Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: tack piano, vocal sessions, good vibrations, Beach Boys, Van Dyke, Brian Wilson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this exhaustive tome, former People magazine writer Carlin chronicles the lives of the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson. By now the Wilson story is well-known, and Carlin doesn't stray much from the script: Wilson's abuse at the hands of his cantankerous father, Murry; his decline into depression; his drug use; and the band's slide from the top of the charts, singing about surfing and fast cars, to the depths of despair and, ultimately, Wilson's redemptive 2004 release of Smile. While the major beats of the story may not be news to fans, Carlin's comprehensive research adds an entirely welcome perspective. Based on numerous primary interviews, and parsing through hundreds of hours of unreleased studio tape, he succeeds in rendering an immediate and often heart-wrenching look at both the psychological abuse and the artistic muse that prodded Wilson to greatness and paralyzing depression. In one memorable passage drawn from the studio session tape, Carlin renders the torment endured by Wilson at the hands of his father during the recording of the hit "Help Me, Rhonda." It is moments like these, mixed in with Carlin's sober insights, that raise this effort a cut above the standard rock biography. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The near-miraculous appearance of Smile in 2004, 37 years after Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson abandoned that ambitious concept album, has opened the door for another biography of rock's most notoriously troubled genius. To a great extent, Wilson's life is the Beach Boys life. He dominated the band, writing and producing virtually all the hits of its early 1960s heyday, before drugs and mental problems sidelined him. Carlin perforce covers the Beach Boys' rise, fall, and subsequent resurrection as a nostalgia act, as well as their internecine feuds, keenly poignant because the key band members were brothers and cousins. Yet, having enjoyed the cooperation of his subject, he sensitively and compassionately focuses on Brian; and having heard hundreds of hours of unreleased recordings and interviewed many of Brian's collaborators and associates, including the surviving Beach Boys, he emphasizes the music. A Beach Boys fan before he was a senior writer at People (he's since moved on), Carlin proves the ideal person to pen a highly readable and substantive book on this particular rock legend. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; 1st ed edition (July 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594863202
• ISBN-13: 978-1594863202
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #302,412 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Catch A Perfect Book, August 1, 2006

By	SURF JUICE (California) - See all my reviews

This is a beautifully written book about a highly gifted artist. When I had to put "Catch A Wave" down to get some work done, I'd put on whatever Beach Boy song I had been reading about while I worked, including "Pet Sounds Sessions." I also felt complelled to listened to my old Three Dog Night Album not knowing why until I read page 130. Along with the insight into Brian's life, this book stirred up a lot of memories, creative juices and deep intuition. Thank you Peter Ames Carlin for a great read on my favorite musician and for the energy of Catch A Wave.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Personal Traumas and Triumphs, July 28, 2006

By	Robert M. Burlingam Jr. (Villas, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Brian Wilson remains one of the most gifted and innovative American writers and producers. He paid the price. David Leaf's masterwork The Beach Boys and The California Myth (1977) gave us a glimpse of the tortured artist. Wilson's own autobiography Wouldn't it Be Nice (My own story-1991)was tainted with Eugene Landy's own summarizations. Tim Whites 1996 Biopic The Nearest Farthest Away Place was also fresh and revealing.
The Book does not offer any new material to ponder, but a rather the repaved thoroughfare of the Brian Wilson looking glass. Everything is researched thoroughly and correctly, but bares nothing that a bonofide Brain Wilson fan wouldn't have already known.
I think there is plenty of existing literature available now or otherwise. Brian Wilson Biopics are always a good reads, however one tends to wanna quench his or her need to search each subsequent bookwork for saucier detailing on Wilson's personal traumas in lieu of his personal triumphs.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Less than expected, January 8, 2007

By	Jeffrey A. Sherman (Broomfield, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a big fan of the music of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. I had listened to Peter Carlin discuss the book with Bob Edwards on XMPR radio and thought it sounded really interesting (particularly his discussion of his meetings with The Wondermints and the creation of the Smile CD two years ago) despite the fact that so much has already been written about Brian.

On the pro side, I thought this was a very well-written book that carries the reader along quickly and enjoyably. Carlin has taken a clear-headed approach and avoids getting mired in the grotesque stories of Murray Wilson's alleged abuse (though he doesn't stray from discussions of Murray either). Further, although I suspect Mike Love might disagree, I think he gives the reader a fair amount of insight in to the frustrations that the other members of the band may have experienced in dealing with Brian after he stopped touring (and especially from Pet Sounds on) and how that impacted their relationships.

However, on the con side: I think the book really doesn't spend nearly enough time detailing the "Fall, and Redemption" of Brian. Though he mentions some incidents on airplanes in the early/mid 1960s, the bizarre behavior in the decades thereafter, and some of the behavior of "Dr." Landy, I don't feel like it was detailed enough for me to get much insight into what caused the breakdowns and fall (and what the fall really entailed) and whether the redemption was truly a redemption (his descriptions of a waxy Brian performing make me question whether he has returned to health).

Further, although I appreciate Carlin's skeptical eye regarding past Beach Boys biographies, interviews and other writings, I feel like the book is somewhat too reliant on them and that there are too few new revelations in the reporting.

I recognize that it is difficult to encapsulate an approximately 45 year career and 60 year life into 300 pages, but I feel like the net result was less meaty than I had hoped.