SMiLE was the aborted follow-up to Pet Sounds (widely acknowledged as the Beach Boys’ peak achievement), coming in the aftermath of the hugely ambitious Good Vibrations. He did not throw SMiLE away after hearing Sergeant Pepper’s – there were far too many other things going on in his head for such a simplistic explanation. He says the alleged competition with The Beatles was really about mutual inspiration. He has come to a kind of peace with Murry Wilson’s tyrannical behaviour. Wilson is at pains to understand, and perhaps forgive, his father. He recalls the sandbox in his living room, the doctor who dominated his life for two long periods of time, the chaos around recording SMiLE, competition with The Beatles, Phil Spector, weight gain and why he quit touring. Wilson addresses many of the myths and legends that have evolved around his rise to become one of the most famous musicians of the late 20th century. This book covers both without glossing over the unpleasant or the unflattering and reveals how music and his mental state have influenced each other. There are pivotal years that he returns to while other periods seem to go by in a blur.īut two things have dominated Wilson’s life: music and mental illness. It’s not a chronological telling of Wilson’s story but is thematically arranged with chapters including: Time, America, Echoes and Voices, Fear and Fathers and Sons. They bounce off each other like billiard balls.
The book is structured in a similarly haphazard manner. He talks of being unable to leave the house, his favourite chairs, favourite meals, good days and bad days, and of needing constant support to keep the bad days at bay. It feels as if Wilson is sitting at his favourite diner, or in a chair at home, recounting stories to his friends as he tries to explain what’s going on inside his head – as complex and disorienting as that can be.
The language has a simplicity and naivety that allows the subject’s personality to shine through. I am Brian Wilson’s writer Ben Greenman has done a fine job in communicating Brian Wilson’s own words. Brian Wilson, David Marks, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and Al Jardine performing at a Beach Boys concert in May 2012.
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