The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've found a picture and no other info about an LP called "Rock & Roll Again" which is supposedly a collab between Mike and Dean Torrence...

Does anyone know about this???

Rock & Roll City was a Radio Shack-only release in 1983.  It was a Mike & Dean album, but featured other bands like the Association and Bruce & Terry, all performing remakes of popular 60's songs.  Rock & Roll Again was a slightly different release...instead of "California Dreamin" (which was different from the 1986 version), it had some other song on it instead, but as far as I can remember there were only one or two tracks that were different between Rock & Roll City and Rock & Roll Again.  I believe both were 1983 releases.

As for the music quality: probably the worst released work by any of the Beach Boys.  So inexcusably bad that many fans don't even count it when talking about the worst of the Beach Boys. 

There is a version of "The Locomotion" on there that starts with a train sound effect...I always wondered what it would be like to give a CD to a fan with "Caroline No" (with the ending train sound effects) followed up directly by "The Locomotion".  What a stark contrast!

Hard to pick a low point on the album; everything's pretty bad.  But if you want to hear it, there is a Japan-released version called "Listen To The Air", which is the same tracks with a fake DJ talking in between (and over) the tracks.  Also, bootleg versions of Rock & Roll City pop up on ebay all the time for about $8.

In my opinion, Carl's albums are worse.

Carl's albums......worse??????

One more Night Alone.  Need I say more?

Boring song, and the saxophone is terrible.

Carl's albums. Worse.

While I wouldn't say Carl's albums are worse (though they are mediocre at best), this LP is pretty bad. BTW California Dreaming was not replaced it just has one less song.

BTW, "Rock 'n' Roll City" (the name of the Radio Shack release from '83) was a cassette-only release, but it came with an LP-sized cardboard attachment.  Can't remember if Eric mentioned this, but Daryl Dragon produced a lot of it.  Not sure if "Listen To The Air" was on LP?  Never bothered to get it. 

And, since we're giving opinions here, Carl's albums are WAY better.  The lyrics are sometimes (OK, usually) generic, but the vocals and intrumentation are much better, and the melodies are almost always very good.   Plus the harmonies are killer most of the time.  Carl was a gifted vocalist, and would've sounded good singing the phone book. 

Seems like when the R&R City cassette came out, Mike said he considered it his first solo album. When the interviewer asked about "Looking Back with Love," ML pretended (jokingly) not to know what the guy was talking about.

Carl's albums never blew me away, but I'll take them over this anytime.

Yes indeed. Carl's vocals can't save them; the production is terrible, the mix is overbusy, and the songs are generic and boring.

Are you listening to the same albums as I am? Because those descriptions dont match the Carl albums I've been listening to...

I think the production is tight and the mixes are smooth. As for the actual music, its hit or miss for each song. But thats personal opinion. :3d

I think Carl's two 80s album have about one side of fairly good music between them with Heaven being the only thing I love. Rock and Roll City (as a promo) and Listen To The Air did make it to vinyl. Which of course 99 percent of everything did at the time. sigh I wish that was true now.