Bob Deakin Short Stories

I know what you’re thinking: This guy’s a Brian Wilson freak and now I have to read his syrupy review of one of his latest albums, a Christmas album nonetheless.

Well I am indeed a major Wilson fan but my fanaticism is based in reality and more so, the 1960s and 70s. Brian Wilson in 2005 is about as far removed from the old Beach Boys as the Space Shuttle is from Apollo 11. As with the Shuttle, the new Brian Wilson sound is a lot brighter and more technologically advanced but doesn’t go as far or to any new places.

What I Really Want for Christmas was released in October 2005 and is mostly new recordings of Christmas classics, a couple old re-recorded Beach Boys Christmas songs and three new Wilson compositions.

As for the new songs, “On Christmas Day” was recorded a couple years ago and released via Wilson’s website. The song is one of two on this album I really like. Nice guitar-driven melody with a familiar background chord progression that harkens back to some of the Beach Boys vocal arrangements of the late 1970s when Carl Wilson was handling Brian’s role when Brian was still in bed. It features Brian’s new style of lead vocal in recent years, farther up in the mix and sounding a tad like Bill Murray’s character from Caddy shack. The voice still sounds good even if he sounds petrified to be singing in front of himself in the vocal booth. Some of the background falsettos are left to other vocalists doing their best Brian, which isn’t fooling me or anyone.

“Christmasey” is the best new track. Great track, in fact. I’d always wondered how you spell that word and now I know. It’s not exactly “Oh Holy Night” but it grows on me the more I listen to it and the lyrics are by Jimmy Webb and pretty clever. It has the trademark Wilson ensemble of style changes throughout, which gives me comfort in knowing he still has it as a songwriter and singer. Best new Christmas song I’ve heard in years.

Temple blocks, tympani, strings, acoustic and electric guitars, multi-layered vocals and even a harmonica solo make for a good listen in this tune. What is more annoying than anything, however, is that he used another vocalist for the falsetto echo of his line at the end of the song. The singer sounds vaguely like him but I hope the intent wasn’t to fool anyone. That one line left me feeling cheated even though the song was wonderful. I could have done a better impersonation myself. I know he could have nailed the notes himself. I guess I’m just kind of pissed, in a selfish way.

Ah, whatever. Is anything sacred anymore? I don’t remember Sinatra using any ghost vocalists. “On Christmas Day” is the other tune worth a listen. Very nice heartfelt melody if you can hear it through the mix, which makes it sound like it was recorded in a giant coffee can. It features his disturbing lead vocal in which he wants to go falsetto but hesitates.

When you’re in your 60s I can understand but he does use his falsetto on the album in spots and still seems to have it. Perfect example of the other vocalists who aren’t Brian not sounding like Brian. Couldn’t they have called Alan Jardine, Bruce Johnston or Mike Love? What better time for a reunion than the holidays?

The title track is also nice with rich overlays in the mix, surprising mood changes and a delicate sound with lyrics penned by Bernie Taupin, which is cool. As with all of the songs there is a distinct fatigue factor common to new Wilson recordings since he got off the couch and began recording again in 1988. Everyone knows Wilson is partially deaf in one ear but obviously that made no difference in the 60s and early 70s. Whether it does now I don’t know for sure but the songs are EQd up so much in the higher frequencies it is at times physically painful if you turn it up too loud.

My guess is that no one is willing to tell the legend that his final mix is way too tinny and abrasive out of fear of setting him off. Who wants to give Brian Wilson a bad vibration?

What I really wanted for Christmas was a good new Brian Wilson album. Maybe I’ll get one next year but it’s wonderful that he’s still making music. It is still a thrill to unwrap a new work from Brian. All I want is a little more warmth of the sun.

(This review was written in 2005 and originally published on Bob Deakin’s blog site.)

Copyright 2009

Tags: Beach Boys Christmas, Bernie Taupin, bob deakin album reviews, bob deakin beach boys, brian wilson, brian wilson "On Christmas Day", brian wilson christmas, Carl Wilson, christmasey, christmasey brian wilson, What I Really Want for Christmas