The Smiley Smile Message Board

Awhile back, you all may remember that I posted some Mike Love comments regarding Dennis from 1984...that post set off a (totally unintended) firestorm on this board.  I just re-listened to Mike's comments on Dennis from the 2007 "Warmth of the Sun" podcast, so I thought I'd quote them here...maybe this will balance out, to a certain extent, the 1984 comments.  Mike doesn't mention here the influence Dennis' lifestyle had on the early subject matter of his and Brian's songs, but he does give him some due in other aspects of BBs history and all-around life:

Mike:  "Dennis had a whole other side to him, other than the "bad boy" side, he was very generous - very generous, he'd literally give you the shirt off his back if you needed it...money, you name it...and he was also quite open to spirituality, and matter of fact, he's the one who called us from Paris to come back from England to learn TM, Transcendental Meditation, from Maharishi.  Tell you what, in the early days, when we were playing concerts, there was NO ONE the girls liked more, IN rock 'n' roll, PERIOD.  That's it."

As a bonus, here's Bruce's comments from the same podcast:

Bruce:  "I think Dennis was the...rugged, four-wheel-drive, romance, heart and soul of the band...and he was our resident teenage idol, and he was funny, and he was handsome, and he dressed great, and he was into sports, and surfing...and guys really related to that, and girls loved him, and he was just a, a really good guy."

The thing with the media is they go for the quote with the biggest splash. Mike could go on about the good points of Dennis for most of an interview then say '...but he could be a jerk-off' to finish. Guess what most of the story will then concentrate on? :thud

How did I miss this, and why has this thread passed into the neverlands???
I know Mike has to have a soft-spot somewhere in his heart for Dennis...
It's nice to read something about it; wonder why it didn't receive any attention here?

Wow - God bless the Chinese:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGUxpmCrXWc&feature=fvw
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTU2MzkxMjAw.html

I find the vocals only version of Forever very touching when it is only Dennis and Mike singing. Knowing their history with each other it is nice to hear them together in a loving way like that.

Agreed. The Vocals only version gives chills.

It didn't receive any attention because the comments weren't negative. If they were negative, we'd have a thirteen page thread, a few exiled members, and maybe even a few banhammer tattoos on a few faces.