How does one of the most highly regarded pop musicians in the history of the recorded song still manage a successful career some 46 years after his first single scaled the charts?
“By being inspired to want to make someone happy,” Brian Wilson responds in a matter-of-fact tone.
Wilson is a rejuvenated, roadready musician with energy to burn when EQ magazine interviews him on a sunny L.A. day. Clearly, this wasn’t always the case. The legendary figure— best known for his contributions to the Beach Boys during their peak years, writing, producing, singing, and playing bass on masterpieces such as “Good Vibrations,” “I Get Around,” “Surfin’ Safari,” and “California Girls”— was near mad and a total recluse for two decades. From approximately 1968 until 1988, Wilson was entrenched in a battle with drugs and a variety of mental illnesses. An infamous ’70s Rolling Stone cover story depicted an overweight Wilson wrapped in a multicolored terrycloth robe, wandering the halls of a local allnight pharmacy, and rumors of Wilson being diagnosed with schizophrenia and treated for a drug-induced stroke saturated the media. It appeared Wilson was destined to become just another casualty of the rock-and-roll lifestyle—not at all unlike Pink Floyd’s founder, the late Syd Barrett.
With the help of family, friends, and more than a few therapists, Wilson eventually reclaimed his mind and his music, re-entering the world as a solo artist with 1988’s BrianWilson. A series of albums of varying quality and commercial success appeared between 1990 and 2004, culminating in Wilson’s full embrace of the album that almost never was—SMiLE. Assisted by pop provocateurs the Wondermints, wife Melinda, and longtime engineer Mark Linett, Wilson tackled the unfinished SMiLE project—an album that was conceived 37 years earlier, and was considered a catalyst in Wilson’s ensuing mental breakdown. The resulting release was a tremendous success, hitting the Billboard charts at #13, garnering Wilson his first Grammy, and proving to the world that he still had the goods to create the glistening pop music found therein.
It’s four years later and Wilson has returned with That Lucky Old Sun, a full-length homage to all things Los Angeles. Back in the Wilson camp is long-time collaborator Van Dyke Parks (the man responsible for the entirety of SMiLE’s lyrics), engineer Linett, and Wilson’s faithful 11-piece backing band, including multi-instrumentalist/coproducer Scott Bennett and the Wondermints’ Darian Sahanaja. Emboldened by SMiLE’s rapturous universal welcome and several successful tours—and surrounded by what amounts to a loving family of familiar musicians, orchestral arrangers, producers and engineers— the 65-year-old Wilson has created what is arguably his best album since Pet Sounds. With songs such as “Oxygen” and “Midnight’s Another Day,” Wilson recaptures the magic of Surf’s Up and Pet Sounds with ambitious sonic experimentation. And tracks like “Good Kind of Love” and “Going Home” find Wilson singing with a confidence and clarity not evident since his youth, turning out the kind of sun ’n’ fun-loving ditties that made him a household name in the first place. That Lucky Old Sun even references the gorgeous lost Beach Boy’s track, “Can’t Wait Too Long”—a classic example of Wilson’s musical prowess and vocal genius.
After the premier of That Lucky Old Sun at London’s Royal Festival Hall over a year ago, EQ decided to paint an explicit picture of how one of the world’s first and foremost musician/producers tackles the album-making process. This story isn’t about Wilson and his crew’s miking techniques, or tracing signal paths on a track-by-track basis—it’s about exploring the creative process of one of the most mysterious, misunderstood, and unmistakable artists alive.
PART I: BRIAN WILSON ON BRIAN WILSON
Known to be elusive even after his recovery, securing an interview with the former Beach Boy was challenging. But we caught up with him at Capitol Records HQ in Los Angeles for a very brief interview. It immediately became obvious that there would be no lengthy explanations. Instead, what we got was a candid look at the self-perceived simplicity of Wilson’s creative process.
What inspired you to write a concept album about L.A.?
I didn’t write the concept; I came up with “That Lucky Old Sun” theme song. The concept came from Van Dyke Parks, who wrote the lyrics for the narration about L.A.
Why did you want to cover “That Lucky Old Sun”?
I liked it. I thought it was a good African-American spiritual song to do.
The record is very upbeat. Did you feel emboldened coming off the success of SMiLE?
We were riding the crest of the SMiLE album, but we weren’t sure if it was going to be better or worse than SMiLE. Now, I think it is better.
I can see why. It is a rock and roll album that is also very orchestral. Scott Bennett said you worked out the songs at his home studio. Did you arrive with the songs fully fleshed out, or did you work them out at his studio?
I wrote the songs. Then, when I got to Scott’s studio, he and I played around with the arrangements.
You didn’t find the process faster or slower than how you used to work?
A little slower, but it was more efficient.
What sparks a song like “Good Kind of Love” or “Oxygen”?
The chord pattern comes first, then the melody, and then the lyrics.
I’ve read that you would hear the entire production of a song in your head before you entered the studio. Did it work the same way with That Lucky Old Sun?
No. I hear it as we go.
Do you prefer the digital way of recording to the old days of analog?
Yes, because you can make pitch correction a lot better.
Are you tough on vocalists when you arrange their parts?
Yes, because I want them to be right. I want them to be good.
Is it difficult for the background vocalists to grasp your concepts?
No, not really. I go to the piano and sing and play each part for each person. Then, they record as a group. It usually takes from two to 20 takes for them to get it. It varies from song to song. I can’t remember which song took the most takes. I sing some of the bass parts on the album, too.
Scott Bennett mentioned that one of your trademarks is that the bass vocal part is very atypical.
Well, the singers get it very quickly.
There are no breaks between songs. What determined that?
My wife and Scott Bennett and Darian Sahanaja all teamed up to sequence the album. They are responsible for that.
What inspired “Oxygen”? It seems very autobiographical. . . .
It is the story of my life. I laid around and didn’t do anything and was lazy. One day, I started exercising and I started eating right, and getting better sleep at night—stuff like that.
What inspired the melody for “Oxygen”?
What inspired the melody? Nothing. I just came up with it. I usually try out ideas on a synthesizer— a Yamaha.
That and “Midnight’s Another Day” are both very frank and honest. Where did you find the strength to put those feelings in song?
I needed to express myself so I just did it.
What inspired your original stacked vocal harmonies in the Beach Boys?
Ah, a bunch of different influences. I couldn’t even mention them all to you. Bach, for sure.
What music are you listening to now?
I listen to my own stuff, the Beatles, and a station called KTRH-FM 101 in Los Angeles. I listen to “oldies but goodies” all day!
Brian Wilson today...still putting out those Good Vibrations!
