Spring Break
Wilson's latest fails to shine
by Daniel Orkin
Staff Writer
Arts | 9/9/08
Posted online at 11:11 PM EST on 9/8/08
/ Last updated at 2:14 AM EST on 9/8/08
Nothing-including an abusive father and being deaf in one ear-could stop Brian?Wilson from recording his magnum opus, Pet Sounds, in 1965 at the age of 23. His follow-up, SMiLE was abandoned in its original making, and by the time it was revisited, completed and given a full release in 2004, the legend of the Beach Boys' abandoned 'masterpiece' was so ingrained in popular music consciousness that the only thing more glowingly positive than its subject matter was its reception. It's a real shame no one stopped to recognize just how roundly mediocre the music was.
Four years later, the erratic Mr. Wilson delivers That Lucky Old Sun, a fresh opus that shows him slipping away from the glisteningly rehashed mediocrity of SMiLE and into the dark realm of inadvertent self-parody.
Again, Wilson is joined by the devious Van Dyke Parks as arranger and lyricist, and again the music is primarily concerned with the joys of Southern California culture, waves, cars and that lucky old sun itself. With orchestrations as thick as ever and enough synthetic harmony to make the Manhattan Transfer cringe, the old tricks that so warmly endeared us to our surfer-boy genius in the '60s now come off like that fat old uncle who just keeps telling the same jokes every Thanksgiving. We get it, turkey makes you tired.
For a musician as undeniably important to the history of popmusic as Wilson, these fatigued forays out of stagnant old-mannery are at best disheartening. No doubt, the man's had a tough life, with chapters of abuse, drug-addiction, reclusion, insanity and even a Barenaked Ladies tribute song. All the more reason I felt so guilty as I laughed through most of this newest jumble of studio-ripened doo-wop beats, glockenspiel flourishes and three-parts-too-many vocal avalanches.
Even when his preternatural knack for infectious hooks shines through, the grey clouds of the ABC Family delivery cripple the songs where they stand. Structurally, the album is dotted with a series of spoken-word interludes read by Wilson, like that same uncle at Thanksgiving who has now had a few too many drinks and is trying to cheer up the little kids with recaps of Saturday morning cartoons he saw in his childhood.
Four years later, the erratic Mr. Wilson delivers That Lucky Old Sun, a fresh opus that shows him slipping away from the glisteningly rehashed mediocrity of SMiLE and into the dark realm of inadvertent self-parody.
Again, Wilson is joined by the devious Van Dyke Parks as arranger and lyricist, and again the music is primarily concerned with the joys of Southern California culture, waves, cars and that lucky old sun itself. With orchestrations as thick as ever and enough synthetic harmony to make the Manhattan Transfer cringe, the old tricks that so warmly endeared us to our surfer-boy genius in the '60s now come off like that fat old uncle who just keeps telling the same jokes every Thanksgiving. We get it, turkey makes you tired.
For a musician as undeniably important to the history of popmusic as Wilson, these fatigued forays out of stagnant old-mannery are at best disheartening. No doubt, the man's had a tough life, with chapters of abuse, drug-addiction, reclusion, insanity and even a Barenaked Ladies tribute song. All the more reason I felt so guilty as I laughed through most of this newest jumble of studio-ripened doo-wop beats, glockenspiel flourishes and three-parts-too-many vocal avalanches.
Even when his preternatural knack for infectious hooks shines through, the grey clouds of the ABC Family delivery cripple the songs where they stand. Structurally, the album is dotted with a series of spoken-word interludes read by Wilson, like that same uncle at Thanksgiving who has now had a few too many drinks and is trying to cheer up the little kids with recaps of Saturday morning cartoons he saw in his childhood.
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Joe Abate
posted 9/09/08 @ 8:54 PM EST
Shame on you. Brian Wilson is a courageous and creative, mature songwriter. He writes and sings about a real life with both ups and downs. What more do you want from a recording artist. (Continued…)
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