CD Music: CD of the week
Brian Wilson getting in over my head (Warner) *****

There's a wonderful, if slightly disturbing, naïvety to the great Brian Wilson's work. Given his incredibly tragic past - the abusive father, the deafness, the frightening slide into a world of drink and drugs dependency, the obesity and the subsequent mental breakdown - it's astonishing that the creative genius behind the Beach Boys is still trying to live the Californian dream.

Wilson could surely be forgiven if he did a Leonard Cohen, but he has an ever-present childlike effervescence means that he'll always be more comfortable with songs of love and innocence than plumbing the depths of despair.

Getting In Over My Head is the great man's first studio album in six years, and with guest appearances by Eric Clapton, Elton John and Paul McCartney, it really is an excellent piece of work. The intense beauty of the record grows with every listen and each track is carefully crafted and backdropped by the famed Wilson harmonies that were usually reserved for his beloved Beach Boys.

A good example is the harmony-laden Soul Searchin' featuring Brian's late brother, Carl. One of a several songs on the album that were written quite a while ago but never completed until now, it's magnificently lush but never sickly.

Don't expect anything new or different from this album - Wilson has long given up any hope of bettering Sgt Pepper. But if you like classic Brian at his most unpretentious and infectious, you'll love this.