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Brian Wilson & the Beach Boys: How Deep the Ocean
The author brings together 30 years of meticulous research including his famous 1968 interview with David Anderle about the history of the Smile album. In this collection of essays and conversations. New paperback format. B/w photos.
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Paul Williams
50 books8 followersLibrarian note: There is more than one author on goodreads by this name.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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June 30, 2023I've been on a bit of a Beach Boys kick this year. It's one of those things that just sneaks up on me every five years or so. I'll have a song pop in my head, and next thing you know I'm scouring the discography. So I've been reading a lot of Beach Boys books lately as a consequence.
How Deep is the Ocean is, ultimately, a chronicling of 30 years in rock journalist Paul Williams' own fandom. (Williams, of course, being the teenage founder of Crawdaddy, perhaps the very first publication to really take rock as an art form and write about it as such.) Paul Williams really clicked with Pet Sounds in the months after its release. By the end of 1966, he'd be getting baked with Brian at his home, hearing acetates of the in-production SMiLE album. Naturally, he was among those propagating the "Brian Wilson is a genius" PR.
But as the years roll on, and history unfolds within the group and the world outside, he kept returning to the band vis-a-vis Brian Wilson as a subject. And he always, always carried the torch for the group and the hope that their potential could be fully realized once more.
As such, Williams' enthusiasm is palpable throughout the three decades of writing. As with most discussions of Wilson, the spectre of SMiLE and what could have been lingers heavily throughout. The collection is (nearly) bookended by conversations with late-60s Brian friend and one-time Brother Records head David Anderle. In the 1967 conversation, they bemoan the collapse of SMiLE and grapple with a dislike of 1967's Wild Honey. In a follow-up conversation from early 1968, both have realized that the stripped-back release was perhaps ahead of its time, only brought into relief by other stripped-back post-psychedelia albums like Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding. By the end of the book, thirty years since the first conversation, they regroup to further discuss the band's trajectory as well as Wilson's, and realize that SMiLE is as finished as it would ever get, while Brian still has a potentially rich artistic career still ahead.
I mention these conversations with David Anderle as they are talks between two devotees and one-time insiders. Their love of the music and its creator hasn't really changed, but it has matured.
Of course, amongst all of these articles and interviews, we do get the basic framework of Wilson's story. Paul Williams' breathless enthusiasm for the music and the man can, at times, come off as a bit samey and overblown. But, at its heart, How Deep is the Ocean is as much about Paul Williams as it is about Brian Wilson or the Beach Boys. It's about how Williams interacts with the music. How it makes him feel. It is a fan's diary.
It isn't essential, but it is a charming and enjoyable read if you're on board with what it is. However, if you're looking for something with an eye more toward criticism, journalism, and interviews, I'd recommend Back to the Beach: A Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys Reader.
(Note: I got my copy of How Deep is the Ocean from ThriftBooks for cheap. To my surprise, it was autographed and hand-numbered [out of 400] by Mr. Williams himself! Don't ya love it when that happens?)
How Deep is the Ocean is, ultimately, a chronicling of 30 years in rock journalist Paul Williams' own fandom. (Williams, of course, being the teenage founder of Crawdaddy, perhaps the very first publication to really take rock as an art form and write about it as such.) Paul Williams really clicked with Pet Sounds in the months after its release. By the end of 1966, he'd be getting baked with Brian at his home, hearing acetates of the in-production SMiLE album. Naturally, he was among those propagating the "Brian Wilson is a genius" PR.
But as the years roll on, and history unfolds within the group and the world outside, he kept returning to the band vis-a-vis Brian Wilson as a subject. And he always, always carried the torch for the group and the hope that their potential could be fully realized once more.
As such, Williams' enthusiasm is palpable throughout the three decades of writing. As with most discussions of Wilson, the spectre of SMiLE and what could have been lingers heavily throughout. The collection is (nearly) bookended by conversations with late-60s Brian friend and one-time Brother Records head David Anderle. In the 1967 conversation, they bemoan the collapse of SMiLE and grapple with a dislike of 1967's Wild Honey. In a follow-up conversation from early 1968, both have realized that the stripped-back release was perhaps ahead of its time, only brought into relief by other stripped-back post-psychedelia albums like Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding. By the end of the book, thirty years since the first conversation, they regroup to further discuss the band's trajectory as well as Wilson's, and realize that SMiLE is as finished as it would ever get, while Brian still has a potentially rich artistic career still ahead.
I mention these conversations with David Anderle as they are talks between two devotees and one-time insiders. Their love of the music and its creator hasn't really changed, but it has matured.
Of course, amongst all of these articles and interviews, we do get the basic framework of Wilson's story. Paul Williams' breathless enthusiasm for the music and the man can, at times, come off as a bit samey and overblown. But, at its heart, How Deep is the Ocean is as much about Paul Williams as it is about Brian Wilson or the Beach Boys. It's about how Williams interacts with the music. How it makes him feel. It is a fan's diary.
It isn't essential, but it is a charming and enjoyable read if you're on board with what it is. However, if you're looking for something with an eye more toward criticism, journalism, and interviews, I'd recommend Back to the Beach: A Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys Reader.
(Note: I got my copy of How Deep is the Ocean from ThriftBooks for cheap. To my surprise, it was autographed and hand-numbered [out of 400] by Mr. Williams himself! Don't ya love it when that happens?)
July 22, 2019
Paul Williams' 'How Deep is the Ocean' is a book I couldn't fathom. (Pun intended).
Maybe this is something that I should have caught up with many decades back. Unfortunately this collection of essays, interviews, conversations and articles came across as extremely boring and sycophantic.
I love B.B's 'Endless Summer' and 'Surf's Up' however, sorry Paul, I maybe a rarity but 'Pet Sounds' has never done much for my ears.
Maybe this is something that I should have caught up with many decades back. Unfortunately this collection of essays, interviews, conversations and articles came across as extremely boring and sycophantic.
I love B.B's 'Endless Summer' and 'Surf's Up' however, sorry Paul, I maybe a rarity but 'Pet Sounds' has never done much for my ears.
August 16, 2018
Paul Williams was instrumental in focusing attention on Brian Wilson and SMILE when no one else seemed to care.
October 21, 2012
Great in places, but like a lot of Williams' work, he is in need of an editor. However the interviews with David Anderle are essential for all Beach Boys obsessives. That and what life was like at the court of Beach Boy Brian in 66/67 - the tale of Christmas Eve. A must for fanatics. Others best avoid.
May 12, 2014
Even for a Beach Boys and Brian Wilson fan, these stray pieces from a 30-year period don't cohere in a meaningful way, the celebrated David Anderle conversation is mostly two fans using the word "amazing" and the celebrated Brian conversation is mostly him replying, "Yeah." The 30-page look at the '93 BB boxed set is the standout, a testament to Williams' devotion and ears.
July 3, 2010
Lots of little seen interviews and in depth analysis' of their work. Intresting curio's from the past.
May 8, 2014
This is one of the best books I've read about the Beach Boys.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews