Canyon in the rain (Jonathan Wilson) (LP 4867 - 4868)

Jonathan Wilson  Gentle Spirit  (CD, Bella Union Records, 2011) ****  

Jonathan Wilson  Fanfare (CD, Bella Union Records, 2013) **** 

Genre: Folk rock 

Places I remember: FOPP, JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Moses Pain (Fanfare)

Gear costume: Love to Love, Cecil Taylor (Fanfare)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: I was alerted to the delights of Gentle Spirit by Mojo Magazine. Sure enough, it's a luscious folky trippy sound that Jonathan Wilson serves up which is totally captivating. He sounds a little like Israel Nash at his dreamiest.

It's a long album - some 13 songs (78 minutes), so it takes me a while to adjust when I listen to it. Woe Is Me is my favourite but the rest of the album blends in some beguiling sounds. AllMusic sums it up well: it's an easy, breezy, endearing listen with plenty of seductive earworms to draw the listener down a sonic rabbit hole and into another world temporarily.

If anything, Fanfare is an even better effort. The vocals are stronger, and clearer for one thing. For another - it goes deeper into the genres, like jazz, folk, country and pop, and any album that has the nous to cover Sopwith Camel gets my vote.

Where do they all belong? He has three other albums post Fanfare for me to track down.

Farewell my friend (Dennis Wilson) (LP 4866)

Dennis Wilson  Pacific Ocean Blue (Vinyl and CD, Caribou Records, 1977) *****  

Genre: Rock

Places I remember: Marbecks Records, JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: River Song (POB)

Gear costume: You and I (POB)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Oh Dennis! What a talent! Of all the solo albums by The Beach Boys members Dennis has the only 5-star rating in my collection. A brilliant actor - Two Lane Blacktop is one of my favourites. And what a handsome guy!! Look at the cover to his solo album Pacific Ocean Blue. As it is with Carl, I love the idea of Dennis Wilson.

All that and such a tragic life. I'm only interested in the music, so you'll need to go elsewhere for the lurid details of his life away from music. Suffice to say, his self-destructive impulses deprived the world of a supremely talented guy (what a family!!).

I love The Beach Boys (and so did Dennis), but the reason Pacific Ocean Blue is so great is because it is light years away from what the band was doing. The songs, like Dennis, are multi-layered and honest to his vision. The album is unique, certainly within the Beach Boys world, but also in the annals of west coast/ Californian rock. It also gets better with age, even though it reeks of the seventies (it took seven years to age and then arrive).

Where do they all belong? The CD version includes outtakes from his unfinished second solo album - spelt either Bamboo or Bambu. As it was never completed, it doesn't require inclusion in the countdown of my collection. 

Bright lights (Carl Wilson) (LP 4864 - 4865)

Carl Wilson  Carl Wilson (Vinyl, Caribou Records, 1981) ****  

Carl Wilson  Youngblood (Vinyl, Caribou Records, 1983) ****  

Genre: Rock, pop

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Heaven (CW)

Gear costume: Seems So Long Ago (CW), Givin' You Up (Youngblood)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Carl Wilson, who sadly passed away from lung cancer in 1998, only produced two solo albums (he was also part of a trio with Gerry Beckley and Robert Lamm). That's because he knew his position in life was as a member of The Beach Boys first and foremost.

His first solo album, simply called Carl Wilson, is a great effort which displays many of his talents - from the rocker to the quieter side - all is convincing to my ears. I love this record, yes partly because I love the idea of Carl Wilson. He's not the radical genius of Brian and he's without the bad boy/self-destructive tendency of Dennis, instead he's the middle presence (his vocal range as well as his influence on the band).

Side two of the album has more of the kind of Beach Boys material that fans would gravitate towards, but I also enjoy the grittier songs on side one. It's not a perfect record, but Carl's vocals are definitely one-of-a-kind.

The same approach is used for Youngblood - as one critic said "It's guitar-based mainstream rock, with soul and gospel roots, a far cry from the blue-eyed barbershop harmonies popularized by the Beach Boys".

BTW - Carl is the only Beach Boy on these two records.

Where do they all belong? I'm on the lookout for the Beckley Lamm Wilson album - Like A Brother.

Love and mercy (Brian Wilson) (LP 4856 - 4863)

Brian Wilson  Brian Wilson (Vinyl, Sire Records, 1988) ***  

Brian Wilson  I Just Wasn't Made For These Times (CD, MCA Records, 1995) *** 

Brian Wilson  Imagination (CD, Giant Records, 1998) ***

Brian Wilson  Gettin' In Over My Head (CD, BriMel/Rhino Records, 2004) *** 

Brian Wilson  Brian Wilson Presents Smile (CD, Nonesuch Records, 2004) **** 

Brian Wilson  Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin (CD, Walt Disney Records, 2010) *** 

Brian Wilson  No Pier Pressure (CD, Capitol Records, 2015) **

Brian Wilson  Live at the Roxy Theatre (CD, BriMel Records, 2010) ***  

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Marbecks Records, Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Your Imagination (Imagination)

Gear costume: Melt Away (Brian Wilson)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: While I'm verging on being a completist for The Beach Boys, I do have some gaps in my Brian Wilson collection. That said, I have most of his solo recordings.

His traumatic past has been well documented over the years, even by him in his autobiography (which I recommend). You can get a summary here if you want. Amid the trauma came his first solo album - Brian Wilson in 1988.

The first and last tracks are the obvious standouts, along with the gorgeous Melt Away. Love and Mercy was released as a single and it became a song he'd return to in concert later on. The final song is Rio Grande which is much more experimental than the rest. So much so, that it sounds like it was part of SMiLE.

The strengths of the album are his vocals and the harmonies. Obvious, but true. It's not The Beach Boys, but it's close. It's the only record that came from these years so it's worthy, even though it's tainted by Eugene Landy's presence.

I Just Wasn't Made For These Times is a compilation of re-recorded songs that served as a soundtrack to a documentary by Don Was. It's a fine collection (mostly Beach Boys songs except for Melt Away and Love and Mercy from Brian Wilson), but I do prefer the originals with The Beach Boys.

After Orange Crate Art (a classic album by Van Dyke Parks and Brian reviewed here), Brian's third solo studio album was Imagination in 1998. 

I think it's an under-appreciated album. The songs are mostly good, the musicians compatible and the harmonies spot on. It does exactly what you'd want from a Brian Wilson album. It's good enough on its own without the couple of covers of Beach Boys songs (Let Him Run Wild is a pale imitation).

Gettin' In Over My Head is his fourth solo album. Many of the songs have origins back in the early nineties when they were part of an abandoned follow up to Brian Wilson. It's notable for a plethora of famous guests - Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eric Clapton. Carl Wilson even makes a posthumous appearance on Soul Searchin' - an abandoned Beach Boys song that stands out here. Carl was all class!

Again, I think it's under-appreciated. Maybe reviewers were expecting another Pet Sounds every time Brian released a solo album. That's an impossible standard to live up to. 

Basically, Gettin' In Over My Head produces the kind of music I'd expect from a genius kind of guy who's been through some traumatic times and come through them largely intact. In many ways it's a wonder he can produce an album at all.

It's interesting comparing Brian Wilson Presents Smile with The Beach Boys version (The SMiLE Sessions). The difference between the two versions is that Brian's are all new studio versions (following a live performance), so no Beach Boys apart from Brian appear on it. AllMusic summed up the reconstituted SMiLE as 'a jaunty epic of psychedelic Americana, a rambling and discursive, playful and affectionate series of song cycles. Infectious and hummable, to be sure, and a remarkably unified, irresistible piece of pop music, but no musical watershed on par with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band or Wilson's masterpiece, Pet Sounds.

The actual three act SMiLE opus is again summed up well by AllMusic: The work that evolved divides into three sections: SMiLE begins with Americana, which takes the dream of continental expansion from the old Spanish town saga of "Heroes and Villains" to the landing at Plymouth Rock and, finally, the end of the frontier at Hawaii; it continues with a Cycle of Life that progresses from the virginal grace of "Wonderful" to the simultaneous peak and decline of the creative life on "Surf's Up"; and ends with an environmental cycle called The Elements, which includes "Vega-Tables," (Earth), "Wind Chimes" (Air), "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" (Fire), and "In Blue Hawaii" (Water).

Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin is a heartfelt tribute by Brian and it's a success. I'm not familiar with Gershwin outside of Woody's Manhattan soundtrack, so I'm not qualified to compare or pass judgement. It sounds good, Brian is in good voice and the orchestral accompaniment is top notch.

No Pier Pressure aims to update BW for the 21st century. Yikes! Runaway Dancer is the worst offender - it doesn't even sound like him! So much of the album feels like Brian is an added afterthought. The tracks with Al Jardine, Blondie Chaplin and David Marks are much better though. So - an uneven, weird set for what turned out to be his last real solo album.

The live double set Live at the Roxy Theatre is the only live Brian I need. It's in direct competition to the Beach Boys 50th anniversary set (see here) and The Beach Boys win in a landslide. It's hard for Brian to carry a whole concert and although he's a congenial presence and the band harmonise well, you can't beat those combined Beach Boys harmonies. They are like nothing else on Earth.

Where do they all belong? I'm missing a copy of Lucky Old Sun from 2008. Van Dyke appears so it's well worth a search. I'd also grab a copy of In the Key of Disney from 2011 if I came across it. 

Fittingly, Carl Wilson, and then Dennis Wilson are up in the next posts.

Carried away (Marlon Williams) (LP 4855)

Marlon Williams  Live at Auckland Town Hall (CD, Caroline Australia Records, 2019) ** 

Genre: Alt pop, NZ Music

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Vampire Again

Gear costume: I'm Lost Without You 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Marlon Williams is blessed with an amazing vocal ability, which I first became aware of via Later...with Jools Holland. I thought Marlon was great on that show and yet, he's not someone I've fallen head over heels over (unlike my bros - three Marlon albums have been Album of the Week for the WTWMC).

I did decide to buy this live album one day at JB Hi Fi. Maybe my thinking was that it would be a good way to collect all his best songs in a live setting (I retain a huge soft spot for anything recorded in the Auckland Town Hall).

Whatever the reason, the intimate location certainly brings out the best in Marlon and his band. Ultimately, though, two CDs of fairly dour, emotionally draining, gothic music is more than I can handle.

Where do they all belong? I've now played it twice and I doubt there will be a third outing for it.

Big sky country (Chris Whitley) (LP 4854)

Chris Whitley  Living with the Law (Vinyl, Columbia Records, 1991) ***  

Genre: Blues, blues rock

Places I remember: Mail order music club.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Living with the Law

Gear costume: Poison Girl

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: This album has survived many culls over the years because the sound he gets from his guitar is amazing. Every time I played it to decide whether to flick it on or not, I realised how good it was.

This was his debut album, released in 1991. It features Chris on a variety of guitars - national, acoustic, slide, pedal steel, and electric. The songs are his, but it sometimes feels like these are delta blues standards newly brought to life. The topics are dark and doomy but as with many blues songs - I find them really uplifting.

Where do they all belong? Sadly he passed away from lung cancer in 2005, aged 45 - way too young! His 17 album catalogue remains his legacy. I'm on the lookout for others, including his album Dirt Floor.

Open up your door (Kieran White) (LP 4853)

Kieran White  Open Door (Vinyl, Gull Records, 1975) **  

Genre: Country rock, folk rock 

Places I remember: Spellbound Wax Co.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Open Up Your Door

Gear costume: Cajun Moon

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Kieran White was a member of the British blues rock band, Steamhammer, and Open Door was his only solo album. It's a gentle swaying folk/ country rock sound that he has going - which is easy on the ear but doesn't do much.

The cover of J.J. Cale's song, Cajun Moon, is interesting, but not fully effective as it doesn't improve on the original (so, it wouldn't be a contender for the WTWMC - Copy That playlist). 

Other than that one and the title song, the rest of the album is pleasant but contains too many fairly forgettable songs.

Where do they all belong? Probably one destined for the sale bin.