M.I.U vs L.A.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

If I had to choose between MIU and LALA, I would take Adult Child.

[lance]

Bells of Christmas is better. that 70s Christmas album is a great album.

I like some of those cuts too, but 'Santa's On His Way' and 'Xmas Time Is Here Again' kill it for me big time.

[Gertie J.]

Nobody Likes Belles of Paris :/?

Hey, that's my favorite too! Now count me in BOP fan club! 

[Lonely Summer]

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...

You read my mind....

[Newguy562]

Nobody Likes Belles of Paris :/?

Hey, that's my favorite too! Now count me in BOP fan club! 

hell yeah!

[KokoNO]

If I had to choose between MIU and LALA, I would take Adult Child.

Heh, I do think Adult Child is better than both albeit barely over LA. They're pretty much in the same boat with some great tunes mixed in with middling fare.

Whereas MIU is a turd. It's not a smelly bit of fecal matter like The Beach Boys or a bucket of diarrhea like Summer in Paradise. But it certainly still squishes in between your toes.

[Micha]

Songs I really enjoy listening to on MIU:

She’s Got Rhythm
Kona Coast
Wontcha Come Out Tonight
Pitter Patter
Winds of Change

Not a bad song, but not that joyful to me:

My Diane

Songs I really enjoy listening to on LA:

Angel Come Home

Not bad songs, but not that joyful to me:

Good Timin’
Full Sail
Baby Blue

That makes MIU my preferred album of those two.

[37!ws]

Wow...MIU vs LA...that's like deciding which testicle I'd rather have shorn off without anesthetic...

All i can say is....in 2000 when the post-Capitol albums were reissued as twofer CDs, I found out that the guy working checkout at the store where I bought it is also a fan, because I went in to get Holland / So Tough and I didn't see it (the others were there), and the guy said, "I'll check the back room. I already put my own copy aside, and if we don't have any more copies, you'll have to fight me for mine." When the rest came out, the same guy was there. He gave me a dirty look and said, "You're actually BUYING MIU and L.A.?!"

[Disney Boy (1985)]

If I had to choose between MIU and LALA, I would take Adult Child.

Heh, I do think Adult Child is better than both albeit barely over LA. They're pretty much in the same boat with some great tunes mixed in with middling fare.

Whereas MIU is a turd. It's not a smelly bit of fecal matter like The Beach Boys or a bucket of diarrhea like Summer in Paradise. But it certainly still squishes in between your toes.

A fecal matter containing Where I Belong, I Do Love You and Male Ego is a piece of fecal matter that i'd be personally happy to smear about my body quite contently for several hours at a time...

[LdC]

If I had to choose between MIU and LALA, I would take Adult Child.

Heh, I do think Adult Child is better than both albeit barely over LA. They're pretty much in the same boat with some great tunes mixed in with middling fare.

Whereas MIU is a turd. It's not a smelly bit of fecal matter like The Beach Boys or a bucket of diarrhea like Summer in Paradise. But it certainly still squishes in between your toes.

A fecal matter containing Where I Belong, I Do Love You and Male Ego is a piece of fecal matter that i'd be personally happy to smear about my body quite contently for several hours at a time...

and you can smear some Getcha back and Californai Calling on me too. Both guilty pleasures.
I still love Rock 'n'Roll to the Rescue !

[phirnis]

Light Album for me, even though it could've used A LOT more Brian and it doesn't contain one single song that blows me away the way "My Diane" does. Still very solid and enjoyable and I love both "Good Timin'" and "Baby Blue". "Lady Lynda" is pure cheese but I like it. Despite the notable inclusion of "Shortenin' Bread", L.A. really could have used some actual humor, it sounds very grown-up and safe in a bit of a boring way to me. They probably should've included "Calendar Girl", which is one of my favorite 15BO-like covers. And the last song on the album definitely should've been "California Feeling" - that would've made up for the lack of Brian I'm sure. Perfect way to end such an overall mellow record I think.

[Aegir]

Not a bad song, but not that joyful to me:

My Diane

It's not supposed to be joyful. it's very good at not being joyful. and it's still pretty catchy.

[thatjacob]

Easily M.I.U. for me, although I'll admit that I probably haven't listened to Light Album enough. I hated M.I.U. the first time I heard it then returned to it two years later and fell in love with a few tracks:

She's Got Rhythm
Wontcha Come Out Tonight?
Pitter Patter
and My Diane

I can't say that I feel that way about any tracks of of L.A. yet.

[Quzi]

I can't understand the love for Pitter Patter, it precisely fits the definition of "banal" imo. What should I be listening out for?

[Aegir]

it's really catchy and the lyrics fit in really well with the melody. the harmonies are pretty cool, especially Mike's "pitter patter pitter patter, of the rain" bass vocals.

[Alan Smith]

I can't understand the love for Pitter Patter, it precisely fits the definition of "banal" imo. What should I be listening out for?

Listen out for the opening line, as a prompt to skip to "My Diane"

[Micha]

Not a bad song, but not that joyful to me:

My Diane

It's not supposed to be joyful. it's very good at not being joyful. and it's still pretty catchy.

What I meant to say (not being a native English speaker) was that there are sad BB songs that I still enjoy listening to. I guess something in the arrangement of My Diane bugs me, however I can't name it.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I love 5 songs on MIU:
-Hey Little Tomboy
-Sweet Sunday Love
-Belles of Paris
-My Diane
-Match Point

Most of the rest is cringe worthy, although She's Got Rhythm is growing on me.

LA has nothing cringe worthy on it. No, not even Here Comes the Night. But outside of Good Timin, Baby Blue and Shortnen Bread, most of LALA is kind of boring to me. If I am in the mood, I can enjoy songs like Lady Lynda, Full Sail and Sumahama, but they don't have that magic that many BB songs have. Angel Come Home has grown on me a bit.

So I would say LALA is more consistent, but the top 5 songs on MIU, I listen to the most along with Good Timin.

[EgoHanger1966]

I'll say this again, I LOVE the drum sound on M.I.U!

[thatjacob]

it's really catchy and the lyrics fit in really well with the melody. the harmonies are pretty cool, especially Mike's "pitter patter pitter patter, of the rain" bass vocals.

Melodically it's one of the strongest of their songs from that era. Plus I like the arrangement.  Especially the country guitar part that comes in at the line "a rain swept plain". It's a good guilty pleasure later tune with mediocre/unimportant lyrics, but the same could be said about a lot of the stuff in their prime. The early surfy stuff comes to mind along with songs like "Vegetables".

Plus, I'm biased. I loathe astrology, so I'll take unimportant lyrics with a good melody over most of Mike's lyrics from that decade.

[jet without wings]

Well 30 years ago i would have said I prefer LA. Today I would say MIU is a not necessarily better more more enjoyable. When I listen to LA today it makes me sad knowing these were Dennis' last vocals. His voice ragged he lost his range. I know a lot of people like that about his voice.  I don't necessarily like the record less but I hear it differently today. 

 MIU, call it a guilty pleasure but I like Woncha come out tonight, Belles of Paris, Matchpoint, and especially Carls vocal Sweet Sunday Kind Of Love. I also appreciate what ron Altbach brought to the project. I think what maybe gets forgotten, somehow, during that time in Iowa, Brian was (perhaps for a brief time) focused. His vocal range seems strong.  I enjoy today listening to Woncha, or Shes got rhythm.
Some great songs on LA too. I like Good Timin' Lady Lynda and Sumahama.  Here comes the night is fine (even the Stones and RodStewart offered a dance tune back the)  but 3-4 minutes too long. 30 years later its MIU.

jet without wings

[Arturo Bandini]

"I don't believe in that album and it's an embarrassment to my life. It should self-destruct.. I hope that the karma will f*** up Mike Love’s meditation forever."

- Dennis Wilson on the MIU album
Just stronger songs and less embarassment on LA album.  Plus a lot more Dennis and Carl on LA.  For me again its a no brainer.  Though "Sweet Sunday Kinda Love" is a great forgotten gem of MIU.  

[buddhahat]

D'ya know - I'm a late comer to post Love You Beach Boys, and I have to say the more I listen to MIU the more I think it doesn't deserve its dire reputation. It sounds more consistent than LA to me. There's something kinky and perverted about the whole thing but in a creative way, if that's possible. I stated previously that I only care for side 2 but after blasting Wontcha Come Out Tonight in the car today which sounded INCREDIBLE I'm thinking, Peggy Sue aside, side 1 is not looking too shabby either.

I say poll this thing and let's be done with it.

Or are you LA freaks chickensh*t!?

[EgoHanger1966]

I tried L.A again today. Good Timin' is the standout track, and the fact that it comes first means everything else doesn't measure up. Lady Lynda is...nice. Sumahama is kinda cool. I'm not a fan of Dennis' gravel voice, so his tracks don't do anything for me, and Carl's tracks are O.K but there isn't any excitement.

Say what you will, but M.I.U has so much more energy than L.A. It's cheesy energy, sure, but there's loads of cheeze on Love You and that album gets praised all over the place.

I only have these two albums on vinyl, as the CD is crazy expensive. Wish I could hear what they sounded like remastered from the twofer.

[hypehat]

I'm telling you, lose the HCTN disco mix and sling on your favourite Adult/Child songs in it's place and L.A becomes one of their strongest 70's albums.