Brian Wilson working on new Beach Boys album

Despite varying reports that he'll join the band on a 50th anniversary tour, Brian Wilson has confirmed that he's collaborating with his former band on a new album.

From the Howie Edelson radio show:

Wilson has recently been laying down preliminary tracks for the still unnamed 50th anniversary project -- which kicked off last summer with him, Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnston teaming up with members of Wilson's and Love's respective touring bands to re-record the Beach Boys' classic 1968 hit single "Do It Again."

We asked Wilson if he was happy with the way the group gelled in the studio after 15 years apart: "Oh yeah, I was thrilled! Not one of those guys needs any work -- they're all great. Yeah, they're all good."

Wilson was asked how many tracks he's been working on for the upcoming Beach Boys project: "About six. It's going to be mellow. It's a mellow, mellow album. A lot of background parts -- y'know, a lot of background harmonies. Uh. . . my friend Jeff, one of my bandmembers, Jeff (Foskett), is singing backgrounds."

When asked if the album would be relying on re-recordings of other Beach Boys classics, Wilson said: "New stuff. I would like to advance on to new stuff. I wanna do rock n' roll. I'd like to do rock n' roll."