly disappointed.
I guess I was expecting more analysis and interpretation from what I was hoping to be THE book on BW.

A few subjects I was hoping the book might shed some new light on:

1. Brian's complex relationship with new best friends like Van Dyke Parks, Andy Paley and Joe Thomas.

The recent example is Joe Thomas.

We hear about Brian growing close to Joe Thomas, the Wilsons and Thomases buying houses next door to one another in Chicago, Brian letting himself into the Thomas home to use the kitchen and pool while Joe and his wife is out etc. Next thing Thomas skips the Osaka/Tokyo concerts (he didn't like to fly) and then "they never saw Joe again" (pg. 297). Exit Joe Thomas from Brians life - and the book. Okay, "a hail of lawsuits" is mentioned on page 315 but the sad outcome of the friendship between the Wilsons and the Thomases (and other friends/songwriting partners) is never explained.


2. Brian's solo career

The book ends on a high note with the triumph of Smile but BW the solo artist is never really put into perspective. The Christmas album is not mentioned at all and Gettin' in over my head gets only a passing reference. The flirtation with the adult contemporary audience, celebrity duets (Robbie Williams?), frequent change of record labels -  this missing "roadmap" makes BW the solo artists a big question-mark (and talk of another forthcoming rock n' roll album something to look forward to with mixed feelings).

A final comment.

Tony Asher talks about getting to know Brian and the long conversations they had. "We'd ramble on about whatever: girls we had dated, relationships we'd had, heartbreak, and so on" (pg. 77). This seems to be a recurring conversation between BW and his male friends/songwriting partners. For all the talk (and songs) about love I'm struck by how rarely romance and passion (and sex) is mentioned in the book. There seems to be more on Brian's love of steak dinners! - his complex feelings for Diane/Marilyn is hardly mentioned (Don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting sleazy tabloid stuff).

The book made me want to listen to BB cd's I haven't played in a long time - for that I thank you, Mr Carlin...

[Andrew G. Doe]

The recent example is Joe Thomas.

We hear about Brian growing close to Joe Thomas, the Wilsons and Thomases buying houses next door to one another in Chicago, Brian letting himself into the Thomas home to use the kitchen and pool while Joe and his wife is out etc. Next thing Thomas skips the Osaka/Tokyo concerts (he didn't like to fly) and then "they never saw Joe again" (pg. 297). Exit Joe Thomas from Brians life - and the book. Okay, "a hail of lawsuits" is mentioned on page 315 but the sad outcome of the friendship between the Wilsons and the Thomases (and other friends/songwriting partners) is never explained.

If one of the reasons for the ending of the friendhip between the Wilsons & the Thomas' I was told of is true (and it's stupid enough to be exactly that), then I'm hardly surprised there's no exploration of it. Remember, this is a book with at least semi-official sanction from Brian's camp.

[Peter Ames Carlin]

Hi Musiclover: Thanks for reading the book, and responding. Even if I'm sorry you felt let down by it in places.  I'll attempt, briefly, to tell you why I made some of the decisions I did.

1. Joe Thomas: That actually seems pretty clear to me, as part of a pattern BW has displayed with creative partners dating back to Gary Usher. He works with them intensely -- the new best friend thing -- and then when he loses interest they're gone. JT appealed to him, it seems, because BW was hoping his grasp on modern m.o.r. would help get him back on the charts. Hence "Imagination." That didn't really happen, and when BW realized that the Wondermints' sense of his work matched his own much more closely (see also: the preparing for the '99 tour anecdote with "Caroline, No") that basically spelled the end of Joe. The lawsuits are just another time-honored Wilson way of saying goodbye.

2. Brian's solo career: I underplayed "GIOMH" in part because it was such a lukewarm addition to the ouervre, and in part because I was far more interested in the "Smile" story, which was taking place at exactly the same time. And (here's an insider note) I had a finite number of pages to fill, and something had to go. The XMAS album came out after I was done writing. And again, it's a pleasant piece of work that neither adds to nor distracts from BW's real legacy. In my view.

3. Romance, etc.: I got into this stuff to the extent that it seemed to impact the creative work taking place. Gaines already wrote the big backstage book, and I wanted to focus on the work itself: where it came from, how it came together, why it fell apart, and where all of that fits into the larger cultural fabric of American popular culture. So that's what I did.

[MusicLover1970]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, Peter.

I've always enjoyed reading your sharp commenting on the PSML and was expecting a little more personal analysis and observation
from the book than what is actually in there.

So many roads yet to be fully explored, maybe in another book...

[Charles LePage @ ComicList]

If one of the reasons for the ending of the friendhip between the Wilsons & the Thomas' I was told of is true (and it's stupid enough to be exactly that), then I'm hardly surprised there's no exploration of it.

What is that reason?

[Jeff Mason]

Chuck, don't you think that he would have posted it there if it were public knowledge?  Seems to me like he is just trying to affirm the one point with a vague ref to his contacts.

[Charles LePage @ ComicList]

Jeff, I've replied to you in private, as your comment and my intended reply have nothing to do with Peter's book.

Peter, is your book now available for purchase?

[Peter Ames Carlin]

If it's not available now, it should be quickly enroute to your local bookseller. Or so Rodale would have me believe. By the end of this week should be a solid bet. I hope.

And just for fun, take a spin through this week's "Entertainment Weekly." There's a review of "CAW" there. Not sure what page (the books section, toward the back) but I do know they gave it an 'A'. Which makes me feel warm all over.

[TV Forces]

I've been waiting for this book since I first heard about it late last year.  So last weekend I ordered it from amazon.com.  ($10 cheaper then any book store would be.)  But now I got an e-mail saying it will ship in "1 to 3 weeks."  And I pre-ordered the thing!  They must have not received many copies.  I hope it comes soon!

[JimC1702]

I'm stilll waiting for Amazon to ship mine too.   I think the last thing they said was the 14th to the 17th.  Guess that's better than their first estimate of September.

[Vega-Table Man]

I'm stilll waiting for Amazon to ship mine too.   I think the last thing they said was the 14th to the 17th.

I just got an email from Amazon saying the shipment date has been delayed, and I shouldn't expect to see the book until early August now.

I cancelled the order. Has anyone found this book in an actual store yet?

[JimC1702]

I just got the email too, this is the second delay.   At this rate, it will turn out to be September when they ship it.

[Peter Ames Carlin]

Hey guys: I'm not sure what to make of this exactly, but over on the PAC thread on the main board TV Forces says he got his copy from Amazon yesterday. So maybe you all will get yours sooner than later? I can only hope...

[Sheriff John Stone]

Congratulations, Peter! In the latest edition of People magazine, your book received a nice review, along with a rating of 4 stars, which is the highest rating they give.

[TV Forces]

The XMAS album came out after I was done writing. And again, it's a pleasant piece of work that neither adds to nor distracts from BW's real legacy. In my view.

No way!  That album is outstanding.  And the title song is a f------ GEM that needs recognition as one of Brian's absolute best.

[Howdy Doody]

I had a hard time locating the book.  But did and it was food for thought.