Maps of Music

No Pier Pressure (2015)

Where the lyrics of No Pier Pressure take you, and where it was really made.

This solo album began as a follow-up to a Beach Boys reunion record, but the plan changed. Critics mainly attacked its co-producer's arrangements and auto-tune.

Key places

Three studio rooms at Ocean Way (2015)

Recording site Ocean Way Recording — Sessions for the album were held in all three studio spaces at Ocean Way Recording over about a year and a half. The Hollywood studio is listed as a recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Stereotrain Studios session (2015)

Recording site Stereotrain Studios — Stereotrain Studios is listed among the recording locations for the album. The article says some parts were recorded at other studios in California, Tennessee and Illinois. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• No Pier Pressure: tenth studio album by American musician Brian Wilson
• Released April 7, 2015 by Capitol Records
• First solo Wilson LP built mainly on new original material since That Lucky Old Sun (2008)
• Guests include Sebu Simonian of Capital Cities, Kacey Musgraves, She & Him, Nate Ruess of Fun and Peter Hollens
• Original Beach Boys Al Jardine and David Marks appear, along with former member Blondie Chaplin
• Peaked at number 28 on the US Billboard 200

Background

• Originally planned as a follow-up to the Beach Boys' 2012 reunion album That's Why God Made the Radio
• Wilson first intended to record with the Beach Boys after their 50th anniversary, then chose a solo album
• Joe Thomas, who co-produced That's Why God Made the Radio, co-produced this album
• Jeff Beck took part in early sessions, but the Beck collaborations were not included on the final album
• 'One Kind of Love' was written for the film Love & Mercy, a biopic of Wilson's life

Recording

• Sessions held at all three studio spaces at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood over about a year and a half
• Wesley Seidman worked with Wilson in the studio
• New Sanken C0-100K microphones used for drum overheads, orchestra and horn rooms, mandolin and acoustic lap steel guitar
• Some parts recorded or mixed at other California, Tennessee and Illinois studios
• Album reported finished on November 6, 2014

Cover

• Cover photo shot by Wilson's daughter, Daria

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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

• Mixed reviews, with criticism centered on adult contemporary arrangements, production and auto-tune
• Critics said these directions were allegedly at the behest of co-producer Joe Thomas
• Rolling Stone gave the album 3 stars and called it Wilson's most forward-looking solo LP
• The Guardian named The Last Song the best track, praising its arrangement and melody
• PopMatters gave the album 2 out of 10, saying Wilson's involvement was minimal
• AllMusic said the album had little to do with the high art of Wilson's new millennium work
• Exclaim! said the guest stars and stylistic diversions made Wilson a sideshow on his own record

Reappraisal

• Metacritic average of 57 from 23 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews
• Repeated criticism aimed at the track Runaway Dancer and at Joe Thomas's auto-tune use
• Two months after release, Wilson denied using auto-tune in his work

Records

• Peaked at number 28 on the US Billboard 200
• One Kind of Love was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2016 Golden Globe Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title is wordplay by Wilson's daughter, combining peer pressure with pier.
• The album was first planned as a follow-up to the Beach Boys' 2012 reunion record.
• Frank Ocean's vocals were never finished; he wanted to do rap, so he was dropped from the track.
• In August 2014 Beck was surprised to learn that Danny Boy would be included on the album, and said the track was left unfinished.
• Our Special Love was released by Peter Hollens on his self-titled album on September 28, 2014, as a duet with Wilson.
• Several guests were filmed performing with Wilson at The Venetian in Las Vegas for an episode of Soundstage that aired in 2015.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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