M.I.U vs L.A.

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

Commercially, and critically disappointing, which one of these albums do you think is better?

Is L.A. better just because it has "Shortenin' Bread" on it?

Actually, yes, it is.
Who am I kidding?

[Zach95]

Definitely LA. For Good Timin' and Baby Blue alone.

[Moon Dawg]

 L.A. is far superior to MIU. The presence of Carl and Dennis makes that a given, much less competent pop music such as "Good Timin", "Baby Blue", "Lady Lynda", "Love Surrounds Me", "Full Sail", "Angel Come Home" and yes even "Sumahama."

[EgoHanger1966]

M.I.U, big time. She's Got Rhythm, Hey Little Tomboy, Sweet Sunday Kinda Love...good stuff! I even like Matchpoint.

I like Good Timin' but the rest of LA doesn't do much for me.

[BiNNS]

I've always enjoyed M.I.U more.

[stack-o-tracks]

LA because I really enjoy Angel Come Home, Love Surrounds Me, Baby Blue, and of course Shortenin' Bread. Good Timin' and Here Comes The Night honorable mention.

Can't say I like much on MIU other than She's Got Rhythm and My Diane.

[GhostyTMRS]

I'd have to say LA....It's slicker and not as quirky as MIU but it has some superior Carl vocals and great Dennis tracks.

[lance]

LA is better but MIU has several good moments.

[Jim V.]

L.A. (Light Album) is better in my opinion. There is nothing as good as "Good Timin'", "Love Surrounds Me", or "Baby Blue" on MIU. I'd pretty much have to say L.A. would probably be the newest Beach Boys album I'd show anybody until SMiLE last year, and That's Why God Made The Radio this year.

[TV Forces]

M.I.U, big time. She's Got Rhythm, Hey Little Tomboy, Sweet Sunday Kinda Love...good stuff! I even like Matchpoint.

I like Good Timin' but the rest of LA doesn't do much for me.

Did you really include "Hey Little Tomboy" under the "good stuff" heading?

[KittyKat]

I like Pitter Patter, My Diane, and She's Got Rhythm.  The only thing I like on LA is Good Timin'.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

What next? Which is better: Summer In Paradise or Pet Sounds?

L.A. is so so so vastly superior to M.I.U. i can't even believe it's being debated. M.I.U. is an appalling album (i can't describe it in better terms than Dennis did) - there are 2, arguably 3, decent songs (She's Got Rhythm, My Diane, er... Pitter Patter?), amidst some of the worst - and worst produced - Beach Boys music ever recorded. It's not as bad as SIP, i'll give it that. But it's on equal terrible-ness footing with Keepin' The Summer Alive.

L.A. on the other hand has two classics - Good Timin' and the continuously under-rated Baby Blue, one of the finests ballads the group ever recorded - plus some beautiful Carl songs - Angel Come Home obviously, but i also think Full Sail is very nice with a gorgeous lead vocal. Why you're all sighting the throwaway Shortenin' Bread as a highlight on an album containing songs of the quality i've just mentioned is beyond me, but it is a fun ending to what remains one of the groups most under-valued records...

[willy]

L.A. is a lovely, mature, shimmering album full of golden late-afternoon long shadows.

Good Timin'
Lady Lynda
Sumahama
Baby Blue
Full Sail

are all beautiful for starters. I love it all... though maybe Here Comes the Night is a bit dodgy.

[Newguy562]

Sweet Sunday Kind Of Love
Belles Of Paris
Match Point Of Love

Vs.

Good Timin'
Lady Lynda
Shortenin Bread

This a pretty tough call -_____- i'll have to go with M.I.U. though (Just because of the harmonies on Belles of Paris)...But I love Shortenin Bread the most I only heard the Adult Child version of it before..

[Cabinessenceking]

LA, no question. Some may prefer MIU, but LA is by far the better album.

[Ovi]

My vote goes to 'L.A' which I consider to be a great album, with highly enjoyable songs. It's got Dennis' soulful ballads, Carl's mellow and relaxing compositions, the great and tuneful 'Good Timin' and 'Lady Linda', which is better than all of those oldies Jardine covered on M.I.U. combined. Some week points would be 'Sumahama' because of the japanese singing (otherwise a decent song), 'Here Comes The Night', for being way too long -- the single version would've been a much better choice and 'Shortenin' Bread', which is a take it or leave it for me.

On M.I.U. there are very few songs I enjoy and even though 'My Diane' is a masterpiece, the rest of the highlights don't hold a candle to L.A.'s ones. Also, it contains some of the band's lowest points to date : 'Matchpoint Of Our Love', 'Belles Of Paris' and 'Kona Coast'.

[adamghost]

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.

[buddhahat]

MIU for me. That whole second side starting from Sweet Sunday is gorgeous imo. I even have a soft spot for Kona Coast. Hate Brian's vocal on She's Got Rhythm though.

I've never managed to get into LA Light. Some of the Dennis numbers are good, and I love Beautiful Day, but I can take or leave the rest, and Here Comes The Night really throws a spanner in the works. Good Timing is nice enough but I find it a bit overrated.

Can we turn this into a poll to settle this once and for all!

[Sav-Man]

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.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

I prefer MIU. I think it's a pretty good record.

[Quzi]

LA > MIU

[virsago]

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...

[Sav-Man]

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! 

[Autotune]

Were the sound quality better and Carl more audible, I'd enjoy MIU enormously, I think.

Both are OK but deeply flawed. L.A. suffers from those lounge-sounding Carl Wilson ballads. They drag too much.

And both albums share the same problem: only two or three BBs are heard consistently.

[Smilin Ed H]

LA has Good Timin, Baby Blue, Full Sail, Angel Come Home and Love Surrounds Me that I really like.
MIU has My Diane and maybe Pitter Patter that I really like. Woncha Come Out Tonight and Winds of Change aren't bad. Don't care for the rest.

In a fight, has to be LA. I don't mind Goin' South and even Lady Lynda. Sumahama has some nice singing on it, but the lyrics are duff and the spoken section is awful. On MIU, I don't mind the covers, but despite the production, I think it's a fairly charmless album, more so than 15 BO, as much I wouldn't surrender my admiration for My Diane.