The Smiley Smile Message Board

Consensus on this song? Definitely single material and I can't believe it was removed from the album. It's excellent.

I love it.  But I love all the material Chaplin & Fataar brought into the group.  Their tunes sound especially good live, as on "In Concert".  Most people here hate their contributions tho.

My favourite era by The Beach Boys. Certainly as a live act.

To my ears, the live version of WGL easily beats the studio recording. The arrangements are groovier (esp. guitars), the vocals - stronger. Also, on the studio take I wasn't fond of the piano being upfront. In the concert it's almost completely inaudible.

Count me in as another fan of Blondie & Ricky's stuff. My favorite is Hold On Dear Brother - slide solo is A-1 there!

I enjoy the live version and agree with the message, but unless I hear a better mix of the studio version, it was a good move to remove it from Holland in favor of Sail On Sailor.

Like everything they did (bar "Hold On Dear Brother"), the Flame LP very much included. "Hard Times" is an awesome track as is "See The Light". They deserve a 3 cd/4 LP set of their own.

I would love to hear the second Flame album produced by Carl - Stephen Desper says it was great. 

I'm also a fan of their stuff.  Can you imagine how different things could have gone had they both stayed on?  15 Big Ones???

Makes one wonder. Though, for a band known for constantly recording, I found it odd that some of Blondie's & Ricky's complaints while they were Beach Boys were due to a lack of recording new material.

Love it. "In Concert" is one of my favorite albums.

Well think about it.  When Endless Summer hit, it had been more a year since the release of Holland and the Boys had to rerelease their then most recent single (featuring a lead vocal from a guy no longer in the band) to try and ride its wave (pun intended) because they didn't have anything new ready.  By the time their new single was ready, two more years had passed and their big delivery was a sub-par (for them) cover of an old 50's hit.  To make matters worse, people WANTED new Beach Boys bad enough to send it to the American Top Five!  Just imagine if they'd stuck while the iron was actually hot and put out something more substantial. 

In other words, there was clearly a lack of recording new material; at least in the immediate aftermath of Blondie and Ricky's departures.

Fairly indifferent to it, but I'd like to state how annoying it is that it hasn't been released since the original early misprinted Holland copies. Come oown, guys.

I really like this song both studio and live. I have never understood why it was removed from Holland so that Sail On Sailor could be added - why not just have both songs on the album?

Everything had to fit nicely on an 8-Track. Would most likely have caused too long a silence. ;)

Yes on both accounts.  It's a great song, clearly my favorite of their contributions.

I'd trade Steamboat for We Got Love any day.

Will we ever see a reissue of the Flame's stuff? I know Desper talked at one point of a set featuring the unreleased record produced by him and Carl? I don't even know if there would be any market for this or not at this point. I'd love to have something. I recently got given a copy of their self-titled LP and I really, really dig it. They fit in real well with early 70's power-pop ala Big Star and Badfinger. Big Star has done extremely well in the past 10 years compared to when they were first around based on word of mouth alone. Could The Flame not have a legacy in the same vein?

I agree the record does sound like badfinger. I picked up the cd on amazon about 3 years ago for a fiver.

Great album, was already familiar with Dont Worry Bill but enjoyed listening to the whole song.

They recorded a follow up? A must hear.

blasphemy  ;D

I do like it, but it's easily the weakest of the tracks they contributed

Hold on Dear Brother is an AMAZING song.

I don't hate their stuff, but it bores me, except of "Hard Times", which I like.

This song needs to come out on CD.  How it was never released on the 1993 box, Endless Harmony comp, Hawthorne CA comp, Holland reissue, or Made in California box is beyond me.  We need this for completeness sake.  What's the deal?

I know, I know, but what can I do?  I just don't care for it.  Now, the weird thing is, my wife, who's more of a traditional-song Beach Boys fan, 42 years after marrying me, heard this in the car a while back when I had the Holland CD on, and when I said, "I really don't care for this one, it just drags", she said, ""well, I kind of like it, what is it?"  Threw me for a loop-de-loop flip flop etc., I'll say that for sure. Of course, I don't think she ever thought she'd hear me say I didn't care for a Beach Boys song, any Beach Boys song.  But there are a few. Known her for almost 47 glorious years.  What other surprises does she have in store for me?

You may have missed the interview Brian gave a few years ago...

Q: Did Dennis deserve his reputation as a ladies man?
A: Well, he had intercourse with my wife, Mike's wife, Al's wife and NHC`s wife so yes.

Sorry to be the one to break it to you...

NHC's wife too?  Oh, Norm!  Say it ain't so!

Believe me, it ain't so. And I still don't like Steamboat.

I rarely post anything negative about the Beach Boys' music, and I really feel bad for doing it in a thread where people are professing their love of a record or song that I don't like. So please, take no offense.

I dislike the preachy lyrics of We Got Love, and the record was dated the day it was recorded. I find it underwhelming musically.

I think Warner Brothers was wise to reject it. In its place we got Sail on Sailor. A good trade if you ask me.

And trading Steamboat for We Got Love? Surely you jest!  :)

I'm not jesting. ::)  I don't like Steamboat.  :-[ I like We Got Love.  :) Seems to me all three of these mentioned songs could have been included, then we'd each have one to skip over.  ;D

As for the previous comments about my wife, it's useful to know she once at age 22 threw a Hell's Angel in full regalia out of a sporting goods/liquor store where she worked, for opening a can of beer he had just purchased, which was illegal. He came back later and apologized and warned the rest of the boys he brought with him that Miss Ruth was in charge and anybody who gave her any trouble would be answering to him.  Dennis would have been lucky to escape with two black eyes and a broken wrist, from either Miss Ruth or the aforementioned motorcyclist. :-D