When you consider the lifelong impact of the renowned 1936 song “Smile”, written by Charlie Chaplin, it almost leads you to imagine the importance of these songs written by Brian Wilson as standards in their own right. Stripped of the Beach Boys harmonies and that famous studio production, and totally devoid of lead vocals, Brian Wilson's At My Piano makes a genuine plea for the inclusion of these songs into the Great American Songbook.

Like a black and white soundtrack of his colorful life in the 1960’s, At My Piano features Brian's own intimate solo piano covers covering a sampling of his most famous song melodies, this time without any lyrics. Never before has Brian Wilson attempted a completely instrumental album, although he has released solo instrumental music in the past as he did with his contribution to 1997’s Songs Without Words on the Windham Hill label.

“Mt. Vernon Farewell” takes you back to one of Brian's haunting melodies crafted on that bonus EP that Reprise Records included with the 1973 Holland album. As expected, several of Brian’s most memorable melodies from the Beach Boys famous Pet Sounds album are succinctly rendered here too.

Brian’s piano tribute to the title track of the 1971 Surf’s Up album is beyond brilliant and with his rendition extending to four minutes, not a note is overlooked. Speaking of the 1966 Smile album, At My Piano includes a touching medley of “Lord’s Prayer”, “Wonderful” and “Heroes & Villains”, while the highlight of the 1971 Surf’s Up album classic, “Till I Die” is Wilson-ized here in all its grandeur, this time as a neo-classical piano instrumental.

The finest melodies of the Beach Boys played solo on acoustic piano by the man that wrote them lends these songs a very nostalgic air and there is no better way to reflect on the innocence of that era in music history than with Brian Wilson's At My Piano. Track 15, “Good Vibrations” closes the album and once again you feel secure in Brian Wilson's safety net of the 1960s.

Being released on the world famous Decca Records makes the 49-minute At My Piano feel like a kind of rare, upper class jaunt performed by the maestro himself. Although it's geared towards classical listeners looking to hear “what’s all the fuss about Beach Boys genius Brian Wilson?”, long-time Beach Boys fans will also get a rush of historical magnitude from this neoclassical Brian Wilson masterpiece.