The Smiley Smile Message Board

I only caught bits and pieces (was dealing with an ill grandmother, waiting for paramedics to arrive, etc), but I could hear most of it in the background as I did what I did. Mike sounded OK, pretty much his usual self vocally. Among some of the old BB standards performed, I happened to catch Cool Hand Warm Heart and Make Love Not War. Mike also commented on the fact that the top two card sellers at Hallmark since the SFHAB promotion started have been the Kokomo and Fun Fun Fun audio cards. I wish I could have heard more or had I been home I would have captured it, but the performances were enjoyable. I missed most of the chatter in-between songs, but it didn't sound like much more than the usual topics here and there. :)

Did any of y'all happen to catch it, and perhaps offer more details on what was performed, any interesting factoids that were spoken about, etc?

I saw it this morning as well. Good performance overall. Here's the setlist:

All Summer Long
Make Love, Not War
Good Timin'
Cool Head, Warm Heart
Fun, Fun, Fun
Surfin' U.S.A

Some interesting choices for the boys, but enjoyed it. Was cool to hear All Summer Long, Good Timin', and Cool Head, Warm Heart. It was an unplugged performance which gave a nice feel to the songs. No performance of Kokomo, surprisingly. No new facts. Basically talked about the Hallmark cd, that they got together at Capitol, etc. and Mike describing Cool Head of what inspired him, of when he was with Maharishi (sp?). Nothing new, but nice to hear them again.

Thanks for the full recap. :)

Of what I heard, I think Cool Head Warm Heart and All Summer Long were the best performances.

No problem man  :). Yeah I agree. I found myself singing and humming Cool Head, Warm Heart throughout the day today. It's pretty catchy.

Saw them on GMA today singing Cool Head Warm Heart-the song is neither bad nor good, but Mike should not sing it-nor should he sing Kokomo anymore-He did, however sound up to par on Cali Girls-Just another good reason to let Al back in the group-

I too saw them on GMA this morning.  The Beach Boys are now god-awful.  I mean that was a horribly sub par performance, I can honestly say I'm a better singer than anybody in the entire band as it was presented this morning.  With that said, I don't think it would take much to be a better singer than any of them.  The guy that sings falsetto sounds average at best, Mike Love is a disgrace (and I'm a big Mike fan, it hurts me to say so), nobody in the band was putting any of the beach boys magic into any of the vocals.  Instrumentally, they were at least competant but then they do cheezy casio synthesizers and things on "california girls" and it just ruins the whole damn thing.

In my opinion the best song was Kokomo, it at least sounded slightly like the original. 

In the STUDIO, it may be different... but live, urgh.


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On another note, they asked Mike and Bruce about meeting up with Brian @ Capitol, and if a reunion would happen... when they said "is there a reunion tour coming up maybe?" Bruce said "Well, maybe a reunion show and a video or something". 

"Cool Head, Warm Heart" sounds decent but the live version bombed.  Brian Wilson's band blows the Beach Boys so far out of the water it's unfair.  I mean, BAR BANDS are usually much better than the Beach Boys were on television this morning.  Even when Brian's out of tune and 64 years old he sounds better than anybody in Mike's band this morning. 

Al can likely sing better than any of them, I'd love to see him involved with whatever happens in the future.  I don't know what was up with the rest of the guys in Mike's band, maybe they couldn't hear how incredibly horrid they sounded? 

I think Ron is exaggerating a little-not much, but a little...the Imus performance was better, maybe being indoors makes a difference...

Well, I really did think they were horrible.  I can't name 1 band right now that sounds worse in a live show that I've seen than the Beach Boys did this morning.  That's not exagerating, I swear!  I haven't seen a performance that bad on the last several seasons of American Idol (with the exception of the 'worst of' shows or auditions or whatever), it really was just horrible, but I'm comparing it to the glorious stuff they did earlier, so maybe that's not fair... and I really do feel that I could easily sing better than any of those songs were performed this morning, MAYBE they couldn't hear each other, and I would have liked to have heard the Imus 'acoustic' performance to see if it was good. 

Objectively, because I like Mike too, I'm not one to bash him or his court antics... objectively, if the Brian Wilson band say... as presented on Leno his last few times he was on singing.. if the Brian Wilson band is an 8.5 live, the Beach Boys this morning were a 4.  His band is at least twice as entertaining, on key, on tempo, faithful to the recording, etc. as Mike's was this morning.  It's supposed to be the BEACH BOYS, damn at least get some people that can amp the vocals up and make Mike sound good, how hard is it to get 4 or 5 guys in their 20's that sing good?  Brian did it! 

I watch all of these pbs 'oldies' concerts, and see bands like the Platters (pretty much no original members), the Temptations (1 original member), Jay Black & the Americans, Peaches & Herb, The Dells, The Drifters, The Coasters, The Shirelles (yeah right, probably no original members), Darlene Love, the 4 Seasons, Little Anthony & the Imperials, the Vogues, Jerry Butler.... the list goes on and on and on, and each of these bands or performers pretty much can replicate or come close to replicating a good rendition of their original songs.  The beach Boys do not.  Brian Wilson does, though, so we can give him that for at least assembling a nice band and doing his best personally.  Paul McCartney still rocks, the Stones still sound half-ass decent, Paul Simon still sounds decent.  Little Anthony & the Imperials are probably the best I've heard, they still sound incredible....

so I'm just saying compared to peers, Mike & co. are doing a horrible job of representing their past music.  No wonder they'll entertain the notion of Brian helping them out a bit. 

With that said, in the late 90's I saw Mike & Bruce live, and really enjoyed the show, but I wasn't a big Beach Boys fanatic then, just familiar with their music like most people.  So... maybe they were better then, or maybe I'm more picky now... but he was WAY! off this morning.  So sad, because he has to be capable of such a better show, I'll get the hallmark album and see if the studio version sounds better, I imagine it must. 

I'm perplexed...

A few years ago I saw the Mike/Bruce Beach Boys in concert and they were excellent. They rocked hard, fast, and long.  I was impressed.

But the last couple of years, they changed their style. They now play the songs slower, and I don't think it's for the better. First, it's harder to hold the notes, which isn't getting any easier for Mike or Bruce. Second, this slower pace just sucks the life out of the music. It doesn't rock, it drags. I think the backing musicians are very talented, but this style does not allow them to display their talents.

Yes, that's definately part of the problem.  And the band LOOKED young, you'd think they'd *want to rock.  I noticed that on their christmas performance of "little st. nick", it was just too slow.  Brian was going around doing it at regular speed, the BB's were going around doing it slightly too slow, they sounded horrible. 

Obviously Brian can't sing as well as he once did.  Obviously his band helps that a lot in a live setting.  I can handle that, I applaud him working so hard to give the best concert possible even with a diminished voice.  This morning Mike was on auto-pilot and it was BAD.  the rest of his band sounded as thin as he did, too.  At least Brian's band covers up his weaker voice (which honestly I still think is pretty decent) with several STRONG singers in the group who help pad out the harmonies and double Brian or whatever needs to be done to put on an excellent show. 


It's like early 60's, BB's live had nice thick vocals, AND decent instrumentation.  late 60's, Brian leaves the touring band, they still had nice thick vocals, and rocked even harder.  70's, harmonies started diminishing, focused more on hard rocking instrumentation.  From the 80's on, the live harmonies and the live instrumentation has just been going downhill to now they're slow, the vocals are thin, and they've got a bare bones backup band. 

had a discussion with some friends last night (til 4 a.m.) that touched on, among other things musical, the idea that older songs tend to be played rather fast...I said it feels like a case of "let's get this over with..." my friend Ozzie said no that's where the energy is,people want that energy...we agreed to disagree...Ron gave the BBs a "4"...Judging from his post, he should've given them a "2"...I thought  the GMA was a "4"and the Imus was a "7" or so...but that's just me...

If it was a band just doing some unknown song, a 2 definately.  They are performing some of the greatest music ever written, however... so it's hard to give less than a 4 to a band performing a half-ass version of "California Girls".  I mean Alvin & the Chipmunks could do a 4 or 5 on "California girls". 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdHSrLPjQ_g&search=beach%20boys   Mike Love from the Imus show
 interview,    and peformance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHDRWpOclfE&search=beach%20boys

Thank you very much for posting that.  Mike gives a good interview, I think.  Great interview.

Alright, in Imus' studio, they were much, much better than they were on GMA.  Like two different bands, so that's good to know that it was just a bad day for them or they couldn't hear.  I still think Brian's band is better but Mike's did a good solid job on Imus.  Of course Mike wasn't singing, either, lol.

I think that was a good performance and a great interview.

I really liked that interview. Mike seems much better talking about Brian than a few years ago. Maybe the "hatches" really are gone...

BTW http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2164128

Can anybody get this on youtube?

Mike's singing is atrocious. Wow. Absolutely awful. He sounds worse than Brian does now (which sometimes is pretty bad) despite staying in a very limited range. I'm surprised, having not heard Mike sing in a long time.

YOWZA.  that bummed me out.

They should keep John Cowsill on drums, he's alot better than Kowalski.

And I don't think Mike's voice is that bad, especially in Cool Head Warm Heart, which incidentally isn't as awesome without Christian Love's backing vocals.

That is specifically what I listened to and despised. He is struggling to find pitches, wavering both ways, and very weak. I know he's aging, but that was pathetic. If that's professional singing, I can do without it.

But it wasn't just Mike. Most of the band had problems keeping in tune....

That's what I was talking about.  Absolutely horrible.  Every song they DID was that bad, they must have not been able to hear themselves because as exibited, they sounded good the day before on IMUS.  64 year old Brian Wilson could sing acapella better than that whole performance of cool head. 

Maybe this reunion talk has a few of the hired guns nervous about their pay-checks and its starting to show?

Well, they should be nervous.

You guys are buggin.. Mike didnt sound too bad aside from some slip ups.. and Bruce sounded great on California Girls...

I'm impressed that at their age they sound as good as they do..

Apparently your pitch is bad. Seriously, Mike wandered around notes with a breathy--no, breathless--tone. He sounds like sh*t.

Actually I have perfect pitch and work in the music biz for a living..

I don't know, perhaps I am just looking at the glass half full.   Maybe the performence wasn't perfect, but it made me psyched to think about a reunion show DVD w/vocal overdubs/sweetening.. or any type of new BB's studio project.  The voices are still there.

I thought it was going to be a lot worse by how people are describing it but it really isnt THAT bad.

If you have perfect pitch, then you have no standards. Mike sings poorly. It is a fact. And if you want a reunion with vocal overdubs and sweetening, then what the f*** is the point? A bunch of old men who have hated each other for decades singing badly together but overdubbed and reverbed to hell...yeah. Look, it's the Beach Boys.

Big fucking deal. No thanks. I'd rather watch a show by the Wondermints, frankly. Or any decent contemporary pop band. And I know that sounds negative or grumpy but big fucking deal. It's true.

(Crucify away...)

Dude, i guess you havent noticed, but Mike has never been an amazing singer.  S**t, they had to auto tune his vocals for Knebworth 1980 (and I don't think they did a great job with that, but thats besides the point).  The fact is, although they're pretty much "old", they don't sound as old as they are.   I suppose you are one of those people who says Paul McCartney lost it as well?
But hey, it's up to you whether or not you want to enjoy these recent performences.. but I'm trying to enjoy it all while it lasts...

Honestly man, it's not even close between Paul & the BB's.  *any* band out today sounds miles better than what Mike presented on that GMA show.  Amateur talent shows sound better than that.

They were much better on Imus, though, but Mike wasn't singing.

Brian's band blows them away.  I've heard performances of Brian from the early 90's or late 80's where he sounded (along with his band) just as bad as Mike does now, so maybe there's hope. 

I don't see how anybody could watch that california girls or 'cool head, warm heart' performance from GMA and say it's "not that bad" when they're heard the originals or heard Brian's band do "california girls".  Brian live sounds more like Mike in 1965 than Mike sounds like himself in 1965. 

Mike sounds like somebody making fun of Mike.  Think about that for a minute.  that's fucking HORRIBLE.

The energy seems low. Mike and Bruce both sound spent. I admire them doing songs like All Summer Long and Good Timin though.

Mike does a lot of shows, perhaps too many.  His voice when speaking sounds as though he has laryngitis.  I don't know if it's permanent damage or just overuse, or a combination, but he really needs to cut back in order to give the people that pay money a decent show.  I've only seen the Beach Boys touring band once, and I wouldn't see them again if he sounds like that, even if Brian and Al were with him.

You know I just saw this and I think we can agree this is Mike Love's best released song since Somewhere Near Japan. Sadly while the studio cut is polished he is really loosing his voice. They do need to cutback touring it's sad because his bass voice was even 10-15 years ago still pleasing.

To defend Mike a little, I don't think he even sang on "Good timin".

BTW anybody could upload the Good Morning America-thing to youtube?

Ugh... that's not defending him, Good timin was the only one that sounded decent to me. 

Mike wasn't too bad on California Girls, but he was truly shocking on Cool Head, Warm Heart. However, on the tag at the end of Cal Girls Bruce sounded great.

Is "Make Love Not War" a new Mike Love song? It's not on his new album that's been going around the internet..

I think it's interesting that they had John Cowsill on drums and then had Mike Kowalski standing behind John's keyboard playing the tambourine.. I really think they're just holding onto Kowalski because he's been with the band for so long; he's pretty unecessary.

In my book, Kowalski's not just unnecessary, he's close to a liabilty. At an otherwise truly outstanding performance by the band at Hammersmith fall 2004, he was definitely the weakest link - he lost the beat halfway into the first song, and the first song was "Do It Again", not exactly taxing. Either he's a cheap gun for hire, or he's got the negatives hidden somewhere - no other explanation.

Make Love had a good feel to it but again Mike just sounds spent

I have long felt that the band would be pretty close to perfect if they would get someone else on the drums.  Mike K seems like a nice enough guy, but his drumming style is definitely not my cup of tea.  The 2004 Newcastle show that is circulating is very, very good...almost releasable with the exception of the mechanical drumming.  John Cowsill's drumming was pretty good on the Imus show.  Mike K sounded good on tambourine...maybe they should make this change permanent...

I think a lot of it may be due to the fact that he's been with the band so long.

I did, in 2002! And I passsed up a Mike and Bruce show to see the 'Mints!  ;D ;D ;D

Good move. If they'd ever come to Minneapolis, I'd do the same.