This week, BriÂan WilÂson became the last of the WilÂson brothÂers to shufÂfle off this morÂtal coil. DenÂnis, the first of the Wilsons to go, died young in 1983 — but not before offerÂing this memÂoÂrable assessÂment of the famÂiÂly musiÂcal project: “BriÂan WilÂson is the Beach Boys. He is the band. We’re his mesÂsenÂgers. He is all of it. PeriÂod. We’re nothÂing.” That was a bit harsh: DenÂnis may not have been a virÂtuÂoso drumÂmer, but Beach Boys enthuÂsiÂasts all credÂit his faintÂly despairÂing songs with enrichÂing the band’s sigÂnaÂture emoÂtionÂal landÂscape. BriÂan may have writÂten “God Only Knows,” but he did so with his brothÂer CarÂl’s voice in mind. And could even BriÂan’s othÂer masÂterÂpiece “Good VibraÂtions” have made the same impact withÂout the parÂticÂiÂpaÂtion of his much-resentÂed cousin Mike Love?
Still, withÂout BriÂan’s orchesÂtraÂtion, the othÂer Beach Boys’ voicÂes would nevÂer have come togethÂer in the powÂerÂful way they did, to say nothÂing of the conÂtriÂbuÂtions of the countÂless stuÂdio musiÂcians who played on their recordÂings. Before “Good VibraÂtions,” nevÂer had a pop song owed so much to so many musiÂcians — and, at the same time, even more to the ferÂtile and unconÂvenÂtionÂal sonÂic imagÂiÂnaÂtion of just one man.
LaboÂriÂousÂly craftÂed over sevÂen months in four difÂferÂent stuÂdios, it came out in OctoÂber of 1966 as the most expenÂsive sinÂgle ever proÂduced. Its then-epic length of 3:35 filled CapiÂtol Records with doubts about its radio viaÂbilÂiÂty, but that turned out to be an astonÂishÂingÂly brief runÂning time to conÂtain the sheer comÂpoÂsiÂtionÂal intenÂsiÂty that soon got the song labeled a “pockÂet symÂphoÂny.”
“Good VibraÂtions” and its myrÂiÂad intriÂcaÂcies are scruÂtiÂnized to this day, most recentÂly in video essays like the ones you see here. On his Youtube chanÂnel PolyÂphonÂic, Noah Lefevre calls it “dense enough that you could teach an entire music course on it.” David HartÂley grants it the staÂtus of “probÂaÂbly the most comÂplex song ever recordÂed,” and even “the first song ever creÂatÂed using copy and paste.” Long before the era of digÂiÂtal audio workÂstaÂtions, BriÂan WilÂson used wholÂly anaÂlog stuÂdio techÂnolÂoÂgy to string togethÂer “feels,” his name for the disÂparate fragÂments of music in his mind. His method conÂtributed to the symÂphonÂic conÂstrucÂtion of “Good VibraÂtions,” and his willÂingÂness to folÂlow the mood wherÂevÂer it led resultÂed in the song’s disÂtincÂtive use of an ElecÂtro-Theremin. Despite all this, some lisÂtenÂers still quesÂtion his cenÂtralÂiÂty to the Beach Boys’ music; for them, there will always be “KokoÂmo.”
RelatÂed conÂtent:
Based in Seoul, ColÂin Marshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities and the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles. FolÂlow him on the social netÂwork forÂmerÂly known as TwitÂter at @colinmarshall.