The death was announced a few days ago of Brian Wilson, founder of The Beach Boys, singer, composer and producer.
The Beach Boys started in the early 1960s and was a family group with Brian’s brothers Carl and Dennis, cousin Mike Love together with Al Jardine.
Their songs were summery, surfing, cars kinds of sounds, both the songs the group sang and songs Brian wrote for others.
As time went on, the band started to mature and their work became more serious. Brian’s drug use became a problem and he had mental issues.
By the late 1960s Carl had taken the lead in the band and they produced a number of albums that many people have not heard, but are worth finding.
These include Holland and Carl and The Passions “So Tough”. It’s probably fair to say Holland has stood the test of time and is as near to progressive as the band ever got. Brian’s contribution, the fairy tale, came as an extra 45rpm disc and is odd.
Brian’s great contribution is said to be Pet Sounds (1966). It has huge ratings and has been released in numerous forms, including a multi-disc CD of the rehearsals and other arrangements. We don’t get the love for this. It’s got some good songs and interesting arrangements, but it doesn’t stand up to comparison with Revolver or Sgt Pepper, a common comparison.