[charmerci]

If you can't understand why a famous musician is well regarded, I suggest that you learn to play that particular or any instrument to play their music.

Learn some simple tunes, then learn how to play the music of that well regarded musician/composer. What you will find is not the normal 4/4 note progression - no matter how it sounds on the radio. There always seems to be a fascinating twist to the direction of the notes. Or there maybe some notes that will be very, very difficult to play on said instrument.

I first noticed this when I learned to play Lennon's Strawberry Fields Forever on the piano. Even a simple tune like McCartney's Fool on the Hill has notes that go up when singing the phrase Fool on the Hill - the notes on that part actually form a hill!

[Russell Dawkins]

 For instance you can hear in the Beatles evolution when Paul changed his bass playing to emulate Brian Wilson's. Paul's playing blossomed after being exposed to Brian's work.

This astonishes me. Can you give an example? To my ears, Paul was the preeminent bass player in pop music at the time (by far) and I would have thought if anyone was copying anyone it would have been Paul being copied.

[Mark Korda]

Hi RockaDanny, Brian Wilson is so admired to this day because he went to his room without being ordered to by his parents....Mark Korda....PS. I read or heard his parents or father sucked.

[soundbitten1]

Why is Brian Wilson so admired to this day?

... because he has an awesome beard   

[putz]

Brian's ability to create vocal harmony compositions in pop music were revolutionary at the time. He was influenced by The Four Freshmen among others. Mike's baritone, Brian's falsetto and Carl's tenor along with Al and Bruce on song after great song did it for me. I always thought Carl was the unappreciated one and once he passed the Beach Boys were pretty much done.

That Brian was able to survive all his issues and come back strong with his current band is one of the great musical stories of this millennium. I strongly suggest getting the DVD of his 2001 tribute concert. It's mostly music with a few documentary pieces that are a spot on story of his career, especially the George Martin piece. Musical highlights are Vince Gill "Warmth of the Sun", D Crosby, C Simon and J Webb "In my Room", D Rucker & M Sweet "Sail on Sailor" and Crosby, Gill & Webb "Surf's Up". 

Brian's current band, The Wondermints, is reason enough to go see him perform live. With Al Jardine, David Marx and Jeff Beck added to the bill, it should be a great night. I've got my ticket.

[wushuliu]

This astonishes me. Can you give an example? To my ears, Paul was the preeminent bass player in pop music at the time (by far) and I would have thought if anyone was copying anyone it would have been Paul being copied.

From a quick google search:

"Then I started listening to other bass players--mainly
Motown. As time went on, James Jamerson became my hero,
although I didn't actually know his name until quite recently.
Jamerson and later Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys were my
two biggest influences: James because he was so good and
melodic, and Brian because he went to very unusual places.
With the Beach Boys, the band might be playing in *C*, but the
bass might stay on the *G* just to hold it all back. I started to
realize the power the bass player had within the band. Not
vengeful power--it was just that you could actually control it.
So even though the whole band is going along in *A*, you could
stick in *E*," he says, and sings an insistent, repeated bass note.
"And they'd say: 'Let us off the hook!' You're actually in control
then--an amazing thing. So I sussed that and got particularly
interested in playing the bass."

Magazine: Bass Player
Issue: July/August 1995
Title: Paul McCartney - Meet The Beatle
Author: Tony Bacon

[Russell Dawkins]

From a quick google search:

"Then I started listening to other bass players--mainly
Motown. As time went on, James Jamerson became my hero,
although I didn't actually know his name until quite recently.
Jamerson and later Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys were my
two biggest influences: James because he was so good and
melodic, and Brian because he went to very unusual places.
With the Beach Boys, the band might be playing in *C*, but the
bass might stay on the *G* just to hold it all back. I started to
realize the power the bass player had within the band. Not
vengeful power--it was just that you could actually control it.
So even though the whole band is going along in *A*, you could
stick in *E*," he says, and sings an insistent, repeated bass note.
"And they'd say: 'Let us off the hook!' You're actually in control
then--an amazing thing. So I sussed that and got particularly
interested in playing the bass."

Magazine: Bass Player
Issue: July/August 1995
Title: Paul McCartney - Meet The Beatle
Author: Tony Bacon

Live and learn. Thank you wushuliu.

[michaelhigh]

Why is he so admired?

First off, he's a modern-day genius, albeit a little burnt-out.

Second, he's surrounded by lots of sympatico (or syncophantic, however you slice it) musicians and engineers to support his unique musical vision.

And third, because he listened to me back in 1989 when I suggested to him at a record signing for his self-titled first solo LP (at Tower Records on Sunset in LA, RIP) that he should bite the bullet and finish Smile.

He finally did! No-brainer, huh? He probably would have done it anyway!   

He might be toasty but he gets good advice, and follows it.

[jqp]

I read most of theses posts a while back, didn't get to sit down and compose my own...listened to some beach boys on the internet while working and remembered this thread.

There are many reasons Brian Wilson is so admired, but the bottom line is that he was very talented from his early days to now. His talent has been attested to by many other talented and admired musicians.

I think a lot of the surprise as to why he is so admired these days (via the media, remember - that is basically how you know he is admired), is that in many ways his work has been ignored or even discounted in the past.

As has been said, you have to remember the context from whence his music sprang. I myself liked the Beach Boys to some extent back in the 60's when I was a little kid and also in the 70's. The Beatles were much bigger on the radio over the years that radio was my only source of music, probably the same for many of us. When the Beach Boys were first popular, it was keen to be "true to your school". Compared to the Beatles and the Stones, the Doors and Jimi Hendrix, Crosby Still Nash and Young, Blood Sweat and Tears, Grand Funk Railroad. the Beach Boys were "square". I mean, come on, Glen Campbell was one of their friends and studio musicians!

And a lot of Brian Wilson's best music would be considered "Pop", so it can be discounted for that reason.

I remember when I first heard Yes and the Yes album at my older cousin's house, I also heard some Beach Boys. I pretty much ignored the Beach Boys and was really interested in Yes. My interest in the Beach Boys, and my admiration for Brian Wilson in particular, really did not happen until the last decade! Sure, I have liked some of their songs from way back in the 60's, but had never bought anything by them. My admiration for Brian Wilson has come as a result of studying what others have said about him and as a result of studying his music and his history.

There are things that might have "turned you off" about Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys if you grew up in the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's in the U.S. He was an "all american" kid from California, in the "hot rod" and "surfing" culture of the early- to mid- 60's. In America, that alone could turn you off, in the same way that you might proclaim that "Disco Sucks!". So coupled with the fact that lots of the Beach Boys songs were about cars, girls, teenage feelings means that Brian Wilson did not compare well in the U.S. popular youth culture of Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, progressive rock that was pushed by the media during the youth/sexual revolution. Think about the Monkees vs, the Beatles - both had Saturday morning cartoons, one group was much cooler in the eyes of the U.S. culture and media as time went by. However, all the members of the Monkees were very talented.

So the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson had strikes against them in the eyes of many, and were not as "cool" as many other groups. Many including myself just did not really listen to their music in the past decades, although they have always had a popular following. When I saw the Beach Boys after a baseball game once in the 80s?, I did not think of Brian Wilson. But to professional musicians, Brian Wilson has always been a real talent, and they have an admiration that is more than just a popular following. This is a fact, no matter whether you "get" Brian Wilson or not.

Brian Wilson, as a young pup, went head-to-head with Phil Spector. He greatly admired Phil Spector and got to work some with him, he wrote an unfinished song with Phil Spector, directed Phil Spector's studio musicians in some of his own recordings. Compare the Phil Spector production of the Ronettes 'Be My Baby' with Brian Wilson's 'Don't Worry Baby' - total emulation yet original, every bit as amazing. John Lennon loved Phil Spector's work and used him to produce several of his albums. So you have to compare his talent to Phil Spector's when you look at it.

You may have heard how the Beatles as well as George Martin, the Stones, etc. considered Brian Wilson's output to be so amazing in the 60's. This was not really know by the average music lover especially in the U.S. until much later in this century! But musicians raved about his work and were very inspired in composing their own work. Mick Jagger really actively pushed the song "I Get Around" in England as it became a hit in the U.S. Who knew that? And you may know that Pet Sounds and several of the songs on that album such as 'God Only Knows' were huge bombshells to non-U.S. music lovers. They were literally awe-struck. Musician after musician has talked about how Brian Wilson and the music he is responsible for has profoundly influenced them. Google what Al Kooper, David Crosby, Pete Townshend, Robbie Robertson, Rivers Cuomo have to say about him.

Brian Wilson was mostly a composer, not a lyricist. Mostly someone else wrote the lyrics to his most famous songs (Roger Christian,Tony Asher, Van Dyke Parks, and yes Mike Love and others). Perhaps that is why some do not admire him as much as others who wrote lyrics.

Another reason Brian Wilson is admired as a composer, arranger, producer, singer and bass player is that he was a somewhat troubled adolescent as a result of a domineering father, marched to a different drummer in many ways, and was depressed, yet still his 'genius' came through. These aspects of Brian Wilson's life were not know to the public during his peak musical productivity, but as they have become more understood, many have admired him more that he has been talented and survived through these trials. Compare to Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, even Stevie Ray Vaughn, Janis Joplin, and Keith Moon, troubled souls who are now regarded as 'musical geniuses'.

I recommend listening to 'In my Room', 'Surfer Girl', from 1963, and the mono and stereo versions of Pet Sounds on the same CD, and Smiley Smile and Wild Honey (some of it), remembering that these 3 albums were all recorded in 1967! Compare them to Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Peppers.

Anyway just my 2 cents.

[rockadanny]

jqp - Nice post, thanks.
And I am going to pick up those recordings you suggested.
Love the comparison, "Be My Baby" (Spector) vs. "Don't Worry Baby" (Wilson). Awesome!

[Photon46]

Agreed, good post by JQP. The observation that our perceptions of "coolness" impede our abilities to appreciate musical talent is very, very true. One of the greatest things about getting older (for me) is that I care less & less about the "cool" factor and as a result, can appreciate a broader range of musical idioms.

[jqp]

Right, if coolness was a criteria who would listen to the vast quantities of amazing classical music, which rock musicians used for their inspiration and even copied in many cases!

I forgot to mention another reason that Brian Wilson is admisred - his use of unconventional, even radical instruments and instumentation in the studio. Hence the album name "Pet Sounds". Not so much that he used them, but that he used them so well and without fear of the status quo. That's the beauty of Pet Sounds - for most Americans it is an album you can experience fresh because it is for many an undiscovered album. If you sit in your sweet spot and prepare yourself to critically listen to something produced in 1967, you will hear amazing things. If you realize it is the expression of some teen angst without so much bitterness, it only makes the composition come through even more.

Tony Asher is credited as the lyricist for most of these Pet Sounds songs, but he wrote the songs with Brian Wilson, and I believe he tried to 'channel' Brian Wilson. Tony Asher knew writers of many famous songs, and he went on to write with Paul Williams and many others. He was a sophisticated advertising writer and a musician himself. When he met Brian he worked at a California ad agency with Terry Gilliam and Joel Siegel. Asher himself apparently wrote the first ads for the Beatles although he did not know who they were! Asher met Brian at the studio while doing voice overs for a commercial where Brian Wilson was working on some demos. In the end the lyrics and concepts were about their shared experiences with girls and parents.

There were many contributors to Brian Wilson's and the Beach Boys' success, but Tony Asher realized how amazing Brian Wilson was and that he basically was the Beach Boys especially for this album. Wilson did so many things - arrangements for strings, amazing chord changes, vocals, played the bass (like Paul Mccartney), was able to compose with someone else and not just replicate previous success, but to truly innovate in uncharted territory.