Love & Mercy Archives - chimesfreedom

All of us know people who are hurting during the current coronavirus pandemic. In addition to those suffering physically, many are in pain emotionally. I feel fortunate in that I may imagine many times in my life where the pandemic would have been much more difficult for me. But I know that others are now experiencing those worst of times. Health care workers, grocery employees, and other essential workers who are helping us all need help too. And many are lonely and scared, with the social isolation causing more pain. Everyone is suffering to varying degrees, so we all need a little of the love and mercy that Brian Wilson sang about in the song with that title.

“Love And Mercy” originally appeared on Brian Wilson’s debut 1988 self-titled solo album following his success with The Beach Boys. Although the song was released as part of a double-sided single, it failed to find any chart success. But the song has endured and is more timely than ever.

I was lyin’ in my room and the news came on T.V.
A lotta people out there hurtin’ and it really scares me.

Love and mercy that’s what you need tonight;
So, love and mercy to you and your friends tonight.

In the liner notes for the song, Wilson concludes that the song is “probably the most spiritual song” he has ever written. He explains the difference between the two terms in the title: “I would think love is a gentle thing and mercy would be more desperate, ultimately more desperately needed, thing in life. Mercy–a little break here and there for somebody who’s having trouble.”

Below is Brian Wilson’s official video for “Love And Mercy.”

This week I rediscovered the song while re-watching the 2014 movie Love & Mercy. I had seen the movie featuring Paul Dano and John Cusack as different era Brians in the theater when it was released. In parallels, the movie shows the young Brian Wilson facing mental issues during the creation of the Pet Sounds album, contrasting that story with the older Brian Wilson escaping an abusive relationship with a “doctor.”

I equally enjoyed the movie the second time. And this time around, I found a connection to what is going on the world and the video that appears over the end credits showing the real Brian Wilson singing his song “Love And Mercy.”

Not surprisingly, after I started writing this post about how “Love And Mercy” is a wonderful song for our current times, I discovered that someone else had the same idea. Brian Wilson recently posted a video of him singing “Love and Mercy” from his home (along with “Do It Again”).

Wilson recorded the at-home video for Rolling Stone magazine’s In My Room series. Check it out below.

Love and mercy to you and your friends tonight.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

Brian Wilson’s Life in “Love & Mercy” (Short Review)

The Pines at Night (Matthew Ryan) Releases Full Album,”A Year of Novembers”

A “Song for a Hard Year” from The Pines at Night

I’ll See You In My Dreams: Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021

There Will Be Another Christmas

We sang, “Silent Night” All Day Long

( Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

Brian Wilson movie In the new movie Love & Mercy (2015), director Bill Pohlad takes the unusual approach to use two different actors to convey the complexity of the genius of Beach Boys singer-songwriter Brian Wilson. And surprisingly, it works very well.

Of course, the technique can only work if the actors are up to the task, and both Paul Dano and John Cusack give outstanding career performances in Love & Mercy. Dano has always been good of portraying some level of madness, but his portrayal of Wilson is much more subtle than Dano’s over-the-top craziness in There Will Be Blood (2007). It also was surprising how much Dano looks like a young Brian Wilson given the right hair. While John Cusack does not really look like Brian Wilson, his performance is surprising in his portrayal of vulnerability without his usual “I-know-more-than-everyone-else” winking. The supporting cast is also outstanding, including Elizabeth Banks in one of her best performances and the always wonderful Paul Giamatti.

Love & Mercy features two story arcs intertwined, tracing Wilson’s descent into drugs and mental illness through Dano in one story while also telling the ascent of Wilson’s recovery and escape from the control of Dr. Eugene Landy (Giamatti) through Cusack’s Wilson. Through the stories, we also see Wilson’s torment from an abusive father and an abusive therapist. But his tragedy and triumph are also about the music, and some of the most interesting parts of the film show Wilson in the studio, creating the brilliant Beach Boys album Pet Sounds and struggling to create the follow-up album Smile.

Conclusion? If you are interested in the history of rock music or in movies about tortured genius, you may find that Love & Mercy is one of the best rock biopics in recent years. If you do not trust me, Rotten Tomatoes has an 88% critics rating and a 96% audience rating for the film.

Bonus Trivia: The title of the film is taken from the song “Love & Mercy” from Wilson’s 1988 self-titled solo album. If you wait for the credits during the film, you will see and hear Wilson performing the song, whose opening line seem like an in-joke: “I was sitting in a crummy movie. . . .” But I suspect Pohlad chose the song because it is an uplifting message fitting for a movie about redemption. Wilson once said, “‘Love and Mercy’ is probably the most spiritual song I’ve ever written.”

Since Brian Wilson is still alive, one may wonder how difficult it must be for him to watch a movie about his struggles. If you are interested in what he thinks, in a recent NPR interview, Wilson discussed the movie and how some parts are difficult for him to watch. He also talked about his new album No Pier Pressure and his favorite Beach Boy song, which also happens to be my favorite, “God Only Knows.”

What did you think of Love & Mercy? Leave your two cents in the comments.