Search - Brian Gari :: Brian Sings Wilson

The music of Brian Wilson revealed in a new light

James P. Craft | San Diego, CA USA | 09/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brian Gari has been a contributor to a varied assortment of BB publications, produced the CD Got You Covered - Songs of the Beach Boys for Sony (a fun collection by the way), contributed memorabilia for the BB's 30th Anniversary box set, and numerous other projects.
He is a long time BB/BW fan, and a fine musician in his own write(sic)(he produced the track My Buddy Seat from the Songs for the Homeless BB tribute compilation). Trust me, he definitely has established his "bona fides" to do this project.

The instrumental arrangements are sometimes spare,(relying on sequenced and sampled sounds), and others are more sophisticated, but they are all entirely true to the spirit of the originals, and he did this without access to the legions of session musicians that Brian Wilson had (This Brian does not have Capitol footing the bill).

This Brian's love of, and enthusiasm for the music, and his inventive approaches to established arrangements are downright intriguing. For me, it is his more experimental pieces that work best. He is quite adept (and has done his homework to remain keep his sources authentic) at combining arrangements (especially vocal) to good effect to show these songs in a new light. On tracks such as Summer Means New Love he adds a vocal arrangement to what was originally an instrumental, and creates a track that would be perfectly at home on the Summer Days and Summer Nights album (and would enhance it, not just "blend in"). Even the songs that are truest to the original arrangements share one important quality with the others - Brian is obviously having a great time performing them!

For me, that is the Sine Qua Non (I'm the product of a parochial education from kindergarten through college, and thus required by law to use Latin expressions) of a BB/BW remake - make me look at the song in a new light - show me something new. This guy does it in spades."

East Coast Beach Boy

Victor Edmonds | Benicia, CA USA | 09/08/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An entertaining CD of Brian Wilson and Beach Boys music done with an East Coast sensibility. This guy sings like Dion, Frankie Valli, the Young Rascals. Add to that that he knows Brian's music as a musician and a scholar. What you get is a CD that is both intriguing and very listenable.
On every song Gari is true to Wilson's music but gives you something new to listen to. His take on Guess I'm Dumb blows away the Glen Campbell version and is as great in its own way as the Dani Sheridan bad girl/Spector version. As far as I know he is the first to record The One You Cant Have and All Dressed Up For School with all the teenage hormone gusto that Brian wrote into the songs.
Thinking 'Bout You Darlin combines the versions of this melody that Brian produced for Sharon Marie and Spring and the Darlin' version of the Beach Boys. If you love Darlin' here is a chance to hear it for the first time again.
I love the way he lets us hear Good Time again by toning it down musically to bring out the lyrics and then segs into Dance Dance Dance which he pumps up musically.
The booklet is interesting too with his explanations of the songs and comments from some of the key musicians in the Beach Boys world. There's a review by Van Dyke Parks who says of this CD "There just isn't one false move."
My one problem with Brain Wilson's music is that I have played every record so many hundreds of times that my ears get numb to the wonder of it. Brian Gari has given me fresh ears."