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Brian Wilson’s 20 Greatest Songs
A ranking of the 20 greatest songs written by Brian Wilson, from 'Surfer Girl' to 'Surf's Up' to 'Love and Mercy.'
The lyrics for this key “Pet Sounds” centerpiece were by Tony Asher, but there was little doubt he was channeling Wilson here — a narrator who feels out of step, too easily affected and brought down, and wary that even retreating to a room of one’s own is not enough to survive an existentially hostile climate. Lasting only three and a half minutes, it seems to go through as many different distinct movements as a classical piece — starting out as a gentle, banjo-driven cowboy song, then suddenly proceeding to a veritable tornado of rising harmonies that feel either exhilarating or a little bit scary or both. If you know and love this track (which also got a gorgeous 21st century remake on “Brian Wilson Presents Smile”), there’s a good chance that any time you’ve ever walked into a liturgical church in the years since, you secretly hoped the choir would throw the hymnal aside and just break into “Our Prayer.”
Or read this on Variety
