Aspects of Brian's life LEFT OUT in documentaries

[Justin]

The time between Landy's departure and the Don Was documentary. Those were mysterious days.

+1

[Autotune]

The late 60s point is spot on. There is an argument to be made -- and this board has made it splendidly over the last few years -- that the real decline in the Boys' work did not start until several years into the 70s, and that they were fully engaged, fully creative, for many albums that were almost wholly ignored.

What I would like would be a book that honestly depicted Brian's personal life and relationships from the introduction of Landy the second time through the present. I understand why no one wants to do this -- the political land mines are huge, and everyone has an agenda. But we know next to nothing about Brian's actual life during this time. I feel like we've only begun to get a sense of it over the last few years (BWPS onward), but even that is incredibly sanitized.

The thing is, everyone gets that Brian is probably zoned out a lot of the time. Everyone understands that "produced by Brian Wilson" doesn't mean the same thing in 2012 (or 2004) that it did in 1964. It's okay. Let us see and hear about the guy. And if the Rolling Stone article about the band on tour is any indication, Brian is much cannier than we may believe. But some of the people who would know that -- Melinda, or Gloria, or some of the band members -- are really the souls of discretion.

Still, the resurgence of Brian as a creative force from the 80s to today -- or, rather, his battle to be a creative person amidst incredible personal and business turmoil -- is quite a story. And his continued output (and its undeniably quirky quality, even if helped along by platoons of co-writers and band member) worthy of some serious consideration. But that hasn't happened yet. Maybe someday.

I enjoyed this very fascinating post of yours. May I say that ever since this reunion time, I'm in peace with the concept "produced by Brian Wilson" in ways I haven't been for the past 20+ years.

[Bicyclerider]

Brian's relationship/obsession with the three Rovell sisters, both the early years pre marriage and after, hasn't been covered in depth and is pretty important in understanding Brian's psyche and view of male-female relationships.  Some of this was instrumental in the creation of Pet Sounds, and of course the story of the Honeys and later Spring, and Diane's crucial role in Smile and many of the wrecking crew sessions.

[ontor pertawst]

Brian's relationship/obsession with the three Rovell sisters, both the early years pre marriage and after, hasn't been covered in depth and is pretty important in understanding Brian's psyche and view of male-female relationships.  Some of this was instrumental in the creation of Pet Sounds, and of course the story of the Honeys and later Spring, and Diane's crucial role in Smile and many of the wrecking crew sessions.

That would make a helluva movie tackled by the right person, too. Concentrating on that aspect instead of doing the cliche TV movie arc... Unfortunately some idiot will buy the rights to a lousy book one day and make a Lifetime movie instead.

[Lonely Summer]

The time between Landy's departure and the Don Was documentary. Those were mysterious days.

+1

+2

[punkinhead]

Brian's relationship/obsession with the three Rovell sisters, both the early years pre marriage and after, hasn't been covered in depth and is pretty important in understanding Brian's psyche and view of male-female relationships.  Some of this was instrumental in the creation of Pet Sounds, and of course the story of the Honeys and later Spring, and Diane's crucial role in Smile and many of the wrecking crew sessions.

That would make a helluva movie tackled by the right person, too. Concentrating on that aspect instead of doing the cliche TV movie arc... Unfortunately some idiot will buy the rights to a lousy book one day and make a Lifetime movie instead.

I agree with both of you

[Dunderhead]

Brian's relationship/obsession with the three Rovell sisters, both the early years pre marriage and after, hasn't been covered in depth and is pretty important in understanding Brian's psyche and view of male-female relationships.  Some of this was instrumental in the creation of Pet Sounds, and of course the story of the Honeys and later Spring, and Diane's crucial role in Smile and many of the wrecking crew sessions.

That would make a helluva movie tackled by the right person, too. Concentrating on that aspect instead of doing the cliche TV movie arc... Unfortunately some idiot will buy the rights to a lousy book one day and make a Lifetime movie instead.

It's just too bad that there's no evidence for any of this stuff, it makes a really in-depth biography difficult. People don't really write or save letters much any more, and Brian's own autobiography is useless. Getting the real truth from interviews is difficult, especially when everyone is so tight lipped.
There have just been rumors and speculation about Brian and the Rovells, and it could shed so much light on Brian's personality if we could only find out the truth.

[MBE]

The time between Landy's departure and the Don Was documentary. Those were mysterious days.

He seemed to disapear around then but the Don Was thing was started within a year or so of Landy being gone.

[punkinhead]

What I would like would be a book that honestly depicted Brian's personal life and relationships from the introduction of Landy the second time through the present. I understand why no one wants to do this -- the political land mines are huge, and everyone has an agenda. But we know next to nothing about Brian's actual life during this time. I feel like we've only begun to get a sense of it over the last few years (BWPS onward), but even that is incredibly sanitized.

The thing is, everyone gets that Brian is probably zoned out a lot of the time. Everyone understands that "produced by Brian Wilson" doesn't mean the same thing in 2012 (or 2004) that it did in 1964. It's okay. Let us see and hear about the guy. And if the Rolling Stone article about the band on tour is any indication, Brian is much cannier than we may believe. But some of the people who would know that -- Melinda, or Gloria, or some of the band members -- are really the souls of discretion.

Still, the resurgence of Brian as a creative force from the 80s to today -- or, rather, his battle to be a creative person amidst incredible personal and business turmoil -- is quite a story. And his continued output (and its undeniably quirky quality, even if helped along by platoons of co-writers and band member) worthy of some serious consideration. But that hasn't happened yet. Maybe someday.

I also definitely think it's time for a book that deals with the Beach Boys as a band more equally, including lengthy, biographical articles on the lives and music (Beach Boys contributions, solo careers, outside collaborations) of Mike, Carl, Al and Bruce in more depth than we've seen in the past, as well as info on Brian and Dennis, of whom we already know quite a lot. The Beach Boys FAQ Book by John Stebbins does this to an extent, but I feel the Boys as a group deserve more recognition/ coverage than they've often received in the past.

I've wanted to write something along the lines of this, but I'm just afraid it'll be a repeat of past books and would be more of putting together all my BB books/info that everyone already knows or has.

[punkinhead]

They never get Brian of 1967-71 right. They make him almost like 1975 or 1982 Brian on the whole.

Your book certainly does that time period justice.

Folks, you're in for a treat when it is released!

I've given up on hoping for Mike's book to EVER come out! Which sucks, because behind the remasters and the box set, that is the one Beach Boys related thing that I want more than anything!

I feel like Bruce or maybe Al are the only ones that might do their own book. Mike's got too much of an ego to carry on the road/tour that he'd never settle down on something like that.

[punkinhead]

Don't worry I am submitting it next month and I think my chances are good that it will come out. Once sold I have to write a 2011-2012 chapter (been writing my Elvis book this year) but it's 99 percent ready. Billy and Amanda did a great job on it with editing and layout. It has been a long wait (I have been working on this idea on and off since 1994!) but I hope it will be worth it.

I Can Hear Music is a biography, but the music is center stage. I am a big record collector so any music ever issued on vinyl is covered in depth (every single group song), but the main thing is all the original releases. CD's are part of the book too of course but AGD did a great job on that so I felt free to explore the vinyl side of things. A lot is out there and it's my chance to discuss the original mixes and presentation and try to give a feel of the times.. Still there is a lot of info for any sort of collector or fan. I landed some really cool interviews and asked the kind of questions they haven't been served with dozens of times before. I think it's very group oriented compared to what's come before the recent 50 Sides and FAQ book's and I try to see everyone's side of things. I'm a fan but I try to be fair in what worked and didn't. I also made it a point not to echo what others have written before when it comes to my evaluations.

There are sections on solo releases, bootlegs. comps, and guest appearances but the meat of the book is the story of the group and how each of their singles and albums were put together.

This sounds great! Every single single that was released? Even talks of the b-side (even if it had already came out, which a lot of BB singles have done)? I'm excited! I can't wait to hear things about Celebrate the News, Don't go Near the Water, wake the World, Bluebirds over the Mountains, here comes the night (LA version), Slip on Through, etc.

[Lonely Summer]

The time between Landy's departure and the Don Was documentary. Those were mysterious days.

He seemed to disapear around then but the Don Was thing was started within a year or so of Landy being gone.

Yeah, publicly, we weren't seeing/hearing anything, but he was working. I do remember seeing Brian for the first time post-Landy on a "history of rock and roll" special, spring 1995, and being mildly shocked at his weight gain. I'd grown so used to the rail thin Landy Brian.

[MBE]

Don't worry I am submitting it next month and I think my chances are good that it will come out. Once sold I have to write a 2011-2012 chapter (been writing my Elvis book this year) but it's 99 percent ready. Billy and Amanda did a great job on it with editing and layout. It has been a long wait (I have been working on this idea on and off since 1994!) but I hope it will be worth it.

I Can Hear Music is a biography, but the music is center stage. I am a big record collector so any music ever issued on vinyl is covered in depth (every single group song), but the main thing is all the original releases. CD's are part of the book too of course but AGD did a great job on that so I felt free to explore the vinyl side of things. A lot is out there and it's my chance to discuss the original mixes and presentation and try to give a feel of the times.. Still there is a lot of info for any sort of collector or fan. I landed some really cool interviews and asked the kind of questions they haven't been served with dozens of times before. I think it's very group oriented compared to what's come before the recent 50 Sides and FAQ book's and I try to see everyone's side of things. I'm a fan but I try to be fair in what worked and didn't. I also made it a point not to echo what others have written before when it comes to my evaluations.

There are sections on solo releases, bootlegs. comps, and guest appearances but the meat of the book is the story of the group and how each of their singles and albums were put together.

This sounds great! Every single single that was released? Even talks of the b-side (even if it had already came out, which a lot of BB singles have done)? I'm excited! I can't wait to hear things about Celebrate the News, Don't go Near the Water, wake the World, Bluebirds over the Mountains, here comes the night (LA version), Slip on Through, etc.

The info is all in there on all the singles. Every track on every 45 and LP the group has done is covered.  I don't review a song twice if it is in an LP and the single version is the same, but the info is there as to where each song was used.  If a single is released long before (like some of the cuts on Today or Little Saint Nick etc.) I review them during the year they came out as singles and also do a quick mention during the LP review. Mostly they came out around the time of the LP, but within the LP review I will discuss the info on the single release. I tried to get info on the more obscure songs that people haven't discussed much before in my interviews but I covered everything in depth. Even something like Lady Liberty gets a full rundown.

[punkinhead]

Don't worry I am submitting it next month and I think my chances are good that it will come out. Once sold I have to write a 2011-2012 chapter (been writing my Elvis book this year) but it's 99 percent ready. Billy and Amanda did a great job on it with editing and layout. It has been a long wait (I have been working on this idea on and off since 1994!) but I hope it will be worth it.

I Can Hear Music is a biography, but the music is center stage. I am a big record collector so any music ever issued on vinyl is covered in depth (every single group song), but the main thing is all the original releases. CD's are part of the book too of course but AGD did a great job on that so I felt free to explore the vinyl side of things. A lot is out there and it's my chance to discuss the original mixes and presentation and try to give a feel of the times.. Still there is a lot of info for any sort of collector or fan. I landed some really cool interviews and asked the kind of questions they haven't been served with dozens of times before. I think it's very group oriented compared to what's come before the recent 50 Sides and FAQ book's and I try to see everyone's side of things. I'm a fan but I try to be fair in what worked and didn't. I also made it a point not to echo what others have written before when it comes to my evaluations.

There are sections on solo releases, bootlegs. comps, and guest appearances but the meat of the book is the story of the group and how each of their singles and albums were put together.

This sounds great! Every single single that was released? Even talks of the b-side (even if it had already came out, which a lot of BB singles have done)? I'm excited! I can't wait to hear things about Celebrate the News, Don't go Near the Water, wake the World, Bluebirds over the Mountains, here comes the night (LA version), Slip on Through, etc.

The info is all in there on all the singles. Every track on every 45 and LP the group has done is covered.  I don't review a song twice if it is in an LP and the single version is the same, but the info is there as to where each song was used.  If a single is released long before (like some of the cuts on Today or Little Saint Nick etc.) I review them during the year they came out as singles and also do a quick mention during the LP review. Mostly they came out around the time of the LP, but within the LP review I will discuss the info on the single release. I tried to get info on the more obscure songs that people haven't discussed much before in my interviews but I covered everything in depth. Even something like Lady Liberty gets a full rundown.

YES! I was hoping for that kind of obscurity! I will most def buy this book!