Surfs Up (Live)

[Sheriff John Stone]

Sheriff, you questioned whether the band was expressing their true selves in the 67-72 period-I think clearly you have to seperate members.

I did raise that question; maybe I didn't separate the members enough. In a couple posts above, mikeyj pointed out - correctly - that Brian was composing pretty much what was "him"; I agree with his assessment. I also stated that Dennis was true to his art, too. I guess my main concerns were with Mike, Carl, Al, and Bruce, and I also questioned the effectiveness of performing the new material LIVE, as opposed to the recordings, which I like, but don't think are as strong as most people do.

I didn't want to get back into this, but it doesn't take much....I was basically questioning whether Mike, Carl, Al, and Bruce were consciously trying to be hip, dispelling the candy-striped shirt image, and maybe, maybe went a bit too far on some of those early 70's songs. Is Mike "Be True To Your School" or "Student Demonstration"? Or both? Does Carl give a darn about Traders - or Goin' South for the winter? Why was Al singing about birds at his window? Hey, maybe those subjects really WERE THEM. Maybe it was just an honest phase they were going through as they were entering true adulthood. Maybe the drugs led them there. All this is that....

I based my OPINION on the music they subsequently recorded - not too far removed from those early/mid 70's songs - which were anything but hip, cool, or feel-flowy. I mean, they NEVER visited that style again, and they all had the opportunities. Carl said one thing but did another. Look at Al's "solo career". And Mike's. And Bruce's for that matter.

My final point, for now, is AGAIN, saying that most fans - about 99% - wanted something else, on record and in concert. Yeah, when you listen to those audience tapes, the audiences were enthusiastic, but, what were the numbers, and, could they sustain it? It didn't take Brian Wilson & Company very long to learn that lesson recently. Again, again, again, I LIKE those early 70's songs, even live; I'm just trying to look at it from the perspective of MOST Beach Boys' fans, average Beach Boys fans, not that they need it....

[the captain]

I don't think Al's music from that period is anything outside what seems to be his overriding character or preference. Melodic, highly produced, folk-influenced, relatively simple music. Birds, yeah, why not? Similarly, I don't know if Carl was out of character. If anything, I think Bruce was acting and Mike was maybe pushing a little too hard to be "hip" (with his "oldies but moldies" comments and drug references in various shows). But I think for the most part, that period was them then as much as surf-rock was them earlier.

[Dave in KC]

Oh there were memorable times concerning this topic that came out during shows. In Saint Louis in 1971, Bruce said, "I'm getting really pissed off at you people who can't let us finish a song without yelling for some oldie." I was stunned. They certainly tried their best with the new material. But in the end, attendees wanted to hear what they were used to hearing on the radio over the years.

[Awesoman]

Regarding Mike's politics (from a few posts ago), I think he's a good example of the fact that there isn't a clear, single "left" and "right." We've created stereotypes for them, but they don't stand up in real life. From what I understand, Mike is probably conservative on some issues (economic) and more liberal on others (environmental concerns, anti-war). I don't see anything unusual about that. In fact, I'd argue that most people who match party lines on all the issues aren't doing their own thinking.

Although Mike Love in the past has shown public support for Reagan and Bush (both of them, I believe), supposedly he's gotten more liberal in recent years.  When I worked backstage at Chastain in 2004, I spent the day with their tour manager and he seemed to think Mike was a lot more liberal than he used to be.  (Bruce on the other hand is pretty conservative.)

[shadownoze]

I saw the second or maybe third stop on the original Beachago tour in May '75 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Bobby Lamm did indeed sing 'Surf's Up' and did an okay job...except he jumped down an octave on the end of the "columnated ruins domino" line. Peter Cetera also did the lead vocal on 'Darlin' which was pretty good. That was my first BB show and also the day I met Al, Dennis, and Carl...and ended up interviewing Carl after the show.

[Smilin Ed H]

Like Luther says, I think Mike is conservative on some issues and can be a little opportunistic when it comes to keeping his work in the public eye.

[KokoMoses]

Sheriff, you questioned whether the band was expressing their true selves in the 67-72 period-I think clearly you have to seperate members.

I did raise that question; maybe I didn't separate the members enough. In a couple posts above, mikeyj pointed out - correctly - that Brian was composing pretty much what was "him"; I agree with his assessment. I also stated that Dennis was true to his art, too. I guess my main concerns were with Mike, Carl, Al, and Bruce, and I also questioned the effectiveness of performing the new material LIVE, as opposed to the recordings, which I like, but don't think are as strong as most people do.

I didn't want to get back into this, but it doesn't take much....I was basically questioning whether Mike, Carl, Al, and Bruce were consciously trying to be hip, dispelling the candy-striped shirt image, and maybe, maybe went a bit too far on some of those early 70's songs. Is Mike "Be True To Your School" or "Student Demonstration"? Or both? Does Carl give a darn about Traders - or Goin' South for the winter? Why was Al singing about birds at his window? Hey, maybe those subjects really WERE THEM. Maybe it was just an honest phase they were going through as they were entering true adulthood. Maybe the drugs led them there. All this is that....

I based my OPINION on the music they subsequently recorded - not too far removed from those early/mid 70's songs - which were anything but hip, cool, or feel-flowy. I mean, they NEVER visited that style again, and they all had the opportunities. Carl said one thing but did another. Look at Al's "solo career". And Mike's. And Bruce's for that matter.

My final point, for now, is AGAIN, saying that most fans - about 99% - wanted something else, on record and in concert. Yeah, when you listen to those audience tapes, the audiences were enthusiastic, but, what were the numbers, and, could they sustain it? It didn't take Brian Wilson & Company very long to learn that lesson recently. Again, again, again, I LIKE those early 70's songs, even live; I'm just trying to look at it from the perspective of MOST Beach Boys' fans, average Beach Boys fans, not that they need it....

I think it has more to do with the simple fact that none of the Beach Boys other than Mike was a consistent lyricist. They relied on others to articulate their feelings into words. Now, just because Carl didn't get a history degree doesn't mean that he had no interest in it or anything outside of music. Same goes for all the other guys. Each lyricist had their niche and jack Riley was maybe a bit more hip than the Beach Boys and rubbed off well for a while. It's no big deal!