First impressions of The Wilsons album
copyright 1997. All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission of the author.
Any dissemination, distribution or copying of this review is strictly prohibited.
People, I cannot believe what I am hearing coming out of my
speakers. Can this be THE Brian Wilson doing a contemporary 90's sounding
record with platinum-plus potential? YES.
Fed Ex just delivered Mercury's adv_ance cassette of The Wilsons.
First of all, the production and arrangements are contemporary, commercial,
and artistically satisfying. With no writer/producer/musician credits,
I have only song titles and the music, but here are very first impressions
on the four relevant tracks...
Where to start? Usually Side A, track 1. OK.
Monday Without You is a fine 90's pop rocker. To my ears the
record has *everything* going for it. The song is constructed wonderfully
with the "A" section of the verse staying low, the "B"
section gaining momentum until it breaks into a joyful hook after hook
after hook chorus. The lyric is simple, yes, but when the Wilsons sing
"I only wanna be with you. I just wanna be with you, Can't think about
anything else but Sunday and the touch of you" I get a rush of emotion
very much like when I first heard Jackie DeShannon sing When You Walk In
the Room. This is a good song and could easily be a big hit! Brian is featured
so much on this, he'll undoubtedly have a cameo in the promo clip.
The production sparkles. The track opens with a nice Rickenbacker
12 string guitar riff over jangly acoustic rhythm guitars. Tambourine,
timpani, Brian's surf-like falsetto oohs, gorgeous girl group harmonies.
What else could you ask for? Monday Without You kicks off the album rather
well. This is a likely candidate for a lead single.
The third track is called Miracle. Mellotron(ish) strings open
this amazing track, a ballad, with Brian's voice all over it. GOD, WHO
HAS THE LINER NOTES? To what extent did Brian have his hand in this? Amazingly,
Brian sings a "bow-bow-bow" low part that would've been ML if
this was a BB record. There is a "dit-dit-dit" part Brian sings
that sounds just like a phrase on Rio Grande. I like it, I like it. The
Wilson's sing: Expect a miracle. We do, we do.
'Till I Die with a hip hop groove? Tell me it's not true, I
used to think. Until I heard it. It works! The contemporary R&B groove
is very mellow and doesn't detract from the beauty of what is arguably
one of Brian's most important songs. It sounds contemporary. Just amazing.
Brian has a step-out line right at the turnaround into the tag that is
chilling.
Where to end? Side 2, usually last track. OK.
This is THE track we hoped for..
A wonderful ballad Everything I Need closes the album. I wish
I knew who wrote this. If it isn't Brian, it could've been. Dig the opening
lyric
We've been through so much We've stayed in close touch Seems
like we've always been together
We've sung the same song Unchanged for so long Guess we'll be
singing it forever FOREVER
It's not the full blown BB harmony here, but it still has that
glorious emphasis on FOREVER that Brian does so well.
The "B" section of the verse has this quirky baritone
sax playing a single low note each bar that sounds like a classic Spector-via-BW
touch. This has to be one of the tracks Carol Kaye was talking about. But
it is NOT retro.
Brian even gets a whole verse to himself on this track.
Then, daughter sings "we have each other" and Dad
repeats "we have each other." Are you hearing this? These are
the same sisters who didn't even mention Brian on the W/P album! Sending
chills down my spine. Literally. There are some very positive feelings
coming over the speakers, friends - far, far removed from the Mike Love
Endless Bummer vibe and all the baggage that goes with it.
The Wilsons
Carnie and Wendy
And Dad
Expect a miracle.
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