Brian Wilson Presents Pet Sounds Live
Rock music has rarely benefited from aging veterans revisiting their glory years in a live setting--witness Roger Waters's disastrous run through Pink Floyd classics onIn the Flesh. But Brian Wilson is the exception, primarily because he has virtually remained the same wide-eyed pop fanatic he was in 1966, when he initially released his teenage symphony to God,Pet Sounds. The live version of the Beach Boys classic, recorded in January of 2002 at Wilson's four sold-out shows at London's Royal Festival Hall, hardly sounds like secondhand goods. Despite the potentially sacrilegious risks, Wilson's 10-piece touring band--which includes members of theWondermintsand the former Beach Boys session players--actually revitalizes the music with its reverential-but-contemporary verve, breathing new life into classics like "God Only Knows" and "Caroline, No." Chuck the CD cover aside and it merely sounds like you are listening to a newly remastered version of the real thing.--Aidin Vaziri