The Smiley Smile Message Board

We've got three, maybe four solo albums by this guy. Since there are no takers, why doesn't he just do like Al and go the CD-R route?

Unleash the Love
Country Love
Looking Back With Love
Mike Love not War (or whatever he chooses to call the latest effort)

Unleash the Love and Mike Love Not War are the same thing, he should probably go the CD-R route, unless he, Brian and Al are planning on donating solo songs to a Beach Boys 50th studio album project.

Looking Back with Love was released in 1981, so it would have to be re-released by the owners.

First Love and Country Love apparently have legal issues tied to them.

The best route for Myke to take is indeed the CD-R route-complete deactivation-RETIREMENT-immediately if not sooner. ;)

The biggest difference between the two is that Mike actually never promoted his. Al on the other hand
has been talking for the last two decades about new material and solo albums that almost never surface!

And I think Mike wants to keep his tracks of the market. Otherwise he would've released them in some form!

//RD

I remember a few years ago, Mike & Bruce were on NBC's "The Today Show," and in between songs Bruce specifically mentioned "Mike Love Not War" as being Mike's new album.

Yeah, there was a time when it seemed Mike was promoting the new album.  I think he played "Unleash The Love" on Foxnews once too.

Ok ok... I see your point... but you gotta admit the diffrence :) One of those two cancelled the european leg of a tour to "put the finishing touches to his new solo album"

//RD

Absolutely, Al had a website promoting it for at least 2 years, and Mike just occasionally mentioned it.

Maybe Mike just realizes that people aren't going to be interested in a solo album by him. Say what you want about the man, he has good business sense.

If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. Al canceled the European leg of the Wilson/Jardine tour because he saw through the bullshit in the wifeandmanagers situation.

Can you elaborate on this? 

Forget what I said.

Not entirely true either.
BUT my point is that he wasn't late use the spotlight to promote an album.

No, he didn't. The tour went ahead, just without Alan, and the reason it went ahead without him is hardly a secret (and it was nothing to do with Melinda).

OnT: there's a huge, overreaching reason why Mike's Country Love will never, ever be released - it is weapons grade radioactive merda. First Love, on the other hand, isn't too shabby.

Country Love is one of those albums that everyone tells you is awful beyond comprehension and you think 'it can't be that bad can it?' and then you actually hear it......and it is truly horrific, like being stabbed in the ears by music. I dont think a word has been invented to adequately describe just how bad a song Wrinkles is........

Okay, so we can live without "Country Love", but then there are the two albums by Celebration, how about those, any good?

The Almost Summer movie soundtrack album (isn't really, the actual movie versions of the title track & "Sad, Sad Summer" are hugely different) is for completists only. The second album, Celebration, is much better, almost a surrogate BB album, but it's hard to lay hands on as only 5000 were pressed. Neither are available on legal CD.

There's a third, Disco Celebration, which may or may not have been legally released - it's up (down ?) there with Country Love.

This just makes me want to hear it all the more!

The first one, "Almost Summer", is so-so, although Sad Sad Summer ain't bad and Almost Summer is OK as well. But hey, it's a soundtrack album (no clue what the movie's like), lot's of fillers, instrumentals, and tracks from other artists. Btw, one of the instrumental - 'Lookin' Good' - is in fact an early version of 'She's Got Rhythm'.

The second one, simply titled "Celebration", is a much better effort, with quite a few good tracks, a few ML originals included (who wasn't too egoistic giving a few leads to Dave Robinson (I Don't Wanna Know, Go And Get That Girl) and Paul Fauerso (Starbaby). Also includes 'Country Pie' (a concert stomper in the late 70ies for the BB) with ML on leadvocal and an odd version of Gettin' Hungry (with extra lyrics, not my cup of tea btw). Worth buying in my opinion.

aaaaaannd... there's a 3rd one called Disco Celebration... but I'll leave that one to others to burn it down to the ground...  ;D



EDIT: darn, AGD beat me to it (but at least we were on the same track with these albums)

Unlike The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys are known to license out tracks for v.a. comps, so ML reissues on indies like BGO or Sundazed should be possible. I can't believe Mike wouldn't be interested... more likely, no label is interested. Sad really, cause I'd like to own some of this material on CD.

Celebration tracks listing, avec comments par moi:

Side 1:
Gettin' Hungry (B. Wilson/Love) - Mike
Sailor (Robimson/Altbach) - Dave Robinson (nice little nod to "SO,S" at the end)
Lovestruck (Tuleja/Altbach) - Dave Robinson (reworking of ML solo track originally called "Jailbait" - seriously)
She's Just Out To Get You (Love) - Mike (also recorded by Spring/Honeys and released on the Capitol Honeys 1992 CD)
I Don't Wanna Know (Love) - Dave Robinson (originally a First Love track)
 
Side 2:
Starbaby (Love) - Paul Fauerso
Go And Get That Girl (Tuleja/Altbach) - Dave Robinson (revised version of a BB MIU sessions song - BB version was slated for the Xmas album)
How's About A Little Bit ? (B. Wilson/Rovell/Love/Altbach) - Mike (again, a BB version exists - sounding suspiciously like this one in places)
Song Of The Creation (Altbach/Robimson) - Dave Robinson
Country Pie (Tuleja/Altbach) - Dave Robinson (the 1978 BB concert staple)

Can't check it right away, but didn't sing ML on this one? Or am I simply so familiar with the BB live versions that I totally forgot that Robinson is singing on the studio version?

Nope, you're right - the sleeve credits are incorrect. As we say over here, major arse.  >:(

FWIW, I'm sure I hear Carl in the bvs of "Little Bit".

Having heard the 'Boys do a ripping live version of "Country Pie" I'm surprised a studio version by them never made it to the racks. It would have fit nicely on "LA".

Thought I heard Carl on Country Pie too.

Being the saddo I am, I'd like to get all this stuff on CD.  I've heard poor copies of First Love and Country Love and I think I prefer the latter to LBWL (which, again, I have a 'copy' of).  I also have a 'copy' of the 'new' one and I'd like to hear clear versions of those tracks he originally put on First Love (where, incidentally, I think his singing is better than on LBWL). The Almost Summer album I could do without except for that track, which I can take in a 15 BO/Love You/MIU sort of way, but I'd love a clear, sharp version of the second album, which contains tunes that would've boosted the credibility of the BB albums from that era (along with California Feeling and the Jardine stuff that he preferred to can in favour of Lady Lynda...).

What was the Al stuff that he didn't release at the time?

Was Country Pie planned as a single for the BBs? Does a recorded version exist? Has it been booted?

Lookin Down the Coast
Santa Ana Winds
He had started working on Don't Fight the Sea too