Gershwin's new co-author

The George Gershwin estate has tapped Brian Wilson, former leader and principal songwriter of The Beach Boys, to complete songs that Gershwin left unfinished when he died in 1937. Wilson says he hopes to finish "at least two" (out of about a dozen left incomplete, some little more than fragments) for inclusion on a Gershwin album that he plans to release next year, Randy Lewis reports in the Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-brian-wilson8-2009oct08,0,2518188.story

Walt Disney Records, for which Wilson will record the album, says he will "Brian-ize" the Gershwin material "with his trademark vocal stacks and unique arrangements” (via The New York Times' Dave Itzkoff):

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/the-boys-of-summer-brian-wilson-will-rework-george-gershwin-for-new-album/

"Is it just me, or does this sound like a terrible idea?" wonders the Baltimore Sun's Tim Smith:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/classicalmusic/