Maps of Music

That Lucky Old Sun (2008)

Where the lyrics of That Lucky Old Sun take you, and where it was really made.

Wilson made this Los Angeles love letter in the same Capitol Studios where his Beach Boys records were made.

Key places

Recorded at Capitol Studios (2008)

Recording site Capitol Studios — The album was recorded at Capitol Studios, as the Beach Boys' records had been. The studio is in the Capitol Records building on Vine Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Seventh studio album by American musician Brian Wilson
• Released 2 September 2008 by Capitol Records
• Written with Scott Bennett, a bandmate of Wilson
• Spoken word poetry commissioned from Van Dyke Parks
• Uses the 1949 song "That Lucky Old Sun", written by Beasley Smith and Haven Gillespie, as its overture
• Themed around Los Angeles culture and life in Southern California

Background

• Commissioned by the Southbank Centre for its 2007 opening season
• Debuted in a series of concerts at the Royal Festival Hall in London, England, during September 2007
• Performed at the State Theatre in Sydney, Australia, for the Sydney Festival in January 2008
• Wilson described the piece as "consisting of five 'rounds', with interspersed spoken word"
• Main theme celebrates life in Southern California, repeating themes from Wilson's earlier work with the Beach Boys
• Early demos of "Midnight's Another Day" and "Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl" were released on Wilson's official website in August 2007

Recording

• Recorded at Capitol Studios, as Beach Boys-era records had been
• Spoken interludes such as "Cinco de Mayo" and "Between Pictures" celebrate Venice Beach, the Los Angeles film industry and Californian landmarks

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.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

• Rolling Stone reviewer David Fricke gave it 4 out of 5, saying it lacks the shock of Smile but keeps a natural, hopeful and warm flow throughout
• AllMusic reviewer John Bush gave it 2.5 out of 5, saying it does not come close to the subtleties of the golden-era Beach Boys sound
• Bush wrote that Wilson needed capable co-writers and a powerful lead vocalist to sing alongside him
• Rolling Stone called it a musical love letter to his native Los Angeles
• Metacritic: score of 70 out of 100 from 26 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews

Records

• Billboard 200: peaked at number 21 in the U.S., its first top-40 entry since Smile in 2004
• UK Albums Chart: entered at number 37 in September 2008, staying one week only
• United States: 65,000 copies sold by 2015

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Demos of "Midnight's Another Day" and "Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl" went online on Wilson's official website in August 2007, before release
• A limited edition box set was produced in England in 2009 by Genesis Publications
• The box set came with twelve serigraphs by artist Peter Blake, each illustrating a song from the album
• The box set also included three facsimile sheets of music, a VIP pass and one of the first pressings of the CD
• Discogs lists the release as issued in a 6 Panel Cardboard Wallet
• The Billboard 200 peak at number 21 was the album's first top-40 entry since Smile in 2004

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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