The first official release credited to Wilson as a solo artist was the 1966 Beach Boys single "Caroline, No" (b/w "Summer Means New Love"), due to being the single's arranger and sole vocal presence. Around the same time, Wilson also produced cuts for other artists such as The Beach Boys' spear counterpart The Honeys (member Marilyn Rovell was Wilson's first wife), and Jan & Dean, whose "Surf City" became a #1 hit single. The 1977 album Love You and the unreleased Adult/Child (recorded during the same sessions) were tentatively considered for release as Brian Wilson solo albums, although the idea fell through. Love You would be last Beach Boys albums to feature Wilson's extended involvement for the better part of 35 years.
Brian's solo career, despite a few false starts, began in earnest with the 1987 single "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" (b/w "Too Much Sugar"), featured in the film Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol. A year later, his debut solo album, the eponymous Brian Wilson, was released, at the time hailed as a 1980s equivalent of what is widely regarded as Wilson's magnum opus, 1966's Pet Sounds. A follow-up in much the same vein, Sweet Insanity, was scrapped due to various personal issues.
Also left on the shelf was a fruitful collaborative project with multi-instrumentalist Andy Paley, informally known as "The Paley Sessions". Over the years, a few tracks were released through various albums, but dozens more have been bootlegged, and a comprehensive release has yet to be assembled.
Instead, 1995 saw the release of two albums: I Just Wasn't Made for These Times, a collection of re-recordings seemingly meant to reintroduce him to the public, and Orange Crate Art, a song cycle written by one-time lyricist Van Dyke Parks with contributions by Wilson, were released. An album of new compositions entitled Imagination followed in 1998.
Wilson began performing live again in 1999, and with his confidence as a performer growing ever stronger, he chose to release a live album documenting the Imagination tour (Live at the Roxy Theatre). In 2002, he began incorporating Pet Sounds in its entirety into his live performances; this, too, was documented in a live album titled Pet Sounds Live.
In 2004, Wilson revived and completed SMiLE, his unfinished 1967 album, performing the work in its entirety on a celebrated tour. The positive response lead him to record a studio version which met similar acclaim; the album cut "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental. That same year, he released Gettin' in Over My Head (containing many songs originating with the ill-fated Sweet Insanity album), featuring guest musicians Elton John, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, and brother Carl, who passed away in 1998. Brian's song "Lay Down Burden" was written in tribute of his brother.
Brian released a collection of Christmas songs entitled What I Really Want For Christmas in 2005. His 2008 album, That Lucky Old Sun, marked his return to Capitol Records. As part of a two-album deal with Disney, Wilson released Reimagines Gershwin (2010), a tribute to his idol George Gershwin, and In the Key of Disney (2011), a collection of cover songs from various Disney films.
2012 saw the The Beach Boys celebrate their 50th anniversary, reuniting a majority of surviving band members including Brian, for a worldwide tour as well as the release of an album, That's Why God Made the Radio, composed almost entirely by Wilson with an assortment of co-writers. The album became the group's biggest chart success in decades, peaking at #3 on the Billboard album charts. Status quo was restored as the group members went their separate ways again after the conclusion of the tour.
In 2015, Wilson released his eleventh studio album, No Pier Pressure. Originally conceived as a follow-up to That's Why God Made the Radio before The Beach Boys reunion fell through, the album features guest appearances by contemporary artists such as Kacey Musgraves, She & Him, and Nate Ruess (of fun.), as well as former Beach Boys Al Jardine, Blondie Chaplin, and David Marks. Summer 2015 will also see the public release of Wilson's autobiographical motion picture Love and Mercy (named after Wilson's 1988 comeback single), with actors Paul Dano and John Cusack starring as a younger and older Wilson.
In The Back Of My Mind
Brian Wilson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A world to which a man can cling
So happy times when I break out in tears
In the back of my mind I still have my fears
I live my life with her
Love her true she knows I'm sure
I make her happy just living so plain
I tried to run far way from thoughts
I should try to keep away
But they just keep coming back to me
I tried to rationalize
But some day I might realize
That things are just good the way they'll be
I know it's so hard to find
A girl who really understands your mind
What will I do if I leave her
It will always be way in the back of my mind
Brian Wilson's song "In The Back of My Mind" is a heartfelt, introspective look at the fears, doubts, and uncertainties that can plague even the most contented person. The song's narrator, seemingly blessed with everything a man could want, is happy and fulfilled in his life with his partner. And yet, there are still nagging fears in the back of his mind that threaten his happiness and sense of security. He worries about losing what he has, about the possibility that things may not always be as good as they seem.
Despite his efforts to run away from these thoughts and rationalize them away, the singer knows that they will always be there, lurking in the back of his mind. He is torn between his current happiness and the possibility of finding something even better, and he wonders what will happen if he leaves his partner. Ultimately, the song is a poignant reminder that even those who seem to have it all can still be plagued by doubts and uncertainties, and that happiness is never a guaranteed or permanent state.
Overall, "In The Back of My Mind" is a deeply introspective and emotionally resonant song that speaks to the universal experience of living with both joy and uncertainty. Through its poignant lyrics and evocative melody, the song captures the complex emotions and fears that underlie even the most seemingly perfect lives.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm blessed with everything
I have everything I need in life
A world to which a man can cling
A world full of opportunities and options
So happy times when I break out in tears
I experience moments of overwhelming happiness and joy
In the back of my mind I still have my fears
Despite all the good things, I still have worries and doubts working in the background of my mind
I live my life with her
I am in a committed relationship with a woman who is important to me
Love her true she knows I'm sure
I am devoted to her, and she is aware of this
I make her happy just living so plain
I do not need to do anything extraordinary to make her happy
In the back of my mind I'm 'fraid it's gonna change
Despite the stability I have found, I worry that something might come along to change that
I tried to run far way from thoughts
I have tried to avoid certain thoughts in the past
I should try to keep away
I know I should try to avoid those thoughts that cause me worry
But they just keep coming back to me
Despite my best efforts, these thoughts continue to resurface
I tried to rationalize
I have attempted to reason through the thoughts I am having
But some day I might realize
However, I am aware that at some point I may come to a new understanding
That things are just good the way they'll be
I may come to realize that things are good as they are, and that I should appreciate them
I know it's so hard to find
I am aware of the difficulty of finding someone who truly understands me
A girl who really understands your mind
A woman who understands me on a deep level
What will I do if I leave her
I worry about what my life would be like if I were to lose her
It will always be way in the back of my mind
This fear will never fully go away, it will always be there in the background of my thoughts
Lyrics © Walt Disney Music Company, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Brian Douglas Wilson, Michael Love
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ArchubiClub
I know it's so hard to find
A girl who really really really really
Understands your mind
Oh, she may be happy just living so plain
But in the back of my mind
I'm afraid it's gonna change
I live my life for her
And living plain is all I have to offer her
What would I do if I lose her
It'll always be in the back of my mind
In the front of my mind
I got nothing to worry about
'Cause she tells me everything I like to hear
In the front of my mind
I wanna be her best man
But I really got nothing to fear
I know it's so hard to find
A girl who really understands your mind
What would I do if I lose her
It'll always be in the back of my mind
ArchubiClub
I know it's so hard to find
A girl who really really really really
Understands your mind
Oh, she may be happy just living so plain
But in the back of my mind
I'm afraid it's gonna change
I live my life for her
And living plain is all I have to offer her
What would I do if I lose her
It'll always be in the back of my mind
In the front of my mind
I got nothing to worry about
'Cause she tells me everything I like to hear
In the front of my mind
I wanna be her best man
But I really got nothing to fear
I know it's so hard to find
A girl who really understands your mind
What would I do if I lose her
It'll always be in the back of my mind
layne182
In the back of mind, I can't help but think Brian, if he stayed sober from here on, could have had a greater output in the 70s than he did. This rendition is beautiful. He's still a legend.
layne182
@Vince I get what you mean, but in 1975 Stan Love took a role in Brians life to get him to sober up and get in shape, which was working, but then Stan left to go back to NBA and Brian was introduced to Landy...
Vince
Stayed sober? He was definitely pretty much already intoxicated. If he’d have stayed away from drugs from 1965 …
layne182
@Lridesagain of course, I know of that. Brian sought help in the late 60s for his mental health during the recording of 20/20. Had he gotten better help during the mid 60s (Smile era) and after the death of his father in the early 70s, he may have been able to realise the error of self medicating with substances. My comment was made about his sobriety as during this recording we can all hear how great he still sounded and with proper help, maybe we could have had more like this. Brian is a tortured soul, he's been through so much.
Lridesagain
Unfortunately at that time, Brian was an undiagnosed auditory Schizophrenic. From 1965 to 1982, Brian used alcohol and drugs to self medicate. Being severely paranoid…he would use anything to make his ‘scary’ voices go away. During those years, he couldn’t stop his self destructive behavior. He was way too sick. On top of that…everyone refused to believe he was so severely mentally ill. Brian was everyone’s bread ticket. Not until he almost died in 1981 did he finally get medical help. But again, during those years under Dr. Landny, he was again someone’s meal ticket! So please, when you make comments about Brian…realize this was and still is to this day, a man dealing daily with mental health issues.
ArchubiClub
This is peak Brian. He was in the "coolest" band in the world but he never worrid of singing about anxiety or depression. This is what makes music eternal, he sang with his heart about his feelings. That's why we listen to it now and it touches our soul.
Benefit1970
I think I know what note he's trying to hit when he says "but I really got nothing to fear" and it's haunting how this would sound if his voice were fully entact. I am lucky at 37 that I stopped smoking in my early 20s. My voice was starting to change. After a year or two, it recovered, and even now I can sign as high as I could as a teenager. I will never take my voice for granted, and I know it will fade one day, but until them I'm appreciating it, and this song.
Grace
Don’t know about anyone one else but this version kind of reminds me of Randy Newman, especially cause of its stripped down feel.I did hear that Brian really liked the album ’Sail Away’ by Newman as well, so maybe it’s coming out a bit here.
Eric Seitz
The last time we would ever hear Brian’s falsetto belt.