Gettin' In Over My Head
| Gettin' in Over My Head | ||||
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| Studio album by Brian Wilson | ||||
| Released | June 22, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 1996, 2002–04 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 53:08 | |||
| Label | Brimel/Rhino | |||
| Producer | Brian Wilson | |||
| Brian Wilson chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Robert Christgau |
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Gettin' in Over My Head is the fifth studio album by Brian Wilson. It marked his third solo album of new studio material. It was recorded over several years and, making use of many previously written songs never before released, was issued in mid-2004 on Rhino Records. The album reached number 100 in the US during a chart stay of 1 week. It also reached number 53 in the UK.
Featuring celebrity guests, such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eric Clapton and the late Carl Wilson, Gettin' in Over My Head received satisfactory reviews upon release but was not commercially successful. Sir Peter Blake created the cover art and assigned 2004 Brian Wilson Presents Smile artist Mark London to art direct the rest of the package.
Most tracks from the album were not new material, but rather a collection of older, unreleased tracks and riffs from the past. The tracks "Make a Wish", "Fairy Tale", "Rainbow Eyes" and "Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel" are re-recorded songs from Wilson's 1990/1991 sessions from the abandoned Sweet Insanity. The lyrics to "Rainbow Eyes" were slightly rewritten to change "sweet insanity" to "sweet conspiracy". The track "Desert Drive" is based around riffs over 40 years old. Furthermore, with the concurrent live performances of the recently completed Smile album, and the announcement of its impending issue on CD, it completely overshadowed Gettin' in Over My Head's release, with all attention going to the former. There was a limited edition set of prints created by artist Sir Peter Blake in 2004.
One songwriter who was reached for a collaboration was XTC's Andy Partridge who explains: "I rang up a lot of people ... and heard quite a few stories that would put off any sane person from getting involved in the Brian Wilson camp ... They said he would call me ... either he changed his mind, or the management changed his mind, or maybe he just forgot, because I've heard stories of people who've gone over to work with him, and he's not acknowledged them being in the room for days. ... he's definitely in the Wilsonverse, I don't think he's in the known universe. ... one of the few people you can actually call genius, I think, so hey, he can be as nutty as he wants."
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Wikipedia