Review by Shawn Perry
Photos by Stevo Rood
Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson paired with the Zombies sounds like a dream ticket on paper and…for the most part, it was in person as well. The Greek Theatre was, as always, the perfect venue to host the early fall — in typical So Cal summer-like temperatures — concert. For nearly three hours, the house was treated to an evening of iconic songs, unrivaled harmonies and musicianship, and a couple of out-of-left-field surprises.
The Zombies were on first, and over the course of their 60-minute set, they managed to squeeze in 16 songs, including the entirety of 1968’s Odessey And Oracle, the seminal sophomore album that put the group on the map. What’s more, keyboardist Rod Argent, vocalist Colin Blunstone, and the current Zombies lineup were joined by bassist Chris White and drummer Hugh Grundy, bringing all the surviving original members together (original guitarist Paul Atkinson passed away in 2004).
A mini set of four songs included two Top 10 singles (“Tell Her No” and “She’s Not There”) and two newer songs (the weeks-old “Merry Go Round” and “Edge Of The Rainbow” from 2015’s Still Got That Hunger). Argent told the audience that though the band never gets tired of playing the old songs, they continue to write and record new ones. Frankly, it’s difficult to fairly assess the old versus the new. Blunstone and Argent’s proficiency, propelled by both their present band mates and the ones they formed the band with, makes it easy to believe the Zombies are still a creative force with something to say.
“A Rose For Emily,” “Beechwood Park,” “Care Of Cell 44,” and “Changes” all glow with the kind of harmonies and arrangements that makes you wonder if the Zombies and the Beach Boys ever crossed paths in the 60s. It was, of course, the show-stopping “Time Of The Season” that brought everyone to their feet in collective agreement. Based on how easily everything came together, from Blunstone’s unscathed vocal range to Argent’s mad, underrated skills on the keys, there is more than a few miles left on the Zombies’ odometer.
After a 30-minute intermission, the curtain parted and there, at center-stage, sat Brian Wilson behind a piano he never stepped away from. Surrounded by a 10-piece ensemble of able-bodied musicians and singers, Wilson showed little emotion aside from a couple shout-outs to friends in the audience. You can’t really tell how engaged he is until the music begins. That’s when he plays a few basic piano lines and exerts himself into a verse with mixed results.
You could probably make a solid case that Wilson’s vocals, much like many of his peers, are nowhere near as fresh and youthful as they were in the 60s. As a producer and songwriter, Brian Wilson knows, perhaps more than anyone, that having other players to stretch their vocal and instrumental capabilities to contribute to the whole is really what makes a piece of music special. To that end, tonight’s performances were, by and large, optimized with not only the instrumentation, but also the lead vocal talents of friend and Beach Boys cohort Al Jardine, his son Matt, one-time Beach Boys associate Blondie Chaplin, and Darian Sahanaja, a longtime collaborator with both Brian Wilson and the Zombies.
The 28-song set was predominantly Beach Boys material, with a couple apropos covers, and not a single thing from any of Wilson’s 10 studio albums. After getting obligatory hits like “California Girls” and “I Get Around” out of the way, there was a deep plunge into material from latter-day Beach Boys albums like Friends and Surf’s Up.
Al Jardine earnestly led Wilson and the band through “Wake The World,” a song he wrote with Brian Wilson. When Chaplin came out, he paid tribute to Carl Wilson, Brian’s youngest brother and bandmate who died in 1998, by taking the helm on vocals and the night’s edgiest guitar for “Free Flow” and “Long Promised Road.” He would finish his time in the spotlight with his signature “Sail On Sailor,” one of Wilson and Van Dyke Parks’ finest post-Pet Sounds songs from 1973’s Holland.
Speaking of Pet Sounds, Wilson wouldn’t have been allowed to leave the Greek if he hadn’t played a few selections from his most celebrated achievement. Wilson and Jardin traded verses on “Sloop John B.” Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone from the Zombies were invited back to the stage for “God Only Knows.” Despite some syncing issues, the song definitely resonated with the Greek audience.
At the core of it all were those timeless songs and angelic harmonies. Both Matt Jardine and Darian Sahanaja masterfully tackled those higher vocal parts on “Don’t Worry Baby” and “Darlin’.” Together with the rest of the players, which included veteran Wilson band members keyboardist Gary Griffin and drummer Mike D’Amico, the harmonies on “I Can Hear Music,” “Surf’s Up,” “Heroes And Villains,” and “Good Vibrations” approached the range and expanse of the Beach Boys at their peak.
Just when you began to think that Wilson and company would peacefully simmer down once it got after 10:00, Billy Idol — yeah, that Billy Idol — suddenly appeared on the stage next to Al Jardine and virtually took over “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and “Fun, Fun, Fun.” The audience likely wanted “more, more, more,” so the best option was to get everyone except for Idol around Wilson and his piano for “In My Room,” the emotive final number of the night.
Once the curtain closed, one thought that crossed this reviewer’s mind was if this could be the last time Brian Wilson plays a full show in Los Angeles. The 2019 tour was delayed because Wilson issued a statement that said he was feeling “mentally insecure.” At 77, the singer, even with all the support from his own band and the Zombies, appeared at times frail and listless on the Greek stage. He certainly has a right to carry on making music for as long he wishes. If, however, Brian Wilson retired after at the end of 2019, no one could ever take away the immeasurable contributions he has made to music.
