Sweet Insanity (album)

Sweet Insanity
Studio album by Brian Wilson
Released	Unreleased
Recorded	1986–1991
Genre	Rock
Label	Sire/Reprise/Warner Bros.
Producer	Brian Wilson, Andy Paley, Lenny Waronker, Russ Titelman, Jeff Lynne, Eugene Landy.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

Sweet Insanity is an unreleased album from Brian Wilson, originally due for release in 1991.

Background

Initially titled simply Brian, the album was intended to be a follow up to his 1988 solo debut, Brian Wilson. However, during this stage in Wilson’s life, he was under the care of controversial psychologist Dr. Eugene Landy, who is known for his unconventional method of “24 hour therapy”. This meant that Landy was micro-managing Wilson's life, including his creative career, and, thus, was Wilson's primary collaborator on this unreleased album. The pair had also collaborated previously on Wilson's first solo album as well as, uncredited, on The Beach Boys Love You album.

The recordings from the album's sessions have frequently been generally criticised by fans and critics as being sub–par over the years and they were ultimately rejected by Brian's label at the time; Sire. However, the album is not without its fans in the media. Brett Milano called it "a brilliant album" in the Boston Phoenix. "For the first time since 'Till I Die,' he's writing directly about his breakdown and recovery...Landy may have written these lyrics, but it hardly matters; Wilson didn't write the lyrics to Pet Sounds either." Milano later labeled it one of Wilson's best post-'60s albums. Jackson Griffith praised it in Tower Records' Pulse magazine, calling it "easily the finest, most consistently satisfying Wilson disc since The Beach Boys' Sunflower. He's still got it." And writer Bill Holdship championed the album in both BAM and MOJO magazines. The Detroit News' Susan Whitall and Entertainment Weekly's Dave DiMartino also praised the album in their publications, and the album showed up on several 1991 year-end poll lists. Wilson has said in interviews that the master tapes were stolen so there is no chance of there ever being an official release, although the songs have shown up on numerous bootlegs. Five of the songs were rerecorded over a decade later and released on Wilson’s 2004 album, Gettin' in Over My Head, although some critics believed the remakes weren't as good as the ones recorded for the original album. It has become one of the more sought-after bootleg albums in the years since its recording.

SWEET INSANITY only exists on physical media as a promotional cassette (on excellent-quality CHROME tape) manufactured for Brains & Genius, Wilson's and Landy's production company. (The actual cassette was presumably manufactured by Warner Bros. Records; The cassette tape uses Warners' clear shell and typeface) and carries a 1991 copyright date. The cassette includes two bonus tracks: (CD Bonus/"Country Feelin'" and Single, B-Side/"Hotter"). It's unclear whether this particular cassette contains the first or second iteration of the album.

Tracks recorded during the Sweet Insanity sessions

All tracks, listed alphabetically, were recorded between 1989–1991 and produced by Brian Wilson and Eugene Landy, unless otherwise noted.

1. "Concert Tonight"♢
2. "Don't Let Her Know She's An Angel"♦
3. "Do You Have Any Regrets?"♢
   • A cover version was independently released by Wilson's bandmate Darian Sahanaja.
4. "Hotter"
   • Recorded between 1987–1988, produced by Brian Wilson and Russ Titelman
5. "Let's Stick Together"♦
   • Featuring "Weird Al" Yankovic on accordion, and retitled "The Waltz" in 2004.
6. "Love Ya"
   • originally recorded as "Sweetie" in the early '80s, then re-recorded between 1987–1988, produced by Brian Wilson and Russ Titelman.
7. "Make A Wish"♦
8. "Rainbow Eyes"♦
9. "Save The Day"♦
   • Re-recorded with new lyrics and retitled "Fairy Tale" in 2004.
10. "Smart Girls"♢
    • A rap sound featuring samples from well known Beach Boys songs. was sent out to radio stations and journalists as a promotional cassette tape but officially remains unreleased.
11. "Someone To Love"♢
    • Deriving a melody from his younger brother Dennis' "San Miguel" from some twenty years back.
12. "Thank You"♢ (aka "Brian")
13. "The Spirit of Rock'n'Roll"
    • with Bob Dylan on co-lead vocals; recorded between August 1986–January 1987, produced by Brian Wilson and Gary Usher; re-recorded for the 2006 Beach Boys album Songs From Here & Back.
14. "Water Builds Up"♢
    • Features the same verse melody as "Let's Go To Heaven In My Car".

• All tracks marked ♢ remain unreleased.
• All tracks marked ♦ were re-recorded for the 2004 album Gettin' In Over My Head.

References

• http://www.btinternet.com/~bellagio/unreleased.html
• http://www.banana-and-louie.org/unreleased.html
• http://www.smileysmile.net/uncanny/index.php?s=sweet+insanity&submit=Search
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A509663
• http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/music/98/06/18/RINGO_STARR_BRIAN_WILSON.html
• http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=5035