Theories, rants, etc.
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LATE APRIL, 1995, AND MOJO IS INTERVIEWING
Brian Wilson for the first time. The writer is Bill Holdship, and he’s asking Brian about his ongoing fragile relationship with The Beach Boys. It’s one of those days when Brian is generous to his old bandmates – “The other guys don’t get fair credit for what they’re capable of doing,” he tells Holdship – but also where he is clear-sighted about his own genius. His role in The Beach Boys, he thinks, is best explained as “the creative force”. Then he comes up with a better and more evocative job title: “The sonic architect.”
This past month, we have lost two of our world-builders. Brian Wilson and Sly Stone were complex men, their lives not always easy, but what they’ve given us is some of the most profound, moving, ecstatic music of any of our lifetimes. Hence MOJO 382, a radically different issue from what we’d planned four weeks ago, but one where we’ve hopefully done justice to two giants of popular music. Our thanks to Al Jardine, Van Dyke Parks, The Family Stone’s Greg Errico and Jerry Martini, Sly’s last collaborator Sal Filipelli, and the many others who shared their thoughts and memories with us in this very special issue. Brian Wilson and Sly Stone helped create MOJO’s world, and it’s our privilege to continue living in it.