Brian Wilson’s favourite album by The Rolling Stones: “I couldn’t believe that record”
For many decades, The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson has been an enigma that rarely offers fans much insight behind the curtain. Instead, his music is largely the only way that people have been able to understand Wilson, which is how he likes it. However, on occasion, Wilson has revealed the music that makes him tick, such as his love affair with The Rolling Stones.
Like most active groups during the same era as The Beach Boys’ peak, The Rolling Stones were infatuated with Wilson’s songwriting skills. With Pet Sounds, he transformed the art form as we know it, inspiring The Beatles, among others, to hit new heights and redefine the very meaning of the album format. Although they may not have stayed at the top of their creative heights for a prolonged period, The Beach Boys will forever be etched into the history books.
While Wilson is a one-off talent who has never copied another soul, he greatly admires The Rolling Stones. Their careers have crossed paths numerous times over the last half-century, but one album in particular from the English rock legends holds a sacred place in Wilson’s heart.
The album in question is Between The Buttons, which arrived in 1967 as the group’s fifth LP and saw the band dip their toes into the experimental waters of psychedelia. For Wilson, this move into new territory by The Stones was thrilling, but he also holds a sentimental attachment to the record, which is why he considers it their best work.
During the recording process, Wilson was invited to join the band while they crafted the track ‘My Obsession’, which remains his favourite song by The Rolling Stones. “This one is my favourite,” Wilson once explained of ‘My Obsession’. He added: “They invited me down to their studio in Hollywood when they were mixing it. I remember sitting there and feeling that energy and that excitement.”
Later, Wilson singled out Between The Buttons as his favoured Rolling Stones album during an episode of On The Record. The musician explained: “Specifically, one of the things that blew me away the most was a song called ‘My Obsession’. I couldn’t believe that record, it had one of the most unbelievable grooves on a record that I’ve ever heard in my life.” The Beach Boy also named Between The Buttons as one of his five favourite records during a separate conversation with Spin magazine. Wilson again reiterated his love for ‘My Obsession’ and said: “At least for today… I’m thinking about this album. The song ‘My Obsession’ is, well… I’m obsessed with it.”
Despite Wilson’s adoration for the album, which is the ultimate co-sign, Mick Jagger isn’t a fan of Between The Buttons. “Frank Zappa used to say he really liked it. It’s a good record, but it was unfortunately rather spoiled,” the frontman told Rolling Stone. “We recorded it in London on four-track machines. We bounced it back to do overdubs so many times, we lost the sound of a lot of it”.
Although Wilson adores ‘My Obsession’, for Jagger, it epitomises everything wrong with the overcomplicated mixing of the album, noting, “That’s a good one. They sounded so great, but then, later on, I was really disappointed with it.” Jagger also compared Between The Buttons to Their Satanic Majesties Request, another record he regrets in their canon. Of the two albums, he said: “It’s a sound experience, really, rather than a song experience.”
Jagger’s comments showcase his perfectionist tendencies, which have helped The Rolling Stones become an unstoppable force in rock. However, on this occasion, he should listen to Wilson and accept that Between The Buttons is a masterpiece. Few figures in music are more perfectionist than Wilson, who devoted his entire life to making Pet Sounds, yet even he views the album as a flawless body of work.
