Mike Love talks about C50 shows (March 26)

[oldsurferdude]

Then have me banned for not agreeing with you. 50% huh? No, you need to plant your self over on the mYke Luhv fan club message board. All three of them over there will luhv your act.

[Rob Dean]

'Surf City' was released by Jan and Dean, though, who were already kind of established, And without Mike, who was going to write the lyrics for the early BB songs? And more importantly, who would fill his spot in the vocal blend? Those stack harmonies were so crucial to the band's success...everybody was needed. Best harmonic blend of all time. It's why the C50 was so great (even minus Carl) but Brian's shows although good, are missing that low end. It added something magical. Take anyone away from the harmonic stack in the 'classic' period, and the sound would have suffered...and it is extremely likely they wouldn't have had the same success.

Didn't Jan write the lyrics for "Surf City".  Jan might have been a great front man for the Beach Boys.  Course it's all speculation as Mike filled the role superbly, no denying that!

Everything Mike did Jan did much better, IMO. Plus Jan had looks and sex appeal while Mike was a balding dork. Jan was on Brian's level musically as well.

Sorry (with all due respect) I really really don't agree with that

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Then have me banned for not agreeing with you. 50% huh? No, you need to plant your self over on the mYke Luhv fan club message board. All three of them over there will luhv your act.

I thought it was just Bruce over there ;p

[Rob Dean]

Then have me banned for not agreeing with you. 50% huh? No, you need to plant your self over on the mYke Luhv fan club message board. All three of them over there will luhv your act.

I thought it was just Bruce over there ;p

Tut Tut , you forgot his neighbor Ophra Winfrey 

[Mikie]

OK, then go listen to those albums and join the bloo board or or something..... Why hang around on a BEACH BOYS message board if you're such a fan of Brian Wilson-the-solo-artist an all he's achieved that has nothing to do with the Beach Boys?

I always felt comfortable discussing Brian and his solo work here. And since I never post on Brian's board and very seldom read it, this bored is by default the one for me to discuss The Beach Boys and its individual members' solo works and lives.

[JohnMill]

'Surf City' was released by Jan and Dean, though, who were already kind of established, And without Mike, who was going to write the lyrics for the early BB songs? And more importantly, who would fill his spot in the vocal blend? Those stack harmonies were so crucial to the band's success...everybody was needed. Best harmonic blend of all time. It's why the C50 was so great (even minus Carl) but Brian's shows although good, are missing that low end. It added something magical. Take anyone away from the harmonic stack in the 'classic' period, and the sound would have suffered...and it is extremely likely they wouldn't have had the same success.

It would have been different, that's for sure.  But I think Brian would have been quite successful in the music biz and Mike not.  But they were a super group because of what they all brought to the table.

I think what you are suggesting is in a round about way the same thing I was suggesting.  Brian likely would've found success without the others but we wouldn't be talking about him today because he wouldn't have a message board devoted to him.  Being a "Beach Boy" has brought Brian to levels that few musicians have ever reached and add to that the "genius" factor that has circled around his head ever since Derek Taylor weaved his magic words and we basically have a living legend.  But without the rest of the band I would put Brian Wilson's chance of being a rock star almost at nil and it has nothing to do with the man's talent but the circumstances surrounding the industry at the time he was coming up.  The charts were basically dictated by teenage girls who loved to scream for their idols and while I won't deny Brian likely had his fair share of female admirers he was neither witty like John Lennon or flat out charming like Paul McCartney where he would've be able to strike out on his own and dominate the charts without the rest of the boys.

Which brings me to your point about Mike not being a great frontman in the early days.  Before she passed away several years ago, I had the opportunity to ask my mother if Mike Love's antics were as corny firsthand in the sixties as they appear to be in retrospect.  She said that nobody took any of that seriously but ate it up with a fork and spoon anyhow because it was so different at the time from what more straight acts were doing.  I believe The Beatles used to call it "Mach Shau" and to that end Mike Love was really great at the "Mach Shau" which touching back on what my mother said was all that was really required back then of a frontman.  

[Shady]

37 people viewing this thread.

Did I miss the interesting part?  

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Oh,just a couple of things, you know, like BW88, Imagination, BWPS, OCA, LOS, BWRG, That's all. And didn't miss the throat twiddelings of Monsignor Luhv in any one of those outings, lyKe it ohr Knot. Didn't you mean nazal pukish bleatings?

We were talking about the Beach Boys's blend, though. When I mentioned Brian's solo band, I was referring to the one weak spot...the lack of a good bass vocalist. Not Mike, though...his voice wouldn't fit in. But for the Beach Boys' harmonic blend, he IS needed. They all were. Take one out, the blend suffered. Look at how thin the live harmonies got when Brian quit the live band! Although it eventually improved, it was never quite the same without him.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

OK, then go listen to those albums and join the bloo board or or something..... Why hang around on a BEACH BOYS message board if you're such a fan of Brian Wilson-the-solo-artist an all he's achieved that has nothing to do with the Beach Boys?

I always felt comfortable discussing Brian and his solo work here. And since I never post on Brian's board and very seldom read it, this bored is by default the one for me to discuss The Beach Boys and its individual members' solo works and lives.

Understood, agreed with and respected. I was just having a go at OSD for old times sake

[Kurosawa]

'Surf City' was released by Jan and Dean, though, who were already kind of established, And without Mike, who was going to write the lyrics for the early BB songs? And more importantly, who would fill his spot in the vocal blend? Those stack harmonies were so crucial to the band's success...everybody was needed. Best harmonic blend of all time. It's why the C50 was so great (even minus Carl) but Brian's shows although good, are missing that low end. It added something magical. Take anyone away from the harmonic stack in the 'classic' period, and the sound would have suffered...and it is extremely likely they wouldn't have had the same success.

Didn't Jan write the lyrics for "Surf City".  Jan might have been a great front man for the Beach Boys.  Course it's all speculation as Mike filled the role superbly, no denying that!

Everything Mike did Jan did much better, IMO. Plus Jan had looks and sex appeal while Mike was a balding dork. Jan was on Brian's level musically as well.

Sorry (with all due respect) I really really don't agree with that

Jan was just as good a bass singer and lyricist as Mike, he was funnier than Mike, he was much better as musical arranger and producer than Mike, and he was more appealing-Mike is off-putting, IMO and not as good a frontman as people think he is. I do think Mike was better as a nasal singer, Jan's voice was somewhat grating at times while Mike's voice was grating and smooth at the same time, strange as that sounds. Mike is by far the best nasal singer I've ever heard. But if somehow the BB were formed with Jan instead of Mike I think they would have been bigger and better than they were. Jan could have been the John to Brian's Paul...but whose to say Brian would have wanted another person on his level in the band taking control from him.

But when I say Jan is better than Mike I mostly mean it because I think that much of Jan, not because I dislike Mike all that much. Musically I think Mike is great at what he does, but as a person and as a frontman I find him irritating and he has zero sex appeal, negative sex appeal to be honest. And that has and always will matter. Mick Jagger (the best frontman of all time, IMO) still has it even at his age. He still comes off as a hip rock star. Mike comes off as an old fart.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Yeah it's really a shame that The Beach Boys career went nowhere with such a crappy, ugly frontman....

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

But if somehow the BB were formed with Jan instead of Mike I think they would have been bigger and better than they were. Jan could have been the John to Brian's Paul...but whose to say Brian would have wanted another person on his level in the band taking control from him.

He was 'better' but may not have fit in the blend as well. The sound was made by the family blend, plus Al (and later Bruce). Music's not like a fantasy baseball team. It's about the sum of all parts being greater than the individual. It's why you can take four individually mediocre players and have it sound good, yet most supergroups fail.  Just looking at it from a lyrical standpoint...sure, Mike's lyrics were often corny. But, can you really imagine the early songs without them? They fit the music perfectly. And again, we're talking about the 60s here. Would you want Van Dyke Parks lyrics on 'Aren't You Glad?' Of course not. As far as the sex appeal goes...nobody looks to the Beach Boys for that. Except Dennis, that was never their thing. As far as Mike being a dork, well, that WAS their thing. With the exception of the Pet Sounds/Smile era, the Beach Boys weren't cool, at least not in the traditional sense. They were this kind of 'dorky cool', which is dorky but still cool. Not square, like the Carpenters. They were Weezer before Weezer.

[c-man]

Mike just posted this on his facebook page:

We are having a wonderful time here in Tokyo and the fans here in Asia are amazing and I want to thank them for all the love they have showed us. But I wanted to take a moment to clarify something I said in the Montgomery News piece that ran this week. I misspoke when I referred to the 'Hate Mike Love' material on Al Jardine's Website. I am still learning the difference in terminology between F...acebook, Twitter, websites, and the like. Social media is a new creature to me, as it is to many of us, and I did not make the proper distinction between the mediums. Al and I have enjoyed our shared interest in Transcendental Meditation over the years and have valued its focus on positivity. Al and I have been in communication and agree that we both want all of our social media outlets and web based outlets to reflect that positivity. The spirit of the music we created over these decades has always reflected that spirit of positivity and harmony. We hope all our Beach Boys brethren and fans and all those affected by our music share that feeling, and will allow that feeling to influence your words and actions. Negativity is never fun, fun, fun and has nothing to do with Good Vibrations.

Peace and Love,
Mike Love

[Mikie]

Yeah, Craig, somebody posted that above a couple of hours ago. 

[Mikie]

I loved Jan Berry. But I'll go out on a limb here and say that, even with that nasal twine of his, Mike Love was/is a better singer than Jan Berry. To me, Berry sounded flat on a lot of those records. Again Berry was a great (underated) writer and producer and arranger, but not the best singer in my opinion. I'm talking about his tenor voice. His bass voice was a little better. Again, just my opinion.

Also. Around the mid 70's, I watched Mike Love on stage and use to think he got a lot of his flashy moves and dancing and prancing back and forth around the stage from Mick Jagger. Jagger personified that stage presence, and I think Mike copied it to a T.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

I loved Jan Berry. But I'll go out on a limb here and say that, even with that nasal twine of his, Mike Love was/is a better singer than Jan Berry. To me, Berry sounded flat on a lot of those records. Again Berry was a great (underated) writer and producer and arranger, but not the best singer in my opinion. I'm talking about his tenor voice. His bass voice was a little better. Again, just my opinion.

Also. Around the mid 70's, I watched Mike Love on stage and use to think he got a lot of his flashy moves and dancing and prancing back and forth around the stage from Mick Jagger. Jagger personified that stage presence, and I think Mike copied it to a T.

I met Jan in 1979.  We both ended up in the Motown Records building elevator.  He was super, super nice!  He is missed

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I loved Jan Berry. But I'll go out on a limb here and say that, even with that nasal twine of his, Mike Love was/is a better singer than Jan Berry. To me, Berry sounded flat on a lot of those records. Again Berry was a great (underated) writer and producer and arranger, but not the best singer in my opinion. I'm talking about his tenor voice. His bass voice was a little better. Again, just my opinion.

Also. Around the mid 70's, I watched Mike Love on stage and use to think he got a lot of his flashy moves and dancing and prancing back and forth around the stage from Mick Jagger. Jagger personified that stage presence, and I think Mike copied it to a T.

I think mike copped Jagger vocally in the 70s too. Didn't always work but it's obvious on songs like Rock & Roll Music (especially the way he pronounced words like 'hurricane').

[Kurosawa]

But if somehow the BB were formed with Jan instead of Mike I think they would have been bigger and better than they were. Jan could have been the John to Brian's Paul...but whose to say Brian would have wanted another person on his level in the band taking control from him.

He was 'better' but may not have fit in the blend as well. The sound was made by the family blend, plus Al (and later Bruce). Music's not like a fantasy baseball team. It's about the sum of all parts being greater than the individual. It's why you can take four individually mediocre players and have it sound good, yet most supergroups fail.  Just looking at it from a lyrical standpoint...sure, Mike's lyrics were often corny. But, can you really imagine the early songs without them? They fit the music perfectly. And again, we're talking about the 60s here. Would you want Van Dyke Parks lyrics on 'Aren't You Glad?' Of course not. As far as the sex appeal goes...nobody looks to the Beach Boys for that. Except Dennis, that was never their thing. As far as Mike being a dork, well, that WAS their thing. With the exception of the Pet Sounds/Smile era, the Beach Boys weren't cool, at least not in the traditional sense. They were this kind of 'dorky cool', which is dorky but still cool. Not square, like the Carpenters. They were Weezer before Weezer.

You are right about how Mike fit, that's not just something anyone can do. And I do think Jan sounded flat at times...and yes, they had amazing success with Mike and less success after he stopped singing as much on their singles...all of that is true, but at the same time I still think overall Jan Berry was a much better singer and musician.

Anyway, it's all pretty irrelevant since it's just another case of Beach Boys theoreticals, or as I like to call it, the "what if?" game.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Oh yeah...no doubt. Just pointing out that better is not always better!

That sounds so zen...

[MBE]

Jan was brilliant in many ways, but no way could he sing Mike's bass harmonies. Jan had a fun voice but it wasn't as strong as Mike's.

[Rocky Raccoon]

I think part of the charm of the Beach Boys is the fact that they never had the ideal heartthrob worthy looks (except for Dennis) but then they'd open up their mouths and the audience would think "HOLY SHIT THESE GUYS ARE AMAZING."  Being good looking was never an essential part of being a Beach Boy.

[Custom Machine]

I think mike copped Jagger vocally in the 70s too. Didn't always work but it's obvious on songs like Rock & Roll Music (especially the way he pronounced words like 'hurricane').

And Mike was most definitely in the Jagger mode 40 years ago (summer '72 thru most of '73) when he would throw off his shirt and prance around the stage closing BB shows with Jumpin' Jack Flash.

Also. Around the mid 70's, I watched Mike Love on stage and use to think he got a lot of his flashy moves and dancing and prancing back and forth around the stage from Mick Jagger. Jagger personified that stage presence, and I think Mike copied it to a T.

You got that right, Mikie!  Did you ever see him perform Jumpin Jack Flash?  I've always loved that song by the Stones, but it seemed really odd to me to close a Beach Boys show with a song made famous by another group.

[Mike's Beard]

I, based on my personal, inside knowledge, ain't buying that Mike doesn't know Facebook from Twitter from a website.  After all, he has all three.

Are you the new AGD?  You've got all this "inside knowledge" that you're so generously sharing with us! 

So what if he has all three?  You said so yourself that he has an administrator in charge of his social media---it's common sense.  You don't actually think it's actually Mike himself typing these messages up and clicking "Post" on all these different sites, do you?  Mike, just like any other person his age, simply doesn't care to know the difference between Facebook, Twitter and a website.  Throughout the C50 tour, he stood on stage and told everyone to "call up" Amazon.com to buy their new album so that it would reach number one.  "Call up."  Does that sound like something a guy who's on top of the latest technology would say? 

But anyway...continue on with your personal vendetta against the guy.

I'll PM you Justin and tell you if you like? I'm not going to hang up some of Mike's dirty laundry on this board.

Haven't you already? You are assassinating his character without putting up any evidence. Just say what it is you are claiming.

Yes. Dish the dirt already! You make a vague reference to it in every other post, so just come out and say it.

[The Shift]

"Vague references" are tantamount to the libel anyway so let's hear it!

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I think part of the charm of the Beach Boys is the fact that they never had the ideal heartthrob worthy looks (except for Dennis) but then they'd open up their mouths and the audience would think "HOLY SHIT THESE GUYS ARE AMAZING."  Being good looking was never an essential part of being a Beach Boy.

I dunno...Al had this sexy David Spade vibe in 1969.



Yes, I'm joking.