Wave Catching With Carlin
By DJ M on June 9th, 2006
In Brian Wilson/B. Boys
More thoughts on PETER AMES CARLIN’S upcoming Brian Wilson biography CATCH A WAVE after reading the first 3 chapters, approximately 50 pages: I should note at the start that the copy of the book I have is an “uncorrected proof.” This means that the final version of the book may contain changes. Also, this proof lacks a index and does not contain the approximately 16 pages of photos that are supposed to be in the final version. Additionally, while it will be hard to “ruin” the story, since most of the major facts surrounding Brian’s life and times are fairly well known, I may drop a “spoiler” or two here and there. So, if you want to read the book with a totally fresh mind, please be forewarned.
Catch A Wave is notable in that it is, to the best of my knowledge, the first true biography of Brian Wilson. Other books, namely those by David Leaf (which I have not read) and Timothy White focused on The Beach Boys as a whole. Still other books have focused on specific albums, i.e. Pet Sounds and SMiLE. Carlin’s book (excluding Brian’s ghostwritten “autobiography”) is the first to place its primary focus on Brian himself. From the outset, I have preferred Carlin’s book to White’s. One major problem I had with White’s book is that his focus was as much on the cultural history of California, as it was on the Beach Boys. White tried too hard to make grand statements and overarching theses. Carlin, at least in what I’ve read so far, seems much more interested in telling the story of Brian’s life and music.
The Prologue starts with Carlin, Brian, Leaf and a few journalists backstage at the 2005 South By Southwest festival panel on SMiLE. Carlin notes how awkward Brian is around unfamiliar people and places. One very positive thing that Carlin notes from the outset is that over the past 40 years Brian has made conflicting statements. Carlin does not assume that just because Brian said something once in an interview that this statement is pure fact. Carlin is obviously aware of Brian’s unusual history of pronouncements and tries to compare Brian’s various statements with those of other people at the time in order to tease out the most likely story. Other authors have failed to capture the complexity of Brian’s life by latching on to one salacious statement or the other, even if all other facts would suggest that Brian is either mistaken, forgetful or having a laugh.
The first chapter begins towards the end of the story, at the dedication of the official State of California Beach Boys landmark in Hawthorne, California. Carlin that deftly brings us back to the beginning by commenting on how the Wilson clan moved from the Midwest to California, land of dreams. Thankfully, he doesn’t spend nearly as much time as White did on the history of Brian’s ancestors. Rather, he quickly goes over that history, bringing us right up to the early 1940s birth of Brian and his brothers. The story of Brian’s adolescence is remarkably flushed out by original interviews that Carlin has conducted with many of Brian’s childhood friends, most of whom have not been heard from much before.
One interesting tidbit, that if I had read about before I had forgotten, is the existence of home-made tapes of Brian, his brothers and assorted friends recorded before the famous “first” Beach Boys rehearsal recorded while Brian’s parents were on vacation in Mexico. The story of these very early tapes (practicing songs, goofing around, jokes, etc.) is extremely interesting and is told here, I believe, for the very first time.
That’s plenty for now. Stay tuned for more…………