The first time I saw BRIAN WILSON was back in October 2004 at Carnegie Hall in New York. At that time, I was familiar with most of THE BEACH BOYS hits, Pet Sounds and that year’s Smile re-recordings, an album which made my Top 10 list of that year. I’d also heard some of The Beach Boys’ other late ‘60s recordings, like the recordings from the aborted Smile sessions and the great album Friends (from 1968) since I had really just started to get into their music at that point. In another year and a half, I would acquire virtually the entire Beach Boys catalog (including solo albums and what not), but back then my knowledge of it wasn’t as strong. Furthermore, I’d decided to go at the last minute, acquiring a ticket either the day before or the day of the show and thus I ended up in the upper balcony. Although the sound at Carnegie Hall was great and though I really enjoyed the show as well, I couldn’t see much of it. Still, I vividly remember Brian and his amazing band playing the entire 2004 Smile album from start to finish along with many Beach Boys hits as well.
On this night, the show was structured similarly. The first fifty minutes or so were dedicated solely to Beach Boys hits and the show opened with “California Girls”. Many of the songs came from the band’s most popular era (up to 1966 or so) and the highlights were many, including a great “Then I Kissed Her”, pensive ballads like “In My Room” and “Surfer Girl” and several cuts from Pet Sounds (“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “God Only Knows”, respectively). In addition, we got to hear “Do It Again” (the nostalgic opening track from the album 20/20), “Add Some Music to Your Day” (from 1970’s great Sunflower) and “Marcella” (from 1972’s underrated Carl and the Passions: So Tough album), offering glimpses of the deep and still relatively unknown (compared to the earlier stuff) treasure trove of goodness that is the late ‘60s and early ‘70s portions of the Beach Boys catalog.
It should be said that while Brian clearly can’t hit the notes that he used to (to say the least), JEFFREY FOSKETT (nicknamed “the CEO of falsetto” by bandmate DARIAN SAHANAJA) did a great job filling in for Brian on vocal parts (such as “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”’s verses or “In My Room”) that required more range. Furthermore, although it was obvious that he was reading from a teleprompter, he was in good spirits and seemed to be enthusiastic throughout the night. Still, a Brian Wilson concert in this day and age (as miraculous as it is to see him even be a live performer after more than 30 years of mostly staying away from the stage) is more about his amazing band than about him. The backing vocals, harmonies and instrumental parts on the old Beach Boys songs were simply flawless and from our great seats (just slightly left of center and about 10 rows back), we could see and hear almost everything!
After a 20 minute intermission that involved the longest line I’ve ever seen for a men’s bathroom, Brian and the band came back out and performed the entirety of That Lucky Old Sun, his just released new studio album. While not a great album by any stretch of the imagination and derided by some fans, I still find it to be an enjoyable listen and it remained so with the live version. And while Foskett was correct when he said that they come out and play the entire new record (unlike many other older artists), it was still clear that most of the audience would’ve rather heard nothing but Beach Boys material all night.
And sure enough, after another break, the band launched into a rousing version of CHUCK BERRY’s “Johnny B. Goode”. While (as far as I know, at least), this song was never recorded by the Beach Boys, covering it made sense as Berry (with the possible exception of THE FOUR FRESHMEN) was probably their main source of inspiration early on. They even took Berry’s music for “Sweet Little Sixteen” and turned it into “Surfin USA”. Furthermore, I hear more than a little bit of “Johnny B. Goode” (and numerous other Berry songs) in early hits like “Fun Fun Fun”, which was also performed during the encore along with more upbeat early Beach Boys hits like “I Get Around” and “Help Me Around”.
After about 20 minutes of this, which had the mostly middle-aged crowd standing, singing along and dancing in the aisles, the band took another break and came back out for a brief, a cappella version of “Love and Mercy” (from Brian’s self-titled solo album from 1988). Widely regarded as his greatest solo achievement (and the only solo track they played that’s not on the new album), this number is the equal of many Beach Boys tunes and felt particularly appropriate, as Wilson’s music (despite the difficulties and hardships he’s endured throughout his life) positively beams with both love and mercy, which is part of why his best work is timeless.
