The 12 Greatest Brian Wilson Songs

12. “Surf Metropolis” – Surf Metropolis and Different Swingin’ Cities (1963)

Written by Brian Wilson and Jan Berry

The Seashore Boys have been the primary band to present a serious voice to surf music, serving to unfold the surf craze nationally with songs like “Surfin’”, “Surfin’ Safari”, and “Surfin’ USA”. However the first surf tune to hit primary on the Billboard Sizzling 100 chart — although written by Wilson — was launched by Jan & Dean. The tune was additionally Wilson’s first time topping the charts, inflicting some friction throughout the Seashore Boys over him making a gift of what may have been their first primary.

Although Jan & Dean introduced a bit extra star energy to the recording, the tune is Wilson by means of and thru. It opens with a vocal hook of “Two ladies for each boy” with an uncommon chord development exterior of the primary key, a trick Wilson continued to make use of all through the primary few years of the Seashore Boys’ profession on songs like “Catch a Wave” and “Hawaii”. And, in fact, the vocals all through, with name and response harmonies and Wilson’s signature falsetto counterpoint within the refrain, are distinctly Seashore Boys in model. “Surf Metropolis” is just not essentially the most fascinating tune in Wilson’s catalog, nevertheless it’s the strongest of his early surf songs, and as his first primary, it maintains a particular place in his songwriting legacy.

11. “Darlin’” – Wild Honey (1967)

Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love

“Darlin’” was nearly one other tune that received away from the Seashore Boys. After the collapse of SMiLE and Wilson’s lowering psychological stability, the Seashore Boys have been falling out of relevancy in 1967 as the Beatles handed them by as pop innovators and newer, hipper, sounds have been coming into the mainstream. On the time, Wilson began working with a brand new group referred to as Redwood, who would later turn out to be Three Canine Evening; he wrote and produced a tune of theirs titled “Thinkin’ ‘Bout You Child”. However when Mike Love and the opposite Seashore Boys heard the recording, they satisfied Wilson to present them the tune as a substitute. With new lyrics and a revamped tune construction, “Darlin’” was recorded for his or her Wild Honey album and have become a modest hit for the group.

Doubtful origins apart, it’s considered one of Wilson’s strongest works for the late ’60s. It embraces a horn-driven Motown soul sound, which works surprisingly properly for the group’s vocal concord model. Carl Wilson’s voice has the proper of vitality to make the lyrics come alive and Wilson’s association ensures that even with the brand new path, “Darlin’” nonetheless feels like a Seashore Boys observe. Most significantly, although, the melody stays considered one of Wilson’s most elegant to this point.

10. “Don’t Let Her Know She’s an Angel” – Candy Madness/Gettin’ in Over My Head (1991)/(2004)

Written by Brian Wilson

“Don’t Let Her Know She’s an Angel” was initially recorded for Candy Madness, an album Wilson was engaged on in 1991 till the tapes have been allegedly stolen. 5 of the songs, together with “Don’t Let Her Know”, have been later re-recorded for Wilson’s 2004 album Gettin’ in Over My Head. In his spotty post-Seashore Boys solo profession, the tune stands out as a second of true brilliance. It has all of the harmonic complexity, melodic magnificence, and deeply-personal vulnerability that makes Wilson’s writing so particular.

The Candy Madness model is stuffed with dense synth preparations and programmed drums, an uncommon however welcome aesthetic for Wilson. The formally launched model returns the tune to the chamber-pop model that’s extra acquainted for Wilson, with lush strings and flutes accentuating his intricate internet of vocals. He sings about feeling insecure at first of a relationship. The dramatic and passionate music captures his intense feelings and anxieties. As a late-career gem, “Don’t Let Her Know She’s an Angel” stands out as considered one of Wilson’s most subtle songs.

9. “Isn’t It Time” – That’s Why God Made the Radio (2012)

Written by Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Joe Thomas, Larry Millas, and Jim Peterik

To coincide with the group’s fiftieth anniversary, the Seashore Boys reunited for his or her first album of latest materials since 1992’s Summer time in Paradise. It was additionally the primary time Wilson had labored with the group since 1988’s Nonetheless Cruising, and the primary time authentic member David Marks had appeared on a Seashore Boys album since 1963’s Little Deuce Coupe.

The album is a blended bag, with a lot of the songs feeling stale and overstuffed, however a couple of tracks shine by means of. “Isn’t It Time” has an thrilling vitality that makes it considered one of Wilson’s most memorable late-career tracks.

Pushed by pounding piano and ukulele chords grooving with syncopated drums and handclaps, “Isn’t It Time” reminisces on the previous and asks, “Isn’t it time we prepare once more? / Isn’t it time we go regular once more?” Very like their 1968 nostalgia-baiting single “Do It Once more”, “Isn’t It Time” pushes the group ahead in an thrilling manner by trying backward. The lead vocal is cut up between Wilson, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and Mike Love, giving the tune a communal spirit and reminding us how highly effective their voices are when mixed collectively.

8. “The Little Lady I As soon as Knew” (1965)

Written by Brian Wilson

Although “The Little Lady I As soon as Knew” was a good hit in its time, its standing as a standalone single not included on an authentic Seashore Boys album might account for its fading legacy. That is tragic, as a result of it’s the proper transition observe from early Seashore Boys to Pet Sounds-era experimentation. Like most of the songs on Summer time Days (And Summer time Nights!!), “The Little Lady I As soon as Knew” mixes an up-tempo summer time sensibility with uncommon preparations and harmonies. Most notably, there’s a two-measure pause earlier than every refrain, occupied solely by the ringing out of a single vibraphone word. The pause makes the observe distinct, and it prevented many radio stations from embracing it, fearing the few seconds of lifeless air throughout their broadcasts.

The lyrics of the tune might have held it again from being as universally interesting because the similar-sounding “California Women”, too. Whereas “California Women” has its issues with objectification, it nonetheless comes throughout as inclusive and jubilant. “The Little Lady I As soon as Knew” feels extra predatory in its pleasure for a younger woman who’s rising up earlier than your eyes. Nonetheless, the intricate association, highly effective layers of vocals, and distinctive pre-chorus pause make it a powerful stand-out tune.

7. “Good Vibrations” – SMiLE/Smiley Smile (1966)

Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love

“Good Vibrations” was recorded in 21 recording periods over seven months in 4 totally different recording studios, costing as much as $75,000. This made it not solely the costliest single recorded to this point but additionally essentially the most bold. Wilson’s strategy to the tune, composing small sections that may later be assembled collectively in a kind of collage, proved to be efficient for “Good Vibrations”.

The tune was dubbed a “pocket symphony” by publicist Derek Taylor for its contrasting “actions”. Although this compositional course of would ultimately be the downfall of Wilson’s failed masterpiece SMiLE, “Good Vibrations” continues to be one of the vital beloved songs of the ’60s, regardless of — or due to, relying on who you ask — its weird construction.

With a theremin hook, outstanding cellos, and a bass harmonica, “Good Vibration” is considered one of Wilson’s most distinct sounding productions. Its affect on the following psychedelic and progressive rock actions can’t be overstated, however its legacy as a pop hit is spectacular as properly. “Good Vibrations” modified the best way a pop report might be made, the best way a pop report may sound, and the lyrics a pop report may have. For a band remembered most for fun-in-the-sun surf and automotive songs, “Good Vibrations” serves as a reminder that the Seashore Boys have been additionally one of the vital progressive and boundary-pushing teams of their day.

6. “Surf’s Up” – SMiLE/Surf’s Up (1967)/(1971)

Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks

Much more than “Good Vibrations”, “Surf’s Up” was designed to be the true centerpiece of SMiLE. In some respects, it’s the album’s most easy tune. “Surf’s Up” is elaborate and multi-sectioned, however not stuffed with eccentric preparations or sudden shifts in aesthetic. It could possibly simply be decreased to only vocals and piano, because it was introduced on Leonard Bernstein’s TV particular, Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution.

Stripped to its necessities, it’s nonetheless a sublime, subtle piece of pop perfection. Van Dyke Parks’s lyrics are cryptic and exquisite. They circulate out of Wilson’s ethereal melody in a seeming stream of consciousness vogue. Obtuse and expressionistic, they discover concepts of religion, spirituality, and enlightenment. Wilson’s music completely captures each the confessional high quality and the postmodern imagery of Parks’s poetry. His heat chords and ornate melodies recall up to date artwork music greater than pop. “Surf’s Up” is probably not Wilson’s most accessible tune, however in some ways, it’s his most stunning.

5. “Don’t Fear Child” – Shut Down Vol. 2 (1964)

Written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian

The early Seashore Boys recordings have been notable for his or her mixing of Chuck Berry’s rock ‘n’ roll with the tight jazz vocal harmonies of the 4 Freshman. However when Wilson started incorporating Phil Spector’s wall-of-sound manufacturing, it set the group on their path to the studio experimentation of Pet Sounds and SMiLE. “Don’t Fear Child” is among the earliest examples of Spector’s affect on Wilson, because the latter supposed it to be a religious sequel to the producer’s hit with the Ronettes, “Be My Child”. Alhough “Don’t Fear Child” might by no means be as iconic as “Be My Child”, it stays one of many Seashore Boys’ extra stunning and masterful songs.

Lyrically, the tune betrays masculine nervousness seen in lots of ’60s Seashore Boys tracks which is especially fascinating. Earlier than the beginning of the tune, the narrator has challenged one other man to a harmful drag race due to his male pleasure, however he now seeks consolation in his girlfriend’s embrace. Because the tune shifts keys from E main to F-sharp main for the refrain, the attitude shifts to his girlfriend as she tells him, “Don’t fear, child / Every little thing will probably be alright.” With lush strings, loud drums, and stacks of harmonies, Wilson manages to take the Spector sound and start to make it his personal on “Don’t Fear Child”.

4. “Please Let Me Marvel” – The Seashore Boys In the present day! (1965)

Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love

By the point Wilson was engaged on The Seashore Boys In the present day!, he had absolutely developed his studio methods and arranging model to what we’d see the next yr on Pet Sounds. “Please Let Me Marvel” is essentially the most shining instance of the type of sound that may observe. Because the story goes, it was the primary tune Wilson composed below the affect of marijuana, and the expansive sound goes alongside together with his shifting private and musical perspective.

Very like “Don’t Fear Child”, Wilson embraces his insecurities in “Please Let Me Marvel”. His character begs the woman he loves to not inform him how she feels: “Please let me surprise,” he sings, “If I’ve been the one you like / If I’m who you’re dreaming of.” The tune accommodates a few of his most dense and highly effective vocal preparations, in addition to a lush palette of instrumental shade created by layers of guitars, organs, and punctuations by a vibraphone. “Please Let Me Marvel” not solely creates the template for the introspective songs of Pet Sounds however stands by itself as considered one of Wilson’s most private and affecting ballads.

3. “The Heat of the Solar” – Shut Down Vol. 2 (1964)

Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love

There’s some debate over precisely when “The Heat of the Solar” was written. It could have been proper earlier than, proper after, and even throughout John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The reality of its origin apart although, the tune carries a religious connection to the tragedy, even when the lyrics don’t instantly handle the occasion. Somewhat, Mike Love’s highly effective phrases describe discovering inside energy in occasions of heartbreak. The lyrics are emotionally resonant and strongly inspirational, along with being extra elegant and poetic than Love’s lyrics tended to be for the group.

Matched with Wilson’s music, the tune is as nice as a lovelorn ballad will be. The bizarre chords, shifting keys from C main to E-flat main to C minor to A serious and at last again to C main to cycle by means of once more, seize the longing of the phrases Wilson sings. His melody balances the frailty of his hovering falsetto with the steadfast optimism of the “heat of the solar” inside him. A lot of Wilson’s early songs are exceptional for his or her wild complexity beneath a sheen of catchy, easy pop, and “The Heat of the Solar” is maybe the preeminent instance of this dichotomy. To an off-the-cuff listener, the tune goes down as easy as every other early ’60s pop ballad, however the layers of expressive chords and complex vocals beneath add a richness to “The Heat of the Solar” that solely Wilson can obtain.

2. “God Solely Is aware of” – Pet Sounds (1966)

Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher

It will be straightforward to populate this whole checklist with songs from Pet Sounds, however for the sake of selection, “God Solely Is aware of” serves as an ideal encapsulation of all the wonder, experimentation, and melodic appeal of the album. Whereas it’s unlikely that anybody studying that is unfamiliar with “God Solely Is aware of”, it’s the type of excellent pop tune that continues to disclose new layers to understand with every hear.

“God Solely Is aware of” marks the epitome of Wilson’s harmonic brilliance. The verses continually shift tonal heart, all the time shifting ahead however by no means feeling settled. Even when the refrain is available in, the chords preserve shifting and go away the complete tune’s key ambiguous. This longing high quality is matched by Tony Asher’s stunning phrases. The lyrics are capable of seize truthfully the advanced and conflicting feelings related to love.

The selection to start out a love tune with “I’ll not all the time love you”, is a daring one, however its frankness makes the tune extra memorable and emotionally resonant. Because the vocals circle round a three-part counterpoint within the ultimate refrain, the sentiment is left unsettled in the identical manner because the music. The observe fades away, leaving the impression that the circle of three chords and three vocal elements will proceed into infinity.

1. “After I Develop Up (To Be a Man)” – The Seashore Boys In the present day! (1965)

Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love

“After I Develop Up (To Be a Man)” may not be the primary tune to come back to thoughts when compiling an inventory of Wilson’s songs. It may not even be within the first ten or 20. However the tune stands out as his most fascinating and spectacular work. Launched as the primary single on The Seashore Boys In the present day!, “After I Develop Up” captures the transition from early to mid-career Seashore Boys, trying ahead musically the identical manner its lyrics deal with the narrator’s future. The composition is centered round a dissonant five-note chord sung as the primary vocal hook which embodies the nervousness the narrator feels as he worries about what he’ll be like “once I develop as much as be a person.”

Whereas a lot of Wilson’s early songs contained troublesome and adventurous musical concepts, they have been typically delicate and made to sound elegant and easy. “After I Develop Up” is the primary occasion the place the music sounds intentionally troublesome. Music theorist Philip Lambert wrote in regards to the chord the vocals hit within the hook, “What’s that chord and what’s it doing in the beginning of a pop tune?” However with lyrics that categorical deep-seated anxieties about rising up, pursuing your ardour, and what it means to be a person within the ’60s, the dissonance of the chord — and the instability it brings the tune — suits completely.

Nonetheless, “After I Develop Up” is massively catchy and even enjoyable — in case you can ignore its lyrics. That dichotomy between progressive artwork and heartfelt, sunshine-y enjoyable is what makes Wilson’s music so particular.