Greeting and Merry Christmas,

As I'm sure we've all been doing, I've been playing The Beach Boys 1964 Christmas album, the 70s Merry Christmas album, and Brian's solo Christmas album nonstop, but one of my favorites of all the Beach Boys Christmas collection is Brian's heart-wrenchingly beautiful rendition of Blue Christmas.

I've been wanting to play some of the Beach Boys Christmas tunes with my family, and the surfermoon.com chords for The '64 album and the 70s unreleased Christmas BB songs are great, BUT there is not one I've seen for Brian's Blue Christmas - which I really want to play.

I see the original chords by Bill Hayes and Jay Johnson are in G, and listening to the song I think the BB version with Brian singing is in Bb, but some of the chords in the BB arrangement sound different. Does anyone have/know of any good transcriptions for the BB version of Blue Christmas? Ideally chords/lyrics, though I'd be able to make due with sheet music I suppose. Everything I see online are for Elvis' or earlier versions.

Brian's vocal on Blue Christmas is so sweet, so emotional, so heart breaking, it makes me want to cry to be honest. For my money, it's Brian's greatest vocal performance. I wouldn't be able to do it justice vocally of course, but I'd love to be able to play it and try!

Thanks for any assistance or pointers in this and HAPPY HOLIDAYS! 🎅

Merry Christmas!

Hey guys,

There's this article I remember a few years ago, which I can't seem to find anymore when searching for it now. I remember it had a journalist who was I think spending the day with Brian (and the BB?) and they went to the beach. The journalist brings up Smiley Smile, which had just been released, talking about how he loved how avant-garde it was, etc. The writer compared it to some European art movement I think asking Brian what he thought of it, but Brian kinda looked at him confused and said he didn't know anything about that. I might be confusing this with another article but I think at the end, the writer describes Brian looking like a Buddha there in the beach against the sun.

Does anyone know which article this is? I'm mostly interested in the bit about Smiley Smile and remembering exactly what he said about it. I tried the search here and some of these keywords using a search engine to no avail. Thanks

I love giggens. He seems like a good lad. Would hang out with. I like how he talks about all aspects of the band and their lesser reviewed albums, bringing up a lot of specific details and going in depth about the more obscure avenues of the band, rather than the same endless videos about Pet Sounds and their more commercial material that doesn't really cover new ground. I always wondered if he lurked or posted here. I'm sure he must

One of the things he did mention is that Mike Love is actually a bit more liberal than he gives off and that the environmental stuff was a big hot topic for him.  Turns out Bruce is more conservative than Love is.  Take that for what you will, but I am not aware of any reason why Love might be deliberately insincere in his views on this.  

This only furthers my theory that Mike is that much more of a phony in so many ways, because his asskissing of Trump is at least partly (if not mostly) linked to trying to angle to get some sort of reward from being buddy-buddy with Trump. Look, Uncle Jesse hung around the Beach Boys for a number of years before he gradually got to not only start playing live with them, but he also got to record with them and sing lead vocal on one of their studio albums. The same theory surely holds true in Mike's mind regarding Trump.

Mike is that much more of a disingenuous sicko for gluing himself to Trump - when Mike probably doesn't even agree with a bunch of Trump's policies - because Mike's in the pro-Trump game for reasons that Mike prioritizes higher than ANYTHING else: Mike's dream of an Ego Oscar award, given to him by Trump, and all the attention Mike thinks he can get from his frothing MAGA fans.

But that is all wholly subjective and speculation.  You clearly have an agenda against both these guys (not attacking you with that assessment) which explains why you would feel this way.  However it is not impossible to consider that a person could lean politically one way but still harbor views from the opposite side.  Not everyone is a political monolith.  I believe Love has always identified as a Republican, albeit a more liberal one.  If he had no interest in environmentalism it is a bit baffling as to whom he was trying to appease by writing/recording these type of songs at all.  

That is a pretty interesting to me. I didn't know Mike was explicitly Republican. Not just the environmentalism but Michael is also a vegetarian who meditates and has an interest in astrology. I'm sure many other atypical things too. For the general public, I would imagine a lot would assume that of not just Mike, but the band as a whole. I don't think the whole image of them as basically hippies (at least in the late 60s and throughout the 70s) is well known among mainstream folk. Maybe they known of Pet Sounds, etc., and the biopic has probably changed things at least for Brian to be seen as that (again) for casual audiences. But outside of the Jack Rieley years, I'm not sure if that aspect of the band as a whole was widely publicized.

If a moritiorium on political talk is going to apply to Trump supporters then it should absolutely apply to everyone then. But this topic kinda forces us to talk about politics because politics are one of the reasons many are so upset about The Beach Boys playing this event. And if one side is allowed to share their viewpoint on the political aspect of this discussion then I think the other side should absolutely have this right as well.

Nope, nope, back up.

There is a difference between discussing how politics plays into a development in the Beach Boys world and just lurking on a Beach Boys board (or near lurking) and then just swooping in with a political post with zero BB content just to offer a rebuttal to something they don't like.

Obviously, any time someone in the BB world (meaning almost always Mike) does something involving politics that many or most find abhorrent, there's a quick slippery slope from discussing how it impacts the BBs to then just turning into another tired political debate that could be had anywhere.

But the people I'm talking about are a small group of members here who rarely post, whose post history clearly shows that they don't participate or add much to any regular BB discussions, and seem to mostly post only quick, often snide political posts with zero BB content.

So yeah, if someone posts *about* the BBs and also talks about politics, that *is* different than someone plucking a political comment *out* of that post and then just rebutting political talking points. This often seems to happen with posters who otherwise mostly lurk, which indicates to me that they don't have much interest in posting about the BB's, but do have interest in posting about politics. There are other places for that.

In short, I'm much less suspicious of the motives of a poster here who posts something veering into politics who *also* has regularly posted about the BBs. It tells me they might be getting roped into some political stuff, which may or may not end up working well on the board, but that they're coming from a place first and foremost of being a BB fan. I'm more suspicious of lurkers who mostly or exclusively appear out of nowhere only to A) Defend Mike Love in general, B) Defend Mike Love's politics, and C) Defend Trump, et al. While I can't assume such people have *no* interest in the BBs if they're on this board, this posting pattern indicates they don't seem interested in contributing to the board in terms of BB fandom or scholarship, and that's fine if folks want to lurk. But when someone only goes out of shy lurker mode to post political talking points, that's unfortunate and indicative of all the things I've already laid out.

Sorry, I was asking in earnest, really, just trying to understand. Maybe I should have looked more in to it. I genuinely LOVE the BB, and have lurked over the years, but rarely posted on different accounts. I've just fallen into a BB kick/rabbit-hole again. I meant no offense. I like reading your posts a lot. I like to think of the BB as apolitical.

RE the masks that someone asked about, I think the idea is that the virus is carried via water particles, which are trapped by even surgical masks. I've heard the argument that they don't work because the micron-sized virus can easily fit through the loosely woven non-respirator masks, but it's the water droplets which are caught. They're more of a safety precaution against transmitting the virus between people rather that a barrier against, I think, which is why there's the disclaimer on the boxes. I think the whole thing about inhaling dangerous levels of CO2, micro-molds, and respiratory dangers are overblown compared to any benefit. N95 respirator masks do work and protect you against the virus, though they used to be extremely difficult to get anywhere.

I am very worried about the band staying safe during this time, especially after so many high profile individuals across the world have gotten it, and I'm sure they still do a fair amount of traveling even without touring regularly.

A former coworker  of mine passed away this morning due to Covid...next person who claims Covid is a hoax is out of here . Take that sh*t elsewhere

I'm very sorry to hear that. Please be safe, everyone.

This year has been very crazy and depressing. Every now and then I will get a little burned out on the BB and take a little break, but I've come back to them and started listening more recent; it's very healing music. A lot of it is melancholy, but even those numbers relieve stress and sadness for me.

Music in general is healing, but I've never encountered music as spiritually moving and truly healing as the Beach Boys and Brian's music. The BB music is needed in trying times like this. Sorry again for your loss. I hope we are all able to overcome this soon. I am worried for my friends and loved ones as well.

So, and I'm not trying to get into a political argument or anything, but I don't really understand how this is all that different from the Beach Boys playing for Reagan back in the 80s and their close associations with him and Bush Sr.

Damn, I wish I would have known about this when it came out! Does anyone know where I can still listen to it? I've been trying to access it for a few days, but all the links on the site appear broken for me. I tried turning my ad blockers off and different browsers but I can't seem to get it.

I looked on their SoundCloud, but it only goes back so far and I don't see the Paranormal episode at all. Each time, the top of the page plays a random episode that doesn't have anything to do with the Stebbins episode. It played a 2016 rerun last night about Shadow People and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), which while that was really cool, it's not the 2019 BB and the Paranormal ep I'm looking for.

Big fan of Coast to Coast, Art Bell, Midnight in the Desert, etc., but I never thought it'd mix with the Beach Boys. Sorry to bump an old thread guys, checked the search but didn't see any other thread about it. Hoping maybe someone saved it...

First off I didn't even save a file of the show so I can't be helpful there. Honestly I don't think it was a very good match unfortunately. The producer who booked me seemed to understand that there was a lot of darkness and occult/spiritual related aspects deep within the Beach Boys story but once I was on the air it was obvious that the host did not know any of this stuff. His view of the Beach Boys was the typical fun, sun, innocence, positivity perspective, and when I attempted to relate that there was plenty of darkness and weirdness in both their story and their music he seemed to not quite get it. It was hard for me to turn that around in the time slot, and also the fact that the host was a pretty dominating presence so he wasn't really deferring to my perspective, but kept relating that the group was a positive counter to all the bad things about the 60's etc... I had David Marks phone in to talk about his mom (a known psychic and huge influence on Brian's spiritual outlook) but it seemed the host was more interested in asking Dave about the standard stuff instead of the weird stuff. So the show kept diverting to a typical Beach Boys interview about how cool, and fun they were, instead of how strange and dark they were. It was ok I guess but not at all what I was thinking going in. I barely got to scratch the surface on all the trippy shadowy paranormal and even scary stuff in their story. Even relating that their most celebrated album Pet Sounds was a mostly sad, searching and melancholy work of art was met with seeming bewilderment. So too bad.

I'm very sorry to hear about that, Jon. The premise sounded amazing, I wish you were able to go more into detail about what you wanted to talk about. I would love it it if you would maybe decide to do a write up on this somewhere along the line. The anecdote about David Marks mom is really interesting - not sure I've read that before! I know during Smile Brian thought witches were putting hexes on him and it seemed like he was interested in occult matters. Big fan of your writing, by the way

If John Stamos is privy to the goings on re: FEEL FLOWS -- that's most likely coming from a source that will undoubtedly wipe ALL of Dennis' brilliant material off the set. Watch.

That's what I'm most curious about hearing

Probably my favorite era of the Beach Boys are the years Mr. Desper was with them. It's such a fascinating period for them. I think he contributed a whole lot to their sound. I consider him kind of an extended member of the Beach Boys himself, honestly. In what I've seen from him in documentaries (BW Songwriter) and his posts on here over the years, he seems so incredibly nice and humble, considering his immense contributions to the band.

I was devastated to find that his site, his breakdown videos, his Recording the Beach Boys books, were all taken down. I'm not sure the specifics of what happened but I'm incredibly disappointed. I understand and respect Stephen's decision, but I'm sure hoping to see them again at some point down the road. They were awesome, as are the posts here where he very generously shares all these great pieces of info.

From what I remember, he was a huge part of what makes Sunflower sound so incredible, with Stephen and the Boys doing some quite innovative things with that. Sunflower is probably my favorite sounding BB record. Plus all my fav BB songs were recorded during this time. I think songs like Time to Get Alone and that whole later 60s to early 70s period should get more recognition from mainstream audiences rather than just God Only Knows, etc.

I remember in that one 1976 interview with Brian where he's going over SMiLE and some other neat topics, Stephen is brought up and Brian said that he considered him the co-producer of their records then. I thought that was nice, but I'm not too knowledgeable about what the difference exactly is. I guess in my head, the audio engineer vs producer in music seems similar to the cinematographer vs the director in film. Not sure if that's an accurate comparison.

Damn, I wish I would have known about this when it came out! Does anyone know where I can still listen to it? I've been trying to access it for a few days, but all the links on the site appear broken for me. I tried turning my ad blockers off and different browsers but I can't seem to get it.

I looked on their SoundCloud, but it only goes back so far and I don't see the Paranormal episode at all. Each time, the top of the page plays a random episode that doesn't have anything to do with the Stebbins episode. It played a 2016 rerun last night about Shadow People and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), which while that was really cool, it's not the 2019 BB and the Paranormal ep I'm looking for.

Big fan of Coast to Coast, Art Bell, Midnight in the Desert, etc., but I never thought it'd mix with the Beach Boys. Sorry to bump an old thread guys, checked the search but didn't see any other thread about it. Hoping maybe someone saved it...

Stamos just replied to FreeFeelFlows on twitter:

https://twitter.com/JohnStamos/status/1314302473104842753

Well, this is most reassuring. It's not much, but a least it seems that all that stuff that stood to potentially be lost, is now hopefully saved.

A search on books.google.com indicates a listing for the Radiant Radish in the 1972 edition of a directory called The Spiritual Community Guide Volume 1.   

The listing says "553 N San Vicente Blvd" which is different than the 533 you mentioned above.

Very interesting. Thank you. I was just going by what AGD posted in a smileysmile thread some years ago. Could have just been a typo. Does Andrew even post anywhere now that the PS board is gone? Sorry if asking that is against the rules

I've always been fascinated with the health food store Brian ran in the late 1960s, The Radiant Radish. First, it's just such a cool name, but also it's just such a weird thing to me--Brian, one of the Beach Boys, deciding to just up and start a health food store. What did they sell? I think produce and vitamins at the very least, right? Does anyone know the brands or vendors they received product from? What sort of regular customers were there (any famous folk, fellow musicians, etc)? I've heard a lot of people would come in just to speak to Brian. Did the other Beach Boys work there?

Was the shop more of Brian's idea or was it more Steve Korthoff or Arny Geller (and who was Arny)? Who conceived of the logo and name? It's a great logo and the alliteration in the name is brilliant. I remember someone, I believe a poster here, on Etsy or one of those similar shops, made some t-shirts, tote bags and similar items with the logo (I purchased a shirt). I know that AGD (when he was still here) posted two possible addresses for where the Radiant Radish might have been:

533 No. San Vicente Blvd
Los Angeles 90048
659-0764
San Vicente at Melrose

and

8700 West Melrose Avenue

Has there been any further verification for either of these?

Besides the Radiant Radish, I'm also interested in Brian's fascination with health in general, starting in the 60s. I recall him getting the guys and BB posse to get into working out and Brian would bring out mats and stuff in his living room . Does anyone know if Brian practiced yoga much at all? Vegetables on Smile is, of course, a big example of this health kick he was on, but also songs from around the period like "HELP is on the Way", which references the Radiant Radish at the end. I'm aware that a lot of that was a little contradictory or hypocritical, though (Brian eating hamburgers while exercising, etc.). Even in the 70s on "Life is for the Living", Brian's talking about the same sort of thing. And then when Landy came back, Brian actually got into REALLY good shape in the mid 80s on through the early 1990s. He looked absolutely ripped at times (like that one pic of him in a speedo, haha), though I know that mentally and even physically, inside, he probably wasn't doing too great despite his outward appearance.

Is there a single event or person that spurred this? Was it after his experiences with LSD? And on the subject of that, how many times DID Brian take LSD? Was it once, three times, even more? Brian downplays it but I've heard it implied that he was even tripping into the 70s, though don't know if there's much evidence to support it. Dennis and Carl tried acid, at least a few times, right? I recall a story where a journalist says Dennis is driving a car after having taken LSD earlier, and Mike says Carl took it too, I think. Did Brian (or his brothers) take any other psychedelics like mescaline or perhaps mushrooms later on? I was amazed to find that Mike claims to have tried mescaline TWICE in his autobiography. Bill Tobelman, who runs the Good Humor Smile site and came up with the "Zen Interpretation of Smile" where he claims Smile should be thought of as a Zen koan, seems to believe in the 3 acid trip hypothesis. Plus the "flashback" type situation in Pickwick bookstore where he sees the books "melting" off the shelves.

There's this
https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1080/03007760802191300

I agree that Keepin' the Summer Alive (the album) is not too bad, but it's not quite in the same league as MIU, LA, Love You, or even 15 Big Ones for me. There's definitely something too clean about the production--it's too glossy/over-produced sounding for sure. For some reason the 70s albums have a warmer, organic/analog type of sound and vintage production style that I prefer. The KTSA tracks everyone notes such as Oh Darlin' and Goin' On are great, but I also really like Livin' With a Heartache, When Girls Get Together, Endless Harmony, and the title track, which is a nice little rocker. As far as 80s albums go, I enjoy the 1985 album a whole lot. It's gotta be be my fav 80s BB album, and it's much better than KTSA, imo. I also like parts of Still Cruisin', though I wish the album art on the cover was a lot better. Besides Kokomo, my fav on that one is easily Somewhere Near Japan, though I like Brian's In My Car a good deal too.

In the 90s, I'm really not a fan of SiP and think it's the worst BB record, but production and most songs aside, even it has a few redeeming features. Stars and Stripes is one I really like. The Willie Nelson Warmth of the Sun is the highlight. Best 90s BB album obviously, but I would have LOVED to have heard the Don Was 90s BB album. The tracks on Made In California like You're Still a Mystery and Soul Searchin' are incredible, plus whatever material would have made it on there from Brian's solo work (The Paley Sessions, etc.). I know he was supposed to collaborate with the High Llamas too, after hearing their double LP, Hawaii. But I think Mike Love f-ed that up by calling one of them a queer when they got off the plane, or something like that. Brian's solo stuff from the 90s, the Sweet Insanity stuff, the stuff with Andy Paley, it's so much better than what the BB actually put out. I guess it's a little like the BB in the 70s and Dennis' solo music.

That's Why God Made the Radio is an incredible album and the best record they've put out since the 70s. I think I recall hearing that some of it was written in the 90s, however. When reading Mike's book, I was really surprised to hear him allege that TWGMTR was almost entirely written/produced by Brian alone. Not sure the truth of that but it's a good record in any case. It would be cool to hear Brian's original intention for Summer's Gone and all of that. I'm also waiting for that "Rock n' Roll record"...

In fact, I wish the Beach Boys included "Go and Get That Girl" on MIU, because that's a classic, and would have given another much-needed Carl vocal

YES, I love that song! Another outtake from the Christmas incarnation of MIU, I think. That and California Feeling (which is my favorite Beach Boys unreleased "album"/bootleg) are just so good. As much as I love Adult/Child, I just love the California Feeling material so much more for some reason.

The Beach Boys' Seasons in the Sun is something that should have been released at some point too. Carl's kind of textured, almost frail at times, vocal is just too good. In some ways I like it more than Terry Jacks' solo version. Just the way Carl sings it and does that quick jump at around the 3rd verse where Carl immediately ends the "...though your lover was my friend" line and seamlessly jumps into "Adieu, Francois, it's hard to die..." - my favorite part of the song.

Al's Looking Down the Coast is very good too and warranted a release. It's reminiscent of some of the California Saga stuff from Holland. That one and Santa Anna Winds are a highlight.

I wish Brian finished I'm Begging You Please. it showed a lot of promise and even in its unfinished demo form it is very enjoyable. Marilyn Rovell is a very good Love You or Adult Child style song and would have fit perfectly on either. Stevie is also really incredible. I even like Lazy Lizzie, although its lyrics and subject matter are probably more egregious than Hey Little Tomboy.

Sherry She Needs Me is one of my favorites from these unreleased recordings and one of my favorite Beach Boys songs ever. She Says That She Needs Me from Imagination, while a nice track, doesn't hold a candle to it. I do like the 60s instrumental track, b/g vocals, and ending tag from Sandy, though. The song is just so good. I love that muted staccato bass line plunking along, coupled with Brian's mid-late 70s era voice giving that emotional vocal.

By far the biggest tragedy of that material is the the deeply spiritual ballad, California Feelin'. It's one of the greatest tracks Brian ever wrote, unfortunately never making it onto any studio album of theirs over the years, hidden away. Steve Kalinich described it as "White Gospel" or something similar, I think. It's true, it's just so soulful. Such an incredibly beautiful and moving song, no matter the version. A touching tribute to California that really displays the best parts of Brian's sensitive nature and feelings. The demo is especially sweet, with that very free, improvisational style with Brian's playing and singing. I like the version with Carl too and those celestial vocals by Bruce in the chorus. Those epic sounding, low piano bass notes that descend/ascend intermittently throughout, it's just so ethereal.

What Jack Rieley said about them "blowing it" consistently throughout the years is one of the truest statements about the band I've ever read. They had this massive catalog of GREAT songs that went unreleased (much of it STILL officially unreleased to this day), while they put out the comparitively mediocre material we actually got from them instead.

[She's Got Rhythm]

I also had to listen to it again after seeing the thread.


She's Got Rhythm:
This one's awesome. I know some don't care for it, but man is it a rocking tune. I LOVE Brian's falsetto vocal, it's just so intense and energetic. I love the feeling and upbeat mood of this. Brian's melody and voice on this is fantastic. I like Mike's part as well that breaks up Brian's falsetto wailing, but when Brian comes in to kick off the chorus again, man it's amazing. Can listen to this one all day, honestly.


Come Go With Me:
Another great one - a great Beach Boys take on the song. Al's voice sounds wonderful on this and the production is brilliant. Just a great, classic song, and quite catchy.


Hey Little Tomboy:
I know this one is perhaps the most controversial song the Beach Boys have ever written/recorded, but MAN do I love it. I think a lot of the criticisms are a little overblown, to be honest. I don't think the Beach Boys were at all aware of any pedophilic undertones, instead writing from the perspective of a young guy interested in a young girl who is a little less feminine than other girls. Perhaps its subject hasn't aged so well, but the song itself is still incredible and one of my favorite Beach Boys songs of all time. The melody is super hummable, the short little snare intro before Mike's verse, the sleigh bells, the backing vocal harmonies... no one will every convince me that this song is bad or shouldn't be liked.

I love the little tag-out team effort with each Beach Boy doing their own individual verse, each different and unique but great in its own way. Brian's gruff vocal on his verse in particular, I just love for some reason. The way his voice goes into a little vocal fry when he goes into the bass register and the vocal fry. He sings with such enthusiasm and emotion. Then Carl's awesome soaring vocal on "They're doin' it all over the world" and that rockin' yet sweet, smooth vocal on "Time to turn into a girl", plus the massive chorus of BB vocal harmonies on the "Hey little, hey little, hey little tomboy." I will admit the more menacing "Hey little" chant that precedes Carls' "I'm gonna make you a girl" cry, is a bit creepy but it sounds so cool.. I used to think I preferred the Adult/Child mix, but the MIU might be better overall, plus the prolonged chant with the Beach Boys' spoken parts about putting lipstick on her and shaving her legs is just too much.


Kona Coast:
I adore this one also. I'm not sure how much if it is just from the double recognition I have of its version on MIU and it as Melekalikimaka on the Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys bootleg. The little piano intro and what sounds like slide guitar from a lap steel, the harmonies, Mike's vocal, the falsetto from Brian(?), the interweaving vocals and background chants from the other members over top of one another, Al's vocal lines, that ending coda. Another classic Beach Boys song.


Peggy Sue:
I used to not like this one so much but then I heard a version of the aforementioned (still unreleased) 1978 Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys album with Christmas Time is Here Again and I fell in love. It's an absolute tragedy that I cannot find this song anywhere at all online now. Not on YouTube, not in any downloadable form anymore, I'm crushed honestly, as I loved that song. Wish I still had the copy of Merry Christmas from the BB with it included on it... In any case, the MIU Peggy Sue is still nice, it's just no Christmas Time is Here Again, which I remember had a much more energetic and even kinda wild vocal from Al and was just such a comparatively rocking version, despite being a Christmas song.

I like Buddy Holly's original quite a bit more, being a Texan myself and a Buddy Holly fan. Holly's version just had this lo-fi sound, that ultra-primitive, garage-y sounding (or even punk) guitar and the drumming. Buddy's vocal is looser and wilder too. Then that kinda almost free-form full-on manic guitar strumming. The Beach Boys' version is just too tame in comparison. I feel this way about most BB covers like their version of Fats Domino's Blueberry Hill on 15 Big Ones, for example. Would love to find Christmas Time is Here Again again...


Wontcha Come Out Tonight?:
This one's pretty nice too. I like the intro with Mike Love's trademark soft mellow bass vocal and Brian's manic falsetto whining (I mean that in a good way) vocal. But the "Little girl won't ya come out tonight, they're playing our song" line is just perfect.

Brian's more baritone, smooth vocal is scary good. His pitch, tone, and vocal delivery are perfect, despite this being from an era where many say his voice was "shot", "destroyed", "forever ruined by cigarettes and drugs", or things to that effect. I actually like the later 70s Brian vocals and believe it was mostly an intentional stylistic choice by Brian after listening to Randy Newman (especially Sail Away in the early 70s) and wanting more of that gruff, "manlier", looser vocal style, which I think fits his music from that era much more. It's still nice seeing smoother Brian vocals on MIU, though.

Mike's part is really great too, and the background vocals/harmonies when Brian comes in a second time. The song is simple, but the melody catchy and the mood/tone is nice and mellow, though kinda upbeat. And another excellent ending coda with those separate contrapuntal vocal melodies stacked and weaving through one another that is so characteristic of Beach Boys songs.


Sweet Sunday Kinda Love:
This one is not only my favorite song on the album, it's one of my favorite Carl vocals ever and one of my favorite Beach Boys songs period. Man, Carl's angelic voice is so perfect here. The little piano playing the chords and that root-fifth jumping bassline (kind of like Heroes and Villains), plus all the instruments in the arrangement including a subtle organ in the background. All backing this excellent melody and deeply emotional, sensitive vocal performance by Carl, with lots of little subtleties in his inflection and the little just barely strained vocal at times adding to his emotive delivery. All there when repeated, but enhanced by the harmonies by the band, filling out the sound.

The contrasting middle section is quite nice too, with the descending melody by Carl backed by the Beach Boys' massive choir of harmonies creating a full sound, and being almost reminiscent of a James Bond type soundtrack for just a moment there. When the verses return, the backing vocals seem to get more and more prominent until the ending. And woah is that climactic ending the highlight. Carl's little wordless vocal improvisations, the Brian-centric call-and-response backing vocal line with "Sweet sunday love." I like the effect of mixing Carl's voice a little lower in the mix, but it's especially hard to hear the unique lyrics in the vocal lines at the end.

Carl's ending sounds like "What a love to you, it's so heavenly, sweet sunday love", "There's no better way, we can spend the day, sweet sunday LOVE" (the way he goes for the lower interval there on the love syllable... so good), "What a lucky guy, snuggle up to my, sweet sunday love", with some others thrown in and ending with a continuous vocal humming and little slide up to that higher note in the fade out. An immaculate song and recording. Perhaps Carl's sweetest song.


Belles of Paris:
Another contender for my favorite song on the album, top 5 or even top 3 for sure. Its Christmas version, Bells of Christmas is okay, but the song works so much better as Belles of Paris on MIU. The little choral backing harmonies that start it off and Brian's angelic stacked harmonized falsetto vocal lines are great. It think where the song really shines though, is with Mike's baritone vocal during the verses. That quick, yet soft and relaxed delivery of these stream-of-consciousness lyrics where Mike's just describing the sights he observes, it's sublime.

And the little climbing backing harmony that ascends and descends (I'm not sure who does it but I think Carl and/or Al). The bells and strings that end are gorgeous. Just a perfectly produced song. The vocals and instruments are recorded and mixed extremely well, it all sounds so great.


Pitter Patter:
This one's a good song too. I never cared for this one all that much at first either, but it's grown on me. Mike's vocal line in the intro, basically an Eb minor arpeggio, a little dark and ominous fitting the lyric and the coming of rain or a storm. Even the instruments kind of sound evocative of thunder, although I don't think any thunder or rain effect is played. Then Mike's vocal fluctates between little optimistic major and minor melodies that mirror the lyrical lines. It all builds up until Al comes it and it takes a brighter outlook, musically and lyrically. Kinda cool. Plus the little background vocal bits "pitter patter, pitter patter." Al continues his vocal over that same major-minor thing.


My Diane:
A classic Beach Boys ballad. One of Brian's greatest songs and Dennis' greatest vocals. Much has been said about this song already but it's deserving of all the praise it gets. Those thumpting, rhthymic chords the mix of instruments creating that mournful yet also kinda almost optimistic and even triumphant sound. It really gets good when Dennis belts out the "Everything is old nothing is new" line with Brian mirroring it with his falsetto line. Then the "Memories haunt me night and day" line, followed by the BB harmony vocals building up, rising, with these spectacular harp glissandos.

I love the ending part of the song the second time it builds up and Brian comes in with his high falsetto vocal "I love you, Diane / I miss you, Diane" over an E6 chord.  And Dennis' wailing at the end repeating until the fade out. A beautiful and haunting song. Kind of weird for Brian to name it after his sister-in-law, given how he used to be so in love with her and the infidelity around that time, I believe. Not to mention, I think he and Marilyn were having marital problems at the time. If Caroline, No, affected her as much as she's stated, I can only imagine what My Diane must have done. In my opinion, this is the last great Beach Boys ballad from the era where all the Wilsons were still alive.


Matchpoint Of Our Love:
This was one I never liked a whole lot at first too, but it's really grown on me a lot. I used to read people's opinions of it being quite favorable, often noting Brian's smooth vocal. It's definitely super laid back and a nice sounding vocal take from Brian. Probably the most calm and relaxed vocal he's done as far as I can think of right now.

The tempo, the rhythm, the slightly syncopated and super mellow instrumentation and atmosphere to the track, it's really nice. The melody and harmonies with the strings and Brian's vocal on the "No one ever held me the way you did / No one could ever love me the way you did", is great. The chimes before the verse comes back is an awesome effect, and that whole sound with Brian's vocal during the verses is kinda psychedelic.


Winds of Change:
An incredible closer and awesome ballad, that just sounds so grandiose and epic, both in sound and its message. Al and Mike are in top form here, as well as the rest of the BB (at least Brian I can hear) in the background. The beautiful piano intro and the swell of strings, followed by Al's soft vocal. I love the way the ending vocal phrase from one line is stacked over top and flows directly into the next, coming in immediately over top, it's a great effect.

All the numerous, vastly different vocal melodies are lovely and those background vocals (especially the double-tracked little part that sounds like Mike). I love the trading off with Mike's part a lot, where it builds up. Mike sings his part with such a sensitivity and with such care with his tone (not at all nasally like he can be sometimes). I think the lyrics are nice at parts too, if a little too corny at times (Cosmic ocean flows into my heart...). I've come to appreciate this one more over the years as well, with my initial impressions of it not being all the great, but it's a fantastic song

Man, I am so utterly obsessed with MIU. Along with Love You, it is by far my favorite Beach Boys album after Holland. I may even love it more than The Beach Boys Love You, which is probably heresy to most here, but it's true. I know MIU's story is marred by troubles, but it really is a fantastic record. Do I think Adult Child, California Feelin', or even the 70s Beach Boys Christmas Album would have been better? Probably, but MIU is still good for what we got from them.

I really cannot fathom why so many fans prefer LA (Light Album) to MIU (this seems to be the popular consensus). I like a number of songs from LA, but it has some real stinkers on it. First of all, they chose the worst version of Brian's Shortenin' Bread. They should have gone with the infinitely superior version from Adult Child. I guess the the band did that a lot though. Just look at them deciding to nix Al's awesome original version of "Santa Anna Winds", from the California Feelin' boot, in lieu of the mediocre version that ended up on Keepin' the Summer Alive. Don't even get me started on LA's Here Comes the Night...

As far as LA, my favorite cuts are easily Al's Lady Lynda and Mike's Sumahama (I'm sure may would disagree with me on Sumahama, but I love it), followed by Angel Come Home, with Dennis' great vocal performance. I know many probably prefer Good Timin' and Full Sail. I like them both also, especially Good Timin', but not as much as some. Baby Blue is a great Dennis ballad too, as is Carl's Goin' South, with that sweet, smooth, angelic vocal. Still, both songs do not benefit from being sandwiched between the 11-minute disco bastardization of Here Comes the Night (sorry if there are any genuine fans of this version, though I've never met anyone that is) and the random Shortenin' Bread album closer with its lacking, mediocre production and meh electric guitar wailing.

Meanwhile, I love every song on MIU. The production is killer. It's one of the best produced and best sounding post-1973 Beach Boys albums besides Love You, in my opinion. The flow of the album, the tracklist, and the overall sound is much more consistent than Light Album as well.

You might find this useful:
January 11, 1968 interview with Jamake Highwater (aka Jackie Marks)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3OQ4w77l0g

Oh yeah! I came across this interview a little while back and was blown away by it. Such as cool little interview from such a fascinating era of the Beach Boys' history. Brian's really into the conversation there and getting into some sort of deep concepts. Unrelated to the topic at hand, but I like how they get into Stockhausen and synthesizers at the end of the interview.

I'd forgotten that they bring up religion in that. What Brian says seems along the lines of what he had been into for a number of years by that time, before the other guys got into meditation or any of that. Brian's always seemed like a spiritual guy, but especially after that supposed LSD trip on the beach, which apparently inspired SMiLE. I remember in interviews in the 60s, Brian pointed at trying to make spiritual music like this. I couldn't find the exact quote but I distinctly remember Brian saying something along the lines of wanting to create music people could pray to and was working on a new spiritual sound, something like "pure white light", or something to the effect, though I couldn't find the source of that with a quick cursory search.

I guess you could say a lot of this was a result of Derek Taylor or especially after the Jules Siegel article, Goodbye Surfing, Hello God, but I think it's more than just that. In that interview you posted, Brian seems to lean more toward a non-denominational, spiritual-but-not-religious, conception of religion when it's brought up by the interview. I think the rest of the band had similar views. I recall an interview or two by Carl Wilson, probably from the 70s, where Carl elaborates on his and the group's conception of spirituality and religion. Carl also appeared to be an incredibly spiritual person as well. I'm pretty sure some of these are in Domenic Priore's Look! Listen! Vibrate! SMILE! book, I'll have to go through that again and look for them.

My understanding is that Mike was the only convert to Hinduism.

I suspected that this might be the case. He's the only one who seems to have gone all the way with it, but I was curious if perhaps the other guys had taken aspects of Hinduism and integrated it into their own spiritual beliefs.

Check out "Into the Mystic? The Undergrounding of Brian Wilson, 1964–1967"

Very cool. I was not aware of this book, thanks.

My impression that someone attending a Transcendental Meditation initiation, seminar, whatever is likely not directly connecting it to Hinduism.  I certainly didn't'when I took the course nor do I now when I meditate.  I never heard the word "Hinduism."  I was aware that the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was "marketing" a method of meditation very specifically to a Western mindset, though distilled from ancient practices.  The nature of that ancient wisdom was not specified as far as I recall.  I did know my mantra was Sanskrit syllables.  Perhaps the Beach Boys, particularly Mike Love, were indoctrinated into Hindu teachings, I don't know.  Brian's interest in books on the subject strike me as a layman's interest, similar to astrology say. 

Maybe a way to go is to establish the link from Hinduism to TM, and then from TM to the Beach Boys.  Just my take.

I guess more specifically I meant more as far as their experience in Rishikesh, India rather than TM itself--though I believe TM (and meditation itself) has Hindu origins. Maharishi is a yogi, after all. I suppose yogis before him attempted to do a similar thing RE the Western mindset. For example, Paramahansa Yogananda, who wrote Autobiography of a Yogi. I considered this though, the fact that there isn't an obvious and explicit connection to Hinduism and the Beach Boys, but I think the foundations for a lot of these beliefs/practices are.

TM I know is largely distanced from a lot of the Hindu or often even mystical/spiritual aspects now, being recognized even by secular institutions in medicine/science as being beneficial for one's psychological well being and health. Possibly more than the Maharishi or his book, I think a lot of people know of it because of its celebrity endorsements and David Lynch's foundation, for example. I admit, I'm not very tuned in to that whole world though or very knowledgeable about its practices outside of the BB or the TM book. 

As far as Mike Love's initiation into Hindu teachings, he goes a little into it in his autobiography. The Maharishi recited shlokas, Sanskrit poems, which Mike had to learn, as well as the practice of pujas while he was there. Likewise, Mike seems familiar with the Vedas and other Hindu sacred texts as well as other Hindu practices such as Ayurveda, though I'm not sure how much of this began with his initial study of Hinduism while in India in '68. Mike definitely appears to have been the most devoted, but I assume the other guys (at least the ones who traveled to India) experienced similar teachings, though I'm not certain. I don't want to make this solely about Mike Love though.

I appreciate your input. This is exactly what I was looking for: other perspectives from those other than myself, as I'm probably quite biased in my love of the Beach Boys. As far as Brian's interest, yeah I can't say for sure. I want to say that, to me at least, he seemed like a guy willing to learn and wanted to explore more intellectual pursuits, frequenting Pickwick books in LA and apparently always carrying a rucksack full of books with him. A lot of it was probably being turned on to "hip" ideas by friends of his once he moved to LA and started hanging around beatnik hipsters and hippie types more though.

Hello all,

I'm planning on writing a research paper on the influence of Hinduism on the Beach Boys and their music/spirituality for my Hinduism class. I was wondering if anyone had any input or information on this topic and this particular aspect of the band. I know that it seems to have had the biggest influence on Mike Love, in particular, but also it seems to have influenced most of the other members of the group after meeting the Maharishi in 1968.

I was also wondering if it might have had an impact on Brian Wilson separately, even prior to this. Brian was an avid reader, after all, and seemed interested in things like Eastern spirituality/philosophy around this time in the mid 60s. Brian's book, Wouldn't It Be Nice (though often thought to be unreliable/discredited), mentions the Bhagavad Gita, for example. I know he was a fan of Alan Watts' The Joyous Cosmology (Watts being someone who discussed Hinduism and Eastern spiritual practices extensively). Brian was also interested in psychology (being a psych major at El Camino CC, I believe), which has a deep fascination/connection with Hinduism too. I was curious if perhaps Hinduism had any impact on his spirituality and possibly even influenced SMiLE during that whole era any. I've heard that Brian briefly practiced Subud and even meditation prior to the other members meeting the Maharishi also.

After 1968 the group seemed pretty closely aligned with the Maharishi and Transcendental Meditation, for sure. The Beatles are more known for their association with Hinduism, but honestly, the Beach Boys seemed much more genuinely interested in it than any Beatle except maybe George Harrison. Whenever the Beach Boys would talk about their religious and spiritual beliefs, they would mention aspects of their belief system that essentially pointed to a universal consciousnesses and reference other details that appear to be Hindu-inspired. Carl certainly seemed affected. I know Mike and Al remained TM devotees even after the other guys seemingly abandoned it. Mike especially seems to have adopted Hindu practices which have held over even to this day. I first encountered this reading interviews he's given over the years, talking about it and his vegetarianism, but most notably in his autobiography more recently.

Even in their music, you have songs such as "Transcendental Meditation", "TM Song", "TM", "All This Is That", as well as numerous other lyrical references in their music over the years. All This Is That, in particular, stands out, as its title and chorus comes from words uttered in the Upanishads--not to mention Carl's haunting vocal line reciting the Sanskrit phrase "Jai guru dev", in the song's ending coda. I'm sure I'm missing quite a bit more, but this is what I can think of off the top of my head. Unlike so many other bands, namely those of the 60s psychedelic era, who seemed to only be inspired by Hinduism and Eastern belief superficially, the Beach Boys seemed much more earnest and genuine in their interest.

Does anyone know of any other good sources to look into or avenues to explore in my research on this topic? I hope it's substantial enough of a topic to find much information on and write about without making too much of a stretch.

My warm and sincere thanks in advance.

How likely do you think it is that we'll get to hear that 1968 instrumental version of "All I Wanna Do" with the sitar? Also was there ever a recorded version of Passing By with lyrics included? I know they went back and attempted to 'remake' friends after the fact, but it would be cool if they could include it if it exists.

Besides that maybe some Ol' Man River sessions, an instrumental backing track and/or detailed sessions from Busy Doin' Nothin' (really all of the songs, but this one especially, along with Anna Lee the Healer and Little Bird would be my favs), and if they're doing 20/20 stuff: I Went to Sleep, I Can Hear Music, Cotton Fields, and other tracks session outtakes would be cool (though I imagine they would want to save some of that for 2019).

[Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmas]

Mike Love

Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmas
Do You Hear What I Hear

Is this the same version that is referenced on the Surfer Moon chord page for the 77 Christmas Album?
http://www.surfermoon.com/francis/merry_christmas.html

I've been looking for a BB version for a while but never found one and the versions of the album I've heard end with the Christmas Medley (which doesn't include HYSAMLC). Do you know if it recorded around the same time as these other 70s Christmas sessions? And is there a version featuring the BB that was intended for release on the 70s Christmas album?