Brian Wilson Shares A Piano Cover Of “God Only Knows”

What honor would it be to have a Beach Boy himself share your cover of their song? That just happened when Brian Wilson shared Neil Finn’s (Crowded House frontman) cover of the classic Pet Sounds cut, “God Only Knows”. In a tweet, Wilson says that the Melbourne singer-musician first recorded himself singing the song while he was out on a walk, and taped a full piano version back at his home while on quarantine.

Finn’s rendition stays faithful to the original track, with the solemnity of his home’s ambient noise adding an organic vibe to the whole song, perfect for calming nerves in these extraordinary times. Wilson also released his own cover of “What A Wonderful World” last month, where he was joined by Van Dyke Parks. This cover will be part of the 25th-anniversary reissue of the pair’s 1995 collaboration effort, Orange Crate Art.

Rumors of Wilson and the other surviving members of the Beach Boys getting together for a 60th-anniversary tour have been floating as well.  “Anything that’s creative and done for positive reasons is good with me,” says Mike Love in a recent Rolling Stone interview. This will have to wait, though, as the pandemic and Wilson’s own health issues are in the way.