Imagination

IMAGINATION includes a remake of the Beach Boys' "Let Him Run Wild" and a Jimmy Buffett collaboration, "South American", that gives "Kokomo" a run for its money. It's only the second album of new material Wilson has made in the 25 or so years he's spent lolling around his swimming pool, and it's a damn shame because at its best, which those two songs aren't, it flirts with perfection.
Beyond the three- and four-part harmonies (handled mostly by Wilson himself) and the dense beds of saxes, trumpets, clarinets and percussion--all of which Wilson fans have long been able to count on--are those classic Wilson melodies. He thrives on little complexities, like the strange modulations in the doo-woppy "Keep An Eye On Summer" and the extra chords in "Lay Down Burden" over which he stretches a stock pop melody. And he can still turn out a deceptively simple pop hook, as on "Your Imagination", and surprise you with his voice, like when he reaches for the lower depths of his range on "Cry".|