Cabin Essence Blog

The ESQ chat has been postponed but in less than half an hour, you can listen to Brian’s new album on his website and chat to him on Facebook. And in more exciting new, a biopic of Dennis Wilson seem to be in the works.

So, the Beach Boys are making the entertainment headlines (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-10891016) and lawsuts are in the picture BUT neither Mike Love or Brian Wilson seem be to interested in doing the sueing. It’s all got to do with Katy Perry’s summertime smash, California Gurls, and the single line that directly invokes the lyrics of the Beach Boys classic. Katy must be thankful she changed the i into a u in the song title…..

More 50th speculation/wishes/”it’s better to talk to the press than to the lawyers”, this time from Al Jardine  can be seen at Rolling Stone. Reading between the lines, it would seem that Al and Mike are keen, but Brian and his management are holding back for now. As mentioned in the article, Brian’s focus for now is on Gershwin…

…and these are straight from Mike Love himself. On a short two part interview on WBCBSFM 101.1, he reveals plans to record with Brian Wilson for the 50th anniversary.

It’s been almost twenty years since an album of new Beach Boys music and even that one didn’t over-excite fans or critics. With two of the original band not with us, and the remaining three seemingly better acquainted with courthouses than each other, the chances of a new album of Beach Boys music that will be seen as authentic recede every year.

The special CD that comes with the summer edition of Endless Summer Quarterly is not a reunion album, and most of the music has been heard before. But it is an expertly compiled collection of what could be an authentic late period Beach Boys album, featuring all five original band members, plus early member David Marks and special guests Jan&Dean. There are enough colloborations to get it authenticity, especially since albums like So Tough and the ‘85 record were essentially put together by sub-groups of the main band. The only Beach Boys track that is re-done is Honkin’ Down The Highway, not exactly one of their major radio hits.

While it may not have the magic of many Beach Boys records, the overall song quality compares well with much of their later output. The Brian Wilson songs are mostly the strongest, but you also get the late Carl Wilson song Like A Brother which is even more poignant in the light of Brian’s recent successes. The Dennis song is the lovely instrumental Mexico from Bambu. And while Mike Love’s Cool Head, Warm Heart doesn’t fully live up to the promise of the intro, the opening harmonies really do invoke the  magic of the brothers, cousin and friends.

Of course, you don’t just get the CD but a magazine full of Beach Boys news, views and reviews. There is info on another “reunion” song, Don’t Fight The Sea from Al Jardine’s new album and an extensive section on Beach Boys TV and film from 1977 to 1998. It’s interesting to see how much the band did do together until 1998, and that Carl’s death really did seem to be the trigger that really broke up the band.

Congratulations to the ESQ crew for getting this all together, given the mire of legal rights that usually surround the band. This is a package you will want to get; find out more at http://esquarterly.com/merchandise.html#summer2010.

As noted in my comments as well as on brianwilson.com, Mike Love has clarified that there are no official plans for a Beach Boys 50 year concert reunion. As some commentators have noted, this may not be a definitive end to the possibility of a reunion concert, and one imagines some exploratory talks have taken place,  but there is a lot of family water under the bridge to deal with.  Regardless of what happens with the concerts, we certainly seem to be moving into a more exciting period for Beach Boys and Brian Wilson activity, with the Gershwin album and the ESQ album coming soon, not to mention that the actual 50th anniversary is creeping closer, and must come with increased publicity for the band.

Happy 68th birthday Brian Wilson! As you will have noticed on the blog, it has been a fairly quiet on the Brian Wilson front, but maybe for not that much longer. We still don’t have a release date for the Gershwin album, now apparently called Brian Reimagines Gershwin although it is now on Amazon, and something in the region of August 17/24 hasn’t been discounted yet.

Also Mike Love still seems to be expect Brian to join up with his “Beach Boys” for the 50th anniversary concerts that would, I assume, start late next year.  Nothing on this from the Brian side, so don’t hold your breath, although if there was ever a chance for a Beach Boys “reunion”, this must be it.