Brian Wilson might be famous for sprawling orchestral arrangements, but his instincts for melody and harmony originated in a very stripped back setting: sitting at the family piano in his childhood home.
Wilson is channelling that sense of simplicity in his new album, At My Piano. Featuring just Wilson and his unique chord tones, The Beach Boys mastermind is rearranging some of his most beloved songs in a more intimate fashion.
“We had an upright piano in our living room, and from the time I was 12 years old I played it each and every day,” Wilson explains in a press release. “I never had a lesson, I was completely self-taught. I can’t express how much the piano has played such an important part in my life.”
“It has bought me comfort, joy and security,” continued the songwriting supreme. “It has fueled my creativity as well as my competitive nature. I play it when I’m happy or feeling sad. I love playing for people and I love playing alone when no one is listening. Honestly, the piano and the music I create on it has probably saved my life.”
These days, when you see Wilson perform live, he sits exclusively at the piano. It’s become the dominant image of him, perhaps even more so than his youthful plucking of the bass during The Beach Boys early years or the concentrated guru behind the sound desk as a producer. Wilson’s love affair with the piano is well documented, and now it’s getting its very own album to prove it.
Check out Wilson’s solo piano version of ‘God Only Knows’, plus the album’s full tracklisting, down below. At My Piano will be released on November 19.
At My Piano tracklisting:
- ‘God Only Knows’
- ‘In My Room’
- ‘Don’t Worry Baby’
- ‘California Girls’
- ‘The Warmth Of The Sun’
- ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’
- ‘You Still Believe In Me’
- ‘I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times’
- ‘Sketches Of Smile: Our Prayer/Heroes And Villains/Wonderful/Surf’s Up’
- ‘Surf’s Up’
- ‘Friends’
- ‘Till I Die’
- ‘Love And Mercy’
- ‘Mt Vernon Farewell’
- ‘Good Vibrations’
