‘The joy shot out of his voice’: Ray Davies, Graham Nash and others on Brian Wilson’s songwriting genius

With the innocence of a child and the vision of a god, his craft was astonishing. From Jessica Pratt to Jim James and ​Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil, top musicians explain why he was like no other

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For all the sophistication that everyone talks about, Brian never loses the thread of the song: the emotion. They have this childlike quality. These days we’d probably say he’s on the spectrum – there’s a sort of Asperger’s type innocence. He makes the lyrics and the melody speak. It’s so welcoming and without edge; it’s not part of a cynical adult world.