Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys

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bob_32_116
Posts: 395
Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2005 12:51 pm
Location: Perth, Western Australia

Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys

Post by bob_32_116 »

I can hardly believe that it's now 12 years since Brian Wilson released his long-lost album, SMiLE. Begun in 1967, and shelved due to Brian's mental problems and the rifts within the band, it finally saw the light of day 37 years later. Never, in my opinion, have so many waited so long... for so much. It took me 2 or 3 listens to appreciate just how good this work is. Written nearly half a century ago, yet the music still sounds fresher than most of what's on the current pop charts.

When Wilson toured with his band in 2004, I decided to hang the expense and go to the concert, thinking it was going to be the last chance I would get to see and hear this true legend in the flesh. Surprisingly, twelve years later, he is still actively touring, and will be here again in April in a concert that will mainly feature Pet Sounds. I am now agonising about how much I want to see him again, because tickets are almost double the price I paid last time. I know I will probably end up going...

The band currently known as The Beach Boys also visited recently, as they seem to do quite regularly. I really have little interest in Mike Love's nostalgia band. It's true that Brian is also presenting a kind of nostalgia, but the difference is that at the time it was written it was completely pushing the boundaries, while Mike Love wanted the Beachies to stick with the formula, because that was what would bring in the money.

Incidentally, if you have not seen the film Love and Mercy, try and see it. It's an excellent narrative of the events in Brian's life at the time - and it does not do a hatchet job on Mike Love, it simply shows very clearly how the two guys were approaching the music business from two very different perspectives.
Last edited by bob_32_116 on Tue Feb 16, 2016 11:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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