Review: Brian Wilson's New Album Shows He's 'Still Riding a Peak'

— -- intro: This week Brian Wilson is joined by an all-star band on a new live set, one-time “American Idol” winner Fantasia releases her fifth album, punk icons The Descendents make a triumphant return, tragic British band Viola Beach’s debut album is released, country singer Jake Owen sings about “American Love” and former Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson releases the latest album from his current band The Chris Robinson Brotherhood. It’s a mixed bag this week but there are definitely some titles worth discovering.

quicklist: 1title: Brian Wilson’s “Brian Wilson And Friends: A SoundStage Special Event” ***1/2text: Fifty years ago this summer, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys released an album this reviewer considers to be the best album of all time, “Pet Sounds.” Perhaps in conjunction with that anniversary, Wilson has now released a new live performance from the PBS show “SoundStage” on as a CD/DVD combo-pack. The playlist on this live set contains a lot of classic Beach Boys hits with some from the “Pet Sounds”/”Smile”/”Smiley Smile” era. Wilson back-up band is as tight as ever. It helps that he also has Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin by his side.

Of course, Wilson’s most recent, guest-filled solo effort, “No Pier Pressure” also looms largely on the set, with that album’s guests, Kacey Musgraves, She & Him, Sebu and Nate Ruess showing up to perform their respective collaborations. More exciting moments occur, though when said guests join Wilson on Beach Boys classics. The rendition of “God Only Knows” with She & Him (whose own version of the song appeared on an episode of Zooey Deschanel’s show “New Girl”) comes to mind as a highlight.

Of course, be warned, many of these guest appearances happen only on the DVD and not the CD. This should have been a double-CD set with a DVD so that everything was represented in both formats. But that isn’t the case.

This is an interesting live event for any Beach Boys or Wilson fan, but if you are a fan of his work, you’ve heard records from him like this before. 2002’s live collaboration with the Wondermints, “Pet Sounds Live” left a stronger impression, it’s still great that Wilson has been such a consistent live presence over the last decade or so, considering that at the Beach Boys’ peak, he had such crippling stage-fright that he stopped performing live. While this set offers little you haven’t probably already heard, it’s still quite enjoyable. After all these years, Brian Wilson is still riding a peak.

Focus Tracks:

“Good Vibrations” Any way you slice it, this song is a masterpiece. Downright orchestral in its level of depth, it has to be really a difficult feat to pull off in a live context.

“Help Me Rhonda” (With Al Jardine) Al Jardine is still in astonishing vocal shape and this is a pretty incredible performance.

“Sail On Sailor” (Featuring Blondie Chaplin) Like Jardine, one-time Beach Boy, Blondie Chaplin is still in fine voice as well, singing one of his signature Beach Boys songs.

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quicklist: 2title: Fantasia’s “The Definition Of…” ***1/2text: Fantasia Barrino’s fifth album, “The Definition Of…” begins with a bit of guitar fuzz and a skittering beat. The funky opener, “Crazy” sets the pace for an eclectic record that probably will alienate people looking for a more formulaic record. This is an exciting set where just about anything goes and where Barrino’s signature rasp holds as the set’s main attraction.

“Sleeping With The One I Love” sounds quite measured when you know it was written by R. Kelly, and in Fantasia’s hands it almost sounds like a lost James Bond theme, while “Ugly” is a surprising slice of country balladry which Barrino is able to fully sell without any sense of compromise.

Her name only appears among the writers once on this set, on the Aloe Blacc-collaboration “Roller Coasters,” which means that what you are hearing here is mostly the work of a great interpreter who is able to make songs written by others her own. I suppose that comes as no surprise considering Barrino was the champion of the third season of “American Idol,” and that show was mostly about interpretation. But with this set, Fantasia shows her versatility.

Some of the decisions here may be controversial among her fans expecting a more traditional blend of pop and R&B, but even with its eyebrow-raising moments, this set shows the work of a singer with talent, not afraid to take some chances.

Focus Tracks:

“Ugly” Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that what is essentially a country ballad would be the clear key highlight of this set. Fantasia adds a soulfulness to this song and hits it out of the park.

“Crazy” This is a groovy, trippy, freaky ride and sets the album off on exactly the right foot, even if some of the synth effects sound a little dated.

“Roller Coasters” (Featuring Aloe Blacc) This duet has some interesting tempo-shifts. It works quite effectively, keeping listeners on their toes. Plus it has a surprisingly great guitar solo that sounds like something off of a ballad from the eighties.

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quicklist: 3title: Descendents’ “Hypercaffium Spazzinate” (Deluxe Edition) ****text: In its deluxe form, Descendents’ first album in twelve years contains 21 tracks in 41 minutes. This is brisk punk with a few pop edges delivered effectively and economically by some of the originators of the genre. After all, without the Descendents’ releases from the early eighties you might not have bands like Green Day, Blink-182 or Rancid. While they are now veterans, you’d never know it from listening to the record. Their sound hasn’t changed and they don’t sound any older, which is a comfort even if their subject matter has been adjusted. When Milo Aukerman delivers a hardcore assault on the brief-but-memorable “No Fat Burger,” he’s singing about worrying about his health and his cholesterol intake.

But this album also has its great pop moments, It only goes over the three-minute mark a couple of times and when it does on “Without Love,” “Smile” and the bonus-track, “Unchanged” it does so with a purpose. Still it is amazing how this band can squeeze what sounds like a fully-realized tune into a mere minute and change and not leave the listeners feeling short-changed in the least. “Feel This” sets the set off with an appropriate punch while “Testosterone” and “Full Circle” sound like singles in spite of their brevity.

On “Hypercaffium Spazzinate,” Aukerman, along with drummer Bill Stevenson, bassist Karl Alvarez, and guitarist Stephen Egerton prove you can age gracefully in the punk world without losing your edge. This is as compelling a listen as any one of their previous albums. Considering this is only their third album in the last 20 years, that sense of consistency is nice. All hail these punk legends.

Focus Tracks:

“Without Love” Had they released this song, say in the nineties, this would have been a strong contender for a radio hit. They may be a punk band, but they know a good pop hook when they find one.

“Spineless And Scarlet Red” This is another obvious single with a palpable sense of rock intensity. This actually packs a similar punch found on Bob Mould’s most recent work.

“No Fat Burger” Only 43 seconds in length, this still leaves an amazingly lasting impression.

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quicklist: 4title: Viola Beach’s “Viola Beach” ****text: It is almost impossible not to tear up when listening to the debut album from new British band Viola Beach. You see, this is their debut but it will also most likely be their only record. All four members and their manager were killed in a bus crash in February. They were touring in Sweden when they crossed a bridge that was opening to allow a boat to pass. This unspeakable tragedy cut short five lives and cut the career of a promising new band right at its dawn.

The thing is, the nine songs on this self-titled record are bouncy and fun, fusing some early-period Arctic Monkeys-type of energy with a Vampire Weekend-esque South African influence. Singles like “Swings & Waterslides,” “Like A Fool” and “Boys That Sing” showed a band destined for great things.

Considering the circumstances, it is amazing that there were even nine songs available to compile into an album. One of them, “Get To Dancing,” is actually taken from a live session at the BBC, showing that they were a formidable force in the live setting.

I’m really glad this album exists. Their story is horrific but Viola Beach is a band that should not be forgotten. Yes the sense of lost potential is truly paralyzing. Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe and Jack Dakin will all be missed. Their manager Craig Tarry’s sacrifice shouldn’t be overlooked either. The loss of the entirety of Viola Beach stands as one of the larger tragedies of the rock era.

With the exception of the band For Squirrels in the nineties, I can’t think of another band whose introduction was so marred by tragedy. Much like Viola Beach, shortly before their 1995 major-label debut “Example” was released (which spawned the alt-rock radio singles “Mighty K.C.” and “8:02 PM”) the members of For Squirrels were involved in a bus accident that killed vocalist Jack Vigliatura IV, bassist Bill White and their tour manager Tim Bender.

One hopes that the music will live on. Viola Beach was on the cusp of becoming one of England’s most promising new bands. It’s little consolation to their families and friends, but they at least left behind a concise but excellent record that hinted at a promising future. Removed from the horrific context of its release, this is one of the brighter rock releases of the summer. Is it Earth-shaking? No, but it’s a well-made, enjoyable album.

Focus Tracks:

“Cherry Vimto” With a riff that will stick in your head and demand repeated listens, this song was destined to be a radio hit, at least in the U.K. It really deserves strong airplay on both sides of the pond.

“Like A Fool” Similarly, this song deserves more attention and shows that the members of Viola Beach knew how to work a groove with pop potential.

“Swings & Waterslides” This was already on its way to becoming a hit in England when the band was killed. The track’s rhythmic interplay and sing-along chorus both pack some massive power. There’s something anthemic about this song and yet nothing seems forced. It comes off as a natural hit.

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quicklist: 5title: Jake Owen’s “American Love” **1/2text: Like most of the music that is churned out of Nashville these days, Jake Owen’s music sounds like pop with a twang. His fifth album, “American Love” is full of good time stories and flag-waving pride. The title-track is really about parking in a car with a woman and causing the windows to steam.

This album is an uneven batch of songs with entries on both sides of the equation. At its worst you can see this collection as formulaic tunes set to target a market. This is a cliché-heavy album, from the concept of “Nothing good ever happens after midnight” (in “After Midnight”) to the notions of “sleepin’ at the wheel,” “California dreamin’” and “waiting for our moment in the sun” on “Everybody Dies Young.” Then there’s “American Country Love Song” which slightly echoes the guitar-work of U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name” and the lazy-drawl spoken-word delivery of Shawn Mullins’ “Lullaby” and marries them with some more cliché-ridden lyrics about hearing a great song on the radio.

Don’t get me wrong here. There are some good songs here, too, but they are mostly the ballads. “LAX” is a cleverly-written song about a lost love who has headed west and “Where I Am” has some noticeable emotional heft.

Owen has had success working the formulas, so from that standpoint he doesn’t need advice. This is a listenable album with peaks and valleys and it shows that Owen shows more potential than this album conveys. Outside of the formulaic party music and forced hooks there are glimpses that indicate that if given a little leeway, he may eventually distinguish himself from the pack, even beyond the mainstream “country” boundaries. In spite of my complaints, I almost want to recommend this record because I see unrealized potential in Owen. With less-predictable and less-calculated songwriting, he may very well open himself up to a wider fan-base in the future.

Focus Tracks:

“VW Van” This track succeeds because it shows some appealing quirkiness. Is Owen aiming for an endorsement deal with Volkswagen?

“LAX” This song about authentic heartbreak with its built-in title pun shows a bit of fire and edge missing from the album’s more formulaic moments.

“Where I Am” Like “LAX,” this is a more vulnerable moment. In these moments Owen really shines. There is also a bit an ethereal, drifting quality to the music that makes the song float along with ease.

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quicklist: 6title: The Chris Robinson Brotherhood’s “Any Way You Love, We Know How You Feel” **1/2text: “Any Way You Love, We Know How You Feel” is Chris Robinson’s fourth album with The Chris Robinson Brotherhood and the first since last year’s breakup of The Black Crowes. Like their other albums, this one shows the band to be a tight unit, playing expansive, extended grooves.

There’s a woozy, almost drug-like energy here which doesn’t really work to the band’s benefit. While the musicianship is strong here, grooves like “Give Us Back Our Eleven Days” and “Ain’t It Hard But Fair” get weighed down by their own psychedelic sensibility.

Robinson is still a great rock front-man and “Forever As The Moon” and the honky-tonk rock work-out “California Hymn” show some bright spots, but there’s not much memorable here that would encourage repeat listens. This is the work of capable musicians but it lacks a focus and a draw. While this makes for a passable couple of listens it still sounds like the kind of record people would have used as a soundtrack while experimenting with certain substances during the seventies.

Black Crowes fans might find something to dig here but this isn’t even close to matching Robinson’s best work with his previous band. However, this is still kind of interesting… in a fleeting way.

Focus Tracks:

“Forever As The Moon” Getting to the album’s funk core, this song mixes a Dylan-esque vocal line with a bouncy piano line.

"Oak Apple Day” There’s kind of dizzying electro-fueled answer to Grateful Dead’s energy going on here. If you want some sort of off-kilter update to “Truckin’” with some psychedelic edges, you now have one.

“California Hymn” Ending the album on an upbeat, sing-a-long note, this ends up being one of the most clear-eyed moments on the set.

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