Mike's leadership of the band

[Mr Fulton]

When Carl talked about the song he wrote that didn't appear.  I heard it ended up on the Like A Brother album and it was Run Don't Walk

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I haven't had a chance to read through this entire topic yet, but this is my impression of the most powerful person(s) in the Beach Boys organization from 62- today

1962-1963 (Murray Wilson with Nick Venet and Brian Wilson being 2nd and 3rd)
1963-64 (After Venet was fired, It was Murray Wilson with Brian pushing for more control
64-68 (Brian fired Murray and gained full control of the band with outer pressure from Capitol Records. Brian also respected opinions from the band, mostly Carl, and the wrecking crew)
68-71 (Brian's mental problems made him take a step back and this period was truly democratic. The group seemed to get along well enough to work together. With Al and Bruce having less say then the family members most likely)
71-73 (with the hiring of Jack Reiley, he gave more power to Carl to lead the band. Carl had already become the band director on stage, so it was natural that he became the producer in the studio. Reiley seemed to favor the Wilson camp, but I think Carl respected Mike and Al enough to keep them happy. Blondie and Ricky probably felt like outsiders, but they were respected by everyone enough to be involved as full time members. Carl was very good at being an inclusive leader of give and take with all parties involved.)
74-76 (Jack Reiley was gone, but Carl continued to be the band leader on stage. With the success of Endless Summer there was more pressure from the record company for Brian Wilson to lead the group again. I would say the most powerful force was the buying public pushing for more oldies. Even the band reluctantly began to play more oldies on stage.)
76-77 (Brian was back. Sort of. He was sort of pushed into the leadership position. But with the lack of success of Love You, and his backslide into drugs, and lack of desire to lead that quickly faded. And perhaps the Adult Child material was frowned on by certain band members)
77-78 (Two warring faction with Dennis and Carl on one side who pushed for more progressive music but also did drugs, while Mike and Al, the meditators, felt the future was in the past musically. Brian refused to take sides. Mike and Al were probably more disciplined at this time and gained control for one album, MIU )
78-80,83-88 (Carl cleaned up and Al began to side more with Carl. Bruce Johnston produced 2 albums and probably had some power. A period that was more democratic once again. Culture Club's producer was given the power as producer for the 85 album.)
80-83 (A period when Carl went solo, and Brian and Dennis were released for their drug and alcohol issues, Mike was probably in charge)
86-2011, 2013-present (Mike Love who worked with Terry Melcher for awhile and with the number one hit Kokomo gained power. Carl was still the band leader on stage, but his focus was more on Brian's health and keeping the families happy. After Carl died, Al was fired and Mike was even more in charge with his yes man Bruce Johnston after the Beach Boys voted for Mike to have the rights to tour under the name Beach Boys)
2012 (For one year, Mike took a slight step back, and Brian Wilson was given power in terms of recording. Mike was still in charge of the set list. But he wanted to be more involved in the song writing than he was so wanted to go back to things as they were.)

These are my thoughts, with some details thrown in.

[Lee Marshall]

After reading this lone post I quickly thought that it was missing just two things...
Firstly...Once Upon a time...

I haven't had a chance to read through this entire topic yet, but this is my impression of the most powerful person(s) in the Beach Boys organization from 62- today

1962-1963 (Murray Wilson with Nick Venet and Brian Wilson being 2nd and 3rd)
1963-64 (After Venet was fired, It was Murray Wilson with Brian pushing for more control
64-68 (Brian fired Murray and gained full control of the band with outer pressure from Capitol Records. Brian also respected opinions from the band, mostly Carl, and the wrecking crew)
68-71 (Brian's mental problems made him take a step back and this period was truly democratic. The group seemed to get along well enough to work together. With Al and Bruce having less say then the family members most likely)
71-73 (with the hiring of Jack Reiley, he gave more power to Carl to lead the band. Carl had already become the band director on stage, so it was natural that he became the producer in the studio. Reiley seemed to favor the Wilson camp, but I think Carl respected Mike and Al enough to keep them happy. Blondie and Ricky probably felt like outsiders, but they were respected by everyone enough to be involved as full time members. Carl was very good at being an inclusive leader of give and take with all parties involved.)
74-76 (Jack Reiley was gone, but Carl continued to be the band leader on stage. With the success of Endless Summer there was more pressure from the record company for Brian Wilson to lead the group again. I would say the most powerful force was the buying public pushing for more oldies. Even the band reluctantly began to play more oldies on stage.)
76-77 (Brian was back. Sort of. He was sort of pushed into the leadership position. But with the lack of success of Love You, and his backslide into drugs, and lack of desire to lead that quickly faded. And perhaps the Adult Child material was frowned on by certain band members)
77-78 (Two warring faction with Dennis and Carl on one side who pushed for more progressive music but also did drugs, while Mike and Al, the meditators, felt the future was in the past musically. Brian refused to take sides. Mike and Al were probably more disciplined at this time and gained control for one album, MIU )
78-80,83-88 (Carl cleaned up and Al began to side more with Carl. Bruce Johnston produced 2 albums and probably had some power. A period that was more democratic once again. Culture Club's producer was given the power as producer for the 85 album.)
80-83 (A period when Carl went solo, and Brian and Dennis were released for their drug and alcohol issues, Mike was probably in charge)
86-2011, 2013-present (Mike Love who worked with Terry Melcher for awhile and with the number one hit Kokomo gained power. Carl was still the band leader on stage, but his focus was more on Brian's health and keeping the families happy. After Carl died, Al was fired and Mike was even more in charge with his yes man Bruce Johnston after the Beach Boys voted for Mike to have the rights to tour under the name Beach Boys)
2012 (For one year, Mike took a slight step back, and Brian Wilson was given power in terms of recording. Mike was still in charge of the set list. But he wanted to be more involved in the song writing than he was so wanted to go back to things as they were.)

These are my thoughts, with some details thrown in.

And FINALLY...And they all lived happily ever after.

The End.

[Debbie KL]

Observing from different distances 69 to early 80's - sometimes nowhere around, sometimes up close.  The drug stuff is really overplayed.  Brian was heartbroken - drugs, when they happened - a symptom, not the problem.  He came to my and Eva's place for the great stereo equipment and a place to chill - and probably eat - in the late 70's.  What he did when he left, I don't know.  What I do know is that he still loved music, but didn't seem to know how to work with his band anymore.

[tpesky]

I've always felt the Beach Boys should have taken a break as a band around 1977. I think it would have done a world of good. They didn't gain much staying together.  I am quite sure they would have gotten back together by their 20th anniversary but I think the individuals would have been better served. Maybe it would have helped Dennis? Brian? Carl? It couldn't be any worse. They never got to have the reunion album/tour. because they never left.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

Oxymoronic thread title. 

[DonnyL]

I think the problem with the group since the 1980s is that they don't have a leader. The "group" exists primarily as a corporate entity with no real vision.

[Debbie KL]

I've always felt the Beach Boys should have taken a break as a band around 1977. I think it would have done a world of good. They didn't gain much staying together.  I am quite sure they would have gotten back together by their 20th anniversary but I think the individuals would have been better served. Maybe it would have helped Dennis? Brian? Carl? It couldn't be any worse. They never got to have the reunion album/tour. because they never left.

Well said. 

From my point of view, they killed the BBs when they didn't allow Brian creative freedom to have a solo career or work with other artists in addition to the BBs in the late 60's.  They killed their group creative source while they pursued their own interests in addition to the BBs. Some did so rather well, but it did, in essence, kill the BBs. Still, they did did pretty well for several years after that and were a good band.  The name lived since the late 60's because it's about the money, as pretty much indicated in DonnyL's post.

[Don Malcolm]

Mike was always angling to be in charge, but the stage was always populated with people who had more talent. What he could do is point to the early success and attempt to apply that as a very thick sealing wax over the band and its image. He lobbied for it and pretty much outlasted the Wilsons (psychological attrition and two premature deaths) until he was in a position to "lead" his version of the band--a hyped-up apparition of the "good old days." He hasn't wavered from that position--or in his hand-wringing remarks about the perils of drugs--in close to a quarter-century...because there is no one who wants to go toe-to-toe with him about those details. There is too much pain and regret mixed into the success for Brian, and, as a truly sensitive soul, he just wants to have as much emotional comfort as he can experience given the traumas that his success has brought him. And woe to anyone who begrudges him that...

Let's recall that despite Brian's "issues," he's managed to be infinitely more productive creatively than Mike in the past thirty years, during a time when they were barely working together. Mike's indefatigable touring may have had a positive effect in keeping the band name somewhat in the public eye over those years, but if he hadn't done that, the Beach Boys' 50th tour would have still had a tremendous amount of cachet because it had Brian back in the middle of things, something that hadn't been the case since The Beach Boys Love You in 1977.

The BBs needed the $$ in the late 70s--at least Mike did. He even admits that he didn't get a grip on his lifestyle until much later, and it wasn't cemented for him until Jackie entered the picture. Mike needed that CBS deal as much, or more, than any of them--and that was probably the major reason they didn't break up then, even though it would have been much better for Dennis (and probably Brian and Carl as well--though Brian was still having a lot of push-pull about the situation then--late 70s--as I think Debbie could attest to).

[HeyJude]

Mike was always angling to be in charge, but the stage was always populated with people who had more talent. What he could do is point to the early success and attempt to apply that as a very thick sealing wax over the band and its image. He lobbied for it and pretty much outlasted the Wilsons (psychological attrition and two premature deaths) until he was in a position to "lead" his version of the band--a hyped-up apparition of the "good old days." He hasn't wavered from that position--or in his hand-wringing remarks about the perils of drugs--in close to a quarter-century...because there is no one who wants to go toe-to-toe with him about those details. There is too much pain and regret mixed into the success for Brian, and, as a truly sensitive soul, he just wants to have as much emotional comfort as he can experience given the traumas that his success has brought him. And woe to anyone who begrudges him that...

Let's recall that despite Brian's "issues," he's managed to be infinitely more productive creatively than Mike in the past thirty years, during a time when they were barely working together. Mike's indefatigable touring may have had a positive effect in keeping the band name somewhat in the public eye over those years, but if he hadn't done that, the Beach Boys' 50th tour would have still had a tremendous amount of cachet because it had Brian back in the middle of things, something that hadn't been the case since The Beach Boys Love You in 1977.

The BBs needed the $$ in the late 70s--at least Mike did. He even admits that he didn't get a grip on his lifestyle until much later, and it wasn't cemented for him until Jackie entered the picture. Mike needed that CBS deal as much, or more, than any of them--and that was probably the major reason they didn't break up then, even though it would have been much better for Dennis (and probably Brian and Carl as well--though Brian was still having a lot of push-pull about the situation then--late 70s--as I think Debbie could attest to).

All excellent points.

Also worth mentioning, and I'll probably be a bit all over the place here, in a more specific area, is the lucrative nature of touring. As much as folks like to romanticize touring, and how Mike to this day tours because "its the only way of life he knows" (and I'm not saying there's *nothing* to that argument), I'd say that every time the band hit a snag or a low point but usually *kept touring * ad nauseam, there was a pretty obvious reason: Money.

When was the last time that sales of a *new* album, and the resulting royalties, were a main and huge source of income for the band members? Probably some time in the 60s. Apart from one-shot or short-term record label advances (e.g. CBS in the late 70s), and one-shot deals like "Kokomo" and, *maybe*, some advance money from Capitol for albums like "Still Cruisin'" and "That's Why God Made the Radio", the main source or revenue has been, for most of their career, touring income and then royalties from the early-mid 60s oldies.

Why did they keep touring in 1977 despite such acrimony? Touring revenue (and CBS money). Why did they keep touring when Carl left in 1981? Touring money; they didn't care how bad the band sounded. They even said "f**k it" and played Sun City in late 1981 for crying out loud.

Supposedly, going back some years into the late 70s or early 80s, Carl had the idea that they should play less shows, to *not* tour all year, every year. Then, when they'd swing around to your area on tour every two or three years, they'd be able to play larger venues. Why didn't that idea ever win out? As mentioned above, psychological attrition on the part of Carl may have been a large factor. But I'm guessing, with even less songwriting royalty money rolling in for Carl than for Brian or Mike, Carl probably found touring a hugely lucrative area as well, still the one area where they were guaranteed a paycheck.

Further, how many of the band members took that HUGE wad of touring cash and dumped it into "passion projects"? How many solo albums or side projects did Mike or Carl or Al (or Bruce for that matter) take on after the early 80s?

As we move into the mid-late 90s, we see Mike actually moving for more control/power/revenue from the touring side of things. Stebbins and Marks note that Mike was edging Al out of the band and recruiting David Marks to replace *Al* (and thus removing a corporate member who got a main piece of the pie and replacing him with Marks, who would be salaried).

If anyone ever wonders what the fudge happened between Al and Mike, I think Mike wanting to produce BB shows with his own company was probably *the* thing that finally broke those two up, with Al on the losing end and marginalized. It think that was the main thing between them, not Al complaining about cheerleaders, or yelling about losing a cheerleader babysitter (see Mike's book), or Al trying to book a "Pet Sounds" tour with Peter Cetera, or whatever else is mentioned from time to time.

And speaking of Peter Cetera, look at his exit from "Chicago" in 1985. As he tells it, he told the band he wanted some time off, some time to do a solo album, before going back for another "Chicago" tour. They said no. They forced out their main songwriter and lead vocalist because, among surely a myriad of reasons, they'd lose out on a year or two of touring revenue while Cetera "took time off." They were actually having more success (e.g. "You're the Inspiration") than the BBs were having in the late 70s or most of the 80s in terms of recordings, but they still probably saw touring as the main source or revenue and took the risk of ditching Cetera and getting a generic replacement and going right back out on the road.

Other bands of this general era have done similar things. While interpersonal issues no doubt are usually also at play, you have other bands like Styx ditching the main vocalist/songwriter because he couldn't immediately do a tour. Steve Perry got ditched from Journey because he had a hip problem and couldn't tour (again, there are surely other reasons involved in these cases; but there's a pattern of not being willing to give an already frayed relationship some "cooling off" time, and instead ditching the "problem" member and going right back out on the road).

I'm not even saying that in all of these cases the "money grab" to tour should be frowned upon. In many cases, it's the one and only main source or income for band members. A lot of these bands had members that sniffed or drank or gambled all of their original money away and had to keep touring.

[guitarfool2002]

Re: Touring.

A point I brought up in one of the Jim Hirsch interview follow-ups that I don't think ever got followed up...

The claim has been made for years that Mike has wanted to get Brian into a room with a piano to write songs, just the two of them banging out some new hits like 1963. If that happens, then, we'll have, you know, world peace.

But the conundrum is a simple one: Songwriting is a process, followed by producing and recording an album of those songs, as everyone knows. If Mike is on the road for - what is it up to? Close to 200 shows each year, with travel days in between and some "down time" wherever that can be put in - Where is there time left to write and record new material? Where has there been time to write and record new material? In the last 4 years, Mike has toured constantly, Brian has toured. Even when Mike was re-recording a "new" Christmas song, he had to duck into Q Division in Somerville, MA and link to Lloyd in a studio in California versus holding a session "like the old days". If he weren't booking so many shows, maybe there would be more time to devote to recording and writing "new" material.

But, as the saying goes, you can't have it both ways. If looking to repeat the process of the mid 60's is the one Golden Ticket to getting the band really humming again, that won't happen playing over 2/3rds of the year on tour, each and every year.

Red herring answer - The room and piano and Brian Wilson sitting behind that piano in that room, and all the "folks" keeping that from happening (according to Mike) being the great missing link to all of it. Nothing truly new in terms of songwriting has come from Mike for several decades minus whatever was on the 2012 reunion album, to where something new Mike's fans could buy was actually released on an album or a single. Could it be the choice was made to tour incessantly versus taking a few months off for a solid session of writing and producing a record versus doing a drive-in for a day or two when they needed a rush release to meet the holiday deadline?

[guitarfool2002]

I didn't go into it because it got hashed out in a lot of detail in a previous thread about the years following Kokomo, but in my opinion a lot of this discussion comes back to the years surrounding "Kokomo". The band, sans Brian's direct involvement, had a #1 record on a hit movie soundtrack, a popular video on MTV, and renewed interest from Capitol who didn't have interest in "new" Beach Boys original material for years. The band simply could not capitalize on that success, and instead of something legit Capitol got a compilation album with previously released material surrounding an official Capitol release of the Kokomo track called "Still Cruisin", and the album Mike delivered as the follow-up had to be shopped to a practically unknown label and sank like a stone instead of delivering the goods as a legit way to ride the wave of renewed interest in the band.

I've also mentioned my own personal experiences of going to the Beach Boys section in record shops like Tower and elsewhere in the early 90's, and seeing copy after copy of Still Cruisin and Summer In Paradise sitting in the same bins as the Pet Sounds CD reissue and at various times the two-fers and later the single CD album reissues. The reissues would sell and be gone from the bins - SIP and the compilations sat there unsold until they hit the cutout bins, where they remained unsold there too.

It was Jekyll and Hyde for the name "The Beach Boys" during this time. There was a renewed buzz in the so-called "underground" or alternative music circles who were discovering or rediscovering the classics and promoting them in interviews, cover versions, etc...and the band itself was doing SIP and the cheerleader/beach ball/palm tree tours as if there was no recognition of the buzz surrounding their music from the 60's, particularly Pet Sounds/Smile era.

The Don Was documentary was underground too, but I saw it covered and raved about in the 'Zines of that time. That jumped on the buzz that was going on, and it delivered the goods for those fans. It was Jekyll and Hyde yet again - Which Beach Boys were people buying or even seeking out in 1994-95? The touring band playing Kokomo and SIP with the dancers and palm trees on stage, or the band that did Pet Sounds and all those glorious tracks on the '93 box set?

The leadership seemed to be confused as to what was going on and how to jump on it.

[SMiLE Brian]

They seemed scared of a "BW is back" part two even though Brian was freed from Landy and recieving proper care at UCLA. The paley demos were the way to the next BBs album.

[guitarfool2002]

When the band was still riding the Kokomo wave in '89/'90, there were articles and interviews that had a sense of "we didn't need Brian" to score a hit with Kokomo. The problem is, they never followed up. When Brian did re-enter the picture even if it was only having him appear on the set of Baywatch, they went with "Summer Of Love" as the song to promote to an international TV audience watching Baywatch. The various fumbles and errors of the "leadership" during this time is on full display.

[CenturyDeprived]

They seemed scared of a "BW is back" part two even though Brian was freed from Landy and recieving proper care at UCLA. The paley demos were the way to the next BBs album.

Did the Paley demos never go anywhere with the band in part because they were not written in a room with Brian and Mike?

[guitarfool2002]

Brian and Mike were writing songs together during that time. A lot of songs and song ideas, according to Don Was who helped bring the two back together and was involved in producing the sessions surrounding that time. Brian asked Don to reach out to the Beach Boys about getting together to work after he got free and clear of Landy, and Don did, and they did. One account of some of what happened in the time after that can be read in the Carlin book. Ultimately what didn't happen can be seen on YouTube with events like the Baywatch appearance.

[SMiLE Brian]

Didn't Don ask for a serious song and get baywatch nights back?

[guitarfool2002]

That's what he said happened in an interview from that time! Even that one never panned out, and with the buzz among fans like me who wanted to hear what they had cooked up in this new collaboration (whether it was Baywatch Nights or not), instead we got Mike rapping "it's a love thing" on the beach as Brian stood there and Stamos played electronic drums in the sand.

[SMiLE Brian]

Brian's face at Mike's prancing is epic!

[guitarfool2002]

[Lonely Summer]

I didn't go into it because it got hashed out in a lot of detail in a previous thread about the years following Kokomo, but in my opinion a lot of this discussion comes back to the years surrounding "Kokomo". The band, sans Brian's direct involvement, had a #1 record on a hit movie soundtrack, a popular video on MTV, and renewed interest from Capitol who didn't have interest in "new" Beach Boys original material for years. The band simply could not capitalize on that success, and instead of something legit Capitol got a compilation album with previously released material surrounding an official Capitol release of the Kokomo track called "Still Cruisin", and the album Mike delivered as the follow-up had to be shopped to a practically unknown label and sank like a stone instead of delivering the goods as a legit way to ride the wave of renewed interest in the band.

I've also mentioned my own personal experiences of going to the Beach Boys section in record shops like Tower and elsewhere in the early 90's, and seeing copy after copy of Still Cruisin and Summer In Paradise sitting in the same bins as the Pet Sounds CD reissue and at various times the two-fers and later the single CD album reissues. The reissues would sell and be gone from the bins - SIP and the compilations sat there unsold until they hit the cutout bins, where they remained unsold there too.

It was Jekyll and Hyde for the name "The Beach Boys" during this time. There was a renewed buzz in the so-called "underground" or alternative music circles who were discovering or rediscovering the classics and promoting them in interviews, cover versions, etc...and the band itself was doing SIP and the cheerleader/beach ball/palm tree tours as if there was no recognition of the buzz surrounding their music from the 60's, particularly Pet Sounds/Smile era.

The Don Was documentary was underground too, but I saw it covered and raved about in the 'Zines of that time. That jumped on the buzz that was going on, and it delivered the goods for those fans. It was Jekyll and Hyde yet again - Which Beach Boys were people buying or even seeking out in 1994-95? The touring band playing Kokomo and SIP with the dancers and palm trees on stage, or the band that did Pet Sounds and all those glorious tracks on the '93 box set?

The leadership seemed to be confused as to what was going on and how to jump on it.

There was an interview with Carl posted here a couple years ago where he talked about the Still Cruisin' album; IIRC, Capitol only wanted 2 or 3 new songs, the group gave them 5. That was the compromise. But I agree that somebody really blew it in not getting a new studio album out in the wake of Kokomo's success. By the time Summer in Paradise came out in 92, all that momentum was gone. Something else no one ever mentions: the cover art for Still Cruisin' was poor. There was nothing there that would jump out at fans to say "hey, there's a new Beach Boys album...sort of". The only good thing I can say about SIP is the artwork was very eye catching.

[guitarfool2002]

Capitol's order was 3 "hit singles", not just new songs. The band obviously failed to deliver. Capitol bailed. Here is the original article from when the iron was red hot...

LA Times
The Beach Boys' New Splash
May 26, 1989|STEVE HOCHMAN

The Beach Boys are riding their biggest wave in two decades. They're coming off their first No. 1 single in 22 years ("Kokomo"), "genius" Brian Wilson is back in the fold, they've re-turned to Capitol Records and are on the road with Chicago for a hot-ticket summer tour.

You'd think these purveyors of good vibrations and endless summer fun, fun, fun would be coasting along quite comfortably. But the mood at a Culver City sound stage during the band's final rehearsal for the Chicago tour was anything but light.

The tension seemed to mirror the band's determination to take advantage of the current resurgence and re-establish itself as a contemporary hit-maker--or be doomed to a life as nostalgia merchants.

Carl Wilson, who had spent much of the night before working on new songs in a recording studio, declined to be interviewed. And Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Mike Love and Al Jardine seemed pretty businesslike as they worked out choreography steps to "Barbara Ann" with the six bikinied surfer girls who are decorating the stage on this tour (which includes shows Saturday at the Pacific Amphitheatre and Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl).

Explained Johnston, who joined the Beach Boys in 1965 after Brian Wilson gave up full-time touring: "I don't want the Beach Boys to be the futile endless road show of 'The King and I' or 'I Love Lucy' reruns. I live, eat and breathe getting on the radio. I just think, 'How can we get back on the radio?' "

Johnston didn't pause before answering himself: "With great songs, that's how!"

An odd question, coming not long after the band's "Kokomo," a song from the "Cocktail" movie score, became the Beach Boys first No. 1 single since 1966's "Good Vibrations."

And that was only one highlight from what was the group's best year in eons. It began with its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, built through the attention focused on the solo album debut of Brian Wilson--the architect of the Beach Boys' often-imitated sound--and crested with "Kokomo."

The new Capitol release will be the band's first album in four years. Titled "Still Cruisin' " and due this summer, the record will be a combination of movie-related tracks including "Kokomo" and "Wipe Out" (a pairing with the rapping Fat Boys) and several new songs. After that, the contract contains an option for an album of all new material. Johnston calls it "the album of doom."

"Just because you've had a No. 1 doesn't mean you're automatic," Johnston said during a rehearsal break, acknowledging that the Beach Boys could go on forever recreating the endless summer with its stockpile of old hits. But that isn't good enough for him.

"It's records that matter," he said. "There's no point in touring without new records. It's just huge payments to me. We've got to be better than that."

David Berman, president of Capitol Records, was pleased to hear that the Beach Boys are going into their new arrangement with the label with that attitude.

"I think it's a pivotal point in their career," he said. "I hesitate to say with them that it's ever make or break. As a touring entity so continually successful, I wouldn't say that if this record doesn't happen it's the end of them as a recording entity. They're too good and represent too much so that they won't ever be dated. But on the other hand, I'm glad they feel that way because it bodes well for the record."

It's clear to the Beach Boys what Capitol expects from them.

"Three hit singles, to tell you the truth," Jardine said. "That's what they told us."

"That's fair," Berman said. "That's what I would hope for."

But even one hit, coming on the heels of "Kokomo," would pay double dividends for Capitol, which still owns the Beach Boys' '60s catalogue, some of which is now on CD, with the much-anticipated and much-delayed CD release of the hailed "Pet Sounds" 1966 album still to come.

Said Berman: "We do anticipate that a new hit Beach Boys record will help us exploit the catalogue, including but not limited to a 'Pet Sounds' CD."

Much is being made of Brian Wilson's role with the group. He will play only selected dates on this tour, including the Southland shows, with a four-song solo set included. But he will be working throughout the summer in the studio creating new songs for the band, which is essentially the role he has played for the past 25 years.

"We're going back to the original formula," said Dr. Eugene Landy, Brian's controversial therapist, guide and co-writer who hovered around while Brian was being interviewed. "Brian is most valuable to the Beach Boys using his time in the studio."

Still, many are perceiving this as a return to the fold for Brian, given his solo activities and the fact that he was not involved with "Kokomo." That impression was heightened last year when Love said in interviews that "Kokomo's" commercial superiority over Brian's solo album might prove to Brian that he needed the Beach Boys.

And Brian himself spoke of being accepted back into the Beach Boys.

"I'm very happy about it," he said. "And Mike seems to be happy for me being in the Beach Boys."

In any case, Brian's presence is paramount to Capitol. "Brian's involvement on this record is extremely important," Berman said. "But the fact that Mike Love and (producer) Terry Melcher came up with 'Kokomo' on their own without Brian means you've got a tremendous amount of talent there. I'm confident we can have quality material from all the Beach Boys."

[SMiLE Brian]

Thanks GF for my new profile picture!

[CenturyDeprived]

Album cover idea for the next greatest hits repackage?

[Pretty Funky]

And there you have the reason Brian said 'I don't write songs that way now'.