Brian Wilson (2004)
Interview Background
Interviewing Brian Wilson is like trying to beat one of those rigged sideshow games: you go in completely confident you’re going to blitz it, yet emerge minutes later feeling sweaty, baffled and defeated. The man responsible for opening up the world of pop to a whole new palette speaks in abrupt sentences, with even the broadest open questions brushed aside with a single word or two. It’s not that he doesn’t like talking (in fact, he always comes across as an extremely affable chap), it’s just that he is oblivious to nervy interviewers requiring more than pithy quotes like ‘It’s louder’ to fill their pages.
Versed in his conversational restrictions, I went into this interview with three pages of typed questions. Within a nine-minute whirl this flush-faced journo had pretty much depleted my heady list of topics and was now resorting to asking one of the greatest songwriters of all time about his dogs and holiday homes! Around the 12 minute mark Brian put me out of my misery by hastily wrapping up our stilted conversation, thankfully preventing me from grappling for his thoughts on airline food or interior decorating advice.
While I generally find the question and answer interview format somewhat lazy, Brian’s brevity meant it was one of the better options to present our discussion in print. Given that the interview happened just hours before our print deadline, I also had to turn this one around in the space of just a few hours. Phew! While it’s not a story that plays to my strengths, it remains one of my most memorable conversations. My graphic designer and I chuckled about this one for months…
The following is an edited version of an interview first published in Rip It Up, September 2004.
Brian Wilson - Unknown For A Long, Long Time
by Scott McLennan
In 1966 the prospects were looking bright for The Beach Boys. Riding high on a wave of global success thanks to hit singles Sloop John B and Barbara Ann, the Los Angeles quintet of brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, their cousin Mike Love and neighbour Al Jardine were even enjoying a friendly transatlantic rivalry with the similarly forward-thinking Beatles.
Hooking up with young lyricist Van Dyke Parks to record his prospective opus Smile, Beach Boys maestro Brian Wilson was looking forward to topping the Beatles’ current hit album Revolver by creating a pop album as textured as any classic symphony. While cobbled together from 17 sessions in four separate studios, initial Smile 45 opus Good Vibrations set the standard for the album projected to revolutionise popular music.
Sadly, due to a mental decline that saw chief songwriter and arranger Brian Wilson becoming more erratic in his behaviour, the Smile project was shelved indefinitely just weeks before an official release. Tracks from the Smile sessions were intermittently issued as both official and bootlegged records, however it was not until Brian Wilson recently – and rather unexpectedly - decided to return to his musical opus that the brilliance of Smile was finally unveiled to the world. Now touring a live version of Smile around the globe, Brian Wilson had an abrupt conversation with Rip It Up about bringing his lost gem to Australia.
“We arrived two days ago,” Wilson begins. “We’re not suffering in the weather, we’re just taking long walks in the heat. We take half hour walks two or three times a day just to stay in shape. I don’t jog any more, I just walk now. I walk uphill a little bit. I don’t take my dogs for a walk.”
How does the Smile live show differ from the studio version?
“First it is a little more exciting, but the record is good too,” Wilson states.
How is it more exciting?
“It’s louder… and more exciting,” the musician offers with a degree of incredulity.
What caused you to go back and complete Smile after 37 years?
“My wife told me nine months ago that she thought the world was finally ready for Smile,” Wilson remembers. “So we learned it and went to London and performed it and got six standing ovations, six nights in a row. They loved it. My wife’s the one who gave me my solo concert career and Smile.”
Why did you decide to record it all again rather than use what had been recorded back in the 1960s?
“We wanted to make it better because we have better musicians now,” Wilson explains. “So we took it from scratch and went through the entire album.”
What emotions were you feeling when you first decided to work on Smile after so long?
“I was feeling very sentimental and a little bit scared. Mostly sentimental, since I was working on the old stuff.”
If you met the Brian Wilson of 1966, what would he think of this version of Smile?
“I would think he would think it’s a wasted, very ahead of its time, fast moving yelp!” The Beach Boys maestro laughs. “Back then it was too advanced and ahead of its time, both lyrically and musically. 2004 is the right time to release it.”
What do you think of other versions of The Beach Boys still touring these days?
“Mike [Love] and Bruce [Johnston] went out on their own and licensed the name The Beach Boys, so they’re keeping the Beach Boys name alive and I’m keeping my own name alive, so we’re all doing good. I’m glad they’re playing my music.”
Are there a lot of other songs apart from the Smile songs you’ll be playing in your live show?
“We play a lot of Beach Boys songs and a lot of Brian Wilson songs. We start with Beach Boys and Brian Wilson songs and then we finish up with Smile.”
Does being on stage give you a break from the voices in your head?
“I get a little voice,” Wilson admits. “How did you know about that?”
You were on the television program Today telling Richard Wilkins about it last week.
“Oh yeah. When I go on stage I don’t get any voices in my head. They leave me alone when I do my concerts.”
Do you think your album Getting In Over My Head was overshadowed by Smile being released so soon after?
“I think it was overshadowed by Smile, yeah. Unfortunately it was overshadowed and it all went to shit. It didn’t sell as much as we thought it would. It would have been better to hold off, but we can’t change it now.”
You worked with British singer Richard Ashcroft two years ago; how did you meet Richard?
“Richard Ashcroft? I don’t remember working with Richard Ashcroft.”
You were on his album called Human Conditions.
“Oh right,” Wilson offers hesitantly. “I did some backing singing. It was great meeting him. I hadn’t heard any of his music.”
What sort of music do you listen to?
“I listen to Phil Spector records and Beatles records.”
Is there any contemporary music at all that you listen to?
“No!” Wilson exclaims defiantly. “I don’t listen to any contemporary music. There’s nothing near as good as Phil Spector or any other artists. I don’t listen to Beach Boys music, only when I’m on stage.”
But I heard you might be working with Paul McCartney in the future?
“No, I don’t think I’ll be working with Paul McCartney,” Wilson dejectedly admits. “It doesn’t look like he wants to work with me. I haven’t called him yet, but it probably won’t happen. It won’t happen.”
You met the Queen a few years ago.
“I met the Queen and she was beautiful. She said, ‘I like your music’ and I said, ‘Thanks very much’.”
Did she mention any songs in particular she liked?
“No, nooooooo,” Wilson offers in a comedic, drawn-out fashion. “But I think she’s telling the truth… Well we’ve got to go - we’re on a schedule here.”
That’s all then?
“Yeah,” Wilson concludes. “Thanks for the interview.”
With these parting words of gratitude and the sound of a telephone being hung up, the great man is gone. It’s probably best to let the music do the talking anyway.
Smile (Warner)
Unpublished Interview Material
What do you think of Phil Spector’s current trial situation?
“I think he’s going to get off the hook, I really do. I’ve thought of working with Phil Spector but I don’t know if he’d want to work with me.”
It would be amazing to have two geniuses in the studio at once.
“Yeah, it would.”
What do you think about all the excellent reviews Smile has received?
“I think they’re wonderful – positive reviews all around the place. I don’t read them, but I hear people telling me about the reviews.”
How do you feel when you meet your fans?
“I love it. When people walk up to me and say, ‘Brian, I love your music. I love Smile’, it makes me feel good. It’s a turn on.”
I heard you had lots of dogs.
“We have 12 dogs. We love them. There’s poodles and Yorkshire terriers. We have one house in LA, one house in Arrowhead and we’re moving to a new house in the Belair Crest in two months.”
What do you remember of the Beach Boys tour of Australia over 40 years ago?
“No, I don’t. I actually came to Australia three years ago. Everyone was friendly and it was a great place. We had a lot of fun. I like the food here and I love the audiences for our rock show.”
How did you first meet The Wondermints, the band who helped you put Smile together?
“I met them in a nightclub in Hollywood seven years ago and they played all Beach Boys songs in their show. When I went backstage after the show I asked if they’d be my backing band and they said, ‘Yeah’. Then we started learning all the songs but they knew all the songs. I didn’t even have to teach it to them - they already knew it all. It was very helpful. Darian Sahanaja, the leader of the group The Wondermints, is the one who helped me put Smile together. He sequenced it together and I’m blown out by their ability.”
What do you think your brother Carl and Dennis would think about Smile if they were still alive to hear it?
“If they were alive they probably would have loved it.”
Why did you change Smile’s name from Dumb Angel?
“My writing partner [Van Dyke] thought that Smile would be a happier title for the type of music we made and it was called Dumb Angel before. He thought he’d change it a little bit.”
Interviewing Brian Wilson is like trying to beat one of those rigged sideshow games: you go in completely confident you’re going to blitz it, yet emerge minutes later feeling sweaty, baffled and defeated. The man responsible for opening up the world of pop to a whole new palette speaks in abrupt sentences, with even the broadest open questions brushed aside with a single word or two. It’s not that he doesn’t like talking (in fact, he always comes across as an extremely affable chap), it’s just that he is oblivious to nervy interviewers requiring more than pithy quotes like ‘It’s louder’ to fill their pages.
Versed in his conversational restrictions, I went into this interview with three pages of typed questions. Within a nine-minute whirl this flush-faced journo had pretty much depleted my heady list of topics and was now resorting to asking one of the greatest songwriters of all time about his dogs and holiday homes! Around the 12 minute mark Brian put me out of my misery by hastily wrapping up our stilted conversation, thankfully preventing me from grappling for his thoughts on airline food or interior decorating advice.
While I generally find the question and answer interview format somewhat lazy, Brian’s brevity meant it was one of the better options to present our discussion in print. Given that the interview happened just hours before our print deadline, I also had to turn this one around in the space of just a few hours. Phew! While it’s not a story that plays to my strengths, it remains one of my most memorable conversations. My graphic designer and I chuckled about this one for months…
The following is an edited version of an interview first published in Rip It Up, September 2004.
Brian Wilson - Unknown For A Long, Long Time
by Scott McLennan
In 1966 the prospects were looking bright for The Beach Boys. Riding high on a wave of global success thanks to hit singles Sloop John B and Barbara Ann, the Los Angeles quintet of brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, their cousin Mike Love and neighbour Al Jardine were even enjoying a friendly transatlantic rivalry with the similarly forward-thinking Beatles.
Hooking up with young lyricist Van Dyke Parks to record his prospective opus Smile, Beach Boys maestro Brian Wilson was looking forward to topping the Beatles’ current hit album Revolver by creating a pop album as textured as any classic symphony. While cobbled together from 17 sessions in four separate studios, initial Smile 45 opus Good Vibrations set the standard for the album projected to revolutionise popular music.
Sadly, due to a mental decline that saw chief songwriter and arranger Brian Wilson becoming more erratic in his behaviour, the Smile project was shelved indefinitely just weeks before an official release. Tracks from the Smile sessions were intermittently issued as both official and bootlegged records, however it was not until Brian Wilson recently – and rather unexpectedly - decided to return to his musical opus that the brilliance of Smile was finally unveiled to the world. Now touring a live version of Smile around the globe, Brian Wilson had an abrupt conversation with Rip It Up about bringing his lost gem to Australia.
“We arrived two days ago,” Wilson begins. “We’re not suffering in the weather, we’re just taking long walks in the heat. We take half hour walks two or three times a day just to stay in shape. I don’t jog any more, I just walk now. I walk uphill a little bit. I don’t take my dogs for a walk.”
How does the Smile live show differ from the studio version?
“First it is a little more exciting, but the record is good too,” Wilson states.
How is it more exciting?
“It’s louder… and more exciting,” the musician offers with a degree of incredulity.
What caused you to go back and complete Smile after 37 years?
“My wife told me nine months ago that she thought the world was finally ready for Smile,” Wilson remembers. “So we learned it and went to London and performed it and got six standing ovations, six nights in a row. They loved it. My wife’s the one who gave me my solo concert career and Smile.”
Why did you decide to record it all again rather than use what had been recorded back in the 1960s?
“We wanted to make it better because we have better musicians now,” Wilson explains. “So we took it from scratch and went through the entire album.”
What emotions were you feeling when you first decided to work on Smile after so long?
“I was feeling very sentimental and a little bit scared. Mostly sentimental, since I was working on the old stuff.”
If you met the Brian Wilson of 1966, what would he think of this version of Smile?
“I would think he would think it’s a wasted, very ahead of its time, fast moving yelp!” The Beach Boys maestro laughs. “Back then it was too advanced and ahead of its time, both lyrically and musically. 2004 is the right time to release it.”
What do you think of other versions of The Beach Boys still touring these days?
“Mike [Love] and Bruce [Johnston] went out on their own and licensed the name The Beach Boys, so they’re keeping the Beach Boys name alive and I’m keeping my own name alive, so we’re all doing good. I’m glad they’re playing my music.”
Are there a lot of other songs apart from the Smile songs you’ll be playing in your live show?
“We play a lot of Beach Boys songs and a lot of Brian Wilson songs. We start with Beach Boys and Brian Wilson songs and then we finish up with Smile.”
Does being on stage give you a break from the voices in your head?
“I get a little voice,” Wilson admits. “How did you know about that?”
You were on the television program Today telling Richard Wilkins about it last week.
“Oh yeah. When I go on stage I don’t get any voices in my head. They leave me alone when I do my concerts.”
Do you think your album Getting In Over My Head was overshadowed by Smile being released so soon after?
“I think it was overshadowed by Smile, yeah. Unfortunately it was overshadowed and it all went to shit. It didn’t sell as much as we thought it would. It would have been better to hold off, but we can’t change it now.”
You worked with British singer Richard Ashcroft two years ago; how did you meet Richard?
“Richard Ashcroft? I don’t remember working with Richard Ashcroft.”
You were on his album called Human Conditions.
“Oh right,” Wilson offers hesitantly. “I did some backing singing. It was great meeting him. I hadn’t heard any of his music.”
What sort of music do you listen to?
“I listen to Phil Spector records and Beatles records.”
Is there any contemporary music at all that you listen to?
“No!” Wilson exclaims defiantly. “I don’t listen to any contemporary music. There’s nothing near as good as Phil Spector or any other artists. I don’t listen to Beach Boys music, only when I’m on stage.”
But I heard you might be working with Paul McCartney in the future?
“No, I don’t think I’ll be working with Paul McCartney,” Wilson dejectedly admits. “It doesn’t look like he wants to work with me. I haven’t called him yet, but it probably won’t happen. It won’t happen.”
You met the Queen a few years ago.
“I met the Queen and she was beautiful. She said, ‘I like your music’ and I said, ‘Thanks very much’.”
Did she mention any songs in particular she liked?
“No, nooooooo,” Wilson offers in a comedic, drawn-out fashion. “But I think she’s telling the truth… Well we’ve got to go - we’re on a schedule here.”
That’s all then?
“Yeah,” Wilson concludes. “Thanks for the interview.”
With these parting words of gratitude and the sound of a telephone being hung up, the great man is gone. It’s probably best to let the music do the talking anyway.
Smile (Warner)
Unpublished Interview Material
What do you think of Phil Spector’s current trial situation?
“I think he’s going to get off the hook, I really do. I’ve thought of working with Phil Spector but I don’t know if he’d want to work with me.”
It would be amazing to have two geniuses in the studio at once.
“Yeah, it would.”
What do you think about all the excellent reviews Smile has received?
“I think they’re wonderful – positive reviews all around the place. I don’t read them, but I hear people telling me about the reviews.”
How do you feel when you meet your fans?
“I love it. When people walk up to me and say, ‘Brian, I love your music. I love Smile’, it makes me feel good. It’s a turn on.”
I heard you had lots of dogs.
“We have 12 dogs. We love them. There’s poodles and Yorkshire terriers. We have one house in LA, one house in Arrowhead and we’re moving to a new house in the Belair Crest in two months.”
What do you remember of the Beach Boys tour of Australia over 40 years ago?
“No, I don’t. I actually came to Australia three years ago. Everyone was friendly and it was a great place. We had a lot of fun. I like the food here and I love the audiences for our rock show.”
How did you first meet The Wondermints, the band who helped you put Smile together?
“I met them in a nightclub in Hollywood seven years ago and they played all Beach Boys songs in their show. When I went backstage after the show I asked if they’d be my backing band and they said, ‘Yeah’. Then we started learning all the songs but they knew all the songs. I didn’t even have to teach it to them - they already knew it all. It was very helpful. Darian Sahanaja, the leader of the group The Wondermints, is the one who helped me put Smile together. He sequenced it together and I’m blown out by their ability.”
What do you think your brother Carl and Dennis would think about Smile if they were still alive to hear it?
“If they were alive they probably would have loved it.”
Why did you change Smile’s name from Dumb Angel?
“My writing partner [Van Dyke] thought that Smile would be a happier title for the type of music we made and it was called Dumb Angel before. He thought he’d change it a little bit.”
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