Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road (2019 Brent Wilson Documentary)

[Wirestone]

I don’t know. It just seems to me that old rock stars have better things to do than dictating random social media posts. I mean, we know that Brian has answered folks at times, but it’s usually been a distinct event or one night only kind of thing. In a case like this, I could see somebody writing the message, showing it to BW for sign off, and him nodding while barely paying attention. And I might be wrong!

[rab2591]

I don’t know. It just seems to me that old rock stars have better things to do than dictating random social media posts. I mean, we know that Brian has answered folks at times, but it’s usually been a distinct event or one night only kind of thing. In a case like this, I could see somebody writing the message, showing it to BW for sign off, and him nodding while barely paying attention. And I might be wrong!

Yeah, I can definitely see them writing some copy for him to sign off on in some cases. But when it comes to the passing of certain people, it would seem really inappropriate for them to write these short statements claiming they are from Brian (when they could just as easy be honest and sign them "from all of us in the Wilson family" or something). Like I say, I can't see Brian initiating the creation of these social media posts, but I can see his wife or someone asking him for a short statement. I don't think he's that busy (or incapable) to do such a thing. But I have no idea what goes on in this guy's life, so you could be very correct.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

It could be that they don't tell him as it's very upsetting. You can see in the doc how he protects himself from emotionally tough situations.

If there is no official condolence from his SM accounts then perhaps it becomes difficult as it's seen as disrespectful or people start speculating about possible reasons.

[rab2591]

Yeah that could be the case. But I'd also think that since Brian is around a lot of people from time to time (recording studios, backstage at concerts, interviews) that his wife/management would tell him this stuff anyways because eventually he's probably going to hear the news. If he isn't told about emotionally troubling news, then he could potentially be blindsided with that news...if that's what happened with the Reiley information from Jason Fine on camera, that really isn't a great way to handle that type of stuff.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

Yeah that could be the case. But I'd also think that since Brian is around a lot of people from time to time (recording studios, backstage at concerts, interviews) that his wife/management would tell him this stuff anyways because eventually he's probably going to hear the news. If he isn't told about emotionally troubling news, then he could potentially be blindsided with that news...if that's what happened with the Reiley information from Jason Fine on camera, that really isn't a great way to handle that type of stuff.

I'd imagine his band mates and people he works with are well tuned in to what are appropriate conversations to have around him.

[rab2591]

Just my perspective on this, but if the death of old friends is one of the supposed off-limits topics for the band/etc I would think that someone would’ve let Jason Fine know this before getting into a car with Brian for 70 hours. And while the band and other workers may know what subjects are taboo, Brian still does interviews, he sees people at the deli. It’s not like he is completely shut off from the outside world…I mean, I’m sure the guy knows how to use a TV remote and flips through channels, sees the news, etc. As in, it’s impossible to shelter Brian from everything, so why hide things like this from him (when it could possibly be mentally worse for the guy if he is blindsided by bad news).

Death is a part of life, and Brian is no stranger to it. I mean, Nicky Wonder unfortunately passed away and Brian paid homage to him in concert. To me, the simplest explanation is that Brian just forgets things from time to time, and Reiley’s passing is just one of those things.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

Just my perspective on this, but if the death of old friends is one of the supposed off-limits topics for the band/etc I would think that someone would’ve let Jason Fine know this before getting into a car with Brian for 70 hours. And while the band and other workers may know what subjects are taboo, Brian still does interviews, he sees people at the deli. It’s not like he is completely shut off from the outside world…I mean, I’m sure the guy knows how to use a TV remote and flips through channels, sees the news, etc. As in, it’s impossible to shelter Brian from everything, so why hide things like this from him (when it could possibly be mentally worse for the guy if he is blindsided by bad news).

Death is a part of life, and Brian is no stranger to it. I mean, Nicky Wonder unfortunately passed away and Brian paid homage to him in concert. To me, the simplest explanation is that Brian just forgets things from time to time, and Reiley’s passing is just one of those things.

There would no avoiding the sad death of Nicky W but the news of Jack R is different. He wasn't well known outside BB's circles and was there only for a brief fairly uncommercial period during the bands history. He's unlikely to make mainstream news. The chances of someone saying such things at the deli also seems slim IMO.

[rab2591]

Just my perspective on this, but if the death of old friends is one of the supposed off-limits topics for the band/etc I would think that someone would’ve let Jason Fine know this before getting into a car with Brian for 70 hours. And while the band and other workers may know what subjects are taboo, Brian still does interviews, he sees people at the deli. It’s not like he is completely shut off from the outside world…I mean, I’m sure the guy knows how to use a TV remote and flips through channels, sees the news, etc. As in, it’s impossible to shelter Brian from everything, so why hide things like this from him (when it could possibly be mentally worse for the guy if he is blindsided by bad news).

Death is a part of life, and Brian is no stranger to it. I mean, Nicky Wonder unfortunately passed away and Brian paid homage to him in concert. To me, the simplest explanation is that Brian just forgets things from time to time, and Reiley’s passing is just one of those things.

There would no avoiding the sad death of Nicky W but the news of Jack R is different. He wasn't well known outside BB's circles and was there only for a brief fairly uncommercial period during the bands history. He's unlikely to make mainstream news. The chances of someone saying such things at the deli also seems slim IMO.

1) My point about Nicky Wonder is that Nicky was someone who Brian spent a lot of time with on a very long term basis and Brian didn't mentally break down because of the news - he was able to carry on with life in a normal fashion to the point of being able to pay homage to him in a concert following his death. Thus I doubt that his wife/doctors keep sad news from him because he can obviously handle it...even the news of Reiley...if Fine bringing it up was the first time Brian heard the news, you can see that Brian didn't go into a panic attack, he just seemed saddened by the news like any normal person would be if an old friend died.
2) My point about Brian watching the news wasn't tied in with Reiley but other people who Brian is/was close to who have already or will eventually die (who are more newsworthy - say, if McCartney passed away (yes I know he wasn't close to McCartney, but it would still be sad for Brian to hear, etc). My point is that it is impossible to shelter Brian from sad news 100% of the time.
3) My point about the deli is that Brian goes places, sees people in uncontrollable environments and thus it is possible for him to be blindsided by sad/bad news. Thus I doubt they keep sad news from Brian because there are chances that he will find out about it anyways.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

Just my perspective on this, but if the death of old friends is one of the supposed off-limits topics for the band/etc I would think that someone would’ve let Jason Fine know this before getting into a car with Brian for 70 hours. And while the band and other workers may know what subjects are taboo, Brian still does interviews, he sees people at the deli. It’s not like he is completely shut off from the outside world…I mean, I’m sure the guy knows how to use a TV remote and flips through channels, sees the news, etc. As in, it’s impossible to shelter Brian from everything, so why hide things like this from him (when it could possibly be mentally worse for the guy if he is blindsided by bad news).

Death is a part of life, and Brian is no stranger to it. I mean, Nicky Wonder unfortunately passed away and Brian paid homage to him in concert. To me, the simplest explanation is that Brian just forgets things from time to time, and Reiley’s passing is just one of those things.

There would no avoiding the sad death of Nicky W but the news of Jack R is different. He wasn't well known outside BB's circles and was there only for a brief fairly uncommercial period during the bands history. He's unlikely to make mainstream news. The chances of someone saying such things at the deli also seems slim IMO.

1) My point about Nicky Wonder is that Nicky was someone who Brian spent a lot of time with on a very long term basis and Brian didn't mentally break down because of the news - he was able to carry on with life in a normal fashion to the point of being able to pay homage to him in a concert following his death. Thus I doubt that his wife/doctors keep sad news from him because he can obviously handle it...even the news of Reiley...if Fine bringing it up was the first time Brian heard the news, you can see that Brian didn't go into a panic attack, he just seemed saddened by the news like any normal person would be if an old friend died.
2) My point about Brian watching the news wasn't tied in with Reiley but other people who Brian is/was close to who have already or will eventually die (who are more newsworthy - say, if McCartney passed away (yes I know he wasn't close to McCartney, but it would still be sad for Brian to hear, etc). My point is that it is impossible to shelter Brian from sad news 100% of the time.
3) My point about the deli is that Brian goes places, sees people in uncontrollable environments and thus it is possible for him to be blindsided by sad/bad news. Thus I doubt they keep sad news from Brian because there are chances that he will find out about it anyways.

It's very easy break down all that to make my point but we are not gonna agree so I'll leave it.

[rab2591]

Just my perspective on this, but if the death of old friends is one of the supposed off-limits topics for the band/etc I would think that someone would’ve let Jason Fine know this before getting into a car with Brian for 70 hours. And while the band and other workers may know what subjects are taboo, Brian still does interviews, he sees people at the deli. It’s not like he is completely shut off from the outside world…I mean, I’m sure the guy knows how to use a TV remote and flips through channels, sees the news, etc. As in, it’s impossible to shelter Brian from everything, so why hide things like this from him (when it could possibly be mentally worse for the guy if he is blindsided by bad news).

Death is a part of life, and Brian is no stranger to it. I mean, Nicky Wonder unfortunately passed away and Brian paid homage to him in concert. To me, the simplest explanation is that Brian just forgets things from time to time, and Reiley’s passing is just one of those things.

There would no avoiding the sad death of Nicky W but the news of Jack R is different. He wasn't well known outside BB's circles and was there only for a brief fairly uncommercial period during the bands history. He's unlikely to make mainstream news. The chances of someone saying such things at the deli also seems slim IMO.

1) My point about Nicky Wonder is that Nicky was someone who Brian spent a lot of time with on a very long term basis and Brian didn't mentally break down because of the news - he was able to carry on with life in a normal fashion to the point of being able to pay homage to him in a concert following his death. Thus I doubt that his wife/doctors keep sad news from him because he can obviously handle it...even the news of Reiley...if Fine bringing it up was the first time Brian heard the news, you can see that Brian didn't go into a panic attack, he just seemed saddened by the news like any normal person would be if an old friend died.
2) My point about Brian watching the news wasn't tied in with Reiley but other people who Brian is/was close to who have already or will eventually die (who are more newsworthy - say, if McCartney passed away (yes I know he wasn't close to McCartney, but it would still be sad for Brian to hear, etc). My point is that it is impossible to shelter Brian from sad news 100% of the time.
3) My point about the deli is that Brian goes places, sees people in uncontrollable environments and thus it is possible for him to be blindsided by sad/bad news. Thus I doubt they keep sad news from Brian because there are chances that he will find out about it anyways.

It's very easy break down all that to make my point but we are not gonna agree so I'll leave it.

I mean, I don't mind having a discussion. And I'm not saying I'm right. I'm just saying what seems the most logical to me.

I do understand your point of view and it is very well possible that they shelter Brian from bad news. I guess what I'm saying is that it would be kinda irrational (on their part) if that is the case considering what happened with Jason Fine and Brian in the car...if they do shelter him I think that is worse than just telling him bad news in a controlled environment (than Brian being blindsided by it in an uncontrolled environment). That's all.

[Zander]

I'm gonna say it, I wasn't blown away by this film. It was nice to see some "new" Brian today footage but aside from that it was pretty much a rehash of every other documentary out there. I'd really looked forward to this and was underwhelmed to say the least.

I know, I know - there's only so many ways you can regurgitate the same history but I thought this documentary was gonna be something different, new and up to date. More irrelevant  "talking heads" than there is Brian interaction (Nick Jonas? Come on, really?). I enjoyed watching Brian talk about Dennis and listening to POB for the "first" time, recording the new tune in the studio and I was really moved on Brian discovering that Jack Rieley had passed away some years ago, but that was it really.

Maybe the extras which I haven't seen yet will add some extra flavour but I really don't think hardcore fans are missing anything by not seeing it.

[rab2591]

I think the one thing this documentary did that was unlike any other BW doc, is that it gave us a much closer/longer glimpse of modern day Brian than we’ve ever seen before. The TLOS and BWPS documentaries show Brian in the studio, but they don’t really show him as a person just traversing his world. This is the only documentary I’ve seen that does that.

So yeah, we get the same redemption story. But this film is unique in that half of it focuses solely on Brian himself…not just studio Brian, but also deli Brian, traffic Brian, etc.. And upon typing that I realize how boring that sounds haha, but it’s just cool to see Brian being a regular person and not just a tragical/mythical figure.

[Emdeeh]

... it’s just cool to see Brian being a regular person and not just a tragical/mythical figure.

This is the best aspect about the film for me.

[joe_blow]

Enjoyed it, lot of old ground covered and not keen on some of the talking heads but some really great moments and a nice insight into Brian's life.

Very emotional at times re: his brothers and....Jack Rieley.

Was interesting to see the therapeutic effect a song like "It's OK" has for Brian when he wanted LPR off and it put back on in the car.

Hey!.....and Brian finally listened to POB!

I am sure Brian has been asked about POB before...even in this interview he quotes a few words from River Song:https://youtu.be/Tn9nLxUAAmI?t=397

[Pablo.]

At the doc, I was kinda expecting Brian come on with "Hey! That's Carl on backgrounds!"...

[SanAntone]

I watched Long Promised Road and then re-watched I Just Wasn't Made for These Times - what a trip.  LPR was a little depressing whereas IJWMFTT is uplifting with phenomenal performances.  Who's the Black backup singers?  Don Was did a great job. 

The Brian Wilson story is such a tragedy.  What I get out of all of this is that he was beaten down after Pet Sounds and SMiLE - the rejection from the band and the record label to the music he had written and recorded must have been devastating.  I'm grateful for the 2004 SMiLE (I already had the Purple Chick and Vigotone boots) but after listening to the Smile Sessions it was a major missed opportunity in 1967 to shelve these songs.

[juggler]

  Who's the Black backup singers? 

Sweetpea Atkinson, Sir Harry Bowens, Donald Ray Mitchell.

These guys were Don Was "regulars," appearing  on his own Was (Not Was) albums and the "Under the Red Sky" album he produced for Dylan.

[Ptolemaios]

This was one of the better documentaries about Brian and the band and a very good idea to show Brian in a intimate setting driving around in a car with his friend. Much better to watch that than some formal interview where Brian just repeats the same short answers he’s given to questions in the past few decades. I hope we will see a director’s cut on dvd with much more footage.

However, besides the setting there was not really anything new. On a more general level one thing I dislike about docus of Brian and the band is how they always bring up celebrities to give those tired one liners “Brian is a genius”, “don’t know how he does it!”, “the first time I heard that I was blown away!” etc. I find it somehow infantile and embarrassing as if the makers of the docus are insecurely trying to convince the audience of something: “Look! Even Bruce S. things he’s a genius!” As if Brian’s life, career and music don’t stand on their own. To illustrate my point: When compared to a A-class production like the Beatles Anthology I think it would have been very childish if there had been celebrity clips (Elton John's head popping up every once in a while) in those episodes telling the viewer “These guys were great and Paul & John really were geniuses!”, “I was blown away when I heard sgt. Pepper” etc. It would have been embarrassing. The story of the band and the quality of the music stand on their own and most importantly independently thinking adults don’t need to watch and hear such trivialities.

I wish we would one day see a serious biographical, musical and cultural documentary about the band written for adult audiences and the serious music fan and not for the average joe who maybe knows a song or few from the band but that is the level of interest he/she has. With all the quality of the music, the light and the darkness of the story and the influence the band has had there is easily enough story material and credibility for such a thing: a documentary written for independently thinking adults and givin’ everyone in the band a serious and detailed voice to tell their side of things. I don’t care how many episodes it would take – in today’s internet release world and with the bands financial resources make ten episodes if need be but just tell the story in a serious and adult manner. I don’t think I’m the only long time fan of the band who would like to hear for example Mike telling seriously and in detail in an informal setting (drive him around in a car and just talk maybe?) his point of view about what he feels really happened with Smile. (He's autobiography was just the same old typical public relations story telling and as such uninformative.) Do the same with Al, Bruce and Van. I don’t think we need more documentaries where they have the band members sit in formal interviews just going over the same old tired and token answers to superficial questions that we have seen over and over again for the past decades. In this sense this new docu was a step in the right direction.

I have a suggestion for the most knowledgeable people here: Since there is so much knowledge here on this board about the band and I imagine many people with different skill sets (writers, video editors, archive researchers and so on) we should collectively create a fan created anthology style documentary series using publicly available materials. Of course we would not be able to interview the band members. However there is so much video and audio materials plus books for sources available from different decades of the past there would easily be enough materials, even rare clips and other stuff for serious fans to be used for the film to create a documentary of serious proportions. The first part of this project would be to collectively write a preliminary script (of course native speakers have to acutally do the writing). This could be done here as a group effort. Then when the script is done to the satisfaction of most if not all here there would be research and gathering of audio and video materials. After this is done the video editors would take over. And all the while this is going on clips of the work in progress would be released here for everyone to comment and give their feedback.

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

3-minute clip of Brian arranging Honeycomb. Love it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izeC9suU0cU&t=8s

[mtaber]

That’s incredibly cool, thank you for sharing the link!

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

That’s incredibly cool, thank you for sharing the link!

My pleasure! And couldn't agree more... I've watched it 5 or 6 times already. Keep noticing fascinating little bits in it.

[starry1]

That clip with Brian arranging Honeycomb is insanely cool. If only they could spend some weeks in the studio with NO EXTERNAL INFLUENCE. No wives, no children, no dogs, no Joe Thomases, no Mike Loves (nor traces of them), no companies, no touring, no documentaries, no interviews, no fans, no nothing. Just Brian, Darian, the rest of his fantastic band, if possible Al and Blondie, and the music. Only contact with the external world, his beloved deli. In that clip, Brian literally broadcasts need of making music.
At the best we could have something like Smile 2 (ok I am exaggerating, bear with me), at worst something like the Wilson/Paley sessions. Will never happen, of course. Pity, REALLY pity.

The number of people who have limited and at times totally obliterated Brian's creative potential is mind boggling. Just listen at his "demoes". They are consistently better, often much better, than the released versions. Even TLOS.

[rab2591]

Just throwing this out there, but I don’t think we’ve really ever heard Brian with no external influence* (edit: I want to clarify that of course we have heard completely solo BW at times, but it’s rare, not the most commercial music). The reason he ever skyrocketed up the charts in the first place was because of Dennis’ suggestion of surfing. Brian’s magnum opus was written and recorded with collaborators. Smile was greatly influenced by VDP’s ideas of Americana. I know very little about the creative process that Brian went through with Love You, but I wonder how much he was influenced by any therapy that Landy was performing on Brian at the time…not to mention that the album wouldn’t have been completed without his brother stepping in to finish the job.

Brian’s most successful work has always been done either in tandem with another creative or has been influenced by the ideas of another person. I agree that some of those collaborations have resulted in less than stellar work, but when the bulk of his work (including his most successful work) from 1960-onward has been done with collaborators you see an obvious trend that Brian needs/wants people to work with to share the creative/production process with.

So this idea that if Brian left alone in a vacuum with no wife, no friends, no co-producers, no creatives would equate to Brian reaching his full creative potential is just so odd to me. Mostly because I don’t think that Brian has ever really done this successfully - and I think Brian knows this which is why he has most always opted to work with others when creating music.

[starry1]

Ok, I was being a bit optimistic, I know. However, I specified no EXTERNAL influences. By "external" I mean those who are usually at odds with Brian's creativity, and I made a rather extensive list of them. But specifically included, as "internal", Darian, the rest of Brian's band, Al and Blondie. People who have repeatedly proved that they are NOT at odd with Brian's creativity. So no vacuum.

I don't think that Darian, the band, Al (at least now) and Blondie would dream of ever pestering Brian to be "commercial". I wish I could say the same of wives, producers, a couple ex-bandmates, and most fans. We owe that "At My Piano" gem to the unexpected intervention of an entity where somebody actually has some grasp of music (Decca).

I was, voluntarily, optimistic. But in any case I'll have always that doubt... what if? You mentioned Love You. I waited for something like that for more than 40 years. And I know Brian would never have completed Love You without Carl. But for that, there would be Darian. "At My Piano" would never have been completed, either, without him. Nor SMiLE.

[kindofgreen]

Yo all I've a new podcast out with director of the film Brent Wilson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8THTyZnYwk8