My Brian Wilson Review Gettin in Over My Head

[Lonely Summer]

1. How Could We Still Be Dancin'? (B.Wilson/J.Thomas)   10 (the best track of the album, great tandem of 2 of my favorites)
2. Soul Searchin' (B.Wilson/A.Paley)                            7 (I grew to like it eventually, glad that Brian sings bridge here, not Carl entirely as in the MIC v-n)
3. You've Touched Me (B.Wilson/S.Kalinich)                 9 (dig the arrangements on this one + the beautiful intro)
4. Gettin' In Over My Head (B.Wilson/A.Paley)              7,5 (better v-n, better vocs)
5. City Blues (B.Wilson/S.Bennett)                             6 (give this rating mainly for the chorus, not a Clapton fan)
6. Desert Drive (B.Wilson/A.Paley)                             10 (great upbeat number, maybe my 2nd favorite)
7. A Friend Like You (B.Wilson/S.Kalinich)                    7,5 (very nice but there's sth. about Paul's responses that sound like they were cut-'n'-pasted, very unnatural voice)
8. Make a Wish (B.Wilson)                                        8 (another grower, the drumming gives an edge to it)
9. Rainbow Eyes (B.Wilson)                                       9,5 (love this song in any incarnation, good example of Brian's magic, that he still has 'it' in him)
10. Saturday Morning in the City (B.Wilson/A.Paley)      10 (I wish it lasted much longer than near 3 minutes is all I can say)
11. Fairy Tale (B.Wilson/D.Foster)                              8 (such amazing harmonies, the way Brian sings "Ever after, ever after" is so charming and I really like the guitars)
12. Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel (B.Wilson)         7 (stunning overall, but there are moments here & there I'm not keen on) 
13. The Waltz (B.Wilson/V.Parks)                              9 (fun stuff; say what you will, I absolutely like Brian's slow vocalizing; the fiddle outro is great!)

In short, I'm in the league of few who like this record.

Brian made this album for you, RangeRover. I'm glad somebody likes it. I don't hate it, but it sure doesn't match up to the albums before it.

[Andrew G. Doe]

1. How Could We Still Be Dancin'? (B.Wilson/J.Thomas)   10 (the best track of the album, great tandem of 2 of my favorites)
2. Soul Searchin' (B.Wilson/A.Paley)                            7 (I grew to like it eventually, glad that Brian sings bridge here, not Carl entirely as in the MIC v-n)
3. You've Touched Me (B.Wilson/S.Kalinich)                 9 (dig the arrangements on this one + the beautiful intro)
4. Gettin' In Over My Head (B.Wilson/A.Paley)              7,5 (better v-n, better vocs)
5. City Blues (B.Wilson/S.Bennett)                             6 (give this rating mainly for the chorus, not a Clapton fan)
6. Desert Drive (B.Wilson/A.Paley)                             10 (great upbeat number, maybe my 2nd favorite)
7. A Friend Like You (B.Wilson/S.Kalinich)                    7,5 (very nice but there's sth. about Paul's responses that sound like they were cut-'n'-pasted, very unnatural voice)
8. Make a Wish (B.Wilson)                                        8 (another grower, the drumming gives an edge to it)
9. Rainbow Eyes (B.Wilson)                                       9,5 (love this song in any incarnation, good example of Brian's magic, that he still has 'it' in him)
10. Saturday Morning in the City (B.Wilson/A.Paley)      10 (I wish it lasted much longer than near 3 minutes is all I can say)
11. Fairy Tale (B.Wilson/D.Foster)                              8 (such amazing harmonies, the way Brian sings "Ever after, ever after" is so charming and I really like the guitars)
12. Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel (B.Wilson)         7 (stunning overall, but there are moments here & there I'm not keen on) 
13. The Waltz (B.Wilson/V.Parks)                              9 (fun stuff; say what you will, I absolutely like Brian's slow vocalizing; the fiddle outro is great!)

In short, I'm in the league of few who like this record.

The two highlighted tracks were recorded in, respectively, fall 2002 and the mid/late 90s. Just sayin'... 

[Jonathan Blum]

The two highlighted tracks were recorded in, respectively, fall 2002 and the mid/late 90s. Just sayin'... 

...I really don't get why you keep making such a point about that song being recorded in fall 2002 when the others were recorded around the end of 2003.  In an era where artists routinely take a couple of years to pull together an album, and projects like "Lucky Old Sun" had a longer genesis, this isn't a major gap.  We're not talking "When Girls Get Together" sitting in the vaults for ten years, to be resurrected when its creator was a wildly different person.  It's not even as old a recording as the basic track of "How Could We Still Be Dancin", which dates from maybe 4-5 years further back...  if you wanted to be "just sayin'", that'd be a much easier track to be just sayin' about!

Cheers,
Jon Blum

[Mendota Heights]

Cheers,
Jon Blum

Cheers!

[Andrew G. Doe]

The two highlighted tracks were recorded in, respectively, fall 2002 and the mid/late 90s. Just sayin'... 

...I really don't get why you keep making such a point about that song being recorded in fall 2002 when the others were recorded around the end of 2003. 

The GIOMH sessions took place in March (mostly), April, May, July & August 2003. The basic track for "GIOMH" itself dates from mid 1998. My point is that the previously recorded songs, quite simply, all sound a helluva lot better than the 2003 sessions. "HCWSBD" was originality recorded just after the Imagination sessions but was completely recut for GIOMH.

In an era where artists routinely take a couple of years to pull together an album, and projects like "Lucky Old Sun" had a longer genesis...

Er... no, it didn't. The demos for TLOS were mostly recorded summer 2006 and the project itself arose from a commission from the Royal festival Hall in 2007, where it was performed that September.

[Awesoman]

My very quick review of the album:

"How Can We Still Be Dancin'?" - Elton John gives it his best, but a pretty weak vocal by BW.  Pretty straight-forward.  Nothing too special.

"Soul  Searchin'" - I prefer the Beach Boys version.  Carl should have stayed on the bridge.  Still this mix is cleaner than the one on Made In California.

"You've Touched Me" - I completely forgot about this one.  How does it go?

"Gettin' In Over My Head" - It's ok.  I never really listen to it.  

"City Blues" - Clapton is one of my favorites but his guitarin' seems a little out of place here.

"Desert Drive" - Another completely forgettable track for me.  

"A Friend Like You" - a tremendous disappointment.  Not that I was expecting a musical nirvana between these two at this stage in their career, but McCartney's efforts seem wasted here.  This is a lightweight song and McCartney doesn't really add much here.  

"Make A Wish" - it's decent.

"Rainbow Eyes" - one of the better tracks on the album.

"Saturday Morning In The City" - Possibly my favorite song on the album.

"Fairy Tale" - Honestly I never really could listen to this song in its entirety.  I don't even remember how it goes.  Just don't care for it.

"Don't Let Her Know She's An Angel" - Pretty good.

"The Waltz" - um, no.  

Overall this is a pretty clunky album.  I was psyched over the guest stars appearing on here but none of the material on this album is particularly strong enough to warrant their presence.  

[Ovi]

Cheers,
Jon Blum

Cheers!

Cheers, guys! What are we drinking to?