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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

That Lucky Old Sun
by Brian Wilson


8.9

based on 22 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 18 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Official Artist Site

The ex-Beach Boys singer releases his latest solo album, which he produced himself.

LABEL:	Capitol
RELEASE DATE:	02 September 2008
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Rock, Pop

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Slant Magazine

In many ways, Wilson updates his style, while still paying tribute to the things he loves.

PopMatters

That Lucky Old Sun, then, is easily Wilson’s best collection of new material since, well, the original SMiLE sessions.

Mojo

That Lucky Old Sun is easily Brian Wilson's most consistently enjoyable, moving solo albums; indeed you have to go back to "Surf's Up" itrself to hear a Beach Boys long-player as good. [Spe 2008, p.99]

Uncut

There are very few other albums this year with as much force, verve, and sheer musical imagination as That Lucky Old Sun. [Sep 2008, p.84]

Billboard

After taking care of some unfinished business in recent years, Brian Wilson shows he still has the stuff of conceptual brilliance on his eighth solo album.

Boston Globe

What makes the record work, though, is Wilson's ability to create melodies that blend the childlike and enthusiastic with the melancholic and nostalgic.

Rolling Stone

That Lucky Old Sun lacks the magnificent shock of SMiLE, Wilson's 2004 completion of that '67 album. But it has a natural, hopeful flow that leaves you warm all over.

Spin

Sweetly and unmistakably, That Lucky Old Sun limns the sunset of Wilson's career, while still showing how California is at its most beautiful through his eyes.

Pitchfork

"But now I'm back." And he is, with his finest non-"Smile" album since the golden age of the Beach Boys. Lucky us.

Entertainment Weekly

The sunniness can feel strained, and 'Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl' is as unnecessary as sequels get. But when Wilson is on his game, you feel lucky to still be soaking up his rays.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

The album pays wistful, hopeful tribute to the place he's long called home, and in spite of hard years and losses, now wants to enjoy for a while.

Dot Music

Not only an opportunity to look back, then, but a joyous reminder that, when at his lowest, Brian Wilson stepped up and did the unthinkable.

Hartford Courant

His sun-and-fun lyrics can be saccharine and anachronistic, but his complete lack of artifice helps to sell the sticky likes of 'Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl.'

The New York Times

For all its determined optimism That Lucky Old Sun ends up as more an affirmation of Mr. Wilson’s legacy than an expansion of it.

All Music Guide

That Lucky Old Sun rarely approaches the subtleties of the classic Beach Boys sound. What it evokes instead is the driving '70s productions on latter-day Beach Boys albums like "15 Big Ones" and "Love You."

Observer Music Monthly

The concept of LA as a 'Sunblessed City of Angels' is trite, co-opting another's song for the theme tune lazy, and much of what follows resembles a Beach Boys tribute band.

musicOMH.com

That Lucky Old Sun is a brave but failed attempt to add a new chapter to the ongoing story of a pop legend.

Blender

Sadly it's undercut by music that tirns Brian Wilson into merely another Brian Wilson imitator. [Sep 2008, p.85]

The Phoenix

Brian Wilson and his karaoke-smooth backing band the Wondermints have instead given us something on par with 1970s Beach Boys--kinda bloated, kinda silly, mostly out of date, but with enough earnestness and pop intuition to be so, so, so puerile that hating it would be like hating Raffi.

NOW Magazine

It appears that Wilson came up with a couple of tunes about his own troubled life but realized it might be too much of a bummer, so he tacked on a few happy-sappy Beach Boys throwbacks to make for a sunny little song cycle about a magical place filled with sun, sand and surfer girls.

The Guardian

Every single note feels forced, in hock to a sound and a set of attitudes that date from a time before many of us were born.

Tiny Mix Tapes

Wilson continues to rehash southern California culture with increasingly less perspective, further eschewing the untamed adolescent aesthetic by including stuffy musical theater elements and a top-down point-of-view that’s more clumsy analysis than sincere memoir.

The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Larry F. gave it a9:
A tremendously satisfying return to form for Brian Wilson. The whole package is a delight.

Brandon M. gave it a10:
Excellent, somewhat different than Smile but the whole thing's got a feel-good vibe to it. That's what I wanted from it.

Reid P. gave it an8:
Not as strong as Smile, but a great record overall. Nostalgia and sentiment wound in wonderfully crafted songs.

Brady H. gave it a10:
Sounds great leading to feeling good.

Bob H. gave it a10:
who'da dared think that Brian could "create" and in a new style, based on the pop music he invented, without sounding self conscious?

Stuart P. gave it a9:
Smile crossed with Orange Crate Art- lushious!

C. E. gave it an8:
Wilson still is one of America's greatest pop-rock composers despite his very public struggles. However, most of this album comes across as an homage to Wilson's incredible talent and brilliance, with listeners being fed a steady stream of Wilson celebrating the exorcism of his personal demons but without the mind-blowing harmonies and beautiful end product that Wilson gave us in Pet Sounds and SMiLE. Unfortunately for fans and Wilson himself, the bar has been set far too high for this album, meaning that fans will have to settle for a great album that still pales in comparison to what we've come to expect (or at least hope for) from the Beach Boys genius. I rate this an 8 (because there was no 7.5) because the album is very good, but still has plenty that could be improved on. This feels like it was almost rushed next to the meticulous recordings of Pet Sounds and SMiLE, but That Lucky Old Sun is still fun to listen to and musically sound - it's just not a world or life - changing album from the man who certainly HAS changed this world's music.

That Lucky Old Sun by Brian Wilson

That Lucky Old Sun
by Brian Wilson