Brian Wilson - Imagination
Our Price: $22.10
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.89 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Brian WilsonEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1998-06-16
Music Label: Giant Records / Wea
Soundtracks:
- Your Imagination
- She Says That She Needs Me
- South American
- Where Has Love Been?
- Keep An Eye On Summer
- Dream Angel
- Cry
- Lay Down Burden
- Let Him Run Wild
- Sunshine
- Happy Days
Music reviews of Imagination
Music Review: Let's Hear It for the Man
Rating: 4 Stars
I admit that it's hard for me to be objective about this album. I love and admire Brian Wilson's music and the man himself, for what he has accomplished and for what he has survived. Therefore, if you want a totally cold, ruthless review, look elsewhere.
On the other hand, I'm a musician myself and pretty critical about what I listen to, and in my opinion, "Imagination" is a lovely album. It's got some wonderful new material, the title track being notable; two great remakes: "Keep An Eye on Summer" (originally from Shut Down Vol. 2) and "Let Him Run Wild" (from Summer Days and Summer Nights); and a reworking of Brian's old "Sherry, She Needs Me" into the touching "She Says That She Needs Me." There's also "South America," a lightweight but catchy ditty co-written with Jimmy Buffett.
Brian is extremely forthright in general, and hides little from his fans. On this album he processes some of the traumas of his past and present in a way that was no doubt cathartic for him. In "Where Has Love Been," when he writes "I've been places I can barely talk about/Sunny days that died away in tears/Tumbling like a leaf out on the sea of doubt/I've seen nights that seem to last for years," you know he's telling the truth about his life-long battle with clinical depression. Fortunately for him and us, the song is about his progression out of this deep unhappiness to the light and joy he found with his wife Melinda: "Where has our love been/all my life?/I'm in love and I know it was meant to be/Close your eyes and dream with me again/Dream again." Heartwarming, inspiring and beautiful.
In the same confessional vein is "Lay Down Burden," Brian's farewell to younger brother, Carl, who died of cancer in 1998, the same year "Imagination" was released. "Lay Down Burden" expresses Brian's regret that his mental problems caused years of absence from the Beach Boys and from Carl in particular, as well as how much he loved and missed Carl: "So many years spent running away/How many times I wished I could stay/Too much emotion a hole in my heart/Feeling alone since we've been apart/And if I had the chance/I'd never let you go/...Just remember the way I held you/You're always in my heart." Brian sets the song to a lovely, understated melody with a spare chorus that only hints at the profound grief underneath. If this song doesn't at least make you feel like crying, check your tear ducts.
On the whole, the album has a catchy, pop sound that improves with each hearing, especially because Brian is singing every part himself, and his gorgeous signature harmonies are ever present. I would have preferred a bit less orchestral flavor -- violins and horns don't really do it for me -- and I understand the comments that disapprove of the record for its somewhat slick production values. However, I also know that Brian likes to mix sound textures and he's always had an orchestral side to him. In another era he would have/could have been Brahms.
There are a couple of songs at the end that reveal Brian's relief at having come through so much misery into the "Sunshine." I don't care for these songs very much, they seem simplistic. However, they express something important to Brian, and as far as I'm concerned, the man has every right to express the childlike joy he was robbed of for too long. So, if here and there something doesn't sit right with me, I let it ride in favor of the overall sensibility. In the case of "Imagination" it's lush, bright, joyful, hopeful and totally Brian Wilson: survivor, lover of life, and homegrown musical genius.
Description of Imagination
Japanese edition of his 1998 solo album with an a cappella version of the first single from it, 'Your Imagination', added as a bonus track. 12 tracks total. A Giant/ BMG release.Brian Wilson's second full-fledged solo release is a tour de force of his physical art as the former Beach Boy mastermind overdubs himself into a chorale of well-tempered voices. Unfortunately, Wilson's coproduction (with Joe Thomas) leaves these feathery constructions floating on a too-thin instrumental base that comes nowhere near the oomph of Pet Sounds or "California Girls" or even the beaty stepping of Wild Honey. Only a couple of songs, "She Says That She Needs Me" and a retooled "Let Him Run Wild," hint at the sort of darkness that's driven some of Wilson's best work. (A second vintage Boys tune, "Keep an Eye on Summer," is also included.) And it's a mystery why he felt the need to hire Jimmy Buffett to help him construct "South American," Wilson's own "Kokomo." --Rickey Wright
Pop CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Pop CDs
Yvette Freeman - Dinah Was (L.A. Theatre Works Audio Theatre Collection)Release date: 2005-04-12; Music CD
Best price: $18.86
Price in other shops:
Twin Sisters Productions - Building Character Music CDTWIN SISTERS PRODUCTIONS; Release date: 2007-01-01; Music CD
Best price: $6.75
Price in other shops:
Bernadette Peters in ConcertDVD
Best price: $75.00
Everything Must Go/ Two Against Natureby Steely Dan
Published: 2003; Music CD
Scattered Ashes: A Decade Of Emperial WrathRelease date: 2009-07-28; Published: 2009; Music CD
Best price: $13.90
Price in other shops:
![Christmas at the Biltmore Estate [VHS] Image](/images/Christmas-at-the-Biltmore-Estate-VHS-076700437X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Christmas at the Biltmore Estate [VHS]A&E Home Video; Release date: 1998-09-04; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.31
Price in other shops:
The Shadow: Rare Radio Gems (Rare Radio Gems)Release date: 2002-09-01; Published: 2002-09-01; Music CD
Best price: $20.00
Price in other shops:
On the Shoulders of Giants, Vol. 1: An Audio & Musical Journey Through the Harlem Renaissanceby Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Release date: 2011-09-06; Published: 2008; Music CD
Best price: $1.98
Price in other shops:
Francis Durbridge, Paul Temple & The Gilbert Case - Radio ShowRelease date: 2003-05-12; Music CD
Best price: $21.63
Price in other shops:
The Serenaders - My One and Only YouRelease date: 2011-05-28; Music CD
Best price: $8.59
Price in other shops:
Similar CDs
Brian Wilson - Brian Wilson Reimagines GershwinRelease date: 2010-08-17; Music CD
Best price: $6.24
Price in other shops:
Brian Wilson - SmileRelease date: 2004-09-28; Music CD
Best price: $10.51
Price in other shops:
The Beach Boys - Friends / 20/ 20Release date: 2001-04-10; Music CD
Best price: $5.66
Price in other shops:
Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks - Orange Crate ArtRelease date: 1995-11-14; Music CD
Best price: $16.25
Brian Wilson - Gettin' in Over My HeadRelease date: 2004-06-22; Music CD
Best price: $5.88
Price in other shops:
Brian Wilson - I Just Wasn't Made for These TimesRelease date: 2012-05-01; Music CD
Best price: $21.71
Price in other shops:
Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old SunRelease date: 2008-09-02; Music CD
Best price: $7.59
Price in other shops:
The Beach Boys - That's Why God Made the RadioRelease date: 2012-06-05; Music CD
Best price: $11.88
Price in other shops:
![In The Key Of Disney [Amazon.com Exclusive Version] Image](/images/In-The-Key-Of-Disney-Amazon-com-Exclusive-Version-B005LZWGGA-X.jpg)
Brian Wilson - In The Key Of Disney [Amazon.com Exclusive Version]Release date: 2011-10-24; Music CD
Best price: $8.24
Price in other shops:
Brian Wilson - Brian Wilson (Dlx)Release date: 2000-09-05; Music CD
Best price: $6.19
Price in other shops: