Two disks devoted to seven years of Brian Wilson may seem like overkill to those that don't understand the man's contribution to Pop music. It's not just about The Beach Boys, although that group's success had everything to do with Wilson's fame. More to the point, Brian Wilson: Songwriter makes it clear that what fame The Beach Boys achieved was built in a large part on Wilson's talents.

It's a very full treatment with lots of great archival footage, song samples, interviews, and still photos from various periods in Wilson's creative blossoming. The stage is set by describing the musical influences present for Wilson, the way in which he learned music, and the interest he showed early on in creating a sound. It's amazing to look back on how nascent the surf meme was at the time the boys that would come to be know as The Beach Boys started recording. In typical chicken-or-egg fashion, it's hard to trace back to the point where surf rock took off, but there's no question The Beach Boys helped. Interviews with musicians that knew Wilson early on suggest his passion for musical diversity, and especially jazz, helped shape the unique sound of the band. Success came swiftly, and Wilson quickly burned out on constant touring and felt overexposed. This is a theme that returns frequently in the life of Brian Wilson, right up to the point where this story ends rather sadly.

Averse to travel, Brian Wilson holed up with a studio and showed an interest in producing other artists while The Beach Boys continued to get bigger and bigger. Wilson's influence on other artists can't be overstated, most notably with Jan and Dean. Later, he found a true muse in Phil Spector, a producer that embodied the type of unique creative vision and control in the studio to which Wilson aspired. Interviews on Brian Wilson: Songwriter talk about Wilson's interest in emulating Spector's "Wall of Sound" concept, with several members from the famous Wrecking Crew group both Spector and Wilson shared during this period. The end of Wilson's steady career and the decline of The Beach Boys is where Brian Wilson: Songwriter 1962 - 1969 wraps up. Taking note of Wilson's eccentricities, such as the sandbox he had constructed in his house to remind him of the beach, the documentary wraps on a sad note. Drugs and mental health concerns sidelined the man who embodied the creative spirit in pop music throughout the '60s, and whose band led a movement of sun, surf, and good times. Ironic that Wilson's career took the dark twist it did, but Brian Wilson: Songwriter does a nice job of recreating the history in a way that will entertain even casual fans.