Legit or not, i love em. 
 I'm imagining a killer Beach Boys homage/parody, sleigh bells and whistles full on production.
the surfin' boys meet the psychedelicate beach. 

If Mike had written the words for Smile.....

A few thoughts on the audio version, which I recently acquired:

The delivery of his reading isn't all that great overall, he often sounds unsure about what he's reading, he stumbles quite a bit in parts like he doesn't know the material, and that voice - it's like he's thinking, "Yeah, listen to my sexy, mellifluous voice!"
There are points in the book where he is mostly just quoting from other sources - I found some of that a little annoying.
Some of his memories about events through the band's history are pretty interesting, feel less apocryphal and more genuine, and I appreciate that aspect a lot. 

and just a warning:  do not fall asleep while listening to this.  Seriously, falling asleep while listening to this is....just a bad idea, don't do it!  (more than that I cannot say)

[JILL STEIN]

Two words:  JILL STEIN.

I would concur with Debbie that to achieve the sounds Brian wanted, some additional musicians were needed.  However, this would not have precluded Carl, Al, Dennis and Bruce playing their usual instruments (as Carl did on many tracks anyway).   It may have taken a bit more time to get the album done that way though, as (one might assume, and potentially erroneously) far more takes would have been required to get a solid take Brian liked. 

I wouldn't necessarily say I'm "ashamed", but I liked the Cutting Crew album Broadcast in '86 and Play Deep by The Outfield in '85.    
Oh, and also really liked the Naked Eyes album from '83 - synth pop guilty pleasure.   

The only candidate with the initials B.S., is also, ironically, the only one of them who isn't actually full of bullsh*t.   

I ain't lookin' fer a fight, so don't come callin' with one - but Bernie's the one for me. 

[deleted]

I was in California till '85.  Only Smile (related) music I heard was the (at that time) officially released stuff.  It amazes me to recall the many years this music was, by and large, only in my imagination (aided by various journalists/participants descriptions).  I swear, that's when Smile REALLY obsessed me. 

I say to Mike Love: Show the world that wonderful cranium!  Do it for charity, do it for world peace, do it for Love 
It's okay to be bald.   
You have very nice cutlery btw.

Years ago, I contacted the artist of that painting, George Chastain, and he was very nice in replying.  He remembered the painting, which he had been commissioned to do for the book (along with a bunch of other artists), "The Beach Boys" that came out in the late '70's.   He had since sold the painting, which he stated he regretted, and that initially it was one of the band themselves who wished to purchase it, he recalled it being either Carl or maybe Bruce.     Ultimately it was sold to someone else.   I cannot find this email exchange I had with him on my computer, but it was within the last 5 to 7 years.  He is still with us, I believe and may be open to contact and questions. 
A quick search brought the following links: 
http://www.askart.com/artist/George_Chastain/121920/George_Chastain.aspx

https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-chastain-b2397a3

http://myweb.wvnet.edu/e-gor/portfolio/paintings/

They Might Be Giants!!

These types of polls ought to be done by decade, especially as we get further from the outset of rock/pop music.    There's too many good ones deserving of acknowledgement who get left out.   The Cars were mentioned, and my lord, I remember when that first album came out - I thought, "They're like the f***ing Beatles!"  Every song seemed to be a hit and they wrote great pop songs.   I was over zealous as a kid perhaps, they're not the Beatles, but they were important and inspirational in their time.   Van Halen?  There you have the Beatles of hard rock - how many hits did they have?  I dunno, lots, right?  Again, pop music, gussied down toward head bangin' territory; important and highly inspirational.   And love him or not, no one out Rothed the David Lee. 

9/10

blew it on the last question 

Beside all his best known songs, which I like as well, there's:

The Bewlay Brothers
his cover of Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere

and his new/final album Black Star has made a big impression,
not simply because of the circumstances surrounding it (though it plays a role)
but because I find it awesome.  
There ought to be a thread dedicated to the best final albums by artists who knew that
they were making their last album.

Interesting (to me anyway) that he was born in '47 and Black Star was his 47th album,
and that his career really began to take off in '69 and he died at the age of 69....  
You'll be missed Mr. Jones.

For all I have gleaned about Scientology over the years, even recently saw a well done documentary called, "Going Clear", I still am not really certain what they are literally all about - other than creepy, scary, power/money madness w/celebrity spokespeople.   

A somewhat off topic memory: I was 11 when I bought Endless Summer on cassette (it was the first music purchase I ever made) and I had no idea that it was a GH thing.  I just thought it was a "regular" album of theirs.  The vast disparity of production values between, say, Surfin' Safari and California Girls, didn't seem to register with me, and I just took it at face value.  I remember thinking, "Wow, this album is great!  Every song is like a hit!"      
I was a bit slow.  Probably still am.   

Just a thought:  I don't think water need follow fire, as the fire is put out in the fire song itself.  That final "boom boom boom" of the drum, representing the collapsing walls or whatever, that's the fire being put out.  On the session tapes you even hear Brian instructing the drummer to "put that fire out" on that last bit.   

I'm by no means a member of the "Grammar police"   I make mistakes/errors in that dept often enough myself.  I don't mind being corrected though, so long as the corrector isn't a snotty jerk about it and I encourage others to receive such corrections with humility as well (that's humility, not humiliation) because it is important.  The world is "dumbed down" enough as it is (particularly, it seems, the USA), and I say it'd be a shame to let it go completely. 

How's Waterloo Sunset as a collection?  Anyone heard it?  The track listing looks pretty good.  The album cover is similar to A Hard Days Night.

*and just because it's there, this has always struck me as Kinks-like: https://youtu.be/kb5rwG9e838?list=PLpIgVl7bfQHlgymAwfZ0vrKkMdOjPPG1W

https://youtu.be/seZUBNjK3UY   

Jan. 15, 1967

I think they were supposed to have released either Smile or the Heroes And Villains single on this day, but didn't (obviously), I haven't access to a timeline at the moment
but I would assume they may have been recording something for the still in progress Smile album.  Either that or Brian was recording and the band may have been off doing a show.

I wouldn't be born til the 15th of January the following year, but since that is right around 9 months from May 16th 1966 it is probable that I was conceived by my folks around the time of Pet Sounds release!   

I would not read a tabloid piece of crap by someone that was a big part of the Beach Boys lives let alone a blip in the scheme of things. I didn't even keep my Gains book due to too much nonsense. I'm supposed to give a rats ass about some goof that punched a man 35 years ago that has been dead for 17?! Go back to your tv you are missing the Kardashians.

And the names Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson (and all they accomplished) will stretch into the future, while Ropey Pablum was never really known for anything worth while to begin with and never will be.   In fact, what was this thread about again? 

Might have missed if this was asked thus far, but did Mr. Pablum remain in the employ of the band after this incident? 
This dude and Stain Love sound like bullies and jack axes.  Somebody in that room should have retaliated; a table lamp or some other room furnishing is perfectly acceptable in such circumstances (IMO) to clonk such a creep in the head. 
 

The emcee thing though, really?  Was/Is it really that important?  I mean, you're a musical group - shut up and play yer songs already!  Yeah yeah, someone breaks a string and somebody has to babble through that, I guess, or maybe they just switch to a fresh guitar and keep going, or damn the torpedoes and just play with the same broken string guitar.  Personally, I don't need an emcee when I hear live music - what I want is the band/performer to play their songs.  Sure, it's nice when a performer has something interesting/clever/witty to say between some songs, but overall it isn't important.  However, if Mike really is/was such a bright light of emceeing, than perhaps instead of firing him, they could have just made him the emcee - the guy who comes on and does 10 minutes of patter before saying, "And now, my cousins and their friend, The Beach Boys!"  And then he hustles off the stage until such time as there is an intermission or a broken string (or some other such technical snafu), which requires him to come back on to patter some more.