Heroes and Villains - Effect On Brian Wilson

Effect On Brian Wilson

Wilson is said to have had enormously high hopes for "Heroes and Villains" as the follow-up single to The Beach Boys' previous number 1 hit "Good Vibrations". When the single failed to significantly replicate the success of "Good Vibrations", it destroyed his self-imposed competitive rivalry to The Beatles. According to Jack Rieley, Wilson would often recount in "agonizing detail" about how "Heroes and Villains" was supposed to lift The Beach Boys' public image from "surfing/car songs" to being on "creative par with The Beatles". Wilson interpreted the failure of "Heroes and Villains" as an ultimate rejection by the public to his musical growth and artistry. Mike Love would go on to call "Heroes" as "the last dynamic Brian moment".

In late 1967, during sessions for the unreleased album Lei'd In Hawaii, The Beach Boys recorded a stripped down live-in-the-studio version of "Heroes and Villains". Later, Mike Love and Brian Wilson would overdub this version with a scripted (by Brian Wilson) self-deprecating monologue satirizing the song, with Love calling "Heroes and Villains" a "nuclear disaster" and that "being basically masochists, kind of enjoyed having this record bomb". Love also assures the listener that "it's all in fun", despite it harshly criticizing his musical ability and commercial shortcomings.

"It topped the charts at about 40, and the next week it just zoomed right off to about, oh well, about 250. Right now, it's lurking at about 10,000 on this year's 'Top 10,000'! ... We've gotta figure on one hit, well, I mean, every six years, you gotta get a little animosity generated somehow ... We want to thank you for coming to show and throwing all these nice objects at us. Really, we'll see you back again next time around."

Although the track was meant to be taken lightheartedly, it can be interpreted as a reflection of Wilson's extremely low self-confidence as a musician at the time.