Stop Press: “California Girls” is Brian Wilson’s Favorite Beach Boys Song!

Brian Wilson’s favorite Beach Boys song is “California Girls”, a recent telephone interview with the New York Times revealed. Some of his fans might be disappointed by this, but when you think about it, it sums Brian up – and the world he breathed media life into – perfectly. The fringe-bikinis and (now) vintage sports cars are among the most cherished objects of Americana collected by those who seek to keep the era alive. Brian was talking ahead of the 2009 Brian Wilson tour schedule, making sure the world knows that all those golden oldies will indeed be played live this fall.

“I love it; I think it’s a really cool record”, Wilson told the Times, and I heartily agree (except that my personal fave is Good Vibrations, in case you haven’t guessed).

Brian Wilson’s rock ‘n’ roll genius may transcend the visceral focus of much of his work, but we must remember that The Beach Boys found fame in the early 1960’s; they were a “family band” – a precursor to Hanson or the Jonas Brothers, if you’ll allow me to be vulgar-  and Wilson’s talent was matched only by his ability to divine exactly what that naive public really wanted to hear. It was a post-war utopia in many way; Brian Wilson tickets were a distant possiblity and most young kids just wanted to cruise their local strip and head to the drive-thru for extra-large milk shakes and burgers.

The consumer orgy that was the early-60s had been the perfect environment for Brian Wilson’s visions to proliferate, but as he began to explore the deeper side of music and society, Wilson’s commercial viability took a nose-dive. His abandonment of the SMiLE album in 1967 led to a creative rampage in which Wilson led the world on a ride into oblivion with Smiley Smile. His “She’s Goin’ Bald” stands out as a particularly interesting experiment in how far one can take the nonsense, with its kaleidoscopic cuts and segueways that seemed to dissect
not just the head of the 60s mindwave, but the human story itself. SMiLE, on the other hand, wasn’t finished until 2003, with the help of Brian Wilson Band members.

Wilson’s consequent descent into mental illness has been told and retold many times. It has resulted in a sad devaluing of Brian’s contribution to the upbeat side of Pop, as well as left lingering doubts of the “genius or madman?” variety. All of this is more suited to the tabloids and careless chatter of the envious not-so-brilliant, and it is not this website’s intention to rehash it here. The fact is, Wilson recovered from his flirtation with self-destruction and is now as vital as ever, surrounded by a band that literally eats, sleeps and breathes surf pop, psychedelia and world class rock. The Brian Wilson Band is among Rock’s elite, and one brief listen to their work will instill the beholder to buy Brian Wilson tickets and be at this 2009 tour. It is always nice when a much-loved and productive artist bounces back from the edge of doom, and in Wilson’s case it is doubly so. If anything, Wilson’s charisma has helped him rebuild what was left of his crushed spirit, as luminaries from the music world flocked to aid his resurgence.

Once Brian’s ’70’s nightmare was over – and the controversial “doctors”, an ill-fated trip to record the Holland album in, of course, Holland, and a string of live performances in which the Beach Boys played their older material had been consigned to the past – brother Carl quit the band and drummer Dennis tragically died during a drunken swim in LA’s Marina del Rey. This led to Brian’s eponymously-titled first solo album, bizarrely produced by his since disgraced personal psychologist Dr. Eugene Landy. The Beach Boys were inducted into Cleveland’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in ‘88, and by the early-90s Wilson was on tour again. Brian Wilson tickets were selling, but a storm of controversy erupted when Brian’s autobiography was published; Mike Love sued Brian, cowriter Todd Gold and Svengali-cum-psychotherapist Landy, accusing them of defamation of character.

The 1990s saw Wilson rising once again, and the public wanted to buy Brian Wilson tour tickets. The Beach Boys were on the wane, though, and a series of legal and health issues (including brother Carl diagnosed with lung cancer) saw Brian challenged more than ever by the hand he was dealt by the world aroudn him. Carl Wilson died in early ‘98 aged 51, the cancer having spread to his brain. He’d soldiered on through many of the band’s last performances, sometimes sitting in a chair, and his passing was lamented by Beach Boys fans the world over.

In early 2004, Wilson ambushed the music world with a live performance of the abandoned SMiLE album at London’s Royal Festival Hall. In September ‘04, Wilson released a studio recording of SMiLE, containing a very much reworked version of my personal favorite,  “Good Vibrations”.

Which leaves us here, today, with you reading this and thinking about where to find cheap Brian Wilson tour tickets. Brian Wilson Greatest Hits Live 2009 is going to be a fabulous celebration of the music of a man who changed the way America saw youth culture, who wrote the onomatopoeic tunes, the sounds, of a generation. Take the trip; buy Brian Wilson tickets and relive the golden era of turquoise waves, surfboards, little deuce coops and fun, fun, fun!