I would be okay with a billing such as "Mike Love's Beach Boys" or "The Beach Boys starring Mike Love". Peter Noone tours these days under the name "Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone", because it's not the original band, and the drummer from the original band tours the UK as "Herman's Hermits Starring Barry Whitwam". The drummer and bass player from The Guess Who tour as the Guess Who, and that's just wrong. IMO, no Burton Cummings lead vocals equals no Guess Who. Either Mike or Brian could be touring under their own names with "an evening of Beach Boys music" - some of the Yes guys did that years ago (and may be doing it again). Next week, I will go see "Joey Molland's Badfinger" - Joey being the only core member from the classic lineup.

I have done this before, as well as coming up with song titles for a BB's reunion album with Mike in charge. Titles would have to include:
Caroline, Yes (Caroline, No is a downer; Mike is Mr. Positivity)
Heroes and Wilsons
Even Better Vibrations
Brian's Back (no, it's not what you think - this one is about the back troubles Mike's cousin has suffered in recent years)
Help Me, Honda (a mash up of Rhonda and Little Honda - I think the lyrics concern Mike's attempt at getting a corporate sponsorship for his latest tour)
Pretty Funky (Mike's attempt at a dance track, with a guest rap from Uncle Jessie, John Stamos)
You Can Leave Your Hat On (Mike covers Randy Newman)

Realistically? No one makes money from record sales anymore. Many thousands of people are willing to pay the equivalent of a couple of MIC boxed sets to see BW live. They're not willing to spend a tiny fraction of that on original music.

This is the sad truth. When news of a new Brian album happens, we get all excited, all do our pre-orders for the new music, talk about it for a few weeks...then forget about it. The general public doesn't care about new music from any of the Boys - they want those nostalgia soaked live shows. They want the opportunity to say "I saw Brian Wilson! Live!"

I don't think Brian is any hurry to do another album. The focus these days is clearly on touring - that's where the money is. And as much as i'd love for him to focus more on songs from the Wild Honey era, I think they will stay with the formula of greatest hits plus Pet Sounds or Smile. Yeah, I know they are saying this year is the final performances of PS. Right. 

And it seems like I keep having more thoughts on this, but ultimately this whole thing with solo Mike Love tunes being performed by a band labeled as "The Beach Boys" stems from the bad decision that was made around 1998 with the license and everything. Because once Brian, Mike and Carl's estate agreed that there could be a touring group out there known as The Beach Boys without Brian or Al in it, but also specifying that they couldn't record under the name really made the whole thing a bit of a mess. And as much as I adore Brian (and anybody who knows me from this board knows that Brian is one of my favorite people in the entire world) I have to say that the legacy everyone is so worried about suffered the most damage when it was allowed by Carl's estate and Brian to let a faceless group of hacks go out there and represent themselves on the road as The Beach Boys. I'm sorry but it's true. Maybe I'll get attacked for it. Now maybe Brian never thought he would return to the group back in '98 and he and his wife thought that this would be a nice way to keep the name out there and also make some nice money. But besides the money, all this has done is devalued the name. You wanna know why C50 was playing amphitheatres instead of arenas? Because instead of the majority of the public building up demand to see the real Beach Boys since 1997 or 1998 or whatever, the average person probably thought, "what? How are they reuniting? They didn't break up! I just saw them last February at the Dodge Dealership opening!"

I actually thought the Beach Boys name would be retired when Carl died back in 1998. Would have been a proper - and respectful - thing to do. Doesn't mean Mike couldn't tour with his Endless Summer band, it would simply mean that the Beach Boys was a special combination of people - 3 brothers, a cousin, and some friends; not just Mike and a bunch of nobodies.

I'll tell you what Mike really wants, above all: Hair. He wants a beautiful full head of hair like his cousin Brian has. IMO that is the source of 99% of his resentment.

Imagine that Ringo Starr started touring as the Beatles...which would be ridiculous enough. But then pretend that he decided to remake 'Paperback Writer' with Rob Thomas (of Matchbox 20 - about as random as Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray) slathering it in autotune, releasing it as a single under his solo name, and performing it with Rob Thomas at a "Beatles" concert being broadcast across the country on a major holiday.  

It would be the pinnacle of absurdity yet it's actually happening to our favorite band.

Well, to compare it to Mike's situation, it would have to be Ringo - or Paul - touring as the Beatles with a later addition to the band - Billy Preston? - along for the ride. How about Macca with Kanye West? 

But Paul hasn't been sanctimoniously promoting his lifestyle as the fountain of youth.  Mike Love is a charade!

Mike is what he is. I'm a bit tired of him being criticized for each and every thing he does. Reality check time: All of these guys are decades past their prime, i'm not expecting great new music from any of them. They are nostalgia acts. They are there to remind us of a happier, more innocent time. Someday, they will be gone - including Mike.

I covered the Louisville, Kentucky State Fairgrounds show (August 10, 1980) for my college radio station WIDB (Carbondale, IL).  We were giving Peter's first Tremblers album heavy airplay at the time, because it was an excellent album.  The Tremblers opened for the Beach Boys that show.  We met with Peter in a talent holding area below the stage, in the afternoon before the show.  He was one of the most upbeat and nicest people I'd ever met in the business.  He was excited to talk about his album and we were excited to talk to him.  After the interview, he was fascinated with some albums we brought for signing.  He was particularly thrilled with an original pressing of PET SOUNDS.  He took it carefully, holding it like rare treasure, and pointed out his favorite songs and the photos on the back.  He wanted to keep the album.  He then insisted on introducing us to "the guys."

At the hotel, he took us into the dining room, over to a table where Carl Wilson and Bruce Johnston sat, and introduced us.  They were both very gracious and signed our albums, though Bruce took great pains to point out to me that my copy of the Rip Chords "Hey Little Cobra" album was a reprint and not an original issue.

The show itself was excellent.  Surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, Noone did not do any Herman's Hermits songs, though he did explain the meaning of the band name ("Tremblers is what happens when you make love standing up.")

The Beach Boys show was excellent, complete with Dennis, on stage with You Are So Beautiful during the encore.

When I look back, it's hard to believe Peter was only 33 years old when he did that show.  He was a contemporary of the Beach Boys, from the 60s, yet enthusiastically trying to reboot his career in a brave, edgy and artistic manner. He was also an unabashed fan of the Beach Boys... hanging with him was just like hanging out with any other starry-eyed fan.  He was thrilled beyond measure to be on tour with them.

This is a great story. Peter's comeback attempt with the Tremblers reminds me of Rick Nelson with the Stone Canyon Band in the early 70's - although Rick did do a few of his old hits for the fans. Peter has a live cd he sells at shows and at www.peternoone.com that has all the HH hits on it, but he also does a couple Tremblers songs on it. I vaguely recall seeing the Tremblers on the Midnight Special, will have to check youtube  for those.

Perhaps the final nail in the coffin for the Beach Boys legacy. Mike Love should have the BB name taken away in an emergency BRI meeting.

And Mike looks like a grizzled old man. Time to retire!

Yeah, God forbid a 76 year old look like an old man. He IS an old man and has every right to look like one, or does that tax your brain cell too much? Of all the things to criticise, seriously? Did Brian look like a grizzled old man when he fell on his ass too? I'll bet you were right there chortling "Ahahahaha silly fat old fool with mental health problems ahahahahaha he doesn't look like he did when he was in his 20s does he? Fnarr Fnarr." You're an asshole. I'm sick of this forum, f*** this place if the mods let just flat out abuse of the elderly for being old pass as a post. We can't all die young and pretty, sorry. Go heckle a cripple.

The one HUGE flaw in your retort is that Mike Love has been obsessed with trying to look cool, young and hide his baldness for how many decades? He has constantly criticized the Wilsons for their lifestyle while touting his, bragging about meditation and how it is the fountain of youth. If you haven't seen this clip from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, start at the 3:40 mark. This is what I mock.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dlL7-j-IvVA


 He is selling the fun, fun fun of being young on the beach, cheerleaders and hot bods in bikinis. With his goatee, ball caps and Hawaiian shirts together with his stage persona, his whole act is being the front man who hasn't aged.

So my point, which obviously never crossed your brain waves, is what a clown Mike is at this point. It be one thing if he acted his age.  An analogy might be Paul going out in his 1963 Beatles suit.

Or Paul with his hair dyed black or brown, to hide all the gray.

The Tremblers period was one of those really interesting times when an established star tried to do something very, very different. A bit like Carl's solo excursions, or Bernie Taupin recording an album of his own - and singing. Peter still sells the Tremblers cd on his website, so it is apparently a project he is proud of. I've met him several times and he is always  cheery, never turns down an autograph request, has a great band, too. His guitarist Billy Sullivan just released a cd of British Invasion covers; did a Beatles tribute cd a couple years ago, too - playing all the instruments and doing all the vocals. Very talented guy.

I still cringe when I hear this group introduced as the Beach Boys, but they were okay for what they are supposed to be - an oldies act. Hated the processing on the vocals, but I guess that's what people like these days. Mike looked as I expected, but I was surprised to see Bruce has let his hair go gray - and that's not a bad thing, better than orange hair. Surprised Mike sang the lead on Rhonda.
They're not a band I would pay big bucks to see in concert, but as part of a way to spend July 4th, they were alright. Same for the 4 Tops.

I'm partially unemployed - working 2 part time jobs, no unemployment left - so my music budget is beyond limited. But I am going to buy this set.

Despite the legend that persists, my impression has always been that the beginning of Brian dropping out was 20/20. That was the first BB's album with a more democratic approach. Brian is all over Friends, Wild Honey, and Smiley.

I don't follow the Monkees and their solo material closely, but I have heard great things about Nez's solo career.

But why are fans hard on Nez as some controlling and arrogant figure?

Nez is known for wanting - as one of his songs says - Total Control. I was outraged when he finally did a solo tour a few years ago, playing very intimate venues, but to have a meet/greet with him was an extra $50. The following year, it was up to $100. I guess that's becoming standard for the 'big rock stars' these days, but I got to meet Micky, Davy and Peter (separately) for free after shows them did. Had each one of them sign a copy of Headquarters. It needs just one more signature.
BTW, the solo concert was great. He did only 1 or 2 of his Monkees songs, the rest was First National Band and solo material. Really awesome hearing those songs played live.

It's a good album, although short by 2017 standards - 35 minutes. Chuck is in good voice, the lyrics are as entertaining/amusing as always, and I don't know if he is doing all the guitar work on the record - there are credits for others, but no telling who does what solo; if it is others, they are channeling Chuck very nicely. Not straight ahead rock all the way through, about half the album is slower songs, which IMO befits a man about to turn 90.
I wonder if this album might encourage Little Richard to bless us one more time?

Yes I do. It's so quirky, and fast paced, easy to go back to for repeat viewings.

Holland is the last truly great BB's album. I think LA came close - if the single version of HCTN had been on the album instead of the 10 minute monstrosity, it would be a much better album. Add on It's a Beautiful Day and maybe one other track. I like BB85, it's very enjoyable, but not great.

"It's Gettin' Late" by a mile - although I would have preferred guitars to synths. The song itself is similar to "Of The Times" from "Youngblood"; I like Jeff Baxter's production of the latter much more than Steve Levine's production of the former. I realize they were trying to be "with the times" with all the synths and drum machines, but....I wonder if there is a decent live recording of this one? When I saw the group in concert that summer, Carl was absent. 

Anyone got an idea of when

 1. Wild Honey stereo etc  complete info might be forthcoming  for summer ?   

2.  When ---if ever -- Live in Michigan concert digital downloads will get issued in UK ?   ( I find it a disgrace that UK fans have been ignored with this one )

3. When --if ever -- the touring BB might seek authority to change the licence so as to release new material ?  I believe the band's profile has suffered by the absence of new recordings. Radio coverage almost completely disappearing  IMO.

A new album is not going to increase their presence on radio - radio only wants the new stuff. How many times did you hear any TWGMTR songs on radio? Zero?

I can't really see this kind of compilation happening. Brian's had only one really lasting song as a solo artist, Love and Mercy. It's the only song from his solo career he continues to perform night after night.

Borrowed this from my local friendly record-lending library today. The original 1988 version that is, with Dr. the most
prevalent abbreviation in the CD notes and Landy's name all over everything. I must admit it sounds great! "Melt
Away" never sounded better, although the whole album has an amazing atmosphere. "Overproduced" my Aunt Fanny...

Nice to know someone shares my opinion of this album.

I think Brian's solo career has three phases: 1988-1998, 1999-2011, and 2012 on.

1988-1998: the very good but underproduced BW88. The acclaimed (and imho a bit overrated, but that's just me) Paley Sessions. Enter Joe Thomas, resulting in the underwhelming "Imagination". Brian is delivered form Landy, marries Melinda, but is probably still uncertain whether pursuing a solo career or trying to reconnect with the Beach Boys.

1998-2011: Carl passes, and any hope/wish of staying with the grievously diminished Beach Boys fades in Brian. Exit Joe Thomas. Brian starts the collaboration with the amazing Wondermints-plus band and, surprisingly, starts touring a lot, at least by previous standards. In the studio, what I consider his second halcyon period after 1966-1967: BWPS, TLOS, Gershwin. The sound, in this phase, is very organic and "indie-like", just as you would expect from a band where the Wondermints are so prominent.

2012 on: re-enter Joe. The temporarily reunited Beach do a great tour and a good album with a killer 4-songs finale. Brian doesn't take well the forced ending of the reunion, but makes the most of it continuing the collaboration with Al and taking on board first David then Blondie.
False start with Jeff Beck, but Brian & C insist with "external" collaborations, resulting in NPP, imho a good and generally underrated album.
In this phase, the sound has become much "slicker", unsurprisingly given Joe Thomas, and that's what seems most divisive among the fans. Some, like me, like it, others hate it to no end. Also divisive is the importance of collaborators, imho somewhat of a failed experiment; taking the songs one by one, I like them, but they are too many and by very diverse musicians, so on the whole they give the idea of a scattered album.    
Brian's focus seems to have further shifted from the studio to a volume of touring which is now "a lot" (bordering on "too much") by any standards. Let's hope for the fabled R&R album.  

I see things a little differently. From 1987 or whenever it was he started recording solo (aren't there some demos from 1985/86 in preparation for the solo album?), I see Brian as a guy who is re-engaged with recording and making new music. A lot of it isn't released (Paley sessions, Sweet Insanity), but he seems to be in the studio a lot during these years. Out of it, we get BW88, IJWMFTT, OCA, and Imagination. All are very enjoyable - in different ways.
The second phase of his solo career is when the touring begins in 99. From that point on, the focus is clearly on the old material from 1962-73. He still records, but recording is secondary to the Never Ending Touring. New songs turn up in the set list when an album is first released, but year after year, it is the old hits that he and the band perform. They've gotten a lot of mileage out of Pet Sounds and Smile, because, apparently, that's what Joe Public wants to hear.

And thats what puts the butts in the seats. And Pet Sounds allows Brian to charge more for a ticket than the NPP Tour.

But, thats par for the course for any legacy act.

Yes it is, sadly. Dave Davies from the Kinks is "touring to support his new solo album" - in quotes because he performs all of 2 songs from the new album, nothing from his previous solo discs; it's a night of 60's classics (most of which he didn't even write or sing on the records). He's been doing the same set list since he started touring on his own back in 1997/98. Insert a couple tracks from whatever the current cd is, otherwise it's the same songs, tour after tour. I remember the first time I saw the Kinks, back in 1978; they must have played over half of the songs from their current lp "Misfits". Sure, the old classics were there - Waterloo Sunset, A Well Respected Man, Lola, You Really Got Me, All Day and All of the Night - but they were still a contemporary group. 3 or 4 songs from the previous year's "Sleepwalker" album. In comparison, when I saw the Beach Boys that summer, they had already turned into an oldies act. Aside from a couple "15BO" songs, it was "Endless Summer" live.

Timothy also wrote a very eye opening column about Brian's auto-bio in 1991. Another writer, Bill Holdship, took the pro-Landy stance, but his comments were very succinctly shut down by Mr. White.

I think Brian's solo career has three phases: 1988-1998, 1999-2011, and 2012 on.

1988-1998: the very good but underproduced BW88. The acclaimed (and imho a bit overrated, but that's just me) Paley Sessions. Enter Joe Thomas, resulting in the underwhelming "Imagination". Brian is delivered form Landy, marries Melinda, but is probably still uncertain whether pursuing a solo career or trying to reconnect with the Beach Boys.

1998-2011: Carl passes, and any hope/wish of staying with the grievously diminished Beach Boys fades in Brian. Exit Joe Thomas. Brian starts the collaboration with the amazing Wondermints-plus band and, surprisingly, starts touring a lot, at least by previous standards. In the studio, what I consider his second halcyon period after 1966-1967: BWPS, TLOS, Gershwin. The sound, in this phase, is very organic and "indie-like", just as you would expect from a band where the Wondermints are so prominent.

2012 on: re-enter Joe. The temporarily reunited Beach do a great tour and a good album with a killer 4-songs finale. Brian doesn't take well the forced ending of the reunion, but makes the most of it continuing the collaboration with Al and taking on board first David then Blondie.
False start with Jeff Beck, but Brian & C insist with "external" collaborations, resulting in NPP, imho a good and generally underrated album.
In this phase, the sound has become much "slicker", unsurprisingly given Joe Thomas, and that's what seems most divisive among the fans. Some, like me, like it, others hate it to no end. Also divisive is the importance of collaborators, imho somewhat of a failed experiment; taking the songs one by one, I like them, but they are too many and by very diverse musicians, so on the whole they give the idea of a scattered album.    
Brian's focus seems to have further shifted from the studio to a volume of touring which is now "a lot" (bordering on "too much") by any standards. Let's hope for the fabled R&R album.  

I see things a little differently. From 1987 or whenever it was he started recording solo (aren't there some demos from 1985/86 in preparation for the solo album?), I see Brian as a guy who is re-engaged with recording and making new music. A lot of it isn't released (Paley sessions, Sweet Insanity), but he seems to be in the studio a lot during these years. Out of it, we get BW88, IJWMFTT, OCA, and Imagination. All are very enjoyable - in different ways.
The second phase of his solo career is when the touring begins in 99. From that point on, the focus is clearly on the old material from 1962-73. He still records, but recording is secondary to the Never Ending Touring. New songs turn up in the set list when an album is first released, but year after year, it is the old hits that he and the band perform. They've gotten a lot of mileage out of Pet Sounds and Smile, because, apparently, that's what Joe Public wants to hear.