Imagination

Performer: Brian Wilson (Pop)
Artist: Jimmy Buffett; Timothy B. Schmit; Christopher Cross; Jim Peterik; Bruce Johnston
Engineer: Ross Ritto; John Lowson; Frank Pappalardo; Jason "Jay" Trtan; Mike Lavin; Rick Fritz
Producer: Joe Thomas; Joe Thomas; Brian Wilson
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Brian Wilson (vocals, piano, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards); Brent Rowan (acoustic, nylon string & electric guitars, sitar, mandolin); Jim Peterik, Greg Leisz, Tom Chaffee (acoustic & electric guitars); Scott Bennett (guitar); Larry Franklin (violin, viola); Paul Mertens (flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto & baritone saxophones); Richie Cannata (saxophone); Chuck Soumar (trumpet, piccolo trumpet); John Larson (trumpet); Jason Trtan (French horn, bass); Joe Thomas (accordion, piano, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards, vibraphone, tympani, keyboard programming); Bob Lizik, Michael Rhodes (bass); Eddie Bayers, Tom Suchermann (drums); Jackie Bertone (percussion); Jimmy Buffett (background vocals). Contains interviews with Jimmy Buffett, Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, Glen Campbell, Peter Buck, Sean Lennon, Barenaked ladies, Paul Shaffer, Diane Warren, and Melinda Wilson as well as concert footage. Personnel includes: Brian Wilson; Timothy B. Schmit, Christopher Cross, Bruce Johnston, Joe Thomas, Jim Peterik. This is a DTS CD, which features DTS 5.1 Surround Sound technology and is playable on a DTS-capable 5.1 Surround Sound system. Personnel: Brian Wilson (vocals, piano, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards); Brent Rowan (acoustic, nylon string & electric guitars, sitar, mandolin); Jim Peterik, Greg Leisz, Tom Chaffee (acoustic & electric guitars); Scott Bennett (guitar); Larry Franklin (violin, viola); Paul Mertens (flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto & baritone saxophones); Richie Cannata (saxophone); Chuck Soumar (trumpet, piccolo trumpet); John Larson (trumpet); Jason Trtan (French horn, bass); Joe Thomas (accordion, piano, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards, vibraphone, tympani, keyboard programming); Bob Lizik, Michael Rhodes (bass); Eddie Bayers, Tom Suchermann (drums); Jackie Bertone (percussion); Jimmy Buffett (background vocals). Personnel: Brian Wilson (vocals, piano, organ, keyboards, drums, background vocals); Brent Rowan (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, sitar); Greg Leisz, Jim Peterik (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Scott Bennett (guitar, electric guitar); Tom Chaffee (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Larry Franklin (violin, viola); Paul Mertens (fiddle, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, percussion); Joe Thomas (accordion, piano, keyboards, vibraphone, timpani, percussion, programming, keyboard programming); Richie Cannata (saxophone); Chuck Soumar (trumpet, piccolo trumpet); Jonathan Larson, John Larson (trumpet); Jason "Jay" Trtan (French horn, horns); Tom Sucherman, Eddie Bayers, Todd Sucherman (drums); Jackie Bertone (percussion); Jimmy Buffett (background vocals). Recording information: Brian Wilson's House; Masterfonics, Nashville, TN; Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, CA; Shrimp Boat Studio, Key West, FL. Editor: Jason "Jay" Trtan. Unknown Contributor Roles: Irving Azoff; Jimmy Buffett. Arrangers: Joe Thomas ; Brian Wilson . As his second official solo album, Imagination is a stronger record than its predecessor. Brian Wilson is singing better and his writing is more 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. Sessions with the respected power pop producer Andy Paley were hailed as Wilson's best material in years, though the collaboration 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 of 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 surpassingly banal words, perhaps in an attempt to capture the sweet na�vet� 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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine IMAGINATION includes a remake of the Beach Boys' "Let Him Run Wild" and a Jimmy Buffett collaboration, "South American," that gives "Kokomo" a run for its money. It's only the second album of new material Wilson has made in the 25 or so years he's spent lolling around his swimming pool, and it's a damn shame because at its best, which those two songs aren't, it flirts with perfection. Beyond the three- and four-part harmonies (handled mostly by Wilson himself) and the dense beds of saxes, trumpets, clarinets and percussion--all of which Wilson fans have long been able to count on--are those classic Wilson melodies. He thrives on little complexities, like the strange modulations in the doo-woppy "Keep An Eye On Summer" and the extra chords in "Lay Down Burden" over which he stretches a stock pop melody. And he can still turn out a deceptively simple pop hook, as on "Your Imagination," and surprise you with his voice, like when he reaches for the lower depths of his range on "Cry."

Entertainment Weekly (6/19/98, p.74) - "...Wilson, the vocally rejuvenated Beach Boy auteur, trades in whimsy for effervescence here and the sunlit results are gladdening." - Rating: B Q (4/00, p.117) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...relies to some extent on the fact that you know who Brian Wilson is....IMAGINATION is his most consistent effort since [1965's PET SOUNDS]."

As leader of the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson was largely responsible for their revered 1966 album, PET SOUNDS. His subsequent two-decade-long submersion in drugs, mental problems, and controversial psychotherapy has become the stuff of legend, but he cleaned up and returned to recording in 1988 with a steady stream of albums that combined his flawless melodic sensibility with a restlessly experimental vibe. In 2004 he finally released the legendary album SMILE, whose initial production fell apart in 1967 as Wilson's excesses and mental illness took their toll. Since then he's been performing live regularly (often with daughter Carnie Wilson on backing vocals) and has assumed his rightful place as one of the grand old masters of pure pop perfection.

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