Catch a Wave

May 1, 2006
In this exhaustive tome, former People
magazine writer Carlin chronicles the lives of the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson. By now the Wilson story is well-known, and Carlin doesn't stray much from the script: Wilson's abuse at the hands of his cantankerous father, Murry; his decline into depression; his drug use; and the band's slide from the top of the charts, singing about surfing and fast cars, to the depths of despair and, ultimately, Wilson's redemptive 2004 release of Smile
. While the major beats of the story may not be news to fans, Carlin's comprehensive research adds an entirely welcome perspective. Based on numerous primary interviews, and parsing through hundreds of hours of unreleased studio tape, he succeeds in rendering an immediate and often heart-wrenching look at both the psychological abuse and the artistic muse that prodded Wilson to greatness and paralyzing depression. In one memorable passage drawn from the studio session tape, Carlin renders the torment endured by Wilson at the hands of his father during the recording of the hit "Help Me, Rhonda." It is moments like these, mixed in with Carlin's sober insights, that raise this effort a cut above the standard rock biography.

June 1, 2006
The near-miraculous appearance of " Smile" in 2004, 37 years after Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson abandoned that ambitious concept album, has opened the door for another biography of rock's most notoriously troubled genius. To a great extent, Wilson's life is the Beach Boys life. He dominated the band, writing and producing virtually all the hits of its early 1960s heyday, before drugs and mental problems sidelined him. Carlin perforce covers the Beach Boys' rise, fall, and subsequent resurrection as a nostalgia act, as well as their internecine feuds, keenly poignant because the key band members were brothers and cousins. Yet, having enjoyed the cooperation of his subject, he sensitively and compassionately focuses on Brian; and having heard hundreds of hours of unreleased recordings and interviewed many of Brian's collaborators and associates, including the surviving Beach Boys, he emphasizes the music. A Beach Boys fan before he was a senior writer at " People" (he's since moved on), Carlin proves the ideal person to pen a highly readable and substantive book on this particular rock legend.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2006
This thorough, enlightening biographical and critical work coincides with the release 40 years ago of the Beach Boys - "Pet Sounds" album. Television critic Carlin takes as his subject that band -s mastermind, Brian Wilson, one of the most fascinating and tragic figures to emerge from the Sixties pop music scene. The narrative focuses on three major phases of Wilson -s volatile, bizarre life -his songwriting youth in the early to mid-Sixties, his drug- and stress-induced breakdowns in the late Sixties and early Seventies, and his remarkable career renaissance in 2004. Carlin deftly incorporates astute lyrical and musical analysis into his story, intimating, in one instance, that Wilson -s songwriting is a reflection of his personal struggles. Brief but insightful and revealing quotes from key players in Wilson -s career and personal life, as well as from the subject himself, interweave seamlessly with the author -s own research. This dense yet readable volume is an important resource in the study of the life and work of an enigmatic and unique pop music icon. A boon for music scholars and Beach Boys fans alike; recommended for all libraries." -Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.