Gettin' in Over My Head

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Product Description ------------------- The musical genius and Beach Boys mastermind's first solo studio album since '98 features superstar guests such as Eric Clapton, Elton John, and Paul McCartney. Also features several Brian Wilson/Andy Paley songwriting collaborations from the '90s. .com ---- Having miraculously survived decades of personal and creative turmoil, Brian Wilson re-emerged in the '90s to recl his incomparable pop music legacy with joyous tours that celebrated both the music ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JRWZ/${0} ) that made him a star and Pet Sounds ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B000067OYY/${0} ), the album ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005ASHM/${0} ) that forever secured his legend. Utilizing the remarkable, dedicated band of musicians who backed him on those shows, Wilson re-entered the studio to once again pick up the promising, yet ever fitful career that last yielded '96's vocally gorgeous, if production cloistered Imagination ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B000007NCL/${0} ). It's that renewed dedication to musicianship, coupled with a robust slate of Wilson songs new and old that will thoroughly delight admirers of the Beach Boys mastermind. Three of Wilson's '60s/'70s contemporary superstar/admirers contribute performances: Elton John ( /exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/23176/${0} )'s forceful take on "How Can We Still Be Dancing" evokes the rollicking, youthful prime of both legends; Paul McCartney ( /exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/14682/${0} )'s guitar and vocals are considerably more subdued on the typically wistful "A Friend Like You"; Eric Clapton ( /exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/60030/${0} )'s searing guitar nearly overwhelms the chunky rhythms of "In the City." There's also a touching reunion with the disembodied voice of late brother Carl as Brian completes the latter's unfinished mid-'90s track "Soul Searchin'," but the real star here is Wilson's enduring muse. He variously evokes the spirit of Spector past and his old band on "You've Touched Me" and "Desert Drive," respectively, then reunites with Smile/Orange Crate Art ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002MN2/${0} ) collaborator Van Dyke Parks on the rustic, fiddle-adorned skewed romance of "The Waltz." The lovely, timeless title track effortlessly dispels any whiff of nostalgia, securing its place as one of Wilson's best contemporary ballads and delivering on this album's most rewarding promise: Brian is indeed back, and gloriously so. --Jerry McCulley