(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
The greatest songwriter of all time is a debate that we are never going to settle, and the fact that it’s such an impossible conversation is one of the things that makes music so timeless. We can sit here all day and talk about who was the best: John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, or Joan Baez, but we will never come to a definitive conclusion, and that’s a good thing.
The reason why music remains as timeless as it does is because of the subjective nature of it. When we listen to music, we have our internal feelings brought to the surface and presented in a beautiful way. A connection is established between you, the artist, and everybody who likes that song. The world is less lonely as a result, and who are we to tell someone the artist they connect with the most on this deeply personal level isn’t the greatest of all time?
That being said, while these discussions are highly personal, there are some artists who transcend the debate and are just universally accepted as being one of the best. One of these artists is Brian Wilson, who arguably perfected the art of songwriting during his time with the Beach Boys and was the man behind some of the greatest work to come out of the ‘60s.
When the Beach Boys first got together, Wilson went on the road with the band, and they all performed together as everyone would expect. Wilson wasn’t a huge fan of life on the road, and after a few years of struggling to be away from home, he decided he would commit his time to the studio and working on songwriting. This meant that he worked out how to use the studio as an instrument and effectively layer songs in a way that added another element to songwriting.
During these songs, he is able to tap into a range of different emotions, and one of his most prominent is love. No matter what Beach Boys album you are listening to, the way that Wilson talks about love and manages to describe an indescribable feeling is unlike any other artist you’ve heard. The way he layers tracks and provides the song with a heavenly feel almost accomplishes the feeling of love before a word has been spoken.
Wilson has always had an affinity for the way people can describe love through music, and he admires artists who are able to do it well. When he was asked about the artist who he thinks connects the most with the emotion, he was quick to offer up Burt Bacharach as an answer. For Wilson to praise him as one of the best to do it is considerable acclaim indeed.
“When they say the name Burt Bacharach, right away it triggers off love, melodies and harmonies and beautiful records and incredible songs that he wrote with Hal David,” said Wilson, “That’s a source of love right there, Burt Bacharach. His name is. He might not be in that frame of mind today. But his name is always in that frame of mind, know what I mean?”
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