Carl Wilson biography due September 29th

[HeyJude]

Hi Ed,

An all-photos book (perhaps with some running commentary along the way) would be great (I know, I'm sure a million folks have already suggested it).

I'm finding more and more as I see your pictures on Facebook and the website that the photos truly cover so many different areas. Some stunningly poignant pics, and also some straight-up simple awesome (and sometimes hilarious) concert shots of the guys.

I'm reminded of Al appearing on KTVU (I think you and Jon Stebbins also appeared around the same time?) back around 2000 and they were running some old 1976 "An American Band" footage under Al's interview, and Al seemed to laugh and comment that there was "a lot more hair" back then when it cut to circa 1976 Al footage.

I'd pay for a running audio commentary from Al and/or the other guys just looking at slideshows of your photos....

[Emdeeh]

I'd buy THAT book!

[BSummers]

Someone way back on this topic asked about Carl's 1st album re-release.
FYI, It was re-released on 9/29/15.

Mine came on Saturday and looks really nice.

[Lonely Summer]

I got mine today.

[bgas]

I got mine today.

Your book arrived?

[jeffh]

I got the Carl Wilson book today from Amazon. I could swear that I canceled it. I also picked up the new John Fogerty autobiography at Barnes & Noble today.

[Emdeeh]

I got a notice from Amazon today that my book order is being prepped for shipping.

[Tony S]

I got the same shipping notification of the bio, with a Monday arrival date.

[Zander]

Really nice looking book but slightly disappointed.

Over 250 pages and the last 10 years of Carl's life are crammed into 2 pages! No content from immediate family members, so I suppose it's what you'd expect.

[Emdeeh]

Note to Kent: Just got the book in the mail today and am looking forward to reading it. I was flipping through the book, as I often do with a new tome, and happened to noticed a factual error on page 256. It says:

"...Carl tied the knot with Gina Martin, another dark-eyed beauty..."

Gina has light blue eyes, almost exactly the same color as Carl's. I suggest changing the wording to "a blue-eyed beauty..."

[lostbeachboy]

Can't wait to read.

[BSummers]

jeffh, the same thing happened to me.  I canceled it because of the poor reviews on it, amazon sent me a confirmation of the cancelation and then they sent it anyway.  They apologized, told me that they credited my account and to not send the book back.  Then, I had one on pre-order that didn't show up on my account or I'd have canceled that one, too.  They sent that one also.  Same result when I went on chat with them.  Keep the book.  Sell it, donate it or give it as a gift.  We don't want it back. 

Could that response from amazon be because of so many people canceling their orders you think?

[BSummers]

I haven't read it yet, but someone who had said that Mr. Crowley listed Carl's year of death as 1996.  I've heard of several typos and factual errors in it. 
I've barely scanned the book. 

I've seen from way back on this thread that Justyn Wilson was interviewed for the book.  It seems that Gina has moved on since Carl passed and the word is that she's remarried twice since then.  Otherwise, she's practically dropped off the planet.  Nobody ever speaks of her in Beach Boys fandom.

If anybody has any info on her, please feel free to share it!

[Lonely Summer]

I won't buy the book unless I can look at it in a store and review it for myself. Too many negative reviews. This was really a missed opportunity.

[Junkstar]

I'm not loving it. Sloppy writing and editing so far for me. About halfway through, and my biggest complaint is that information gets repeated constantly. Good advice in this thread. Skip it.

[John Malone]

I thumbed through it at Barnes and Noble yesterday. I took a pass. All the information can be (and has been) found elsewhere.

[Tony S]

About halfway thru.......though not reading it as much as I'm skimming it. In general, disappointing....I was hoping for much more about the man. I 'm fighting not just moving to the later years, though there isn't really much there about those years.

[Andrew G. Doe]

The first half is mostly Beach Boys. That said, the more Carl-oriented part isn't notably much better.

[Tony S]

Agree with you Andrew. So far it feels very much like a somewhat fragmented Beach Boys bio, with little new content from other bios.

[Vernon Surfer]

I downloaded it off of Apple. I've read about a third of it. I will give it a full read before commenting fully however, I tend to agree with many of the comments so far.

[PrayForSurf]

FWIW, my podcast with Kent Crowely: http://prayforsurfblog.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-other-brilliant-beach-boys-story-of.html ... and my Amazon review:     The publisher/editor made a mistake ... technically, this is NOT a biography. It is an analysis. An analysis of the unheralded and mostly unrecognized critical role Carl Wilson played (pun partially intended) on every album and in every chapter of the Beach Boys career. For example, the author uncovers Carl's brilliance in simply his choice of (and when he changed) guitars and the way he attacked them (or did not attack them) as he played. Simply suggesting his neighborhood friend join the band when Alan originally left after their first single did more than add another body; it helped complete their early sound. Carl was a non-card carrying but active "member" of the Wrecking Crew on the albums that propelled the Beach Boys "bom bom dip di dit" to those gorgeous pet sounds.

Crowley is chronicling Carl's ascendancy, which has been overshadowed by his elder brother's genius. Great musician. Singer. Producer. Songwriter. Arranger. Studio/Stage manager. Brian? Of course, everyone knows that. But Carl? Yeah, him too. Now everybody knows that.

[Lonely Summer]

FWIW, my podcast with Kent Crowely: http://prayforsurfblog.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-other-brilliant-beach-boys-story-of.html ... and my Amazon review:     The publisher/editor made a mistake ... technically, this is NOT a biography. It is an analysis. An analysis of the unheralded and mostly unrecognized critical role Carl Wilson played (pun partially intended) on every album and in every chapter of the Beach Boys career. For example, the author uncovers Carl's brilliance in simply his choice of (and when he changed) guitars and the way he attacked them (or did not attack them) as he played. Simply suggesting his neighborhood friend join the band when Alan originally left after their first single did more than add another body; it helped complete their early sound. Carl was a non-card carrying but active "member" of the Wrecking Crew on the albums that propelled the Beach Boys "bom bom dip di dit" to those gorgeous pet sounds.

Crowley is chronicling Carl's ascendancy, which has been overshadowed by his elder brother's genius. Great musician. Singer. Producer. Songwriter. Arranger. Studio/Stage manager. Brian? Of course, everyone knows that. But Carl? Yeah, him too. Now everybody knows that.

I did listen to the podcast, and enjoyed it, but still not convinced I need to buy the book.  I saw  it @ Barnes and Noble today, I  took a good long  look at it,  but wasn't impressed. Should have been a lot more info on the 80s/90s. It reads like a basic Beach Boys bio with no particular emphasis on Carl.  I hope someday we will get a thorough biography of Carl, and by thorough I don't mean a tabloid style "dig up all the trash" book - there's been enough of that already.

[Andrew G. Doe]

 The publisher/editor made a mistake ... technically, this is NOT a biography.

Says "biography" on the cover, and again on the title page. Has always been touted as a biography. Looks like a biography, walks like a biography, quacks like a biography - it's a biography.

[Cool Cool Water]

Says "biography" on the cover, and again on the title page. Has always been touted as a biography. Looks like a biography, walks like a biography, quacks like a biography - it's a biography.

Reply of the year! lmao.

[Lonely Summer]

 The publisher/editor made a mistake ... technically, this is NOT a biography.

Says "biography" on the cover, and again on the title page. Has always been touted as a biography. Looks like a biography, walks like a biography, quacks like a biography - it's a biography.

Yes it does. What it left out was 'poorly put together' biography. Carl is my favorite Beach Boy, and I had hoped someone would finally write a book about the man, the musician, but this one offered nothing new.