BLOOD ON THE TRACKS Season 4: The Brian Wilson Story

221

In 1966, Brian Wilson planned to follow up the Beach Boys' groundbreaking album Pet Sounds with an even bigger musical statement. He was writing a teenage symphony to God. That album, Smile, was never finished. Instead, Brian slowly unraveled, as the pressure to make something profound weighed heavy on him. He worried that he wasn’t good enough. He worried that he was a failure in the eyes of the record company, his band, his peers, and his own father. He thought his house was bugged. He thought the music he was making conjured some strange voodoo that had a disastrous impact on the real world. He became paranoid. He self-medicated with amphetamines, hash, and LSD. He held meetings in his swimming pool. He imagined people who weren’t there. And eventually, in 1967, he went off the proverbial deep end. Did the real Brian Wilson ever resurface? Part true crime, part historical fiction, part spoken word lo-fi beat noir brought to you by Jake Brennan, and featuring the fictionalized voice Brian Wilson, BLOOD ON THE TRACKS sounds like nothing you’ve heard before. Because you can’t push the needle into the red without leaving a little blood on the tracks.

Recent Episodes

Episodes loading...

Recent Reviews

Klaus Van Winkle

Too corny

I’ve enjoyed soke of his other podcasts. But i could get past the corny interludes and sound bites in this one. The creator probably had a difficult time translating the experience of mental illness into an auditory experience. And it just doesn’t work. It’s heavy handed.
Mark12291961

Loved it!

Coming from someone that grew up on Brian and let Brian’s music be the soundtrack to my life. The good/bad times, the loves, the breakups, the crushes, the loneliness. I could always find it in Brian’s creations. I really liked the presentation and format of your chapters. I knew the history, but appreciate the creativity to deliver the bio in a way that kept me wanting more. I liked how you went in and out of Brian’s head. It made me feel like maybe that’s how he was thinking and saw things.
ElvsPretzl

More Transparency

It would be good if the we knew whether or not Brian’s voice is an old recording of him, or someone reading his memoirs. Are the recordings actually his? The woman states that they are, but I’m skeptical. The echoing, repetitive noises are super annoying. Bye.
Countryclassic

Brian Wilson survives it all

Look, the Brian Wilson story has been rehashed so many times the last ten years it practically writes itself…but this podcast does an excellent job of giving you a glimpse into a man who had all the fame, pressures, turmoil, and bad trips anyone could take. Yes, a lot of this show is typical over the top podcast dramatization (please lose the “Blood on the tracks” references and sound effects—we get it already) but I’m really looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season plays out. The storytelling is first rate.
jcabtwolfe

I really wanted to like this

The re-enactments and constant sound bytes are really corny. I gave it a 2 because the sound quality is good. I couldn’t force myself to listen to it.
jcd1969

Sound design is like nails on a chalkboard

Story is interesting, but the sound design is beyond distracting. Intrusive, echoey asides interrupt the narrative, derailing the show, over and over again. 27 Club & Disgraceland are far better productions.
Geumpyhistory

People are sensitive

I like the voices popping in. Makes it uncomfortable and immersive in a way that feels intentional and is entertaining. Great storytelling
your favorite vegetable

Just ask Brian ?

*is
Winterfuzz55

Creepy

Creepy voice and continual loud background music. Just awful
BenHiJammin

Bob Dylan’s finale

I’ve listened to every season of blood on the tracks as well as disgraceland, about a girl, and 27 club. The finale for Bob Dylan’s season was insightful and inspiring. Being from Minnesota, the ending is a breath of fresh air at the end.
Bdog714

The intrusive voices

The voiceovers seemed like a great addition, but they become overly intrusive and take away from the flow of the show. Oh how I wanted to finish Lennon and Dylan. But I can’t do it with those demon voices
Worst Background Music

What’s with the creepy voice?

Decent story to listen to, but the weird distorted voice is a total distraction and unnecessary. Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should….
PallindromeBell

Cringeworthy Mixing

I found it incredibly difficult to fully enjoy this podcast because of the sound effects. Wonderful storyline, but I cannot for the life of me understand who would sign off on this stupid, noisy distraction!
Wardster25

Usually I’m one to call out Jake but….

This is great entertainment. I’m a mega Lennon fan. I realize liberties are taken here , but it’s so well produced. I’m in for the ride . Love it
taisia & ebert

Innovative, Interesting

People are crazy. In podcast land, this is what HBO did with shows like GOT. On a smaller scale obviously — and very niche to those that like the narrative and POV that all of Jake Brennan’s shows have. Love the series and flow. Love the structure. The reviewers that don’t like it almost likely still watch cable (snooze). Keep em coming.
rharan

Keep it simple

Difficult to listen to. Distorted voices and zany background music is a turnoff. Or should I say a unfollow. Jake, you can do better.
PW from GR

Best storyteller

There is no storyteller quite like Jake. I love this unique and imaginative piece.
james8008

A different listen

So I’m a huge Disgraceland fan, but this show definitely has a different vibe from that show. I can see why this would be off putting for certain audiences, but at the same time I really enjoy hearing something different like this. Is it perfect? No, but Jake tried something different here and if you’re a fan of his then you’ll probably enjoy this podcast.
jkjkou812

Overproduced

The looping of the altered voices over and over throughout the intro is just too much. It’s excruciating. I often hear from friend who listen to the podcast that his work is a little overproduced, too much projection of the author in to the podcast. I haven’t really had a problem with that. I can’t get through the intro of the second episode. That’s too bad. I really enjoyed The 27 Club.
neatnick12

Can’t listen

Very hard to hear the distorted voices. Music is horrible. Deleted after two episodes.
Soccerchick148

LESS IS MORE!!

Terribly overproduced with awkward sound effects, bad voice actors, and poor pacing. Big disappointed Beatles fan looking to learn more and met with a clunky and unlistenable disjointed narrative
lobizao

Unlistenable

I was excited to hear about Lennon’s story. In the first episode (all I could listen to) you learn a lot about his US life, but the performance is unlistenable. Pass.
Emmyc1279

Massive Lennon Fan, Very Disappointing

I am a massive Beatles fan. This is un-listenable. What’s with the weird background music that’s constantly in the background and the creepy distorted voice commenting every few sentences? Really bad.
Elzbe

Amateur hour podcast.

This is unlistenable. Between the readers quoting famous voices in not even nearly a good impression voice and the odd and annoying background sounds, I couldn’t make it 10 minutes. Do yourself a favor and read or listen to any of the many books about Lennon. They’ll be much more enjoyable or at least, informative.
82Robc

Unlistenable

Skip this one.
SundevilBri

Sound Effects Need To Be Toned Down

Good info, need less over acting on the audio with the weird voices and sound effects.
OCD, etc.

Overproduced!

Yikes! What’s happening here?!! Way too much! Dial it back! So many unnecessary effects! Couldn’t get past it. :(
Ranger829

Could be so much better

I didn’t make it past the first 2 minutes. The impersonations were awful!!!
Moe-monkey

Love the narrative

I really liked the narration of the different experiences. I enjoy everything by double Elvis.
Mataelga

Tough going

Trying to get through this podcast. I just fast forwarded through the “disguised voice” intro, which leads up to the reveal of the title. Hard to decipher. Overdone and lends very little to the story. Host plays too many roles. Disappointed in the Keith Richards narrative. Surprised they couldn’t use an Englishman for the portrayal. Going to give one more chance but I don’t think I’ll last long.
Bschora

Mmmeh...

What’s with the dragging distorted background narrative? Example, 4. Ike Turner. It really destroys the experience. And the whacko carnival music? Argh. Leaves me feeling bombarded. Chapter 9. Lana Clarkson. 24-minute mark. One example of bad writing... when she’s talking about his “not mentioning his gun collection”, she says, “looking back, that was a red flag...”. HOW could she see that as a red flag, when she didn’t know he had a gun collection that he wasn’t mentioning?! OMG. Who wrote this narrative?
mialiberty

Yes

My favorite podcast at the moment.
smiddletondvm

Makes no sense

I do not understand the format they choose. It’s weird that they are interviewing dead people under the guise of an fbi investigation. Good effort but a miss.
jennap324

Worth a listen

I liked the format but it’s difficult to understand the parts using voice distortion.
Netherota

Appalling production

Between the bad John Lennon impersonation and the irritating music that was pretty much it for me.
Stewiiiii

Swing and a Miss

It’s bad, very bad in a cringe way. BUT I respect them trying to make a unique type of podcast, but it’s a train wreck and impossible to listen to unless you like this niche.
gryffndor81

Jake outdoes himself again

I can’t get enough of jakes podcasts, each one has its own style while following the disgraceland format. Blood on the tracks is an awesome insight to just how crazy Phil Spector was. I hate having to wait a week for the next episode, where he leaves off is like noooo!!! I need more!
projectgirl

I heart radio throwing money at crap

This is one boring episode after another. Removing from library. Listened to six episodes. Gave it too much time. Isn’t going anywhere. Each episode does not further the story. Boringly repetitive with a lot of sound effects gooped on to cover up the lazy research.
yo nana 1950

❤️ Jake

Read the phone book to us Jake... I’ll listen
Yarslair

Keep up the good work

Thanks for this podcast, very interesting.
sasbro43

Horrible

Terrible in every way.
Rusty Rebar

Enjoyable but....

Trying Not to sound like an "OK Boomer", but this podcast is semi-accurate and it's obvious very few people of that time were interviewed, involved or consulted, and it sounds like the majority of the details/stories come from wikipedia. Example...in one episode about Ike Turner, the narrator continually mentions "THE Taj Mahal", like it was a place or a band, when refering to famous blues-roots ledgend Taj Mahal, who was a "friend" of Ike's. Not a big deal, but Would an older person, NOT get made fun of if they refered to "THE Taylor Swift"? Listen and enjoy, but don't expect anything but hearsay or non-provable rock/drug legend.
XenaBlu

Only 2 episodes in. Not impressed

I am only 2 episodes in and I am not impressed, all these fake voices of famous people is awful. And how do we know where these stories are coming from and if they are true, if they aren’t the real people.
olia04

Exhausting to listen to

I can not stand the incessant, way-too-present background track and loop. Although a fan of Disgraceland from the start, Jake Brennan’s narration has the unfortunate tendency to irritate me. With this show’s terrible audio mix and sound effects to boot, the entire listening experience drives me over the edge. I love the content too! Such a shame.
aardvark6155

Too Busy!

I enjoy your other shows, but this is a tough listen. As others have mentioned, the distorted voice gig is hard to understand and there’s just too much background noise that takes away from the story. I continue to listen because I’m fascinated by Spector, but try to clean it up and make it easier on the ear.
OhioBunnyMom

Good story but.... fair execution

Good content. The sound mixing is horrendous. You shouldn’t have to strain to hear the narration over awful music and distorted voices
xterminator80

Music is to loud

Music was so loud and distracting. I. Had trouble understanding what was being said. Content was not bad, but I could not finish listening because I hated the sound track.
GuitarMick69

Stop with the gimmicky voices!

If they wouldn’t use distorted and pitch-changed voices, it would be much better. It’s irritating to listen to a narrative only to have to strain to listen to a modulated, annoying voice — especially when that quote is important to the story!
uktopgear

Does Bob Dylan know about your podcast title?

Really? “Blood on the Tracks”, arguably the best Dylan album, associated with anything Phil Specter, is IMHO, wrong.
DaveNHJ

Pretentious and lacks substance

Maybe one day someone will tell this story the way it deserves to be told. This is mostly filler for advertisements and they take way too much creative license.