Great post, Bill (whart). In the early 2000’s, Dave Alvin (The Blasters and solo) said in an interview that he never "got" Brian Wilson or The Beach Boys, but that he just recently had an epiphany regarding him. I found that funny, as after having become obsessed with Brian upon hearing the Smiley Smile album in 1967 (merely liking The Beach Boys before that, owning all the albums up through 64’s All Summer Long), I found myself finally satiated with his music, now more interested in other styles of music and artists, primarily Americana in Pop and Baroque in Classical.
There was a thread a couple of months ago here on Audiogon, in which a younger poster described Brian in terms that revealed he knew him only in terms of the early (1962-4) Beach Boys "Surf, cars, and girls" material. Many people share that perception of him, though it is his Pet Sounds (1966) onward work that is most revered by hardcore BW fans, including Paul McCartney. But some of Brian’s early songs---"In My Room", "Don’t Worry Baby", "I Get Around", etc. are timeless classics.
Time is a true test of the quality of music. There is a whole new generation of young songwriters/singers who have discovered the Dylan & The Band Basement Tapes, and are making music in it’s spirit. The material in the those 1967 Basement Tape recordings is leading them back to so much original American music, just as the Blues being made by British bands in 64-68 lead my generation back to the original creators of the music, at least those who managed to get recorded in the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s.
