It ain’t necessarily surf
This has been sitting on my desktop for a couple of days now, and I’ve been puzzling over what, if anything, to do with it.
Brian Wilson will reportedly complete at least two unfinished works by composer George Gershwin for an upcoming release, the Los Angeles Times reports. Wilson received authorization from the Gershwin estate to work on the unfinished songs, which are more than seven decades old. Wilson told the LAT he was “thrilled to death” by the prospect of completing Gershwin’s work, adding “I’m proud to be able to do it. Hopefully I’ll be able to do them justice.”
It’s not the first time anyone’s gotten hold of unfinished Gershwin works. Gershwin died during the filming of The Goldwyn Follies in 1937, and Vernon Duke completed some of the songs for the film, released the following year. Ira Gershwin offered some uncompleted tunes for 1947′s The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, this time with Kay Swift collaborating.
Still: Brian freaking Wilson? Actually, this makes more sense if you listen to Pet Sounds again; the man clearly had an ear, however unschooled, for orchestration. (And given his insistence on a monophonic mix, it was just the one ear.)
So I’m hopeful. Then again, I was hopeful when the Electric Prunes put out Mass in F Minor, too.
Da Goddess »
14 October 2009 · 2:13 am
Electric Prunes…reminds me that I know one of the drummers from Strawberry Alarm Clock. Which really doesn’t have anything to do with Brian Wilson, does it? But, let me try this segue: um…no. not gonna work.
I’d be interested to see where Wilson takes Gershwin. I think he’s smart enough to honor the composer’s original voice.
Mike Pechar »
16 October 2009 · 2:35 am
Gersh and Surf?