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Book Cover for: Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius, Philip Lambert

Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius

Philip Lambert

Inside the Music of Brian Wilson is, as author Phillip Lambert writes in the prologue "completely, and intensely, focused on the music of Brian Wilson, on the musical essence of his songs and the aesthetic value of his artistic achievements. It acknowledges the familiar biographical contexts of his songs, but it tells completely new stories about the birth and evolution of his musical ideas, identifying important musical trends in his work, heretofore undisclosed inter-song connections within his music, or between his music and that of others, and the nature and extent of his artistry. It aims not just to identify great songs, but to explain exactly what makes them so."

Lambert, a renowned musicologist, brings to this work to life with both his professional expertise and an infectious personal appreciation of the power of pop music. His clear, engaging tone and accessible writing style allows even a musically inexperienced reader to follow him as he traces Wilson's musical evolution, with a particular focus on the years leading up to the writing and recording of Pet Sounds and SMiLE, albums which many consider to be the masterpieces of his oeuvre. Inside the Music of Brian Wilson is the definitive book on Wilson's music and is essential reading for fans of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and great pop music.

Includes THREE amazing Appendixes:
Appendix 1: Brian Wilson Song Chronology*
Appendix 2: Four Freshmen Albums, 1955-1961
Appendix 3: Favorite Songs and Influences Through 1961
*The most complete song chronology ever published.
Inside the Music of Brian Wilson is, as author Phillip Lambert writes in the prologue "completely, and intensely, focused on the music of Brian Wilson, on the musical essence of his songs and the aesthetic value of his artistic achievements. It acknowledges the familiar biographical contexts of his songs, but it tells completely new stories about the birth and evolution of his musical ideas, identifying important musical trends in his work, heretofore undisclosed inter-song connections within his music, or between his music and that of others, and the nature and extent of his artistry. It aims not just to identify great songs, but to explain exactly what makes them so."

Lambert, a renowned musicologist, brings to this work to life with both his professional expertise and an infectious personal appreciation of the power of pop music. His clear, engaging tone and accessible writing style allows even a musically inexperienced reader to follow him as he traces Wilson's musical evolution, with a particular focus on the years leading up to the writing and recording of Pet Sounds and SMiLE, albums which many consider to be the masterpieces of his oeuvre. Inside the Music of Brian Wilson is the definitive book on Wilson's music and is essential reading for fans of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and great pop music.

Includes THREE amazing Appendixes:
Appendix 1: Brian Wilson Song Chronology*
Appendix 2: Four Freshmen Albums, 1955-1961
Appendix 3: Favorite Songs and Influences Through 1961
*The most complete song chronology ever published.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Continuum
  • Publish Date: Mar 19th, 2007
  • Pages: 418
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.98in - 6.00in - 1.07in - 1.19lb
  • EAN: 9780826418777
  • Categories: MusicGenres & Styles - RockHistory & Criticism - General

About the Author

Philip Lambert is Professor of Music at Baruch College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is a specialist on music of the twentieth century and has published widely on this subject in the fields of music theory and musicology. His previous book is "The Music of Charles Ives."

Praise for this book

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Mention in Memphis Flyer
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Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4! /* Style Definitions */p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal{mso-style-parent: "";margin:0in;margin-bottom: .0001pt;mso-pagination: widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";}@page Section1{size:8.5in 11.0in;margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;mso-header-margin: .5in;mso-footer-margin: .5in;mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1{page: Section1;} >/* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name: "Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow: yes;mso-style-parent: "";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .0001pt;mso-pagination: widow-orphan;font-size:10.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language: #0400;mso-fareast-language: #0400;mso-bidi-language: #0400;}Was awarded the title of "Best History" in the "RecordedRock Music" category of the ARSC's annual book awards
"Now, Philip Lambertchimes in with "Inside the Music of BrianWilson, "which does in fact break new ground...Lambert demonstrates that inthe work of composers such as Wilson, popular music can be much more than threeminutes of ear candy."- Erik Himmelsbach--,
""Inside theMusic of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys'Founding Genius "is a pick any Beach Boys fan needs: while Brian Wilson'slife has received extensive documentation in other biographies, here the focusis solely on his music, not his life and what a welcome change that is, forfans of his sound...Rock music collections will find it an invaluableexploration."- "The Internet Bookwatch, "July2007--,
"Here, author Lambert dissects every element of Wilsonworld and also provides an abundance of associated stories and intriguing insight. As a source of information, the book is invaluable...this is a welcome addition to the existing surf-sodden library." Fred Dellar, Mojo, May 2007 --Sanford Lakoff
"Lambert's work is extraordinary for what it is, examining the young songwriter piece by piece as Wilson teases out his own voice. It's not exactly poetry, but it is of extraordinary value."--Sanford Lakoff "Times "
"This book is long overdue. Lambert's knowledge allows him to root Wilson's music exactly, and to detail its growth and the composer's ability to take the unexpected routes...its scholarly approach will fascinate." --Sanford Lakoff
-Mention. San Gabriel Valley Newspapers, June 10, 2007 --Sanford Lakoff
"Now, Philip Lambert chimes in with "Inside the Music of Brian Wilson, "which does in fact break new ground...Lambert demonstrates that in the work of composers such as Wilson, popular music can be much more than three minutes of ear candy."- Erik Himmelsbach--Sanford Lakoff
""Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius "is a pick any Beach Boys fan needs: while Brian Wilson's life has received extensive documentation in other biographies, here the focus is solely on his music, not his life and what a welcome change that is, for fans of his sound...Rock music collections will find it an invaluable exploration."- "The Internet Bookwatch, "July 2007--Sanford Lakoff
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name: "Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow: yes; mso-style-parent: ""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-fareast-language: #0400; mso-bidi-language: #0400;} Was awarded the title of "Best History" in the "Recorded Rock Music" category of the ARSC's annual book awards