FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
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| CD REVIEW BRIAN WILSON · First solo record of (mostly) new material in 10 years from notoriously crazy Beach Boy. · After laying off the smokes, Wilson's voice has recovered, and to prove it he performs all the vocals (as many as 96) himself with the exception of a little help from Jimmy Buffet. Imagination could be used as a textbook of what to do in a recording studio. Every cymbal, every instrument, every beat is perfect. These tracks have a clarity only matched by deBeers. Then there's Wilson's singing. Over the last few years of being smoke free, his voice has regained some of that Beach Boys crispness and almost sounds young again. To show it off, he masterfully sings every vocal part except one on a record so intertwined with vocals it would confuse AT&T. Then there's the songwriting. Maybe because he can't quite get his head straight, or maybe because the legend of Brian Wilson continues to attract many hangers on, Brian shares songwriting credit with 10 other people. The cast of writers includes Jimmy Buffett, Carole Bayer Sager (who wrote songs for Carly Simon), J.D. Souther (Linda Ronstadt), and producer Joe Thomas, who's best known for his work with Peter Cetera and Alan Parsons - yikes! The results are predictable. Surrounded by too many people (why is Wilson co-producing with anyone?), the record is a watered-down attempt to capture the past while still letting Wilson take baby steps forward musically. It's as though the people around him want Brian to be a Beach Boy while he was only interested in a making a great record. To the album's credit, there are some fantastic moments: "Your Imagination" soars, the two Beach Boys remakes are refreshing and "She Says That She Needs Me" hints at the simple genius of the past. The album can really be summed up by looking at two songs. "South America" was co-written by Jimmy Buffett, and sounds like it should be on one of his cheesy records. The final track, "Happy Days," has a brooding, crazed intro which resembles the sounds emanating from a Soho performance piece. Although a little tetched, you know nobody "assisted" Brian with this song. Just a little piece of crazed genius slipping through a middle-of-the-road record. 2/5 |
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