Mark Stein from Vanilla Fudge still has it! I saw them recently and I was so blown away at how amazing the guy sounded. He's 71 and sounds exactly like he did during the late 1960s. And singing for Vanilla Fudge certainly seems physically demanding, so hats off to Mark Stein!

Today's song is Let's Put Our Hearts Together.

This song had to grow on me before I could appreciate it. Some rather raw emotion on this track. Brian sounds a tad like Lemmy from Motorhead singing a soft song. Marilyn sounds angelic in comparison. All in all I find it to be pleasant, although when I first bought the Love You LP I didn't really care for it. I give it a 3.

Today's song is I'll Bet He's Nice.

What a wonderful song. I love how Brian and Dennis trade off the verses with their gruff 70s vocals, and the middle eight with Carl is the icing on the cake. A stand out track on this album. FIVE

Haven't heard this one til today.

Today's song is The Night Was So Young.

It's an incredible ballad! Such a wonderful soaring falsetto from Brian! Some of the lyrics are weird (...I pour some milk and I start to think...) but that's ok because for me that's part of the charm of this album. And Carl sounds great as always. FIVE

Today's song is Solar System.

Fun and silly and cosmic. I dig the synthesized textures on it. FIVE

Today's song is Ding Dang.

It's my least favorite track on Love You. Shame because I love Roger McGuinn and I wish his collaboration with Brian was some knock-out track. But I don't hate the song, it's sorta amusing. But it's mostly just whatever....

TWO

Today's song is Honkin' Down The Highway.

A great rocker with Al in his usual great form. Not sure if I like the Love You version more than the Postcard version (Billy Hinsche's version is excellent as well).  The song always puts me in a great mood. FIVE!

Today's song is Good Time.

It's out of place on the album but it's a nice tune. I like the moog sounds. Brian's voice is great (waaay different than the rest of the album, but of course it was recorded during the Sunflower days). I kinda like the Spring version better. I'm going with THREE on this one.

Today's song is Johnny Carson.

I always imagined Wall Of Voodoo covering this song (go figure they covered Do It Again instead....). Mike and Carl sound great (even if their vocals are tongue in cheek). The backing vocals are solid. It's a bizarre song but a wonderfully bizarre song. FIVE!

Happy Bday Mike!

Not many people will know this so hopefully Mike won't mind me telling you all about it. He never mentions it but the Beatles wrote a song called Happy Birthday Mike Love for him on a trip he took to see the Maharishi in the late sixties. Hopefully someday he will open up and share a little more about that period...there is a story about the writing of Back in the USSR that would blow your minds! anyway I've said too much already....

I have a Beatles bootleg called Strawberry Fields which has that song under the title Spiritual Regeneration. Sung by Paul: "Happy Birthday Michael Love, Happy Birthday Michael La-La-La-La-Love".

77 is one of my lucky numbers! Happy Birthday Mike!

Today's song is Mona.

I love Mona! Fun, catchy, good-feelin' rock & roll. Dennis sounds great. The lack of a middle-eight doesn't seem to matter (...not to me anyway). FIVE

Today's song is Roller Skating Child.

Well oh my oh gosh oh gee I'm giving it five stars! Cool guitar licks from Carl, great Love and Jardine lead vocals, overall great feelin' throughout the song!

A foot and a half of snow is keeping me inside today. I decided to watch some old cheesy horror flicks from the 50s. Right now I have Roger Corman's Bucket Of Blood on. Man I wish I had a cd of the background music from this film.

Today's song is Let Us Go On This Way.

Great way to start the album. Energetic! Carl sounds pumped, Brian's backing vocals are awesome and Mike's middle eight is great. Great saxophone by Steve Douglas. FIVE!

Immediate: The Singles Collection (6-CD Set)

I voted yes too. I don't care if Love You has already been discussed in great detail. So has other topics that aren't as interesting. I'm totally down for 2 weeks of Love You talk.

Today's song is Come Go With Me [Early Ver.].

Meh...

TWO

For years I disliked the BB85 album, but somehow along the way I began to like it very much. I look forward to popping it on now. I think it was the 80s sounding production that originally turned me off. I'm ok with it now.

Today's song is Sea Cruise.

Dennis does a nice job on it. Wish he would've sang this good on In The Still Of The Night. Sounds a bit unfinished. Fun tune. THREE

Today we'll discuss 15 Big Ones.

A couple real good ones, a few decent ones, and some bad ones. 2.5 rounded to 3

Today's song is Just Once In My Life.

When I first heard this song (when I was a kid in the late 70s) I didn't like it, I pretty much skipped listening to it once it started playing. But my opinion has changed greatly and I now enjoy it quite alot (after rediscovering it in my 20s). I think it's one of the best tracks on the 15 Big Ones album. Sounds awesome when you play it loud. FIVE

Today's song is In The Still of The Night.

There's not too many songs that I love but which also can make me cringe at times. BBs version of In The Still Of The Night does this to me. As soon as the snare drum hits those two beats and the singing starts with the "Shoo-dooby-dooby-do" and Brian's still intact falsetto soars off, I instantly get a chill going down my spine. But I get put off by Dennis's lead. He sounds so off key and hung over (especially during "To keep your precious lo-o-o-o-o-ove") . Sometimes I don't notice it as much, other times it's all I can focus on. But the backing track is excellent. The original version is obviously the best and most ideal version. As far as a 1970's cover goes, Johnny Contardo from Sha Na Na sang it better. Put Contardo's lead over the BBs backing track and I'd give it 5. I don't like to criticize Dennis because I'm a huge fan of his. But his lead on this really stinks.

Not easy for me to rate this one...
So...
The backing track gets 5 stars....
Dennis's vocals gets 1 star.....

So the overall score from me is....
2.5 rounded to 3, I suppose. I really like the backing track.

I constantly have Beach Boys songs stuck in my head. Today it's the beginning of Don't Back Down...."the girls dig the way the guys get all wiped out..." A few days ago it was the instrumental backing track of I Just Wasn't Made For These Times.