PLEASE LET ME WONDER… THE WILSON/PALEY SESSIONS
- Secret Sauces
- Oct 19
- 18 min read
Or ‘How Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys botched their 90s revival’...
The Beach Boys’ career is littered with unreleased and unfinished albums, as is many of the individual members’ solo careers. A few of these albums have taken on legendary status, no more so than 1967’s Smile, which still receives rabid attention and discussion despite it being ‘finished’ in 2004 by Brian Wilson, and given an official reconstruction from the original Beach Boys recordings in 2011.
Other unreleased works such as The Beach Boys’ Adult/Child album from 1977 are adored by hardcore fans, while others such as Mike Love’s mid-70s unreleased solo albums First Love and Country Love are a source of mockery for the hated lead singer. Fortunately, with extensive bootlegging and many archival releases over the years featuring many previously unreleased nuggets, fans are able to hear most of these recordings in (mostly) good quality. These unreleased works highlight how great of a band The Beach Boys were - it is not an uncommon opinion for big fans of the group to think that much of their very best work is only available as bonus tracks on reissues or as part of a ‘Sessions’ box set, labelled ‘outtake’ or ‘previously unreleased’. When considering such great unreleased work, it often creates thoughts of alternate histories whereby an unreleased album was released and what the impact of that album would have on the band’s fortunes and reputations. You can often immerse yourself in an unreleased project by The Beach Boys only to realise that this was left in the vaults, yet in one of the Beach Boys’ trademark bizarre judgement calls one of the worst pieces of shit you have ever heard was released instead. Such is the case of these Andy Paley sessions. This last notable unrealised project in the middle of a Brian & Beach Boys resurgence is one of the biggest ‘what ifs' of the band’s career, and it is a devastating thought when you ponder what could have been.
While Brian Wilson was under the abusive ‘care’ of psychologist Dr. Eugene Landy in the 1980s, his solo career properly began. Record executives knew that the prospect of the debut solo album from the ‘genius’ of The Beach Boys was worth betting on, and now he was being kept in line by Dr. Landy they could bet on an album materialising. His 1988 eponymous debut solo album (despite being a very good record overall) suffered from instantly-dated ‘80s production and the problem of ‘too many cooks’ - namely the controlling Dr. Landy who bagged himself an executive producer credit along with several songwriting credits for himself and his girlfriend Alexandra Morgan. Critical acclaim did not translate into enormous commercial success, with the album ultimately selling just shy of 500,000 copies. Meanwhile in the same month of July 1988, the temporarily Brian-less Beach Boys saw unprecedented commercial success with their first number 1 single in 22 years, the abominable Kokomo written for the film 'Cocktail' starring Tom Cruise. The success of this song solidified Mike Love’s reign of The Beach Boys which emphasised commerciality and nostalgia over creative progression, and in 1989 the album Still Cruisin’ was cobbled together. The album featured 3 new songs (one Brian song, In My Car appears), recent songs from film soundtracks (Lethal Weapon 2, Cocktail Troop Beverley Hills), Wipe Out, the 1987 collaboration with the Fat Boys, and three mid-60s Beach Boys tunes that so happened to have been featured in films in the previous five years. The album received dire reviews but sold more than double that of Brian’s debut solo LP. Of course, when Mike Love was asked in 1992 about Brian’s album he criticised the non-commercial arrangements and said “it sounded like shit compared to what [Brian] could sound like”.
With The Mike-led Beach Boys touring consistently with their nostalgic revue of the ‘surf, cars and girls’ numbers and Dr. Landy forcing the distance between Brian and the band even further, work began on the second Brian Wilson solo album. This album was less of a ‘too many cooks’ situation: rather, the cooks were forced out and one took over the kitchen. Dr. Landy co-wrote and co-produced the record, with his hackneyed lyricism plaguing the album. In 1990, Sire Records rejected the first version of the album, which was entitled Brian. A second version under the title Sweet Insanity was also rejected by Sire the following year, allegedly due to Landy’s lyrics, the insensitive title and the poorly judged stab at hip-hop, Smart Girls (it has to be heard to be believed). Sire subsequently released Brian from his contract.
A Beach Boys fan Peter Reum, who was a therapist by profession, attended a fan convention in 1990 and upon witnessing Brian's mannerism at the convention, speculated that Brian was suffering from tardive dyskinesia brought on by the daily cocktails of medication Landy was giving Brian. This, alongside increasing scrutiny of Landy’s control of Brian revealed he was receiving large chunks of Brian’s royalties (on top of charging him hundreds of thousands of dollars a month for his 'care'), and the revelation that Landy had even changed Brian’s will to net him 70% of the estate contributed to a concerted 'Free Brian' movement. As a result, Brian was finally extricated from the control of Landy, who was given a restraining order - Brian Wilson was finally a free man on the 2nd February 1992. The very next day after the ruling, Brian made a call to Andy Paley of The Paley Brothers, who had become Brian’s favourite collaborator in the previous years of his solo recordings - the one who would listen to Brian rather than Landy. Calling Paley, Brian said that he could do whatever he wished now, and his wish was to make some new music with him. The bulk of these Wilson/Paley sessions were from 1992 to 1994, and produced a large amount of material, earmarked for either the next Brian Wilson solo album or the next Beach Boys album, depending on how Brian felt at any given moment.
Whilst Brian Wilson was known as the leader of The Beach Boys due to his control from the band’s inception until the late ‘60s, the band had since become a more democratic unit and Brian took a backseat as personal struggles intensified and the other Beach Boys became more prolific in their own songwriting. The last albums produced wholly by Brian were 1976’s 15 Big Ones, 1977’s Love You and the unreleased Adult/Child from the same year. This burst of creativity followed the poorly-considered Brian’s Back! publicity campaign after several years of little input into the band and severe mental health issues commonly referred to as the ‘bed years’. After the rejection of Adult/Child by members of the band and the label in 1977, Wilson’s appearances on subsequent albums reduced significantly again, and after the release of his debut solo album, it was up in the air whether he would ever return to the band in a major capacity. When Kokomo gave The Beach Boys a new wind of commercial success, Love took the reins on the band, and with Landy’s tight grip on Brian’s life he was essentially cut off from his bandmates, family and friends. His 1991 (now disowned) memoir Wouldn’t It Be Nice was Landy-heavy in its narrative and led to a flurry of lawsuits from family members and bandmates, and Mike Love also sued for songwriting credits and royalties on old Beach Boys compositions. The Beach Boys’ 1992 album Summer In Paradise (regarded as one of the worst albums ever made) was the first Beach Boys album to have zero involvement from Brian, with Mike Love taking lead of the band. Though Summer In Paradise was a failure by every metric, The Beach Boys saw renewed critical appreciation with the release of the 1993 box set Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys which saw the official release of original Smile sessions excerpts for the first time. With Landy out of the picture, and various lawsuits settled, Brian was beginning to get involved in the band again, though not in a touring capacity.
It was into this tense environment that Wilson proudly presented the songs he had written with Andy Paley, believing them to be the best songs he had written in a long time. In 1995, the band reunited for sessions to work on the material for a proposed new Beach Boys album and conflicts immediately arose. Love attempted to rewrite some of the material which Brian was so protective of, a long standing tradition in the Wilson/Love songwriting partnership. The cousins regularly co-wrote the band’s material in the early 60s, but supposedly Love’s jealousy of Brian working with other lyricists such as Tony Asher on Pet Sounds and Van Dyke Parks on Smile caused a lot of drama over the years. The sessions continued with Don Was producing, with a polite but reticent Beach Boys and an eager but stressed Brian. Vocals by Carl Wilson were recorded for Soul Searchin, leading to a more positive vibe and belief that the sessions may progress into an album proper.
It was during the next session, in which camera crews were present, that it broke down completely. A vocal session for Dancin’ The Night Away, a repurposed Wilson/Love song written earlier in the year as Baywatch Nights for the TV show Baywatch, caused Carl Wilson to abruptly walk out after only the bridge vocals were recorded. The footage from these sessions is strange viewing, there is no visible confrontation or tension, but interesting signs of unease can be spotted. For one, Mike Love talks about not having released an album for ten years, conveniently forgetting the godawful Summer In Paradise and Still Cruisin’. It is the final section, an interview with a stressed Brian Wilson, that is the most telling, however. Never an easy interviewee at the best of times, symptoms of Wilson’s schizoaffective disorder appear to be flaring up, battling taunting auditory hallucinations, his face contorting in pain at times during the brief interview. He seems on edge throughout, and at the end bolts out of his chair so quickly that his attached microphone goes flying.
A 1995 interview for Vox was very revealing, with talk about the Paley sessions and whether they were going to be a Brian Wilson album or a Beach Boys album. Paley said:
“I think Brian’s gotta make up his mind if he wants to make a Beach Boys record or a Brian Wilson record,” explains Paley, clearly and understandably frustrated, “ ‘cos he changes his mind about that all the time. Half the time he’s into it, half the time he’s not. You never know what he’s gonna say about it…But I’ll tell you, really I don’t think that’s gonna happen, because Brian and I had a meeting with Mike Love and he listened to everything and Brian really stuck up for these songs and told him he didn’t want them changed in any way. I know he’s so anxious for this music to come out, and I know I am too.”
It was obvious that both Brian and Paley felt strongly about the material, but in the wake of the failed session with the Beach Boys, Brian’s frustration showed immensely, with choice quotes such as:
“The Beach Boys are out. The Beach Boys are being assholes to me. So I take the lesser of two evils; I’ll work on my own, solo, before I work with a bunch of guys that don’t give a shit about me”
“Carl is my brother, but Carl is an asshole. I love Carl, I love his singing, but he’s an asshole to me. Those guys are assholes. I oughta beat the hell out of them all. I dunno, I’d probably get beat up if I tried that.”
“I think The Beach Boys are trying to destroy me as a producer. I think they’re trying to make Terry Melcher [veteran producer who co-wrote The Beach Boys’ Brian-less 1988 Number One, ‘Kokomo’] their hero and me their villain. Fuck that shit, y’know? I’m not gonna go through that.”
On the subject of Paley, Brian’s paranoia shows through with his fear of Phil Spector, a hero of his but one that has tormented him throughout his life in the form of auditory hallucinations and beliefs of ‘mind gangsters’ employed by Spector:
“I can tell, when he talks to me, that he’d rather work with Phil Spector or something.”
While Brian Wilson interviews can never be taken wholly at face value, often being an unreliable narrator with his opinions ever-changing, this interview is one of the best insights into the failure of the Paley sessions to become a Beach Boys record. Brian and his wife Melinda both blamed Carl for the project’s disintegration, alleging that he did not find the material commercial enough, and that he hated the song Soul Searchin’ and did not want it to be released. This has always been a point of confusion for fans, who believe that the Paley sessions material was the strongest set of songs any of the Beach Boys had worked on in a very long time. Furthermore, Carl’s leadership of the band during the early 70s saw a push into new creative directions on albums such as Surf’s Up, Carl And The Passions “So Tough” and Holland. Carl was then a chief supporter of the return of Brian as leader in the mid-70s, to temporarily leaving the band in the early ‘80s to pursue his own solo career due to his dissatisfaction in the creative direction of the band and the nostalgia act that they had become in their live shows. Why had Carl changed his tune, not supporting brother Brian and suddenly being concerned about commerciality, a characteristic more in line with Mike Love? Especially after their Love-led blatant attempt at commercialism on 1992’s Summer In Paradise failed spectacularly on both the critical and commercial fronts?
With Dennis Wilson’s decline and death in 1983 and Brian’s unreliable presence in the band being controlled by Landy throughout the 80s, Carl found himself as the only Wilson left in the band, on the (crude but fairly accurate) axis of the forward-thinking creative side of the band, facing the oldies/nostalgia act axis of Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and Al Jardine (who has generally been more neutral). Long known as the voice of reason and the glue of the band, Carl was outnumbered and seemingly not as invested in caring about the creative decisions of the band, happy to stay in the role of ‘America’s Band’ and play the early hits live on stage every night to adoring fans - both Still Cruisin' and Summer in Paradise were Mike Love/Terry Melcher projects, featuring vocals from Carl but no writing credits.
The distance between the two surviving Wilson brothers was ensured by Landy, and resentments brewed. Despite all that had happened in his chaotic personal life, the ‘genius’ tag always remained with Brian and the rest of The Beach Boys were prone to jealousy, feeling that their contributions were being ignored, especially Carl who had steered the band through the early 70s. Brian, meanwhile, believed that their mother Audree loved Carl more than him, such as in this interview with Mojo magazine from 1995, showing further conflict between the brothers:
“I mean, I like my mom, but everything she says is ‘Carl this and Carl that!’ I say, shit, if you wanna go love one of your sons, then go love Carl! Fuck, go to Carl’s house! Don’t fuckin’ talk to me regarding Carl! Because that’s what she always does!”
It is obvious that the conflicts at the sessions ran deeper than just the music and band politics, but the familial relationships too. To Brian, already a highly-sensitive soul, the thought of his mother loving Carl more than himself, especially with the history of their abusive father Murry, was devastating. Some have speculated that the band were unwilling to cede full control to Brian over the project after fears for his health - after all, the domestic commercial failure of his masterpiece Pet Sounds in 1966 did a number on him, and the collapse of the Smile project in 1967 was a large factor in a traumatic breakdown. 1977’s Adult/Child album’s rejection preceded a decline in health leading to Dr. Landy’s second intervention. Perhaps the band were worried that if the record didn’t do well commercially, or if it didn’t pan out how he thought it would, Brian’s wellbeing would crumble again, so they killed the project before it could truly begin.
Another factor in the sessions’ collapse was Don Was, the record producer who was simultaneously working with Brian on his documentary and soundtrack album I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times. Was later stated that he felt responsible for ‘stopping the momentum’, saying that he didn’t think that Brian’s material were up to his usual standards, affecting Brian’s confidence, something he has since expressed regret for. The documentary featured interviews from John Cale, Thurston Moore, David Crosby and Tom Petty (amongst others) - the 1990s revival of 'Brian Wilson is a genius' was well underway. If only Brian and The Beach Boys could back that up with a great new record...
Who knows the exact truth of why the sessions didn’t pan out into becoming the next Beach Boys album? As with the entirety of their story, there are several accounts of what happened. The fact remains, that the band reunited for their next album in 1996 for a signature baffling move, e.g. ‘why the fuck would you scrap an all original new Brian-led album of his, and your, best songs in years, for this shit?’ This shit was Stars And Stripes, Vol. 1 (thank fuck there wasn’t a Volume 2), in which the Beach Boys sing background harmonies to 12 country covers of their songs, all from the ‘60s, sang by country artists such as Toby Keith and James House. Executive produced by Mike Love, and produced by Brian Wilson and Joe Thomas (the next in the long line of supervillains in the Beach Boys story, an inverse-midas figure where everything he touches turns to shit). There was even an hour-long documentary chronicling the recording of the record, Nashville Sounds - view at your own risk.
If Summer In Paradise is regarded as the band’s worst album, it is only because whoever is saying it is excluding, or hasn’t heard Stars And Stripes - it is truly offensive to listen to. A steaming pile of dung, presumably a cynical attempt to tackle the large country market, another shameless attempt at commercialism that totally failed as no one bought the record. Tragically, it would be the last Beach Boys record that Carl Wilson was involved with as he died in 1997, with Mike Love taking full control of the group from that point onwards. The first new Beach Boys record released after Carl's death was Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and David Marks' NASCAR-saluting CD with awful re-recordings of '60s Beach Boys classics. My god.
Although the Paley material did not become a Beach Boys album, a potentially critically acclaimed, reputation saving record coinciding with renewed interest and acclaim from the band by indie and alternative figures, and we got Stars And Stripes instead, a total embarrassment all-round, what about it being a Brian solo album? After all, that’s what it was likely supposed to be to begin with?
Despite Brian’s unwavering enthusiasm for the Paley sessions, he was prone to giving into others’ wishes in a way that many viewed as not being in control of his own life. While there were other members of The Beach Boys that would have to agree to making an album out of these songs - it was no longer Brian’s band these days, what was stopping him from going ahead with these songs for his long-awaited second solo LP? The mid-90s were somewhat of a second-coming for the ‘Brian is a genius’ view, with the Don Was documentary that included glowing testimonials from everyone from David Crosby to Thurston Moore, Brian collaborating again with Smile co-writer Van Dyke Parks for Orange Crate Art and topped off with the 1996 release of The Pet Sounds Sessions box set that received unanimous praise. Surely the best move was to give the world more of what they were currently praising - great tunes that showcased unpredictable creativity?
No. The Paley sessions were to be shelved for the time being, dismissed as ‘therapy’ music for Brian to enjoy as down-time. A new album was to be made, to target the ‘adult contemporary’ market. And it would be produced by none other than Joe Thomas. Brian’s first proper solo album in 10 years was highly anticipated, and in the promo campaign even saw him being interviewed by R.E.M.’s Peter Buck. The album sucked, plainly. Half of the record were tepid re-recordings of old 60s and 70s Wilson-penned tunes, and the new material was instantly forgettable. It didn’t even work as an adult contemporary hit album, hitting #88 in the US chart and #30 in the UK for a short stay on the charts. The album didn’t perform well critically either, with Jason Fine in Rolling Stone saying that the album showed ‘little evidence of Brian's creative spark’. Other critics were more savage - John Mulvey of the NME wrote:
“if there is one character flaw that has blighted [Wilson']s music over the past 25-odd years, it has been his capacity to be easily led, his need to work with others resulting in a touching but misplaced faith in a host of lesser musical talents who frequently aren't fit to wipe his arse, let alone collaborate with him”
Even Brian himself quickly distanced himself from the album, saying in 2000 that he didn’t like the sound of the album or his voice on it. In 1999, he even sued Thomas for damages and a declaration of independence to work without him on his next album. Brian soon recruited a backing band comprised of the Wondermints, and frequently toured for the next few years. It wasn’t until June 2004 when his next solo album was released, Gettin’ In Over My Head, which was a cobbled-together affair from rejects and re-recordings of the Paley Sessions and Sweet Insanity material. It even included Soul Searchin’ featuring Carl Wilson’s vocals. The album was an unfocused mixed bag, with an emphasis on collaborations with Elton John, Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney over the great older material that was re-worked, and it was received as such.
All was quickly forgotten, as in September 2004, Brian’s re-working of the Smile album was released to rave reviews, following a premiere of the album in concert in February. The Paley sessions tracks would not be revisited or re-worked on Brian’s subsequent studio albums (only two out of the subsequent six were original new material). This was not necessarily a bad thing - 2008’s That Lucky Old Sun is a fine album, up there with Brian’s best as a solo artist. The others, focusing around Christmas, Gershwin, Disney and instrumental piano renditions are nice listens. Something truly terrible happened in 2012 though - the return of Joe Thomas for the 50th anniversary reunion of The Beach Boys. With Brian and Al Jardine reuniting with Mike Love and Bruce Johnston (and David Marks!) for a large tour, they released a final studio album, That’s Why God Made The Radio with Thomas producing, with many tracks dating back to the 1998 Imagination sessions. Wilson would work with Thomas again for his 2015 solo album No Pier Pressure, which features a whole host of guest appearances from Nate Reuss to Kacey Musgraves. They just never learn, do they.
In 2013, hot off the heels of the 50th anniversary reunion, a new career-spanning Beach Boys Box set was released, the 6CD Made In California. It included two Paley tracks, Soul Searchin’ and You’re Still A Mystery. These two tracks featured vocals from The Beach Boys, and are from the Don Was sessions.
The 2021 soundtrack album for the Brian Wilson film Long Promised Road features five Paley sessions tracks: I’m Goin Home, It’s Not Easy Being Me, Must Be A Miracle, Slightly American Music, and I'm Broke.
That same year, Brian’s website was relaunched and on the ‘timeline’ section, various previously unreleased tracks were made available to stream, including the Paley tracks Desert Drive, Gettin’ In Over My Head, I’m Broke, Saturday Morning In The City, Soul Searchin’ and You’re Still A Mystery.
With the advent of several Beach Boys archival releases in recent years, and the appearance of much of the Paley sessions scattered across various releases (either in their original form or re-recorded), it is surely just a matter of time until they receive an official release? For many years, this was a top question of Beach Boys and Brian fans - the great lost Brian album. Unfortunately, the past two years has seen the passing of many of the key characters in this saga - Melinda Wilson in January 2024, Joe Thomas in April 2024, Andy Paley in November 2024 and Brian Wilson in June 2025. After Brian’s passing, his co-manager Jean Sievers confirmed in an interview with Pollstar that it would see the light of day:
“there was all this work he did with Andy Paley, which is going to come out finally.”
This is great news to hear of course, but it is with a tinge of sadness that both Paley and Wilson would not live to see the release of their fruitful sessions.
Until we (hopefully) get our hands on an official release of the Paley sessions, here is a guide to where you can find the tracks in the best quality... happy hunting!
ORIGINAL RECORDINGS OFFICIALLY RELEASED:
Released on ‘Till The Night Is Gone: A Tribute To Doc Pomus’ various artists compilation, 1995
Released on ‘For The Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson’ various artists compilation, 1995
Released on ‘Pulp Surfin’ various artists compilation, 1995
This Song Wants To Sleep With You Tonight
Released as the b-side to Brian’s solo recording of ‘Do It Again’, 1995
Released on Beach Boys ‘Made In California’ box set, 2013
Released on ‘Playback: The Brian Wilson Anthology’ compilation, 2017
Released on ‘Long Promised Road (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)’, 2021
Desert Drive
Gettin’ In Over My Head
Saturday Morning In The City
Available to stream on www.brianwilson.com
RE-RECORDINGS OFFICIALLY RELEASED
Released on ‘Imagination’, 1998
Released On ‘Gettin’ In Over My Head’, 2004
Released on ‘Long Promised Road (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)’, 2021
UNRELEASED, AVAILABLE ONLY ON BOOTLEGS
Proud Mary
Marketplace
Mary Anne
Frankie Avalon
Elbow ‘63
God Did It
What Rock ‘N’ Roll Can Do
Where Has Love Been?
Must Be A Miracle
All links are on YouTube. Many unofficially released tracks have been removed from YouTube, perhaps due to a future official release. Bootlegged tracks can be found easily if you know where to look.
Comments