FESTIVAL MUSIC | Pet Sounds
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‘It continues to resonate because it is just so profoundly simple and relatable. Its multi-layered production and good quality songwriting just makes the whole complete. All those elements together, those arrangements, it’s a phenomenon.’
The protracted recording sessions also took their toll on the band. ‘I remember two songs in particular which took the longest and were the most difi cult – “Wouldn’t it be Nice” and “Good Vibrations” – we expended months of energy perfecting them. They were both going to be on Pet Sounds but as it turned out, “Good Vibrations” didn’t make the grade. Brian insisted on holding it back for the next album because he thought it was too advanced. It’s probably the worst decision he ever made,’ says Jardine with a wry chuckle.
Those mammoth recording sessions stretched on for months. Not only recording Pet Sounds but also working on its fabled follow-up Smile. In many ways it was the beginning of the end of the classic lineup. ‘Oh yeah majorly, majorly physically, emotionally, creatively taxing,’ admits Jardine. ‘And expensive I might add. I don’t think we’ll ever know how much it cost but I did hear “Good Vibrations” had a $60,000 bill by itself and that’s a lot of money back in the 60s.’ Brian stepped away from touring to concentrate on ever-more complex recording projects, most of which never saw the light of day. He struggled with agoraphobia, drink and drugs, withdrawing from public life. Then in the 90s and 00s, Wilson gradually began to resurface, working on new material, touring and i nally releasing Smile in 2004, 37 years after he had i rst started working on it.
Jardine rejoined Wilson on the road in 2006. ‘His wife called me and asked if I’d like to come back, give it a try with the band, he needed a little shot in the arm and our friendship is strong and non-threatening.’ Brian contributed vocals to Jardine’s solo album A Postcard From California and they have been playing together ever since. Jardine returned the favour appearing on Wilson’s most recent record No Pier Pressure in 2015 alongside Blondie Chaplin who has been playing with the Beach Boys since the 70s.
It’s nice, too, to hear from Jardine that relations between the original Beach Boys are less fractious than the media would have you believe. ‘We got together a few nights ago at Capitol Records and there was no enmity at all, just a lot of respect. Unfortunately managers and agents all have competitive spirits so it often looks worse than it is. I’m hoping we can all get together for one last bash and do some shows.’ For the capital’s Summer Sessions concert series, Wilson will be joined by Jardine and Chaplin and unsurprisingly their set will concentrate on Pet Sounds alongside other Beach Boys classics. ‘I never expected it to last this long,’ says Jardine. ’It’s a testament to the songwriting; a group of guys who stumbled forward and never quite knew what we were doing.’
Brian Wilson presents Pet Sounds, Playhouse, 19 Aug, 7pm, £50–£85.
76 THE LIST FESTIVAL 15–27 Aug 2018
BLAZING A TRAIL Powerful songs from the i ght for civil rights and artistic freedom
For a show where you are never quite sure what style of music is going to come next, but can be coni dent that it will be performed with passion and style, Sing Sistah Sing! is one to look out for. Based around the idea of celebrating the sound of the African American female voice, it is a unique concept and one that mezzo Andrea Baker has very much made her own, both in the live show and the CD of the same name released in May.
‘We’re telling untold stories about African American female trailblazers’, she says, ‘with a focus on blues singer Linda Hopkins, who was the i rst African American singer to star in a one-woman show on Broadway.’ Hopkins, who died last year at the age of 92, was a personal friend of Baker’s, making the inclusion of her story all the more powerful.
This is no song recital in the
conventional sense. It weaves together the voices of women who led the way for artistic freedom as part of the civil rights movement. The show, which started life in a previous incarnation at the 2015 Fringe, is now more overtly theatrical, including being fully lit by designer- director Carolyn Sittig. ‘It’s storytelling, it’s music, it’s my own personal story, my history and my travelling in Scotland and how I came to make East Lothian my home,’ says Baker. There is opera – Baker was the i rst
African American to sing Carmen in Australia at the Sydney Opera House – as well as German lieder, blues and jazz. How she and accompanist Richard Lewis pack it into an hour is a feat in itself, but says Baker, ‘I think it’s a show that people will really enjoy, through looking, listening and learning.’ (Carol Main) ■ Assembly Rooms, 19–26 Aug, 5.55pm, £13 (£11).