IT is now nearly half a century ago that Brian Wilson wrote and produced I Get Around, the first of a succession of timeless classics that suggested that Wilson had a musical hotline to heaven.
God Only Knows, Heroes And Villains, Good Vibrations, I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, Wouldn’t It Be Nice and Help Me Rhonda possess an innocent majesty which has rarely been surpassed.
Wilson’s decline, ironically caused by the massive chemical intake that originally unleashed his genius, has been well documented and today he looks like Michael Palin’s wasted elder brother. His music, sadly but unsurprisingly, is a pale shadow of what it once was.
On this 50th anniversary reunion set of new songs, there are some tantalising glimpses of Wilson’s elusive muse, notably on the lilting title track and Isn’t It Time?, but the most affecting songs on this ultimately frustrating album are those which recall the band’s glory days and reflect, somewhat appropriately, on the dying of the light.
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