Brian Wilson is the greatest American pop artist ever…period!

Yep, provocative title, I know, what about it? I find that if the world is just a gray area, there’s no auger for inspiration, debate, and meaningful exchange of ideas. So, I challenge you, the reader, to dispute my claim: Brian Wilson is the greatest American pop artist ever…period! In a time of pop formulas that mirror what is happening in music today, Brian seemed to pull the value out of several declining forms of music and raise them into a glorious conglomeration of beauty and innocence. He is undoubtedly the king of what I call “The Lovely Lonely Sound.” There are many ways to defend my claim and they all start to overlap because the man’s genius has really complex overlapping layers, but if we limit it to 5 angles I am sure people who agree can chime in with some more and if you have another candidate…put him/her forth and let’s hear you go to bat! Don’t be silent!!!

Can’t we all live in harmony?

Vocal harmony was nothing new in the 1950s, the 1850s, or even the 1750s, but it did not have a prominent place in popular music for most of this time. Rock and roll, pop, and country western music really reapproached the art of vocal harmonies in the 1950s. By the end of the decade bands like the Flamingos, The Four Freshmen, The Everly Brothers, and a tad later Buck Owens and The Buckaroos had helped form new ways of harmony treatments that were inspiring, beautiful, and even rocking! Enter: Brian Wilson, after years of dissecting Four Freshmen and Everly Brothers albums, Brian was a capable student of harmony vocals for a few years in the early 1960s. He wrote, arranged, and produced some of the most beautiful harmony vocals in pop music, but by the summer of 1963 he took it up a notch with the release of Surfer Girl and in the autumn of that year In my room. The falsetto of Brian had become increasingly strong, as were the mobile abilities of his tenor singers (his brothers Dennis and Carl), and Mike Love was an amazingly versatile bass vocalist. Matched with Brian’s increasingly genius songs and arrangements, by 1964 no one could even touch his flare for arrangement, blend, and production. Here are a few suggestions to get a well rounded picture of his amazing harmonic sense and Brian and the boys’ amazing execution of their complex ideas, ideas they made sound as natural as a flowing stream.

*Graduation day *Warmth of the sun *I just wasn’t made for these times
*Wouldn’t it be nice (a capella) * Mama Says * Friends (whole album) *Let the wind blow
*Our Prayer * Time to get alone *Add some music to your day *Soulful old man Sunshine
*Till I die *A young mans gone (hearts were full of spring) *Vegetables *Heroes and Villains

Major 7? Is that after the Dmin7 flat 5?

Jazz and classical have always been “higher” art forms than pop, country, or rock and roll. Brian may have put a dent in that already presumptuous idea. His liberal use of complex chord voicings and drastic modulations would seem forced if conducted by any other hand, but with Brian…he made the insanely complex sound lovely and natural to the point. I believe, that most listeners are enjoying music that is more complex than what they would usually listen to…and they aren’t even aware of it because it is arranged and performed so seamlessly. Listen to Pet sounds beginning to end; it is nothing short of symphonic and perfect…but still maintaining total pop sensibility. How? Mind boggling!!!

Is your name Melody? ‘Cause you sound GOOD!

We’ve already discussed Brian Wilson’s genius in the field of harmony, but in a pop format harmony is usually only as effective as the melody that precedes it or flows through the middle of it. Brian’s melodic lead-ins to the inevitable giant group harmony was always flawless, like a perfectly timed cloud passing away from the sun. The man was a melody-smith of unequaled status. In this way, he got the listener to enjoy deeper levels of complexity without straining their ears. There are countless examples of his melodic craftsmanship, but one that sticks out to me is the song Our Sweet Love off of the Sunflower album.

If you always do what you always did…you’ll always get what you always got!

These words are usually spoken as some sort of warning, but in the case of Brian Wilson he worked both ends of this truth, realizing that the harmonies that lived in him and the other Beach Boys were too special to go unharvested; he always kept vocal harmony as a staple in his songs. Often the construction of the harmonies would be so big that they were like a large organ part on the songs (double tracking and use of Capitol records’ and later Brian’s own super reverb!), in terms of production, the Beach Boys’ songs sound empty without the vocals, whereas most bands and songs fill up more space with instrumentation. For proof of this listen to any available a capella version of their songs and then listen to the version with all of the instruments…it’ll floor you! God only knows would be a good start. Having said all this, Brian Wilson was also keen on bringing new sounds and new instruments into the pop setting. Harmonica in a non-blues setting, banjo, strings and winds, theremin, cello used as a sub for distorted guitar (Good Vibrations’ breakdown), vibes, and even his assignments of standard guitar, bass (Carol Kaye), drums (Hal Blain), and organ were very unique in scope. It is impossible to imagine that with all of these skills mentioned that he would be at such a high level with each skill….but wait….there’s more! Brian Wilson was also a VERY accomplished producer and easily on the level of the great producers of the day such as Tom Dowd, George Martin, and Phil Spector. The man was able to imagine, form, assign, conduct, perform, and produce at such a high level that the likes may not be seen again, and yes, I am biased! To get your feet wet: Pet Sounds, Friends, and Sunflower are great examples of Brian Wilson’s complete mastery of pop music.

Hey!!! That’s not pretty!!!

Brian was not a huge fan of “harsh” sounds, when he used them it was usually for effect, blend, or a contrast to previous or upcoming flurry of beauty within an arrangement. There is a case in the liner notes of the remastered Surf’s Up album in which Brian politely but noticeably shares his lack of fondness for the Mike Love-penned Student Demonstration Time, Brian Wilson liked pretty sounds! If you were to listen to his entire catalogue and maybe excluded most of the Landy years you would undoubtedly find that most of his music was very rich, positive in tone, tender, and almost always good natured. Even when he was melancholy or angry at a girl in a song…he framed it with vulnerability and beautiful arrangement. His commitment to making beautiful music made his sound and vibe so easy on the ears that I sometimes have to take a break from all music after listening to The Beach Boys because other music, at times, sounds very harsh by comparison!!!

Yeah, ok, I love this guy!!! In music I have to put Brian, John McLaughlin, and Joe Pass on my “I am not worthy list.” They are just guys that DO WHAT THEY SET OUT TO DO and do it at such a high level. Brian Wilson’s work is worth exploring, all of his days with The Beach Boys, his triumphant revisitation of Smile, and his return to the boys with That’s Why God Made the Radio are testament of a brilliant mind, a tender heart, and a gentle soul. Brian, I love you man!!!!

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When he’s not enjoying fishing, road testing cables with his band, or fielding musical/instrument cable questions over the phone/e-mail, Michael handles operations and purchasing and is simply loving life. You can also follow Michael on Twitter !