Sitting outside in a cool September rain, one starts to yearn for the warm days of weeks past and dread the coming blizzards. Summer has passed too quickly, and the body clings to longer sleeves and thicker socks. It is time to lust for the last rays of sun. Brian Wilson's new album _That Lucky Old Sun rejoices in the pleasures of sunny days, waves and memories of the luxury of heat.
On its surface That Lucky Old Sun"" is more like a sentimental musical than a pop album, harking to the nobility of the sun, the ocean and summer love. The album shouts tones of a Broadway production, but the cautious observer will notice the subtleties and secrets hidden in the liner notes. Ostensibly, ""Lucky Old Sun"" is a testament to a beach boy's life in Los Angeles. The album is laced with the names of famous Angelino locales: the Hollywood Bowl, the Santa Monica pier, the oil wells outside of L.A.X. and the multitudes of chop shops among others. At the heart of this album is a metaphor for Wilson's love for his city and the surrounding area, and a closer look reveals a comparison between Wilson's own rise, fall and rebirth to the sun. Hot, cold, day and night, the album encompasses the range of feelings L.A. life might conjure.
The lyrics sound pretty typical at first and, in combination with Wilson's lush composition, give the pretence of another superbly produced Brian Wilson album, but the lyrics as a whole provide something more. The subplot to ""Lucky Old Sun"" is less obvious than previous works like _Smile_, or _Pet Sounds_.
Wilson asserts both the power and the grandeur of Los Angeles to turn its citizens into cogs of a beautifully dysfunctional machine. Wilson proudly asserts that every Angelino is ""Just a part of the heart beat in L.A.""
In the second-to-last song ""Going Home,"" a blues-rock stomp and the most energetic part of the album, Wilson poses vivid comparison of his mental breakdown and the falling sun: ""Homesick, this son shines no where else / So homesick, I'm even missing myself / At 25 I turned out the light / Cause I couldn't handle the glare in my tired eyes / But now I'm back, drawing shades of kind blue skies."" The last line foreshadows the new happiness he would later find.
This album sends rays of audio sunshine through the speakers. It is almost always inspirational, even in its darkest moments, gleams of masterful production and fits the Brian Wilson catalogue perfectly. The only complaint is that in the midst of all the happy harmonies there is too little drive. The album blends together smoothly, but it never has a great defining moment like _Smiley Smile_'s ""Good Vibration."" Buy this album if you are a Beach Boys fan looking for new material, a musical fan or even just curious, but not if you are afraid of cheesiness. The album is chock full of camp.
