Monday, June 21 marks the first day of Summer 2010. How appropriate, then, that the 68th birthday of Brian Wilson was a mere day earlier on June 20. Few musicians, if any, have contributed as much to the American myth of summer as Beach Boys leader Wilson. Years after galvanizing popular music with albums like 1966's much-reissued Pet Sounds and singles such as the same year's psychedelic "Good Vibrations," Wilson embarked on a solo career in 1988. Like so much of the man's journey through life, the road to solo success was a bumpy one.  2000's release of Live at the Roxy Theatre (available in various CD editions, each with slightly different track lineups) proved to be a crucial turning point as Wilson began a new chapter of his career, touring and recording solo alongside a group of collaborators as sympathetic to his vision as the original Beach Boys were some 40 years earlier. But the music produced by Wilson between 1988 and 2000 over the course of five albums, one of which remains unreleased to this day, is startlingly ripe for rediscovery.  So, while wishing Mr. Wilson a very happy 68th and eagerly awaiting the new Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin scheduled for August, Reissue Theory turns the spotlight onto 1998's Imagination (Giant CD 9 24703).

By 1998, Wilson was finally free of the influence of Dr. Eugene Landy, the controversial therapist who may have saved his life, but embroiled him in a frightening scenario which saw the good doctor controlling virtually every aspect of his famous subject's existence. It was in 1995, his own man once again, that Wilson married Melinda Ledbetter and began on the road to recovery and the eventual triumphant completion of the abandoned SMiLE project in 2004. With Carl Wilson's death earlier in 1998 and The Beach Boys fractured as a result, Wilson enlisted producer Joe Thomas to create the album that became Imagination. Co-producers were no longer new to the once famously-autocratic genius: 1988's solo debut Brian Wilson teamed him (under Landy's guidance) with Russ Titelman, Jeff Lynne, Lenny Waronker, Andy Paley and Lindsey Buckingham. Don Was took the controls for 1995's I Just Wasn't Made For These Times (featuring stark reworkings of Beach Boys classics) and Van Dyke Parks was the producer and arranger of the same year's Orange Crate Art. While Thomas' production was heavily reliant on synthesized sounds that recalled 1980s adult contemporary rather than Wilson's 1960s orchestral pop heyday, Imagination featured a number of tracks worthy of the man's greatest.

Album opener "Your Imagination," co-written with Thomas and Chicago radio personality Steve Dahl, shimmers with the buoyant charm of Wilson's most effervescent compositions. "South American" teamed Wilson and Thomas with Jimmy Buffett as co-writer and vocalist; the sun-kissed result is nothing short of terrific. The album's most affecting track is Wilson's tribute to his late brother Carl, the dramatic and heartfelt "Lay Down Burden," another Thomas co-write.

For Beach Boys buffs, Wilson re-recorded two songs in modern renditions that vocally and instrumentally couldn't compare to the originals, "Keep an Eye on Summer" and the Burt Bacharach-influenced "Let Him Run Wild." But he also finished two long-dormant songs originally intended for the group. "Happy Days" utilized a portion of the melody of "My Solution," recorded by the group on October 31, 1970 but unreleased to this day. "She Says That She Needs Me" first began life as "Sandy" as recorded on March 29, 1965. Vocals weren't added, though, until 1976, and on October 4 of that year, Brian began mixing on "Sandy," now retitled "Sherry, She Needs Me" with lyric contributions by Russ Titelman. It, too, remained on the shelf.  For Imagination, Carole Bayer Sager finished the Titelman/Wilson composition, finally revealing to the world one of Wilson's most beguiling and yearning melodies.

Jim Peterik of The Ides of March and Survivor, Andy Paley, and The Eagles' close pal J.D. Souther also contributed to the disc. Clearly, Wilson was writing in top form with sharp collaborators, and creating his patented, exquisite vocal harmonies to match. Three names familiar to any fans of Brian's post-2000 touring lineup also made their debut with him on Imagination: Scott Bennett, Bob Lizik and Paul Mertens.

Certainly many fans would like to see Brian's vocal tracks stripped of Thomas' glossy production, but it's difficult to dislike Imagination even in its existing mix.  Recently, Wilson has embraced the distinct sound he pioneered so many years ago, and done so with deserved great success. His sound refined Phil Spector's Wall of Sound and is instantly identifiable for trademarks such as sleigh bells, clip-clopping percussion and densely layered harmonies. Imagination represents a final attempt to marry Brian Wilson's style with (somewhat) modern production. Despite its slickness, it's actually dated far less than many CDs produced contemporaneously with it, and it remains a great and breezy listen for a summer afternoon.

Two nice supplements to Imagination exist: a DTS 5.1 disc which is now out-of-print but relatively easy to find (DTS 71021-51018-2-8) with a sparkling surround mix; and a DVD documentary about the album's making (Image Entertainment DVD) with a number of guest performers including Timothy B. Schmit, Christopher Cross and Bruce Johnston. Many bonus tracks could be appended to create a definitive 2-CD edition of Imagination.

See our dream track listing below, rounding up singles containing radio edits and a cappella renditions on Disc 1.  We've also inserted a reflective live version of "In My Room" to Disc 1 for coherence of listening.  Derived from the documentary, it originally was tacked onto the end of a promotional interview disc conducted by Sean Lennon and features Wilson joined by Schmit, Cross, Johnston, and Peterik.  On Disc 2, we've compiled that Lennon interview with another finding Peter Buck of R.E.M. in the interviewer's chair. Both are fascinating listening, and both utilize snippets of the original album tracks to illustrate topics discussed. It's within the realm of possibility that further outtakes and demo recordings may exist; only the Brian Wilson camp can say for sure. One final note: Imagination collaborator Andy Paley famously worked with Wilson to produce a number of tracks that are still "in the can," and great thought was given to including them here. But as some of those tracks were resuscitated for 2004's Gettin' In Over My Head, they might be better appended to that album, or finally released as their own proper album.

Imagination: Deluxe Edition

Disc 1

1. Your Imagination
2. She Says That She Needs Me
3. South American
4. Where Has Love Been?
5. Keep an Eye on Summer
6. Dream Angel
7. Cry
8. Lay Down Burden
9. Let Him Run Wild
10. Sunshine
11. Happy Days
12. Your Imagination (A Cappella)
13. South American (A Cappella)
14. South American (Radio Edit)
15. In My Room (Live)

Disc 2

1. Your Imagination
2. She Says That She Needs Me
3. South American
4. Cry
5. Happy Days
6. Dream Angel
7. - 27. Peter Buck Interviews Brian Wilson

Disc 1 Tracks 1-11 from Imagination (Giant CD 9 24703, 1998)
Disc 1 Track 12 from Giant CD single 7 43215 4734 2, 1998
Disc 1 Tracks 13-14 from withdrawn EU-only Giant CD single 74321 62185 2 3
Disc 1, Track 15 & Disc 2, Tracks 1-6 from Words and Music: Imagination (Giant PRO-CD-9226-R, 1999)
Disc 2, Tracks 7-27 from Brian Wilson & Peter Buck: From The Mojo Music Magazine Interview (Giant/Mojo CD, no cat. no., 1999)