Maps of Music

Gettin' In Over My Head (2004)

Where the lyrics of Gettin' In Over My Head take you, and where it was really made.

This Brian Wilson album spent only one week on the US chart, at number 100, because the Smile release and its CD announcement overshadowed it.

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Gettin' In over My Head: fourth studio album by American musician Brian Wilson
Released June 2004 on Rhino Records; release date listed as 22 June 2004
Many songs are reworked versions of tracks from the scrapped album Sweet Insanity and the 1990s Andy Paley sessions
Reached number 100 in the US during a one-week chart stay, and number 53 in the UK
Critical reaction was mixed
Features guests Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eric Clapton and Carl Wilson
As of 2026, not available on streaming services

Most tracks are rerecorded versions of songs dating from Wilson's unreleased Sweet Insanity and Andy Paley sessions
The concurrent live performances of the recently completed Smile album, and the announcement of its CD issue, overshadowed this album's release
Most attention went to Smile rather than this album
A limited edition set of prints by artist Peter Blake was created in 2004
XTC's Andy Partridge was approached as a songwriter for a collaboration

Recorded and mixed by Mark Linett at Your Place Or Mine Recording
Tracks 8–9 and 11–13 were originally recorded for the scrapped Sweet Insanity album
Carl Wilson appears posthumously on 'Soul Searchin'', a rejected Beach Boys song from the Paley sessions
Paul McCartney sings and plays acoustic guitar on 'A Friend Like You'
Elton John sings and plays piano on 'How Could We Still Be Dancin''

Peter Blake created the cover art
Mark London, artist on Brian Wilson Presents Smile, art-directed the rest of the package

1	How Could We Still Be Dancin’	4:43
2	Soul Searchin’	4:08
3	You’ve Touched Me	3:23
4	Gettin’ In Over My Head	4:29
5	City Blues	4:22
6	Desert Drive	3:36
7	A Friend Like You	3:38
8	Make a Wish	3:50
9	Rainbow Eyes	4:08
10	Saturday Morning in the City	2:54
11	Fairy Tale	5:29
12	Don’t Let Her Know She’s an Angel	4:17
13	The Waltz	4:09

Brian Douglas Wilson (1942–2025) was an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys.
In 1961 he began his professional career as a member of the Beach Boys, serving as songwriter, producer, co-lead vocalist, bassist, keyboardist and de facto leader.
After signing with Capitol Records in 1962, he became the first pop musician credited for writing, arranging, producing and performing his own material.
He wrote or co-wrote over three dozen U.S. Top 40 hits, including the number-ones "I Get Around", "Help Me, Rhonda" and "Good Vibrations".
In 1966 he produced Pet Sounds and his first solo credited release "Caroline, No", and began the unfinished album Smile.
Struggles with mental illness led to withdrawal from regular touring from late 1964 and a long period of reclusion.
A psychologist-led program with Eugene Landy in the 1980s preceded the solo album Brian Wilson (1988).
He completed Smile in 2004 as Brian Wilson Presents Smile, earning his greatest acclaim as a solo artist.
His influence spans the California sound, art pop, psychedelia, chamber pop, progressive pop, punk and indie music.
Honors include two Grammy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1988) and Songwriters Hall of Fame (2000).
The 2014 biopic Love & Mercy dramatized his life.
He died on June 11, 2025 at age 82.

Metacritic: average score 55 from 14 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews
The Rolling Stone Album Guide, reviewer Jackie Wilson: Wilson is still frighteningly detached from the moment, and the record is best thought of as a celebrity's children's record
Robert Christgau: the album's only improvement on Imagination was the absence of producer Joe Thomas
AllMusic, John Bush: highlighted 'Soul Searchin'' and the title track in a collection of weak songs with trite lyrics
The Guardian, Alexis Petridis: disappointed by the record's musical conservatism, and said it does not sound terribly happy
Stylus, Matthew Weiner: argued the failure of the album falls squarely on Wilson himself
Uncut: called it the most consistent and sympathetically constructed solo album Wilson had made
Billboard: called it an unexpected but dazzling return to the top form of the later Beach Boys years

Tracks 8–9 and 11–13 were originally recorded for the scrapped Sweet Insanity album.
Carl Wilson appears posthumously on 'Soul Searchin'', a song from the Paley sessions.
An iTunes bonus track of 'Don't Worry Baby' was released with daughter Wendy Wilson on lead vocals.
'Soul Searchin'' and the title track can be heard digitally on Playback: The Brian Wilson Anthology, even though the album itself is not on streaming services.
XTC's Andy Partridge was among the songwriters approached for a collaboration.