Concert Review: Brian Wilson

By Bill Hanna

GRAND PRAIRIE -- The essential question at a Brian Wilson show, is, well, how's Brian?

Does he have his voice?

Does he appear to know what's going on?

And, for a tour in which he performed his long-lost masterpiece, Smile, did he ever crack one?

The answer to all the questions is a resounding yes.

There were times Wilson still looked awkward -- his herky-jerky motions and attempts at acting out some of songs were sometimes comical, sometimes indecipherable -- but Monday's night show at Nokia Live was stellar.

You get the sense that Wilson, the mastermind behind the Beach Boys and two albums that have been hailed as masterpieces, Smile and Pet Sounds, is still emerging from a three-decade-long fog.

He exorcised some of his demons last month with the release of Smile after abandoning the recordings in 1966 because of a nervous breakdown, and he's relaxed enough that he appears to be having a good time on stage.

Smile is a far cry from the simple catchy tunes the Beach Boys mined for years, though Wilson played many of those during an opening set and a 20-minute encore. And the audience appeared split between those who came to hear the hits and music junkies who hung on every word of Smile's oddball lyrics.

Smile deals with everything from classics that were later released on other Beach Boys albums, from the dreamlike Surf's Up to a slightly reworked Good Vibrations, as well more obscure songs about vegetables, fire and the virtues of Hawaii.

Musically, it's all over the map.

Some of it sounded like classic '60s pop worthy of the Beach Boys or Burt Bacharach. Other times it foreshadowed some of the bizarre orchestrations and nonsensical lyrics that would become synonymous with the late Frank Zappa.

GRADE: A