BRIAN WILSON

BRIAN WILSON
THAT LUCKY OLD SUN (2008)
320 KBPS

The fact that Brian Wilson is creating new music after his well-documented past, and that the work is almost as good as "Smile" is worthy of monster musical headlines.
"That Lucky Old Sun" has surprised me. Admittedly, I'm a biased fan of Brian's, so that this work has proven to be so good is truly astonishing. This 66-year old genius, who had avoided the spotlight for the better part of three decades, crippled by drugs, mental illness and insecurities about his talent, has performed the greatest comeback probably in musical history. After performing the legendary "Smile" live in London in 2004, Wilson discovered he and his work were loved, on the same level and dedication as we love the Beatles or Elvis. He was sufficiently revived to record "Smile" with his great band the "Wondermints", release a good solo album "Gettin' In Over My Head", and touring almost incessantly, something Wilson fans could never have expected.
"That Lucky Old Sun" adds another notch in his belt, and the world is a better place for it. The CD is a conceptual piece, much like "Smile" and all the material is new, unlike previous solo efforts that had some new music but older unreleased work as well, not that it made them any worse. What we get is cohesion, making it nearly impossible to break the new work down in separate pieces. There are standouts - "Forever My Surfer Girl", and my favorite, the bouncy yet autobiographically revealing "Oxygen To The Brain", and no cut comes across as filler.
Wilson is a superb producer - one of the best to ever make any album any time, and his work here is without peer. In a world getting seemingly darker all the time, "That Lucky Old Sun", a paeon to Brian's beloved Los Angeles and look at his own life, is a sorely needed ray of sunshine that belongs in every home.

1. That Lucky Old Sun
2. Morning Beat
3. Room With a View (narrative)
4. Good Kind of Love
5. Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl
6. Venice Beach (narrative)
7. Live Let Live / That Lucky Old Sun (reprise)
8. Mexican Girl
9. Cinco de Mayo (narrative)
10. California Role / That Lucky Old Sun (reprise)
11. Between Pictures (narrative)
12. Oxygen to the Brain
13. Can't Wait Too Long
14. Midnight’s Another Day
15. That Lucky Old Sun (Reprise)
16. Going Home
17. Southern California
Best Buy Bonus Tracks
18. Good Kind of Love (with Carole King)
19. I'm Into Something Good (with Carole King)
20. Just Like Me and You
iTunes Bonus Tracks
21. Oh Mi Amor
22. Message Man(with Danny Hutton)