Brian Wilson

When Brian Wilson resurfaced after an extended period of seclusion, his songs were more reflective and philosophical than in his early years. Brian comments about his past in the Top 20 Adult Contemporary hit "Your Imagination." On the long-delayed Smile, "Surf's Up" transformed in subtle yet significant ways from its original Beach Boys release. And "Love and Mercy" is a sweet benediction from Saint Brian to the world.

Guest star Eric Clapton provides a rockin' edge to the wall of sound in "City Blues." Wilson built the poignant "Soul Searchin'" around his late brother Carl's vocal track, completing the song nearly a decade after it had begun. And the vibrant "Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight" harks back to a more innocent time.

When Endless Summer became an unexpected hit in 1974, it pushed the Beach Boys back into a more traditional direction, pointing up differences between Wilson's early material and his more spiritual, emotionally honest, mature writing. When Brian reemerged as a solo artist in 1988, critics were thrilled to have him back, if perhaps a little baffled as to the role of his then-shadow, the late psychotherapist Eugene Landy. As Wilson got more comfortable back in the public eye, his recordings became more frequent, although they were largely overshadowed by his completion in 2004 of the long-lost Beach Boys masterpiece Smile.