Brian Wilson trots out new and old
Orpheum Theatre, Boston, November 19, 2008
Reviewed by Jeffrey B. Remz
Brian Wilson has experienced life's highs and lows from superstardom with The Beach Boys to mental and substance abuse issues. He's been pretty much on his own for awhile, and judging from his new, very fine CD, "That Lucky Old Sun," life seems good.
And Wilson was able to bring the joy he has for life west coast style out east for a few hours. Wilson split the evening into Beach Boys songs for the first hour-long set and then a reprise of his entire new CD for the second set before launching into the encore mainly of Beach Boys songs.
In a way, the decision should have pleased all fans. Those who love Wilson for his work with brothers Dennis and Carl would have been in heaven hearing the Beach Boys sounds come alive once again, from the get go with the lively, energetic California Girls. the fast-paced Dance Dance Dance and the lovely Surfer Girl and In My Room, which featured solid harmonies. Wilson closed out the set with solid readings of I Get Around, Wouldn't It Be Nice, God Only Knows and particularly Good Vibrations. One could rightfully argue that there is a bit of sonic sameness to parts of the Beach Boys repertoire, but there still is a fun, joyful aspect to them anyway.
These songs have been done countless times by Wilson, of course, for more than four decades, but they did sound trite or dated (well maybe only slightly since no one is much doing this kind of music today).
For those not only mired in the past, Wilson, who was in good spirits throughout, trumpeted "That Lucky Old Sun" in the second set. The sound of the music is not such a big departure from trademark Beach Boys, but it is a denser. The CD focuses on songs about living in Los Angeles from the personal to the sites and sounds of Venice Beach, Hollywood and Latinos.
Wilson candidly addressed the good and bad. In the punchy, poppy Oxygen to the Brain, he sang "Never destroy when you can create/ready, set in California/I'm filling up my lungs again/And breathing in life/How could I have got so low/I'm embarrassed to tell you so/I laid around this old place/I hardly ever washed my face."
A few songs later on the triumphant Going Home, Wilson proclaims, "At 25, I tuned out the light/Cause I couldn't handle the glare in my tired eyes/But now I'm back, drawing shade of kind blue skies."
Musically, Wilson showed just what a musical genius he is. There is a lot going on in some of these songs with their intricate instrumentation and tempo changes both musically and vocally. Hearing Wilson play songs such as Good Vibrations and chunks of the new CD live only make that all the more apparent. There just aren't many musicians out there who are able to compose songs like Wilson.
Wilson played keyboards a bit, though it was often hard to tell since most of the keyboard work was done by Darian Sahanaja and some by Scott Bennett, who also turned in a good job singing California Role. Occasionally, Wilson played a bit of guitar, but his main role was singing, which he handled fine when he stayed away from the lot notes where he sounded a bit flat.
Wilson fortunately had a sharp band, with most having played on the new CD. Bennett collaborated with Wilson on a chunk of the songs on the CD, d he brought a lot of energy to the stage. In fact, the entire band did, sounding tight while not going through the motions. The bottom line is they made the music sound joyous.
Following the second set, guitarist Jeffrey Foskett, a sharp player as well, gave a lengthy into the band (why couldn't Wilson do that?) before Wilson returned to bring the evening home with charged readings of Johnny B Goode, Help Me Rhonda, Ba Ba Baran and Fun Fun Fun before a second encore of the mid-tempo Love and Mercy from his first solo disc in 1988. The closer was a fitting end to the evening and these times with the words "I was lying in my room/And the news came on TV/A lotta people out there hurtin'/And it really scares me/Love and mercy that's what you need tonight."
Add Brian Wilson as well, at least on this night.
