Live At The Roxy Theatre

Product Description

Brian Wilson Live at the Roxy Theatre is culled from the best performances recorded over a Friday and Saturday night in Hollywood. Live at the Roxy is a virtual greatest hits package and a wonderful coda to Brian’s first solo tour. This release has 2 addi

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“Brian is Back!” It’s taken decades, but that once sadly ironic press agent’s epithet has finally come true. The intervening quarter-century may have devastated Brian Wilson’s mind and body, and band and family, but, as this double-disc live recording/love-fest ably demonstrates, his soul and music burn on. Backed flawlessly by a 10-piece band (including L.A. pop revivalists the Wondermints) of fervent loyalists, Wilson and company march joyously through the Beach Boys‘ hits-laden catalog, from “Surfer Girl” through “Good Vibrations” to the cream of Pet Sounds, a handful of the legend’s solo works, and a gratifying surprise or two (including a delicious, inside-out-ironic cover of Barenaked Ladies‘ laid-back “Brian Wilson” that segues hauntingly into the all-too-autobiographical “‘Til I Die”). If cynics have chosen to deride Wilson’s mature voice (as steady and expressive as it’s been in decades) and general oddness (here revealed for what it often truly is: a playfully off-center sense of humor), they do so at the peril of ignoring his vast contributions and continuing influence–and the spark of undimmed genius that still holds so much promise. Make no mistake, this show was not about nostalgia, but rather a celebration of music whose performances sound completely in the moment. Previously available only as a Wilson Web site exclusive, this expanded edition includes an audio interview with Brian at the piano, as well as two bonus tracks–“Sloop John B” and the rousing encore sing-along “Barbara Ann”–that help further underscore a hopeful notion: Brian is really back. –Jerry McCulley