Mike Love - Unleash the Love - Due November 17 - w/ 2nd Disc of BB Remakes

[guitarfool2002]

Thanks for the clarification GF.

That whole period for Brian and the band must have been pretty f***ed up. While not to mock Brian or the way he worked, the concept of studios being available 24/7 on his whim sounds great in theory but surely unlikely in a business sense. Not to mention the band wanting to come down, again on a whim.

I’ll cut Mike a bit of slack here still. The question asked of him was specifically related to WH sure, but that whole period and the music recorded when and where is possibly a bit blurred.

No problem! It just happens to be a topic where there are quite a few comments from people who were there at that time which don't back up Mike's opinion. I can't imagine Mike's recollections would be that hazy to not know the difference between Wild Honey and 1969, let's say.

For more related comments on how Brian worked during 1966-67, re-read the David Anderle-Paul Williams interviews. Anderle says Brian was full of creative ideas and an energy that was difficult to accommodate or keep up with for those working around him, in fact they were not able too. He'd get an idea in the middle of the night and want it done right away. That included getting studio time to record at all hours of the day, and obviously the operational issues of actually doing that when studios had to be booked as well as engineers could make it very difficult to accommodate him.

It's actually not much different from other stories I've heard related to other creative artists in other fields, they'd get ideas at all hours of the night and expect those around them to be ready to work on a whim. Heck, I even heard that the owner of a famous department store (at least in my area) would get ideas and start calling his executive team in the middle of the night, expecting them to wake up and come in to brainstorm some idea he got.

Also heard via Geoff Emerick that working during Sgt Pepper with the Beatles was similar. They wanted to record all night long until the sun came up, then start again the next day. And these guys had other sessions besides the Beatles, so there were weeks where they literally had no life outside The Beatles and recording. It wore them down, and it sounds just like what Brian was doing or wanting to do during the exact same period of time. It was hard to accommodate the Beatles' creativity and schedule which is why The Beatles eventually built their own studio(s) too.

I'd also point to a letter that surfaced at an auction, where Brian penned a letter to the maharishi asking him to get Mike back to LA so the band could work on the Friends album. So Mike had his own scheduling and personal issues going on that if the letter is any proof, and was affecting the band's recording schedule. Namely, he was meditating and studying when the band needed him to cut his vocals and work on their new album. Funny in an ironic sense that the band needed Brian so badly to work on WH that fall of '67 that they basically demanded he stop his outside work to produce them, and by early spring '68 it was Mike thousands of miles away in an ashram or something seemingly delaying the process of cutting new music to where Brian had to write to Mike's guru to try getting him back home to work.

[HeyJude]

Say what you will about Mike's voice, but look at any youtube clip of him performing in 2017, and you will know that his voice is still strong for his age and DOESN'T need that much autotune!

Mike's voice is in overall decent shape *for a 76 year old guy touring all year, ever year.*

That is, his voice sometimes is okay, and sometimes is pretty ragged and raspy. If he'd not shred his voice by touring 150-175 shows per year, his voice would be in better shape.

His voice is in decent enough shape that, with proper work and enough takes (and perhaps even comping multiple takes, which I'm fine with and is nothing like autotune at all), and enough transposing songs into the right key, he could record new songs without resorting to autotune.

Here's what I'm guessing, and this is 100% a total guess: Let's assume for the sake of this particular discussion that Mike knows autotune is being used on his stuff. So we're setting aside the possibility that he leaves it *all* to Michael Lloyd and doesn't even pay any attention to that stuff. So, assuming he knows it's being used, here's my guess as to what has happened: Back in 2011 when he was recording with Brian and Joe Thomas, he hadn't been *seriously* recording a ton. He was doing random things here and there, and did have some stuff recorded back in the early 2000s (the original "Unleash the Love/Mike Love Not War" stuff), and had recorded some quickie remakes with Adrian Baker in the mid-late 90s.

But the TWGMTR sessions, even if Mike was only attending vocal sessions well after most of the backing tracks had been cut, were probably the most concentrated, voluminous series of recording sessions Mike had done in a number of years. Having not been knee-deep in the recording process himself anytime recently, he perhaps had the luxury of frowning upon autotune, complaining about it on C50, supposedly being unhappy with the C50 live album, and even throwing some passive aggressive shade towards Brian and Al's "The Right Time" regarding autotune (perhaps the most hypocritical move). But then, when Mike got down the nitty gritty and wasn't just d**king around in the studio on solo stuff in his spare time as he has been throughout the 2000s, but instead recording and finishing a full album (actually two full albums) for imminent release, all of a sudden autotune tempted Mike the same way it has tempted so many people in the industry (both old and young). It's a cheap, easy, lazy shortcut to remove imperfections, and it probably sounds to many like modern music, because so much modern music is using it too.

Even knowing how Mike is, I'm pretty surprised he threw out the "hopefully with no autotune, I'm sure it's good" comment about Brian and Al's "The Right Time" and then in quick order went on to heavily use autotune all over his solo stuff. I actually, believe it or not, cut Mike some slack on that diatribe of an "interview" Beard did with Mike regarding NPP and "The Right Time" back in 2015, because Mike even citing "autotune" at all absolutely *reeked* of someone, knowingly or unknowingly, feeding him information/gossip/talking points.

[HeyJude]

*Part*, and I stress only *part* of the reason Mike might trot out some tired, since-proven-incorrect characterizations/generalizations of things like why they moved to recording at Brian's house, is that all of these guys (even Mike, who is always going on about how everybody else "wasn't there" and doesn't know the full story) have over the years let other journalists/fans/books/articles and even fellow band members color their memory.

I believe Mark Lewisohn has talked about this, about how even the Beatles themselves started remembering things incorrectly and would characterize them as they had been reported in subsequent years.

Mike surely sometimes just conflates all the post-1966/67 stuff together when it comes to Brian. Substance abuse, mental issues, a downturn on the charts, less collaborations, not touring with the band, etc. He clearly has little interest in the *musical* or *recording* history of the band based on his "meh, whatever" attitude about archival releases. The same would likely hold true when it comes to various aspects of the band's interpersonal history, and just general historical facts.

Now, the problem when Mike does this now is that he has burned through any benefit of the doubt because *on top* of any even partially understandable tics such as what is mentioned above, he also often has an axe to grind when it comes to Brian, seems to be super defensive, and seems stuck on portraying so much of everything about Brian negatively. He always takes any opportunity he can to remind people about Brian's mental and drug problems, and the Wilsons's drug and alcohol abuse.

So yeah, when, for instance, Al tells some old story that is actually a co-opted David Marks story or something, I cut him some slack because he has no axe to grind and it's just what people do sometimes; they conflate memories.

But when Mike portrays something that reflects negatively on Brian, even something slightly more innocuous like his apparent explanation for why the band moved to Brian's house to record, one is always left wondering if it's motivated by his insecurity in always either criticizing Brian or offering backhanded compliments.

[NateRuvin]

I do agree that it's incredibly hypocritical that Mike talks sh*t about BW using autotune, and the whole thing with Melinda hooking up the devices, and then he goes and drenches his album in autotune, to the point where it barely even sounds like Mike Love!!

[Lonely Summer]

Wait, so the picture was complete, yet an additional album of cover versions is also a missing piece of the puzzle? Even though Mike has already released multiple albums of re-recorded BB songs?

Geez people, this isn't rocket science. It all but the most unique of circumstances, re-recording cover versions of your own stuff is generally less well-regarded because it lacks creativity and seems like a cash grab. Even the good ones that sound spot-on like Jeff Lynne's ELO re-recordings from a few years ago, an album that I love, I'll also admit was a total crash grab and devoid of any creativity.

Any artist bundling an entire disc of re-recorded greatest hits with their first album of new material in 36 years is going to come across as a case of not having faith in their *new* stuff, and/or going for a cash grab, and/or not being able to find a label that would put their new stuff out on its own.

So does that mean that any artist touring mostly on the strength of their old material does not have faith in their new material? I mean, isn't that what we all praise Brian for, doing the old songs live year after year, instead of playing NPP and TLOS songs?

You're conflating a concert tour with a "new album." Very different things. People like McCartney (or even Ringo Starr) continue to produce new albums of new material. Brian's albums aren't packaged with a full disc of re-recorded Beach Boys hits. McCartney doesn't do this either. A re-recording here and there happens (and Brian was rightly, in my opinion, criticized for wasting space on "Imagination" with two BB re-recordings), but an entire album full of BB re-recordings tacked on to a new album is going to be ripe for criticism, and it isn't *at all* the same as how these artists program their setlists.

Though, it's ironic you mentioned TLOS, because Brian actually did perform *the entire* TLOS album on the corresponding TLOS tour.

I'm not sure why people try to lump Brian in with Mike on this "riding on past glories" thing. Any artist from that era with *that many* hits is going to focus on that material when they tour. But not only has Brian aired a ton more *new* solo material in concert than Mike, he has put out many, many more albums of new material. Meanwhile, Mike put out re-recordings and then, when he finally got around to doing a new album of new material, still bundled it with yet *more* re-recordings.

Mike bundling his new album with a full album of remakes tells me:

1. He and/or his label don't have a ton of faith in his "new" material to let it stand on its own.

2. He and/or his label are going for a cash grab by capitalizing on the hits.

3. He and/or his label are happy to subtly conflate "Mike Love" and "The Beach Boys" by prominently featuring the BB name (and possibly the logo on a shrinkwrap sticker) in promotions for the album, mixing solo and BB songs on the CD set, promoting Mike's "Beach Boys" tour in promotional blurbs for his new solo album, and in turn promoting his solo album via "Beach Boys" concerts.

4. Mike's label possibly needed a CD of BB classics to be sold on putting out a Mike Love solo album.

5. Mike himself, even in the moment he puts out a solo album of new material, still hones in on those same old BB hits that are his bread and butter. He doesn't appear to be interested in being taken more seriously as a "solo" artist.

I think it makes perfect sense to have the remakes on the album. Those old hits are what he's going to be singing till the day he dies. New album by veteran artists have a short shelf life these days. When was the last time Macca played anything from Off the Ground, Driving Rain, or Memory Almost Full? It is the Beatles and Wings stuff that people come to hear. Same with Brian. Sure, he has done a few special shows for things like TLOS, but when that is over, it is always back to the music from 1962-73. I guess it is good publicity for a tour to announce that Macca, Brian, Ringo, etc "is releasing a new studio album", but the general public doesn't care about the new music, they want the hits. Personally, I think it would be great if there was more support for these guys with their new music, but it's just not there. When classic hits/rock radio plays their music, it is the old stuff from the 60's and 70's that everyone remembers.

[KDS]

Wait, so the picture was complete, yet an additional album of cover versions is also a missing piece of the puzzle? Even though Mike has already released multiple albums of re-recorded BB songs?

Geez people, this isn't rocket science. It all but the most unique of circumstances, re-recording cover versions of your own stuff is generally less well-regarded because it lacks creativity and seems like a cash grab. Even the good ones that sound spot-on like Jeff Lynne's ELO re-recordings from a few years ago, an album that I love, I'll also admit was a total crash grab and devoid of any creativity.

Any artist bundling an entire disc of re-recorded greatest hits with their first album of new material in 36 years is going to come across as a case of not having faith in their *new* stuff, and/or going for a cash grab, and/or not being able to find a label that would put their new stuff out on its own.

So does that mean that any artist touring mostly on the strength of their old material does not have faith in their new material? I mean, isn't that what we all praise Brian for, doing the old songs live year after year, instead of playing NPP and TLOS songs?

You're conflating a concert tour with a "new album." Very different things. People like McCartney (or even Ringo Starr) continue to produce new albums of new material. Brian's albums aren't packaged with a full disc of re-recorded Beach Boys hits. McCartney doesn't do this either. A re-recording here and there happens (and Brian was rightly, in my opinion, criticized for wasting space on "Imagination" with two BB re-recordings), but an entire album full of BB re-recordings tacked on to a new album is going to be ripe for criticism, and it isn't *at all* the same as how these artists program their setlists.

Though, it's ironic you mentioned TLOS, because Brian actually did perform *the entire* TLOS album on the corresponding TLOS tour.

I'm not sure why people try to lump Brian in with Mike on this "riding on past glories" thing. Any artist from that era with *that many* hits is going to focus on that material when they tour. But not only has Brian aired a ton more *new* solo material in concert than Mike, he has put out many, many more albums of new material. Meanwhile, Mike put out re-recordings and then, when he finally got around to doing a new album of new material, still bundled it with yet *more* re-recordings.

Mike bundling his new album with a full album of remakes tells me:

1. He and/or his label don't have a ton of faith in his "new" material to let it stand on its own.

2. He and/or his label are going for a cash grab by capitalizing on the hits.

3. He and/or his label are happy to subtly conflate "Mike Love" and "The Beach Boys" by prominently featuring the BB name (and possibly the logo on a shrinkwrap sticker) in promotions for the album, mixing solo and BB songs on the CD set, promoting Mike's "Beach Boys" tour in promotional blurbs for his new solo album, and in turn promoting his solo album via "Beach Boys" concerts.

4. Mike's label possibly needed a CD of BB classics to be sold on putting out a Mike Love solo album.

5. Mike himself, even in the moment he puts out a solo album of new material, still hones in on those same old BB hits that are his bread and butter. He doesn't appear to be interested in being taken more seriously as a "solo" artist.

I think it makes perfect sense to have the remakes on the album. Those old hits are what he's going to be singing till the day he dies. New album by veteran artists have a short shelf life these days. When was the last time Macca played anything from Off the Ground, Driving Rain, or Memory Almost Full? It is the Beatles and Wings stuff that people come to hear. Same with Brian. Sure, he has done a few special shows for things like TLOS, but when that is over, it is always back to the music from 1962-73. I guess it is good publicity for a tour to announce that Macca, Brian, Ringo, etc "is releasing a new studio album", but the general public doesn't care about the new music, they want the hits. Personally, I think it would be great if there was more support for these guys with their new music, but it's just not there. When classic hits/rock radio plays their music, it is the old stuff from the 60's and 70's that everyone remembers.

I think you're right about concert audiences.  For the most part, the majority of a crowd attending a show by a legacy artist wants to hear the classics.   

But, when it comes to new music, I think the fans who still buy the new stuff would prefer new originals as opposed to inferior remakes of the classics they love.   I'd even settle for covers of other artists' songs. 

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

Is time for Ben Vaugh Quintet to re-release Ben"s Prayer..A/K/A Kill .......Love?   Sure it's still on utube.

Did Ben Vaughn release that in some form or was it just a live track? cant find it on discogs.

[HeyJude]

Wait, so the picture was complete, yet an additional album of cover versions is also a missing piece of the puzzle? Even though Mike has already released multiple albums of re-recorded BB songs?

Geez people, this isn't rocket science. It all but the most unique of circumstances, re-recording cover versions of your own stuff is generally less well-regarded because it lacks creativity and seems like a cash grab. Even the good ones that sound spot-on like Jeff Lynne's ELO re-recordings from a few years ago, an album that I love, I'll also admit was a total crash grab and devoid of any creativity.

Any artist bundling an entire disc of re-recorded greatest hits with their first album of new material in 36 years is going to come across as a case of not having faith in their *new* stuff, and/or going for a cash grab, and/or not being able to find a label that would put their new stuff out on its own.

So does that mean that any artist touring mostly on the strength of their old material does not have faith in their new material? I mean, isn't that what we all praise Brian for, doing the old songs live year after year, instead of playing NPP and TLOS songs?

You're conflating a concert tour with a "new album." Very different things. People like McCartney (or even Ringo Starr) continue to produce new albums of new material. Brian's albums aren't packaged with a full disc of re-recorded Beach Boys hits. McCartney doesn't do this either. A re-recording here and there happens (and Brian was rightly, in my opinion, criticized for wasting space on "Imagination" with two BB re-recordings), but an entire album full of BB re-recordings tacked on to a new album is going to be ripe for criticism, and it isn't *at all* the same as how these artists program their setlists.

Though, it's ironic you mentioned TLOS, because Brian actually did perform *the entire* TLOS album on the corresponding TLOS tour.

I'm not sure why people try to lump Brian in with Mike on this "riding on past glories" thing. Any artist from that era with *that many* hits is going to focus on that material when they tour. But not only has Brian aired a ton more *new* solo material in concert than Mike, he has put out many, many more albums of new material. Meanwhile, Mike put out re-recordings and then, when he finally got around to doing a new album of new material, still bundled it with yet *more* re-recordings.

Mike bundling his new album with a full album of remakes tells me:

1. He and/or his label don't have a ton of faith in his "new" material to let it stand on its own.

2. He and/or his label are going for a cash grab by capitalizing on the hits.

3. He and/or his label are happy to subtly conflate "Mike Love" and "The Beach Boys" by prominently featuring the BB name (and possibly the logo on a shrinkwrap sticker) in promotions for the album, mixing solo and BB songs on the CD set, promoting Mike's "Beach Boys" tour in promotional blurbs for his new solo album, and in turn promoting his solo album via "Beach Boys" concerts.

4. Mike's label possibly needed a CD of BB classics to be sold on putting out a Mike Love solo album.

5. Mike himself, even in the moment he puts out a solo album of new material, still hones in on those same old BB hits that are his bread and butter. He doesn't appear to be interested in being taken more seriously as a "solo" artist.

I think it makes perfect sense to have the remakes on the album. Those old hits are what he's going to be singing till the day he dies. New album by veteran artists have a short shelf life these days. When was the last time Macca played anything from Off the Ground, Driving Rain, or Memory Almost Full? It is the Beatles and Wings stuff that people come to hear. Same with Brian. Sure, he has done a few special shows for things like TLOS, but when that is over, it is always back to the music from 1962-73. I guess it is good publicity for a tour to announce that Macca, Brian, Ringo, etc "is releasing a new studio album", but the general public doesn't care about the new music, they want the hits. Personally, I think it would be great if there was more support for these guys with their new music, but it's just not there. When classic hits/rock radio plays their music, it is the old stuff from the 60's and 70's that everyone remembers.

You just made a perfectly understandable case for Mike continuing to do these songs in concert, not for re-recording them and bundling them with an album of new music.

Again, this is conflating live tours/setlists with "new" music/recordings.

Nobody is arguing against the idea that Mike (and Brian, and McCartney, and anybody with hits) is going to perform the "classics" in concert. The (valid) criticism comes into play when he unnecessarily re-records a full album of the songs. It's redundant, both because the original recordings are already there, and he's constantly touring and performing those songs, and someone can catch a modern Mike version of those songs that way.

Further, he's not simply doing an album of covers of his own stuff (as many artists have done, to mixed results in terms of quality and usually poor results in terms of originality), he's bundling that album with his album of new material (which far fewer artists do). He's not simply offering a freebie CD, or having a hits CD made available as a retailer exclusive or something. He's presenting his new album as a 2-disc experience and giving equal weight to both the "new" stuff and the re-treads. That shows a lack of confidence in the new material in numerous ways.

And it's new material that we're talking about here. You can't just bust into a conversation of the artistic merits of new material with a "nobody cares, they only care about the hits" argument, because when we're talking about new albums/songs/material, it's *obviously* implicit in that discussion that we're talking about fans who care about new material in the first place.

[tpesky]

I find it sad that Mike would have no interest at all in listening to any of the archival releases or touting them.  I'm not saying he has to sell the album but you think he would more intrigued.

[acedecade75]

Listened to the "Getcha Back" clip. There isn't a lot of lead vocal in the excerpt, but Mike's voice still sounds horribly robotic.

This is making even Mike's leads on the C50 live album sound like a warm analog natural recording in comparison.

Is Mike's voice really in *that* bad a shape that Michael Lloyd had to crank the autotune? I would tend to think not. It's really, really distracting.

I'm starting to wonder if Mike actually held onto "Melinda's secret autotune device" and decided to use it on everything.

Also noticing that in both of the samples released so far, the backing vocals surprisingly have that anonymous "Looking Back with Love" sound. Super anonymous-sounding vocalists. Yes, I can hear Foskett on the high part on "Getcha Back", but for better and worse, so far it doesn't sound like a stack of Fosketts. Rather, it sounds like the backing vocals on LBWL, or the non-BB layers on the disco remake of "Here Comes the Night."

Where are you hearing the clips at?

[Pretty Funky]

https://mobile.twitter.com/MikeLoveOFCL/status/922556377897283584

[Rocker]

In the snippet it shows the Love You album cover.  I thought that was odd.

Not so odd if you consider this - and beware: you won't like it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAmk-Wk2pNA


It's the Beach Boys' "That's why God made the radio" video only with Mike's new audio

[Matt H]

In the snippet it shows the Love You album cover.  I thought that was odd.

Not so odd if you consider this - and beware: you won't like it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAmk-Wk2pNA


It's the Beach Boys' "That's why God made the radio" video only with Mike's new audio

That's right, it did seem familiar to me.

[guitarfool2002]

In the snippet it shows the Love You album cover.  I thought that was odd.

Not so odd if you consider this - and beware: you won't like it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAmk-Wk2pNA


It's the Beach Boys' "That's why God made the radio" video only with Mike's new audio

That's right, it did seem familiar to me.

I had to piece this together to find it, but for anyone curious - It's the "Getcha Back" remake clip posted to Mike's twitter account, #2 in his series of 25.

And it's the TWGMTR video lifted from 2012 now with Mike's new remake audio on top.

I don't get it. Maybe Noven Jaisi was either unavailable to find some new stock footage to cut together for Mike, or he's just so busy with work on Mike's 25-day schtick that he's getting a little lazy on the job and recycling too much.

[guitarfool2002]

I find it sad that Mike would have no interest at all in listening to any of the archival releases or touting them.  I'm not saying he has to sell the album but you think he would more intrigued.

I'm guessing a number of us are not surprised at Mike's lack of interest because we've seen it play out over and over again that this is how Mike is, there's no other way to spin it. He's not interested in the legacy as much as his own activities as the self-proclaimed "standard bearer" of the Beach Boys' legacy and brand name. The touring is all that matters, if comments like these recent ones are any insight.

I would also offer my own opinion that the more attention is focused on the actual legacy, as in the music as featured on Sunshine Tomorrow which Mike can add to his "Nope, I'm too busy touring and carrying the torch to have a listen..." inbox to occupy a place alongside No Pier Pressure, BW 88, BWPS, Love & Mercy, The Right Time single...etc...the *less* attention gets put on Mike as the leader and captain of the ship. Mike becomes a member of the team and not the captain, and I have to think after decades of seeing this kind of action and words from him, he doesn't dig that as much as projecting that he's in charge.

When people listen to Sunshine Tomorrow, there is no "frontman" in the form of Mike running the show especially on the album cuts. Mike is a role player, not the focal point or not even the driving force. I don't know why he won't embrace it more because Mike sounds GREAT on those WH tracks, his vocals are top-notch.

It's no wonder he'd rather tell his fanbase comprised mostly of people who don't know or don't care about 1967 to buy his new products with Stamos and McGrath and don't forget to order a new "Love" logo baseball cap too. Sunshine Tomorrow? What's that?

It is sad.

I'd also add if Mike is too busy to listen to the Beach Boys' latest archival release, which is THE REAL BEACH BOYS and the reason why Mike is wearing pinky rings worth more than the average man paying to see his band play makes in a year...I may not be alone in being "too busy" to listen to Mike's new recordings, and definitely too busy to drop my money into Mike's piggybank to hear him play live.

[Mr. Wilson]

Very well said.. And i really like the last paragraph.thx

[HeyJude]

In that infamous 1992 Goldmine interview with Mike, it starts out with the interviewer asking Mike about the then-recent Capitol two-fers, remarking how great they were. Mike seems to not know anything about them. The interviewer finds that amusing, which in turn seems to irk Mike a bit. Mike then quickly goes off on some tangent that quickly leads to him taking credit for naming the "Endless Summer" album.

In any event, I mention this to point out that Mike certainly has been more hands-on with more recent archival BB releases. I don't think he literally doesn't care about them. I believe Howie Edelson mentioned that all of the band members spoke with enthusiasm when interviewed for "Sunshine Tomorrow", and Mike was certainly involved with MIC in 2012/13 to the point of commissioning an overdub on one of his songs. When tasked with a given project, I think Mike shows enough interest, and he's certainly signing off on these things.

The problem is that he just doesn't give a lot of weight to them, and certainly prioritizes his touring (and other projects involving himself, like his solo album). So, while he has reportedly/allegedly thrown a wrench in the gears of a few archival things here and there over the years, he generally isn't completely uninvolved in them and seems to sign off on more projects than not. The larger issue is that his "meh" attitude about it means he's never going to champion an archival program. He's not going to BRI recommending the archives be opened up wider. He seems rather bemused by the attention fans give to outtakes and alternates and all of that. It's arguably a bit patronizing. But that's how he looks at the fans. Look at the 1998 "Endless Harmony" documentary when he talks about GV/Smile material: He says something like "some fans like that stuff", as if there's some fringe element of diehard fans crazy enough to have an interest in "Good Vibrations" and "Smile."

But I think it's important to differentiate between not being a major proponent in propelling archival releases forward, or showing zero interest, and what Mike does, which is show some level of participation only to prioritize his own stuff like touring. So, he participated in "Sunshine Tomorrow", but right at the same time pushed the McGrath/Stamos single. I'm glad he signed off on "Sunshine Tomorrow." I just wish he (or any of the members) were strongly pushing for more of that sort of stuff. Let's hope someone is.

[CenturyDeprived]

In that infamous 1992 Goldmine interview with Mike, it starts out with the interviewer asking Mike about the then-recent Capitol two-fers, remarking how great they were. Mike seems to not know anything about them. The interviewer finds that amusing, which in turn seems to irk Mike a bit. Mike then quickly goes off on some tangent that quickly leads to him taking credit for naming the "Endless Summer" album.

In any event, I mention this to point out that Mike certainly has been more hands-on with more recent archival BB releases. I don't think he literally doesn't care about them. I believe Howie Edelson mentioned that all of the band members spoke with enthusiasm when interviewed for "Sunshine Tomorrow", and Mike was certainly involved with MIC in 2012/13 to the point of commissioning an overdub on one of his songs. When tasked with a given project, I think Mike shows enough interest, and he's certainly signing off on these things.

The problem is that he just doesn't give a lot of weight to them, and certainly prioritizes his touring (and other projects involving himself, like his solo album). So, while he has reportedly/allegedly thrown a wrench in the gears of a few archival things here and there over the years, he generally isn't completely uninvolved in them and seems to sign off on more projects than not. The larger issue is that his "meh" attitude about it means he's never going to champion an archival program. He's not going to BRI recommending the archives be opened up wider. He seems rather bemused by the attention fans give to outtakes and alternates and all of that. It's arguably a bit patronizing. But that's how he looks at the fans. Look at the 1998 "Endless Harmony" documentary when he talks about GV/Smile material: He says something like "some fans like that stuff", as if there's some fringe element of diehard fans crazy enough to have an interest in "Good Vibrations" and "Smile."

But I think it's important to differentiate between not being a major proponent in propelling archival releases forward, or showing zero interest, and what Mike does, which is show some level of participation only to prioritize his own stuff like touring. So, he participated in "Sunshine Tomorrow", but right at the same time pushed the McGrath/Stamos single. I'm glad he signed off on "Sunshine Tomorrow." I just wish he (or any of the members) were strongly pushing for more of that sort of stuff. Let's hope someone is.

Unless Mike thinks an archival release will get HIM, specifically, a bunch of critical accolades, or a bunch of money, his interest level won't be all that high. Ironically, Sunshine Tomorrow was the last chance for Mike specifically to get positive critical reevaluation, but he screwed the pooch with the laughable Do It Again '17 remake just days later.

[Lee Marshall]

I'd also add if Mike is too busy to listen to the Beach Boys' latest archival release, which is THE REAL BEACH BOYS and the reason why Mike is wearing pinky rings worth more than the average man paying to see his band play makes in a year...I may not be alone in being "too busy" to listen to Mike's new recordings, and definitely too busy to drop my money into Mike's piggybank to hear him play live.

NO "if" involved with it here.  I currently own as many Mike records and compact discs as I do Mike 'books'.  That's not gonna change.  Just like 'he's' not gonna change.  So why would I put money into fueling THAT nourishment and revenge agenda?  I wouldn't.  And I don't.  AND...I won't.

Unleash the love?  What love?  What release?  What a joke.

Caught them live in 2015. [co]  MC'd it.  I sure as sh*t didn't PAY to be there.  Glad i did it though.  Got to hear them.  I'll never have to wonder about it.  They were good. B U T...They weren't the Beach Boys

[SMiLE Brian]

Can you M.C a M&B show with guest of honor OSD?

[JK]

Is time for Ben Vaugh Quintet to re-release Ben"s Prayer..A/K/A Kill .......Love?   Sure it's still on utube.

Did Ben Vaughn release that in some form or was it just a live track? cant find it on discogs.

Lots of MP3 downloads around, Big Dinner, but I suspect they're all of that live performance.

[wilsonart1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiGnvgSIOj4   Should be Ben Vaugh Quintet's Ben's Prayer A/K/A   kill ...........

[Zargo]

In any event, I mention this to point out that Mike certainly has been more hands-on with more recent archival BB releases. I don't think he literally doesn't care about them. I believe Howie Edelson mentioned that all of the band members spoke with enthusiasm when interviewed for "Sunshine Tomorrow", and Mike was certainly involved with MIC in 2012/13 to the point of commissioning an overdub on one of his songs. When tasked with a given project, I think Mike shows enough interest, and he's certainly signing off on these things.

If I recall correctly, one of the people behind the MiC release stated that Mike was as keen as (or even more so) any of the other members to have a big Dennis presence in the track-list. The fact it had all the hits on it too would have made the release more interesting to him, I imagine.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

Can you M.C a M&B show with guest of honor OSD?

  As long as I can take the stage in my " myKe luHv is a douchbag " T shirt and sing the Ben Vaughn song. 

[HeyJude]

In any event, I mention this to point out that Mike certainly has been more hands-on with more recent archival BB releases. I don't think he literally doesn't care about them. I believe Howie Edelson mentioned that all of the band members spoke with enthusiasm when interviewed for "Sunshine Tomorrow", and Mike was certainly involved with MIC in 2012/13 to the point of commissioning an overdub on one of his songs. When tasked with a given project, I think Mike shows enough interest, and he's certainly signing off on these things.

If I recall correctly, one of the people behind the MiC release stated that Mike was as keen as (or even more so) any of the other members to have a big Dennis presence in the track-list. The fact it had all the hits on it too would have made the release more interesting to him, I imagine.

And there's the rub. "Hey Mike, we're going to do a BB archival release that focuses predominantly on Dennis!" I'm not sure how much he'd be pushing for that. (He apparently/allegedly wasn't a fan of the "Love & Mercy" soundtrack, which was ostensibly in part a "Beach Boys" release that was very Brian-centric, albeit in a different way).

But if handed an already-compiled project that has some Dennis stuff, it doesn't cost Mike anything to say "Yeah, sure! Sounds good." Especially if the project also takes out time to devote to Mike's stuff like "Brian's Back", "Goin' to the Beach", "Summer in Paradise", etc.

I don't believe Mike has been approaching BRI internally to champion Dennis archival material.

To be clear, I'm not saying Mike signing off on a good project is a bad thing, regardless of how much he's proactive about it. I'm also not suggesting MIC shouldn't focus on all members. That makes total sense.

Again, the basic idea is that Mike isn't adamantly opposed to archival stuff. He just doesn't prioritize it heavily when, in my opinion, he and all the members should be. When it comes to the Beach Boys, we're not talking like Beatles fans pushing for the other 27 takes of "I Saw Her Standing There" to be released (not a bad thing, to be sure). The Beach Boys have *albums worth* of totally unheard material that would be a game changer for them in terms of the story/narrative that's out there now regarding their later-era history.