Why Brian Wilson Is A Genius
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2017
- / jeffstillwell
This educational video essay compiles clips and interviews to demonstrate the depth to which Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys impacted the musical revolution of the 1960s. - Розваги
The competition between The Beach Boys and The Beatles needs to be seen as a great thing that brought out the best from both groups
There was no competition. The Beatles>The Beach Boys
newking70 that’s just not true at all though. regardless of personal opinion the beatles (especially paul) have said time and time again there was a competition there and that the beach boys would inspire them to do new things. same goes for the beach boys about the beatles. and the two bands were often creating music responding to whatever the other band was releasing. pretty cool!
newking70 You’re an idiot...
@@g1ng3r_b1tch They were just a surf band. Brian Wilson is no genius.
newking70 well, from my perspective as well as the perspective of countless other musicians (including the beatles) we disagree. to each their own, you don’t have to like their music at all but it does seem a bit absurd to disregard wilsons talent because of that
Brian Wilson is a survivor. God bless Brian.
@Pastor Paul D learn how to read, wanker
@Pastor Paul D no, he's a sirvivor.
That is accurate. I hope he lives to be 100. He is almost 4/5ths the way there. Nobody has to make him a god, however, by painting him as something he never was.
@@LilRotte3 What's a "sirvivor?"
@@scootergeorge9576 a person who sirvived an event, in which they would've most probably died.
When he says, "it really really hurt my feelings."
😭😭😭 What a kind tender heart. Love him.
I agree
I think that's actually pretty interesting to hear because I feel it goes to show that what stuck with him wasn't so much the physical violence itself but the emotional/mental trauma that came with it. Something that can probably be said about most people who grew up in a home like that.
Yes, I wondered if anyone else caught that. And, the person on this feed berating Brian for using drugs in the 60’s no less after being subjected to both the physical and emotional abuse by his awful father. That he still was able to turn out such beautiful music in the midst of such a chaotic period proves his genius if you ask me. I get really tired of arguing whether he did things “right”. His environment was awful. It was abusive. I’m glad he seems to have a life now and hopefully some peace.
That was awful what his Dad did to him.
@@angelarorrer7636 None of us do things perfectly. It is amazing he accomplished all he did.
You neglected to mention that he wrote all of this music before the age of 25. Incredible!
Unheard of in today’s music, by 23 Brian had 6 albums under his belt.
Actually fairly common. Almost all successful singer/songwriters have done their best work in their first five years in the business before they get tired of the road or run out of ideas.
@@bobturnley2787 Singers who write their own material are much fewer and farther between these days. Most are just pretty faces who can dance and sing what they’re told to. Barely any will be remembered or played in 5 years, let alone 50. The true geniuses out there aren’t given mainstream opportunities anymore. They’re deemed too financially risky.
@@Wicked_Trojan You just have to look at the Grammys over the last ten years to see that 90% of popular music is made by Madonna clones. I stopped listening to radio 15 years ago. The real musicians aren't on the radio. But there are still plenty of bands out there making their own music and some of it is surprisingly good.
@@bobturnley2787 Look up King Gizzard and the lizard wizard
I feel this is a very american perspective of Brian and the beach boys. Here, in England, no-one thinks of Brian or the beach boys as a karaoke band or any less than the beatles. he is, rightly so, hailed as a modern genius and has inspired so many bands.
America has a problem with art. American artists often find themselves more properly appreciated overseas, where the culture is ready for it. Over here, they must struggle to conform to standards of marketability.
No prophet is accepted in his own village
@@writinghour wise words
It’s weird how that little island is so great at music
But they are
Orson Wells, Woody Allen, The Beach Boys, even Brit expatriate Charlie Chaplin was exiled by the US despite building the foundation of Hollywood and founding United Artist.
The story of the Beach Boys always makes me sad. The years of abuse took a clear toll on both Brian and Dennis and the way that their lives eventually played out is so tragic. That does not take away from either or their amazing achievements and I'm glad that Brian was able to change music in such a profound way :)
Ok, please name all the non-Beach Boys Brian Wilson hits. Love and Mercy?
Like you said Brian changed music in general in a profound way. That's more than any of us have done.
@@brucec43 ... and your point is??? You do know that Brian almost exclusively wrote the music and vocal harmonies, right? Carol Kaye, the greatest bass player in history was adamant that Brian brought charts for all the band members most of the time, including the orchestra...
By comparion, the Beatles couldn't even read music.
Sekela N There’s so much about the essence of America in this band.
The moral of the Beach Boys saga is this: Never go into business with relatives and friends. It is so hard to keep relationships separate from business.
I m sorry but as a massive Beatles fan, Pet Sounds is the most magical and coherent album that unifies all the tracks in a way so beautiful that I can’t quite describe it.
Just heard it the other day after a long time and still got goosebumps listening.
Brian Wilson, we mortals salute you.
Same
Amen
If you like Pet Sounds you really need to listen to 'The Beach Boys Today' album. There's some amazing songs on there
and some 'not' so amazing songs as well, but 'When I Grow Up To Be A Man' and 'She's Knows Me Too Well' are songs
that are hard to believe that a 23 year old wrote
@@spactick Absolutely on vinyl........a classic
The Beatles and the beach boys are my favorite bands of all time I can't choose a favorite there both just perfect
I can tell you why Brian Wilson is a genius in three words: "Don't Worry Baby".
Or...Until i die...
hands down best song
You are 100% right on that one.
Actually I Would Say Only 2 "Surfs Up"
That's 4 words. Do Not Worry Baby
Brian's falsetto in his early years were purely sublime. I have never heard a voice like that before, and I don't think I ever will.
Yes, quite fabulous.
I really appreciate so many of the Pre Pet Sounds tracks now that I've got to know them better! Absolutely Pet Sounds couldn't have been that much of a surprise to Beach Boys fans who loved The Lonely Sea, Warmth of the Sun, and so many others.
His singing on Surf's Up is something I will never get tired of listening to.
Not falsetto but pure head voice. Take a look at Wings of Pegasus video analysis of their live performance of Fun Fun Fun.
Perosnally i like many of their songs but can t stand these nasal high pitched vocals
The pre-Pet Sounds surf, hot rod and girl inspired songs were "genius" in their own right. There, somebody had to say it.
YES
I mean at that point you had stuff like I get Around and California Girls, both incredible. It's not the subject matter, its the production, level of songwriting, etc
I'm glad you did!
Just like early Beatles is incredible.
@@michaelsieger9133 I'd call Brian's surf music genius. Years ahead of its time. I don't like comparing the Beatles and the Beach Boys because they were so incredibly different. Both left their marks on music history............. I'm so blessed to have grown up in perhaps the best musical era in the history of mankind. It will never happen again.
It’s insane that Pet Sounds still holds up so well nearly 60 years later. So many revolutionary pieces of media were passed up by successors building on their work. But Pet Sounds still stays winnin
This was a great essay. I grew up in Redondo Beach near where the Beach Boys did. My uncle was friends with Dennis Wilson in their teens.
I love your channel!
@oddist yes. Brians are Brians. I know.. . . I am one too.
Hawthorne is near Redondo
Was your uncle Charles Manson perhaps?
I grew up in Redondo Beach, too. The Beach Boys music was like cereal for breakfast to us
“Marilyn married a beach bum” never forget when my mom got that phone call. Found out later that day Marilyn Rovell our aunts granddaughter married Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.
Nobody cares
Guess what Mark... I care. Love ya, man.
@@dallaselgin2636 Shut the fuck up, I care
That is so cool (and hilarious!)
Dallas Elgin who hurt you man
Brian Wilson once said The biggest influence on Pet Sounds was Rubber Soul.
that's a very nice way of looking at it. : )
M C any proof for that? just curious
@@domi650 7:20
@@domi650 watch his the rivalry between McCartney and Wilson video.
Roy G Biv youre showing off
I've always loved the Beach Boys. During high school in the sixties there was a joy of life embedded in their music. Brian Wilson had a genius for creating music that seemed almost celestial. We were lucky to grow up surrounded by the music of that time.
YES! To me, music is supposed to be fun! When the DRUGS appeared on the scene in the late 60s it DESTROYED fun music and turned it SATANIC. It's RIGHT IN YOUR FACE now.
grateful for it every day of my life, I agree xoxo
Not "almost celestial," but CELESTIAL 🌠🌌💫🌟
Those of us who GET IT about this genius Brian Wilson, are truly blessed.🎶✨
And I am so grateful to be a native Californian - the Beach Boys are our soul..
ALOHA 🌺
Did you go to any of their concerts what was it like to see them live? I hope that they will tour the United Kingdom a bit more because at present its always USA, there are fans here in the United Kingdom who would love to see them in concert and I am one of them.
I've always wanted to give Brian Wilson a hug and tell him thank you for writing music that has inspired me to create music
I agree, I'd love to personally thank Brian for the background music to my youth. in CA.
I'm currently going through a Brian Wilson obsession. Love your video.
me too! Make sure you read "Catch a Wave," the criticially acclaimed book by Peter Carlin.
But avoid "Wouldn't It Be Nice" which is just Dr. Landy writing propaganda.
Francisco Alcantar I'm currently going through a brian Wilson obsession too. It started when my parents played the beach boys in our home when I was about 3. After 40 some odd years, the obsession is still gaining momentum
i have to say regardless of talent genius implies art. cars surfing girls is the opposite of art. So yeah..
So do you think themes such as the impact of white settlement on native Americans, the influence of the Spanish, the Wild West, the opening up of the country by railroad and highway, childhood, physical fitness, poetry, and God are worthy of being considered art?
Brian isn’t a tragedy, it’s a story of someone coming out on top after years of abuse and pain.
Edit: stream Randy Newman
So much wasted oppurtunity.... that IS a tragedy.
That's a beautiful way of putting it. It's a story of perseverance. I was a young child of the 60s, unaware and removed from the drug aspects and Hippie culture, yet I was drawn to the powerful rhythms and lush harmonies of the Beach Boys. I've been a fan ever since.
Sarah Whitaker he’s still a shell of what he used to be. It’s great that he was able to come back as well as he did but it’s still really sad
Yeo
@@sunnyjim1355 too Bad that they made FRIENDS with THE Infamous Charlie Manson, let him Live with them for awhile, then Stole one of HIS Song's, promised him a Recording Contract, Lied to Charlie, recorded HIS Song on a Album, giving him NO credit, No royalties, nothing!! In turn Nutcase Charlie decided he wanted them OUT Of Here! Instead? Well let Crime History tell the story!!
It kills me that Brian Wilson wrote the greatest album ever, but it cost him his health and years of insanity.
Not the great album. Not even close.
@dominicpardo4783 According to Rolling Stone, one of the greatest albums was Pet Sounds Ranked in Number #2. Consequence of sound website Pet Sounds was ranked Number #6 and Acclaimed Music was ranked Number #1. Sooo
@@leorios4335all of those lists that try to rank the best albums of all time are all ass. There’s not a single good list. It’s not even possible to make a good list in the first place. You shouldn’t listen to anything they have to say.
@meee_5155 True I don't have too listen to them, it's there opinion. But I have to agree on some of it, it's a masterpiece I love it. :)
one of my favorite family stories is that my grandmother somehow convinced the beach boys to perform at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga for a fundraiser and Brian Wilson kept asking her out... always wondered what would have happened if she had said yes. She had been in an abusive relationship for years and would stay in that relationship until 2018. In another world, maybe they would have saved each other from abusive fates. Anyway, a genius in his own realm, I still love Pet Sounds today as a 21 yr old, so it aged well!
Cool grandma! I’m very sorry about her abusive relationship though. When did the Saratoga thing happen?
Sorry for writing you, just out of curiosity your page come up on my suggested friend lists so I was just wondering if I knew you from somewhere??
Great video.. definitely touches on why Brian was so incredible. I'd probably have touched upon SMiLE a bit though. The Smile Sessions is really unbelievable and it would have been nice to see it finished properly in the 60s. Shame about Mike Love and drugs though.
Hey Vinny, what's your favorite post-Smile collapse Beach Boys album?
you are talking like he is dead. BRIAN WILSON IS INCREDIBLE
It sure wasn't because he got hit up side of the head 2 by 4
You can always expect a vin in UA-cam vids based off of 60s rock
@grimble Drugs, as it turned out, were both a blessing and a curse to Brian. It enabled him to see things differently, or in a different light. This new music was the by product of his experimentation with drugs particularly psychedelics. If you've never experienced psychedelics, then you don't know what I'm talking about. While one can't really write or perform music that well while on them, they help "expand" the mind to levels not possible without them. If you've never experienced them, then you don't understand.
As I once heard it said, the world was blessed to have Brian Wilson, and Brian Wilson was cursed to be Brian Wilson.
In Europe, Brian Wilson is regarded and cherished as a very gifted and inspired composer and performer, nothing of bitterness towards the Beatles.
They don't see things in a negative type of lens.
The sad thing about Brian Wilson is you will see a bunch of college hipsters wearing John Lennon shirts, yet John Lennon and Paul McCartney both considered Wilson as their musical idol. They were deeply inspired by his work.
The artistic era of the Beatles that people love to praise so much, was due to the revolutionary work that Brian Wilson had created - literally. Like McCartney actually heard Pet Sounds and wept, and was mind blown by what he heard.
This isn't to put the Beatles down or to even bring up a comparison. More so it's to point out that your favorite artists favorite artist is the Beach Boys. And it's just unfortunate that Wilson doesn't get more credit for what he brought to the music industry.
Pet Sounds was one of the biggest inspirations for Sgt Pepper. The Beatles and the Beach Boys had a friendly rivalry
But it's not a one way street either. Brian Wilson was inspired to create Pet Sounds when he listened to Revolver, so the Beatles inspired the album that inspired them
@@minddump9907 Brian said it was when he listened to Rubber Soul. Revolver came out after Pet Sounds, with Here There and Everywhere being inspired by the Beach Boys harmonies
so people can't appreciate John Lennon's music and wear him on a shirt because this also very famous musician inspired him? the fuck are you on about?
I doubt that very much. When RUBBER SOUL came out, Brian Wilson was so impressed, he said music will never be the same again.
It’s very interesting how he says “hurt my feelings” when talking about his dad beating him. It‘s a very subtle and deep understanding of what happened. His ego was bruised more than his body.
Edit: Also, thank you for shouting out Phil Spector. Most commentators only mention Paul & John. Spector’s influence on Brian was far more poignant than The Beatles. Brain wanted to make something closer to opera than pop.
Nothing like giving props to a murderer
@@joshlewis575 True, he was a murderer, but he also was a very smart man, musically.......
There’s a difference between a bruised ego and an injured spirit.
His father broke his spirit as a child. So sad.
I think it was a stab at wry humor.
Sometimes I feel so terrible about what happened to Brian Wilson, but I like to think about this. He created Pet Sounds, an album that is superhuman. He didn't get to be the Beatles, but he created one of the best albums ever to exist. We will remember him as a genius because of that album. The tracks on Smile like Good Vibrations, Cabin Essense, Surf's Up, Heros and Villians, etc. will also be remembered as works of genius. He has changed music forever and has Pet Sounds and Smile on his resume, that is a lot for a lifetime.
Avirat Thakor he’s still alive mate
You say he didn’t get to be a Beatle, but The Beach Boys were just as big in the 60s. It’s been said that there were even times when their popularity in the 60s was greater than the Beatles. Even in England, where the Beatles are from, there was a period of time the Beatle mania took a back seat to the Beach Boys
+Avirat Thakor To write even a single great hit is a lot for a lifetime, and Brian wrote many, many.
@nimrodian you have got to be kidding me.... he didn't change music in the same way Giovani de Bardi, Mozart, Bach, Stradivarius, Schoenberg and Chuck Berry didn't change music hahaha. By which I mean: he is widely considered to be one of, if not *the* major solitary innovator of the 20th century.
nimrodian The same way the beatles didn't change music? Whoever liked your comment is blind - and if you liked your own comment, the statement applies even more.
Here I am, a guy in my sixties, who grew up on The Beach Boys. I was playing their hit singles on my parents' "Hi-Fi"(wooden cabinet that doubled as a nice piece of furniture) back in the mid and late sixties. Without Brian, there would have never been a Beach Boys. In a way, I feel like I know him because I worship his music and can identify with him as a musician. Not as a living, of course, but I've toyed around with the piano, guitar and play trombone in a community band in Lake Charles, LA. We're here on UA-cam!
Long live Brian Wilson. When he passes, so will pass a major chapter in music. I, obviously with a few million others, hail him as one of the greatest song writers to have ever lived.
Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan....I can't imagine a world without these lads. It will be hurtful.
My friends dad was a stagehand and Brian once walked up to him before a show and told him that he was "scared" and didn't want to perform. He went on anyway. Just a very sweet guy.
"I don't know where... but she takes me there.." Those lyrics always get me.
I fucking love thai girls
Those lyrics were written by Mike Love.
@@elchingon6759 i like mikes lyrics. I dont like his songs.
@Chuck Buskee good for you
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Don’t worry baby is one of my all time fav songs. IMO pure perfection as a song
Same, since I was a child
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Facts
Had the honor of meeting The Beach Boys in high school through a childhood friend that knew them from Hawthorne, Ca. It was such a thrill for a high school girl from Omaha! Dennis was adorable but Brian was so charming and kind.
No one has ever been more brilliant than Brian Wilson. Period.
Ya ever notice Brian tends to talk toward his good ear?
Got Puffy Shirt? :P
@@sgt.pepper4362 this is unrelated.
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Nice job. Paul McCartney’s favorite song all-time is God Only Knows. That should tell you something.
Brian was abused as a child
I get chills just remembering it.
It should tell you he's pandering to the interviewer.
MorbidManMusic ur mad
Yeah,b ut why would an artist choose their own songs as their favorite?
8:02 I KNEW IT! McLovin's ID wasn't fake, he really was that old!
Brian Wilson...the man who made Paul McCartney shake in his boots. To this day he’s a Brian Wilson fanboy and who wouldn’t be? Brian is an absolute genius and a lovely soul. He’s a treasure that we’re blessed to have experienced. Let us always celebrate him!
Ever since I watched "Love & Mercy" I have appreciated this music on a whole other level. Genius. Yes.
I don't know enough about him/them to say how accurate the movie is, but his life seems to be an incredible and incredibly heartbreaking story. And that is what I hear in the music now. Very touching.
This video adds to this - so thank you for that!
The movie's accuracy is heart breaking. Eugune was even worse than what was portrayed on film, and the parts that were hammed up for the movie concerned his wife's involvement in breaking away from his therapist. There are several good documentaries on youtube about his life, and some released at the time that all the drama shit with his therapist was going down with interviews from him at that time--if you find his life at all interesting, go watch them.
@Aramis Merlin Love & Mercy was entertaining but if you want the real story get hold of I Just Wasn't Made For These Times which features the actual persons in filmed interviews and not actors. It's where a lot of Love & Mercy's dialog comes from, mostly verbatim.
i lost a lot of interest and respect when i learned that brian wilson hardly used the beach boys to record any of the tracks on pet sounds, he basically hired a bunch of studio musicians to play the parts the beach boys should had played, not just other instruments the beach boys couldnt play such as strings but also drums, bass, guitars, etc, also brian wilson hired a professional lyricist to write most of the songs in pet sounds, so not much of a genius when you start by copying the style of jan and dean along with stealing the riffs from chuck berry and then hiring professional musicians to not only play the parts instead of your band and hire someone to write the songs for you.....oh well
so what? All of them are extremely gifted. Unique, They can play, amazing.
@chuck roayl For those reasons you should respect him more. They aren't talking about Surfin' U.S.A. They are referring to Pet Sounds and Smile. Brian Wilson knew what his strengths were and if he wanted to collaborate with an advertising man like Tony Asher or a multi-talented creative spirit like Van Dyke Parks to come up with lyrics for his music, I say more power to him for having the brilliance and foresight to co-write with these people. The results speak for themselves. The Beach Boys never could have executed those parts with the precision, accuracy and speed of the Wrecking Crew or any of the other fine Hollywood studio players that were working making hit records for just about everybody else as well, including acts like The Byrds, The Mamas and The Papas, The Fifth Dimension, Sonny and Cher, The Monkees, Simon and Garfunkle and Frank Sinatra. The list goes on into the hundreds. Everybody you've ever heard that had a hit record used studio players whether they liked it or not and they themselves knew that it was those players that had the sound and feel that would deliver hits time and time again. In the record business you are only as big as your last hit. If you didn't produce consecutive hits your career was dead in the water. Every group on both sides of the Atlantic used studio players including The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, Herman's Hermits, Chad and Jeremy and The Dave Clark Five. It was no different over there as it was over here.
This video is terrific. I've never heard the genius of Brian Wilson and Pet Sounds articulated so succinctly and sincerely.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. More videos coming soon!
The Smile Sessions are the best thing that ever have been recorded. It touches so many aspects of what the Beach Boys are about. It is unfinished, so you can choose your own favorite version of each song. I love the cantina version of heroes and villains for instance.
Get a grip. That shit is awful.
As a novice musician myself(guitar, some piano and currently trombone in a community band), Brian Wilson has been my hero as far back as there WAS a Beach Boys. My allowance money and money I earned cutting adults' lawns enabled me to buy their records as a pre-teen in the early sixties. I remember purchasing their LP(we used to call them "albums") Shut Down, Vol. II at a store in Beaumont, TX and not being able to wait until our family got home to peel the clear plastic off of it and play it on our Hi-Fi(short for "high fidelity") cabinet/radio combination when we got home. That memory is burned into my brain forever. So I've been following these guys for as long as they have been cranking out records, and am a fan to this day and I just turned 68! Thanks for the great post, Jerry.
Thank you for making this - this is beautiful. More people need to understand the true greatness of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys!!
This video is an insult to everything and everyone. Where are you all getting the idea this has any substance, depth or facts?
I've read, watched, and listened to just about everything on Brian Wilson. It's hard to wrap that whole package up in 12 minutes but your video was very coherent and hits all the key points. The whole Smile situation still breaks my heart because it's not even a matter of the music that never was. The music was already done and just needed to not be shit on by the people he trusted the most. If it was simply released in 67, Brian would be shoulder to shoulder with the Beatles and Stones. We know he is, but the whole world would have known it. Nice job.
brian picl there is no way he would be shoulder to shoulder with the Beatles and Stones.... he would have ABSOLUTELY blown EVERYONE out of the water.
I'm not sure why this video and you and many others think that Brian and the Beach Boys are relegated to the 'footnotes' of musical history - Pet Sounds ranks No.2 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Wilson is generally thought of highly - but i suppose only by music lovers.
Great video by the way+ Wilson may just rank up there with the genius of Lennon/McCartney!
No way you can put The Rolling Stones anywhere near The Beatles or Brian and The Beach Boys.
MAY? Not only is "Pet Sounds" Paul McCartney's album, but Wilson didn't have a regular writing partner OR George Martin to produce for him . He did 99% of it on his own. Mike love would be pumping gas if not for B. Wilson.
For me The Beatles and Beach Boys offer a transcendental experience with some of their music and The Stones certainly don't do this for me, just some pretty good songs. But so many people think of them as the greatest, so idk
As a matter of fact, when George Martin was asked who in the recording industry he might call a genius, he said “Brian Wilson”.
Thanks for the Justice. I has been always a die hard fan of The Beatles, since I discovered their music when I was twelve years of age. Now I am still discovering the artistic Treasure that areThe Beach Boys, especially that great hurt human being that was his mind and heart. Thanks.
I can highly recommend watching the movie 'Love & Mercy' if youre interested in the Beachboys and Brian Wilsons life, it's fuckin great, made me appreciate his craft on a whole other level and gave me deep insight in Brian as a person
I can't imagine how Brian, being deaf in one ear, was able to so beautifully stereo mix music that he was unable to hear as we do and appreciate to this day.
Any father that would hit his child in the head with a 2x4 is a TOTAL ASSHOLE!!!
He wanted his records to be mono only. Allegedly because it would give him more control over how the songs sound, but possibly also because he was deaf in one ear?
Actually, most of it was recorded Mono. Stereo was just being rolled out, and had to be pushed hard to consumers then to get it widespread, since everyone had to replace their equipment to listen to the stereo LPs:
theconversation.com/how-stereo-was-first-sold-to-a-skeptical-public-103668
Mono mixes are better.
Adam Hammack ok weirdo
As a jazz pianist some of Wilson's pieces have fascinating modulations and voice leading. Sounds like music to me.
@Rodzilla Wilson's genius wasn't in lyrics. It was in harmony and instrumentation. Hopefully you already knew how Sgt. Pepper's was McCartney's attempt to step up his game in response to getting his mind blown by Pet Sounds a year earlier. The Beatles (read: Lennon & McCartney) knew that record had set a high bar for popular music, and they knew none of them had 1/4 of the talent Wilson had just put on display.
Rodzilla Not really denying anything you’re saying here, but saying the narrator has a screw loose is kinda uncalled for and kinda silly. Again, the video is about Wilson’s musical genius. Dude is not arguing anything about his lyrics being better. You kinda brought that into the conversation on your own. No one in the Beatles or any other band of the time could hang with Wilson in terms of sophistication of musical composition.
Rodzilla “Good Vibrations” doesn’t need insightful lyrics to be a masterpiece of 60’s pop music. That tune is composed better than most anything around at that time outside of jazz.
@Rodzilla Bravo, you nailed it. Although I'm not so sure of "I can see for miles" being anything in the caliber of helter skelter. Perhaps I should listen to it again😊
@@benjaminkenobi21 I guess a genius in vocal harmony after he was influenced by the 4 freshman
This video essay gave me new respect to one of my all time idols. Brian Wilson, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and The Beatles all got me in to music. Thank you for making this video amigo.
What a phenomenal video! Brian Wilson was easily the driving force and back bone of the Beach Boys. He wrote, produced and arranged songs that were decades ahead of their time! He truly had a tragic life but his legacy will always continue to inspire others!
At the age of 14, I first heard "Surfin' Safari" & thought, "one hit wonder!" Boy, was I wrong!
Tango Bango Just curious why you thought that after Surfin Safari?? Great catchy tune and perfect for time period! 😎
Lisa DC Don't really know! I was just very young & very foolish I guess.
yeah , they had about 5 hit songs, I still don't get the enthusiasm people have for them
0:01 Please Let Me Wonder - The Beach Boys
1:54 Day By Day - The Four Freshmen
2:16 I'm So Young - The Beach Boys
2:24 Sweet Little Sixteen - Chuck Berry
2:43 Surfin' USA - The Beach Boys
3:04 Cuckoo Clock - The Beach Boys
4:06 She Knows Me Too Well - The Beach Boys
4:30 (sorry don't know the name of this song based off of this snippet)
4:46 A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles
5:10 The One You Can't Have - The Honeys
5:32 Let's Go Away For Awhile - The Beach Boys
6:02 Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
6:30 (sorry guys again)
6:55 I Just Wasn't Made For These Times - The Beach Boys
7:32 Here Today - The Beach Boys
7:47 (goddangit)
7:51 (oh dear)
7:54 Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) - The Beach Boys
8:27 (back at it again nooo)
8:54 Surf's Up - The Beach Boys
9:31 (sorry again for the last time)
9:47 Rio Grande - Brian Wilson
10:23 I Feel So Fine - Brian & Dennis Wilson
thank you so much
9:31 All I Wanna Do - Beach Boys
4:30 Add some music to your day - The Beach Boys
6:30 some vocals of Don't talk (Put your head on my shoulder) - The Beach Boys
9:31 All I wanna do - The Beach Boys
8:27 is a demo or session track of Good Vibrations
6:30 is Brian Wilson, et Al - Moho Memo.
Thank you for acknowledging Brian’s talent and determination to keep on exploring what his heart and mind could produce.
Surf's Up is an incredible song and one of my favorites of all time.
One of the greatest lyrical compositions in music history!
As a guy who studies harmonies ive always been very impressed on how he would arrange vocals in unique ways. different vocals making up for certain openings of harmonies. its great stuff
For someone who studies harmonies, you don't speak very specifically about them...
I study music and Brian Wilson was very good at music please upvote my comment
Just take a listen to God Only Knows to know he's a genius!
yes, that's my favourite. :)
Ditto
Make sure you're listening to Pet Sounds!
Pocket Symphony :)
Brian was no genius, he just thought he was.
I've come back so many times to watch this video again and again. Great work!
This is one of the best videos (impeccable narration and content) I’ve seen on UA-cam. Thank you!
The Beach Boys were my first concert I went to back in 64. One that I'll never forget.
How old are you, if u dont mind me asking?
It was my first concert as well. My 16th birthday; June 30th 1982.
@@fdgghuuyyb5766 like 60
Seen them at a theme park concert in the late 80s as kid...in fact it was my first as well🤣
Pretty cool company picnic,👍
Years back now I purchased the amazing box CD set of Pet Sounds that has the pull downs of the songs and a stereo mix. Hearing the singing alone is amazing, add to that the beautifully arranged instruments it goes to a totally new level. Totally ahead of it's time and as we now understand years later timeless music that doesn't age.
help
The record company should get on the case and put out more vocals only stuff. I heard Breakaway broke down like that and it would be great to hear more of their late 60's - early 70's songs that way. It's not a new idea, of course, Stacks-o-trax came out in '68.
Leo I must say you have a good taste in everything
Yep - that was what brought me back to Brian and The Beach Boys - listening to Pet Sounds box with headphones - just like Brian wanted it done, and he music somehow permeates your inner soul and mind. It does hold it's own.
*its
Lovely! Was to the point but still a decent, thorough, summary of what makes Brian Wilson so so special.
I've also loved reading these comments. So many beautiful thoughts and feelings about his music. It's wonderful to see so much appreciation being expressed for his incredible work.
Hello Victoria, how are things going with you?
GREAT ESSAY! Im a late BBs fan, as well as a Beatle fan, I recently discovered how great contribution to music was Brian Wilson, their voices and symphonies will remain
Brian Wilson is a genius!
the cello in Good Vibrations is one of the most genius things I have ever heard in Rock!
Although Brian Wilson is a genius; the cello part in Good Vibrations is thanks to the great Van Dyke Parks :^)
I didn't look through all of the comments, so maybe someone said this already, but in 1963 Chuck Berry was in prison for a Mann Act conviction and heard Surfin' U.S.A. he sued from prison. Brian Wilson rightly acknowledged Chuck's contribution and today Chuck Berry's name is under Brian's as co-author in the sheet music.
I was going to add this. Thanks!
Jeremy(s) on the case!
yeah, it was probably handled at the record label end of things.
From what I've read, Chuck got paid soon after.
Chuck B. ows also the lyrics!
This video and the narration is amazing! Finally giving credit where credit is due! They’re so much more than just the mainstream stuff! ❤️❤️❤️
This video ended up getting me obsessed with The Beach Boys/Brian Wilson. Thank you lol
Two bands you just can't compare. Yet both of them changed music for ever
Can one compare a rose and a daisy?
Olli Paavilainen Yeah, one's red and the other's yellow
I'll walk myself out
Doesn't´t tell much of the plant, flower. Are you a different person if you use a pink shirt today and a rosy tomorrow?
I would say they're the only bands you can compare (to each other). The Beatles and The Beach Boys are in a league of their own.
Brian Wilson is pure musical genius. There's never a time when I hear the intro to Good Vibrations that I dont get chills. I used to listen to them as a child and only as I became an adult did I begin to understand the level of skill involved, my dad really made a point to teach us that.
Great video, & I love that it's both a formal essay about some incredible music & a love letter to a genius. Thankyou for sharing your passion & knowledge.
The only thing I take exception to is when you suggest "Brian's life is a tragedy, especially when you imagine all the music that could have been". I'm a survivor of childhood abuse, & I have to tell you that when I look at Brian's life I see it as an absolute story of triumph not tragedy.
It's a disservice to any artist to view his/her body of work in terms of "what could have been"--and as a survivor I'm very aware that what could have been, several times, is that Brian could have killed himself intentionally or accidentally somewhere in the haze of his years of drug abuse. But he didn't. He was dealing with debilitating depression & enormous pain--the legacies of childhood abuse--& he retreated & self-medicated for more than a decade. To survive. And he did, he survived. To me the greatest gift Brian has given us is that he's still alive. I love the music, but not as much as I love the complicated, tender, soulful, talented genius who created it.
A lot of survivors of childhood abuse don't make it out alive--they fall into the whirlpool of self-medicating & never make it back to the surface again. Brian made it back. I say, All hail the conquering hero!
As well, I would just like to say that many survivors find that just surviving is a life's work. Getting to 50 is a towering accomplishment. The whole time Brian was being abused, escaping from it, & then dealing with its legacy, HE WAS CREATING SOME OF THE MOST GLORIOUS MUSIC OF THE 20TH CENTURY. When you think about how far down the abuse took him, it boggles the mind to consider that for many years he dealt with all that internal chaos & damage while at the same time working constantly, feverishly, harnessing his talents & the talents of others, spending month after month, year after year in studios, crafting masterpieces. To me, that reflects Brian's greatest strengths: his heart & soul. His capacity for love, including his love for music & life, & his spiritual connection. To me, those strengths--which we all have--are where Brian found the resources to produce the music & to be alive to smile today.
Anyway, as I said, thankyou for your great video essay. Well done!
Such a good point you make here. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
what an interesting insight, thank you
Wow, what an incredibly insightful and accurate take on one of if not the great musician of our time.
His impact on popular music is profound and we are indebted to him.
I own 1,000+ records ranging from jazz, progressive rock, classical, funk, thrash metal, folk, etc. When I'm asked rhetorically if I could pick a favorite, I say Pet Sounds without hesitation.
Actually, the Beatles, themselves, have said that Pet Sounds influenced Sgt. Pepper, not the other way around. Pet Sounds came out first.
lol. I'm far from a teenager, but ok.
The fact that so many books still name the Beatles as "the greatest or most
significant or most influential" rock band ever only tells you how far rock
music still is from becoming a serious art.
Jazz critics have long recognized that the greatest jazz musicians of
all times are Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, who were not the most famous
or richest or best sellers of their times, let alone of all times.
Classical critics rank the highly controversial Beethoven
over classical musicians who were highly popular in courts around Europe.
Rock critics are still blinded by commercial success. The Beatles sold more
than anyone else (not true, by the way), therefore they must have been the greatest.
Jazz critics grow up listening to a lot of jazz music of the past, classical
critics grow up listening to a lot of classical music of the past. Rock
critics are often totally ignorant of the rock music of the past, they barely
know the best sellers. No wonder they will think that the Beatles did anything
worthy of being saved.
Random User That is so fucking sad. You know, well balanced people don't care what other people listen to. It's a sign of low self esteem to feel the need of having "the true" taste in music. Btw Sgt Pepper came out a year late than Pet Sounds, so you're not even right. And if you'd watch the video in it's entirety you hear Paul saying they were inspired by Pet Sounds.. Sad sad sad.....
Random User is either a troll or too fucking stupid to understand anything anyone says. Not someone worth talking to. Someone it's actually completely pointless to talk to
brian wilson was truly a genius
Andrew Murray Beat me to it
Finding out how he learned how to sing the falsetto and do it even more amazing
barbara kaufman he's alive
In Defence of Mike Love is the name of something i made about him, in good hunour. To see it, simply just type the following title in to the search bar.......In defence of Mike Love
Yes he is one, smile. I'm 66 and have been a fan a very long time.
Excellent! Thank you for creating this and blessing us with a unique insight!
What a beautiful homage to the Genius of Brian Wilson and paired with so many wonderful still shots of both the group and Brian singly are a tremendous way to drive your point (with which I totally agree) home for the viewer. The still @ 8:18 of Brian (presumably with GF and later wife Marilyn) stopped me dead in my tracks. It is a look at the man, which I find so soulfully expressive, that it is indeed the picture that tells a 1000 words. A candid look into the soul of such a deeply emotional man at a time in his life when his creative expression of true genius was at its Zenith. Thank you very much for this gem which should touch even someone who has never, or even barely, given "The Beach Boys" a second thought. A+ well done Jeffrey Stillwell!
Just an incredible, moving tribute to Brian Wilson. There is something so vulnerable, so deeply touching in Brian's eyes as he plays and sings as a young musician. You helped me understand what he was going through, what he was thinking. I am so glad you took the time to make this video and post it here. Thank you.
his harmonies are untouchable
Just have to thank you here, I watched this video about 2 weeks ago and now I’m well on my way to Beach Boys diehard. I’ve liked them for years, of course starting out with their early hits, and I would’ve even called Pet Sounds one of my favorite albums. But I never appreciated them or knew them like I do now, and that’s thanks to you inspiring me to dig deeper.
Old Brian's voice always makes me sad, he has that strange pain in his voice only old men with difficult childhood's have.
What a BEAUTIFUL and painful history!!!! "Love & Mercy" truly made me realize what Brian Wilson was creating. I was a teenager in Southern California in the 60s and grew up on the music of the Beach Boys. Your video is a wonderful tribute to the genius of Brian Wilson.
That's so cool. I'm envious but that California of sun fun and surf, that Cali is lost.
I'm one of you, man: Hardcore Beach Boys fan. Ironically enough Paul McCartney got me onto them. That was well over 7 years ago.
You did a superb job here and it feels good to see Brian and the boys receive some of that much-deserved love. You hit the nail on the head at the end. That's exactly how I feel about it all.
Niko Kääpä Finnish?
Finnish? He's just getting started. Ha ha.
@Olli Paavilainen Kyllä
Thank you for this.
Congratulations on a great production.
Beach Boys were so talented, Brian and Bruce's writing, Carl's producing and falsetto and guitar, Al and David's fantastic guitar riffs, Mike's lead singing, and Dennis's drumming.
Chuck Berry IS credited as a co-writer on surfing USA, no need for hinting at plagiarism.
He got credited after the lawsuit lmao
FUN FUN FUN?!
Murray was like another Joe Jackson ( The Jackson 5's father ). So similar.
Marlana Edwards Even the Osmond’s dad. They respected him while he was alive but the stories of abuse are now being revealed.
I think that to say "my father hurt my feelings" Is one of the most powerful ways of putting It. Think about It
I thought the same, very sad I believe they're called abusive "stage parents" pretty sad
Murray was worse.
I'd honestly be more inclined to say Murray was worse than Joe, if that's even possible. At least Joe thought his kids had talent. After watching "Love & Mercy," it's clear Murray never thought Brian was good enough to even write music. The scene where Brian is singing the demo idea of "God Only Knows," and Murray basically telling him it was awful was heartless. Especially when you think about how iconic that song is in their catalogue and Murray selling the rights to their music from underneath them.
Thanks for posting this!
Thanks for the insights to my favorite band. They changed my life from 1962 on... Your perspectives are clear.
Excellent video Jeffrey, thanks for posting. I'm a fellow die hard. Brian Wilson is most certainly a genius, a modern day Mozart.
Excuse me, but Paul McCartney said that Pet SOunds was the best album ever, period. He also said that that album influenced him to work on Sgt. Pepper. So you have it backwards, my friend. That being said, Mozart was a child genius - that's where i see Brian Wilson fitting in. But finally, the Beatles were an awesome, influential group and I love them. Both Beach Boys (specifically Brian) and BEatles drew inspiration from classical music and Beatles even quoted it in some of their music. Now let's have a "Who's better" discussion about Beatles vs. ROlling Stones! Ha1
Sorry, my friend. Name calling and misspelling the word " you're" makes me almost not want to waste my time replying. But I must. You do not know your music history, my friend. I do. I have lectured on the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Brian WIlson.
Kyle
Wouldnt go that far son. Steady on.
@@jl89kaiser
How about having a who is a better speller you or me
A good point made in this video is how much help the Beatles had in the studio as opposed to Brian Wilson being on his own, even to the extent of having to fire his abusive father in order to create more sophisticated music.
That’s an excellent summary,thank you!
That was really good Jeffrey. I had no idea and I was around when that was all happening. Great work. Thank you...
Great work! In his autobiography he mentions writing and producing some during the years when most people think he was tidally MIA. Also Love and Mercy the film points out what a success his life has become especially after meeting Melinda. Powerful story of redemption.
He should release it cause even if it maybe even weirder and far more avant garde it still would be helpful to hear some of it, cause there is plenty of weird experimental music around today, in terms of the modern world it at most give position to his more oddball concoctions in the grand scheme of things even if they were only realized and heard amongst his closest friends.
Any comments on the hauntingly beautiful song at the end, "I feel so fine..." I love that!
This was recommended to me, and I am glad it was.
Watching this was great! Thank you for opening this new page of music history to me !
Love and Mercy became my favourite song in the recent years. Especially the piano based live performances that are out there..... His return through the years has been profound
Well said. Thinking about Brian's hardships will always make me emotional. What a truly gifted man.
Well done! I do believe all The Boys would appreciate this analysis/synthesis...
Thank you, Jeffrey, that was really informative.
Sorry for writing you, just out of curiosity your page come up on my suggested friend lists so I was just wondering if I knew you from somewhere??
Great video. As a casual fan, this offered the kind of knowledge and insight about Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys that I've been eager to hear more of. Its very well put together too, thanks for posting.
this video is truly amazing, thank you so much. Brian's story makes me incredibly sad but I'm glad he's getting the recognition he deserves.
Thank you so much for introducing me to the Four Freshmen! I fell in love with them after this video and I actually met one of their members while I was in the hospital in NYC. I can't remember his name, unfortunately, but he and I shared a hospital room for 2 days back in 2017. He had some great stories.
Really would love to give Brian a hug. And thank him for sharing such special and beautiful feelings with us all. :)