|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 11, 2020 21:40:42 GMT
I'll give credit to Landy for at least one thing on the second time around - he and the group didn't try to rush Brian into the studio, and expect miracles like it was 1965 all over again. And they also recognized he was not going to be able to do it all by himself - the years between Landy's exit and his return saw Brian become even more damaged by the drug abuse, among other things. I believe that by 1975, that old young Brian was gone. but instead of mourning that, I am thankful he was able to get back to making some great music in the 80's and 90's. I came to love his new lower voice. I think the group recognized or realized that Brian was not going to be able to do it all by himself after Love You. He TRIED to do it all by himself on Love You, but there were so many rough spots on that album that both the group and any future record company finally said, "We can't let that happen again." And it didn't. Never again would Brian Wilson have the autonomy or sole authority to completely call the shots for an album project. There would be overseers and quality control people for the rest of Brian's career. That was an aspect of Brian - both personally and professionally - that was lost in the early 1970's and never to return. Brian didn't seem to hear or grasp just how...bad...some things sounded that he was producing.
As far as Brian's lower voice, I was never able to make my peace with it. Whether it was on a recording or live in concert, it kept the song from reaching its full potential. Sure, there was the occasional song, or more specifically the subject matter of a song where an older, more mature voice might've fit, but that was rare. Brian Wilson's vocals were supposed to sound...pick your adjective. Sweet, smooth, emotional, professional, touching. Once his voice lost some or most of those qualities, his music was never the same. Close, but never the same. He almost got back "there" in 1977, but it was short-lived. Amazingly, as Brian's solo career went on, and he got older, instead of his voice getting weaker and losing something, his vocals got stronger, and on his last few solo albums he sang very impressively, dare I say great.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Jun 12, 2020 13:06:54 GMT
I've held off responding in this thread, trying to think through the original questions. But I'm not sure I've come up with anything more comprehensive than my initial little half-baked thoughts. So here goes.
No, I don't think things realistically could have turned out better than they did for Brian Wilson without such a dramatic change in the reality of the circumstances at the time as to make it a meaningless topic.
Wilson had several (probably interrelated) problems--propensity for chemical addictions; serious mental health issues--that made him a prime candidate for the kinds of struggles he ended up having. Even in the mid-70s, neither of these problems was something our establishment healthcare systems were particularly good at dealing with. (Many would say we still aren't good at dealing with either, but there is no debate we're far improved.) Several times over the years, beginning in the latter '60s, Wilson received medical care related to these problems: it isn't that his family and business associates didn't care. And he was rich and famous, so it isn't as if he were talking to some country doctor who told him to rub some dirt on it and take an aspirin.
In other words, I don't think it is very realistic to expect that things would have gone better for him than they did. If anything, it is more likely that he would have become either functionally incapacitated or dead. Any tweaks in the reality, like someone else calling some other doctors at some other time, I think would have resulted in pretty similar outcomes.
For him to have not fallen so low, or dug his way out further or sooner, I think he would have had to have been someone else, or medical care would have had to have been something it just wasn't.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 13, 2020 14:54:55 GMT
The idea to "employ" somebody like Stan & Rocky wasn't so much a bad one. In the end they just hired the wrong guys. I don't know about Stan, but obviously Rocky had some baggage. It's too bad they (the people caring for Brian at the time) couldn't recruit better friends, maybe even fellow musicians, to accompany Brian to gyms, to play various sports, or any appropriate recreational activities. There's no denying "the plan" worked, at least physically. He looked damn good! Brian didn't have the self-discipline to carry that out on his own, at least not over a significant period of time, so there's no telling how long the plan would've worked even with the right companions. I think they were a little short-sighted in thinking that Brian's mental illness would be addressed simply by keeping him away from non-prescription drugs. He needed the proper medication, and maybe there was a good faith effort in that area, too. I have no idea what meds Brian was on and if he continued to seek therapy and counseling.
The results of Stan & Rocky's work, at least physically:
|
|