The Beethoven of the beach, the poet of the summer, there are many honorary titles to which you could bestow upon the legendary Brian Wilson. An innovator in pop music and a beautiful soul, if not a tortured one, there will only ever be one Brian Wilson. In his long tenure with The Beach Boys, Wilson redefined the modern pop song. Songs didn’t have to just be about love anymore. They could be about God and man, or vibrations, they could be miniature symphonies blasting out of your dashboard. There were no rules, just music. But after so many years of writing and recording, not to mention a few nervous breakdowns, does Wilson still have a voice in today’s musical landscape? Let’s find out in my review of Wilson’s last album from earlier this year, No Pier Pressure.
