It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Brian Wilson is not a man of many words.

The legendary songwriter and Beach Boys frontman isn’t known for catchy quips or inspirational quotes – he’s always done his talking through his music.

Having a conversation with him, like I attempted to do a few weeks ago, is the exact opposite of what it’s like to listen to his songs. His music is always thickly layered with complex harmonies and instrumentation – the more you listen to, say, Pet Sounds, the more you discover. Talking to him is almost like listening to silence.  

On his latest, Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, the hit maker transforms 14 of George Gershwin’s songs – early 20th-century music usually suited for symphonies and operas – into Wilsonesque pop tunes, complete with Beach Boys-style harmonies and sugary pop melodies. It’s easy to hear the passion in Wilson’s voice as he sings these songs – clearly these tracks mean something to him. But try to find out what exactly that is and he doesn’t say. “I love Gershwin’s music,” says Wilson. “I love his harmonies.”

Full stop. The artist isn’t known for his covers, so when I ask him how he approached Gershwin’s music he says, “I try and re-imagine how he would have wanted it to be done.”

No further explanation is given. It’s well documented that Wilson speaks in one or two word sentences (at least to reporters), so it’s not that he is being difficult. He just doesn’t feel the need to say anything more. He’d rather let his music speak for him.

His new release does just that. Knowing a little bit of Wilson’s history with Gershwin – he listed to Rhapsody in Blue when he was younger (“the chords were magic and I like the melodies he made, too,” he says) – does put a bit of context around this record, but even without it’s not hard figure out that this was music Wilson played to as a child. Listen closely to the symphonic hooks and dynamic vocals in the original I Loves Your Porgy and it’s clearly a pop song. With Wilson’s treatment, these tunes get a new life for a new generation. Not that Wilson cares about bringing a new audience to Gershwin. There’s only one reason he needs to cover these songs.

“He’s my favourite,” he says.