Customer Reviews

The Nearest Far Away Place: Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and the Southern California Experience

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In the act of creating a grand mosaic of the world the Beach Boys grew up in and shared, the full explanation of what befell them surfaces for once. Hooray! When I got this book from another Beach Boys bud, I never ever knew there had been big emotional victims in the Wilson family prior to Brian. Or that all sorts of other talents and interests had been inherited, too. Never before was the town of Hawthorne made sense of, either. Who knew what teen culture was like there in the 1950s? It was wild to get the day to day explanations. To see how Dennis and Carl, not to mention Brian, chose or got forced onto the roads in life they took. Surprises wait on each page. To ultimately feel so close to the family is a victory. Understanding So.California on up-close and personal terms is gratifying, also. This explicates sensitive people, a community and a microcosm in the detail it merits. It all makes sense.

"Summer Means New Love" and this gets you in the right vibe. But the "disappointed" guy reviewing from Texas is a gremmie taking potshots. Some so-called Beach Boys fans have a chip on their shoulders. If anybody checks, you see the Wilson birthdates given in this book are right. Checking my copy on pg. 339, it doesn't say Dennis Wilson is the "youngest" Beach Boy, but the "California Calling" chapter says send suggestions for future editions, and that small bit was probably fixed. But why say Dennis Wilson isn't in this book, when Chapter 7, called "Gettin' Hungry" is all about him growing up and finding out about surfing? Brian sings, love and mercy is what we need. Amen.

Wow. I'm embarassed to say that I thought I knew about the Beach Boys before I read "The Nearest Faraway Place". I was wrong. The depth of vision and analysis is staggering and told through the elegantly unobtrusive Tim White style I have come to expect from the book "Catch a Fire" and his columns in Billboard. It is designed to give you a full picture of the Southern California experience, dating back to the earliest generations of the Wilson family, but,if you want to skip the early chapters, you can go straight to the meat of the Beach Boys' history. Unbelievable unedited transcripts of the dialogue during recording sessions and insightful deconstruction of the cross-pollinization of inspiration happening in the Sixties. Which Beach Boys' song inspired which Beatle song, with help from which Byrd song, etc.; and all culled with interviews from the actual players and composers. Great stuff!

This fantastic book isn't just about the Beach Boys and their music. It's about the California that they and their parents grew up in, from the 1930s through the 1960. Surfing and hot rods and local bands take center stage.

After reading this book one realizes that Brian Wilson was the creative genius behind the band. His sad emotional porblems and rehabilitation are documented here.

Along the way there are many surprises, like Glen Campbell's musical involvement with the band. An absolutely riveting book.

Timothy White gives us a view of the Wilsons History and the climate of the So Cal music scene of the 50's thru the 60's, where everybody practically knew everyone. It also gives us an insider view of the events that happened to the Wilsons, Loves, Berrys, Torrances, as well as The Wrecking Crew(Campbell, Tedesco, Blaine, Russell, Kaye, and others.....), Spectors, and just about everyone you've ever heard of that made music in the 60's and 70's in So.Cal. Even though he glosses over most of the material that the 'Boys did during the 70's, it's the early work in the 60's that made this for good reading. The recording industry was covered in good detail, especially what happened with the promotion of the Beatles, Beach Boys, and anyone else that was popular during the period. He also went over a lot of history of other groups, that had ties to the SoCal industry. He did a great job overall, and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the history of music in general, and especially on the 'Boys. Surf's Up, Dude!

A fellow commuter was reading this book and his recommendation was appreciated. The story was a genial entry into summer. It has a musical biography and a regional almanac joined as one. Now I seem to hear the Beach Boys music everywhere, or at any rate I notice it more. This would certainly be an ideal companion at the beach itself.

As a transplanted Californian, this book made me homesick for the state and the music that made it world famous. I loved the music and the tales of the record biz but the cultural vision and background gave the overall text the qualities of a time machine. Loved the trip!

I read this book first after seeing a favorable comment about it from Carnie Wilson, Brian's daughter, and how much she learned about her own family. It was really a fantastic read and taught so much about the music, an incredible amount about California history, and the explanation of the family too and what they went through to even get to California. Since then other people said to me that this book is the right one to read, not the gossipy, putdown books and stories.

I got turned on to this book by friends after I had some issues with the AMERICAN FAMILY Beach Boys TV mini-series, like how did Murry get so angry, and how did his son Brian become such a delicate case? This book addresses those issues by going back to the very beginning of the family history and relating the origins of everything. Therefore, when the songs later get written, you've already experienced the origins of them. This book reminded me more of recent popular history books like NO ORDINARY TIME, but that's not a criticism. And it could have been titled BEACH BOYS: THE REAL ORIGINS, but what's most important is that it's very satisfying to read.

Beachmoms respect the Beach Boys too. Brian was very honest with the author, as were the other Wilsons, and it brought a wider lesson to this story. To see greatgrandparents lord it over grandsons and on and on down the line is disconcerting. You see Brian grow up with fear, as he is abused in toddlerhood, suffers bedwetting, anxiety and more is terrible. And then he's made to feel ashamed of his angelic voice! The scene that can't be overlooked is the one where he tells his own mother he never had the courage to give his girlfriend the engagement ring he bought her. Brian was afraid love at that level didn't get returned. The scene in which Mike Love's mother puts him out of the house, throewing his clothes at him, was also important. This is our problem as a society and as parents. Can we teach our children, by our example, to love and return love? And not to break faith with love? We need to give back to Brian and all the other Brian's who only want to offer their loving side. It's time to start.