| Brian Wilson | ||||
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| Released | July 12, 1988 | |||
| Recorded | April 1987 – May 5, 1988[1] | |||
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| Genre | Progressive pop | |||
| Length | 37:20 | |||
| Label | Sire/Reprise | |||
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| Brian Wilson chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Brian Wilson | ||||
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Brian Wilson is the first solo album by American musician Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, released July 12, 1988, by Sire and Reprise Records. Promoted as a spiritual successor to his band's 1966 release Pet Sounds, the album is characterized by its rich, synthesizer-heavy orchestrations. It cost over $1 million to record and was the first album produced by Wilson since The Beach Boys Love You (1977). His former psychologist, Eugene Landy, was credited as "executive producer".
The album was recorded over the course of a year across 11 studios. It was written and produced mainly by Wilson, Landy, and Sire staff producers Andy Paley and Russ Titelman. Landy was a constant disruptive presence, and creative differences between him and the rest of the production team occurred throughout the album's making. The record includes the eight-minute closing track "Rio Grande", which saw Wilson revisiting a more experimental approach in the form of an Old West-themed suite. Among the album's guest contributors were Nick Laird-Clowes, Jeff Lynne, Elliot Easton, Philippe Saisse, Christopher Cross, and Terence Trent D'Arby. Two singles were issued: "Love and Mercy" and "Melt Away".
Brian Wilson was critically acclaimed but sold moderately, reaching number 54 in the U.S. and failing to chart in the UK. The LP's release was largely overshadowed by the controversy surrounding Landy's therapeutic practice and the success of the Beach Boys' "Kokomo", released the same month. In later years, detractors have criticized the album's reliance on synthesizers and drum machines. A follow-up, Sweet Insanity, was co-produced with Landy but never officially released. Wilson continued recording with Paley after disassociating from Landy in 1991, but did not release another solo album consisting of new original material until Imagination (1998).