Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson's 10 most iconic songs
Headphones on, stereo up. The Beach Boys' California Girls sounds massive. It is no doubt the result of Wilson's love and admiration for Phil Spector's 'Wall of Sound', which lead to the song's use of guitar, horns, percussion and organ as its overture. The song is a sunshine-y good time – and would later inspire Katy Perry's California Gurls, among countless others. But most importantly, the song establishes the band – and Wilson's own – larger-than-life aspirations, where pop music could be both avant-garde and built of earworms.
1966: Wouldn't It Be Nice, The Beach Boys
Wilson's voice is the first one heard on the Beach Boys' unimpeachable Pet Sounds. 'Wouldn't it be nice if we were older? / Then we wouldn't have to wait so long,' he sings sweetly on the album's opener. 'And wouldn't it be nice to live together / In the kind of world where we belong?' Optimism and innocence are the name of the game, and the listener is the winner.
1966: God Only Knows, The Beach Boys
If Wilson must be known for one thing, let it be his inimitable sense of harmony, perfected across his craft and completely unignorable on God Only Knows, a masterclass in vocals, love, emotional depth, harpsichord and the intersection of all such forces.
God Only Knows is also one of Paul McCartney's favourite songs of all time, one known to bring him to tears.
1967: Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys
What kind of vibrations? Good, good, GOOD vibrations. And at a cost. As the story goes, one of the Beach Boys' best-known hits – and, arguably, one of the most immediately recognisable songs in rock'n'roll history – was recorded over seven months, in four different studios, reportedly costing up to $75,000. And it is an absolute masterpiece of theremin, cello, harmonica and so much more. Pop music has never been so ambitious – and successful.
1967: Heroes and Villains, The Beach Boys
Heroes and Villains might be one of the most complex songs in the Beach Boys' discography, and with good reason. It is the opener of Smile, what Wilson called a 'teenage symphony to God', a whimsical cycle of songs on nature and American folklore written with lyricist Van Dyke Parks. It was delayed, then cancelled, then rerecorded and issued in September 1967 on Smiley Smile, dismissed by Carl Wilson as a 'bunt instead of a grand slam'. In moments, Heroes and Villains is psychedelic; at other times, it embodies an otherworldly barbershop quartet. It is off-kilter and clever, as Wilson's band so often proved to be.
1967: Darlin ', The Beach Boys
The late '60s are an under-celebrated time in Wilson's creative oeuvre – no doubt an effect of his declining mental health – but there are many rich songs to dig into. Particularly the soulful, R&B, Motown-esque harmonies of Darlin '.
2004: Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel, Brian Wilson
As the story goes, Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel was originally recorded for his 1991 unreleased album Sweet Insanity but did not officially appear until it was rerecorded for his 2004 album Gettin' in Over My Head. The song features a bunch of programming, synths and percussion, which might strike Beach Boys fans as odd. But trust us, it works here.
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This regional post office may be home to the best burger in Australia
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