The music of the New Monkees was not nearly as bad as the series itself. Watched a couple episodes when it first aired, just awful!

I'd put "Don't Fight the Sea" on the BB reunion album, since very few people have heard it. Al can't get his album together, so rather than let it collect dust for another 50 years (Al plans to live to a very, very ripe old age  ), just get it out there.

Definately NOT Love You! It's appeal to those not fascinated/sympathetic re Brian's personal history (i.e. non-Beach Boys fanatics) is, i think, considerably more limited than that of many other of their albums. I've played friends Sunflower, Surf's Up, Wild Honey, etc, all of which have met with enthusiastic responses, whereas Love You generally tends to leave 'em slightly baffled ('They sound weird' being at least one remark).

Today! is an absolutely tremendous album, but I'd pick Holland, as it brilliantly demonstrates the talents of every band member, not just Brian, and is therefore make for a more valid and demonstrative choice than picking another entirely Brian-fronted album.

Agreed. Brian was/is a genius, but he wasn't the whole band. Holland shows what the other guys could do when Brian wasn't around. Now if I wanna scare the s*** out of a new/recent fan of the group....I'll put on Love You, and watch the expression on their face change to "WTF?"

I haven't seen anything about the sales for the various packages of SMiLE. It was something like #25 in Billboard first week out, dropped way down the second week....then it was gone. Can't imagine it sold enough to go gold, unless the various packages are all counted together.

The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees - The hot streak continues. I have never understood why many rate this as slightly weak.

I've always thought this was one of their more respectable efforts, some good strong material here, most notably Mike Nesmith's four like Tapioca Tundra and Magnolia Simms not to mention Boyce and Hart's P.O. Box 9847 and two by Jones.

I have a soft spot for this album - the first Monkees album I owned. I could probably sit down with a guitar or piano and play it song for song, it is so ingrained in my memory. PACJ is the best, HQ second....but they all have their moments. I'd probably rate Changes above Pool It at the bottom. Justus is sorta HQ2 30 years later. Not every song is an absolute winner, but there are a few gems like You and I and Regional Girl, and the playing has some fire. Glad they went out that way, rather than Pool It or a SIP-type production.

I go all the way to the end with this band. Love the albums everyone else loves, the often cited Face to Face, Arthur, VGPS, Something Else, Lola, but also love Misfits, State of Confusion, Word of Mouth, even their finale, Phobia.

I wanted to BE Davy Jones as a kid, because he was handsome, good singer, and he always got the girls! RIP Davy

Wish these guys could've put their differences aside just once for a proper show or tour. John is quite good on his own, but there was something special about the combination of John, Tom, Stu and Doug. Tom's role in the group is often belittled, but he was a great rhythm guitarist - something which is underappreciated these days. Could've sung some songs, too, if John had let him. Back in the Blue Velvets days, he was the lead singer.

A very good point. You also forgot to mention Brian - nervous breakdowns and drugs led directly to Pet Sounds and Smile. Even when at some of his subsequent bleakest periods (1972, say) he produced great works (Mt Vernon, Funky Pretty). When he subsequently got better in the 80's and, post Landy, into a content, comfortable homelife in the 90's, his music was nowhere near as interesting. Now this could of course be put down to talent receeding as a person gets older, which happens to many musicans, but I don't think there's any doubt the Brian's earlier manic lifestyle worked in favour of his creativity for a time.

(To counter any critism before it is written, I'm not saying i'm not incredibly happy Brian has finally found some level of peace in his life, I'm just making an observation)

A friend of mine was saying back in '98 that Brian's music wasn't edgy anymore, based on what he heard of Imagination and Orange Crate Art. I pointed out that, for possibly the first time in his life, Brian had a happy home life. A happy home life is not going to produce edgy music. And given the choice, i don't think any of us would choose edgy music over a happy home life.

So if we have the choice, what's better to have, a boring life, or boring music? Or are the two linked together? Dennis had lots of drama in his life and his music; Carl had a comparatively calm life, and (in the opinion of many) comparatively dull music. Would Carl's music have been more interesting if he had been more of a womanizer and drug abuser? Would Dennis' music have bored us to death if he'd been a real stable, non confrontational kind of guy? Mike's personal life seems a bit on the rocky side, many marriages, but it didn't make his songwriting any better. And then there's Al....took him, what, 40 years to get a solo album together?

It certainly is a despicable piece of work. About the only time it genuinely sounds like the voice of Brian in the entire book is when he talks about how Friends is his personal favourite album. That's about it.

I remember in an interview he said "Love You" was his favorite  beach boys album. I'm confused  

Opinions change. Brian recently has called Summer Days (And Summer Nights!) is his favorite album.

He even once cited Holland as a favorite. Oh, that wacky Brian! You just never know what will pop out of his mouth! "If this new album is a hit, it could revolutionize the shoe industry!" 

I very much hope they DON'T re-do one of Dennis's old unreleased songs. Whatever song it would or could be, i want to hear the original, thanks.

Agreed. Does anybody really want to hear a bunch of almost-70-year-olds singing along with their brother who passed away almost 30 years ago?

No, I have absolutely no interest in hearing a bunch of 70 year olds sing ANYTHING! They should've quit long ago.

Brian, aka Landy, sure made Carl out to be the bad guy in WIBN. I'm sure this didn't help the strained relationship between Brian and Carl. I don't believe most of us have even a hint of the heavy burden on the youngest brother in the later years.

I'll defend a lot of unpopular BB's albums, but not that one. Remember reading that interview in Goldmine, and thinking what a massive ego ML had.

Minority view here, but I love Carl's solo stuff. The stripped down sound of the debut, the harder rocking followup, and his songs on Like A Brother. Used to surprise me to see so many negative comments about his solo stuff on BB's forums, kinda used to it now.

I gave it four. I think I have a nostalgic bias towards "An American Band" though

Me, too. I was lucky to see "American Band" in a theater back in 1985. Made a lasting impression. This is a good one, though. Much more in depth interviews from the band members. The post Sunflower/ Surf's Up years sure fly by fast, but this is the best so far at telling the story of the Beach Boys.

You're not alone. I have no complaints about the production on this or IJWMFTT, but I've been told repeatedly that both are "too Adult Contemporary sounding, they don't sound like Brian Wilson". At the same time, I'm being told that the production on the 1988 solo album is "too synthy". Honestly, I don't know what people want.

Yep, this album and Imagination have those bland A/C arrangements, BW88 is swamped with those %@*! synths, and GIOMH has those offkey vocals. BW's solo catalog is pretty weak, except for the unreleased stuff.

Well said. Before BWPS, the biggest excitement was the inclusion of Smile material on the 1993 boxset. If I was to put together a Smile boxset, I would start with BWPS live - this would give the uninitiated (if there still are any) the first proper presentation of a completed Smile. Second/third discs would be Smile sessions 66/67, with that morphing into Smiley Smile. 4th disc would be BWPS, studio cd. Of course, that will never happen because of the different record labels involved and the inability to get permission from all the BB's.   

Gee, no name, I kinda get the idea that you don't think highly of the Grammies?   

I'm more interested in Ray Davies - Other People's Lives, Bob Dylan - Modern Times, and Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways.

That makes two of us!

They're still talking about PS.

The backing tracks sound fine to me. I was amazed, actually, that the sound was so close to that of the 66-67 sessions. If only the vocals could have sounded so much like the originals.

On Carl's songs alone I'd give it a 5, overall, I rate it a 4. "I Wish for You" is one of the best songs Carl ever wrote. Moved me to tears when I heard it, it said exactly what I needed to say to a friend. Still moves me everytime I hear it. "Like A Brother" is my second favorite, nice tribute to Brian. "They're Only Words" is the kind of song that can come only from a lot of living, Carl always sang from the heart. I don't know how Carl's health was during the recording of this cd, but he sure seems to be looking inside himself, as well as the world around him. Vocally, he's in great shape. Man, I wish I could sing like that! Beckley and Lamm's contributions are overshadowed by Carl's, but their songs have grown on me over the years, and I love their version of Nilsson's "Without Her". Would've been fun to see these three guys share a stage together, but it wasn't meant to be. Must've been great for them to work together outside the confines of their respective groups, though, and not have to try to fit their songs into the formula  - ie., all 90's BB's songs have to sound like Kokomo.....