Brian Wilson (who celebrated his 75th birthday yesterday) had his eponymous solo debut for Sire Records in 1988, which launched an extended period of renewal for the iconic Beach Boys songwriter.
Rhino revisits Wilson’s solo career with a new 18-song collection that mixes studio and live recordings with two previously unreleased tracks.
PLAYBACK: THE BRIAN WILSON ANTHOLOGY covers more than 30 years of music with selections from nine of Wilson’s solo albums and will be released September 22.
The collection opens with ‘Love And Mercy,’ one of four songs taken from Wilson’s self-titled debut. Several tracks come from the two albums Wilson released in 2004: GETTIN’ IN OVER MY HEAD and the Grammy Award-winning BRIAN WILSON PRESENTS SMILE. The most poignant of these is ‘Soul Searchin’,’ a song Wilson built around a vocal track left behind by his brother Carl, who passed away in 1998. SMILE is represented by ‘Heroes And Villains’, and the timeless classic, ‘Surf’s Up.’ Also ‘Midnight’s Another Day’ (THAT LUCKY OLD SUN, 2008); ‘The Like In I Love You’ (BRIAN WILSON REIMAGINES GERSHWIN, 2010); ‘Colors Of The Wind’ (IN THE KEY OF DISNEY, 2011); and ‘One Kind Of Love’ (NO PIER PRESSURE, 2015.)
Two live performances feature from Wilson’s 2000 concert recording, LIVE AT THE ROXY THEATRE. Included here are ‘The First Time’ and ‘This Isn’t Love,’ a charming collaboration with Wilson’s Pet Sounds lyricist Tony Asher.