Album of the Day

Brian Wilson and wunderkind lyricist Van Dyke Parks worked together in the mid-1960s to compose The Beach Boys' famously shelved SMILE album; the pair re-teamed 30 years later for ORANGE CRATE ART. “It was to extol the propagandist art that brought California a sense of realty,” notes Parks of the title song, and the entire Warner Bros. collection paints the Golden State with a nostalgic glow. That's Wilson's sweet spot, even if songs like “My Hobo Heart,” “Hold Back Time” and “Lullaby” recall an era that predates surf music. As on their first collaboration, the wordplay is intricate, the arrangements dense and varied, and no expense has been spared to bring in top-flight instrumentalists. This is Brian Wilson's birthday, and while others may mark it with his '60s hits, we'll take a deeper dive to celebrate the late-career resurgence heard on ORANGE CRATE ART.