Hear Brian Wilson’s Retro Nineties Rarity ‘Some Sweet Day’
Brian Wilson sounds cheerfully lovelorn on “Some Sweet Day,” a previously unreleased song that he penned in the 1990s. The track will appear on Playback: The Brian Wilson Anthology, a forthcoming compilation focusing on Wilson’s solo work, and makes its premiere here.
“Some sweet day you’re gonna see that I’m the one for you,” Wilson sings. “Right now it’s out of my hands,” he adds later, “but I don’t worry ’cause I got me a plan.” The song’s arrangement pulls from bubbly Sixties pop, with bright piano, darting brass and a hefty helping of strings.
Wilson penned “Some Sweet Day” with help from Andy Paley. The two have a collaborative relationship stretching back to the Eighties, when Paley worked on Wilson’s self-titled 1988 solo debut. Paley also contributed to 1998’s Imagination and 2004’s Gettin’ in Over My Head.
“Brian and I originally wrote ‘Some Sweet Day’ together in the early Nineties for a movie,” Paley told Rolling Stone in a statement. “The idea was that it would be sung by a female in the style of a Sixties girl-group like the Chiffons. It ultimately didn’t end up getting recorded with a woman’s voice but still I like the recording with Brian singing lead. That’s Brian and me and my brother Jonathan singing the background parts. I’m playing one of the pianos, Brian’s playing another one. I’m playing drums and guitar Jonathan’s playing six-string bass. Brian hired a violinist and Michael Andreas played the woodwind part. It’s a track that I’ve always been very proud of so I’m happy that people are finally able to hear it.”
“I think it’s a great song with good lyrics and a cool melody,” Wilson adds.
“Some Sweet Day” is one of two previously unheard songs that will appear on Playback. The other, “Run James Run,” was written in honor of the new compilation. The rest of the album, which comes out September 22nd, pulls from Wilson’s solo LPs, including a pair of live tracks.
Wilson is currently in the middle of an ongoing tour that started last year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pet Sounds. Speaking with Rolling Stone earlier this year, the singer said the touring allows him to defy his age. “I’m getting older but I don’t give a goddamn,” he said. “I can still sing my ass off. I’m only 74. Which is a fucked age, but I don’t mind it. When I sing onstage, I ain’t 74. I sound like a 30-year-old! That feels good. I get a little break from being 74.”