Sun sets on the songs of California
By DJ M on October 4th, 2008
In Brian Wilson/B. Boys
VARIETY "Southern California as a muse was relatively unheard of prior to Wilson's region-defining work in the Beach Boys. For all the definitions Wilson has provided, from 'Surfin' Safari' to 'Surf's Up,' 'That Lucky Old Sun' -- written with old pal Van Dyke Parks and his keyboardist Scott Bennett -- stands as his most thorough definition of what it is to be an Angeleno. But considering its position as a musical epicenter, Southern California has lost its luster for the natives. In song these days, L.A. is almost always presented in a nostalgic light, with reminders that while this city of reinvention has had its golden moments right now we're not living in one. Jackson Browne and J.D. Souther, two of SoCal's finest chroniclers in the '70s, say as much on their new albums, as does Wilson."