Editing Brian Wilson (section)

===''Spring'' and ''Mount Vernon and Fairway''===

[[File:Brian Wilson 1971.png|thumb|left|Wilson in a 1971 ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' advertisement for ''[[Surf's Up (album)|Surf's Up]]'']]

Wilson's disappointment over the poor commercial reception of ''Sunflower''{{sfn|Leaf|1978|p=135}} led him to reduce his contributions to subsequent Beach Boys recordings.{{sfn|White|1996|p=286}} Bruce Johnston described his involvement in the ''[[Surf's Up (album)|Surf's Up]]'' sessions (August 1971) as that of "a visitor."{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=298}} In November 1970, Wilson performed with the band at the [[Whisky a Go Go]] for one-and-a-half dates. Intense discomfort forced him to leave mid-performance during the second show.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=278–279}}{{refn|group=nb|Wilson recalled, "On the second night, I started [...] feeling dizzy and I told the guys I had to stop. It felt like I was killing myself."{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=279}}}} Following this experience, he told ''Melody Maker'' that although he was "quite happy living at home", he felt less creative and less engaged with the band. He described himself as "a kind of drop-out".{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=279}} In September 1971, Wilson told a reporter he had recently returned to arranging rather than writing.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=209}} In December, at a [[Long Beach]] concert, manager [[Jack Rieley]] persuaded Wilson to perform with the Beach Boys, though his appearance lasted only minutes.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=301}}

From late 1971 to early 1972, Wilson and musician David Sandler collaborated on ''[[Spring (American Spring album)|Spring]]'', the first album by Marilyn Wilson and Diane Rovell's new group, [[American Spring]].{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=300}} As with much of his work in this period, the extent of his contributions varied,{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=176}} but it was his most involved production effort since ''Friends'' in 1968.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=321}} <!--- Released in July 1972, ''Spring'' was critically acclaimed but failed to chart.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=321}} ---> During the recording of ''[[Carl and the Passions]]'' (April 1972), Wilson rarely left his bedroom, though [[Blondie Chaplin]] recalled, "when he came down his contribution was amazing."{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=308}} Wilson's unavailability was such that his image had to be superimposed into the group portrait included in the record sleeve.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=174}}{{refn|group=nb|Bruce Johnston left the band during these sessions partly due to his unhappiness with Wilson's creative withdrawal.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=308}}}}

During the summer of 1972, Wilson joined his bandmates when they temporarily relocated to Holland after persistent persuasion.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=317}} Residing in a Dutch house known as "Flowers" and repeatedly listening to [[Randy Newman]]'s album ''[[Sail Away (Randy Newman album)|Sail Away]]'', he was inspired to write a fairy tale, ''[[Mount Vernon and Fairway]]'', drawing on memories of listening to the radio at Mike Love's family home in his youth.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=317, 326}} The group declined to include the fairy tale on their next album, ''[[Holland (album)|Holland]]'' (January 1973), and instead released it as a bonus EP packaged with the album.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=254}} That April, Wilson briefly joined his bandmates onstage during an encore at the [[Hollywood Palladium]].{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=328}}