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

[guitarfool2002]

He spent last summer riding a cab out of Salt Lake City coming up with vroom vroom vroom…

We can criticize Mike on a variety of points but his tenacity can never be questioned...

[Mr. Cohen]

Mike Love & Brian Wilson - "Remember When?"

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.....

Remember when you couldn't write a chorus for "Good Vibrations"
And I said cousin Brian, how about some excitations?
Remember when you needed a way to end "Wouldn't It Be Nice?"
And I said "good night, sleep tight" and rolled the dice?

You said I was genius
This whole world, they need us
You did say I was genius
Man, if they could've seen us

Remember when I wrote the intro for "I Get Around"
And then you came up with that magical guitar sound?
Remember when I thought up "Fun, Fun, Fun" and all the surf songs
And you stayed up learning the chords all night long?

You said I was genius
This whole world, they need us
You did say I was genius
Man, if they could've seen us

Good vibrations, excitations
Good night, sleep tight
Good vibrations, excitations
Good night, sleep tight

[guitarfool2002]

And at least the Salt Lake cab ride produced something vaguely lyrical. Again if we believe the rumors, all he got from the 1963 Ford Galaxie writing sessions were a few doodles and rude jokes scribbled on the notepad, and a stomach ache from the vegan wrap and wheatgrass shake he ordered when they stopped the car for some takeout after he got hungry on the ride.

[KittyKat]

Just because Mike wanted write by himself during TWGMTR doesn't mean he doesn't want to write in a room with Brian. He apparently can write anywhere if he wants to like in a room with just Brian, in a motel room with the group and Fred Vail, in a car on the way to the studio with his wife, in a hallway with the group during a session, and in a room by himself. I hope he gets the opportunity before one of them dies and I hope Brian and Mike start from a blank page.

This is reminding me of "Green Eggs & Ham."

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

So... lemme get this straight. Thomas thinks "Spring Vacation" is "Lay Down Burden" a and that the latter title wasn't released on an album he co-produced with Brian some fifteen years ago.  

Yeah, I can't believe you don't know that the thing called "Lay Down Your Burden" or "Lay Down Burden" from the '90s became "Spring Vacation" and that a different song altogether became "Lay Down Burden" as it is known on the Imagination album.

Of all people, I'd think you would know that.

And indeed I would have not made such an erroneous statement had the original poster quoted the entire text of that part of the interview instead of selectively editing what was posted. My 50% bad.

En passant, the full interview puts to rest the spurious claim that Brian wrote "LDB" as a tribute to his brother.

But I did not selectively edit what I posted.... I simply cut and pasted the 2 questions of interest and their entire answers.... Er, wait! I guess I did leave out a couple questions in-between. But I wasn't selectively editing any answers (and I did provide the full interview as well) .... My 50% bad.

This sounds like a big mess to me, personally. Not that bands/artists don't raid the vaults more often or not. Maybe it's just the Joe Thomas aspect... The whole Caroline No as a "sexy Sade type thing" is a tough one to shake off.... I sincerely wonder what Brian and Mike (or Brian and anyone else really) could come up with from complete scratch with just a piano and a pen instead of this Joe Thomas, DAT tape, Mike in a metaphorical porta-potty reality.

[guitarfool2002]

This sounds like a big mess to me, personally. Not that bands/artists don't raid the vaults more often or not. Maybe it's just the Joe Thomas aspect... The whole Caroline No as a "sexy Sade type thing" is a tough one to shake off.... I sincerely wonder what Brian and Mike (or Brian and anyone else really) could come up with from complete scratch with just a piano and a pen instead of this Joe Thomas, DAT tape, Mike in a metaphorical porta-potty reality.

I'm exaggerating the point for sarcasm, and it's probably not true, but I still see a scenario where Brian in 2014 would say something like "I want to write a song about seeing all the young fans dancing and singing along when we were doing the 50th tour, that look of joy in their faces", and instead of grabbing a blank sheet of paper and a pen, Joe would reach for his bag of DAT tapes and start looking for something they demo'ed in the 90's that would "fit the bill". 

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

This sounds like a big mess to me, personally. Not that bands/artists don't raid the vaults more often or not. Maybe it's just the Joe Thomas aspect... The whole Caroline No as a "sexy Sade type thing" is a tough one to shake off.... I sincerely wonder what Brian and Mike (or Brian and anyone else really) could come up with from complete scratch with just a piano and a pen instead of this Joe Thomas, DAT tape, Mike in a metaphorical porta-potty reality.

I'm exaggerating the point for sarcasm, and it's probably not true, but I still see a scenario where Brian in 2014 would say something like "I want to write a song about seeing all the young fans dancing and singing along when we were doing the 50th tour, that look of joy in their faces", and instead of grabbing a blank sheet of paper and a pen, Joe would reach for his bag of DAT tapes and start looking for something they demo'ed in the 90's that would "fit the bill". 

and it's likely not much of an exaggeration ...... :/

[Disney Boy (1985)]

"I have mixed feelings about it. I think there was some great music on Smile, some incredible tracks. But at that point in time, there were so many drugs being taken by Brian and other members of the group, and there was a lot of collaborating with people other than myself. I had literally nothing to do on anything on the Smile album, so naturally I was a little upset."

There's more truth and honestly in those two sentences than in anything Mike wrote in his Smile Sessions 'essay'.

[Smilin Ed H]

I bet Brian's hurt he wasn't involved with SIP. Can't you just see those liner notes when the SIP box comes out? "I pleaded with him. Let me f*** with the formula, Mike, I said. Please? Nothing doing. He wanted us all to wear shorts and loud shirts and jiggle about the beach like we were 25 or something. Me? I'd rather crawl on all fours and make pig noises. And another thing, I'm not putting my hair into any fucking pony tail!"

[CenturyDeprived]

"I have mixed feelings about it. I think there was some great music on Smile, some incredible tracks. But at that point in time, there were so many drugs being taken by Brian and other members of the group, and there was a lot of collaborating with people other than myself. I had literally nothing to do on anything on the Smile album, so naturally I was a little upset."

There's more truth and honestly in those two sentences than in anything Mike wrote in his Smile Sessions 'essay'.

I for one am also very glad that Mike is being more honest about this, but I guess Mike's definition of "nothing to do" on SMiLE neglects to mention that he did sing on almost all the tracks. That has to count for something, right?

[Moon Dawg]

  After being the main lyricist for about four years, Mike was obviously hurt to be set aside for non band members like Tony Asher and Van Dyke Parks. Perhaps Mike felt that his assist with "Good Vibrations" earned him more consideration from Brian but that did not happen. I can understand how he felt. It is fascinating to wonder what Brian's SMiLE music would have been like with Mike's lyrical input. Maybe they'd have finished the album in 1967!

[Jukka]

You know what? It would be great. Mike was at his lyrical peak and they would have got it finished, I'm almost sure!

[CenturyDeprived]

In my alternate reality, Mike’s interview would ideally go like this:

"I have mixed feelings about it. I think there was some great music on Smile, some incredible tracks. But at that point in time, there were so many drugs being taken by Brian and other members of the group, and there was a lot of collaborating with people other than myself. I had literally nothing to do with writing anything on the Smile album, so naturally I was a little upset, which grew into a complex situation, and I’d really like to set the record straight about a few things.

To be brutally honest, I did struggle with feelings of jealousy and resentfulness during this time, since I felt under-appreciated for my track record of successful lyrical collaborations with my cousin. During SMiLE, there were moments when I honestly felt discarded/not needed, and casually tossed to the side, compared to how my lyricist role had been in the past. Other people who’ve been in bands might be able to empathize more with how something like that would feel. Though it’s hard to admit, I do feel that I may not have dealt with/communicated these feelings of mine in the best, delicate way, since my cousin was a particularly emotionally sensitive and fragile person (exacerbated in a bad way by the drugs at the time). In addition, there were numerous other unrelated factors at play as well in the shelving of the album. But I want it to be known, that in my heart, I never meant to cause Brian (or Van Dyke Parks, for that matter) any hurt/pain, and I’m sure that Brian didn’t either with me.  

Obviously, both Brian and I were dealing with feelings of mutual artistic rejection of each others’ ideas; while we each tried to handle with that rejection in the best ways we could at the time (as young men), if I could do it all over again, I’d hope that both myself and Brian could have both handled the delicate situation with a more mature frame of mind, and without an overabundance of drugs clouding the situation. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20. I always have and still do love my cousin very much, and I do hope we can find a way to work together again in some fashion.

IMHO… if Mike could say these words while these guys are all still on planet Earth, I imagine that there could really be some true hatchet-burying between these guys, and I think his reputation amongst the public would improve by a considerable margin. Maybe even another BB album with some actual collaborations. Thing is: I think Mike probably feels this way to a degree in his heart, but perhaps he’s too proud to say them in a public interview, and I doubt he’s ever said them to Brian behind closed doors, either.  

What can I say: idealistically, I would truly love to see Mike address stuff like this, and not in an oversimplified single sentence, but with humility and perspective. Hey, many celebrities will do an interview and field questions in detail, to address a situation which they feel they have been “wronged” or maligned somehow. Mike has hinted over the years many times that he feels very misunderstood, particularly regarding his role in this era. The SMiLE Sessions interview clips/album essay didn’t get into stuff like this, though. Hell, Mike doesn’t have to say any of this stuff if he doesn’t believe it.  

Maybe I’m way off-base, but I don’t think that something like this being said in an interview by Mike is absolutely, 100% impossible. However, is it 99% improbable? Probably. But, it was also equally improbable that SMiLE would ever be officially released, and that wound up happening eventually. Perhaps most guys born in 1941 (who came from messed up family environments) probably often don’t get into territory like this. But maybe, just maybe, something like this might be written by Mike if his book ever comes out. Call me crazy, but I’m holding out a teeny-tiny glimmer of hope.

[runnersdialzero]

I think a lot of hatchets have been buried over the years only to be dug up repeatedly by third parties for the sake of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[HeyJude]

The fact that Mike gets kind of bent out of shape when someone else has control or involvement isn't new or interesting. But the evolution of his feelings towards the various elements of "C50" are a bit interesting.

I find it hard to believe that there was some sort of serious bait and switch going on concerning the new BB album in 2012. I think what has happened is that his disposition soured as "C50" continued; he raved about how great Joe Thomas was mid-tour to Howie Edelson, yet by 2013 was saying things that both directly and indirectly seemed to point pretty strongly to no longer being a big fan of how Thomas' involvement impacted the project.

A bit in line with the post above about an idealized version of Mike being honest about his feelings in interviews, I think if Mike would maybe indicate that he had mixed feelings from the get-go about the album, but by his own choice decided to sort of grin and bear it, and then afterwards feels more liberated to talk s**t about it, that would be understandable.

There was one of his relatively early post-reunion interviews where he minimized the album's going to #3, pointing out it didn't have staying power and didn't have a hit single. If "SIP" or some Mike-helmed project had hit #3, there's no way he would have characterized it that way. He doesn't like being beholden to others, that is clear. The C50 project illustrated his two possible reactions to this. In doing the album and tour, he showed he could "grin and bear it" and not have all the power. His quick exit also illustrates he doesn't want this to be an ongoing thing anymore.

When it comes to new BB albums, I'm all about it being good, regardless of whether that happens with Wilson/Love songs, Joe Thomas songs, Ron Altbach songs, Jeff Lynne songs, cover versions (maybe not so much with covers I suppose), whatever.

Comments earlier about Brian not being able to write a complete song all by himself were perhaps inflammatory, but not without merit. He has used collaborators to flesh most of his stuff out in recent years, decades in fact. That's okay. Similarly, Mike hasn't shown a capacity to produce much quality writing himself, and surely uses other musicians (and in some cases actual co-writers) to flesh his stuff out too. Mike is pining for the chance to write alone with Brian, but I don't think that would produce much quality stuff, especially if we're truly talking about a "from scratch" situation. Brian needs someone more musically inclined to flesh his ideas out than Mike (e.g. Thomas, Bennett, etc.), and Mike needs someone who will tell him to stop referencing old BB songs, and surfing, etc. in his lyrics.

The Rolling Stone article back in 2012 about the album and tour was pretty telling. That episode about Mike listening back to the ending suite was quite similar to the "Smile" era: Mike did not refuse to sing his parts, but also clearly after 50 years still doesn't "get" why people like the melancholy stuff, or stuff that is not evocative of their early, innocent era. Let me state this again: 50 years later, Mike STILL doesn't get it. Now, in a band with many personalities and styles, that can even be okay. But what that often means it that the guy that doesn't seem to fully "get" Smile, and who wants an album full of "Summer in Paradise" and "Beaches in Mind" type songs, can't expect to sit in a room alone with the crazy, eccentric guy that made "Smile" and who does Gershwin albums and "That Lucky Old Sun", and expect it to be "just like 1965", or even expect it be good.

"From There to Back Again" or "Waves of Love" or "Cool Head, Warm Heart" would probably end up being better songs than much if not most of what Brian and Mike could write "from scratch."

I also think the specific songwriting complaint Mike is having is more emblematic of an overarching control issue when it comes to albums and tours, and also specifically his souring on Joe Thomas.

Again, as Howie Edelson has said, if the group had some sort of Neil Aspinall type to keep all the guys placated and get everybody happy, the group could be doing more stuff together. Mike doesn't want to work with Joe Thomas? No problem, get another producer or collaborator to buffer Brian (he needs this in some form). Get Brian and Al to book some cheaper smaller town gigs if Mike wants to. Let Mike just tack on more of his decade-old solo album onto the group's album. If he wants to "write with Brian", but they can't do it from scratch, compromise by working ALONE with Mike, but bring him in partially or fully-written pieces that he can add all the lyrics to, with the caveat that Brian and maybe one of his guys like Bennett can have some lyrical input (e.g. convince Mike not to integrate any former BB song titles into lyrics of new songs). Even these compromise are more easier said than done, but some third-party person has to help these guys out. Someone has to tell Brian's camp that Mike won't sing on another Brian/Joe Thomas album. Someone has to tell Mike that his track record ("Summer in Pardise" anyone?) stinks and he can't be the creative force being a new group album.

Okay, random thought generator off.

[Mr. Wilson]

Ive been pointing to the 2012 RS article ever since it came out and thank you for bringing it up again.. The issues are all there.. LOL.. Mike upset cause BW has his own separate tour bus.. Mike says he is hiding..  Yea from arguing with Mike.. Set List's + to many musician's..  On + ON it goes.. Mike is never happy.. Thank You for bringing this up again + providing insights + solutions.. Intelligent + well put post.. Now if they would just READ it..

[KittyKat]

The fact that Mike gets kind of bent out of shape when someone else has control or involvement isn't new or interesting. But the evolution of his feelings towards the various elements of "C50" are a bit interesting.

I find it hard to believe that there was some sort of serious bait and switch going on concerning the new BB album in 2012. I think what has happened is that his disposition soured as "C50" continued; he raved about how great Joe Thomas was mid-tour to Howie Edelson, yet by 2013 was saying things that both directly and indirectly seemed to point pretty strongly to no longer being a big fan of how Thomas' involvement impacted the project.

A bit in line with the post above about an idealized version of Mike being honest about his feelings in interviews, I think if Mike would maybe indicate that he had mixed feelings from the get-go about the album, but by his own choice decided to sort of grin and bear it, and then afterwards feels more liberated to talk s**t about it, that would be understandable.

There was one of his relatively early post-reunion interviews where he minimized the album's going to #3, pointing out it didn't have staying power and didn't have a hit single. If "SIP" or some Mike-helmed project had hit #3, there's no way he would have characterized it that way. He doesn't like being beholden to others, that is clear. The C50 project illustrated his two possible reactions to this. In doing the album and tour, he showed he could "grin and bear it" and not have all the power. His quick exit also illustrates he doesn't want this to be an ongoing thing anymore.

When it comes to new BB albums, I'm all about it being good, regardless of whether that happens with Wilson/Love songs, Joe Thomas songs, Ron Altbach songs, Jeff Lynne songs, cover versions (maybe not so much with covers I suppose), whatever.

Comments earlier about Brian not being able to write a complete song all by himself were perhaps inflammatory, but not without merit. He has used collaborators to flesh most of his stuff out in recent years, decades in fact. That's okay. Similarly, Mike hasn't shown a capacity to produce much quality writing himself, and surely uses other musicians (and in some cases actual co-writers) to flesh his stuff out too. Mike is pining for the chance to write alone with Brian, but I don't think that would produce much quality stuff, especially if we're truly talking about a "from scratch" situation. Brian needs someone more musically inclined to flesh his ideas out than Mike (e.g. Thomas, Bennett, etc.), and Mike needs someone who will tell him to stop referencing old BB songs, and surfing, etc. in his lyrics.

The Rolling Stone article back in 2012 about the album and tour was pretty telling. That episode about Mike listening back to the ending suite was quite similar to the "Smile" era: Mike did not refuse to sing his parts, but also clearly after 50 years still doesn't "get" why people like the melancholy stuff, or stuff that is not evocative of their early, innocent era. Let me state this again: 50 years later, Mike STILL doesn't get it. Now, in a band with many personalities and styles, that can even be okay. But what that often means it that the guy that doesn't seem to fully "get" Smile, and who wants an album full of "Summer in Paradise" and "Beaches in Mind" type songs, can't expect to sit in a room alone with the crazy, eccentric guy that made "Smile" and who does Gershwin albums and "That Lucky Old Sun", and expect it to be "just like 1965", or even expect it be good.

"From There to Back Again" or "Waves of Love" or "Cool Head, Warm Heart" would probably end up being better songs than much if not most of what Brian and Mike could write "from scratch."

I also think the specific songwriting complaint Mike is having is more emblematic of an overarching control issue when it comes to albums and tours, and also specifically his souring on Joe Thomas.

Again, as Howie Edelson has said, if the group had some sort of Neil Aspinall type to keep all the guys placated and get everybody happy, the group could be doing more stuff together. Mike doesn't want to work with Joe Thomas? No problem, get another producer or collaborator to buffer Brian (he needs this in some form). Get Brian and Al to book some cheaper smaller town gigs if Mike wants to. Let Mike just tack on more of his decade-old solo album onto the group's album. If he wants to "write with Brian", but they can't do it from scratch, compromise by working ALONE with Mike, but bring him in partially or fully-written pieces that he can add all the lyrics to, with the caveat that Brian and maybe one of his guys like Bennett can have some lyrical input (e.g. convince Mike not to integrate any former BB song titles into lyrics of new songs). Even these compromise are more easier said than done, but some third-party person has to help these guys out. Someone has to tell Brian's camp that Mike won't sing on another Brian/Joe Thomas album. Someone has to tell Mike that his track record ("Summer in Pardise" anyone?) stinks and he can't be the creative force being a new group album.

Okay, random thought generator off.

How is it "inflammatory" to point out the truth? Read how TWGMTR was written. It's hard to tell how much Brian wrote of some of those songs. He also needed a collaborator, Scott Bennett, to do TLOS. Even when Landy had him on a writing regimen way back when, he had Andy Paley to help him with some of those songs, not just words, but music. Those facts rarely came out when Brian was interviewed, but when his collaborators (Paley, for example) were interviewed independently, it's often surprising how much of the music part of songs they contributed. I don't expect Mike Love to be able to write music. He's not an instrumentalist or a writer of the music part of songs. These days, he doesn't write lyrics too much, either (or he would be doing that with other writers, I'm sure people besides Brian would be willing to work with him). It's almost pointless to expect a true collaboration between those two that would approach anything they did earlier, even something along the lines of "Do It Again."

[Pretty Funky]

Again, as Howie Edelson has said, if the group had some sort of Neil Aspinall type to keep all the guys placated and get everybody happy, the group could be doing more stuff together. Mike doesn't want to work with Joe Thomas? No problem, get another producer or collaborator to buffer Brian (he needs this in some form). Get Brian and Al to book some cheaper smaller town gigs if Mike wants to. Let Mike just tack on more of his decade-old solo album onto the group's album. If he wants to "write with Brian", but they can't do it from scratch, compromise by working ALONE with Mike, but bring him in partially or fully-written pieces that he can add all the lyrics to, with the caveat that Brian and maybe one of his guys like Bennett can have some lyrical input (e.g. convince Mike not to integrate any former BB song titles into lyrics of new songs). Even these compromise are more easier said than done, but some third-party person has to help these guys out. Someone has to tell Brian's camp that Mike won't sing on another Brian/Joe Thomas album. Someone has to tell Mike that his track record ("Summer in Pardise" anyone?) stinks and he can't be the creative force being a new group album.

Okay, random thought generator off.

At this late stage I don't think he needs it or can be bothered really. I'm not being critical but Mike books a gig, turns up, plays for a few hours, turns off. No BS or egos, answerable to no one. Why would he want to write then spend time in a studio (which he hates), when the alternative is so stress free?  

[urbanite]

I think you're right, Mike's days of creating new music are over.  And when it comes to touring he is put out by the needs of other rock stars, and so wants to stay with the way things have been done for years.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Jesus, this is tiresome....

I sometimes just wish Brian had quit The Beach Boys officially right after Pet Sounds and maybe just donated songs here and there to them from that point out...... All this who's the genius?, who's not?, who wrote what?, credit credit credit credit!!!!!!!, "this album would have been better if", just F*$cks with our ability to honestly take in the 50 years of awesomeness the world's greatest band has gifted upon us  

[Phoenix]

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

Ick.  I'd take That Lucky Old Son over that ANY day!

[Phoenix]

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

Spring Vacation!

Seriously. 

[Micha]

 After being the main lyricist for about four years, Mike was obviously hurt to be set aside for non band members like Tony Asher and Van Dyke Parks. Perhaps Mike felt that his assist with "Good Vibrations" earned him more consideration from Brian but that did not happen. I can understand how he felt. It is fascinating to wonder what Brian's SMiLE music would have been like with Mike's lyrical input. Maybe they'd have finished the album in 1967!

You know what? It would be great. Mike was at his lyrical peak and they would have got it finished, I'm almost sure!

I've thought about this, too, and for a while I thought like you do. But ultimately, the reason Brian quit SMiLE were his mental issues, so he really didn't have a choice. Using Mike as a lyricist would have changed Mike's attitude to the album, but it wouldn't have changed Brian's insecurity and dissatisfaction and habit of constant re-recording. If at all, I could imagine that Mike and Carl would have stepped in an finished an album called SMiLE with the material they had, but then still everybody would bitch on that this was not the album "as Brian originally envisioned".

I respect your opinion that I once had myself, but Mike was only the lyricist - not the genius of the group that everybody relied on at the time and who made everything stand or fall. I think even with Mike as lyricist SMiLE would not have been finished. Maybe with the right diagnosis and medication, but otherwise, no.

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

Spring Vacation!

Seriously.

He only wrote the lyrics, not the whole song!

[Micha]

I bet Brian's hurt he wasn't involved with SIP.

I think it is possible that Carl quit the 1996 album project (from the Paley sessions) out of hurt because he was once more not involved in the creative process. That would be totally understandable.

[El Molé]

I bet Brian's hurt he wasn't involved with SIP.

I think it is possible that Carl quit the 1996 album project (from the Paley sessions) out of hurt because he was once more not involved in the creative process. That would be totally understandable.

There's an interesting comparison between that idea and Mike's issues with TWGMTR. Carl hand been the touring band leader since Brian stopped touring, had been Brian's right-hand man in the studio during the sixties (or at least a key assistant/understudy/whatever you'd call it), became the group's strongest vocalist in place of Brian and was lead producer for a time up until Love You. Things got messy for a while after that and Carl withdrew and went solo for a bit, but returned on condition of more rehearsals etc (I think) and so in some ways I think he returned to a leading role whilst Brian remained absent. In some ways it seemed like he withdrew from being the studio lead again after '85, when the Mike/Melcher team seemed to take over. Many people in Carl's position might have taken the view that they'd held the band together, insisted on high standards for the group and found that those standards slipped when other people took control. In the late 70's Brian had returned, but his productions were sloppy and off-the-wall by Carl's early 70's standards. Carl's often described as a perfectionist and probably found a lot of that hard to take. He might have been conflicted between his love and respect for his brother and his desire for high quality material. We know he worked on the Love You tapes to get them into a better shape for release, but he was then barely on the next album. Given everything Brian had gone through, and everything that the group had gone through with Brian, I can see why Carl would have struggled with the concept of returning to a Brian-led studio project when Brian's recent track record wasn't exactly strong. Brian had been sporadically part of the touring band and that hadn't always been a positive. He'd not provided any great new material for the group in well over a decade and was in many ways a different person from the musical powerhouse of the sixties. It would have taken a fairly huge leap of faith to jump back into a Brian produced album without having some control over the project. Add to that the recent SIP disaster that Carl had had little control over, personal issues over the Brian/Landy debacle, the autobiography, possible Brian/Mike friction, Carl's outside musical interests and possiby even issues around Carl's health and you've got a long list of reasons to pull the plug on those session at that time. It didn't mean that Carl never wanted to do it and it's only with hindsight that we can see it as a missed opportunity given Carl's all-too-early passing.

Compare that scenario with Mike's in 2012 - he'd dominated the groups studio output since Kokomo (the group's last big hit), had single-handedly led the touring band since the late 90's (again, for better or worse), had seen little interest from Brian in the Beach Boys, had provided an income to the other BRI members through his touring act, had had to take legal action against Brian to get credit for his part in composing some of the group's hit material, felt jilted over Pet Sounds, Smile and other examples of collaboration with Brian, had been much maligned in the popular media for various supposed acts of bad taste, unpleasant behaviour, cancelling Smile (generally anything negative that ever happened with the Beach Boys) etc etc. So you can see that from his perspective, he's earned his place alongside Brian as the group's leader. Rightly or wrongly, the Beach Boys of recent history had been Mike's and he probably wasn't happy about suddenly ceding control over the group he'd led for the past 14 years or so. Especially if that control went to an 'outsider' in Joe Thomas (or possibly anyone else). Add to that that Brian's solo output hadn't exactly set the world alight and I think his comments since the reunion are understandable, even if I tend not to agree that Brian/Mike collaborations are for the best at this stage. Mike compromised and later felt that maybe others didn't.

I think there are very obvious comparisons to be made between Mike and Carl, and their respective attitudes to TWGMTR and the Paley sessions stuff. Both had been the band's leader, both had had strained relationships with Brian at various points, both might have had questions over Brian's ability to produce material that they were happy with and felt entitled to their own input into the furtherance of the groups legacy.

All that said, I'm a huge fan of TWGMTR and think it turned out better than a more democratic album would have. I see little evidence to seggest that a Brian/Mike collaboration would be fruitful without other's input and I'm not keen on Mike's solo contribution to the LP. My guess is that things could have been handled better and that Mike could have been more involved to keep him happier, but I don't think the album would have been better for it. In the past, Mike seems to have been happy with relatively small contributions to the writing process (e.g. Wouldn't it Be Nice) , so maybe he could have been more involved, but I suspect Mike's being a bit optimistic about Brian's ability to do what he used to without musical input from other sources. I think it's a shame it all ended as it did, because I'd love to see something more from the group - but it now looks very unlikely.