George Gershwin
Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin
Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin is the eighth studio album by Brian Wilson, released on August 17, 2010 by Walt Disney Records as part of the Disney Pearl Series. The album consists of covers of ten
Background#
In the summer of 2009, Walt Disney Records approached Wilson about recording his own arrangements of songs from Disney films; however, Wilson first wanted to record an album of Gershwin covers, which the label agreed to support. He and band member Paul Mertens picked the songs to record based on Wilson’s vocal range, and which ones he thought he could sing “appropriately.” In addition to the covers, the Gershwin estate granted Wilson access to over 100 unfinished Gershwin songs and fragments for the project to use for new material. Two songs were completed by Wilson and Scott Bennett (who provided lyrics) mainly based on two fragments: “Will You Remember Me”, which was originally written in 1924 for the musical Lady, Be Good, was completed as “The Like in I Love You”, while “Say My Say”, which was unfinished by the Gershwin brothers in 1929, was completed as “Nothing But Love”. Recording of the album began at the start of 2010. According to Mertens, Wilson would spend eight hours a day in the studio perfecting vocal tracks. Walt Disney Records’ reaction to the final product was positive, though they hired recording engineer Al Schmitt to remix the original tracks that were recorded by Mark Linett and prepared by Wilson.
Release and reception#
On June 28, 2010, “The Like In I Love You” was released for streaming on Wilson’s website in advance of the album’s release. The album was released on CD on August 17, 2010, while a limited edition vinyl version of the album was released on August 24, 2010. Upon its release, it charted at number 26 on the Billboard 200, falling to 53 in the second week. It also reached number 1 on Amazon.com and the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. Critical reaction was generally positive. Rolling Stone described the album as “lovely, weird, subtly psychedelic symphonic lounge music.” The new songs completed by Wilson and Bennett were also generally well-received; GQ described “Nothing But Love” as “suitably celestial”. Some reviews, however, were less favorable, mostly concerning the quality of the arrangements. Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote, “On an album that feels like a posthumous competition, Mr. Wilson emerges the clear loser.” Michael Hann of The Guardian was particularly critical of the covers, describing the songs as being “reconfigured into pastiches of past Wilson classics.”
Personnel#
Personnel taken from the album’s liner notes. Brian Wilson Band *Brian Wilson – lead vocals *Jeffrey Foskett – vocals *Darian Sahanaja – vocals, piano, electric piano, clavinet, xylophone, Moog, vibraphone, tack piano, glockenspiel, organ, harpsichord *Scott Bennett – vocals, vibraphone, piano, keyboards, xylophone, drums (track 13) *Paul Von Mertens – vocals, clarinet, celeste, harmonica, bass harmonica, saxophone, flute, alto flute *Probyn Gregory – vocals, guitar, theremin, banjo, trumpet, wah wah guitar, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, slide guitar, nylon string guitar *Nick Walusko – vocals, guitar *Nelson Bragg – vocals, percussion, glockenspiel, timpani *Brett Simons – electric bass, acoustic bass, baritone guitar, 6-string bass *Gary Griffin – organ, piano *Taylor Mills – vocals *Todd Sucherman – drums (tracks 3–12) *Mike D’Amico – drums (track 2) Orchestra *Paul Von Mertens – conductor, orchestration *Brian Wilson – orchestration *Peter Kent – violin, concertmaster *Sharon Jackson – violin *Jessica Van Velzen – viola *Erika Dule-Kirkpatrick – cello *Cameron Stone – cello *Rudy Stein – cello *Peggy Baldwin – cello *Andy Martin – trombone *Bill Liston – woodwinds *Dan Higgins – woodwinds *Probyn Gregory – French horn Technical personnel *Brian Wilson – producer, arrangements *Al Schmitt – mixing *Mark Linett – recording engineer
- Composer
- George Gershwin