In Memoriam : Brian Wilson

God only knows where we’d be without Brian Wilson.

If that sounds glib, a journalistic play on one of his best-known tunes, think it through. The footprint made by Brian Douglas Wilson, who died on June 11, nine days short of his 83rd birthday, is amongst the largest of any single musician from the 1960s, certainly of those born his side of the Atlantic. As a writer and producer his skill was exemplary, but remember also his angelic voice, arguably the second finest in his family (his brother Carl just one step ahead in those stakes, to my mind).

Whilst it had seemed he had been long gone, trapped in his own mind, if still being paraded out by management, friends and family, the pain of his actual departure from this world is both profound and shocking. Few musicians have had as much scrutiny over the years, with books and films aplenty, all documenting the highs and lows of a life lived largely in the public eye. From the start, the bedeviled saga of the Beach Boys has attracted equal parts adoration and opprobrium, the former usually reserved for Wilson, the latter for those who sought to take advantage of his often precarious mental health.

And what highs and what lows there have been. But we at Cover Me have come to praise his genius, rather than rake over those coals; there will be plenty of that elsewhere. One of only two musicians to get two birthday “salutes” from us, here and here, his legacy was also rightly celebrated in our deep dive into the best 40 covers of songs by his band, the Beach Boys. Sure, he didn’t write them all, but certainly had a hand in the vast majority of the best ones.

Add in a welter of album reviews for the myriad tributes to him, personally and/or The Beach Boys, and it is obvious as to quite how well regarded he was, here and everywhere. I typed “Brian Wilson” into our site search engine and it delivered 16 pages, with “Beach Boys” providing 31. Even if you allow for some duplication, that is quite staggering. As such we need, and Brian Wilson deserves, a last hurrah, a valedictory victory parade of the bounty left in his wake, with the Beach Boys and without. Here is a baker’s dozen of his best.

The Ramones – Surfin’ Safari (Beach Boys cover)

Not the Beach Boys’ first hit, this 1962 single was the first to draw their candy-striped shirts to international attention. Written by Wilson and his cousin (and, all too often, nemesis) Mike Love, like much their early material it was derivative of the garage band rock and roll then prevalent, the difference being in the complexity of the vocal harmonies. The Ramones may not have shared the vocal arrangements, but their own writing and style was undoubtedly influenced by the naively beautiful melodies that Wilson and his collaborators would construct. As such, it was a natural for their all-covers release, 1993’s Acid Eaters.

Lisa Loeb – In My Room (Beach Boys cover)

It became apparent early on that there was more than Surfing and Hot Rods to Wilson. Famously, brother Dennis was the only surfer in the family and, whilst Wilson could drive, he was not an especial aficionado of oily rags. Many of his songs were love songs, always the staple of popular song, but he was never beyond looking more inwardly at himself. “In My Room” was the earliest example of that, and it has touched many the nerve of subsequent performers, such as Lisa Loeb, who in 2017 included it in her covers album Lullaby Girl.

Nancy Sinatra – California Girls (Beach Boys cover)

Possibly not the peak of literary writing, particularly in these never-more-woke days, there is nonetheless a sense of ageless charm that permeates the essential naffness of the lyrics to “California Girls.” The Beatles certainly thought so, given the depth of affection that is apparent for it, as they gave it some loving pastiche for “Back in the USSR.” The other significant feature in the song is the bouncing bassline, something that most other versions retain as integral. Wilson was nominally the bassist for the live band, which is why the bass is always mixed so high in his production. Nancy Sinatra tries to wrest a jazzier control into the arrangement, but doesn’t quite succeed, which makes for some interesting rough and tumble. I wonder what her Dad thought of the song?

Mary Coughlan – God Only Knows (Beach Boys cover)

Pet Sounds was the album that transformed the reputation of Wilson and the Beach Boys as being more, so much more, than just a cheery pop group, a disc that has continued to figure large in the best-of lists that the music press love to churn out on a regular basis. “God Only Knows,” possibly the centerpiece of Pet Sounds, has become by far the most covered of the Wilson catalog; over 300 appear on Second Hand Songs, the registry of such, with probably a whole lot more besides. Here’s a consummately smoky version from iconic Irish jazz chantoozie, Mary Coughlan, where she savors every word with an undeniable relish.

Nina Hagen – Good Vibrations (Beach Boys cover)

In truth I didn’t want to include this song, feeling it so idiosyncratically Wilson (OK, and Love) as to be uncoverable, even if nigh on 140 have tried, mainly male choral vocal ensembles or ’60s copycats. Deemed the height of Wilson’s orchestrations of the human voice, if you mess with the arrangement you render the song near worthless. Oddly, Nina Hagen, the Patti Smith of Germany, manages to keep the song intact, even as a few trade mark punky spikes get thrown at it, in passing. She doesn’t do many covers, this hailing from Street, her 1991 album.

David Thomas & Two Pale Boys – Surf’s Up (Beach Boys cover)

“Surf’s Up” is always cited as proof of Brian Wilson’s brilliance, particularly when put forward by hipsters who wouldn’t touch his earlier output with a surfboard. I love this odd meandering track, a concoction that Wilson meticulously crafted with leftover song segments going back as far as 1961. It showed Wilson’s growing estrangement from his bandmates and from live performance, as he became increasingly the backroom boffin, drafted in to supply the songs, one way or another.

The recently deceased David Thomas was an extraordinary maverick with Pere Ubu, and only a little less for this solo project. Actually it is a surprisingly chaste rendition, with pastoral brass an effective bed for the singer’s tenuous quaver. Yes, it all gets a bit bonkers towards the close, but it is a surprisingly faithful version.

Christy McWilson – ‘Til I Die (Beach Boys cover)

“‘Til I Die” is one of the few songs written by Wilson alone, without some form of assistance. Given that songs were increasingly having to be cobbled together by a team of writers, working with the bones offered up by Wilson, that too adds to the cadre of this moving song. Also from Surf’s Up, this version manages to transform the plangent original into a near genotypical slice of swoonsome Americana. Christy McWilson included it on her best-known release, the Dave Alvin-produced The Lucky One, in 2000.

A.J. Croce – Sail On Sailor (Beach Boys cover)

By the time of Holland in 1973, Wilson had ceased to even be formally acknowledged as a member of the band, and, writing credits apart, did not even appear on the album, apart form the somewhat sad/risible 45 rpm EP, Mount Vernon and Fairway, that came alongside the vinyl long player as part of the project. Blondie Chaplin sings the song with undoubted passion on the original, so much so that most covers are mere faulty daguerreotypes. At least A.J. Croce, son of the late Jim, does something a bit different with it, even if the jury is till undecided as to his wisdom in so doing.

Radio Sweethearts – Honkin’ Down the Highway (Beach Boys cover)

Some of Wilson’s inability to perform was a result of the perverse influence of his personal physician, Eugene Landy. This led to the somewhat dire 15 Big Ones, with few original compositions, and then, after Landy had been dispatched in 1977, The Beach Boys Love You. This set was produced by Wilson and he played on the bulk of it, it being almost the first time he had such a role for the band. The songs weren’t that great, but could have done with a less overt attempt to recreate the old sound production, to which synthesizers were carelessly added, to excess. Which is revealed by this version, from short-lived Scottish country band Radio Sweethearts, who polish it up a treat. It comes from the tribute set Caroline Now, unorthodox by the sheer diversity of the artists represented, including also Alex Chilton and the High Llamas.

She and Him – Melt Away (Brian Wilson cover)

No longer a Beach Boy, if occasionally enrolled for live performances by de facto new leader Mike Love, 1988 saw the release of Wilson’s eponymous solo debut. Seen by many as a return to form, it contained several belters that packed in some wondrous vocal multitracking heft, his voice as strong as seemingly ever. “Love and Mercy” may be the better known song, but “Melt Away” has just as much appeal, in my ear. Latter-day tribute to his songwriting came from singer-songwriter M. Ward and singer-actress Zooey Deschanel, together as She and Him, with the song above the highlight and title track of their 2022 tribute to the bard of Hawthorne, California.

Tom Prasada-Rao & Amilia K. Spicer – Your Imagination (Brian Wilson cover)

Wilson released twelve further solo albums, up until 2021. These were often re-runs of Beach Boys material or his own tributes to, variously, Gershwin and Disney, with occasional forays into original material. Each would contain at least one gem that could stand right up with his golden years. “Your Imagination” was/is one, from 1998’s Imagination, a song that references his days during the Beach Boys’ height of fame, a subject to which he frequently returned. From another tribute album, Making God Smile, a double disc with only a limited release, it is here given a silky Laurel Canyon vibe by Tom Prasada-Rao & Amilia K. Spicer. Spencer has also popped up on tributes to Neil Young and Peter Case.

Jim Peterik – That’s Why God Made the Radio (Beach Boys cover)

Despite having sued the co-producer of Imagination, Wilson again teamed up with him, Joe Thomas, for a surprise return to the Beach Boys fold, for 2012’s That’s Why God Made the Radio album, their 29th, and a first new Beach Boys single of 20 years in the title track. Another unashamedly nostalgic burst of the vintage BB sound, song titles are liberally sprinkled into the lyric. But, rather than promoting a last-gasp fillip to the brand, Love then returned his cousin to the sidelines, as he took (and still takes) his vision of the band back on the road. One of the co-authors of the song was Jim Peterik, and he made his own version in 2016; it comes over the full Vegas cocktail bar, but beggars can’t be choosers.

That would probably be that, but there was still some spark in Wilson’s faltering ignition, and, rather than Wilson’s anticipated next Beach Boys album, he instead kept Thomas on board for No Pier Pressure, his last set of new and original songs. With a host of guests, including She and Him and ever-loyal fellow ex-Beach Boy, Al Jardine, the closing track is the never more astutely entitled “The Last Song.” Nobody has yet elected to cover this glorious epilogue to his songwriting, but there is this, below, which is actually the original version, dropped from the eventual album and officially unreleased. It includes Lana del Rey, who supposedly dropped out at the last minute, although the some citation of veracity is likely needed, given the overall unreliability of Wilson’s trains of thought by 2015. Given the vocals are shared by Wilson and that he is possibly playing some of the keyboards, as well as producing, this isn’t technically a cover. But it is too good not to feature.

Lana Del Rey with Brian Wilson – The Last Song (Brian Wilson original)

With his official retirement announced at the same time as his long-suspected dementia was made public, barely a year ago, his final and very frail appearance was at the premiere of the Disney documentary film The Beach Boys, along with the core surviving members of the Beach Boys. Having spent the previous decade in his solo career, gifting equal parts joy and concern, as he was wheeled out to front his crack team of musicians and singers, whilst they peerlessly recreated his repertoire of hits with perfect pitch and precision. True, the occasional breakthrough flashback of brilliance could burst through the clouds, as engagement would return, but I guess many, seeing him at such shows, may have wished him a longer and happier final year.

Rest peacefully, Brian. Enjoy playing your teenage symphonies to God.

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