I'm in no way - NO WAY - defending Landy, but...

I guess when you looked at Brian, he lost 150 lbs, was running five miles per day, was eating, dressing & living well, released a critically acclaimed solo album, in addition to recording some stuff with the Beach Boys (semi-hits including "Getcha Back", "Wipe Out", "California Dreamin" had a nice video), well, it just took some time until they figured Landy out. 

While of course they (Carl Wilson, Mike Love, Stan Love, Carnie & Wendy) were looking out for Brian's mental, physical, and financial well being, I think getting Brian back with The Beach Boys and his Wilson family was also a motivating factor in looking more closely into Landy's tactics. And then Melinda came along...

I agree with this.  I also think that they were all amateurs... so they had tried, and had no clue what to do with Brian.  All of the family's attempts to help Brian either came down to

1. Murray and Carl trying to go tough love on him

and

2. Everybody trying to heal him through music.  So they'd record songs with him and sh*t like that, because the healthy Brian they remembered made good music.  Maybe if they can get him to make more good music, he'll be healed.

When they saw Landy getting results, they thought he was a professional who knew what he was doing. 

What it ultimately comes down to is: with any drug addiction, or mental illness, the family is often alternately clueless or in a lot of pain.  There weren't any right answers, it's amazing that Brian lived through it all. 

Yeah, and another thing is that Brian had gone to a number of other doctors, none of whom were able to get any results. Landy was the only doctor who Brian had actually listened to in terms of exercising, abstaining from drugs, junk food, etc. So the BBs and their families probably figured that they'd go w/ Landy again in 1983, since he had started to get results in 1976 before he was fired. Because Landy had only been w/ Brian a very short time in 1976, the BBs more than likely didn't realize that Landy would do what he did in terms of meddling in other aspects of Brian's life and engaging in a nonprofessional capacity w/ him. By the time the BBs realized that Landy wasn't going away, there wasn't much they could do--if they tried to call Brian, they'd presumably either get the machine or the call screener wouldn't let them through. And I'm betting that Brian couldn't call anyone without Landy's or his staff's approval. Furthermore, Brian was living in a security-gated neighborhood, so the BBs and their family most likely couldn't just drive to his house either, b/c I imagine that Landy told the security "don't allow so-and-so to enter," etc. And Brian was kept doped up on medication to the point where he couldn't resist what Landy ordered him to do--if he disagreed, they'd dope him up again to the point where he couldn't communicate (according to John Mason, who served as an attorney for Brian at one point). So the only way the BBs could intervene was through the court system, which they eventually did (and I think Gary Usher's diaries helped a lot as well).

I'm assuming this is post Dennis' death? Wow. Pretty lame.

Yeah, it is lame, and not only b/c of Dennis being airbrushed out. By the time Dennis died, Brian had lost a ton of weight from being in Dr. Landy's program (Hawaii, etc.) and no longer looked anything like he does in that picture.

Oops! Sorry about the mistake with my last post! I was trying to quote Rocky Raccoon and add my take, and the computer did something screwy there! My post begins w/ "I think Brian is basically cool with..."

It really pisses me off when people say Brian isn't really in charge of his solo career, that it's all a show put on by his family and his bandmates.  There's no proof that such is the case, it's just really cynical.  If you watch Brian in interviews, he seems genuinely interested in what he's doing.  There is no doubt that Smile would have never been finished without Brian allowing it and overseeing it.  So he had a lot of help, give the guy a break.  One of the reasons Smile fell apart in the first place was that he was too determined to do it all himself, he was being overworked.  This is the way Brian should work, just the right amount without putting him in a stressful situation.  But it is still very much his work.  Those are still his arrangements.  That's still his music.  Just listen to it and be glad it exists and shut up.
[/q

I think that Brian is basically cool w/ the creation of the music itself (i.e., writing songs, creating vocal arrangements, teaching the songs to his touring band or the BBs, and then recording). It's the "promotion/touring/doing interviews" thing that Brian isn't all that keen on doing. He's just not that into doing interviews and talking about himself, and I can't say that I blame him. Most interviewers ask the same boring questions over and over, and I imagine that Brian probably just gets tired of the lack of interesting queries when he does interviews. I absolutely love the way he zinged that interviewer on the BBs' Google interview (Google interviewer: "what goes through your mind when you sing?" Brian: "Well, nothing goes through my mind. When I sing, the sound goes through my throat and out of my mouth." I 've never laughed so hard in my life)! I think people take Brian's sometimes poker-faced demeanor when he does interviews (and sometimes concerts) as a sign that he's "being controlled," when in reality, to me anyway, it's just that he's more interested in being a musician and a creator of music than he is in being a "star" per se. He does the best he can, and I'm glad that we have both versions of Smile (BWPS and TSS) to dig. 

I think Brian's better when he doesn't have to sing all of the leads.  It makes his voice stronger for the songs he does sing on.  When I saw him with the Beach Boys, he was in much stronger voice than in the solo shows I'd seen him do.  And since he brought the majority of his band with him anyway (though I miss Taylor Mills being in the lineup), I'd say the Beach Boys get my vote.

Yeah, and I think Brian's also better when he isn't the total focus of the show, and when he doesn't have to play the "Master of Ceremonies."  With The Beach Boys, the focus is on the whole group, not just him, and Mike, of course, is the MC, joking w/ the audience and introducing the songs, which is something that comes naturally to Mike. Thus, Brian is able to relax more, play the piano, and just get ready to sing his leads without worrying about bantering w/ the audience, etc. 

[BWPS]

The live performance was utterly sublime, and conceived/executed as such, I agree with all of this.

There's always a 'but' on this board, so respectfully, I'd offer this: the cd did not ultimately (and I think probably could not) capture the magic of the evening, because it was conceived as a live piece, and it was recorded to replicate that live production as closely as possible. So the recording was pretty much geared to putting down all the live parts on record as per the live arrangement, which causes some head-scratching. As a listening experience, the distractions aren't just the fake harpsichord here, the odd bit of 'lost in performance translation' (cf bull horn on 'holidays') there...from a production standpoint, and perhaps conceptually, it needed some further tweaking.

But that's a quibble. A major, and important undertaking, an unforgettable experience, and an indispensable document of a crucial moment in musical history.

Agreed. I watched the '04 live performance of BWPS (on Youtube) again last week, and it was even more incredible, b/c you could actually see, for instance, The Stockholm Horns & Strings band put on the firehats (on "Mrs. O' Leary") and display/eat vegetables (on "My Vega-tables"), not to mention that Brian looked absolutely happy and animated! Hearing him chuckle during the "Workshop" segment and watching him clap his hands and singing along during "My Vega-tables" was contagious and you could see it w/ the rest of his band. Obviously, w/ the studio version, you can't see what was going on, since it's audio only.

But yeah, the fact that BWPS as a CD really was and is a masterpiece after all the hype was nothing short of a miracle. Even if it ultimately isn't exactly the way Brian and the BBs would have done it had it come out in 1967, it's the closest thing to a "finished" Smile we have, and I think it'll be remembered as a classic in the form that it is. Only Brian himself would know how close (or not close) BWPS is to the way it would have been had it come out as a 1967 BB record, and I haven't read any quotes anywhere where Brian said anything about this (and I suspect that he might not remember everything from that period, since he was doing a lot of drugs at that time--just a guess on my part). It's certainly one of Brian's "must-have" solo CDs.  TSS is an absolute must as well, but even though some of the '67 instrumental tracks may be better than they are on the '04 version (especially "Do You Like Worms"), we have to remember that TSS still isn't a completed 1967 Smile per se--that's why it's called The Smile Sessions. The "real" 1967 Smile wasn't finished, and we'll never know how that particular Smile would have turned out. I think that doing BWPS probably helped bring some closure to Brian in terms of ending (or at least reducing) any remaining paranoia he might have regarding that whole period in his life. And it could be argued that had Brian and his band not done BWPS, TSS may never have been released. So it's a winning situation for both CDs, and I'll continue to play both of them for years to come.  

[Pet Sounds]

Interesting read. Not sure yet how I feel about it.

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/160169-when-i-grow-up-to-be-a-man/

So tired, just so very, very tired of all the BS and oversimplification.

Didn't read this garbage.  Don't need it.

Neither did I, and I don't think I will based on what folks have said here. It sounds like another boring "Brian good, Mike bad, all there is to the BBs is Pet Sounds and maybe Smile but forget everything else in their catalogue" kind of deal.

[TLOS]

I found it extremely frustrating that Brian's solo albums - BW88, Imagination, GIOMH, TLOS, and even WIRWFC - could've easily utilized The Beach Boys' voices (and songs), improving those albums substantially, and giving fans the kind of excitement that we're experiencing now with TWGMTR.

In a perfect world, yes. I cannot, however, imagine the real-world Beach Boys agreeing to do vocals on any of those albums. I mean, Mike even today has very specific ideas about what a BB album must have (his lyrics, and fun-sun themes), and including those things was the tradeoff Brian made to get TWGMTR done. But would any of his solo work been improved with Mike's lyrics?

If every song on the album was Brian's, yes, that might've been a problem. That's why I included "(and songs)" in my post. That would've left room for Mike's contributions and any other group member who had something to offer; more of a group effort if you will.

There certainly was room for other band members' songs; Brian barely had enough quality material to fill the solo albums, thus the covers and re-hashing of older material.

Brian had the material, he was holding it back for the Beach Boys. He said so.

Well, in Jon Stebbins' Beach Boys FAQ, Stebbins writes, in his review for TLOS, that even when Brian is writing and recording solo, he (Stebbins) gets the feeling that it's part of Brian's nature to think in terms of the BBs and not just himself as far as harmony parts. I suspect that part of the reason why Imagination and (especially) GIOMH relied so much on older, unreleased material (from "Sweet Insanity," The Paley Sessions, etc.) was perhaps b/c the few new (or newer) songs that we did get on those albums were the only ones Brian felt comfortable doing by himself (overdubbing his own backgrounds) or w/ his touring band. Further proof of this comes in Joe Thomas now revealing, as he has in several interviews, that a lot of the songs that Brian started on or finished when they worked together in the late 1990s' were things that he (Brian) refused to do solo, b/c "they wouldn't sound good without the BBs," as Thomas states Brian said. For all we know, this could be why Brian has done so many "new versions of old material" albums in his solo career (I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, Live at The Roxy Theatre, Pet Sounds Live, BWPS, What I Really Want For Christmas, Gershwin, Disney ). Perhaps he was hoping to eventually work w/ the BBs again all along (in spite on his claims to the contrary in interviews), and thus wanted to hold off on finishing certain songs that he'd started until the day came (if it ever did come) when he would get to produce, arrange and sing w/ the BBs again. Even if he still doesn't like the problems that come with touring (airplanes, hotels, etc.), I do think Brian is sincere when he states that he loves working w/ the BBs again in the studio and being on stage with them (watching Mike work the crowd, etc), whereas touring and recording solo, Brian had to assume the "host" role, which I just don't think he's comfortable doing. So the new album and tour are wins in all respects, I think. 

[Surfin' Surfari]

Surfin' Surfari--Cuckoo Clock (especially the drums on the chorus)

Surfin' USA--Stoked (just...cool)

Surfer Girl--Surfers Rule (take that, Four Seasons!  )

Little Deuce Coupe--No-Go Showboat (I always get an adrenaline rush from this one)

All Summer Long--We'll Run Away (beautiful)

Christmas Album--Merry Christmas Baby (catchy and hard to get out my head come Christmas time)

Today!--She Knows Me Too Well (like a signpost for Pet Sounds)

Summer Days (and Summer Nights)--Summer Means New Love (Brian was great w/ moody instrumentals like this one)

Party!--The Times They Are-A Changin' (while Dylan was and is one of the greats, it's good to hear the BBs having fun w/ his songs instead of taking the usual "earnest" approach)

Pet Sounds--Here Today (I always felt this could have been a single)

The Smile Sessions--Song for Children (mostly for the harpsichord)

Smiley Smile--Little Pad (goofy and drugged-out, but effective)

Wild Honey--How She Boogalooed it ("S-O-C-K I-T to me," indeed!)

Friends--Diamond Head (see my comments on "Summer Means New Love")

20/20--Be With Me (Dennis had a gift like no other)

Sunflower--Tears in the Morning ("Disney Girls" is my favorite Bruce song, but this isn't far behind)

Surf's Up--Take A Load Off Your Feet (goofy, but catchy)

So Tough--He Come Down (great gospel sound on the chorus)

Holland--The Beaks of Eagles (intriguing and imaginative)

15 Big Ones--A Casual Look (one of the better cover versions on that album)

Love You--Airplane (nice changes in tempo and vocalists which shows that Brian still "had it")

MIU--Match Point of Our Love (the lyrics are sophomoric, but Brian sounds relaxed and natural, and the melody is hard to beat)

LA--Sumahama (something about the melody has always moved me, and Mike singing in Japanese is pretty cool)

KTSA--Livin' With A Heartache (verses are so-so, but the chorus is dang catchy)

BB 85--It's Gettin' Late (soulful performance from Carl)

Still Cruisin'--Somewhere Over Japan (better than most of the songs on SC that were chosen for singles)

SIP--Lahina Aloha (not bad)

TWGMTR--Shelter (one of Brian's great "comforting" songs)

It'd be nice in Brian would finally publicly denounce the book, purely out of respect for Carl if nothing else. And not in any kind of half-hearted shrugging 'aw i've never even read it' way...

Well, Timothy White's book The Nearest Faraway Place says that during the depositions in the case where Brian was sued by Mike, Carl, Audree, etc. for the content in WIBN, Brian was quoted as saying that the book was "absolute bullsh*t," "total fiction" and "all garbage" (or something to that effect). Even though White doesn't elaborate, I'm guessing that what might have happened during said deposition was that perhaps parts of the book were read to Brian and he might have then and there confirmed what most BB fans suspect. I seriously doubt that Landy and his goons would have let him read it, so Brian probably wasn't kidding about not having seen the final manuscript. From what I've seen, except for the interview on Larry King's show from 2004, Brian for the most doesn't like to talk about Landy or the time he was under his program all that much, and I can't say I blame him. Because of that, I doubt that he'll ever publicly denounce that book or even talk about it in a future interview. I'm sure that he probably settled things w/ Carl privately before Carl died.

According to this book, Al is a racist. 'Does he really have to put his arm around her' says Al. (Later he apparently makes a mocking remark regarding Brian's, er, shoes).

I mean, really...? The problem with this book is that it just clearly has such an agenda (Landy's) and as such it is frequently - page after page - utterly unbelievable! Nothing fits. People's personalities seem to bare absolutely no resemblence whatsoever to those they have in real life. Poor Carl is just destroyed in this book, it's a disgrace. No mention is made of his songwriting/producing talents. Meanwhile more attention is paid to Dennis apparently beating up a young girl then his writing any songs. In fact, Brian seems entirely unsure of what he himself did and didn't write (he was actively involved in Sunflower, as the writing credits show, yet he claims otherwise here).

It's such a shame this book excists.

I agree. If you've ever listened to Brian on interviews and heard the way he speaks (no matter what time period) and then read the text of WIBN: MOS, it's obvious that it's just not Brian talking. Also, I have serious, major doubts about the chapter claiming that Landy sent Brian on an Outward Bound adventure by himself. The one constant thing that you always hear about the Landy program was that Brian was never (or at least, almost never) allowed to be by himself, ever. Even if the story is true, and even if, for instance, Landy did swear the Outward Bound folks to secrecy or whatever, think about it: Brian Wilson hiking, climbing mountains, etc., would be too juicy of an event for the OB people not to gossip about, resulting in it making the news, which it never did. At least I don't remember any BB or BW-related stories back in 1984-85-86 mentioning it! A more appropriate title for the book would have been Wouldn't It Be Nice If It Were My Own Story!

[MIU]

Best since Love You, and most Brian involvement since Love You. No coincidence.

Agreed! While MIU, LA, KTSA and BB 85 all had some good songs, those albums (and of course, SC and SIP as well) suffered from a "too many cooks spoiling the broth" effect--they just didn't sound cohesive to me. I think that having Brian writing and arranging most of the music (w/ help from Joe Thomas, string arranger Paul Mertens, etc.) gives the album a more unified feel. And while some songs on TWGMTR are better than others, none of them out-and-out "suck." Which songs are your favorites and which you don't like as much just depends on your personal taste. For example, "Beaches in Mind" is my least favorite, but I don't dislike it, whereas all of the BBs albums from 1978 through 1992 all had songs that I just plain couldn't (and can't) get into, no matter how open-minded I tried to be. With TWGMTR, I can pop it into the player, and just let it play from beginning to end.  

I don't know if Carl would have been able to write an entire LP of great tunes à la "Trader".

Yeah, I agree. I mean, Carl was a wonderful singer and a great guitarist, but he wasn't as prolific of a songwriter (at least not as prolific as Brian and Dennis). The few Carl-written songs that made it onto the BBs albums were great, but the fact that there were so few of them always made me wonder if songwriting perhaps didn't come as easy to Carl as it did to his brothers.

[Think About the Days]

Think About the Days--beautiful way to start the album. Puts me in mind of things like "Our Prayer" and Brian's "One For the Boys." The BBs always sound great when they harmonize with "wordless" vocals ("do-do-do-do," etc).

TWGMTR--The BBs have always been good at making songs that are about the simple power of music to heal and make the day a better one ("Add Some Music to Your Day," "That Same Song"),and this one is no exception. I especially like the way the vocals on the chorus are arranged. I'm glad they picked this for the first single. The production could have been a little more imaginative, but it doesn't hurt the song overall.

Isn't it Time--One of my favorites! What I like about this one is that the vocals are arranged in such a way that the guys go back and forth on the lines (Brian starts, the group sings a line together, Al sings a line, Mike sings a line, etc). It's retro without being obvious about it, and I can't get the chorus out of my head (which is a good thing). Great, catchy song.

Spring Vacation--didn't like this one at first, but it's grown on me. I like the fact that in the first verse, Mike doesn't try to pretend like he and the BBs are still teenagers--note that he sings "we used to get around/get up and hit up all the hot spots in town," but now they're just, as he sings earlier in the verse "doing our best/no need to hurry," even as they're "cruisin' the town, diggin' the scene." One of the big problems w/ many post-1978 BB tunes was that you had 40/50-ish men (well, okay, mostly Mike) singing about how they're "still surfin'", etc., and I'd be thinking, "oh baloney, Mike! You are not!" This song, though, harkens back to some of the BBs older "fun in the sun" songs, but it's set up in a way that's lyrically appropriate for the BBs' age. They still like to have fun, but they've grown up, too. At least that's the way I interpret it!  

The Private Life of Bill & Sue--I sort of wish that Brian and Joe Thomas would have lyrically torn into the Reality TV genre w/ more meanness--then again, I hate Reality TV, so I'm probably biased!   And of course, Brian is just not a mean guy, so I imagine shredding the Reality genre to pieces just wouldn't be his style. Still, the lines "no one knows just why we care" and "wasting time on a sunny day" are on the money for me, and "maybe we're just looking for a change" is as good of an explanation as to why many Americans love Reality TV so much. The best thing about this song for me is the chorus, especially the way Mike, Al, Bruce, and Jeff F. chant "dum-ba-da-da-dum, aye-de-aye-de-yay" while Brian is singing! The energy on the chorus is enough to sell this as a good (if not great) song, which is slight-but-quirky in the style of some of Brian's work on The Beach Boys Love You.

Shelter--this is a nice song to just chill with and relax. Brian has always been good at writing songs that make the listener feel comforted or protected in a way, in addition to being loved (like "Love & Mercy") and this one is no exception. It reminds me a bit of Brian's work during the BW88 period (especially "Let it Shine"). This would be a good song to learn and sing to a loved one (spouse, significant other, etc). The lines "Summertime, take a few calls, make a little love, thank God for shelter" are particularly catchy to me. 

Daybreak Over the Ocean--This was another grower, but now I like it. To me, this is the "tropical getaway" song that "Kokomo" should have been (but wasn't, due to its' cheesy '80's production and its' Kenny G-like saxaphone solo). I like the mixture of the BBs vocals w/ Mike's offspring's vocals (Hayleigh and Christian) and Adrian Baker as well. Mike manages to sound intimate without coming off as creepy (the way he did on "Summer of Love"), and the production is to-the-point and not overblown. A nice romantic song.

Beaches in Mind--none of these songs suck, but this one is my least favorite. The basic idea of the song is good, but the pace of the song is too slow--the tempo should be more upbeat, and the guitar solo, while great, could have been longer. Still, a lot of BB fans who are into the sun/surf BB songs seem to like it, and it's over before it gets boring, so that's good. I don't skip this song when it comes on, but it just doesn't...zing.

Strange World--this one reminds me somewhat of some of the songs from Brian's TLOS album. The guys observe the activity on the beach and while confused about the "strange world" that they're in, they're glad that they have each other. I actually play this as an "appetizer" before the suite comes on--while different in tempo and production from the suite songs, to me, it serves as a nice lead-in.

From There To Back Again--Al finally gets a lead, and he sounds as great as ever! I continue to be impressed w/ the overall maturity that the lyrics show--the BBs have grown up but have done so without sounding like old farts, which is not an easy trick to pull off! Beautiful lyrics, nice production, and I especially like the musical tag at the end (with the whistling sounds, etc).

Pacific Coast Highway--short and to the point, this puts me in mind of some of the songs on the Friends album. The beauty of this song is that the lyrics can be interpreted in many different ways. Is Brian singing about death? Is he singing about quitting one thing in life and moving on to a new chapter in life? It's a song that seems simple, but is actually quite deep and open to interpretation.

Summer's Gone--Just...wow. This one reminds me of songs like "Caroline, No" and Brian's solo "Cry." Another lyrically deep song, about living life, realizing that we're getting older, but dealing with it the best we can. Many critics and fans are saying that this and the other suite songs are as good as anything from the 1960's, and I believe it. Wonderful way to end the album--let's hope it doesn't turn out to be the last song we hear from the BBs.!

Overall, this is the best album the BBs have done since Love You. I think the key was letting Brian (and Joe Thomas, Paul Mertens and whoever else helped musically) to be in charge in terms of writing the music and arranging the vocals like he did back in the 1960s. To me, this gives the album a more cohesive feel overall than most of the BB albums from 1978 to 1992 had. While there were good songs on all the BBs albums from 1978 to 1992, there was also a "too many cooks" feeling to all of them in that there would be songs that would seem out of place or so outrageously bad that you wondered what the guys were thinking!  Anyway, this is definitely a must-hear for BB fans who didn't think the guys would ever be able to pull off a decent-to-great album!  

In "Surfer Girl,"  I used to think that they were singing "Little surfer, little worm" (instead of "little surfer, little one...")

And in "Dance, Dance, Dance," I used to think that the chorus was "I love to dance, dance, dance, now the pizza's hot!" LOL!  

[Smile]

I still listen to several versions of Smile...I listen to The Smile Sessions, Brian Wilson Presents Smile, The Vigotone Smile album and a BWPS Live performance.  I don't consider any of them the definitive Smile, so I enjoy the diversity.

Yeah, I listen to all of those except the Vigatone album, which I haven't heard yet. I agree about "enjoy(ing) the diversity..." Since we'll never know for sure how Smile actually would have sounded (or what the actual track order would have been) had it come out in 1967, we kind of have no choice, in a sense, but to appreciate what we can hear, so that's cool. 

I hate how it becomes a weird quirk that you're known for. Like enjoying the Beach Boys is some peculiar idiosyncrasy. It always irks me when people treat me like I'm just that guy who really likes The Beach Boys, as if it's no different than having a distinctive birth mark or hair style.

I've never met a girl who really cared about music that much. I find it hard to get through the day without putting a good record on, but some people just aren't like that. Some people just like whatever's on the radio and never give much consideration to the history or personalities behind the music.

I agree w/ your second paragraph. I've always had a theory that males approach music (and entertainment in general) differently than females (sometimes) do. In my experience, when males like a particular artist or genre, it's b/c they like the actual sound of the music or the voices; maybe the beat gets them pumped up, or the lyrics speak to them in some way.  So they get into the whole thing of learning about the artist's or group's history, etc. Now don't get me wrong--I'm sure that there are a lot of women who are the same way, but I find that a certain kernal of women, when they get into an artist or group, it's not really so much about the music per se, though they may claim that it is. It's b/c they think the artist is "good-looking," or a "hunk," etc. If there's no eye-candy in a singer's or group's appearance, they don't care (Dennis was probably the closest thing to a "sex symbol" in the BBs). The music itself is kind of secondary to the appearance of the artist/group. At least that's been my experience w/ some women I've dated. 

[Friends]

Lately I've been listening to Friends a lot. When I'm in a bad mood, it never fails to help me feel better. The harmonies and the overall simplicity of the songs is just brilliant--I can see why Brian has often said that it was his "favorite" BB album.   

Well, TWGMTR is still too new for me to really say if it's "one of their best ever," but I do think that it's their best, most consistent album overall since The Beach Boys Love You.

[Endless Summer]

My current girlfriend is at least respectful and understanding of my BBs appreciation, which I think is fine, because it's not like I'm that into her music either. I appreciate it, but I don't go out of my way to listen to it. If you're not that into your girlfriend's music, then you can't really expect the same back from her. Of course, it's not like I complain when I go to a concert for a band she likes or whatever, or vice versa.

One of my exes was an absolutely unrepentant BBs music. She thought the BBs were gay and it was gay to like them. If only she knew that Mike tried it once and didn't even like it! In her mind, only screaming, generic metal punk could be masculine.

I've never had any problems w/ girlfriends not liking the BBs. All my girlfriends (thus far) liked some aspect of their music--usually the early stuff, but that was okay with me. One of them actually liked some of the stuff that I played from MIU (especially "Wontcha Come Out Tonight") and when she went on a diet (which didn't last), she asked me if I'd tape "H.E.L.P Is On The Way" for her (which I'd also played for her previously), because she thought it would be a good song to help keep her motivated to stick to her diet. Unfortunately, we broke up a year later, but her appreciation of the song was cool nonetheless. 

But when I was a kid and first discovered the BBs at the age of ten (in 1979) after hearing Endless Summer , I had some problems w/ a few of the guys w/whom I went to grade school. This one dude that I was friends w/ had the same attitude that you described in your second paragraph (he was of the "if it's not heavy metal, it sucks" attitude, which is unfortunately common, I've found, among some metal fans, many of whom think metal is all there is). If I tried to play any BBs or Jan & Dean (whom I discovered shortly after learning about the BBs and also loved), he'd get all snippy and say, "the Beach Boys are out of style, Steve!" or whine, "I don't wanna hear Jan & Dean! That music's for the dogs!" Later, when we were in high school, he invited me to a party he was having and was telling me about the music he was playing, which was mostly stuff that was current for that time (1984-85): Prince, Michael Jackson, Van Halen, etc. I had no problem w/ that, as I kept up w/ a lot of the new (for that time) 1980s' music as well. But then, and I think he was just being a wise-guy, he said, "and I'm not playing no Jan & Dean, because that's not pure rock and roll!" I said," uh (name omitted b/c I'm a nice guy), excuse me, I never asked if you were going to!" Needless to say, I didn't go to his party.  

I haven't heard all of either, but I just want to put it out there that I love Matchpoint of Our Love.  Why does everyone pan it so much?  Yeah, the lyrics are beyond cheesy, but Brian's voice sounds MUCH better than it did on 15BO/LY, the chord progression is interesting, the harmonies are great (though not amazing), and I really like the bridge.   Brian sounds genuinely into "Matchpoint".  I'd pick it over his "falsetto" on "She's Got Rhythm" any day...

I agree. Brian really sounds very nice singing this song. I always thought "Matchpoint" was underrated. I like "She's Got Rhythm," but the line "last night I went out disco dancing..." Somehow I just can't imagine Brian Wilson in a John Travolta-white disco suit dancing to Donna Summer or The Bee Gees! 

I find "Isn't it Time" far superior in  every way.  I actually find Mike's lyrics to this song rather ingenious. The lyrics are perfectly set out, and upon close listen you realize you are not hearing a song about young kids but rather about a couple of older people thinking back about times "just like yesterday", and yet still looking forward to all the good times not being in the past (similar to the group itself). In addition, the song offers good vocals from each of Brian, Alan, Bruce and Mike as well as great hooks and group harmonies. Almsot a perfect Beach Boys song for 2012. I never thought  they could sound this good today without Carl.

I agree. "Isn't It Time" is one of my favorites on the new one. In addition to the lyrics, I also like the way the vocals are arranged, w/ Brian starting things out, and then blending his voice w/ Mike, and then Al getting a line, then Mike a line, etc. BIM is probably the weakest song on the album overall, like others here have said. It doesn't totally suck, it just feels incomplete. SV is the better attempt at doing a "sun-and-fun" type of song when compared to BIM.

It's a classic song. Brian did a beautiful job w/ it in terms of the melody and arrangement (on the A/C version), and the demo version on IJWMFTT is well worth hearing, too. 

Love seeing the L.A. love here.  L.A. is one of my favorite Beach Boys albums, so my vote goes to L.A. as well.   Though I don't hate M.I.U., but there are so many embarassing moments on it (vs. just "Sumahama" which I don't think is terrible) and the production is pretty bland and lifeless.

If I was making my list, I'd make it like this:

MIU
great:  My Diane
good/guilty pleasures:  Winds of Change, Come Go With Me, Pitter Patter, She's Got Rhythm, Matchpoint (sorry, I like it)
mediocre/bad/pointless:  everything else.  Particularly Hey Little Tomboy

LA
great:  Good Timin', Baby Blue, Love Surrounds Me, Here Comes The Night (sorry, I like it), Angel Come Home, Full Sail
good/guilty pleasures:  Shortnin' Bread, Goin' South,
m/b/p:  the rest, but I don't hate either of 'em

A more interesting question is how does KTSA stack up?  I liked KTSA when it came out but in retrospect, it is a really empty album.  I love the title track, Santa Ana Winds and Endless Harmony, like Goin' On and School Days, and the rest just kind of falls through the floor to me.  Livin' With A Heartache, Sunshine, Oh Darlin' and When Girls Get Together in particular just bore the crap out of me.  I would probably give the edge to MIU over KTSA just because when it's bad it's not boring.

Great summary! I would divide the songs up in much the same way that you have, although for the MIU list, I would put "Woncha Come Out Tonight" in the list of great songs--it's cheesy, but catchy, IMHO (I like "Matchpoint," too). For the LA list, I would put "Sumahama" under the "great" category--I know it's not especially popular, but something about the melody on the chorus has always stuck w/ me. I would put "Here Comes the Night" under the good/guilty pleasures category (it's good for what it is; people just weren't ready to accept a disco BB song). LA is the better overall album out of the two. Not everything works, but at least they were trying to do some (sort of) experimental things that went outside the boundaries of the surf/sun/fun box that many fans try to pigeonhole the BBs under, whereas MIU was basically a slightly better SIP (although SIP itself, of course, is way worse than MIU could ever be. At least MIU didn't have any screeching guitars, soulless synths or Mike trying to "rap."). As for KTSA...

KTSA--This goes on about a minute longer than it should, but I've always liked Carl's tough-sounding vocal, and the guitar solo is another nice touch. Good song overall.
Oh Darlin'--this song does nothing for me. It's slushier than a melted Slurpee and just...drags.
Some of Your Love--this might have been a guilty pleasure, but the saxaphone sounds like it has a sore throat, and the idea of a 40-year old Mike singing "walking down the hallway holding hands" gives me the creeps (not unike "Hey Little Tomboy"). Uh, Mike, you haven't been in high school for a very long time, buddy. Who are you kidding?
Livin' With a Heartache--I actually do like the chorus, but the verses fall flat, and Carl sounds drunk.
School Days--Good vocal by Al, but the repeated "whoo-ooh! Whoo-OOHs" during the verses have always annoyed the crap out of me.
Goin' On--the best song on the album. Slight, but basically well done, with nice harmonies.
Sunshine--catchy, but vapid. Doesn't totally suck, but it's not all that noteworthy, either.
When Girls Get Together--never did like this one. The rhythm/beat is awkward, and the farting horn section just makes an already-questionable song a disaster.
Santa Ana Winds--very nice song. Welcome change of pace after the shallowness of the other tracks. I like this one just fine.
Endless Harmony--not Bruce's greatest song ever, but worth hearing for the harmonies at the end. As a kid, I always thought the keyboard arrangement at the beginning was kind of neat.

I'd love it if the reunited Beach Boys decided to do a Smile tour next year! And they could set it up the same way Brian did -- a set of songs that included some deeper cuts, then Smile, then hits.

I think Mike Love would sooner ski down Everest stark bollock naked than tour Smile.

LOL! Agreed. Even if the BBs had reunited in 2000 (rather than last year) and Brian's solo CDs of the last decade were new BBs CD instead, I doubt Mike would have even wanted to record SMILE, much less perform the album on tour. I think part of why a "completed" version of SMILE came out in any form at all (in this case, 2004's BWPS) probably had to do w/ Brian's touring band (and possibly Melinda?) giving him confidence by saying, "You can do it, and we'll do the parts just as you want them, no arguments."

Sure, Mike wasn't the only reason 1967 SMILE never came out--Brian's bad LSD trips and use of other drugs affected his mindstate as well. But my gut feeling is that Brian is a naturally sensitive person with or without drugs, and he takes things personally. If you tell him he can do something, there's a better chance he'll stick w/ it. But if you badger and harass him about not making music that's "commercial" enough like Michael-Michael-Motorcycle did, I think Bri probably loses confidence and quits. I just can't picture Mike being able to keep his mouth shut if the surviving BBs had recorded SMILE in 2004--I've never met the man (or any BBs for that matter), but Mike just seems like an incorrigible smart aleck who thinks that every thing out of his mouth has to have a joke in it, or some kind of put-down or sarcastic remark. Since SMILE was basically Brian's baby, it took Brian himself (with the help of his own band) to get it out in the 2004 form that it did. And while BWPS can't really compare to the tracks on TSS from last year (then again, what can compete w/ that? LOL) I still think it's one of the better things Brian did as a solo artist (although TLOS is my favorite BW solo CD overall).