Customer Reviews

Imagination (Dts)

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Having been a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fan for nearly my entire life (I'm 36), the anticipation of a new Brian Wilson cd was something that I will always look forward to. When "Imagination" came out last year, I went out and bought it the day it was released, and I was not disappointed at all. From the opening notes of "Your Imagination" to nearly the last track, I was hooked. Brian's voice is in fine form throughout with my favorite songs including "Your Imagination", "South American", "Lay Down Burden" (a tribute to Brian's late brother Carl), the two Beach Boys tracks--"Keep An Eye On Summer" and "Let Him Run Wild". However, the song that really had an impact on me is "Dream Angel". The lyrics of this song truly got deep into my emotions as I interpreted it as an anthem of the hopes and dreams that I have for my 5 year old daughter who has special needs. Overall, the traditionally wonderful Brian Wilson arrangements and layered harmonies are a joy to listen to and I highly recommend this cd to anyone of any age.

Overall, Brian Wilson's "Imagination" is probably his best work since the early 1970s. It's no "Pet Sounds," as several reviewers have pointed out, but who cares? Taken on its own merits, it's a very good album, with excellent production and impeccable vocals. In fact, I think the album resembles "The Beach Boys Today!" more than anything else Wilson has done in the last 35+ years.

There have been a few criticisms about Wilson's reliance on remakes--specifically, "Keep An Eye on Summer" and "Let Him Run Wild." They're not bad, but to me, they pale in comparison to the rest of the album. "Your Imagination" and "South American" are excellent--perfect songs for cruising the beach. "She Says That She Needs Me" is a beautiful production--Wilson has taken a tune he wrote in 1965 (but never released, originally entitled "Sherry, She Needs Me"), rewritten the lyrics (with other writers), and created a great song. If anything on the album CAN be compared to Pet Sounds, it's this tune--but I still see it as more of a side-two "Today!"-type song.

I find two other songs worth noting--"Lay Down Burden," which evokes 1971's "'Til I Die" in its emotion (and is one of my all-time Wilson favorites), and "Cry," which I've grown to like more and more with each listen.

I've been a Brian Wilson fan since I was 5 years old (since the summer of 1975). This is pretty much the album I've been hoping he'd make for more than 20 years.

I don't get the negative reviews. I am a long time Beatles fan, and a relatively recent Beach Boys/Brian Wilson convert, so maybe I don't have the extra baggage or expectations of the longtimers. This album hooked me from the get-go. Songwriting, musicianship, production, singing are outstanding. This is a quantum leap above some of the dippy Beach Boys stuff that the die-hard fans seem to love and adore. I'll take Imagination's polished production, crafted harmonies, and fully realized songwriting any day. Only exceeded in breadth of concept, sophistication and execution by Wilson's Smile. Paul McCartney could learn a thing or two from this guy.

I have this cd in my personal collection and listen to it almost every day. Brian is not only one of the Beach Boys but one of the best song writers of the times. The 5.1 DTS is so amazing, so clear,and the mix so perfect I would recomond this cd to anyone who likes Brian Wilson.

As a studio musician, I must say that I know more than a few things about music. Brian's "Imagination" is brilliant in it's production, and it's execution. Brian's voice over-dubs make it very obvious that the considerable vocal talents of the other Beach Boys were never really needed after the advent of multi-tracking. Brian's trademark Beach Boys "wall of harmonies" are flawless with just layers of his own voice over-dubbed. It sounds just like the Beach Boys at their absolute peak. Brian is a genius, and he is being robbed by those who just want to hear "Surfin' Safari." It took over 20 years for "Pet Sounds" to be recognized as a work of art by most people, and while this album isn't another Pet Sounds, it may just take another 20 years for this gem to be appreciated for what it is. Genius isn't always immediately understood by many people.

I could not disagree more with the one-star review below. I have been a Brian Wilson/Beach Boys fan for more than 25 years and, in my humble opinion, Imagination is a great album. It is pointless to argue that Imagination doesn't have songs which compare to other, particular, Brian Wilson masterpieces. This record is what it is. It is what Brian wanted to give us and what he was able to give us and I am thankful that it exists.

Further, I suspect South American would have been a substantial hit if Giant had promoted it as a single.

Give Brian a break. He's not 25 anymore, this isn't the mid-60's, and the Beach Boys are history. He has money and time and very likely can do anything he wishes to do. I'm awfully glad he decided to do Imagination, and I very much hope that he decides to do another album soon.

If he does, we will be very fortunated, indeed.

This is the best album of 1998. This a true return to form of the genius we know as Brian Wilson. The touching love songs and anthems of summer are as strong as anything we have heard from Brian in the last 30 years. The harmonies remain, and are as fresh as the first time we heard them, on "Surfin`",way back in 1961. The contribution of Joe Thomas is greatly appreciated on this little collection of gems. He has provoked the sometimes reclusive genius out of his shell and restored him to where he deserves to be, at the forefront of the music industry.

Brian's production of this album strongly reminds me of the "Beach Boy Today" and "Summer Days..." era; which happened to produce incredible song like "Please Let me Wonder" and "She knows me too well". This is an *incredible* album with GREAT harmonies, all performed by the genius of Pop music, Brian Wilson!

Brian Wilson still has it! His enthusiam bubbles over on tunes like South America (I'm hungry and I'm doin' lunch with Cameron Diaz), and the bridge in She Says That She Loves Me sends chills up my spine (listen as the layers of harmony behind "Baby if you don't stop cryin'" take turns ascending.) My only knock on the disc is that it sounds a bit overproduced - I'd rather hear analog instruments than all those digital synthesizers.

Welcome back from hell, Brian!

I purchased this album the first week it was out and when I heard it, it took me back to the sound of his original solo debut which, sad to say, went out of print about 9 years ago. His vocals on this album are so rich and the instruments sound so alive. I especially like the song Happy Days because it always picks me up when I'm down. This is a highly recommended album for anyone who likes the Beach Boys are Brian Wilson's music.