Mike hopes to "record another album the way it should be"

[SMiLE Brian]

A Mike Love book would be incredible, maybe better than the up coming Brian once since we know Mike will actually be involved in his

The first "Mike Love's New Book" thread will crash this damn site all by itself, and perhaps even the entire internet! 

All we need now is the Mike Love solo boxset and another seaworld show for the end of the world...

[acedecade75]

 I don't think it will happen, but I certainly wouldn't mind an album produced by somebody other than Joe Thomas.

[Cam Mott]

To me it sounds like probably Mike was made promises about how it was going to be with the album and then those promises were broken and he compromised and his reward was he could lump it. Promises were made and compromises were made for the tour by Mike and then Mike compromised some more and his reward was a public relations fiasco. You would think he was used to it by now.

I hope it happens and this time the way the bands wants it. Not holding my breath.

[KittyKat]

If they made Mike any promises, it couldn't have been more than a co-write on a song or two. That album had a lot of songs written during "Imagination" and put away for future Beach Boys' use. If Mike wasn't aware of that fact then, he was made aware during the interviews for the reunion. If Mike had a different personality or approach, maybe he could be in the room with Brian and Joe and write a song among the three of them.  It's not alone in a room with only Brian, but it's better than faxing over a set of lyrics from his own house.

[Cam Mott]

If they made Mike any promises, it couldn't have been more than a co-write on a song or two. That album had a lot of songs written during "Imagination" and put away for future Beach Boys' use. If Mike wasn't aware of that fact then, he was made aware during the interviews for the reunion. If Mike had a different personality or approach, maybe he could be in the room with Brian and Joe and write a song among the three of them.  It's not alone in a room with only Brian, but it's better than faxing over a set of lyrics from his own house.

Which ever way, apparently Mike feels promises were made and broken.

I don't think Brian needs an outside-the-group collaborator, I would be very interested in what could result in collaborations within the group only. It may blow but it might be brilliantish but at least it would be theirs.

[mikeddonn]

What would people on here like from lyrics?  Would they want songs about "chicks and bikinis" or "Pacific Coast Highway"?  I doubt the last three songs would have been on there if Mike and Brian were writing together.  Look at the evidence from the last 50 years or so.  Apart from Brian the rest of the guys have hardly been prolific in the last 20 years. So what would they bring to the table?  Much as I like Al's solo album it took long enough to come out.  Brian should do it like the old days. Make a Beach Boys album then invite them in to sing on it.  If they do, great.  If not, fine still release it.  I doubt the guys would have any songs better than what Brian would bring to the table.  As for them producing it on their own.  They are in their 70s, they don't want the hassle.  They need an outside producer to pull it together.

I just watched the ' Campfire' stuff recently.  I would love to see them get together and do something like that and release it on DVD!

[CenturyDeprived]

I can understand Mike's desire to write songs in a basic, old school way, the way (without outsiders) in which he felt was most productive at getting BB hits to be churned out in the early sixties. It makes sense for him to *want* that. But there is no going back again.

The big elephant in the room with Mike's comments in this interview, and in every other interview post C50 where he is complaining about how the songwriting process went down for TWGMTR is...that Mike fails in any way, shape or form, to recognize that Brian is an emotionally fragile guy, who seems to have a very specific, thought-out regimen/routine for how the songwriting process will go these days. He's doing a whole lot better these days (obviously), but his problems surely haven't vanished. Brian's people are obviously very protective of Brian when/how Brian collaborates nowadays.  I don't think they want to rock the boat too much in terms of Brian being put in potentially awkward/uncharted emotional territory. The irony, of course, is that Brian's people are the ones who nowadays, IMO, don't want to f*ck with the formula. But I believe this is due to them being protective of Brian.

I would think, that a good deal of Brian's latter-day creative process routine (when it comes to actually recording/collaborating, as opposed to informal songwriting/noodling that he may do at home by himself), involves having the collaborators/circumstances being thoroughly vetted (for being/not being in Brian's best interest) by his wife. I would think she's had occasional conversations with with psychologists regarding what songwriting situations would be best (or not best) for Brian these days.  And of course, Brian obviously has a say in who he wants to collaborate with, and the circumstances which he feels comfortable with.

Mike seems to talk to the interviewer (and in other similar post-C50 interviews) as though this scenario isn't the case. Mike speaks as though Brian is not a guy with a history of deep emotional problems.

I would imagine that Brian (and his wife/other close people in his life) believe that to some degree, Brian has a history of Brian being manipulated/influenced by Mike, in terms of the creative process going in directions that Brian, deep down, doesn't want to go.  We can argue/defend/deny/agree/poo poo the validity of these points (I personally think there is some truth to them, but that it's absolutely not a simple black-and-white situation), but... I'm NOT trying to start a debate about that; I'm only stating that IMO, this is what Brian (and Brian's people) truly, in their hearts, believe is the case ,in terms of the baggage between Brian and Mike when it comes to their collaborating process.

I would think that Mike, regardless of what he would outwardly admit, would at least be aware that this ideology in the Brian camp is a factor in why he felt "shut out" by "outsiders". But you wouldn't know it from this or any other recent Mike interview. All we hear is one grossly oversimplified Mike statement after another, whining about why things can't just be the way they were 50 years ago.  And, IMO, it is that seeming denial/lack of awareness of the situation which continues to rub people the wrong way about Mike.

For the record, I'd love if the group would be functional enough to be able to create a record without outside collaborators.  But they are living in a compromised paradise, where things didn't turn out quite like how they could've/should've. IMO Brian being happy/stable should come first (over his bandmate's desire to simply "go back to how things used to be"), particularly due to Brian not exactly being someone who can roll with the punches quite as easily as everyone else.  

If Mike feels that he wants to disagree with or dispute what the people in the Brian camp undoubtedly feel about Mike, and why they do what they do, I wish he'd actually have the cojones to deeply discuss and challenge things that he believes are myths about himself. To get in deep about it. I am looking forward to Mike's book, if and only if he actually will get into the nitty gritty of his side of the story. I'll listen. But Mike giving simplistic statements/interviews with this giant elephant in the room does him absolutely no favors. I almost feel like he's trying to convince/win over a group of people/fans who aren't well-read about the history of the band, and who would have zero idea about how Brian's latter day creative process surely has many factors at work (in why it is the way it is).

 

[Sheriff John Stone]

What would people on here like from lyrics?  Would they want songs about "chicks and bikinis" or "Pacific Coast Highway"? 

Seriously? Both. And, to address KittyKat's post above, yes, I believe that Mike was aware of the Imagination-era songs.

How many of the Imagination-era songs were used? That still left a half an album for new (2012) material. Total speculation...but maybe Mike woulda/coulda accepted using the Imagination-era songs (and maybe Mike even thought he was going to help finish THEM), and still be able to collaborate on another 5, 6, or 7 NEW songs with Brian. There weren't many albums - even in the olden days - where Brian and Mike collaborated on much more than 5, 6, or 7 songs. I think Mike could've lived with that, a half an album.

[KittyKat]

I have a hard time thinking Mike could have manipulated Brian's material direction when Brian was writing stuff like "Beaches In Mind" WITHOUT Mike's prompting. Obviously, Brian and Joe Thomas were leaning toward's Mike's retro-nish themselves for a reunion project. Also, Mike has written more through the years with Brian than just beach songs.

People speak of how prolific Brian has been in his solo career, relatively speaking, and that the quality is better than the other guys. Which is true, but Brian hasn't done it on his own. Not just lyrics, but music has been written by his collaborators, including Andy Paley. Brian isn't the same guy as he was in the '60s, doing all the music part of it on his own. He needs someone to kickstart him and someone to complete his ideas. It's hard to tell sometimes how much of the musical portion of a song he wrote. He still brings ideas to the table that are his style, but he needs other people to embellish and polish them.

It could come down to Brian not wanting Mike Love to be privy to that. It makes him too vulnerable for Mike to know how the sausages are made. Brian may also not trust himself enough to turn out many songs entirely on his own, musically speaking. Perhaps he still can, but it would require leaving the comfort zone of having a guy like Joe Thomas, Scott Bennett, or Andy Paley around to ensure he produces a final product of a certain quality.

[Cam Mott]

Could be but Brian wouldn't do anything he did not want to do and he wouldn't not do anything he did want to do. I hope he does stretch and write his own music in collaboration with someone in the group. Just a wish.

[Wirestone]

Mike got three co-writes on the record, a solo composition and an executive producer credit. At least two of those credits were on the least well regarded tracks on the album. Brian agreed to make an album with these lamentable parts to placate Mike. He compromised more than a true artist should ever be required to.

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

Mike got three co-writes on the record, a solo composition and an executive producer credit. At least two of those credits were on the least well regarded tracks on the album. Brian agreed to make an album with these lamentable parts to placate Mike. He compromised more than a true artist should ever be required to.

If this board is any indication, the least regarded track on the album is "The Private Life of Bill and Sue," which Mike had nothing to do with.  There's also no indication that I'm aware of that Brian himself was dissatisfied with any of Mike Love's lyrics or his solo composition.  As long as we're projecting our own dissatisfactions with the album onto Brian, I think Joe Thomas' auto tune does more damage to the music than anything Mike Love did.

As for Mike's comment, I suspect it's more "I'd love to in theory, but it's probably not going to happen" than "I'm actively trying to convince Brian to make an album like in the old days," so I'm not getting my hopes up.

[mikeddonn]

Mike should have a word with himself about the "Looking Back With Love Album".  He only wrote one song on it! . What was the matter there? Could he not get himself alone in a room with himself?!

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Mike should have a word with himself about the "Looking Back With Love Album".  He only wrote one song on it! . What was the matter there? Could he not get himself alone in a room with himself?!

[Shady]

If a new Beach Boys album has to be 13 songs like "beaches in mind" I'll make that sacrifice.

I just want them back together

[urbanite]

I say that if Mike Love still has the ability to write great songs, go find someone to collaborate with and do it.  And then say to the remaining Beach Boys look at this gem I've come up with, let's record it.  I get the sense that his better songwriting days are over and his songwriting focus is still on being a teenager or a T.M. state of mind, which is not going to connect with most people.

[Cam Mott]

Mike got three co-writes on the record, a solo composition and an executive producer credit. At least two of those credits were on the least well regarded tracks on the album. Brian agreed to make an album with these lamentable parts to placate Mike. He compromised more than a true artist should ever be required to.

If this board is any indication, the least regarded track on the album is "The Private Life of Bill and Sue," which Mike had nothing to do with.  There's also no indication that I'm aware of that Brian himself was dissatisfied with any of Mike Love's lyrics or his solo composition.  As long as we're projecting our own dissatisfactions with the album onto Brian, I think Joe Thomas' auto tune does more damage to the music than anything Mike Love did.

As for Mike's comment, I suspect it's more "I'd love to in theory, but it's probably not going to happen" than "I'm actively trying to convince Brian to make an album like in the old days," so I'm not getting my hopes up.

Yeah, maybe so.

[clack]

I think Mike just likes the life he's built for himself over the last 15 years or so -- touring fairs and other smaller venues, retired from active writing and recording. I don't think he really wants to make more records.

If the creative fires were still burning for Mike, wouldn't having 3 or 4 songs (even if the writing process was not ideal) on a record be preferable to no songs, and no record?

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I say that if Mike Love still has the ability to write great songs, go find someone to collaborate with and do it.  And then say to the remaining Beach Boys look at this gem I've come up with, let's record it.  I get the sense that his better songwriting days are over and his songwriting focus is still on being a teenager or a T.M. state of mind, which is not going to connect with most people.

But if he did that, no matter how good it was, no one would release it :/

[guitarfool2002]

It's getting to the point we can set a watch to the appearance of another interview such as this to get the dust flying. This one, not so bad, but it does seem like Sisyphus pushing the stone up the hill to read another "wish" to work like they did in the old days, only to watch the stone roll back down the hill as details of a new project from any BB's camp start to come out.

[Shady]

What was the last really good song Mike wrote? "Goin On" I suppose

[Niko]

Mike music is rarely terrible. Its generally just "meh." Not good, but not completely awful.

What was the last good song he did write with Brian though? It may have worked 50 years ago, but I just don't think it will now. What will actually bring them both together in such a way that they'll write good songs? The peak of Brian's creativity was Pet Sounds and Smile, projects Mike had very little to do with in terms of creative contributions. In my opinion the best song they wrote together, aside from Good Vibrations, is All I Wanna Do, and I have no idea the extent that Mike had in the creation of that song. I assume he wrote all the lyrics.

So while I am curious as to what would come out of the two of them working together, it just seems more likely than not the result would be "meh."

Brian would play Mike an idea, Mike would get excited and write lyrics about surf and sand, and Brian would go "ok."
That's how I picture it playing out anyway. I'd love to be proven wrong.

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[guitarfool2002]

I may take some heat for suggesting this, but the past 15 years or so (maybe even longer) have shown that the better Beach Boys music has come from multiple writers, and it could be suggested that individually none of the band members is a prolific enough individual writer to crank out the kind of hits I think Mike is imagining. The collaborations are more across the board than simply one guy banging out the music and another adding words. The exception being Brian and Van Dyke working together, they're each such unique and strong musical minds that when they get together the results are fascinating, even if they're not going for radio hits or even fan-friendly ditties, which of course is what makes it unique and interesting.

[Shady]

Mike music is rarely terrible. Its generally just "meh." Not good, but not completely awful.

What was the last good song he did write with Brian though? It may have worked 50 years ago, but I just don't think it will now. What will actually bring them both together in such a way that they'll write good songs? The peak of Brian's creativity was Pet Sounds and Smile, projects Mike had very little to do with in terms of creative contributions. In my opinion the best song they wrote together, aside from Good Vibrations, is All I Wanna Do, and I have no idea the extent that Mike had in the creation of that song. I assume he wrote all the lyrics.

So while I am curious as to what would come out of the two of them working together, it just seems more likely than not the result would be "meh."

Brian would play Mike an idea, Mike would get excited and write lyrics about surf and sand, and Brian would go "ok."
That's how I picture it playing out anyway. I'd love to be proven wrong.

That's exactly how It would work out. Mike had his chance with TWGMTR, he was given space on the record, had Brian's ear and he produced the most insanely uninspired lyrics possible, I never imagined Mike would actually write a song called "beaches in my mind". "Spring Vacation", it's just so ridiculous.