Three important elements of influential songwriting and arranging are: consistently being able to take the audience to the imaginary setting the song presents; mixing it in with care-free yet powerful vocals; and utilizing catchy, feel-good rhythms. Combining the three into meaningful pop music can be far from an easy task.

A few like Paul Simon, Pete Townshend and if you could overlook the vocals, Bob Dylan, have earned their respective crowns as master lyricists. But even they would admit, when it comes to the title of “influential pop songwriters” there’s only one name – Brian Wilson.

Wilson, the 67 year-old creative genius behind the Beach Boys, brought his enormous songbook along with a powerhouse ten-piece band to the Kirby Center Wednesday for what will unquestionably be one of our area’s best shows of the year.

Performing for two and a half hours the show was divided into two sets, with the first one focusing on the more less-known material. Songs like “Surfer Girl,” “Custom Machine,” and “I Get Around,” were pleasant to hear, but it was the deeper cuts, like an eerie take on the spacey “Heroes and Villains,” that allowed Wilson to showcase his arrangement skills.

Throughout a majority of the Beach Boys years, Wilson’s musical visions proved revolutionary with his penchant for writing tight multi-part vocals while creating experimental backing sounds with the likes of French horns, flutes and Theremins. On Wednesday, his arrangements were focused on having his band replicate the songs’ original sounds. A daunting move, considering all the studio hours he spent tweaking the originals. During Wednesday’s show the replication was unparallel, which touted the musical abilities of Wilson and his band mates, notably during a crisp take on the often underappreciated “In My Room.”

Other first set highlights included an upbeat “Dance, Dance, Dance,” a tender “Don’t Worry Baby,” and the early-era crowd favorite “California Girls,” which brought the 45-minute set to a lively close.

For most of the evening Wilson sat behind a keyboard singing and using arm gestures to act out the songs messages. On certain cuts, like “Sloop John B” from the second set, Wilson’s body movements would indicate a nice crescendo was coming with the chorus, but would instead curiously scratch his head or check his watch when the moment arrived. It could be shunned on or even comical to some, but this is Brian Wilson and, after a multi-decade long disappearance, this is him today.

One of Wilson’s most important accomplishments is that of his songs being able to transport the listener to the situation being played out in the lyrics. On several occasions Wednesday, Wilson brought the crowd from the sunny California beaches and sailing away on the ocean to places like the inside of a “Little Deuce Coupe.” On songs like “God Only Knows” – which Wilson pointed out was one of the first to use “God” in the title – it was impossible to not feel the sorrow and overwhelming love the song presents in just two simple verses.

While his voice has noticeably changed over the last four decades, the emotion Wilson put into each cut helped remind the mostly older crowd why he is often credited with writing the soundtrack to so many people’s lives. His songs don’t need to just focus on the warm California beaches to be considered a masterpiece. During a simple cut like “Do You Wanna Dance” on Wednesday, the majority of the crowd left their seats to do exactly what the song implies, no doubt reliving the days of yesteryear when they were doing the same thing at school dances. For the younger crowd, who were also out of their seats, the song was an in-your-face example of how Wilson’s music spans generations.

After a tight multiple song ending of “Midnight’s Another Day,” “I’m Going Home,” and “Southern California,” Wilson, who introduced nearly all 36 songs, simply said, “Here you go. This is why you came,” before breaking into his most recognized song, “Good Vibrations.” While he himself didn’t recreate the legendary Theremin notes – they were still there on Wednesday – anytime the song is played by its creator, there’s no shortage of goose bumps on everyone in attendance.

With a nearly 30 minute encore including “Help Me Rhonda,” “Barbara Ann,” Surfin U.S.A.,” and “Fun, Fun, Fun,” Wilson ended the show with a touching “Love and Mercy” from his 1988 self-titled solo debut, including the semi-autobiographical line “I was lyin’ in my room and the news came on T.V./A lotta people out there hurtin’ and it really scares me.”

At 67, Brian Wilson has gone beyond all the necessities needed to be classified as a master-musician. The music is catchy, simple yet brilliant. The vocal and live arrangements are the stuff of legend. When you can craft them into a groundbreaking career which can be viewed as something that literally helped change the sound of rock and roll, now those are some good vibrations.

And the beat goes on…

Ryan O’Malley is the music journalist for The Sunday Dispatch and a correspondent for The Weekender. He may be reached at musicjournalman@hotmail.com

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