Brian Wilson as a Beatle rival

[Ram1]

quote:Originally posted by Chris Speers
His comeback song in 1988 was called "Melt Away" - and it was pretty good. I think he does have it in him but i hear he goes through terrible, terrible bits of writer's block.

I think of him as being the opposite of McCartney. McCartney is very loose about song-writing and keeps a cool, sort of level ahead about his creative process. McCartney is like the cool kid in class who walks in with very little studying and gets A and B's on his exam and just takes it all in stride. For Paul, it comes really easy.

Brian Wilson, on the other hand, is a nervous wreck who continually second-guesses himself and analyzes himself. Wilson is like the nebbish kid on exam day who studies and preps himself the night before and still is looking through his text-book just before the exam. A complete wreck. For Wilson, creativity seems painful, almost sheer agony.


EXCELLENT analogies, Chris. And I believe you're exactly right. Paul will just sit down and write a hit without breaking a sweat. Bri agonizes. I think he always had that self doubt feeling, like he wasn't "good enough" or something. I'm just guessing, but I have a feeling that's what happened with Smile. I think he eventually got so frustrated that he just scrapped it. I still firmly believe that the release of Sgt. Pepper was a MAJOR breaking point in Brian's life. I really do. He was STILL talking about it in his 1995 documentary, 'I Just Wasn't Made for These Times.' He thought he had FINALLY written the greatest album in history with Pet Sounds (and he did), and then the next year, The Beatles release Pepper. They said that when Pepper was released, Brian didn't come out of his room for like days. Playing the Pepper album over and over and over and over again. I think it really devastated him. And yes, Melt Away is a good song.

[Liam OSM]

Well, if that's the case, my songwriting parallels Brian rather than Paul. I am always second-guessing myself, and I have to have an emotional bond with the song, it has to feel completely right for me. Similarly, some songs will come to me very quickly, while others do take time, and I have to be in the right mood.

[Steve-o]

I liked alot of the The "Wilson" album from 1988. One for the Boys was very good :the acapella stuff harkened back to the old days. Love and Mercy was a good one also.

[Ram1]

Actually, Brian's last studio album, 1998's 'Imagination' is really good too. You can still see those strokes of genius in him. Not to the full capacity of Pet Sounds of course, but it's still there.

[maccastheman]

Ram,
I agree that "Imagination" has some good songs on it. I particularly like "Lay Down Burden" and the title track. I also like "Orange Crate Art," the album he did with Van Dyke Parks in 1995. I wish he had collaborated with him on "Imagination" instead of folks like Jimmy Buffett. "South American" is an okay Jimmy Buffett song, but it sounds too much like a novelty song on a Brian Wilson/Beach Boy album.
Parks doesn't get enough credit, either. He was sort of like Brian Wilson's John Lennon during the Smile era. Mike Love just didn't get Parks. Too bad. I think the partnership could have lasted a lot longer were it not for Love's ignorance.

[Ram1]

MTM, glad to see you are so knowledgable. Yes, Imagination has some really great high points. I agree about South American. It's a great JIMMY BUFFETT song, but definitely not a BW song. I think it's cool how he re-made Let Him Run Wild..which is one of my favorite Beach Boy songs ever. And yes, Van Dyke Parks was/is a master wordsmith. Not nearly appreciated enough. I never got Orange Crate Art, but it's definitely on my wish list.