Maps of Music

I Just Wasn't Made for These Times (1995)

Where the lyrics of I Just Wasn't Made for These Times take you, and where it was really made.

Wilson's second solo album is made almost entirely of his own old songs, re-recorded for a documentary with the same title.

Key places

Recorded at Ocean Way (1995)

Recording site The Music Grinder (Hollywood) — The album's main recording took place at Ocean Way in Hollywood. The point uses city-level coordinates, so the exact building is not marked. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Additional recording at Chomsky Ranch (1995)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Additional recording for the album was done at the Chomsky Ranch in Los Angeles. The point uses city-level coordinates, so the exact building is not marked. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Second solo album by Brian Wilson
• Released 15 August 1995 by MCA Records
• Soundtrack to Don Was' documentary of the same name
• Consists almost entirely of rerecordings of Wilson's past songs
• Title taken from a song Wilson wrote in 1966 with Tony Asher for Pet Sounds
• 11 tracks, all written by Wilson, with additional writers noted on some

Background

• Released seven years after the 1988 debut solo album Brian Wilson
• Psychotherapist Eugene Landy had a large influence on the planned follow-up, Sweet Insanity, which was shelved in 1990
• After several years of overmedication and manipulation by Landy, Wilson was removed from Landy's care by court order at the end of 1991
• Melinda Ledbetter began a relationship with Wilson after Landy's exit and helped him reconnect with his family
• Wilson felt ready to return as an active musician and chose to revisit songs from his catalogue
• Produced with Don Was; band: Waddy Wachtel, Benmont Tench, Jim Keltner, James 'Hutch' Hutchinson
• A black-and-white documentary of the same title, directed by Was, was made during the same period, covering Wilson's career and public comeback with interviews of family and friends

Recording

• Recorded at Ocean Way, Hollywood, CA; additional recording at The Chomsky Ranch, Los Angeles, CA
• Mixed at Record One, Los Angeles; mastered at The Mastering Lab, Hollywood, CA
• Personnel: Wilson on vocals and piano; Mark Goldenberg and Waddy Wachtel on guitar; James 'Hutch' Hutchinson on bass; Benmont Tench on piano and Hammond organ; Jim Keltner on drums; David McMurray on saxophone and flute
• Backing vocals by Andrew Gold, Donald Ray Mitchell, Sir Harry Bowens, Jeff Pescetto, Kip Lennon and Sweet Pea Atkinson
• Wilson's daughters Carnie and Wendy sing backing vocals on Do It Again

Cover

• 10-panel foldout insert printed in English
• Insert includes photos, graphics, liner notes by Don Was, a list of players and track credits
• Insert also carries a 'Special Thanks to' note from Brian Wilson

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• 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.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Released 15 August 1995 by MCA Records as the soundtrack to Don Was' documentary of the same name
• In a 1995 interview, Wilson said that at first he thought the rerecordings would seem contrived, because the songs were all old hat
• Wilson said that once he understood the context, he felt free to talk without worrying about what he was saying
• He said the project gave him a sense of himself and a sense of worth
• Spanish Wikipedia: the album revisits songs from Wilson's vast catalogue to remind followers how far he had come
• Spanish Wikipedia: Wilson and Don Was set up a sober and modest musical atmosphere for the sessions
• Italian Wikipedia: like its predecessor, the album was a commercial failure

Records

• UK Albums Chart: number 59
• US Billboard 200: did not enter the chart
• Released seven years after the 1988 debut solo album Brian Wilson
• Catalogue number MCA MCASD 11270
• Copyright line: ℗©1995 MCA Records, Inc.
• Album and documentary share the same title and were made in the same period

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title comes from a 1966 song Wilson wrote with Tony Asher for the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.
• Van Dyke Parks was originally uncredited as a writer on "Wonderful".
• Eugene Landy was originally credited with writing on Love and Mercy and Melt Away; those songs were later reattributed to Wilson alone.
• The Discogs-noted insert misspells Wendy Wilson as 'Windy Wilson' in the Do It Again credits, while the correct spelling is used elsewhere.
• Wilson's daughters Carnie and Wendy sing backing vocals on Do It Again.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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