Cabin Essence Blog

If anyone still doubted Brian Wilson could write a great new song in the 2000s, Midnight Another Day was evidence that Brian’s skill in creating music that digs into the deepest ineffable emotional states was still very much intact. This is certainly a song that can be mentioned in the same breaths as Warmth Of The Sun, ‘Til I Die and Caroline No as Brian again faces up to his darkest demons and the sustaining forces that led him back to the light.

The song was previewed on Brian’s website weeks before its live premiere at the Royal Festival Hall concerts in September 2007.  The live version left the audiences breathless and sometimes tearful as Brian reclaimed his premier songwriting territory.

Apparently at the request of Darian Sahanaja, a snippet from Brian’s long hidden 1967 work was included as part of the That Lucky Old Sun suite. During the concerts, the song was accompanied by visuals of the Wilson brothers.

On the surface, this is one of Brian’s “live healthy” songs, but it is also clearly autobiographical with the references to Brian crying “a million tears” and wasting “a lot of years.” The mentions of not being lazy and destroying rather creating also hint at salvation that Brian found through the creating process and taking in what life has to offer, rather than retreating from it. A jaunty and melodic arrangement add to track and make it one of the centrepieces of Brian’s journey through the ups and downs of Southern California.

The last narrative section on That Lucky Old Sun continues the California Role theme of movies, Hollywood and Southern Californian dreams with some more Van Dykes Parks wordplay.

This track focuses on the Hollywood dreams that Los Angeles represents and features lead vocalists from co-writer Scott Bennett in the opening section. The title is a pun on a popular sushi dish in the ever-hip Southern California area.

The Latin themes continue in this narrative section celebrating the Mexican influence on the city of angels. The title refers to a regional holiday in Mexico (Spanish for “fifth of May”).

That Lucky Old Sun takes a turn to south of the border for the next two tracks; this is a straightforward love song with some fairly stereotypical Latin-flavored lyrics. However Brian’s melodic touches and stacks of harmony take this song out of mediocrity and make it very listenable.

This is a Brian Wilson and Van Dykes Parks colloboration that appeared on the Arctic Tale soundtrack a few months before the song was premiered live at the first Lucky Old Sun shows. Although the two versions share the same tune, the lyrics are very different -but both hinting at an environmental message that was very much part of the Arctic Tale message. As usual, Park’s wordplay is an effective means to get the message across, while Brian resurrects his late 60s passion for the waltz. The song ends with a brief reprise of the title theme of the album.