Customer Reviews

Beach Boys - An American Band / Brian Wilson - I Just Wasn't Made for These Times

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These two films provide a very good overview of the Beach Boys. "An American Band" is a fairly good comprehensive look at the band from their beginnings through 1985. There's a lot of historical performance footage of the group and interviews from throughout the years, with some on-camera narration from Carl Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnston from 1985.

"I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" picks up the story about 10 years later, and focuses on the genius (and genial) composer Brian Wilson, showing his at least partial success in dealing with his personal, emotional, and psychological problems, which had plagued him during the previous two decades as recounted in the "American Band" film. Brian comes off in "IJWMFTT" as much more articulate in conversation than I had expected (he's really pretty articulate by any standard), and his new performances of some older songs are well done and compelling. Interestingly, the footage is almost entirely new, including interviews with family (Carl Wilson, mother Audree, daughters Carnie and Wendy), associates (Van Dyke Parks), and admirers (Tom Petty, John Cale, Thurston Moore, Linda Rondstadt), with almost no archival footage. So, between the two films, you have a history of the band and a portrait of its driving force during its glory years. A great combination.

One additional note: "IJWMFTT" is actually in letterbox in this version, not pan-and-scan. When I first bought this DVD, I was dismayed to see on the back of the box that it said the film had been modified to fit the TV screen, which usually means the letterboxing has been scrapped. I was pleasantly surprised to find when I actually watched the film that while the credits were in "full-screen" (i.e., not letterboxed), the rest of the film was definitely in letterbox. Very nice B&W photography.

"The Beach Boys - An American Band" and the subsequent "Brian Wilson - I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" are perfect documents of the real American rock band. The former focuses on the years '61 to '85 while the latter is a black & white document of The Beach Boys' troubled leader trying to get his life back together after years of personal problems.

1985's "An American Band" opens appropiately enough with footage of Brian Wilson's 1976 birthday party intercut with scenes from an interview done with him from his bedroom, half - dressed, smoking a cigarette. The rest of the film's made up of interviews with the other Beach Boys that are good, though obviously scripted. The real highlight are the concert footage, featuring footage from their European tour that includes an electrifying performance of "Breakaway", not to mention glowing versions of "God Only Knows" and "In My Room", plus rockers like "Barbara Ann" and "Fun, Fun, Fun".

1995's "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" has Brian coming to terms with his troubled life through various interviews with him and several people close to him, including his two wives, his daughters, Van Dyke Parks, and Carl Wilson, his brother who succumbed to lung cancer in 1998. In between are scenes of Brian doing newly recorded versions of "Meant For You", "Do It Again", "The Warmth Of The Sun" (a real surprise for me), "Til I Die", a rousing "This Whole World" as well as a few others.

Overall, these are two finely done documentaries of one of the greatest artists of all time, a group who forever changed the face of music with their surfboards, woodies, girls, pet sounds and good vibrations. Surf's up.

It was great seeing both these documentaries again. "An American Band" has some great concert footage, and includes Brian, eyes closed and totally into it, singing "Surf's Up" for the TV cameras just before the downfall in '67. Dennis' own downfall in the 80's is appropriatly handled; it's painful to see him at the end, barely able to talk. I saw the band in Dennis' last year, and the footage of him here brought back that painful memory. Concert versions of "Good Vibrations" (before it became a ridiculous sing-a-long) and "Heroes and Villains" are also a treat.
"IJWMFTT" shows a mostly lucid Brian, memory surprisingly intact, talking about his creations. But, the reason to watch this bio are the performances. Hearing Carl sing "God Only Knows" with his brohter and mother was a treat. And listening to Brian's ex-wife talk about "Caroline No" segue into Brian totally nailing the song was great stuff.

This release is a god-send for any fan. "An American Band", while at times corny is crammed full of great footage. More than an hour longer than the anniversary version (it's the original - clocking in at just under 1 hr., 50 min.), it shows full (or mostly full)clips of songs that I've never seen in their entirety. Entertaining early performances (though most are lip-synched) of all their big hits - as well as a few great non-hits ("Please Let Me Wonder" is a gem). Also includes most of the "Surf's Up" performance in Brians's house), and a lot more live footage. The second feature is a very good biography of Brian with some cool archival footage and of course, the l990's version of the master performing some of his greatest!!! All for only 12.99 - you can beat it!

This set of two revealing perspectives on the Beach Boys has enough samples of their best music to be appealing to fans. It also uncovers glimpses of the inner turmoil that developed as Brian Wilson, their primary creative force, left touring and changed the focus of his talents from writing catchy tunes about surfing and girls to writing complex harmonic sequences with lyrics that told stories of lost innocence and finding one's soul.

The turning point came in 1966, when Wilson essentially replaced Mike Love with Van Dyke Parks as his primary lyricist collaborator after "Pet Sounds". After the resulting "Smile" project was abandoned due to internal strife, the Beach Boys minus Wilson re-invented themselves as primarily a nostalgia band, riding the crest of the wave that had formed under Brian's leadership, but whose new songs were weak imitations at best. Wilson himself never fully recovered from the demise of "Smile", although the recent successful reconstruction of this project has signified a partial recovery of his significant talents.

"An American Band" does its best to sugar-coat the conflicts, and has the look and feel of the "official story" of the band, like a 2 hour press conference in which the facts are sanitized. There are two pivotal moments in this video: one comes when squeaky-clean Bruce Johnston walks towards the camera looking like a televangelist, saying confidently with a straight face "We knew Brian was not going to be around [after "Smile"] but that we had to push on without him" (why?) The other highlight of the film is Brian's amazing solo performance of "Surf's Up" accompanying himself on the piano. "Surf's Up" expands the harmonic horizon beyond even "Good Vibrations", and is one of the most original, most beautiful, pop songs ever written. Brian's rendition is unintentionally heart-breaking; he is clearly exposing his fragile soul here on lyrics that are suggestive of innocence, a dark past, and a hope for redemption.

"Brian Wilson: I wasn't made for these times" is a biography of Brian Wilson, and is more detailed in its exploration of the Beach Boy turmoil. It is a little too long on talking heads, but also has good moments, including Brian's rendition of the story of "Good Vibrations" to eloquent tributes by Tom Petty and Linda Rondstat.

The other amazing revelation by watching these documentaries (especially if you watch them after you watch the Beatles Anthology) is the complete lack of character and wit displayed by the band members. Brian is the most interesting of the bunch, but his troubled past has rendered him humorless and incapable of displaying any evidence of wit. Carl looked like a nice guy, but again seems to take it all too seriously; Dennis played the part of a 1-dimensional sex toy, wound up and eventually wound down on substances; Al....can't think of anything to say about him... And Mike Love! He's just plain weird, will someone please tell him that he is not cool?

Buy this for the great music and for a fascinating glimpse into a famous dysfunctional band.

This is definitely a must have for any fan. The archival footage is phenomenal, and the modern (1985) footage up through Dennis' death is mostly great. The interviews with Brian in bed are mindblowing - you finally get to see his wigged out condition, and the John Belushi/Dan Akroyd "surf bust" scene with Brian is worth the price of admission.
The Don Was video is slightly overdone. How many people do you need tell you "Brian is a genius"? These are nice people, (Crosby, Nash, Petty) but they don't add anything to the story, except Linda Ronstadt. But it shows Brian at the beginning of his comeback, 1993, and the "Love and Mercy" with his daughters is fabulous! Just click and order this one.

I flipped in 1985 when the first BB doc, "An American Band" came out. It had great archival footage and music, told the story (although skipping Manson, Blondie & Ricki, and their 70s output), and was reminiscent of the poorly titled "Compleat Beatles", out a few years earlier. What's good about this doc, like the later, superior "Endless Harmony", is that the BBs themselves are key participants in the storytelling. Don Was' B&W art doc, "I Just Wasn't Made...", is equally rewarding. Some important (and a few inconsequential) interviewees dish on Brian -- Linda Ronstadt notably shows she's intelligent with a psychological/sociological awareness, and Graham Nash (a likeable fellow) makes a fatal trivia mistake: "When was 'In My Room'? Was it '66?" No, dude, you're 3 years late. I've seen both the enclosed pan-n-scan version of IJWMFTT as well as the letterbox version. Sadly, the former is featured here, and that pegs the package down a notch. AAB has been improved over the original VHS in that the Pet Sounds sound clips are now replaced by the recently released stereo mix, and the opening and closing credits feature the stirring "Surf's Up" playing over film footage of a surfer in a tasty wave. But another notch down because of its inferiority to the "Endless Harmony" doc. Buy it, but as soon as you find IJWMFTT in widescreen and the aforementioned EH doc, trade this one in.

First up on this DVD is "An American Band." Own it because it's a wonderful historical and musical record of the Beach Boys from the very beginning. But don't expect a detailed, "warts-and-all" biography of the band. The full story of the Wilson family is as rife with tribulations as a Gothic novel. "An American Band" doesn't delve into the dark stuff except superficially; primarily, it's a feel-good infomercial for the Beach Boys through 1985 (a year or so after Dennis's death). Dennis's impossible lifestyle and struggles with drugs and alcohol are addressed just barely, although his sweat-drenched, inebriated attempt to croak out what had once been his signature song, "You Are So Beautiful," at his last July 4th concert is excrutiatingly painful to watch. The band's struggles over the musical direction of the group (e.g., the SMiLE project) are similarly left unmentioned, except for Mike Love's self-serving remark that "we work best sticking with the formula." On the plus side, the video contains clips of the Boys, minus Brian, playing in Czechoslovakia -- the first Western band to do so, entertaining hundreds of thousands of people at their yearly July 4th concerts, and singing "California Girls" on t.v. while Jack Benny and Bob Hope monkey around on stage in ridiculous wigs hauling a surfboard. There's plenty of great music here, and you see the band's evolution over a 25-year period.

The real meat of this DVD is in the second video, a black & white documentary about Brian, "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times." After 45 years of fandom, I feel like I finally understand something about who Brian is and why, as well as who he has become. Brian is famously candid, and candor is a hallmark of this video. Witness his ex-wife Marilyn and daughters Wendy and Carnie, especially Carnie, whose insights and ironic humor about Life With Brian show her to be wise beyond her 26 years. Collaborators Van Dyke Parks and Tony Asher have fascinating insiders' comments on the creation of "SMiLE" and "Pet Sounds." Rock icons like Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt, Lindsay Buckingham, John Cale and David Crosby speak articulately about Brian's influence on their own work and relate amazing, funny, awestruck stories about Brian's creative process. I concur with Tom Petty's remark that Brian easily ranks with Beethoven or the great composers of any era. This video also contains some good remakes, sung by Brian at the time the video was made in 1995, prior to Carl's death in 1998, with an excellent band.

Even taken together, these two videos leave a lot out. For instance, Brian's highly controversial therapist, Eugene Landy, is referred to only as "my assistant in the 80's" or "that guy." It's as if he's been turned into You-Know-Who from the Harry Potter books. I find that omission weird. If the guy was a Svengali, let's name names.

Brian's mom, Audree, comes across as so guarded and cautious as to be almost catatonic. Perhaps it's too awful to discuss, but considering the appalling damage that Murry Wilson did to his sons, I kept asking myself the question: where was Audree when Brian and Dennis were being beaten to a pulp? Unknown, captain.

Similarly, contradictory explanations for the demise of SMiLE reveal that there is still a lot of dust hiding under the rug on that one. The only thing clear is the long-lasting emotional devastation that Brian suffered as a result of abandoning the project.

Perhaps it's unfair to expect pop documentaries to cover all the territory that a comprehensive biography of Brian and his brothers would require. All angst and misgivings aside, Brian speaks for himself quite a bit here, and beyond the funny and poignant stories told about him by others, hearing Brian in his own words is worth everything to me. If you're a fan of 20th century popular music and want to understand some things about one of the two most influential bands of the past 50 years (the other group being of course the Beatles), you owe it to yourself to see this DVD. Along the way, you'll hear some great music, and you'll be greatly moved.

This is definitely a must have for any fan. The archival footage is phenomenal, and the modern (1985) footage up through Dennis' death is mostly great. The interviews with Brian in bed are mindblowing - you finally get to see his wigged out condition, and the John Belushi/Dan Akroyd "surf bust" scene with Brian is worth the price of admission.
The Don Was video is slightly overdone. How many people do you need tell you "Brian is a genius"? These are nice people, (Crosby, Nash, Petty) but they don't add anything to the story, except Linda Ronstadt. But it shows Brian at the beginning of his comeback, 1993, and the "Love and Mercy" with his daughters is fabulous! Just click and order this one.

I think the beginning of all Beach Boys-ology begins with these two programs.

AN AMERICAN BAND

This gives you a good feel of the early and late phases of the band. Although it glosses over the 1970's and there is no mention of Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar (two black South Africans that appeared on Carl and The Passions, Holland, and the 73 Concert Album), this film gives you a baseline overview.

Yes, it is sanitized. But you don't expect them to mention in detail Denny's drug abuse and sex-cipades, and his connection to Charles Manson, now do you?

This films strength is the archival footage, pre-MTV videos, and the various concert variations on songs. I love the version of "In My Room," with the strings and the splitting room.

Admittedly, it is jerky and would stand for better editing. I'm thinking of the scene with Carl in the used car lot. Moreover, the changes from 1960's TV capture and the frosted video tape of 1985 can be hard on the eye.

But this is, after all, about the music and actually seeing they guys play. The Beatles had left-handed Paul as a counter point to Right-Handed John. The Beach Boys have a slat, with short Al, portly Carl, and Brian topping six feet. It makes for quite a visual presentation. Later, Mike Love would develop a type of eye-catching flashiness, even when rapping "Wipeout."


I JUST WASN'T MADE FOR THESE TIMES

This is Brian Wilson, in black and white-literally and metaphorically. Brian, who does not interview well, opens himself up to probing. And he responds. The commentary by Tom Petty is fascinating-I would have loved to see Billy Corgan's comments, too. But he wasn't famous at the time.

You see Brian as a family man-ex-wife Marilyn, daughters Wendy and pre-gastronomy Carnie, and Carl and Audrey. Thank goodness they got both mom and brother on camera before they died.

The weirdest piece of trivia comes from Audrey. She mentions that Murray would get angry and then retreat into his bedroom and have his secretary schedule things form his bed. Weird, but this puts the "lying in bed like Brian Wilson" question in a new light.

The remakes are nothing spectacular, but it is fun to see and hear Brian and his two daughters, plus Carl, sing. Almost like the Osmonds.