Brian Wilson, Joan Baez, Lindsey Buckingham chill on mellow CDs

CD Reviews |

"That Lucky Old Sun"

Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson is back with a new album. There's a sentence you don't see that often.

The Beach Boys founder, pop genius and eccentric was silent for two decades while fighting depression and drugs.

"That Lucky Old Sun" is the latest step in a comeback that reached a high in 2004 when those of us lucky enough to be in London's Royal Festival Hall saw Wilson in Hawaiian shirt, perched awkwardly behind his keyboard. He performed the full version of "Smile," the LP he conceived 37 years before.

The resulting CD, "Brian Wilson Presents Smile," was a remarkable four-star recreation of a planned classic record that first fell apart as Wilson fretted over ways to top the Beatles.

In 2007, expectation was high when Wilson debuted another song cycle commissioned for the Royal Festival Hall's reopening.

Today's studio release, drawn from this material, is an improvement on Wilson's last, the seasonal "What I Really Want for Christmas," which flopped three years ago. Still, "That Lucky Old Sun" isn't another "Smile"-style masterpiece.

It's an inspired mishmash of retro pop, harmonies and the traditional title track, which bookends the collection and floats into earshot periodically. Wilson, 66, muses about Hollywood and Venice Beach and the changing city in an old-style concept album that is both charming and workmanlike.

"Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl" is a gentle retread though the sandy footprints Wilson left with 1963's "Surfer Girl." Close your eyes and imagine the Beach Boys never grew old and became Beach Men. Imagine Dennis Wilson never fell off his boat and drowned, Carl Wilson had not succumbed to cancer and Brian had not suffered for decades before finding his muse again.

The only iffy parts of "That Lucky Old Sun" are the annoying spoken interludes. They are too cutesy and kitsch. Their 10th-grade poetry, written by longtime Wilson collaborator Van Dyke Parks, romantically paints L.A. as a "star-spangled city." There's a hint of Jim Morrison's spoken "An American Prayer," and that's not so good.

"Gift of Screws"

Lindsey Buckingham

Another musician who defined the sound of West Coast rock is Fleetwood Mac singer and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.

His latest solo release is beautifully crafted, with just a touch of the experimentation he showed on group efforts such as "Rumours" and "Tusk," which he called his first solo LP.

Buckingham, now 58, has gone his own way musically for a long time — the new CD is titled "Gift of Screws," a recherche reference to an Emily Dickinson poem that shows up in its chorus. At the same time, he has always retained enough of a mainstream sound to keep Fleetwood Mac fans on board.

I had the review copy a month ago: It won't be released until Sept. 16, but give it an early mention for the Wilson comparison. There's a lot of Californian contemplation, echoes of the author's main band and one of the best tracks is called "Bel Air Rain."

This is a mid-pace collection, with lots of guitar flourishes and layered vocals. It retains a mellow feel, as if Buckingham went into his home studio after a long meditation and with mature determination to do exactly what he wanted to.

"Day After Tomorrow"

Joan Baez

Joan Baez releases her latest record, a covers collection, on Tuesday, with its title track the Tom Waits-penned "Day After Tomorrow."

It's not so much back to 9/11, as the 1960s — with Baez's acoustic guitar and voice, only a little huskier and deeper than it was when she first captivated millions, including Bob Dylan. Baez, like Wilson and Buckingham, does her own thing with the confidence to know it will work.

She's 67, the same age as Neil Diamond, who also has enjoyed a comeback with Rick Rubin's minimalist studio sound.

In this case, the stark production is by Steve Earle. He tastefully showcases the 10 songs, three written by himself. For those in a hurry, download Baez's take on "The Lower Road," written by the criminally unknown Thea Gilmore, or "Scarlet Tide," composed by Elvis Costello and T-Bone Burnett.