Musicares: A Tribute To Brian Wilson Reviewed by Adam D. Miller    In February 2005, the music community gathered to honor the humanitarian work of Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson. When the iconic musician hasn’t been busy making records or touring the world, he’s offered his support to causes like the Carl Wilson Foundation for cancer research, the Adopt-a-Minefield benefit and Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit concerts. Musicares acknowledged this with an awards ceremony and tribute concert, featuring a Who’s Who of talent, mostly backed by Wilson’s wonderful touring band.Now available on DVD, the concert features a wide range of artists, most of whom were very young (and some not even born yet) when The Beach Boys were at their musical prime. It’s a testament to Wilson’s wide-stretching influence that the same concert that features Jeff Beck and Billy Preston can also feature the Backstreet Boys, John Legend and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It’s the Chili Peppers who get the concert underway with a fairly loyal rendition of “I Get Around.” The performance is the first of the many average performances included here. Clearly the organizers were more interested in presenting some of today’s biggest stars, but the enthusiasm doesn’t always make these performances great. Backstreet Boys may have been “stoked” to pay tribute to Wilson, but their performance of “When I Grow Up To Be A Man” is a bit too squeaky-clean for my tastes. Of the young stars who appear on the DVD, John Legend delivers the most inspired performance. “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times” from Pet Sounds is reborn as the perfect R&B vehicle, and works to prove that Legend is one of the genre’s best singers. R&B veterans Earth, Wind & Fire, meanwhile, deliver a comparably rich version of “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder).” But it’s Darlene Love who steals the show with her powerful rendition of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” Love makes the song sound as if it were written for her, and immediately recalls the debt the song has to one of Wilson’s biggest influences, producer Phil Spector. Jeff Beck is equally engaging with his instrumental turn on “Surf’s Up.” The concert culminates with a brief performance by Wilson himself. “Heroes & Villains,” “Good Vibrations,” “Fun, Fun, Fun” and “Love & Mercy” are all staples of Wilson’s stage performance and are performed here to great effect. This is definitely a tribute concert with some great moments, but Wilson fans can find a much better tribute concert in TNT’s An All-Star Tribute To Brian Wilson. The artists on that tribute (Elton John, Aimee Mann/Michael Penn, Paul Simon, Matthew Sweet) seemed more genuinely indebted to Wilson and passionate about the songs. Still, the few gems included here make this a worthwhile view for any Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fan. |
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