Brian's Book Discussion Thread.

[timbnash68]

Thomas works here in Nashville a ton. He's a producer in the traditional sense of the word. Record companies pay  big $$$$ to him to keep projects in line and moving forward. From the  times I've been in a room with him he has a good  music sensibility. He can play , sing, read music, etc. It's pretty hard to to B S Him musically. The studio musicians really like him. He's smart enough to not try and interject himself where he isn't needed i.e. he knows when to hire this person or that person to get the sound that the artist wants. As they used to say he has a great Rolodex.  So at any moment if Brian wanted a certain sound or performance  that Brian or Thomas could not get themselves , I would think that person or instrument was an easy phone call away. Even though any musician in the world would drop everything to work with Brian, I'm not sure outside of his own band, Brian would necessarily know who to call to get a particular vibe these days. I read Brian's book and agree with you that Brian seems to be very comfortable working with him. I also want to say that for a really big guy, he DOES have a very calming kind of voice. Maybe just the opposite of Brian's Dad. I've never heard Thomas ever raise his voice or yell at anybody the way I've seen some producers work. He really doesn't have to. When I've seen him in the studio , he's  sometimes kind of like  someones body guard who is hanging out in the session but happens to have perfect pitch and good ideas! Another observation, he's kind of a smart ass and he really cuts it up with the players down here, who can also be very funny and sharp tongued.  I will disagree slightly with you. My read on Brian's conundrum working on Imagination is as follows; Maybe Brian was a little disappointed in himself. Maybe he got a little complacent working with Thomas. In the end if he saw that the train kept rolling down the track without him he was mad at himself for not contributing more. Maybe musicians  were booked at a certain time and Brian was late. Knowing the costs of the musicians prompted Thomas to start the session without Brian and when it still sounded good to Brian it made him reflect inwardly. 100% theory. Maybe Brian thought  that  he could have made it better , but maybe it sounded pretty good to him, and maybe his retroactive  competitive side took over. I certainly didn't read anything as such with regard to TWGMTR or NPP. So maybe now they have better timing together?? How many records have the two of them done now? 6? Over 20 or more years?

[the captain]

My read on Brian's conundrum working on Imagination is as follows; Maybe Brian was a little disappointed in himself. Maybe he got a little complacent working with Thomas. In the end if he saw that the train kept rolling down the track without him he was mad at himself for not contributing more. Maybe musicians  were booked at a certain time and Brian was late. Knowing the costs of the musicians prompted Thomas to start the session without Brian and when it still sounded good to Brian it made him reflect inwardly. 100% theory. Maybe Brian thought  that  he could have made it better , but maybe it sounded pretty good to him, and maybe his retroactive  competitive side took over. I certainly didn't read anything as such with regard to TWGMTR or NPP. So maybe now they have better timing together?? How many records have the two of them done now? 6? Over 20 or more years?

I definitely didn't take his comments about Imagination as a knock on Joe, but more just a "how did that end up happening?" kind of thing. He didn't seem to be saying "I wanted to do X, but Joe made us do Y" at all. Seemed purely retroactive to me, and not vitriolic. Just thinking that now that it's long-since done, it's not what he would have wanted it to be, or not how he wished he would have handled it.

As for their records together, I guess we'd have Stars and Stripes, Imagination, TWGMTR, and some of NPP, not counting live stuff. And yeah, that's over 20 years.

While I didn't like the production much on Imagination or the live BBs album, I actually thought TWGMTR and NPP were done just fine, for the kind of music they were. No real complaints here. And let's be honest, BW apparently needs a cowriter to get much done. If Joe is one he's comfortable with, more power to him.

[thorgil]

Good comments here!
I have to confess I'm feeling better about liking Imagination so little (nothing in that album ever clicked with me the right way), seen what Brian himself says.
Based on the interviews and what little else I knew of him, I had imagined Joe as exactly the type of man described by Timbnash68. A type I like.

P.S.
Also, Captain, I just read your comments on NPP in the PS forum and really appreciated them. I think you got the "spirit" of the album right.

[the captain]

P.S.
Also, Captain, I just read your comments on NPP in the PS forum and really appreciated them. I think you got the "spirit" of the album right.

Huh, I don't remember what I wrote, I better go check it out! But glad you appreciated them, whatever they were.

[Michigander2122]

Good comments here!
I have to confess I'm feeling better about liking Imagination so little (nothing in that album ever clicked with me the right way), seen what Brian himself says.
Based on the interviews and what little else I knew of him, I had imagined Joe as exactly the type of man described by Timbnash68. A type I like.

P.S.
Also, Captain, I just read your comments on NPP in the PS forum and really appreciated them. I think you got the "spirit" of the album right.

Agree with THORGIL! Sounds like a pretty safe working environment for Brian. From what I read in the book they seem to be very good friends, there was plenty of good food, golf and a little work thrown in for good measure. Quite the opposite of the tumultuous studio environment Brian endured in the 60's with his dad yelling at him at for any reason what so ever.

[thorgil]

P.S.
Also, Captain, I just read your comments on NPP in the PS forum and really appreciated them. I think you got the "spirit" of the album right.

Huh, I don't remember what I wrote, I better go check it out! But glad you appreciated them, whatever they were.

Your mini-review in Page 1 of the NPP thread, in the section dedicated to reviews of Brian's solo albums.

[the captain]

P.S.
Also, Captain, I just read your comments on NPP in the PS forum and really appreciated them. I think you got the "spirit" of the album right.

Huh, I don't remember what I wrote, I better go check it out! But glad you appreciated them, whatever they were.

Your mini-review in Page 1 of the NPP thread, in the section dedicated to reviews of Brian's solo albums.

Double-checked it and stand behind it. It's a fun little grab-bag of subgenres, not a masterpiece. Not everything has to be a masterpiece. And thank goodness it wasn't another attempt at a suite.

[Matt Bielewicz]

The Carol Mountain story ...ends it with "That never happened". Facetious Brian is hilarious

I've been emailing the best of them to a friend as I come across them. That's one I sent. I laughed so hard.

Bit late to the party on this comment, but... although the book is full of some super-funny 'Brianisms', I didn't read this comment as one of 'em myself. I thought the 'That never happened' comment at the end of the sentence wasn't some clever-clever "I've just told you this whole anecdote, but now I'm calling it entirely into question at the very end, aha, am I just an unreliable narrator...?" thing (if it was, Brian doesn't seem to employ that device anywhere else in the book, unlike say Ray Davies in his books about his life)... but instead literally just a shorthand way of saying "the guy threatened me if I ever went near his wife again... so obviously THAT never happened again". Or in other words, "I didn't want to get my head blown off, so I didn't ever go near her again."

But maybe it was a gag; what do I know?

I like the FedEx pizza story a whole lot - I can SO imagine Brian doing that. Let's not forget, this is the guy who talked about opening a telescope shop (it was telescopes, wasn't it...?) just so he could go and get one at 3am if he wanted to... !

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

But maybe it was a gag; what do I know?

It was a gag, but I misread it...seems to be more along the lines of "that never happened' in the sense of he never got his head blown off (which is obvious as he was writing about it)

[Matt Bielewicz]

Seems to be more along the lines of "that never happened' in the sense of he never got his head blown off (which is obvious as he was writing about it)

Yeah, actually Billy, that makes total sense too. And IS funny as well!

But actually, the bit that made me laugh most about the Carol Mountain story was the bit of the line that went:

"...before I left I put my hand on her leg. It wasn't completely innocent - it was still a great leg - but it was mostly innocent."

Again, you can *so* imagine Brian saying that out loud

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Yes I can, and I can hear it in Brian's voice!

[the captain]

The way you're both reading it now is exactly how I read it, which is what was so funny. I didn't mean that the story didn't happen, but the absurdity of taking the time to say his own head hadn't been blown off by the angry husband. That was hilarious to me. And yes, the "not completely innocent--it was still a great leg" was also hilarious.

[SMiLE Brian]

Brianisms live!

[thorgil]

The book seems 100 times more interesting than I feared it could be. And as a lover of James Joyce, I find its stream of consciousness style fantastic (Ben Greenman I love you). Imho it will change the way many fans perceive Brian, and vindicate what Ray and Debbie are telling us all the time.

[guitarfool2002]

I was hoping for some more info and background on how the book was written and what went into the interviews with Brian, any additional info, etc. These were earlier reports on the book's writing that mentioned Ray Lawlor's involvement, and I'm curious how it all came together to become the book which was released this week. There were also various social media posts by people claiming to be researching the book, some claims/charges by fans here about getting info from Wikipedia, some making claims about what was or wasn't done, who was or wasn't involved, etc...it would be good to get more details on the background if that's possible and get it all sorted out.

These are the links I was referring to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Brian_Wilson:_A_Memoir

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/30735864/beach-boys-legend-brian-wilson-surfs-back-to-good-vibrations/

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I was hoping for some more discussion in general...it is really a wonderful book. Brian's voice shines through...I like to compare it to Keith Richards's "Life", in that both books sound like the artist is just sitting on the porch telling stories. This is Brian, unfiltered, and telling you what's on his mind. If you haven't bought it yet, do so as soon as it is economically possible. Trust me, you won't regret it.

[rn57]

http://www.npr.org/2016/10/15/497948822/i-feel-pretty-good-a-moment-with-brian-wilson

Seven minutes - he was getting ready for a sound check -  but worth a listen.

Reminder- he'll be signing the book at Book Soup in LA this Tuesday at 6 pm. Again - only the book, nothing else. Up to five copies per person of which at least one must be purchased at the store.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Thank you for the link.  That guy kept asking Brian about the voices, but Brian shut him down pretty quick.

I don't think Brian was feeling this guy at all, and to be honest, neither was I.

[GhostyTMRS]

Thank you for the link.  That guy kept asking Brian about the voices, but Brian shut him down pretty quick.

I don't think Brian was feeling this guy at all, and to be honest, neither was I.

A pet peeve of mine. Why not ask Brian about something he enjoys for a change? Does every interview have to be "tell me about those dark years..". Sheesh. No wonder he clams up.

[urbanite]

How many thousands of times has BW been asked about the dark years of mental illness and drug use.  It's in the book so it's fair game, but enough already.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Thank you for the link.  That guy kept asking Brian about the voices, but Brian shut him down pretty quick.

I don't think Brian was feeling this guy at all, and to be honest, neither was I.

A pet peeve of mine. Why not ask Brian about something he enjoys for a change? Does every interview have to be "tell me about those dark years..". Sheesh. No wonder he clams up.

How many thousands of times has BW been asked about the dark years of mental illness and drug use.  It's in the book so it's fair game, but enough already.

Exactly. And it's IN the book, so he's already given the definitive answer!

[the captain]

I'm less opposed to that line of questioning. Let's be serious, those issues are a big part of why people care about a Brian Wilson autobiography. And yes, he talks about them in the book ... and is promoting the book by going on NPR and such. Of course he's going to be asked about it. No interviewer is just going to stick to "what's your favorite song?" nor should they. If the rough subjects (drug abuse, mental illness, his dad) are handled tactfully and not over-sensationalized, I think they're entirely fair game. It might be boring for the people who read or listen to every single interview he does, but most people don't fit into that category.

[JimC1702]

Page 227.  "Mike was Mike. You can't wallow in the mire."  'Nuff said. 

[Mark H.]

Brian states that David Anderle was involved in setting up Brother Records with Warner/Reprise in 1970 - is that correct?  I thought his involvement was limited to the 67 Brother deal with Capital that was relatively short-lived.

[guitarfool2002]

A good review to check out:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/brian-wilsons-new-memoir-delves-inside-the-mind-of-the-oft-tortured-genius-8734560