Didn't Carl cover Mike's leads when he was ill in 1970?

Comment was made that CBS suggested they "toughen up the live sound".  Quite amusing, a bit like MGM exhorting the Osmonds to toughen up their live sound.  This ain't Metallica we're dealing with!  Exactly how that would have increased record sales?  Well, obviously it didn't....

I don't know about toughening but it sure as heck made them sound better. You can notice a difference between Knebworth and the DC concert in '80 for sure.  It gave them a nice guitar sound.  Sadly within a few years they gave into the keyboard /synth 80s and the keyboards overwhelmed the guitars for the next decade plus.

The BB certainly have enough to do a Sirius channel. Even if it was a temporary run like they do with other artists but they continue to miss the boat big time regarding these types of marketing opportunities as they do with electronic downloads with live material.

The Mike quote about doing something different is interesting. I think when Mike started to get more control around the time of Carl's illness and eventually full control, that may have changed his mind about touring since it was on his terms now.

I find it sad that Mike would have no interest at all in listening to any of the archival releases or touting them.  I'm not saying he has to sell the album but you think he would more intrigued.

Sounds like some competition, if Mike's doing it Brian's going to keep doing it.

Ike is a great singer but I agree as posted above he does a more classical feel as opposed to a pop/rock feel. His phrasings sound very formal like he is singing in a formal symphony performance.  He doesn't have Brian's phrasings.  Matt is better at that. Al was the best. One of the reasons why Al is so effective at singing Brian leads is because he has the same  vocal phrasings

Sounds great! That song always sounded better live. Brian truly does enjoy listening to Al sing still after all these years.

I was hoping that when Jeff joined Mike's band he would be singing Carl's parts and letting Ike do most of the falsettos. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened. I think the sound would be better that way. It's fine, but could be better. You wonder how much longer Jeff can hit those notes, he's not getting any younger and at 150 plus dates a year.

My guess is that AJR is Mike's daugher Ambha, who has sung that song live with the BB before.

They list her as Ambha Love in WOTS though, so why AJR there?  Weird that Getcha Back and Daybread is on the new Mike Love song disc, as that's both of those are BB remakes and  Brian's Back is on the remake disc when it was a Mike solo only released on Endless Harmony

I'm assuming the third camp before 2012 was Al?

Yes.

In some ways it's not surprising. Jeff was a Mike guy originally when he was brought into the band.  He always did those side gigs with Mike in the 80s and 90s. He did choose to work with Brian ( Jeff stated he had offers from all 3 camps when the BB broke up) and that is admirable. I can see where the job with Mike has much less stress.  Less prestige but less stress. When Jeff was younger, perhaps he wanted that prestige and control being with Brian but simply needed a change.  Jeff has always liked and worked well with Mike so it's not a surprise. I am sure there is more political stuff but certainly thats a part of it.

As for filling Jeff's role, Matt does it on stage vocally, there are support people I'm sure who do some of it off stage, and Al fills the friend/buffer role in a different way than Jeff, maybe even more genuine in some respects.  Perhaps and this is just a supposition: maybe Jeff felt with Al there to be with Brian, he could more easily step away and didn't feel as much guilt.

Custom Machine- I remember Scott Totten stating a couple of times on message boards he wanted to play the song but Mike did not want to at all. Something about not liking his lead vocal.

I have heard Mike's band play Til I Die on multiple occasions, before and after Foskett. They generally do a nice job with it. It is a little weird considering the personal nature of the song and Mike looks kind of out of place during it.  Two years ago I apparently got so spoiled hearing it for the 4th time when M and B played it I was disappointed. I was hoping for All I Wanna Do as they had played that recently. I felt guilty not appreciating it more. Then I forgot about my guilt when Mike launched into the Pisces Brother/Cool Head Warm Heart medley.  .
 Brian played it with Al on the Jeff Beck tour most recently I believe. Jeff sang most of it if I recall.

From that interview, you would never know other BB named Carl, Dennis, and Al ever existed.  Only Mike, Brian, and that guitarist Bruce gave the BB their success.

See, what you use sunglasses for is to avoid someone, so they won't recognize you. This, however, didn't work for Brian one time when John Stamos *still* recognized him and yukked it up...

BW is rocking the Spector look!

Goodness, that photograph speaks volumes.

Is that Stamos's wedding possibly? I am not sure if Brian attended, I know the other guys did. I believe there was a story where Al got stuck in some awful seat in a corner or something.  Looking at those photos, Bruce really aged quickly in the mid 00's. Looks like he aged 15 years in 5.

I totally agree about his keyboard, however Scott Totten told me that Bruce is plugged in audible on Darlin (main piano), certain parts of Good Vibrations, and Disney Girls. Maybe Scott is just saying this to keep up Bruce's reputation, but I honestly doubt that he would lie to me.

That's kinda sad...3 songs from in my mind the best keyboard player the BB ever had.  He's a great harmony singer and he's missed big time in those clips.

My first BB concert was that '91 tour. They did an extended dance medley with Dancing In The Street, Dance x 3, and Do You Wanna Dance? Carl absolutely nailed Dancing in the Street.  I remember it being a good setlist by 91 standards including YSGTM, TIKH, PLMW, Dancing in the Street, Still Crusin, I think Al sang Little GTO.

Hard to tell favorite songs:

Mike- California Girls or Kokomo. Fools Fall In Love has got to be up there. He has inexplicably included it in nearly every show for god knows how many years now.
Carl- Darlin maybe. I also recall a story that said Carl loved performing Surfin USA.
Al- Has said Surfer Girl in interviews before. I think DWB is up there too.  I would put Heroes up there too.
Brian- you could ask him 15 times and get 15 answers. He does love California Girls so maybe that.
Dennis- loved YASB.  He did love Rhonda too.
Bruce- tough call because he's often so ambiguous toward a lot . 2017 might say Kokomo for all we know.  GOK might be another bet. I remember an interview where he said it was a challenge to sing the lead but he did it because it was important.

I thought Stamos was going to make out with Mike at the beginning of Little Honda there. He was basically on top of him

That's Not Me is one of my all time favorite Mike leads.  Too bad he hasn't sung it since 1966.

I don't think Bruce's voice was ever strong enough to wail out DWB by himself. Personally I hate his YSGTM, his voice just isn't strong enough. Bruce had the range, always has though I am sure he's lost some but his voice never had much strength to belt out a falsetto part. Falsetto part in a stack of harmonies, he's great with. One of the best harmony singers ever.

Bruce is a total crap shoot touring now.  In the past 10 years I've heard him sound wonderful, other times awful.

Scott has breathed an incredible amount of life into that organization. He absolutely cares about the music. Mike goes along with him because he respects him but I think he would be just as happy pounding out 25 hits  and early 60s songs and calling it a night after 90 minutes like the early 90s.

More than just Mike. Between 83 and 84 the whole band changed. Dennis died. They dropped the tempos, the arrangements became slathered in keyboards , and everything just slowed down. The polished, sleek, trimmed down package shows of the 80s and 90s began.   Carl was more the cause than Mike. Carl was amazing but like all the BB made some mistakes. Changing the arrangements was one.  Not doing more in the late 90s was another with the cheerleaders.

Except that time he drove a Dodge Dynasty/Chrysler New Yorker in that video

There was an ad from the late 70s with the Boys and their respective cars I think for stereos or speakers. Haven't seen that in awhile.

One key turning point was not 1974, but 1981.

Keep in mind that the band didn't go "all oldies" all of a sudden in 1974 in concert. And, just as importantly, they still released a TON of new music. They released FIVE albums between 1976 and 1980. Of mixed quality of course. But they were still relevant enough that they could be called a recording act that also toured as opposed to a touring band that occasionally releases albums.

That all changed in 1981 in a number of ways. Carl had taken off, they had no new album material to promote and dropped *most* of the songs in the setlist taken from recent albums, and backfilled the setlist with stuff they hadn't done in eons like "409" and "Surfin'" and "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena."

Carl came back in 1982, and the setlist got a bit more interesting for a little while. But stuff like "Pasadena" remained in the setlist. They didn't come up with a new album for another four years. They had nothing *but* nostalgia to ride on at that point.

I completely agree about the 81 turning point. Compare a concert in 80 to 81 and you can feel it.  80 they could be uneven but still had some great shows. 81 just has a different feel to it.  As Hey Jude said thats when all the older surf/car songs came back, Long Tall Texan gets an extended set list stay, and it's when Mike started devoting major attention and time to the performance of BTTYS.

They got a little energy back late 82/83 like a candle flickering but it went out for good after Dennis's death. Theres a huge difference between 83 and 84 even.

At one point, BRI chose to take a vote to issue Mike an exclusive license as opposed to the non exclusive license deal.  Brian and Carl's estate screwed over Al there by doing that. I'm sure Mike stated his case to them vehemently and in Brian's case he probably said screw it I don't care about the BB and let him have it and Carl's estate wanted the $$