Maybe it got lost or nobody cares, but doesn't anybody else kinda find it lame that Mike is covering a song (and probably band) that he has never heard/heard of? Maybe I'm being too hard on him, but I don't know.

And yes, it's the same feeling I had about Brian working with Lana Del Rey (like....why? Whats the point?)

The Ramones are a massive band. They're essentially a brand. They started 45 years ago, when Mike was 33. They covered The Beach Boys, worked with Phil Spector. They're one of the most recognizable American bands. There's no possible way Mike hasn't heard of them nor heard I Wanna Be Sedated or Blitzkrieg Bop. They're also a band that borrowed enough elements of early rock and roll that Mike very well could be into them, or at least certain songs.

It's not like Mike is covering The Descendents. The Ramones are a very well known band.

With that out of the way, there's really no reason for this cover to exist, but it's fine.

The album is now on amazon.co.uk:

www.amazon.co.uk/12-Sides-Summer-Mike-Love/dp/B07S28TLT3

Tracklist:
1. California Beach
2. It's OK (feat. Hanson)
3. Surfin'
4. Calfornia Sun
5. Surfin' Safari
6. On and On and On
7. Here Comes The Sun
8. Girl From Ipanema
9. Over and Over
10. Keepin' Summer Alive
11. Summertime Blues
12. Rockaway Beach

This album cover makes me wish Mike would just lean into the Getcha Back, Kokomo, Summer in Paradise style of production rather than the bland, generic sound he's currently going for. Getcha Back is basically a re-write of Hungry Heart, but at least it sounds different because it's so heavily electronic-based. And I love Getcha Back.

I'm not a Mike hater, but I'm not going to pretend I listen to his solo stuff. If it's not going to be good anyway, then I'd prefer he at least make his covers his own. And a SIP-style Rockaway Beach certainly would at least be funnier than what I'm hearing in the 38-second sample, which just doesn't really need to exist, as is.

Certain songs on Summer in Paradise (Still Surfin', Lahaina Aloha, title track) are guilty pleasures of mine because a. they're catchy and b. because of the kitschy production. Those songs wouldn't really be interesting at all without the datedness of the electronic drums and 80s/90s guitar tone.

Might be an unpopular opinion, but that album cover certainly doesn't fit what I'm hearing from the 30-second sample of Rockaway Beach.

There’s just so very much to take in here.

-   Was Mike trying to craft a wrestling-esque, ball-busting image, where he’s belittling Dean’s intelligence? Was this an attempt at a comedy type pairing? Serious question. I’m baffled, because I guess I don’t know their history together, if they had that sort of relationship, if that was a known joke by the public… because it just comes across - in a context of a “new” music duo “supergroup” of sorts - as off-putting and just plain odd to make your musical partner come across as a simpleton dumbass by the blurb.

Seems like it was a joke.

Just got back from the Shirley, Mass., show. Fantastic. They had some issues with the sound and started over a few songs because of it, but it played with the overall light feel of the show.

Matt Jardine was a highlight. He was incredible on God Only Knows, Good Vibrations and Surf's Up. He sounded as good if not better than he did while singing with The Beach Boys in the 90s. Al also sounded as good as ever.

It's amazing what Al, Matt and Jeff can do with just three voices, two instruments and some percussion.

This was probably my most enjoyable live Beach Boys-related performance since C50, and I've seen multiple performances from Brian and Mike's bands.

Does anyone have a high quality version of this image? Not looking to commit any copyright infringement, just something personal.

Still plagiarizing after all of these years....

Mike Love and Terry Melcher were so brilliant compared to Brian Wilson....

Great straw man argument.

Very surprised to find the "Help Me Rhonda" baseball tee on Urban Outfitters' website:

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=36908986&category=SEARCH+RESULTS

He's a Wilson.

Sadly, considering the last few interviews we’ve seen, this one is comparatively innocuous. This is more a case of the standard quickie interview. I do think it’s disappointing though not surprising that he completely evades a pretty specific question about the demise of C50 by, wait for it, mentioning Brian doing “himself a lot of damage” years ago. As I’ve mentioned many times in the past, I totally acknowledge that these guys that get asked the same questions over and over end up having the same canned responses. (See most McCartney interviews for instance). But this was not a typical 100% fluff question; it was about the demise of C50. Not only did Mike evade the question, he then went into a canned response, and one that dredges up the same negative stuff AGAIN. I get it, there are some fans that don’t have that filter; they think bringing up something bad that someone did DECADES ago is not beating a dead horse at all. To me, it’s like a parent reminding their kids of something they did in high school when their kids are in their 40’s.

He then continues to *not* address the question at all and goes into his spiel about he and Brian were best buds back in 1962.

I give the interviewer credit for at least asking one or two pertinent questions. Unfortunately, he didn’t really follow up on the non-answers (I get it, this was probably a 10-minute phone interview), and a lot of it was disappointingly junior high school level (“What are your favorite Beach Boys songs?” Really, do you really think that is something he hasn’t been asked literally a thousand times? And you’re asking this of a guy who has a track record for discussing the same five Beach Boys songs in every interview?)

I don't think Mike needed to mention the damage drugs caused Brian, but I also think he believes he was answering the question honestly.

Q: What caused the estrangement?

A: Brian did himself a lot of damage and that was a horrible thing for me to witness as the years went by. When we started out he was doing great music but then got into drugs and that didn't do him any favors.

Mike has been estranged from Brian for a lot longer than three years, and he probably views Brian experimenting with drugs 50 years ago as the beginning of the end. Mike obviously still longs for the relationship they had in the early 60s, and it hasn't been the same since.

Should Mike get over it? "Probably," but at the same time, I can always understand Mike's frustration with Brian.

Thank you Mike for helping to write All This Is That, Be Here In The Mornin, Dance Dance Dance, Add Some Music, All I Wanna Do, All Summer Long, Aren't You Glad, Be True To Your School, California Girls, Catch a Wave, Cool Cool Water, Country Air, Custom Machine, Darlin, Do It Again, Don't Back Down, Don't Hurt My Little Sister, Fun Fun Fun, Good To My Baby, Good Vibrations, Hawaii, Help Me Rhonda, Here Comes The Night, I Get Around, I'm Waiting For The Day, In The Back Of My Mind, It's OK, Kiss Me Baby, Let Him Run Wild, Let The Wind Blow, Let Us Go on This Way, Little Honda, Little Saint Nick, Meant For You, Please Let Me Wonder, She Knows Me Too Well, Surfin, Surfin Safari, That Same Song, The Warmth Of The Sun, Wendy, When I Grow Up, Wild Honey, You're So Good To Me, 409, Funky Pretty, I Know There's An Answer, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Somewhere Near Japan, Only With You, Sounds Of Free, Big Sur, Don't Go Near The Water, It's A Beautiful Day, Make It Big, Getcha Back, Lahaina Aloha, Still Surfin, Leaving This Town, and many other wonderful songs.

Thanks also for writing Summer Of Love, because it makes me laugh pretty hard every summer.

Ang, Brian is the Beach Boys. It will happen.

That's what you want. It isn't what I want. And for the time being at least it doesn't seem to be what Brian wants.

If the powers that be are reading, I feel it's important to state this is not the opinion of the majority of the board.

Please reunite.

Brian appears to be enjoying performing now more than he ever has before. I can't help but think that it is due, in large part, to having a band that is totally behind him 100%.

1962 - 1964
Brian is touring, writing, producing etc. Too much pressure and the touring is keeping him from what he wants to do.

1976 - 1996
Brian is an occasional member of the touring band shunted off to the side in the hope he wouldn't screw up the show.  When he is there it is like a side show - he contributes little. The band is playing arrangements of songs different from how he produced the music.

There aren't many occasions where the Beach Boys played a version of a song radically different than the recorded version. The most obvious example I can think of is the early 70's versions of "Help Me Rhonda". No, I think the guys were pretty faithful to the original versions. Some things do change over time as you play the songs show after show, year after year - and that's not a bad thing IMO. it's part of keeping some life in the music.

That's actually an interesting topic. "Heroes and Villains" is another notable example from the 70s.

When Brian says something controversial, he's given the benefit of the doubt that he didn't mean it, and instead it was totally innocuous and twisted by the author or reader.

Mike gets taken at face value.

Isn't this slightly degrading? Are we saying Brian can't speak for himself and we have to interpret everything he says?

Brian said he's playing with the best band he ever worked with. He worked with the Beach Boys. Unless he clarifies that he's speaking as a solo artist, then I believe he should be interpreted at face value.

And once again, imagine of Mike said this. Granted, Brian has a much better claim because of the talent of his backing musicians and vocalists, but you'd better believe if Mike said this, it would be taken as a shot against Brian, Dennis, Carl and Al.

Just imagine if Mike said this.

And imagine how a quote like this makes Mike feel.

It's a real mystery why this band can't ever get along. 

Hey Jude - this is a constant anti-Mike barrage and negative attitude on this board.  It is damned if he does or not. His reflections, are sought out, then roundly attacked.  He cannot win.

The title of the thread concerns "lesser" (whatever that means) Beach Boys.  That would include some members of the Touring Band.

Wrong. Mike can indeed win by simply not saying backhanded compliments, and by simply saying some nice words without adding in dressed-up bile. Guy just needs to learn the definition of tact.

And "backhanded" is a value judgment. That is someone's personal interpretation.  

Ok, fair enough. Can I ask you what YOU personally think is an example of a backhanded compliment? Can you type out a made-up example (not even necessarily related to this band) of what would qualify (to you) as one?

"You throw ok, for a girl."

Yeah, that is indeed a backhanded compliment. No doubt.

And what I'm hearing from these interviews with backhanded compliments is essentially saying to Brian "you make ok music (when I actually take the time to listen to it), for a guy with a time and drug-ravaged voice who is out of shape and medicated/controlled, and whose music is deficient of the talents of brilliant Mike Love". I do not believe that to be a giant leap from the various interviews we've heard, either.

That's basically a Mike Love quote mixtape.

Why paraphrase Mike's backhanded compliments if there are so many examples of them? Copy and paste them here.

I find it a little funny how upset everyone got over Mike's "autotune" comment.

"I haven't heard the song yet, I am sure with Al's voice and hopefully no autotune, the song will be great."

Isn't this precisely what fans on this board were saying in anticipation of listening to Brian's album? If anything, Mike's comment could be viewed as a nod to this board.

On Love & Mercy: I think Mike was portrayed fairly for the most part, but I'm sure he has heard and knows that he's also depicted as a villain in some scenes. I think it's normal to not want to watch, read, listen, etc. to something in which you're painted negatively. And if he has seen the movie and does feel he's portrayed unfairly, then he can't exactly endorse the movie.

I suppose at this point, I should be used to this board digging for something negative in every Mike Love-related article, but getting up in arms over the fact he hasn't seen a movie is a stretch.

Hoping he is writing new material for a reunion with the Beach Boys.

Interestingly Mike mentioned that Brian wrote some songs that he wanted Mike to write lyrics for. Maybe it's some of this mentioned stuff.....

Hoping so because I saw Mike and Bruce live on Saturday and his voice still has enough left in it for Mike to sound good in a studio setting. Bruce can also sound good if he rests up his voice.

It's amazing how opinions can change in four years.

will OSD ever forgive me.... .     But seriously it was my first BBs related show ever, little did I know in a year that the C50 band with real BBs would blow them out of the water. M&B show in retrospect was not a good representation of the music, it was showcase for Mike Love's egotrip without dealing with BW.

It's amazing how things change in retrospect.

By reading through some of your old posts, it seems you used to be a nuanced poster who contributed to discussions with actual insight. Now every single one of your posts is a criticism of Mike Love. What happened?

[I have nothing but awe and respect for Brian’s musical abilities, and love for him as a person, as a cousin, as a family member]

This is an interesting idea for an article. Mike was bitter as usual, but Bruce had some interesting things to say

Where does Mike come across bitter?

Mike does sometimes come across as bitter in interviews. I wouldn’t say anything in this one was particularly bitter. But I do think there’s usually some defensiveness at play. As with this article in general, sometimes that defensiveness seems relatively unprompted, which doesn’t help Mike come off particularly well. I get the sense sometimes that he’s like a politician at a debate who has stopped listening to his opponent as his opponent talks, and is writing a bunch of counterarguments down based on what he assumes will be said about him. Then, he goes into his counterargument even though he’s countering a number of points nobody was making in the first place.

Nate said he came across as bitter in this article. I'm not seeing it.

I can understand giving Mike crap when he says something he "probably" shouldn't, but with many examples of Mike putting his foot in his mouth, why make it up when it's not warranted? Mike had nothing but praise for Brian in what he was quoted as saying in this article.

“We used to laugh, falling down laughing, and sing,” Mike Love remembers, “Brian would come over to my house and sing Everly Brothers songs or doo-wop songs and we’d learn Four Freshmen arrangements. I never remember a time when there wasn’t music in our family. The first time I remember him singing, was him singing ‘Danny Boy’ in my grandmother Wilson’s lap. So we go back… we’ve known each other all our lives, and there’s a tremendous amount of love and respect and rapport with each other, to the point where inane humor and 100 percent dedication and devotion to music is what we have in common. So if there’s anything that sounds divisive there, well, I have nothing but awe and respect for Brian’s musical abilities, and love for him as a person, as a cousin, as a family member. Strip away all the misconceptions and the divisiveness and that’s how it is.”

Real bitter.

This is an interesting idea for an article. Mike was bitter as usual, but Bruce had some interesting things to say

Where does Mike come across bitter?

Hoping he is writing new material for a reunion with the Beach Boys.

Interestingly Mike mentioned that Brian wrote some songs that he wanted Mike to write lyrics for. Maybe it's some of this mentioned stuff.....

Hoping so because I saw Mike and Bruce live on Saturday and his voice still has enough left in it for Mike to sound good in a studio setting. Bruce can also sound good if he rests up his voice.

It's amazing how opinions can change in four years.

I realize I'm just feeding the trolls right now, but 87.5 percent of this so-called "bar band" has been good enough for Brian Wilson, either solo or part of the C50 lineup.

Mike Love hatred is sad in general, but it becomes pathetic, misguided and contradictory when the Beach Boys touring band members are caught in the crossfire.

a) the musical arrangements of one against the other
b) the instruments involved (real vs. prefab synth patch)
c) ergo - the sheer numbers of personnel


You could call it hatred, and I could cop to that at times, but ultimately there is a world of difference between what I saw two weeks ago in Detroit and the half-baked tripe I regularly see (via youtube) of the mother ship. Let's get real here...there's a difference. But hey...two big Bud Lights later, and you may not know the difference.

didn't you see M&B live recently as well like I did in 2011?  They were crap live compared to the BW band/C50 band.

2011 is four years ago. 

might be seeing M&B next month with friends!

Mike might want to hire the secret service.

the players might be the same but the methods are different. do you want to hear an actual ondes martenot on good vibrations or a shitty yamaha synth preset? do you want to hear an actual clarinet on god only knows or some crap midi setting?

whoops xpost.. what doo dah said.

So, the Beach Boys have been a bar band during most of their touring existence? Who exactly was playing the clarinet from 1966 to 1998?

yah i duno what your point is. the bb's always had horn sections in the 60s/70s and even Mike Love himself played the ondes during the Blondie/Ricky era!!!

My point is having a musician to play every instrument to perfectly replicate a Beach Boys recording is a Brian Wilson thing and has never been a Beach Boys thing.

the players might be the same but the methods are different. do you want to hear an actual ondes martenot on good vibrations or a shitty yamaha synth preset? do you want to hear an actual clarinet on god only knows or some crap midi setting?

whoops xpost.. what doo dah said.

So, the Beach Boys have been a bar band during most of their touring existence? Who exactly was playing the clarinet from 1966 to 1998?

I realize I'm just feeding the trolls right now, but 87.5 percent of this so-called "bar band" has been good enough for Brian Wilson, either solo or part of the C50 lineup.

Mike Love hatred is sad in general, but it becomes pathetic, misguided and contradictory when the Beach Boys touring band members are caught in the crossfire.

a) the musical arrangements of one against the other
b) the instruments involved (real vs. prefab synth patch)
c) ergo - the sheer numbers of personnel


You could call it hatred, and I could cop to that at times, but ultimately there is a world of difference between what I saw two weeks ago in Detroit and the half-baked tripe I regularly see (via youtube) of the mother ship. Let's get real here...there's a difference. But hey...two big Bud Lights later, and you may not know the difference.

I'd tell you to go see the the licensed touring group live, because it likely would change your mind from what you've seen from an iPhone camera, but it's clear you don't have the open mind.

I've yet to see a review on this board from someone who came away from an M+B show disappointed.

After Carl died, I admit I had no interest in seeing the licensed group live. Then they played a free concert in my area years ago, I went, and they did the music justice. I was so impressed with Scott Totten and John Cowsill during the C50 tour that I saw the licensed group in 2013 and 2014. They're a great band, and it's disrespectful to call them a bar band unless you've seen them live.

I realize I'm just feeding the trolls right now, but 87.5 percent of this so-called "bar band" has been good enough for Brian Wilson, either solo or part of the C50 lineup.

Mike Love hatred is sad in general, but it becomes pathetic, misguided and contradictory when the Beach Boys touring band members are caught in the crossfire.