I would have never come up with the idea for this album, because I had no idea that there would be enough songs about Brian Wilson to make up an entire album. I knew of the song "Brian Wilson" by Barenaked Ladies, since that was a hit back in the 1990s, but that was about it. But Fabio must be a really big fan, because he found so many songs that we had to cut some out to keep the album from getting too long.
The album starts with a rare demo written and sung by Wilson himself. It also ends with two more written and sung by him, including a rare live version of "Love and Mercy." Fabio explained the reasoning for this in an email, which I liked. I'll just paste in his explanation here:
"The Wilson tunes are bookends, as they serve to introduce and close the 'main event' (all the tracks written to him or about him) while bringing a personal Brian touch to the collection. The first song, a 1975, demo works as a prelude (acknowledging Brian's fragility and strength both simultaneously contained in his voice), 'The Last Song' is the epilogue, and 'Love and Mercy' is a coda."
Regarding the rest of the songs, what Fabio calls the "main event," tracks 2 through 13, are basically divided into two parts. Tracks 2 through 8 are direct tributes to Brian. That's obvious by their titles, but it's not just that: the lyrics and musical style ooze reference and admiration for the man. That's followed by tracks 9 through 13, which are indirect tributes to Brian, or direct tributes to things related to him (the Beach Boys, his health shop, girls, his genius, family), all mentioning him either in the title or lyrics.
So, a big thanks to Fabio from Rio for coming up with the idea for this album and then finding and selecting the songs. As you could guess from the name, he's Brazilian, and hopefully in the future he'll be able to assist in sharing more music from Brazil. I like a lot of music from Brazil, despite not speaking Portuguese at all. I haven't really shared any music from Brazil until now, because I don't have worthy rarities. But he does, so look forward to that in the future. He also has some other plans, including creating one or more albums as a further tribute to Wilson that will consist of songs in a Beach Boys style composed by other musical acts.
Fabio has also taped a great number of concerts in Brazil. You can find some of them on his YouTube page, here:
https://www.youtube.com/@musicadequalidade2020/videos
This album is 58 minutes long.
01 In the Back of My Mind [Demo] (Brian Wilson)
02 The Love Songs of B. Douglas Wilson (Splitsville)
03 Mr. Wilson (Hormones)
04 Dear Brian (Chris Rainbow)
05 Brian Wilson Said (Tears for Fears)
06 Brian Wilson (Barenaked Ladies)
07 Mr. Wilson (John Cale)
08 Brian Wilson (Queers)
09 Crazy = Genius (Panic at the Disco)
10 Radiant Radish (Pearl & the Oysters)
11 Brian Wilson Is My Dad (Breakup Shoes)
12 Minnesota Girls (Shackletons)
13 Since God Invented Girls (Elton John)
14 The Last Song (Brian Wilson)
15 Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson)
https://pixeldrain.com/u/Kn42WH9u
alternate:
https://bestfile.io/en/EMCkcQ343EW7g0m/file
The cover photo shows Wilson in 2007. I added the font colors and type to match those used on the cover of the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" album.
Room for 'Voice of America' by Asia?
ReplyDeleteHi, Fabio from Rio here! I didn't select that particular song because, although it is dedicated to Brian Wilson as stated by composers John and Geoff, thia is not obvious by title or lyrics. Also, it sounds like aomething that would play at an american political party convention, so I felt it was a bit out of line with the other tracks.
DeleteYeah, I'd never heard the song before, but I listened to it just now. The lyrics are very generic - it could be a tribute to just about any kind of music from a decade or so prior to the release of it, since the lyrics are very vague. And the music doesn't sound anything like a Beach Boys tribute either. So it would be a bit out of place.
DeleteThat is why I didn"t even considered it for inclusion (specially since there were more than 30 other tracks to choose from)
DeleteThanks. Nice photo of Brian, he seems happy.
ReplyDeleteAnother really nice one is Jesus Loves You, Brian Wilson
ReplyDeleteby Lost Dogs
That one was included at my initial tracklist, but I decided to cut it after finding out that Lost Dogs is a christian band, and so, when they sing that Brian is "crazy" and "insane" and only praying to God could save him, it is not a joke, they really mean it. After that, the song seems more offensive to Brian then a tribute.
DeleteFabio from Rio here. I would like to thank Paul for letting me be a guest at ATSE and for the feedback and tips (if it wasn't for him, the album would be 98 minutes long, a bit too long even for hardcore Brian fans...)
ReplyDeleteAs Paul mentions, there are surprisingly many songs written about Brian or as a letter to Brian (the Barenaked Ladies tune is just the most famous). The ones I cut would fill up a second album. But instead of doing that (since many of these songs are interesting, but not great ) I intend to try something different as a second Brian tribute, hopefully in time for Paul to post it by next friday (June 20, that would have been Brian's 82nd birthday). Stay tuned!
Also, a brief correction about my youtube channel mentioned by Paul. I don't post there the concerts I tape here in Rio or elsewhere, but instead I share some videos I make at the same concerts (using my smartphone or a semiprofesional camera, depending on the venue's policy on filming). There is some overlaping, but the vídeos are gererally just samples (I usually film two or three songs, sometimes more, but rarely the entire performance). I do tape the entirety of the audio from a given performance when not forbidden by the venue, but these have rarely been shared (It may change soon). So, if you like a particular video or would like to listen more from a given concert at my channel, let me know and if I have the full audio recording I may share it in the future with help of Paul.
DeleteThank you!
ReplyDelete