Brian Wilson

reimagined
For half a century Brian Wilsons perfect pop songs have inspired an endless conveyor belt of talented artists, but behind the scenes he has enjoyed and endured the extremes of fame, drugs and mental health problems. As he prepares to showcase his latest, critically acclaimed album at The Sage Gateshead: Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, Matthew Ketchell spoke to the veteran songwriter and tried to imagine what goes on inside the head of this musical genius.

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ts little wonder that the story of Brian Wilsons tumultuous life is in the process of being prepared for the big screen; his meteoric highs and dark lows have been as captivating as any to have emerged from the 20th century. Its wonderful, says Wilson, seemingly undaunted by the prospect of seeing his life story on the big screen. Were going to get together and consolidate it, weve had a couple of interviews and weve got a guy whos writing the script its fantastic. Talking to me via a transatlantic phonecall he greets me cheerily at the start of our conversation Hi Matthew, how are you? but then proceeds to rattle through my questions like hes the subject of a military interrogation, Yeah, Right, I dont know. Its a theme that confirms what many other interviewers have concluded following exchanges with the Beach Boys legend: he is the very model of an enigmatic genius.

for it. The process of finishing the album and rehearsing it for a live performance was filmed as part of a fascinating documentary that showed Wilson revisiting some clearly troubling memories before achieving his happy ending a triumphant live performance in Los Angeles. Despite the bad memories during rehearsals Wilson is adamant that he found the process rewarding, I thought it was wonderful and it was something that I enjoyed. Wilson spent the 70s and 80s wrestling with all sorts of demons brought on by his deteriorating mental state and drug problems. He began hearing voices telling him that he was finished and that he was going to die, a condition he is said to still battle with on a daily basis. He fell into a deep depression and turned into a notoriously bedridden, burntout recluse; over-eating, chain-smoking, taking drugs and sleeping. Wilson became increasingly isolated and appeared helpless until he came under the care of controversial svengali-like doctor, Eugene Landy. Landy was hired at an extortionate cost to rehabilitate the troubled star, which he achieved to some extent, but he is also credited with ruining him further. Landy took Wilson to Hawaii, put him on a rigorous diet and slowly brought him back to reality with long, extreme counselling sessions. When he reappeared in public Wilson appeared handsome and healthier than ever, but behind the scenes Landy had taken strict control of every aspect of his life, announcing himself as Wilsons manager, co-writer, producer, financial partner and beneficiary of his professional activities. Landys misconduct was eventually exposed and led to him being struck off as a therapist. Throughout the 90s Wilson continued recording and met his second wife Melinda with whom he went on to adopt five children. He also made significant improvements with his mental health. When I suggest that the latter part of his life has been one of the most balanced and happiest periods, he agrees. Yes, that is true. For no particular reason other than for the love of music. I sing at my piano every day and dont plan to retire very shortly. Talking to me from his hotel room on the west coast of America, he speaks with a slight slur but other than that is perfectly audible, he does however request that I repeat some of my questions. A combination of partial deafness in his right ear and his unfamiliarity with my Geordie tone: Your accent is so thick I cant understand what youre saying. His singing voice remains in remarkably good condition despite the years of abuse he subjected himself to. His solo career didnt really take off until 2002 when he ended an absence from live performance by playing the Beach Boys Pet Sounds album in its entirety at Londons Royal Festival Hall. Fulfilling that date required him to overcome the severe stage fright that had gripped him for over 30 years. Today he says he tackles the problem by just sitting in a chair and meditating before shows. Two years after his Pet Sounds performance at The Royal Festival Hall, Smile was completed, re-released and four subsequent solo albums have followed.

currently in a creative cycle, but tells me that he is in the early stages of recording a new album. Is the dry-patch simply an age issue? I dont know. Maybe youre right, just age. To enable him to keep recording and performing in the face of writers block, Wilson signed a two album deal with Walt Disney Records in 2009: an album of George Gershwin covers followed by an album of Walt Disney covers that is set for general release next year. Weve already completed the Disney album. Its got a lot of songs by artists like the Sherman Brothers as well as some of the Disney peoples songs on it too. At 69 Wilson shows no signs of reducing his output. His forthcoming European tour features a dozen dates, with only five UK shows happening outside London, and will see him perform the Gershwin concept album in its entirety the first of the two album Disney deal. England is my favourite place to play. The people like me over there they like me a lot. The Gershwin tribute came about in 2009 when Wilson was approached by the Gershwin estate to record an album of covers and complete two pieces of unfinished music by the famous American composer. We had to find just two songs out of 120 to finish, we finally found the two, then we rearranged the chords and wrote the melody. The two Gershwin tracks Wilson settled on were The Like In I Love You and Nothing But Love. Gershwins 1924 album Rhapsody in Blue had a profound effect on Wilson when he was very young and he can recall exactly where he was when he first heard it. I was three years old, my mother took me over to my grandmothers house and she had a copy of Rhapsody in Blue and I listened to it. Later on, when I was 28 years old, I rediscovered it and learned how to play the parts. 66 years after first hearing it, Wilson had the honour of applying his own interpretation. We tried to do justice to Georges music and lyrics. I think if he were alive hed probably love it. Even though Wilson has enjoyed a career renaissance, the music of The Beach Boys still remains his major attraction, and to his credit he hasnt shirked from playing the classics that first brought him to the attention of the world. People just really like the harmonies, Mike Loves voice and my falsetto. The remaining members of The Beach Boys are currently enjoying a rare hiatus from suing each other and rumours of a reunion are once again afoot. Wilsons response to these rumours is odd. I dont know, I heard something about it but I dont know anything about it. It suggests his affairs are still being handled by third parties to a degree, perhaps a practical necessity that allows him to concentrate on his music but hopefully not a return to the exploitation he suffered under the management of Eugene Landy during the 80s. Wilson tells me that he cant remember the last time he spoke with remaining Beach Boys Mike Love and Al Jardine, but even if he were in touch, would he be open to offers if a concrete proposal to reunite with his old bandmates appeared on the table? In some ways yes, in some ways no I dont know. A typical arbitrary response that reveals very little of what he actually thinks or feels about a subject that will be in the thoughts of most people who attend the shows on his hugely anticipated tour. He closes our conversation by saying, Thanks for a great interview, I appreciate your time, and as he hangs up to go and rehearse his forthcoming Gershwin Reimagined shows I am no closer to imagining what its like inside the mind of the driving force behind the Beach Boys, and I very much doubt that anyone ever will be either. Genius is often difficult to define and speaking with Brian Wilson doesnt make the picture any clearer, but as those attending his show at The Sage, Gateshead will surely testify, the unequivocal evidence can be found in his music.
Brian Wilson is performing at The Sage, Gateshead on Saturday 10th September. www.thesagegateshead.org 0191 443 4661
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His meteoric highs and dark lows have been as captivating as any to have emerged from the 20th century.
Few 20th century artists have led a life as compelling as Brian Wilson, and for those unfamiliar with his fascinating story, here are the edited highlights. Born in Southern California, the eldest of three boys, Wilson demonstrated an unusually advanced musical ability from a very young age. His father, Murry, was a talented musician himself but abusive to the Wilson brothers, something Brian has spoken openly about in interviews. Wilson practised piano obsessively after school as a youngster and in his early teens enlisted cousin Mike Love, younger brothers Dennis and Carl and classmate Al Jardine to form a group initially known as the Pendletones, who were later renamed The Beach Boys by their record label without the groups knowledge or permission. Writing and producing hits such as Surfin U.S.A, I Get Around and California Girls, their 1966 album Pet Sounds is widely regarded as the pinnacle of the groups achievements and thought of as one of pops most important records. Paul McCartney called Wilson after its release to tell him that it was the greatest album ever made. I liked Rubber Soul, and that made me want to write Pet Sounds. Then Pet Sounds made The Beatles want to write Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band says Wilson, describing the ping-pong, oneupmanship the two sixties super-groups enjoyed which ended when the Beach Boys response to Sgt. Peppers was derailed by Wilsons personal problems. Shortly after the huge success of Pet Sounds, cracks began to appear. Wilsons incredible workload: writing, producing and performing Beach Boys material, led to a nervous breakdown. The follow-up to Pet Sounds was meant to be the hugely ambitious concept album, Smile. During this time he began experimenting with LSD in a bid to reach the new levels of creativity he felt necessary to make Smile the masterpiece he intended. This dangerous experimentation did produce hits such as Good Vibrations, but came at a cost. The Smile sessions soon fell apart due to Brians fragile mental state, compounded by fractures within the Beach Boys. The album was finally abandoned in 1967 soon after McCartney played Wilson a track from Sgt. Peppers A Day in the Life which was said to have had a profound effect on Wilson. Smile would remain unfinished for 37 years until Wilson returned to complete it in 2004 as a solo artist. After 37 years we figured people were ready
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England is my favourite place to play. The people like me over there they like me a lot.
Despite a more regular musical output, today Wilson says he finds songwriting difficult compared to the sixties when the hits just flowed. The writing process is still about the same, although it takes me a little longer to write a song now. Its a lot harder. It goes in cycles; I write every couple of years when Im in a creative cycle. Wilson insists he is not

Icon Image Library / Peter Atkinson