e'll kiss and make up and join the others at the barn   

"However, I also think Al Jardine appears as a sad figure, with those silly band names he had/has to come up with just to sell tickets. And when he sees how many (or lack of) solo albums he's about to sell as simply Al Jardine..."

Let me guess: you were a butterfly in your past life and Al pulled your wings off. What have you got against him?  Jeez, you're a bilious motherfucker, aren't you?

Take two and call me in the morning.

Thanks.

Thanks, but does anyone happen to have a photo from this period they could upload?

Anyone got any good. clear and large (i.e. CD sized) pictures of the boys from this period that they'd care to post?  Live or otherwise, preferably with all six members.  I've only seen small pictures or photos without Bruce.

Thanks in advance. Appreciate it.   

To be honest, there';s some stuff on Country Love that's no worse than Jagger in hillbilly mode.  I actually prefer it (except for Wrinkles) to LBWL.

First Love is a decent album.  Why he opted for covers and that clunky rinky-dink sound on LBWL is beyond me.  Dreadful mess of an album.

No bootlegs - no BWPS, no SMiLE tracks on the Good Vibes box, no Dylan Bootleg series, no official release of the Basement Tapes. And so on. 

Sooooooooooooooooo, anyone got any news? 

Failing that, what about Al's CD?

Mike's?

Anybody?

"Whew, it's time for me to meditate..."

Medicate, surely?

Kingsley Abbott (ed), Back to the Beach.  A great collection of essays and interviews.  Make sure you get the updated edition.

I think the production of some of the Usher stuff from that period is as bad as the Landy stuff.  The Wilson Project's a hell of a read, but you ghet the feeling that by point, Usher had lost his muse, much in the same way Melcher had when he got involved with the Beach Boys in the 80s.

I saw the Still Surfin' thing as kind of melancholy and reflective, which is why I forgave Love for that one!   Ooh, Crack at Your Love.  Help!  Forgot about that one.  Sends the wrong kind of shivers up my spine.

You're hard on Still Surfin'.  Any other track of SIP I'd agree to. I like I Wanna Pick You Up.  Surely Little Tomboy's worse than that?  Wjat about Everyone's in Love With Love?  That's worse than Love is a Woman.  I wouldn't argue with the rest, though.

I think it was a truly stupid remark. I'd like to be able to disable the nuclear reactors or destabilise the Iranian government as well, but I'd be wary of getting into another war and have to witness the deaths of soldiers, civilians and, in some cases, the truth. We weren't informed enough about Iraq and I doubt we are about Iran. I'd also be reluctant to see favoured contractors make money out of the death of men and women. Maybe with enough pressure and negotiation we can move to do some kind of North Korea-style arrangement. And one more point, while France and Germany ought to have supported us plying pressure on Iraq before the war, it's not just 'socialist' Europe or Russia which does deals with dictators of varying political stripes... But you're right about the Beach Boys, Jon.

No offence meant.  Don't like'em, that's all.

I wouldn't wipe my ass on the Libertines.

"Would Dennis still have been riding at 60?"  The surf?

"It makes me more than a little upset that Brian was writing thiscreative stuff with carnival sounds and spoken segments at the time, but instead we wound up with "Shortenin' Bread" (relative merits of that song aside)".

I'm not as down on the album as you (and God knows I don't like disco Here Comes the Night), but I agree with this point entirely.

Maybe they should've prefaced their comments with, "We really like your vocals on I'll Bet He's Nice..."

"I wonder if Bruce even sang on the album."

As far as I'm aware, he only contributed keyboards on (I think) Don't Worry Baby.

I actually think LA is better than MIU by virtue of the fact it's got four decent songs (Angel..., Good Timin', Love Surrounds Me and Baby Blue) and one or two passable ones; MIU has three (My Diane, Pitter Patter and Winds of Change) and a couple of passable songs in the retro grrove.  On the other hand, LA does have Here Comes the Night, which weighs heavily (and considerably, when you take the track time into account) against it.  I actually prefer the production on MIU to that on KTSA, an album with a few passable tracks rather than good ones.  For me, the best tracks, Santa Ana Winds and Goin' On, are ruined by the syrupy production.

What's up with Bruce's voice these days?  He used to have the sweetest voice of any of the BBs (and I don't necessarily mean that as praise; it's just a fact).  Last time I saw the BBs, he barely sang at all, but did a superb, slightly strained version of Disney Girls and sang a little God Only Knows.  Has he had some problem with his throat?  We know about Dennis and BW's problems; Al's voice seems to be pretty much intact; I suspect Carl's cigarette intake roughened up his singing a little in the late 70svocal chords; and Mike's preference for singing nasally has irritated many people since the mid-70s, but Bruce...? I presume he doesn't (and didn't) smoke, so has he had surgery?

What's Jeff doing these days?  Rosie Vela, or is that just a rumour?  No, seriously, what's he up to?  Anyone know?

Instead, we got disco!

Agree entirely.