Why No Love For Kokomo ?

[perceval]

And you can bet that if Brian had sung just one chorus, or had a co-writing credit for just one line...or a co-producer credit....it wouldn't come in for as much criticism.

I disagree.  Just look at reviews of 15 Big Ones, MIU Album, and Keepin' the Summer Alive to see songs Brian either produced or co-wrote getting the same critical treatment (or worse) as Kokomo.  It's Carl and Dennis that are generally regarded as the saving graces of the 1978-80 albums, not Brian.  GIOMH didn't exactly get glowing reviews, either.

That said, how a Brian association might have helped the song's reputation...

Suppose BW88 had had the group do harmonies, therefore being a Beach Boys album (titled Love and Mercy) instead of a solo one, with Kokomo in place of One For The Boys.  It would have been the big hit on an album with Love and Mercy, Melt Away, Night Time, and Rio Grande.  Being on a very good album rather than the... not so good one it was on would have made it part of a creative revival for the band, instead of representing the era where the Beach Boys became a joke. 

It would still be considered cheesy fluff with a great Carl vocal, but it would be seen in a completely different context. 

[Cabinessenceking]

Can't someone make a "C'mon pretty mama board" where this can be the sole topic of discussion? It just puts me down when I enter SSB and see dat title...

[runnersdialzero]

Kokomo.

[ontor pertawst]

If only they would rerecord this for the boxed set, it would be so timely:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6U2ubpBd28

[Rocky Raccoon]

If only they would rerecord this for the boxed set, it would be so timely:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6U2ubpBd28

What the f**k did I just listen to?

[Micha]

My personal dislike of "Kokomo" has nothing to do with Mike Love. "Daybreak Over The Ocean" and "Big Sur" are great, hey, I even like "Everyone's In Love With You" despite the Maharishi! Maybe if Brian had had the chance to work on Kokomo, he might have improved it to a point where I would like it, but that's not for sure.

I frequently play Beach boys songs (plus non-BB songs) for friends on their birthday parties. This year somebody asked if I could play Kokomo... no I couldn't.

[BB Universe]

I have no problems with Kokomo and like it as part of the Beach Boys catalogue and inclusion in the live concerts.
It made the group relevant to a new set of fans (age wise) and "clicked" with the public. It cam along at a time that not much new or positive was coming from the group or any of its members. It was good publicity (I don't subscribe to the addage that any news (good or bad) is good news). A #1 song is a #1 song and there's nothing wrong with that whatsoever.
Concert goers sing the chorus with as much enthusiasm as any of their hits - and that's a good thing.
It is not one of my top favorite BB songs but it isn't low on the list either and the background stories and the like with respect to the song do not detract from the song for me.
I do agree with the comments that in a live set the song should be played earlier on as it is somewhat miscast towarsd the end when the faster paced songs are being played.

[Rocky Raccoon]

But the thing is that the song has dated terribly while the group's earlier material has not.  People like the song but they like it not as a piece of music but as a piece of nostalgia and that's why its popularity irks me.  I actually like the song but it is a poor representation of the Beach Boys from a bleak point in the band's career, artistically if not financially.  It was a commercial success but nothing more.  It's a catchy novelty song that doesn't fit in with the rest of the band's catalogue.

[joshferrell]

to me the problem with Kokomo is the fact that there were so many REALLY great songs from the 60's-70's that SHOULD have been hits but weren't (Aka:"Till I die","Long promised road" etc),but then Kokomo comes out and it's a huge hit BUT it really isn't much different from the songs off of MIU. it would be like if The Beatles had released "Hey Jude" as a single and it flopped then released "You know my name" as a single and it becomes their biggest hit in years.

[Lowbacca]

to me the problem with Kokomo is the fact that there were so many REALLY great songs from the 60's-70's that SHOULD have been hits but weren't (Aka:"Till I die","Long promised road" etc),but then Kokomo comes out and it's a huge hit BUT it really isn't much different from the songs off of MIU. it would be like if The Beatles had released "Hey Jude" as a single and it flopped then released "You know my name" as a single and it becomes their biggest hit in years.

"'Til I Die" and "Long Promised Road" should have been commercial hits? 

[joshferrell]

to me the problem with Kokomo is the fact that there were so many REALLY great songs from the 60's-70's that SHOULD have been hits but weren't (Aka:"Till I die","Long promised road" etc),but then Kokomo comes out and it's a huge hit BUT it really isn't much different from the songs off of MIU. it would be like if The Beatles had released "Hey Jude" as a single and it flopped then released "You know my name" as a single and it becomes their biggest hit in years.

"'Til I Die" and "Long Promised Road" should have been commercial hits? 

I think they were better then Kokomo..so yes they should have been.. also "california" could have been a hit,that one sounds like a "california girls part 2" in a lot of ways.

[Lowbacca]

to me the problem with Kokomo is the fact that there were so many REALLY great songs from the 60's-70's that SHOULD have been hits but weren't (Aka:"Till I die","Long promised road" etc),but then Kokomo comes out and it's a huge hit BUT it really isn't much different from the songs off of MIU. it would be like if The Beatles had released "Hey Jude" as a single and it flopped then released "You know my name" as a single and it becomes their biggest hit in years.

"'Til I Die" and "Long Promised Road" should have been commercial hits? 

I think they were better then Kokomo..so yes they should have been.. also "california" could have been a hit,that one sounds like a "california girls part 2" in a lot of ways.

Sure, most things are better than "Kokomo" (and "'Til I Die" & "Long Promised Road" are among the best BBs songs anyhow). I just think your reasoning is debatable.  "Kokomo" was consciously written to be a (hit) single (by a number of writers who were rather familiar with hit singles), whereas "'Til I Die" and "Long Promised Road" are intricate album tracks (and designed to work in that context in the first place). But what am I telling you this for? 

[drbeachboy]

to me the problem with Kokomo is the fact that there were so many REALLY great songs from the 60's-70's that SHOULD have been hits but weren't (Aka:"Till I die","Long promised road" etc),but then Kokomo comes out and it's a huge hit BUT it really isn't much different from the songs off of MIU. it would be like if The Beatles had released "Hey Jude" as a single and it flopped then released "You know my name" as a single and it becomes their biggest hit in years.

That is a very bad comparison. Kokomo is at least catchy and has a great refrain. Kokomo's popularity even took The Beach Boys by surprise. It was recorded for a movie soundtrack just as It's A Beautiful  Day and Chasin' The Sky. I doubt anyone thought it would be anymore than that.

[Lowbacca]

to me the problem with Kokomo is the fact that there were so many REALLY great songs from the 60's-70's that SHOULD have been hits but weren't (Aka:"Till I die","Long promised road" etc),but then Kokomo comes out and it's a huge hit BUT it really isn't much different from the songs off of MIU. it would be like if The Beatles had released "Hey Jude" as a single and it flopped then released "You know my name" as a single and it becomes their biggest hit in years.

That is a very bad comparison. Kokomo is at least catchy and has a great refrain. Kokomo's popularity even took The Beach Boys by surprise. It was recorded for a movie soundtrack just as It's A Beautiful  Day and Chasin' The Sky. I doubt anyone thought it would be anymore than that.

"Kokomo" was supposed to be released as a new single for the BBs (and was of course meant to be successful, as any single any popular band ever releases), not just as another tune on a movie soundtrack. Eventually the degree of "Kokomo"'s success may have been a surprise, but not the fact that it did well commercially at all. Love, Phillips, McKenzie, Melcher... those guys knew they had a great single there.

[Cabinessenceking]

to me the problem with Kokomo is the fact that there were so many REALLY great songs from the 60's-70's that SHOULD have been hits but weren't (Aka:"Till I die","Long promised road" etc),but then Kokomo comes out and it's a huge hit BUT it really isn't much different from the songs off of MIU. it would be like if The Beatles had released "Hey Jude" as a single and it flopped then released "You know my name" as a single and it becomes their biggest hit in years.

That is a very bad comparison. Kokomo is at least catchy and has a great refrain. Kokomo's popularity even took The Beach Boys by surprise. It was recorded for a movie soundtrack just as It's A Beautiful  Day and Chasin' The Sky. I doubt anyone thought it would be anymore than that.

"Kokomo" was supposed to be released as a new single for the BBs (and was of course meant to be successful, as any single any popular band ever releases), not just as another tune on a movie soundtrack. Eventually the degree of "Kokomo"'s success may have been a surprise, but not the fact that it did well commercially at all. Love, Phillips, McKenzie, Melcher... those guys knew they had a great single there.

and then they called uncle Jesse.

[Lowbacca]

to me the problem with Kokomo is the fact that there were so many REALLY great songs from the 60's-70's that SHOULD have been hits but weren't (Aka:"Till I die","Long promised road" etc),but then Kokomo comes out and it's a huge hit BUT it really isn't much different from the songs off of MIU. it would be like if The Beatles had released "Hey Jude" as a single and it flopped then released "You know my name" as a single and it becomes their biggest hit in years.

That is a very bad comparison. Kokomo is at least catchy and has a great refrain. Kokomo's popularity even took The Beach Boys by surprise. It was recorded for a movie soundtrack just as It's A Beautiful  Day and Chasin' The Sky. I doubt anyone thought it would be anymore than that.

"Kokomo" was supposed to be released as a new single for the BBs (and was of course meant to be successful, as any single any popular band ever releases), not just as another tune on a movie soundtrack. Eventually the degree of "Kokomo"'s success may have been a surprise, but not the fact that it did well commercially at all. Love, Phillips, McKenzie, Melcher... those guys knew they had a great single there.

and then they called uncle Jesse.

Just to be sure, yeah. 

[Junebug]

I wouldn't put in my Top 30 never mind Top 10 but i bloody love Kokomo , great wee song, catchy as hell.

[MBE]

But the thing is that the song has dated terribly while the group's earlier material has not.  

Exactly

[metal flake paint]

I see some people mentioning how it's "ridiculously catchy". To suggest that this is what makes a song good is borderline offensive.

Kokomo uses an incredibly boring and derivative chord progression. The instrumentation is cheezy. It sounds like the commercial music for Sandals Resorts or something. The song was written in 1988 when Mike Love was 47. I mean come on there's absolutely no sophistication whatsoever. Brian was writing more sophisticated songs than this when he was 19.

It's not arbitrary that people love Brian and hate Mike. Brian was brilliant and Mike rode on his coattails. Kokomo to me is like the 1988 equivalent of a Katy Perry song or that "Call me Maybe" song that's really popular right now. Catchy - yes. Good music - no.

The Beach Boys were just session singers on it and had their name put on the record but they had almost nothing to do with it including Mike.  Mike bragging about it like he had much to do with it is annoying but it's not something he really created.  Blame the people who put  the song on the Tom Cruise movie soundtrack and the people who put the video on MTV for it being huge.  Heck, Brian regrets not singing on it and has said so in interviews.

As for the instrumentation being cheesy, you do realize that Van Dyke Parks is responsible for a lot of the sound of it or at least the parts that sound like an ad for Sandal Resorts.  Van Dyke arranged the steel drum part and plays the accordion on it and those two sounds give it the island resort feel.

Session singers is a bit strong. We could say that about a few Beach Boys albums, as well. They are foremost vocalists. I could see your point if was released as an instrumental piece with their name on it. Were they session singers on the new album? Same situation as Kokomo.

Point is, Kokomo wasn't something they came up with and they were only asked to do it by film producers. They weren't offered a label deal then came up with it like the new album.  They released it as a single prior to the film soundtrack and film release, but it only exists because of C'tail and it was produced by outsiders as a piece of a soundtrack.  The existence of the song and its success are both a fluke.  

The song was already written before galotail was filmed. Terry Melcher who had a history with the Boys' had quite a bit to do with recording the song and having it used in the movie. Furthermore, there are lots of songs recorded by the Boys' that had nothing to do with them previously. Recorded because there were songs that Brian or the band liked and wanted to put their take on it. Do You Wanna Dance was a #12 hit with music recorded by the Wrecking Crew with only the Beach Boys vocals. Whether Brian or Terry, these are Producers that the Beach Boys used to make their records. In neither case were they session vocalists for their own work. It truly amazes me that people who don't like something come up with made up reasons as to why it was done.

I suggest you check your facts before making such a sweeping statement, specifically the list of musicians on page 2:

http://www.tiptopwebsite.com/custommusic2/craigslowinskicom.pdf#page=1

[drbeachboy]

I am so, so, so, so, sorry. Please, please, please, please forgive me that I forgot or did not remember that Carl and Brian participated in recording the track. That was not my point, however. The point was, was that like Do You Wanna Dance, Kokomo was recorded with outside musicans like their mid-60s stuff. Not an unusual thing for them to do. Actually, I don't need to keep my facts straight, as I have you to do that for me.

[rab2591]

Personally, I love it.

It makes me feel nostalgic about my childhood (I grew up with the song). Bland chord progression? Maybe. Cheesy instrumentals? Maybe. Cheesy lyrics? Yes. Dated Production? Yes.

To me, a great Beach Boys song is one that makes you feel happy and sad at the same time (Pretty much every song on Pet Sounds, the song 'All Summer Long', even the chorus of 'I Get Around' has an achingly beautiful melody). And Kokomo does the same thing for me.