Pitchfork

This song from Wilson's latest disappointing solo album (Gettin' in Over My Head) originally appeared in the mid-90s on bootlegs of his sessions with collaborator Andy Paley, and not only featured brother Carl Wilson but the rest of The Beach Boys. It's a shame that legal troubles have forced Brian to surgically remove any trace of his former bandmates from his current projects-- particularly since this was Carl's last recorded performance with the full group.

The song itself is a decent update on the molasses-laden shuffle of "Sail on Sailor" and Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill", though here it seems almost geriatric with its slow motive pace and dense, Phil Spector-indebted production. Carl's vocal is predictably wonderful, though, shaky in all the right ways, and able to sell the elementary prose afforded him ("I was a bum/ I told a lie/ Did you wrong/ I made you cry"). Brian, on the other hand, limits his vocal contributions to backing vocals (dig his bass, Mike Love!) and yelling the bridge over a chugging locomotive of bells, guitar arpeggios and drums that build and build and build. I don't know if that crescendo seems so powerful because it's well written or because the whole thing is just too damn slow, but I'd have just assumed it keep going instead of letting the Clarence Clemons sax solo take over. Still, this beats duets with Elton John or Eric Clapton any day.