Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road

On the eve of his 80th birthday, I watched this celebratory 2021 overview of Brian Wilson's life and career. His musical legacy is well covered here through interviews with fellow luminaries like Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, and Don Was. His countless personal tragedies are also recounted in detail (including the deaths of brothers Dennis and Carl), but the personal impact on Wilson felt somewhat elliptical due to his ongoing mental struggles. Rolling Stone editor Jason Reis does a good job eliciting some insight by gaining Wilson's trust in what comes across as private conversations. What remains clearest is Wilson's desire to keep making music, a lot of which still sounds great.

I consider The Beach Boys to be one of my top-three musical groups of all-time. Their compositions and overall energy stand the test of time decade after decade. Brian Wilson is a big part of that, though a journey not without both triumphs and tragedies.

For a very basic overview, Long Promised Road sees Jason Fine--a Rolling Stone writer who happened to strike up a relationship with Wilson that slowly evolved into a friendship--conducting a series of interviews with the songwriter/producer, covering all stages of his life/career. This mostly happens while driving around Los Angeles, showing Wilson some of his old haunts.

The A-1 reason I can give Long Promised Road the full 10 star-treatment is because it doesn't flinch when confronted with the elephant in the room: Brian Wilson isn't 100% cognitively "normal", if you will. It is clear from the way he walks, speaks, and emotes that something is just a bit off. However, instead of turning Wilson into some sort of tragic figure, Fine (and director Brent Wilson) rationally explore his past (taking the good with the bad) while also showing viewers that Wilson is by no means an invalid and still has a lot to give the music community.

Some of the topics covered here include:

-Psychological abuse from Brian's hard-driving father.

-Brian's supreme musical talent (he's a true savant in that area) that also makes it hard for him to relate to the rest of the world.

-His drug & alcohol addictions and how he was taken advantage of for many years by a quack physician.

-His relationship with the fellow Beach Boys bandmates, specifically brothers Carl & Dennis, and how special it was for them to make music together.

-His solo career that continues to this day!

While the history lessons are all well and good--providing crucial context--the real meat of this doc comes from seeing Wilson process everything that Fine talks with him about. Sometimes inspiring, sometimes heartbreaking, but always fascinating to see him recollect the key moments of his life (that are now iconic to millions of Beach Boys fans).

So, while the flashback clips and solid music catalogue selections were probably going to always endear Long Promised Road to me, it is the emotionally relevant interviews/conversations between singer and writer that truly moved me enough to give it 10 stars. After the credits rolled, I now feel like I have a far better understanding of Brian Wilson the human being--not the myth or legend.

The Beach Boys are my favourite band. I own every Beach Boys' album, compilation, solo record etc. I have all the DVDs and documentaries too, of course, so I had to buy this. It's..... good. I mean, I can watch anything Brian/BB's related. I just feel there wasn't much new here. All the usual talking heads saying Brian is a genius. Most of the new stuff involving Brian is him being driven around L. A. listening to Beach Boy's songs (and sometimes the same song more than twice). It's quite sad, frankly speaking, seeing Brian so aged and out-of-shape, but- hey- it happens to all of us eventually. The most touching bits were when Brian found out that Jack Reilly had died years earlier, and the part where Brian listens to Dennis Wilson's album (it blows my mind that Brian had never heard it before!). Some of the best stuff was in the deleted scenes... Brian going back to his high school, talking about his mother. I don't think Mike Love got one mention throughout the entire documentary haha.

Greetings again from the darkness. Renowned music producer Don Was sits at a sound board and methodically begins to deconstruct the gorgeous song, "God Only Knows". As the instruments fade, and he shuffles the isolated vocals, Was shakes his head in amazement all these years later. The man behind the song, Brian Wilson (founder of The Beach Boys), was and remains a musical genius, and in his case, one need not be concerned about applying that overused label.

If director Brent Wilson's film has a structure, it comes in the form of multiple car rides and diner lunches featuring Brian and his friend, "Rolling Stone" editor Jason Fine. Due to Brian's anxiety during sit-down interviews, car rides and chats with his friend provide more comfort and free him up to reminisce and discuss his life and music. On the drives, Brian chooses the songs he wants Jason to play, depending on the mood and the topic of conversation.

Mental Health is now treated much differently than in years past. At age 21, Brian suffered from 'auditory hallucinations' - he was hearing voices in his head. Over the course of 6 decades, he has attempted to deal with the voices in various ways: food, drugs, alcohol, therapy, etc. But his only real escape has been through music. Even today, Brian never really looks at ease unless he's performing his songs. He rides along offering commentary as his friend Jason tenderly guides him through the past, including stops at his childhood home in Hawthorne, Paradise Cove where an album cover was shot, his home on Laurel Way that featured his piano in a sandbox, and the Bellagio Road mansion in Beverly Hills. Brian is not one to dwell on the past, but he has tremendous recall for different phases of life.

As you might expect, many musicians are eager to discuss how Brian's music with The Beach Boys influenced their own songwriting. Included here are Jakob Dylan (The Wallflowers and son of Bob), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Taylor Hawkins, Linda Perry, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, and even Nick Jonas. We presume the latter was included to represent the younger generation's appreciation of music past. Elton may offer the most profound comment when he states Brian deserves accolades for his music AND his life. Each phase of Brian's life is touched on, though we never dive too deeply. His demanding father (Murray Wilson) is heard through audio recordings, and the infamous "Landy years" where Dr. Eugene Landy literally controlled Brian's life (right down to a sad story of spaghetti) are briefly dealt with, allowing us some insight into Brian's many challenges over the years - including the death of two brothers, (and Beach Boys) Carl and Dennis.

But it's the music that means the most to Brian and to us. We get some clips of live performances from the early days of The Beach Boys to the more recent live performances of Brian on stage. There is a terrific montage blending Carl's and Brian's separate singing "God Only Knows", and Brian disclosing that "Good Vibrations" was recorded in pieces at 4 different studios to capture the sound he wanted. He also admits to being inspired by The Beatles and wanting to eclipse their work - which led to his writing the masterpiece Pet Sounds album, in turn inspiring The Beatles to write Sgt Pepper. There is a brief clip of Brian's cousin, and fellow Beach Boy, Al Jardine commenting on Brian's immense talent, but as expected, there is nothing from Mike Love; although Brian graciously proclaims Mike Love was "a great singer".

Brian's Beach Boys music has brought so much joy to listeners and fans over the years, and it's truly fascinating to see how he has battled through a life filled with sadness and obstacles. Watching him listen to brother Dennis's solo album, learning how he re-worked his unfinished Smile album to finally release it in 2004, or seeing clips of his live Pet Sounds performance at The Hollywood Bowl helps us understand the healing power of music. Brian has been compared to Mozart, and his fellow musicians discuss how his genius and vision shines through in song structure and texture. Brian Wilson stands as proof that for a true artist, pain and beauty are often linked and dependent on each other. The film's closing credits feature footage of Brian and Jim James recording a new song, "Right Where I Belong", showing that the music (and the man) is still a force.

In theaters and On Demand beginning November 19, 2021.

God bless Jason Fine for being a friend Brian can trust and for creating this peek into his life. I watched this on a trans-Atlantic flight and had plenty of time to pause, rewind, and repeat segments that piqued my interest. Overall I loved the pacing and details wrapped inside this documentary, and as a journalist myself, I could understand Fine's style of questioning. But after awhile it seemed that this was less of a conversation between two friends and more of a "mobile interview" for the cameras. Granted, that had to be done to create the documentary and cue things up for clips, but when Brian reveals that he's often scared and that Fine's voice helps calm him down, you want Fine to reciprocate by letting down his guard and being more compassionate.

Nowhere was I waiting for this more than in the segment when Fine tells Brian that a mutual friend had died. Brian is at first shocked and, as the news sinks in, begins crying softly. Instead of pulling the car over, getting out, and asking Brian if he wants a hug so Brian can cry it out and process his emotions, the drive continues and the tone of the dialogue is as cold as if he had told him he'd found a quarter in the street. You feel Brian's pain as he is left grappling with the news on his own. It seemed to be the perfect place to forgot the roles of interviewer/subject and reveal some compassion for your friend. That's a feeling that lasts each time you see Brian -- you want to reach through the screen and give him a hug just to help alleviate his turmoil..

Aside from that indelible moment (and missed opportunity), Long Promised Road is a wonderful introduction into the life and mind of an extraordinarily resilient man. If there was a magic wand that could restore someone's mental health, Brian Wilson would be the perfect candidate. For all he's gone through and all he's given, he deserves it.