Brian Wilson and the bliss of bubble-gum pop
CLEAN-CUT, SMILING, wholesome—the Beach Boys ruled the American airwaves in the early 1960s. Their music was as sunny as a Southern California morning: easy to sing along to, but underlaid by complex harmonies and instrumentation that reward relistening. Brian Wilson—who died on June 11th, aged 82—was one of three brothers in the group and wrote most of their songs. Bob Dylan joked that he should 'will [his ear] to the Smithsonian' and Paul McCartney called 'Pet Sounds', the band's baroque masterpiece, his favourite album. Here are five essential tracks.'Surfer Girl'The pining ('Do you love me? Do you, surfer girl'), extravagant promises ('I will make your dreams come true') and gently modulated harmonies make the Beach Boys sound like the coolest doo-wop group on the quad. Anyone who listens closely to the spiky guitar in the middle section and the wailing vocals at the end will hear a group that both embraced and winked at convention.
'God Only Knows'Mr McCartney called this the greatest song ever written. John Lennon, among others, probably would have disagreed. Still, there is something irresistible about Carl Wilson's ethereal tenor, Brian Wilson's unconventional instrumentation (including sleigh bells, French horns and harpsichord), the lyrics' sweet sentimentality and the way the song seems to come unspooled in the middle before putting itself back together.
'Sloop John B'Many artists recorded this Bahamian folk song about a homesick sailor before it caught Brian Wilson's attention. Johnny Cash performed it as Texan calypso; the Kingston Trio as soft, folky pop. Mr Wilson made something more complex, with both harmonies and instrumentation as swift and precise as a Swiss watch, and—unusually for pop songs of the time—an extended a capella riff in the middle. The lyrics are melancholy, but the Wilson brothers have never sounded happier than when they are pleading to go home.
'Good Vibrations'On its surface, this is a fun, conventional—two verses, a bridge, a chorus—and poppy tune about seeing a pretty girl. But it may be the peak of Mr Wilson's production skills. Heavily layered, it features woodwinds, strings and an electro-theremin. As with so much of their work, people can enjoy it for the band's artistry or simply because it is an earworm.
'Summer's Gone'The musical equivalent of the sun setting into the Pacific, this is the last track on the last Beach Boys album featuring Mr Wilson, released in 2012. Sweetly melancholic and reflective, the harmonies and instrumentation are pared down compared with the band's earlier work, and the lyrics clearly come from someone closer to the end than the start of his life: 'Summer's gone, / Gone like yesterday / The nights grow cold / It's time to go'.
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