Gettin' In over My Head

Gettin' In over My Head is the fourth studio album by American musician Brian Wilson, released June 2004 on Rhino Records. Many of the songs were reworked versions of tracks originally recorded for the scrapped album Sweet Insanity and the Andy Paley sessions from the 1990s. The record reached number 100 in the US, during a 1-week chart stay, and number 53 in the UK. Critical reaction was mixed.

Gettin' In over My Head
Studio album by
Brian Wilson
ReleasedJune 22, 2004
Recorded1996, 2002–04
GenreRock
Length53:08
LabelBrimel/Rhino
ProducerBrian Wilson
Brian Wilson chronology
Pet Sounds Live
(2002)		 Gettin' In over My Head
(2004)		 Brian Wilson Presents Smile
(2004)

The album features an assortment of celebrity guests such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eric Clapton and Carl Wilson (the latter appeared posthumously via "Soul Searchin'", a rejected Beach Boys song from the Paley sessions). Peter Blake created the cover art and assigned 2004 Brian Wilson Presents Smile artist Mark London to art direct the rest of the package.

Background
See also: Sweet Insanity and Andy Paley sessions

Most tracks from the album were not new material, but rather a collection of older, unreleased tracks and riffs from the past that have been polished up for release on the album. The tracks "Make a Wish", "Fairy Tale", "Rainbow Eyes" and "Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel" are re-recorded songs from Wilson's 1990/1991 sessions from the abandoned Sweet Insanity. The lyrics to "Rainbow Eyes" were slightly rewritten to change "sweet insanity" to "sweet conspiracy". The track "Desert Drive" is based around riffs over 40 years old. "Soul Searchin'" features a posthumous guest appearance by Carl Wilson, sourced from the Andy Paley recording sessions. Furthermore, with the concurrent live performances of the recently completed Smile album, and the announcement of its impending issue on CD, completely overshadowed Gettin' In over My Head's release, with most attention going to the former. There was a limited edition set of prints created by artist Peter Blake in 2004.

One songwriter who was reached for a collaboration was XTC's Andy Partridge who explains: "I rang up a lot of people ... and heard quite a few stories that would put off any sane person from getting involved in the Brian Wilson camp ... They said he would call me ... either he changed his mind, or the management changed his mind, or maybe he just forgot, because I've heard stories of people who've gone over to work with him, and he's not acknowledged them being in the room for days. ... he's definitely in the Wilsonverse, I don't think he's in the known universe. ... one of the few people you can actually call genius, I think, so hey, he can be as nutty as he wants."[1]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic55/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Austin Chronicle[4]
Blender[5]
E! OnlineC+[6]
The Guardian[7]
The Independent[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Stylus MagazineD+[10]
Uncut3/5[11]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, Gettin' In over My Head received an average score of 55 based on 14 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[2] Writing in The Rolling Stone Album Guide, reviewer Jackie Wilson wrote, "Wilson is still frighteningly detached from the moment. ... it's best to think of this one as a celebrity's children's record."[9] Critic Robert Christgau said that the album's only improvement on Imagination was the absence of producer Joe Thomas.[5]

John Bush of AllMusic highlighted "Soul Searchin'" and the title track in what was otherwise a collection of "weak songs" with "trite lyrics". He wrote, "Whether it's a solo composition or one written with a talented collaborator like Andy Paley, Wilson's songs are uniformly embarrassing".[3] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis was disappointed with the record's "musical conservatism" – which be believed came out of Wilson's self-described desperation to be considered in league with Sting, Paul Simon, and Bruce Springsteen – and wrote, "The worst thing about Gettin' In Over My Head - far worse than the mediocre songs and the MOR guest appearances - is that it doesn't sound terribly happy."[7]

Matthew Weiner of Stylus introduced his review by declaring, "It's time to face the facts: we’re never, never, ever getting another great record out of Brian Wilson again. It's over."[10] He added that, given the involvement of the Wondermints and all the other musicians and songwriters Wilson could have potentially collaborated with, "it's impossible to conclude that the utter failure of Getting In Over My Head falls anywhere other than squarely on Wilson himself".[10]

Conversely, Uncut's reviewer said the album was "the most consistent and sympathetically constructed solo album he's made."[11] Billboard's review called it "An unexpected but dazzling return to the top form of the later Beach Boys years."[12]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."How Could We Still Be Dancin?" (featuring Elton John)Brian Wilson, Joe Thomas4:42
2."Soul Searchin'" (featuring Carl Wilson)Wilson, Andy Paley4:07
3."You've Touched Me"Wilson, Steve Kalinich3:21
4."Gettin' In over My Head"Wilson, Paley4:27
5."City Blues" (featuring Eric Clapton)Wilson, Scott Bennett4:20
6."Desert Drive"Wilson, Paley3:34
7."A Friend Like You" (featuring Paul McCartney)Wilson, Kalinich3:37
8."Make a Wish"Wilson3:49
9."Rainbow Eyes"Wilson4:06
10."Saturday Morning in the City"Wilson, Paley2:53
11."Fairy Tale"Wilson, David Foster5:28
12."Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel"Wilson4:17
13."The Waltz"Wilson, Van Dyke Parks4:09

Personnel

Guests

The Brian Wilson Band

  • Scott Bennett – guitar, bass guitar, percussion, vibraphone and background Vocals
  • Jeffrey Foskett – guitar, background vocals
  • Probyn Gregory – French horn, guitar, keyboards, trombone, trumpet
  • Bob Lizik – bass guitar
  • Nick Walusko – guitar
  • Paul Mertens – clarinet, flute, harmonica and saxophone
  • Darian Sahanaja – keyboards, percussion, piano, vibraphone, background vocals

Additional musicians

  • Amy Farris – viola, violin
  • Jim Hines – drums, percussion
  • Sandra Jensen – violin
  • Peter Kent – violin
  • Greg Leisz – guitar
  • Michael Rhodes – bass guitar
  • Andy Paley – percussion and background vocals
  • Carol Robbins – harp
  • Rudolph Stein – cello
  • Todd Sucherman – drums, percussion
  • Joe Thomas – keyboards

References
  1. Partridge, Andy (February 1, 2008). "RundgrenRadio.com" (Audio).
  2. "Gettin' In Over My Head by Brian Wilson". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  3. Bush, John. "Gettin' in Over My Head - Brian Wilson". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  4. Beets, Greg (2004-07-02). "Phases & Stages". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2004-10-29. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  5. Christgau, Robert (August 2004). "Brian Wilson: "Gettin' in Over My Head"". Blender. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  6. "Brian Wilson: Gettin' In Over My Head". E! Online. Archived from the original on 2004-07-22. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  7. Petridis, Alexis (2004-06-11). "CD: Brian Wilson, Gettin' In Over My Head". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  8. "Enjoyment Music Reviews". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2004-06-22. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  9. Brackett, Nathan; with Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York, NY: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. p. 880. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. Weiner, Matthew (2004-07-15). "Brian Wilson: Getting In Over My Head". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 2005-02-15. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  11. "The Beach Is Back". Uncut. 2004-07-01. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  12. https://www.billboard.com/bb/reviews/album_article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000562337
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.