Not-so-great review of BWRG

[HighOnLife]

Likewise, her partner David Rawlings does a superb version of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" !!!

That song was written from a male perspective by Robert Hazard. He recorded a demo in 1979.

Cyndi made some lyrical changes for her version of the song.

[mtaber]

Don - I, too, thought of the Dave Edmunds comp... great minds and all that...

Hey, the album is great, but to each his own... I personally think Nothing But Love is the standout track on the whole album... but what do I know?

[absinthe_boy]

"In “Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin,” Mr. Wilson dresses Gershwin tunes in surfer attire."

Think you can stop right there and ignore the rest.

Having now heard BWRG I can agree wholeheartedly with ADG. The reviewer clearly hasn't even given the album one proper listen. Brian is not trying to dress Gershwin in surfer attire, nor has he even accidentally done so. There are 'Beach Boys moments' but they are actually quite few and far between.

[Amy B.]

Metacritic has compiled some of the reviews.

http://www.metacritic.com/music/brian-wilson-reimagines-gershwin/critic-reviews

[Myk Luhv]

Frankly, I'm surprised Brian Wilson is singing a song from the perspective of a female -- even if it's one written by a male -- because he's not exactly known for gender-sensitive lyrics. Witness "The Little Girl I Once Knew," any version of "Hey Little Tomboy," "She Knows Me Too Well," and so on. I think it's a good thing, although I'm not going to start thinking he's anything but traditional still, haha.

[Emdeeh]

This is easily the most flippant review I've seen so far:

http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/brian-wilson-does-gershwin-john-mellencamp-does-springsteen/21560

BRIAN WILSON DOES GERSHWIN, JOHN MELLENCAMP DOES SPRINGSTEEN
By Adam Wilson
August 17, 2010

We’re deep into the slow part of summer, everyone away, summer jams already annoying (Katy Perry’s “California Gurls”, anyone?), big releases slated for September. But there’s still new music coming out, even if it's made by old guys. Today we’ve got Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, which, like most late-career cover records, could be awesome, but in reality only cements Wilson’s status as really old and really white. Your dad might like it.

[nobody is a chode]

Lol "really old and really white".

Damn Brian, how are you gonna get around that one?

[Awesoman]

I think it is fair to say this album is not for everyone, BW fan or not.  While I think there are some nice moments here, in all honestly the album isn't really *grabbing* me.  It's a little heavy on the schmaltz for me (which is to be expected since it's a Gershwin project).  And I'm not really digging some of the arrangements here; some of which play it a little too safe.  Totally agree with the review that the Happenings version of "I've Got Rhythm" is better than the one on here.  And my hopes aren't very high over the Disney music album he plans to put out next. 

Pleasure Island----hooooooo!!!

[nobody is a chode]

"In “Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin,” Mr. Wilson dresses Gershwin tunes in surfer attire."

Think you can stop right there and ignore the rest.

Having now heard BWRG I can agree wholeheartedly with ADG. The reviewer clearly hasn't even given the album one proper listen. Brian is not trying to dress Gershwin in surfer attire, nor has he even accidentally done so. There are 'Beach Boys moments' but they are actually quite few and far between.

Yeah the surfer thing is ridiculous. Brian's not even into his old surf group image, is he? I thought he'd been trying to distance himself from that since the mid 60s...

I think it is fair to say this album is not for everyone, BW fan or not.  While I think there are some nice moments here, in all honestly the album isn't really *grabbing* me.  It's a little heavy on the schmaltz for me (which is to be expected since it's a Gershwin project).  And I'm not really digging some of the arrangements here; some of which play it a little too safe.  Totally agree with the review that the Happenings version of "I've Got Rhythm" is better than the one on here.  And my hopes aren't very high over the Disney music album he plans to put out next. 

Pleasure Island----hooooooo!!!

These thoughts occurred to me as well on the first few listens. However, I had to sit back and get some perspective on things. I can't reasonably expect Brian to be as innovative as he was in 1967 and to put out records like Smiley, so I have to see what he IS doing and what's good in it. And in the Gershwin record I feel Love from Brian - his eternal central message. Paul Von Mertens may have played it incredibly safe but Brian still encodes a lot of love into the record. I just feel good listening to it. It's something I see myself turning to when I'm feeling in the mood for something from Brian. I'd take it over Getting In Over My Head (except Rainbow Eyes which is cool), Imagination, BWPS, etc.

[Wirestone]

Brian has an incredibly hip side and an incredibly square side. Part of his charm is that he doesn't always know the difference.

This record comes largely from the Brian Wilson who hired Dick Reynolds not just in the 1960s, but in the 1970s. The Brian Wilson who cites Herb Alpert as an influence on this record. The Brian Wilson who listened to Four Freshmen albums over and over and over as a teen.

That's not the Brian Wilson everyone necessarily idolizes, but it's undeniably part of him. It's the old, dorky, white guy side.

(This, incidentally, is one of the reasons I backed "Imagination" some 12 years ago. Sure, BW has avant garde/rocking stuff, but his easy listening side is no less true and deep. I am not equating BWRG and Imagination, though, so let's not even start that.  )

[nobody is a chode]

Brian has an incredibly hip side and an incredibly square side. Part of his charm is that he doesn't always know the difference.

This record comes largely from the Brian Wilson who hired Dick Reynolds not just in the 1960s, but in the 1970s. The Brian Wilson who cites Herb Alpert as an influence on this record. The Brian Wilson who listened to Four Freshmen albums over and over and over as a teen.

That's not the Brian Wilson everyone necessarily idolizes, but it's undeniably part of him. It's the old, dorky, white guy side.

(This, incidentally, is one of the reasons I backed "Imagination" some 12 years ago. Sure, BW has avant garde/rocking stuff, but his easy listening side is no less true and deep. I am not equating BWRG and Imagination, though, so let's not even start that.  )

Yeahhh I love perspectives like this, everything taken into account. True, part of Brian's style is effortlessly blending the incredibly cool and incredibly dorky. Wild Honey is a great example. Both song and album.

[Amy B.]

Here's video of Brian answering the Facebook questions.

http://www.brianwilson.com/youtube_video/01.html

[nobody is a chode]

Here's video of Brian answering the Facebook questions.

http://www.brianwilson.com/youtube_video/01.html

Woah cool.

Wait, so people wrote in their questions and... how did they get to Brian by telephone?

When I read them in that thread I thought it was like Melinda typing on a computer Brian's responses or something.

[Amy B.]

Brian talks about each track on BWRG.
http://music.msn.com/brian-wilson/story/review/?icid=MUSIC1&GT1=MUSIC1

(These links were posted on the Blueboard.)
Interesting--looks like two days of interviews. Where Brian is in the darker, purple shirt was clearly a better day. You actually see 1960s Brian there. He's totally with-it.

[drbeachboy]

That whole interview was terrific! It is one of the best interviews with him that I have seen in years. He seemed very confident and relaxed. Thank you for sharing that.

[18thofMay]

Brian talks about each track on BWRG.
http://music.msn.com/brian-wilson/story/review/?icid=MUSIC1&GT1=MUSIC1

(These links were posted on the Blueboard.)
Interesting--looks like two days of interviews. Where Brian is in the darker, purple shirt was clearly a better day. You actually see 1960s Brian there. He's totally with-it.

It wont let me watch it from where I am currently located???
NSW Australia

[phirnis]

Brian talks about each track on BWRG.
http://music.msn.com/brian-wilson/story/review/?icid=MUSIC1&GT1=MUSIC1

"We're sorry, this video cannot be played from your current location."

I have yet to understand such limitations when it comes to watching a promotional video such as this...