Imagination [Japan] - Brian Wilson

As his second official solo album of new material (give or take needless covers of the old Beach Boys songs "Let Him Run Wild" and "Keep an Eye on Summer"), Imagination is a stronger record than its predecesssor. Brian Wilson is singing better and his writing is assured, filled with gorgeous arrangements that others may replicate but never quite match. That doesn't quite erase the suspicion that it could have been better, however. Prior to recording Imagination, and sometime after his label rejected his second Eugene Landy-directed project Sweet Insanity, Wilson wrote and recorded hours of new songs with Andy Paley, one of the most respected producers in power-pop and roots-rock. Collectors who heard the unreleased tapes hailed them as Wilson's best material in years, and they were also excited by the prospect of Wilson collaborating with Sean O'Hagan, an indie-rocker whose band the High Llamas recorded the best Pet Sounds/Smile pastiches of the '90s. Either of those two collaborations -- one real, the other hypothetical -- would have made Imagination not just the superior of Brian Wilson, but likely the first Wilson project that would have been a worthy follow-up to the various Smile off-shoots. Those albums didn't happen. Wilson, allegedly on the advice of his wife, decided to work with Joe Thomas, a former wrestler determined to make inroads in the music business. Thomas steered Wilson toward a slick, overly-produced sound straight out the late '80s, filled with sterile surfaces and synthesizers that hide the genuine musical attributes of the album. Listen closely and it's possible to hear a handful of songs that are startlingly beautiful. Wilson's writing may not be as magical as his '60s peak, but there are moments that soar, from the lovely "Cry" to the sunny choruses of "South America" to the affecting "Lay Down Burden" to the layered, avant-pop "Happy Days." Songs such as these, however, accentuate the weaknesses of other parts of the album -- namely the lyrics. Such lyricists as Jimmy Buffet, Carole Bayer Sager and J.D. Souther collaborated with Wilson on these songs, contributing suprisingly banal words, perhaps in an attempt to capture the sweet naïveté of classic Beach Boys songs. They didn't need to try so hard -- Wilson can come close enough on his own. All he needs is collaborators that realize that and not force him into areas, whether it's musical or lyrical, that he needn't tread. The best parts of Imagination prove that he can spin enough magic on his own terms. [Imagination is also available in an import release.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide