At My Piano

Thanks.

If you're a Beach Boys / Brian Wilson fan this is about as pure as you'll find Brian's compositions. Just Brian and his piano. Good Vibrations and California Girls with only the piano... he does work magic. If you're looking to relax with quiet yet fun tunes, you'll enjoy this CD. I recommend it.

Disregard the reviews of those who complain that this doesn’t sound enough like a George Winston or Richard Clayderman record. Brian was never a showy virtuosic pianist. His playing has always served the song… period. And that’s exactly what you get here.Nothing need be said about the songs themselves but what is brilliant about this album is it’s simplicity ….a handful of incredible songs played alone by the man who wrote them so many years ago. Bonus points for the sonics. What some are (mis)interpreting as “dull and muddled”, I call warm, reflective and atmospheric. I love the fact that rather than everything being ultra close-mic’d, you can really hear ‘the room’ and the wood, the felt and the strings …that is, ‘the warmth.’Listening to this, you get the feeling that you’re sitting in a room watching a man in the December of his life, quietly revisit and reflect one last time, on the creations that he will soon be leaving behind for the rest of us.Beautiful. Simple. Sincere. A gem.

This is a solo piano album by American Pop / Rock songwriter Brian Wilson, which presents new interpretations of fifteen of his most famous songs composed over the years.People familiar with Wilson’s brilliant songwriting will of course recognize these tunes immediately, while these new, very delicate and often subdued interpretations presents a somewhat nostalgic look at his impressive career, emphasizing his wonderful sense of melody.The album offers a simple, room quality sound rather that a fancy concert hall ambience, which adds to the charm and intimacy of the whole affair. Obviously each listener will hear in parallel to these solo piano pieces his own memories as they were recorded by The Beach Boys, creating an individual mixture of reality and subconscious music memories.Although it might seem a tad vain to play a tribute to himself, Wilson certainly deserves some slack and our respect and admiration for his contribution to music over the years, which had only a very few equals.Overall, this is a wonderful trip down the memory lane, which inspires splendid memories of superb musical peaks Wilson deserves a credit for, in view of his unique talent as a songweaver of the highest order. Absolutely delightful!

What a gift to have an album by my favorite composer, Brian Wilson, simply playing a selection of his timeless songs at the piano. To me it’s kind of like being able to sit in my living room and listen to Bach playing Bach. Hearing just the piano (devoid of the incredible instrumentation and harmonies Brian uses to color his melodies) you can appreciate the beauty of those melodies in a new way. In fact, my wife, who is a bit tired of hearing me play so much Beach Boys and Brian Wilson over the decades, volunteered that she found At My Piano “refreshing.” My 13 year old son perked up when I played it too. For me, all the tracks work. I would expect tracks like God Only Knows , In My Room, and The Warmth Of The Sun to work….and I was happily surprised that ones like California Girls and Good Vibrations fit in well also. My favorites are probably Sketches Of Smile medley, Mt. Vernon Farewell, Friends, and ‘Til I Die. Simple and beautiful.

Love this! Wonderful to listen to Brian's versions on a piano.

Needed a better player,

This album is not only unique and gorgeous, it's also insightful. It's just Brian playing his piano. For the first time, listeners can hear the lush chords and nuance in his music the way he hears it in his head. It's quite remarkable the way you can hear in his piano playing the unique parts and notes he would give the boys to sing. As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of this album and can't recommend it enough. I'd even go so far to say that I wouldn't be surprised to see this album studied in academic settings one day for songwriting (gorgeous melodies and intricate harmony). Give it a listen. It's the closest we may ever come to hearing the songs of a modern pop genius the way he originally heard them in his head.

As a Brian Wilson junkie I did enjoy the music, I also found very soothing setting in my favorite chair.

An excellent performance. Great sound quality

Unglaublich schön, Brian Wilson spielt seine Beach Boys Highlights völlig relaxt. Und dann der melancholische warme Klang von diesem Flügel - das muß schon ein alt ehrwürdiges Klavier sein. Ich kann die Scheibe immer wieder im Kreis hören. Und erst ist da dieser Wiedererkennen der Stücke- jetzt Solo auf dem Klavier- ohne Gesang. Und noch einmal leuchten die Lieder anders, als ob man zuhause ankommt. Vielleicht spielt er ja in einer alten Saal mit Blick auf den Pazifik und lächelt dabei, trotz seines stürmischen Lebens so in sich hinein. Vielen Dank Brian- ich möchte nicht einen einzigen Titel missen- Respekt ! und Melancholie ...

NOTHING !!!

This cd for me is perfection, Brian's music has always been to me a complete joy to listen to but with this one it is as it says on the front Brian playing his most well known songs on his piano, I love to listen to this one in the evening lights of, it is as though Brian is in the room with you just gently playing away it is so relaxing, Brian is a master at his craft and I love him and his work