Catch A Wave
by Peter Ames Carlin
Published by Rodale Press
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Reviewed by Connie Anderson
Subtitle: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys Brian Wilson
"Good Vibrations" sold 400,000 copies in four days; one million in the first month. Other big sellers were: California Girl, Barbara Ann, I Get Around, Surfin' USA and Help Me, Rhonda.
Author Peter Ames Carlin is a television critic for The Oregonian and his award-winning articles about the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson have appeared in many publications.
That said, what I liked most about Carlin's take on the Brian Wilson was his incredible musical descriptions of Wilson's work. Wilson didn't just write a great piece of music--when Carlin got done describing the process and the end results, you had an in-depth understanding of Wilson's genius with both words and music.
Their dad, Murry Wilson, was a frustrated performer living through his sons, but his form of discipline and "encouragement" often included both physical and emotional abuse--affecting Brian greatly.
The pressure to produce hit after hit got to Brian. His use of pot and stronger drugs all added to his depression. He had a very fragile sense of himself, and when his bandmates didn't like what he wrote, he was devastated. Making music helped to keep the demons away for a while--but he felt he could never be good enough--leading to creative paralysis.
Becoming popular in the early 1960s, they were affected by what happened in the country after Dr. King was murdered. The feeling of the country affected what people listened to and what artists wrote about--and it wasn't surfing. The 1970s were a time of frustration and moral outrage--and Wilson tried to write "more political" songs. "He's often called 'genius' and it's a burden," Derek Taylor wrote in some PR for the band.
The "up years" were so wonderful to read about, it was painful to read about the fall of Wilso--but then again, the redemption was as sweet.
Armchair Interviews says: If you love music, musicians, creative people and understanding culture's affect on music, and vise versa, this is a history lesson for all of us. That is happens to be about Brian Wilson is a bonus.