I know that Pet Sounds is acknowledged as Brian's masterpiece, but listening to the remastered version of this album definitely buts it in the same league. Whereas Pet Sounds reflected the melancholia and insecurity Brian was feeling in 1965, his self titled 1988 release showcases a much more optimistic and loving artist. Love and Mercy, Melt Away, There's So Many and Let It Shine rank among Brian's best melodies, and Rio Grande is an experimental gem that would have fit nicely onto the aborted Smile album. The album's shining moment is One For The Boys, an a capella tribute to his former bandmates, which features Brian's multi-tracked harmonies. If Carl Wilson had sung on this album, it would rank as The Beach Boys' best work. This version also contains 11 bonus tracks (including many demos) that prove this wasn't just pieced together by producers, as was rumored at the time.

Rhino really know how to repackage, remaster and deliver the goods with those bonus tracks. Lots of contemporaneous b-sides, out-takes, demos and bits of Brian talking here. Wonderful! The album itself suffered a little from the 80s drum and keyboard sounds (a common problem of the times) and having too many hands on deck (including the controversial Gene Landy), but it was still a welcome return to the kind of form we never thought Brian Wilson would ever reach again. And he still has yet to match this album with any subsequent official release (what exists in the vaults and in the hands of bootleggers is a different story.....). Love and Mercy should have been a hit, Melt Away and There's So Many are gorgeous - Brian's melodic flair is very much intact here. Rio Grande is a breathtaking finale. All that Brian's Back nonesense seemed so much like hot air in 1976, in 1988 it rang a lot truer! Beach Boys fan or just a lover of great tunes that come from the heart? Buy this CD.

Finally available after a ten year hiatus. I had to get the out of print version on E-bay. But this version is worth it. Sonically better than the original release, with many unreleased tracks. The harmonies on this album are gorgeous-check out One For the Boys. Brian hadn't reached a musical peak since Love You. As I think back, why wasn't this album a hit in 1988? The songs are soooo much better than the dribble that was out at the time---Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, Rick Astley?? Love and Mercy should have been Top Ten material. The same can be said about Imagination, released in 1998. That is music---not Korn, Limp Bizkit blah blah blah. They wouldn't know how to write a decent song if their lives depended on it. This album just proves that Brian and his music are timely and timeless. Now if Brian could release Sweet Insanity......

Under the questionable sheen of late 80s production techniques and sythesizers, the genius of Brian Wilson is found in these recordings for the first time since 1977's "Love You" album, recorded with the Beach Boys. Wilson is ambitious on his first time out alone (although with the help of several producers and the strange influence of Dr. Eugene Landy) with the magnificent suite Rio Grande, while Love and Mercy and Melt Away rank with his best songs. This album is not on the level of Wilson's prime 1960 Beach Boy recordings, but is an interesting look into the later years of a musical genius and is sure to be worth any fan's time.

This is an excellent reissue of Brian Wilson's self-titled solo LP from 1988. It remains the best music that the Beach Boy singer and composer has released in the past twenty years or so.

The albums starts promisingly with "Love and Mercy," which has become a staple of Wilson's concert performances. It has a simple but well-structured melody which is lent potency by the Beach Boys-style harmonies for which Wilson is justly famous. However, on this album, Wilson handles almost all the backing vocal chores by himself, having painstakingly multi-tracked each vocal part. The results on this track are particularly spectacular on the bridge section. The lyrics of the song are disarmingly direct, almost childlike in their plea for (what else) love and mercy.

Other highlights include the acapella self-harmonizing on "One for the Boys," the lovely romantic ballad "Melt Away," and the retro pop effervescence of "Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight." The most spectacular cut is saved for the close, "Rio Grande." It's a pop suite seemingly inspired by the Americana themes and quirky melodies of the Beach Boys' abortive 1967 "Smile" album. It contains several haunting melodies blanketed in lush harmonies and production.

If there is a fault with the album, it may be its excessive reliance on the programmed synthesizers that were so popular in the late `80s. The entire project feels a tad overproduced. There are also some weak numbers, notably "There's So Many" and "Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long." Other than that, it's a satisfying return to the sophisticated harmonies and striking melodies that were the hallmark of Wilson's best work in the `60s.

Rhino has done a superb job of repackaging this album for release, replete with bonus tracks including demos for "Rio Grande," "Melt Away," and other key cuts on the album. Also included are tracks that were featured as B-sides and on movie soundtracks around the period this album was released. Interview segments with Wilson round out the package.

Rhino Records should be applauded for bringing back this long out-of-print release, especially with the wealth of bonus material included. "Brian Wilson" deserves a wider audience than it was able to garner at the time of its release. It's a key piece in the body of work of one of America's greatest songwriters of the modern rock era.