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That Lucky Old Brian

(As The Honeys might say, he's a doll!)

This was the week that Brian Wilson and his band premiered his new musical work "That Lucky Old Sun" (commissioned for the reopening of Festival Hall in London), and the reviews are, amazingly, raves. The word "trepidation" is used in almost every one of them, but only to then launch into the surprised realization that BW's new work is actually good.

From the Times Online: "No-one expects a new masterpiece from a 65 year-old Brian Wilson. Yet, first impressions of songs such as Going Home and Good Kind Of Love suggest he may have delivered one."

And from The Telegraph: "I was trepidatious about this bit, Wilson having written barely a half-decent tune in decades, but That Lucky Old Sun was proper music, beautifully arranged, lyrically a little gauche (the words were by band member Scott Bennett), but memorable, sweet, rich and touching."

And from Variety: "Work is a complex song-cycle by Wilson and "Smile" lyricist Van Dyke Parks. And it contains at least one new bona fide Brian Wilson classic, the bittersweet and heartfelt Midnight's Another Day, and -- whisper it softly -- the work may be overall a match for Smile."

(BW's reaction to all the love: "I enjoy playing in Europe because they always give me standing ovations.")

Paul McCartney has been rumored to appear at one the UK shows. When Brian returns to the US, he'll begin recording the new work. That should keep him busy until it's time for his appearance at the 2007 Kennedy Center Honors, where he'll be honored along with Martin Scorcese, Leon Fleischer, Steve Martin, and Diana Ross (oh, well, there's always one not up to snuff). Not bad for a guy who had his own death pool every time his band played Vegas!

Posted by Steve Monaco at September 13, 2007 1:30 PM

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