Editing Brian Wilson (section)

===Studios and musicians===

Wilson said, "I was unable to really think as a producer up until the time where I really got familiar with Phil Spector's work. That was when I started to design the experience to be a record rather than just a song."{{sfn|Sanchez|2014|p=47}} He frequently attended Spector's recording sessions, observing his arranging and recording techniques, and adopted Spector's choice of studios and session musicians, later known as [[the Wrecking Crew (music)|the Wrecking Crew]].{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=44}}{{refn|group=nb|[[Dean Torrence]] stated that Wilson learned much about studio technology from Jan Berry, who advised him to use session musicians to expedite recording instead of waiting for the Beach Boys to finish touring.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=43}}}} Wilson established approximately one-third of a song's final arrangement during the writing process, with the remainder developed in the studio.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Schneider|first1=Robert|author-link1=Robert Schneider|title=Smiles Away|url=http://www.westword.com/issues/2004-10-21/music/music.print|magazine=[[Westword]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041107105755/http://www.westword.com/issues/2004-10-21/music/music.print|archive-date=November 7, 2004|date=October 21, 2004}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|He elaborated in 1990, "As I write a song, I write some of the instrumental piano and pluck some of the different notes for the arrangement. It's impossible to lay the whole arrangement on the piano but you play just enough to get the overall feelin' of the record. It is an art in itself."<ref>{{cite AV media notes| title = Party/Stack-O-Tracks| others= [[The Beach Boys]]| year = 1990| first = David| last = Leaf|author-link=David Leaf|publisher=[[Capitol Records]]|type=CD Liner|url=http://albumlinernotes.com/Party_Stack-O-Tracks.html}}</ref>}}

[[File:Exterior of 6000 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles.jpg|upright|thumb|Exterior of [[United Western Recorders|Western Studio]] in Hollywood, Wilson's preferred recording facility in the mid-1960s.]]

Rather than using [[Gold Star Studios]], Spector's favored facility, Wilson chose Studio 3 at [[United Western Recorders|Western]] for its privacy and the presence of staff engineer [[Chuck Britz]],{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=131}} who served as Wilson's principal engineer from 1962 to 1967.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=37}}{{refn|group=nb|Wilson did occasionally record at Gold Star. The studio's owner, Stan Ross, commented, "Brian liked the sound Gold Star got on the instrumentation, but he did the voices elsewhere because we were limited to two or three tracks and that wasn't enough for voice overdubbing. [...] The tracks were really rhythm pads that would be sweetened after the voices were put on."<ref name="Ross1997">{{cite AV media notes|chapter=Musician Comments: Stan Ross|title=The Pet Sounds Sessions|others=The Beach Boys|year=1997|publisher=[[Capitol Records]]|type=Booklet|chapter-url=http://albumlinernotes.com/Stan_Ross.html}}</ref>}} While Britz typically handled technical tasks like level mixing and microphone placement,{{sfn|White|1996|p=162}} Wilson made extensive adjustments to the setup,{{sfn|Priore|2005|p=81}} usurping standard studio protocols of the era that limited console use to assigned engineers.{{sfn|Granata|2003|pp=123–124}} Once Britz prepared an initial configuration, Wilson took control of the console, directing session musicians from the booth using an intercom or non-verbal cues alongside chord charts.{{sfn|Moorefield|2010|p=19}}  Britz recalled that Wilson would work with the players until he achieved the desired sound, a process that frequently lasted for hours.{{sfn|Cogan|Clark|2003|p=33}}

Wilson first used the Wrecking Crew for productions with the Honeys in March 1963,{{sfn|Murphy|2015|p=276}} and two months later, during sessions for ''Surfer Girl'', he began gradually integrating these musicians into Beach Boys records.{{sfn|Murphy|2015|p=288}}{{sfn|Dillon|2012|pp=24–25}}{{refn|group=nb|Contrary to the [[list of common misconceptions|common misconception]] that these musicians completely replaced the band on backing tracks after the early 1960s, this substitution occurred primarily on most tracks of ''Pet Sounds'' and ''Smile''.{{sfn|Stebbins|2011|p={{page needed|date=May 2022}}}}{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=25}}<ref name="wong">{{cite web |last1=Wong |first1=Grant |date=January 3, 2022 |title=Brian Wilson Isn't the Type of Genius You Think He Is |url=https://slate.com/culture/2022/01/the-beach-boys-brian-wilson-documentary-genius-pet-sounds.html |website=Slate}}</ref> }} Until 1965, the band members typically performed the instrumentation,<ref name="SlowinskiMyth"/>{{sfn|Stebbins|2011|p={{page needed|date=May 2022}}}} but as Wilson's sessions came to necessitate 11 or more different players, his reliance on the Wrecking Crew increased.<ref name="HimesSurf" />  In 1966 and 1967, he almost exclusively used these musicians for the backing tracks,{{sfn|Stebbins|2011|p={{page needed|date=May 2022}}}}<ref name="SlowinskiMyth">{{cite web |last1=Slowinski |first1=Craig |title=Introduction |url=http://www.beachboysarchives.com/page2 |website=beachboysarchives.com |publisher=Endless Summer Quarterly |access-date=May 14, 2022 |date=2006}}</ref> although their involvement diminished considerably after 1967.{{sfn|Stebbins|2011|p={{page needed|date=May 2022}}}}

His musicians, many trained in [[music school|conservatories]], were impressed by his abilities.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=46}} Unlike most other producers, Wilson never required them to devise their own parts.{{sfn|Howard|2004|p=58}} Bassist [[Carole Kaye]] recounted that the group "were in awe of Brian",{{sfn|Howard|2004|p=58}} while guitarist [[Jerry Cole]] recalled that he and his fellow players "would walk out of Brian's sessions shaking our heads, saying, 'This son of a bitch is either crazy, or he's an absolute genius.'"{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=14}}{{refn|group=nb|Kaye noted of Wilson's basslines, "He took bass up another step. He saw it as integral in a symphonic orchestra. He used bass as the framework for a hit record. Very few people can write for bass, but his writing was beautiful. There are a lot of jazz musicians who admire him for it."{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=67}} Keyboardist [[Don Randi]] similarly expressed admiration for Wilson's chord choices, referring to him as "the [[Bill Evans]] of rock 'n' roll".{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=141}}}} Drummer [[Hal Blaine]], however, recalled that all of the musicians "helped arrange, as far as I'm concerned."{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=82}}