Brian Wilson (album)
| Brian Wilson | ||||
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| Brian Wilson's studio album | ||||
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Publication |
1988 |
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| Label (s) | Sire Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP |
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Title (number) |
11 |
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running time |
37 min 20 s |
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| occupation |
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Brian Wilson , Russ Titelman , Jeff Lynne , Lenny Waronker and Andy Paley |
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Studio (s) |
various |
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Brian Wilson is the self-titled first solo album by the US musician Brian Wilson . The album was released in 1988 by the record label Sire Records and reached # 40 on the US Billboard charts.
The album was produced by Brian Wilson (partly with Russ Titelman and Andy Paley). The executive producer was Dr. Eugene Landy, Brian's psychiatrist and manager rolled into one. At pressure from Dr. Landy Brian dropped out of the Beach Boys in 1988.
The story of the album
In 1986, Dr. Eugene Landy persuades his protégé Brian Wilson to start working on a solo album. Gary Usher was supposed to act as Brian's partner . Usher was a well-known producer, songwriter and singer, having written numerous songs with Brian early in the Beach Boys career. This familiarity from days gone by should lead Brian to musical excellence. Wilson and Usher worked together on new songs for a year until Dr. Landy ended the collaboration. From the collaboration between Wilson and Usher, the single Let’s Go to Heaven in My Car was released in 1987 , but it did not become part of the album.
Dr. Eugene Landy set himself up as an executive producer as he sought a share in the royalties . It was he who had a large part of the album underpinned with a synthesizer , which completely destroyed the typical Wilson sound. Many fans turned down this album because it was simply atypical for Wilson. Brian Wilson's voice sounds tortured on this album. Furthermore, the sterile production is blamed for the failure of the album.
Russ Titelman , co-producer on many pieces, introduced Wilson to multi-instrumentalist Andy Paley . This acquaintance initially led to a working relationship on the album and subsequently to an intimate friendship. Star producer Jeff Lynne also co-wrote a song for the album. The rest of the album consists of pieces written by Brian Wilson (including Little Children from 1976), although it can be assumed that Gary Usher was involved in some of the songs .
Brian Wilson hoped for a chart placement between number 1 and 5 with his first solo work. However, he only landed on position # 40. Unlike previous failures, this time Brian did not withdraw from the public eye, but began working on his second album.
The decoupled singles also sold poorly. Only Love and Mercy made it to # 75 on the US Billboard charts.
In the 1990s , Brian Wilson, along with his brother Carl Wilson and their mother Audree Wilson, led numerous lawsuits against Landy. In these processes it became clear that Dr. Landy had put his name under numerous solo works by Brian Wilson, as this wanted to be part of the royalties. Furthermore, it can be assumed that Andy Paley and Gary Usher were involved in the creation of some songs.
Special edition
In 2000 a new edition of this album (Brian Wilson Deluxe) was released with numerous bonus tracks.
On the original album, Landy's name appears in the credits of almost every song. In the newly released deluxe edition, the credits have been corrected and Landy's name deleted. Alexandra Morgan, Landy's partner, also appears on the original album as a lyricist for the songs Walkin the Line , There's So Many and Night Time , but not in later editions.
Track list
- Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson) - 2:56
- Walkin the Line (Brian Wilson / Nick Laird-Clowes) - 2:38
- Melt away (Brian Wilson) (BW, RT) - 3:01
- Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long (Brian Wilson) - 3:18
- Little Children (Brian Wilson) - 1:49
- One for the Boys (Brian Wilson) - 1:50
- There's So Many (Brian Wilson) - 2:47
- Night Time (Brian Wilson / Andy Paley) - 3:39
- Let it shine (Jeff Lynne / Brian Wilson) - 3:58
- Meet Me in Your Dreams Tonight (Brian Wilson / Andy Paley / Andy Dean) - 3:07
- Rio Grande (Brian Wilson / Andy Paley) - 8:12
Singles
- Love & Mercy
- Night time
- Melt Away