Yes, he's heavily medicated. But Beach Boys composer-genius Brian Wilson is pretty lucid when he talks about his new disc, That Lucky Old Sun, set for release on Sept. 2. This is from a piece on HuffPo, starting with a quote from Scott Bennett, a member of his band who wrote the lyrics for the tribute to LA and Cali:

"Yes, Brian had a rough time of it, with his mental health, but I would kill to have the kind of catalog he does, and tour everywhere with his brothers like he did," says Bennett, who confirms that Wilson "is on a heavy dose of antidepressants."

Regardless, Wilson has hit a creative stride in his life.

Inspiration comes at night when he sits down alone at his Yamaha synthesizer and grand piano in his purple-curtained music room.

"When I go to the keyboard, I feel holy, like an angel over my head. I feel very holy. When we did (the Beach Boys hit) 'God Only Knows,' I felt holy about that too. A godly something comes through me," Wilson says, motioning with his hands. "I'm always thinking about melodies. The melodies come from my brain, and my keyboards. I play a really pleasant keyboard. It sounds so pleasant it makes me want to write melodies."

I've heard a bootleg of the entire song cycle from the London premier last year and, for the most part, it is a great, creative work. It is no SMiLE, but it is probably the best thing he has done without his brothers, aside from maybe his first solo disc. Some of the songs are bridged by spoken-word segues written by SMiLE co-writer Van Dyke Parks. And I've heard the studio recording of the most amazing song on it, "Midnight's Another Day."

Finally, for those longing for a Beach Boys reunion (as if that could happen with Carl and Dennis gone), Wilson had this to say:

Questions about the Beach Boys' current status get lukewarm response as well. Wilson, who also formed the band with cousin Mike Love and then-school friend Al Jardine, split with most of the group's surviving members years ago amid legal squabbles. Love and later Beach Boys bandmate Bruce Johnston tour as the Beach Boys Band, while Jardine has his own Endless Summer Band. Wilson stresses the subject's touchiness.

"We don't want any publicity about me getting back with the Beach Boys, cause I don't want to. They're not my group anymore. That's Mike and Bruce's group now. I'm on my own, and I would rather do that than go back to the Beach Boys," he says.

Bonus cuts:  That Lucky Old Sun available as a stream in Gannett news sites starting Aug. 22; a promo video for the disc with Brian re-entering Capitol Records, where he had all his biggest '60s hits.

This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2008.