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Author Topic: In depth study of Brian's solo career?  (Read 6316 times)
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« on: April 28, 2017, 08:36:04 PM »

I am interested in learning more about this. Specifically the late 90s. History of his backing band and what lead to him deciding to go on the road again. A book should be written about this someday! From the late 80s to the end. A story that hasn't been finished yet.

Please leave any links or even comments about the origins of his touring band and going on tour.
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"Over the years, I've been accused of not supporting our new music from this era (67-73) and just wanting to play our hits. That's complete b.s......I was also, as the front man, the one promoting these songs onstage and have the scars to show for it."
Mike Love autobiography (pg 242-243)
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« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2017, 05:11:58 AM »

I thought this topic would be of more interest!
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"Over the years, I've been accused of not supporting our new music from this era (67-73) and just wanting to play our hits. That's complete b.s......I was also, as the front man, the one promoting these songs onstage and have the scars to show for it."
Mike Love autobiography (pg 242-243)
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« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2017, 05:52:22 AM »

If I had anything to say I'd join in! Let's hope others chime in soon.

Maybe some of Darian's remarks to RS are of interest:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/meet-brian-wilsons-secret-weapon-darian-sahanaja-20150630
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« Reply #3 on: May 01, 2017, 06:57:07 AM »

If I had anything to say I'd join in! Let's hope others chime in soon.

Maybe some of Darian's remarks to RS are of interest:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/meet-brian-wilsons-secret-weapon-darian-sahanaja-20150630

Thanks! I will check that out!
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"Over the years, I've been accused of not supporting our new music from this era (67-73) and just wanting to play our hits. That's complete b.s......I was also, as the front man, the one promoting these songs onstage and have the scars to show for it."
Mike Love autobiography (pg 242-243)
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« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2017, 07:05:45 AM »

Doesn't Peter Ames Carlin's biography on Brian go into some amount of detail on this?

There might be some amount of less chatter on this topic presently because, at least for some of the internet "old timers", we were online when this was all happening in 1998/1999 (and earlier), and there isn't really any particular mystery about how Brian went back out on the road.

He hooked up with Joe Thomas, and Brian clearly steered towards a "solo career" by 1998, certainly after the demise of the "Paley" material and certainly after Carl's death. Some of the folks in Brian's band were out of Chicago (like Lizik, Mertens, and I think Hines?) because Brian and Joe were based out of the Chicago area back in 1998/99. The exit of Joe Thomas (and Steve Dahl) from the band in 1999 was a bit of a mystery, but I think the Carlin book pretty firmly explained how that all went down. Brian's guys like Darian, who don't often give super detailed interviews about those sorts of band politics, weren't shy about talking about Thomas's exit from the touring band.

If you want to go all way back to the 80s and the genesis of Brian's "solo" career, then "The Wilson Project (2013 Edition)" by Stephen J. McParland, based on the journals of Gary Usher, is an excellent look at Brian's circa 1986 work with Usher, some of the first concentrated attempts at a "solo album."
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« Reply #5 on: May 01, 2017, 09:47:42 AM »

Doesn't Peter Ames Carlin's biography on Brian go into some amount of detail on this?

There might be some amount of less chatter on this topic presently because, at least for some of the internet "old timers", we were online when this was all happening in 1998/1999 (and earlier), and there isn't really any particular mystery about how Brian went back out on the road.

He hooked up with Joe Thomas, and Brian clearly steered towards a "solo career" by 1998, certainly after the demise of the "Paley" material and certainly after Carl's death. Some of the folks in Brian's band were out of Chicago (like Lizik, Mertens, and I think Hines?) because Brian and Joe were based out of the Chicago area back in 1998/99. The exit of Joe Thomas (and Steve Dahl) from the band in 1999 was a bit of a mystery, but I think the Carlin book pretty firmly explained how that all went down. Brian's guys like Darian, who don't often give super detailed interviews about those sorts of band politics, weren't shy about talking about Thomas's exit from the touring band.

If you want to go all way back to the 80s and the genesis of Brian's "solo" career, then "The Wilson Project (2013 Edition)" by Stephen J. McParland, based on the journals of Gary Usher, is an excellent look at Brian's circa 1986 work with Usher, some of the first concentrated attempts at a "solo album."

Thanks. Whats the name of the Carlin book? I may have it. I also heard rumors that Sean Ohagan of the High Llamas was going to produce A Brian Wilson solo album before being replaced by Joe Thomas. Another interesting period that is interesting was the mid 90s Payley sessions and why those didn't get released. In my opinion, it is some of the best music in his solo career with the exception of That Lucky Old Sun. At some point more details on the Jeff Beck demise southern interesting. Though it may be 30 or 40 years before we know more details about some of the political side.
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Mike Love autobiography (pg 242-243)
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« Reply #6 on: May 01, 2017, 01:00:58 PM »

Not much interest because there's not much to say....a few moderately successful easy listening albums and a heavy dependence upon Pet Sounds/Smile and revisit of past personal problems via the Love and Mercy movie to revive some interest in an otherwise somewhat flagging career...

To be a big Brian fan nowadays is to spend a lot of time in the distant past or a rather tepid present, unfortunately....
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« Reply #7 on: May 01, 2017, 01:22:46 PM »

Doesn't Peter Ames Carlin's biography on Brian go into some amount of detail on this?
Thanks. Whats the name of the Carlin book?

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« Reply #8 on: May 01, 2017, 01:24:35 PM »

Not much interest because there's not much to say....a few moderately successful easy listening albums and a heavy dependence upon Pet Sounds/Smile and revisit of past personal problems via the Love and Mercy movie to revive some interest in an otherwise somewhat flagging career...

To be a big Brian fan nowadays is to spend a lot of time in the distant past or a rather tepid present, unfortunately....
to be a big Mike fan nowadays is the escape reality completely! Roll Eyes
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« Reply #9 on: May 01, 2017, 01:24:45 PM »

Not much interest because there's not much to say....a few moderately successful easy listening albums and a heavy dependence upon Pet Sounds/Smile and revisit of past personal problems via the Love and Mercy movie to revive some interest in an otherwise somewhat flagging career...

To be a big Brian fan nowadays is to spend a lot of time in the distant past or a rather tepid present, unfortunately....

I think this was the text found on the first rough draft of the book jacket for Mike's autobiography.....  LOL

We could try to conform this sort of statement to Mike's career:

No moderately successful albums in past 30+ years. No albums at all. And never a solo album in his life with even moderate success. A heavy dependence on oldies/hits and backing members singing a lot of the leads, and a dependence on revisiting the past personal problems of Brian Wilson and the Wilson brothers even if nobody is asking. To be a Mike fan nowadays is to spend a lot of time going to shows watching Mike point at his temples while other guys sing the leads, and, well, maybe one mediocre download song released every few years if you're lucky.
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« Reply #10 on: May 01, 2017, 06:04:32 PM »

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be a big Brian fan nowadays is to spend a lot of time in the distant past or a rather tepid present, unfortunately....

So what does that make a big Mike fan, then? Or fans of any classic rock artist, really?
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« Reply #11 on: May 01, 2017, 06:51:20 PM »

Not much interest because there's not much to say....a few moderately successful easy listening albums and a heavy dependence upon Pet Sounds/Smile and revisit of past personal problems via the Love and Mercy movie to revive some interest in an otherwise somewhat flagging career...

To be a big Brian fan nowadays is to spend a lot of time in the distant past or a rather tepid present, unfortunately....

Let's do an IN DEPTH study of myKe luHv's solo career.  Evil Evil Evil Uh, that'll be lots of fun.  LOL LOL
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« Reply #12 on: May 01, 2017, 06:53:52 PM »

Not much interest because there's not much to say....a few moderately successful easy listening albums and a heavy dependence upon Pet Sounds/Smile and revisit of past personal problems via the Love and Mercy movie to revive some interest in an otherwise somewhat flagging career...

To be a big Brian fan nowadays is to spend a lot of time in the distant past or a rather tepid present, unfortunately....

I disagree. But I would honestly be just as interested in more in depth study of Mike's backing band since the late 90s, his falling out with Al Jardine, etc. I find band politics and such interesting.
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"Over the years, I've been accused of not supporting our new music from this era (67-73) and just wanting to play our hits. That's complete b.s......I was also, as the front man, the one promoting these songs onstage and have the scars to show for it."
Mike Love autobiography (pg 242-243)
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« Reply #13 on: May 01, 2017, 07:08:32 PM »

this meeting was history in the making, and i'm sure none of them realized it at the time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N90zRw-2fkQ
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« Reply #14 on: May 01, 2017, 07:40:39 PM »

Not much interest because there's not much to say....a few moderately successful easy listening albums and a heavy dependence upon Pet Sounds/Smile and revisit of past personal problems via the Love and Mercy movie to revive some interest in an otherwise somewhat flagging career...

To be a big Brian fan nowadays is to spend a lot of time in the distant past or a rather tepid present, unfortunately....

I think this was the text found on the first rough draft of the book jacket for Mike's autobiography.....  LOL

We could try to conform this sort of statement to Mike's career:

No moderately successful albums in past 30+ years. No albums at all. And never a solo album in his life with even moderate success. A heavy dependence on oldies/hits and backing members singing a lot of the leads, and a dependence on revisiting the past personal problems of Brian Wilson and the Wilson brothers even if nobody is asking. To be a Mike fan nowadays is to spend a lot of time going to shows watching Mike point at his temples while other guys sing the leads, and, well, maybe one mediocre download song released every few years if you're lucky.

Ha! But noooooo Brian's career is In the pits and Mike is the greatest!! LOL a bit more thought needs to go into that troll account!
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« Reply #15 on: May 01, 2017, 08:26:25 PM »

Doesn't Peter Ames Carlin's biography on Brian go into some amount of detail on this?
Thanks. Whats the name of the Carlin book?



I think I have that one. Not sure I ever read it all the way through. I will have to dig it out again. Thanks!
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"Over the years, I've been accused of not supporting our new music from this era (67-73) and just wanting to play our hits. That's complete b.s......I was also, as the front man, the one promoting these songs onstage and have the scars to show for it."
Mike Love autobiography (pg 242-243)
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« Reply #16 on: May 01, 2017, 08:33:39 PM »

Doesn't Peter Ames Carlin's biography on Brian go into some amount of detail on this?
Thanks. Whats the name of the Carlin book?



Is that a new edition?  I've never seen that cover.
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« Reply #17 on: May 01, 2017, 08:36:34 PM »

this meeting was history in the making, and i'm sure none of them realized it at the time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N90zRw-2fkQ

Absolutely! I recall reading that when Brian heard them cover Surf's Up, he said he would have toured Smile (or Pet Sounds?) with them if he had them as his band mates. I believe he even brought up the idea to Carl to perform Pet Sounds on the road. Carl voted against it because he didn't believe they could pull it off. Quite interesting. Mike also believes that Melinda pulled Brian away from rejoining the Beach Boys. But maybe Brian had other ideas of what songs they should perform. I recall the first time I saw Brian perform live in 2001 I was amazed that they performed so many deep cuts. A year or 2 before I saw the Beach Boys and they only did the hits. Now Mike's band has included more deep cuts. Anyway, I find all this to be interesting. Would Brian have gone solo if Carl were still alive? If he did, what would Carl think of Brian's career?
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"Over the years, I've been accused of not supporting our new music from this era (67-73) and just wanting to play our hits. That's complete b.s......I was also, as the front man, the one promoting these songs onstage and have the scars to show for it."
Mike Love autobiography (pg 242-243)
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« Reply #18 on: May 02, 2017, 02:22:21 AM »



Is that a new edition?  I've never seen that cover.

I have this edition. It was published in the UK in 2006.

I saw a rippling cover when looking to post this one. Now that's one I'd never seen.
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« Reply #19 on: May 02, 2017, 02:48:51 AM »

I am interested in learning more about this. Specifically the late 90s. History of his backing band and what lead to him deciding to go on the road again. A book should be written about this someday! From the late 80s to the end. A story that hasn't been finished yet.

Please leave any links or even comments about the origins of his touring band and going on tour.

Priore's book on SMiLE has a few interesting things to say about it from p. 156 onwards...

You may be able to read some of it here (it's blocked for me as a non-member of Google+): 

https://books.google.nl/books?id=b-fjAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT190&lpg=PT190&dq=%22lightbulb+flashed+over+brian+wilson%27s+head%22&source=bl&ots=7-jNy7K9rZ&sig=bIvlrj6QmEMk0l0xx9t8XIfk3RI&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22lightbulb%20flashed%20over%20brian%20wilson's%20head%22&f=false
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« Reply #20 on: May 02, 2017, 03:46:08 AM »



Is that a new edition?  I've never seen that cover.

I have this edition. It was published in the UK in 2006.

I saw a rippling cover when looking to post this one. Now that's one I'd never seen.

Ah, its the UK edition. That explains it. I thought maybe it was new because its somewhat similar to the US DVD for Love and Mercy.
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« Reply #21 on: May 02, 2017, 07:31:43 AM »

At this stage, I think Carlin's book has been repackaged/reissued several times.

I believe this was the original US cover:



And this is a more recent cover:

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« Reply #22 on: May 02, 2017, 07:36:07 AM »

Not much interest because there's not much to say....a few moderately successful easy listening albums and a heavy dependence upon Pet Sounds/Smile and revisit of past personal problems via the Love and Mercy movie to revive some interest in an otherwise somewhat flagging career...

To be a big Brian fan nowadays is to spend a lot of time in the distant past or a rather tepid present, unfortunately....
With a nickname like yours your views are hardly surprising! What you talk about is not "to be a big Brian fan", it's "to be a Beach Boys fan with a strong and declared preference for Mike Love", given the nickname.

As for me, I'd dump most of the pre-Pet Sounds period for Brian's solo career. In case you didn't notice, nothing* excites the real fans like Brian putting in a concert setlist a song (ANY song) from his solo career, ecluding of course L&M. Of course, this almost never happens because Joe Public has to be kept happy, and good old Joe likes Barbara Ann, and that only because after hearing it a million times he finds it somewhat familiar. Grin

* Save maybe a cut from "Love You".

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« Reply #23 on: May 02, 2017, 08:31:34 AM »

I think Brian's solo career has three phases: 1988-1998, 1999-2011, and 2012 on.

1988-1998: the very good but underproduced BW88. The acclaimed (and imho a bit overrated, but that's just me) Paley Sessions. Enter Joe Thomas, resulting in the underwhelming "Imagination". Brian is delivered form Landy, marries Melinda, but is probably still uncertain whether pursuing a solo career or trying to reconnect with the Beach Boys.

1998-2011: Carl passes, and any hope/wish of staying with the grievously diminished Beach Boys fades in Brian. Exit Joe Thomas. Brian starts the collaboration with the amazing Wondermints-plus band and, surprisingly, starts touring a lot, at least by previous standards. In the studio, what I consider his second halcyon period after 1966-1967: BWPS, TLOS, Gershwin. The sound, in this phase, is very organic and "indie-like", just as you would expect from a band where the Wondermints are so prominent.

2012 on: re-enter Joe. The temporarily reunited Beach do a great tour and a good album with a killer 4-songs finale. Brian doesn't take well the forced ending of the reunion, but makes the most of it continuing the collaboration with Al and taking on board first David then Blondie.
False start with Jeff Beck, but Brian & C insist with "external" collaborations, resulting in NPP, imho a good and generally underrated album.
In this phase, the sound has become much "slicker", unsurprisingly given Joe Thomas, and that's what seems most divisive among the fans. Some, like me, like it, others hate it to no end. Also divisive is the importance of collaborators, imho somewhat of a failed experiment; taking the songs one by one, I like them, but they are too many and by very diverse musicians, so on the whole they give the idea of a scattered album.    
Brian's focus seems to have further shifted from the studio to a volume of touring which is now "a lot" (bordering on "too much") by any standards. Let's hope for the fabled R&R album.  
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« Reply #24 on: May 02, 2017, 09:51:07 AM »

I am interested in learning more about this. Specifically the late 90s. History of his backing band and what lead to him deciding to go on the road again. A book should be written about this someday! From the late 80s to the end. A story that hasn't been finished yet.

Please leave any links or even comments about the origins of his touring band and going on tour.

Priore's book on SMiLE has a few interesting things to say about it from p. 156 onwards...

You may be able to read some of it here (it's blocked for me as a non-member of Google+): 

https://books.google.nl/books?id=b-fjAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT190&lpg=PT190&dq=%22lightbulb+flashed+over+brian+wilson%27s+head%22&source=bl&ots=7-jNy7K9rZ&sig=bIvlrj6QmEMk0l0xx9t8XIfk3RI&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22lightbulb%20flashed%20over%20brian%20wilson's%20head%22&f=false
o

I have that one too. Maybe I should dust those off and look for those sections. I probably wasn't  as interested in that period until recently.
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"Over the years, I've been accused of not supporting our new music from this era (67-73) and just wanting to play our hits. That's complete b.s......I was also, as the front man, the one promoting these songs onstage and have the scars to show for it."
Mike Love autobiography (pg 242-243)
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