With a new biopic focused on him, Brian Wilson performs in Saratoga.
There aren’t many artists who have an instantly recognizable sound, but the minute you hear the lush harmonies that mark the vocal work of Brian Wilson, both as a solo artist and as the leader of the Beach Boys, you’re transported to pop music heaven.
“The Beach Boys wanted to be as good as the Beatles,” Wilson says from his home, surrounded by barking dogs and technicians setting up lights for a photo shoot he’s doing for a national magazine. “We wanted to have a signature sound, and that’s what we got on ‘Surfin’ USA.’ The signature was the sound of the guitar and the vocal harmonies. We tried to emulate the approach of the Four Freshmen. They used unique voi- cings that were a little jazzy. I learned to sing falsetto by listening to their albums and copying Bob Flanigan.”
“No Pier Pressure,” Wilson’s 11th solo album, continues to build on his legacy, with 13 new songs marked by Wilson’s careful attention to musical detail.
“I wanted to capture the sound of the mid-’60s, with those big Beach Boys harmonies,” he says.
Wilson says he wasn’t sure he was a good vocalist until he heard the playback of “Surfer Girl,” the Beach Boys’ 1963 hit: “After I did that song, I knew I could develop into a singer.”
The Beach Boys went on to become one of the most popular and commercially successful bands in the United States. Wilson’s ability to write gorgeous melodies and his expertise in the recording studio transformed the band from rockers to pop music craftsmen.
“I’m at home (in a recording studio),” he says. “I’m comfortable, cheerful and happy when I’m in a studio. It’s my in- strument. I like getting everyone to do what I want them to do.”
To duplicate those sounds on the new album, Wilson enlisted former Beach Boys Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin, as well as guest vocalists Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward (She & Him), Peter Hollens, Kacey Musgraves, Nate Ruess (fun.), and Sebu Simonian (Capital Cities).
The album’s retro sound on tunes such as “This Beautiful Day,” “The Right Time” and
“Sail Away,” the latter recalling the melody of “Sloop John B” from “Pet Sounds,” are offset by a taste of samba in “On the Island” and a reggae backbeat in “Runaway Dancer.”
Is world music something Wilson is interested in pursuing?
“Those influences are from my collaborators,” he says. “The next thing I want to do is a tribute to the great rock ’n’ roll artists, like Paul McCartney, Little Richard and Chuck Berry.”
At 72, Wilson still has a mellow voice, with most of its range intact, but he doesn’t follow any particular disciplines to keep in shape.
No voice lessons
“I sing a little every other day to warm up my voice, but I’ve never had lessons,” he says. “Everything I do just comes naturally.”
Wilson is also the subject of director Bill Pohlad’s new biographical film, “Love and Mercy,” which stars John Cusack as the older Wilson and Paul Dano as the younger “Good Vibrations”-era Wilson.
“They came over and hung out with me for a week to get a feel for my mannerisms,” Wilson says of the actors. “They were able to capture my gestures very well on the screen. Watching the movie was both exciting and scary.”
Solo debut
The film is titled after the first track on Wilson’s eponymous debut as a solo artist, released in 1988. “Love and Mercy” is one of a small number of songs with both words and music by Wilson.
“I usually like working with co-writers,” he says. “Someone like Gary Usher, Mike Love or Van Dyke Parks, a person with a unique poetic approach. ‘Love and Mercy’ is a very special, very spiritual song. I don’t know what inspired it. I was just playing chords on the piano, then I started writing a melody and lyrics. It was an unusual song. When I’m composing, I have to be at a piano, but I don’t really hear the music in my head. I don’t know if I’ve got a good song until I hear it coming out of the speakers in a recording studio.”
“I’m at home (in a recording studio). I’m comfortable, cheerful and happy when I’m in a studio. It’s my instrument.”
Brian Wilson