Brian Wilson - An Appreciation

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 8 / 7 / 2025

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Article

It wasn’t a total surprise of course, it was widely known that Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys chief songwriter for many years, was finally showing signs of his age (82) and a life well-lived but it was still something of a shock to read of his passing on June 11th 2025. Although my obsession with music and records began long before I ever heard of The Beach Boys it feels like Brian Wilson, through the music he made, has always been in my life. The way the years are rushing past it feels that it won’t be long before I’m at the age Wilson was on that June day when we lost him. Yet I can still remember certain points in my life that were defined by the music he was making at that time. Although I’ve had periods when music hasn’t been the crutch that supported me and I’ve found the answer in other forms of life, I’ve always been able to return to Wilson’s music as the gateway to finding solace in sounds once again. Music can still, after six decades of listening, move me to tears. Maybe more so than anything else. It’s been ten years now but I remember listening to Wilson’s ‘No Pier Pressure’ album for the first time and feeling that half a century after I first heard the man’s music he could still move me. I first heard it on CD and, if I disregard the last two ‘bonus tracks’ on my copy, the album ends with the appropriately titled ‘The Last Song’, a song Wilson co-wrote with producer Joe Thomas. A typical Wilson breathtaking melody, Wilson still in good voice and his emotional delivery of the lyrics still makes my eyes mist up. Even more so now we’ve lost him. For me it was Wilson saying goodbye, thankfully a decade too early, but what a final statement. What a final song. Once again Wilson had expressed through his music exactly how I felt and I know I’m far from the only one feeling that. I was a preteen when I first heard The Beach Boys. I can’t say I was over impressed at the time. Sure, they had the melodies, the harmonies and the clothes (as far as I was concerned; it led to a lifelong obsession with Pendletone-style shirts and any piece of clothing that had blue and white stripes) but how, living in sleepy old Woking, could I relate to songs about beaches, surfing, hot rods and sunny California? But I noticed them and, although their sound and themes were so different to my usual musical diet (I had The Small Faces, The Who, The Hollies, so many home-grown brilliant acts singing about the life and surroundings I knew), it still registered with me somewhat because it sounded so perfect, so far away, so out of reach, even though for the most part lyrically I couldn’t relate. The charts were probably the most important thing to me back in those days and although ‘Surfin’ USA’ made a respectable showing it meant little to me other than a catchy tune. The following year, 1964, ‘I Get Around’ was The Beach Boys’ first real big hit in the UK. I remember everyone singing it and it was a sound that I was unfamiliar with, but which was impossible not to like. But it was another car/dating song and both those things were still out of my reach. 1965 saw The Beach Boys hit the singles chart twice (and back then when a paper round funded my music obsession albums were just a birthday or Christmas present; my life revolved around the 7” single, three for a quid, 6 shillings and 8 pence each) ‘Help Me, Rhonda’ again a catchy pop single that stood out and ‘California Girls’ with that instrumental opening. The first sign for me that while always immediately accessible The Beach Boys really were a group that were producing something not only different but something more substantial than the usual pop song. We had no internet back then; pirate radio was really the only outlet for pop music and they didn’t really start until Caroline and Radio London started broadcasting until 1964. So, listening to pop music wasn’t just a click away like it is today. Radio Luxemburg was another outlet but try catching a signal that didn’t fade in and out. So, the pirate stations and the charts were the only way we had to hear new music. Thankfully Woking then had two decent record shops where we could go and listen to new singles and brilliant staff who would let us do so. Come 1966 and I felt a little disappointed initially in The Beach Boys. ‘Barbara Ann’ was an early big hit and a non- Wilson original. It apparently was picked off a ‘live’ album and sounded like the boys were having fun but did nothing for me. I’d yet to see my first live show and albums at that point still meant nothing much to me. Then a few months later it happened. The band released another cover. This time their rendition of ‘Sloop John B’ which was known to me by Lonnie Donegan’s version but The Beach Boys had turned it into a work of beauty. What a production. Maybe these Americans were the equal of some of our home-grown bands after all. Another couple of months and it happened again. ‘God Only Knows’ arrived on a single. It seems impossible now but, although its beauty shone from the first hearing, it took me a few years to appreciate just how perfect this love song was. Another few months passed and ‘Good Vibrations’ topped the charts in the UK. Job done. Totally unlike anything that went before it that song cemented the fact that The Beach Boys and especially Brian Wilson were in a field of their own. In 1967 we had a cover of Phil Spector’s ‘Then I Kissed Her’ and another song, ‘Heroes And Villains’, which reached the heights of ‘Good Vibrations’ for inventiveness. The next few years also saw the release of a number first-rate singles although 1970 was really the end of The Beach Boys’ golden era on the UK singles charts. Thankfully by then I’d discovered albums. Not just Greatest Hits collections but albums where the majority of the songs were unheard. I also had the finances finally to feed what was going to be a lifelong obsession with 12” vinyl. So, I’d spent any cash I had buying most albums from The Small Faces, The Who, Procol Harum, the original Nirvana and so on from about 1965 onwards (oddly very few Beatles and no Stones at that time) so now with the discovery of ‘Pet Sounds’ I started to check out The Beach Boys’ back catalogue of albums. For me ‘Pet Sounds’ is the perfect album. No filler, it flows as an album should, lyrically, even though there’s an ocean between us, I could relate to the lyrics and the melodies are just heavenly. That album taught me so much about life, the way I felt and gave me so much inspiration. I can listen to it at any time and it lifts me up. It can also make me tear up and give me light during those long dark nights. It was my first Beach Boys album. I have an embarrassing collection of all the various re-issues of it, and if they find another way of re-issuing it once more I’ll no doubt buy that too. It wasn’t the soundtrack to my summer in 1966 but has been to every summer since. Summer isn’t summer without ‘Pet Sounds’. So. I went back to the earliest Beach Boys albums I could readily find at the time, I honestly cannot remember where I bought most of my vinyl albums from back then unless they still have the little shop pri ce sticker on them, but I know the earliest Beach Boys album I found was ‘Surfer Girl’. Wow, what a revelation. The title track was a beautiful, longing love song. Perfect harmonies and production, better than many of their hit UK singles. How could I have missed such a song? ‘In My Room’ there is another ballad beautifully sung tucked away on an album. The album was top heavy on surf and car songs, but there was no denying that even back in the early ‘60s Brian Wilson’s talent as a producer was years ahead of the competition. My first hearing of ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ was another turning point. Essentially another car song it took the concept into another dimension. No wonder that years later Ronnie Spector covered it. I’ll disregard the ‘live’ album ‘Beach Boys Party!’ the one Beach Boys album I could live without. But there’s a trio of albums, ‘Summer Days’, ‘The Beach Boys Today ‘and ‘All Summer Long’ which all include songs which, for me, define The Beach Boys and are as brilliant as ‘Pet Sounds’. It’s like they were building a bridge to ‘Pet Sounds’ with these three albums. The title track of ‘All Summer Song’ ranks as one of the all-time great summer songs. The album also introduced me to more of the slower tempo songs that Wilson excelled at. ‘Hushabye’, ‘We’ll Run Away’ and ‘Girls On The Beach’ are perfect summery teenage love songs. The harmonies are just outstanding. The ‘Summer Days (and Summer Nights!) album had less of their ballads but with tracks like ‘Girl Don’t Tell Me’, ‘You’re So Good To Me’ and ‘California Girls’ not to mention the beautiful instrumental ‘Summer Means New Love’ the album once again showed the remarkable progress Wilson and The Beach Boys had made. Although ‘Beach Boys Today!’ had its share of hit singles, the unheard songs for this writer like ‘In The Back Of My Mind’, ‘She Knows Me Too Well’, Please Let Me Wonder’ and ‘Kiss Me, Baby’, all Wilson co-writes with Mike Love, are the highlights on the album. Even the non-original ‘I’m So Young’ stands out, shorn of its doo-wop trimmings and given the Brian Wilson treatment it’s difficult not to believe it was written by them. Of course, things changed after ‘Pet Sounds’, how could they not? There was little chance that another Beach Boys album was going to reach those heights and the follow-up ‘Smiley Smile’ was, to these ears, with the exception of the singles it contained, ‘Heroes And Villains’ and ‘Good Vibrations’, a disappointment. To be brutally honest even when the intended follow-up to ‘Pet Sounds’ (namely ‘Smile’) finally saw the light of day in 2011 as ‘The Smile Sessions’ it still fell behind their masterpiece despite including some excellent songs which had appeared on subsequent albums. My problem, like many others, was that I was always hoping for another ‘Pet Sounds’, and it took me some time to understand that to capture all that was special about that album wasn’t just down to the music but the era in which it was made. Yes, it still sounds contemporary even in 2025 but part of the magic, for me, is that it transports me back to 1966 to a carefree time when all that mattered was music and friends and the world felt like a more innocent place. There were songs on the albums that followed ‘Smiley Smile’ in which Brian was still involved in some part, which displayed that Wilson still had that magic touch. The ‘Friends’ album from 1968 hangs together really well and showcases that Brian wasn’t the only Wilson (or band member) who could pen a decent song or two. The instrumental ‘Diamond Head’ always brings to mind ‘Pet Sounds’. 1969’s ‘20/20’ also featured a ‘Pet Sounds’ - inspired instrumental courtesy of Bruce Johnston, ‘The Nearest Faraway Place’ is simply a beautiful piece of music equal to Wilson’s compositions. Talking about beauty Brian’s short ‘I Went To Sleep’ is another highlight on the ‘20/20’ album as is his ‘Time To Get Alone, with brilliant vocals from brother Carl. The early ‘70s, and although I still bought the albums from ‘Sunflower’ through to ‘Holland’, my interest in the group was not what it once was. ‘Surf’s Up’, ‘Til I Die’, ‘Disney Girls’; songs of that calibre should not be dismissed and maybe I should reassess that whole block of albums, but it wasn’t until 1977’s ‘The Beach Boys Love You’ that the group captured my interest once more probably as it was promoted as Brian’s return by some. There are low points, the Wilson collaboration with Roger McGuinn, ‘Ding Dang’ is a pure throwaway but with a song like ‘The Night Was So Young’ we knew Brian was indeed back. It didn’t last of course and it wasn’t until 2012’s ‘That’s Why God Made The Radio’ won me over once more to again show just why I regard both Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys so highly. If that album is the last Beach Boys album I buy, at least they left on a very high note. Of course, the albums that don’t cut it with me will be another’s favourite, the times I was given raised eyebrows for citing ‘Beach Boys Love You’ as a favourite are numerous. And yes, those albums that are not at the top of my essential listening do coincide with what may be described as the decline of Brian Wilson and overlap with his various struggles. But the magic was still there on his solo albums. Wilson has released a number of solo albums since 1988 with his first self-titled solo set. A few deserve special mention I feel. ‘Brian Wilson’ featured at least a couple of songs which rank with his best, ‘Love And Mercy’, which opened his first solo album has become something of his signature tune. It displays all that made Wilson’s work so special; a gorgeous melody, heavenly harmonies and his usual imaginative production. The whole album signified a return to form. Seven years later and ‘Orange Crate Art’, a collaboration with his old lyricist Van Dyke Parks, appeared. Van Dyke Parks composed the majority of songs and produced the album. Wilson’s part was to supply the vocals. Van Dyke Parks has had some criticism through the years due to his oblique lyrics but he has a way with a melody which suits Wilson’s voice. It has more to do with the classic sound of The Beach Boys than some of the later albums released under the band’s name. Why the album was unsuccessful is still a mystery. Wilson fans who have skipped ‘Orange Crate Art’ should give it a listen. ‘Imagination’ from 1988 opens with ‘Your Imagination’ which is an absolute classic Wilson song. Co-produced with Joe Thomas the song will bring tears to any Wilson fan. The melody, production, vocals, lyrics; it’s simply superb and worth the price of the album alone. There’s a beautiful tribute to brother Carl, ‘Lay Down Burden’, who we lost to cancer earlier in 1988. Wilson covers two Beach Boys songs on ‘Imagination’, ‘Keep An Eye On Summer’ and ‘Let Him Run Wild’. He obviously had his reasons for this but how can you improve on perfection? The album had mixed reviews on it’s release but it’s a strong set of songs and difficult to fault. Wilson released a handful of other solo albums, the last being in 2021 but I’ll finish where I more or less started with ‘No Pier Pressure’ from 2015. Not least because it features the aforementioned ‘The Last Song’, possibly the most heartbreaking song Wilson ever recorded, but because it is the most consistently great album Wilson made since releasing albums under his own name. There’s no filler, every track is unmistakably Brian Wilson, he’s joined by some well-known friends and it’s the album, along with ‘Pet Sounds’, that will never be far from my reach. I never knew Brian Wilson except through his music, never met the man, but I learnt more about life and love from him than I ever did from years spent in school or anyone else. For that I thank you Brian Wilso. Your music will live on forever.

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