Brian Wilson's Conservatorship

[Norbert]

So I assume everyone has heard about this. I'm not at all surprised; Wilson's public appearances have always been sad at best or even disturbing to me. The worst of it was when he was in the thrall of that quack therapist, Eugene Landy, who had Wilson so doped up that half of his face was paralyzed, as if he'd had a stroke.

Anyway, Paul McCartney was Wilson's biggest champion. I bought Pet Sounds decades ago due to McCartney's effusive praise for it. (I'll take the Beatles, myself, who were a real band whose members played their own instruments.) Anyone know if Wilson and McCartney have maintained any sort of friendship?

[Geoff]

So I assume everyone has heard about this.  I'm not at all surprised;
Wilson's public appearances have always been sad at best or even
disturbing to me.  The worst of it was when he was in the thrall of that
quack therapist, Eugene Landy, who had Wilson so doped up that half of
his face was paralyzed, as if he'd had a stroke.
Anyway, Paul McCartney was Wilson's biggest champion.  I bought Pet
Sounds decades ago due to McCartney's effusive praise for it.  (I'll
take the Beatles, myself, who were a real band whose members played
their own instruments.)  Anyone know if Wilson and McCartney have
maintained any sort of friendship?

Dunno.about Macca/BW.

But Pet Sounds has never done anything for me.

geoff

[Norbert]

Same here. I bought Pet Sounds because of McCartney's praise for it -- but could never get into it.

McCartney also used to praise "Brian Wilson's" bass playing on the album a lot. It turns out that there were a number of bassists recruited from the "Wrecking Crew" for the album.

Again, I prefer real bands, in which each player has a distinctive style.

[super70s]

Post by Geoff

So I assume everyone has heard about this.  I'm not at all surprised;
Wilson's public appearances have always been sad at best or even
disturbing to me.  The worst of it was when he was in the thrall of
that quack therapist, Eugene Landy, who had Wilson so doped up that
half of his face was paralyzed, as if he'd had a stroke.
Anyway, Paul McCartney was Wilson's biggest champion.  I bought Pet
Sounds decades ago due to McCartney's effusive praise for it.  (I'll
take the Beatles, myself, who were a real band whose members played
their own instruments.)  Anyone know if Wilson and McCartney have
maintained any sort of friendship?

Dunno.about Macca/BW.
But Pet Sounds has never done anything for me.
geoff

I didn't particularly like it (other than the 3 or 4 undisputed
classics it contains) the first few times I heard it but it's grown on
me over the years.

I have almost every one of the BB "two-fers" CDs that were released
back in the 90s.

Capitol thought Pet Sounds so sacrosanct that they never put Pet Sounds
on a two-fer, releasing it only as a single CD (with a few bonus
tracks).

Hope Brian is content in his twilight years, the family seems
determined to make him so after his last wife died. Not any infighting
going on unlike a lot of these cases with big rock stars.

[Norbert]

Mike Love says Wilson's conservatorship "isn't as bad as it sounds" and
that Wilson still has musical ability and long-term memory.

[pamina58]

Love and Mercy...a nice biopic...

[Norbert]

Love and Mercy seems to be fairly well-liked.

I don't see how one can put a positive spin on Brian Wilson's story. I
remember reading once that Wilson was so fried on drugs that he couldn't
prepare his own meals or walk out and get one. Mike Love, I read, would
give Brian a McDonald's hamburger for each song he wrote.