Also, what in the flying fuck is "All Dressed Up For School" doing on a career retrospective?

I think it's one of their greatest unreleased-at-the-time tracks that should have been on an album.

Mark

+1

I've really been enjoying the new boxed set, but [aside from substituting Then I Kissed Her for Salt Lake City] I think there is nothing I'd like to change more than the first 10 tracks on Disc 5.  Granted, it's difficult to cover the highlights of 1980-2012 (32 years!) in 10 tracks, without leaving SOMETHING out, but I think some of the selections are rather quirky.  Here's what I would pick, to try to appeal to the hardcore fans, casual fans, and new fans alike:

1. Keepin' The Summer Alive
2. Goin' On
3. Chasin' The Sky (Not the best song, but deserves a CD release, and is much more deserving than WDTLUFIL and DDRR)
4. Getcha Back
5. Rock And Roll To The Rescue (Shouldn't be out of print!)
6. California Dreamin'
7. Kokomo
8. Still Cruisin'
9. Soul Searchin'
10. You're Still A Mystery
11. That's Why God Made The Radio
12. From There To Back Again

To accomodate the additional tracks, I'd drop the live "I Can Hear Music", which is pretty anticlimactic coming off the heels of the previous three tracks (Wild Honey, Only With You, It's About Time), and also "Sail On Sailor", which proves to be not as great as one might think.  There's also a case to be made for the inclusion of "Happy Birthday America (Live)"...that's un underrated gem.

I agree with most of this, but I really dig WDTLUFIL. It's like a lost Love You/15 Big Ones type song with those synths, and I cannot get enough of BW's sounds from that era. Must be the last known example (to my knowledge) of BW's songs in that style...

Mike & Bruce have the BB name for touring only - they cannot release anything as by The Beach Boys (nor can Brian or Alan).

Which I'm sure most people would agree is a good thing.

But makes me wonder: if M&B were legally allowed under the contract to release recorded product as being "by The Beach Boys", would they have released any new "BB" albums during the '98-'11 period? Would "Santa's Going to Kokomo" have been a "Beach Boys" song? My guess is yes.

Amazing. 

Just had to get these off my chest… Please don't throw vege-tables at me.

- "Mike's hands have rings all around them"

- Was the reason for the extreme multitude of "Now"s in "Fun Fun Fun" a subliminal promotion (2 years early) of the National Organization for Women by the Lovester?

M.I.U. is underrated. There. I said it.

According to Gaines (1988), Brian dyed his hair when Surfin' became a hit in order to look like a surfer, much to Audree's horror (p. 88).


Gaines, S. (1988). Heroes and villains: The true story of The Beach Boys. London: Grafton Books.

Thanks, metal flake paint... I knew I'd read that somewhere. I just wonder if anyone has anymore info on the circumstances and such.

Somewhere once upon time I read something about this, but I can't really recall...

Does anyone know any details about when and why Brian did this? I'm guessing that he was recommended to him to dye his hair to fit in with the "surfer" sun-bleached image by someone else. The only photo that I can think of is that famous color shot of the band (including David Marks) holding a surfboard.

I always let 'em know it's totally rad.

Does "Why" remind anyone else of TWGMTR (the song) ? I can't help feeling there's a similarity.

Totally! It happened to me some days ago.

Totally.

Why also reminds me of Summer Means New Love, particularly in its instrumental form… Almost like a late 70s update to that tune. Does anyone agree?

Would "Pacific Ocean Blue" exist if Dennis had been taken more seriously as a songwriter within the BBs?

For example, if his talents had been better "recognized" in the early '70s, and the band let him become more the primary songwriter (continuing beyond Sunflower), I wonder if he'd still have had solo ambitions, or if those ambitions were a direct result of the band politics that, for example, caused his Surf's Up contributions to wind up evaporating? I'm thinking the reason we (fortunately) have "Pacific Ocean Blue" is due to those frustrations.

I'm sure Dave's presence was arranged due to the non-appearance of both Brian and Carl...they probably could've done the shoot without one or the other, but not without both.

A bigger mystery would be why that article doesn't mention Carl's absence...

So would this appearance possibly be the 1st time the BBs played a "show" billed as the BBs without a single Wilson present?

Or at least, I'm thinking it's probably the 1st high-profile show or televised appearance billed as the BBs without a single Wilson present.

I just thought it would be an interesting topic for discussion, to discuss what went down with Al Jardine leaving the band, David Marks coming back, as well as the departure of Billy Hinsche, etc...

It seems there was probably lots of politics involved. Again, when reading Jon and Ian's book, particularly highlighting Al Jardine's early 90s departure and absence from many shows (especially casino ones it seems),it just makes me wonder. Does anybody have any particular insight or stories to share?

It seems so fascinating that Brian filled in for a number of shows that Mike/Al missed in the 80s/90s. Does anyone know of  any audio/photo/video documentation of these shows?
Love the pic I've seen floating around of Brian on keytar in the 80s, though that may have been just a show he was added to  (as opposed to "replacing" someone)...

In reading the book "The Beach Boys In Concert", I am trying to wrap my head around why David Marks was somehow added to the lineup in 1995 for the band's appearance on Baywatch. 

Does anybody have any insight into this? Was this the beginning of trying to push Al out somehhow?

Such an odd, unexplained event, in a long history of odd events in this wacky band that we all (Mike) love.

Little Deuce Coupe. That song truly does very little for me.

"Celebrate the News" sounds like a longer mix (outro goes on longer) compared to the Friends/20/20 2-fer which I own.
Sounds so good on MIC. The brilliant outro fade is so underrated.  One of the all time best BB moments, IMO.

Seems to be the same length to me i.e. not long enough. I agree that the fade is one of the most phenomenal moments in the BB catalogue - just such an incredible song! I adore Dennis' songs from this period.

I stand corrected - I just did an A-B comparison of my 1990 2-fer and MIC, and the run time is the same. I guess it just "pops" out better on MIC that it subliminally seems longer. The new mastering makes the track so much better on MIC!

"Celebrate the News" sounds like a longer mix (outro goes on longer) compared to the Friends/20/20 2-fer which I own.
Sounds so good on MIC. The brilliant outro fade is so underrated.  One of the all time best BB moments, IMO.

Kokomo - "afternoon delights"...
Skatetown U.S.A. - "Those groovy little wheels are gonna get me some"...

And the ones who had the most talent (Dennis, Carl) were the least likely to want to go backward stylistically.

In a way I think a part of me wonders why it took so long for the Mike Love era (The Beach Boys '85 and Still Cruisin, Summer in Paradise) to arrive?  Please don't misunderstand that I think it should have come earlier but after all the "missteps"(at least what the band perceived as missteps) in the 70's..it's unbelievable that they continued on with this identity crisis for another decade or so until they finally settled in the formulaic "fun in the sun" image.

I hate to say it, but I feel that part of that had to do with Dennis having passed away, and no longer being someone to voice an opposition to the band artistically grinding to a halt. I realize that (barring L.A. Light Album), most of the post-Holland records have a declining DW presence, but it just seems like his no longer being around helped make it easier for The Beach Boys '85 + Still Cruisin + Summer in Paradise to happen.  I mean, it's hard to imagine "Wipe Out' happening while Dennis was alive and actually part of the band.

And yes, I realize that he had less of a "voting" voice in the last few years of his life, especially due to his addictions...but with someone (DW) who would almost certainly raise opposition to the full-on total formulaic "fun in the sun" image permanently out of the picture, it just made things easier to happen the way they did. Mind you, I still have an affection for a number of BB tunes from the 80s/90s.

It also seems, IMO, that Carl (after his brother's passing) probably further gave in/gave up more into the formula than he had before (not that Carl's giving in mentality hadn't started pre '83, it just seemed to flower more after that)... maybe it was his way to keep things simpler and more peaceful after such a traumatic event. DW's passing probably helped dampen CW's artistic ambitions, or at least as far as if those ambitions came at the cost of further BB-band infighting. Again, just IMHO.

Well someone should have told the writers that Mods and Rockers didn't dance in the street together. They used to meet up to beat the living crap outta each other.

I'm guessing the 'Helter Skelter' lyric was a reference to the Tate/LaBianca killings, whether Mike included it out of maliciousness or not is anyone's guess.

I'm not certain of if Mike included it out of maliciousness or not, but just the lack of self-awareness about having a lyric which could recall the BBs and Manson is kinda mindblowing.

kiss me babe is a standard phrase.

I agree. But in the context of the song, which is already recycling the musical riff from Be True to Your School, it seems like it was an intentional lyrical tip of the hat to KMB too... IMHO.

Was the "Helter Skelter" lyric in "Looking Back With Love" (the song) meant as a reference to the Manson killings?

And if so, I wonder if this was an indirect dig against Dennis, who at this point was already in super-bad shape?  Dennis and Mike were certainly on the worst of terms then. Luckily, if it was an indirect dig against Dennis, few people would've even heard the song at the time, since the album sold so poorly.

And if it wasn't intended a dig against Dennis, and was simply innocently referencing The Beatles song, it becomes a giant facepalm to think that the Lovester would include a lyric which could harken back to the most infamous connection the BBs ever had (not that the other lyrics in this song aren't also facepalm-worthy). Did it not cross his mind?

I sorta kinda like parts of the song in a guilty pleasure kind of way. (The album has a *few* ok moments).

Side note: It was shocking and hilarious to see Brian mention the album in the 1989 Beach Boys TV show campfire scene. 

I have been thinking of this for a while but haven't posted this....maybe there is a thread on this somewhere? Is there a kist of songs by the Beach Boys of all their own songs they reference. I started thinking this while considering how many songs after the original that Mike has sung "fun fun fun".

Anywho just off the top I have come up with

Brian's Back
Beaches In Mind
Summer In Paradise
It's A Beautiful Day
Do It Again
Santa Goes To Kokomo (Mike solo)
Spring Vacation
Still Surfin'
Endless Harmony
Your Imagination (Brian Solo)
Summer Of Love
Kona Coast


I am sure there are many others?

"Oh Darlin'"... with the "God Only Knows" direct lyric sung by Bruce.
"Some of Your Love"... with the "Kiss Me Baby" lyric.

(man - 2 songs in a row on 1 album that do this. Not cool.)

I started with disc six and went backwards from there

The 'updates' don't bother me as much as they did with the Spotify rip, just the pitch correction off of 'Sherry' is what is really bothering me. The packaging is really ace; the yearbook motif was a cool idea. One thing...when were Brian's interview snippets done? Asking, as for the first time they actually come across like Brian talking!

I'm not hearing the pitch correction off of 'Sherry'... what part(s) of the song would it be noticeable?