In this thoughtful and emotional episode, music experts Paul Lester and Daryl Easlea reflect on the cultural and musical weight of two recently departed music icons: Brian Wilson and Sly Stone. Their passing marks more than the end of an era—it invites a reevaluation of genius, legacy, and the evolving meaning of greatness in music.
On the cover this month are Brian Wilson and Sly Stone. Marking the passing of both while we were midway through putting the issue together, Bob Stanley pays tribute to the former while Kris Needs salutes the latter. Despite nominally operating in different areas – pop and funk – it occurs from reading the pieces that, actually, there were as m…
Wilson’s divinity was sorely tested on a rainy night, he and his 11-piece band delivering the entirety of Pet Sounds, book-ended by a sprinkling of The Beach Boys’ classics. With birthday boy Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin alongside, the show was a delight.
When the opening chapter of a collection of memoirs is called Fear, you know you’re in for a bumpy ride. While guarded in interviews, I Am… sees The Beach Boys’ creative force revealing more than expected with sometimes bewildering, at times surprising and often quietly devastating results. There is a feeling throughout of the book having bee…
Touring his masterwork, Pet Sounds, with an incredible band, Wilson provided an aural experience full of emotion. The first set, comprising The Beach Boys’ hits and gems such as Al Jardine’s California Saga and Add Some Music To Your Day were lapped up. Singing guitarist Blondie Chaplin came to the fore on Wild Honey, Funky Pretty and Sail On S…
From the moment that Brian Wilson hit the stage, he and his incredible band (now with Matt Jardine singing instead of Jeffrey Foskett) didn’t disappoint. From the initial a capella Our Prayer to the final Love And Mercy, they harmonised beautifully.
The news that Brian Wilson was working with Frank Ocean, She & Him and Lana Del Ray on his latest album was met with derision from the more conservative members of his fanbase, causing Wilson to quite rightfully state, “I’ve been told too many times not to fuck with the formula, but as an artist it’s my job to do that – …
Now here’s one for the
obsessives: while most
Beach Boys documentaries
focus on their hit-packed,
stripe-shirted glory days,
here we have an examination
of Brian Wilson’s music
during a period of personal
struggle and declining
commercial fortunes.
Wilson’s contributions to
Beach Boys albums were
scarce in the ea…
As he shuffles across the
stage to sit slumped in front of
his keyboard, it’s clear from
the outset that Wilson is not in
good health. Kicking off with a
set culled from his recent
Gershwin-as-Beach-Boys
album, he remained a
background figure as his band
dominated the show with some
astonishingly complex vocal
harmonies and crack…
Recent years have seen a deluge
of documentary treatments of
the Brian Wilson and Beach Boys
story, yet Songwriter 1962-1969
is the first to focus primarily on
Wilson’s extraordinary music
rather than his struggles.
Refreshingly, its talking
heads are chosen well; rather
than the usual line-up of
gushing hangers-on, we&rsquo…
