First Pics of Beach Boys Capitol Get Together

[andy]

Wow

[Dancing Bear]

Lovely.

[Shady]

Hmm, not to sure about that

[Don't Back Down]

Brian looks the happiest of the bunch in these pics. But anyhow great to see them all together again

[Ron]

Yeah, i was just about to say... how is it that Brian looks the youngest of them all?

[Ebb and Flow]

I think now that Brian has his solo thing going he has a level of authority and control he hasn't had in a while.  Hopefully this will rub off on any reunion effort.  And all of them just look happy to be there.  Nice Day.   

[Dancing Bear]

Hmm, Brian, Bruce and Al look like they are 64 years old, and Mike looks like he is 65 years old. 

[MBE]

Did anyone notice how old Mike looks compared to Brian and Al?

Mike ALWAYS looked way older then the others

[MBE]

Posted this comment elsewhere but it does warm my heart to see em together

[HeyJude]

Here is a news story from Yahoo that includes a few quotes. Seems a possible reunion is not neccesarily the most far-fetched thing in the world. It also sounds like the upcoming "Pet Sounds" reissue is going to be some sort of package that includes the CD and DVD-Audio. I certainly hope they either include a lot of substantial "new" material, or they simply stick the CD and DVD-Audio into a box without anything new so recording completists don't have to buy it again. Yeah, right.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060614/people_nm/beachboys_dc_2

Some excerpts from the story:

The three original band members have not performed together in years. But, asked about the possibility of sharing the stage again, Wilson replied, "There's a chance of that."

Added his cousin, Love, with whom Wilson was often at odds in later years: "We've got tough management."

"I want to thank everybody involved that helped us get that album ... going and going," said Wilson. "And I thank the Beach Boys themselves for being great, great artists to produce. I'd rather produce those guys over any other artists in the whole world."

Johnston, who became part of the group when Wilson quit touring to focus on studio work, paid tribute to Wilson's brothers and fellow founding band members, Dennis, who drowned in 1983, and Carl, who died of cancer in 1998.

"I wish Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson could be here with us," Johnston said, to which Love added, pointing up at the sky: "They probably are, because this is pretty close."

Organizers said the last time the original Beach Boys appeared together in public was around the time that "Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1," a collection of Beach Boy covers performed by various country music artists, was released in 1996.

Capitol Records, a unit of EMI Music Group, also announced plans for a 40th-anniversary release June 27 of a deluxe CD single of "Good Vibrations," featuring five versions of the band's seminal 1966 hit and its original U.S. B-side.

In late August, Capitol also plans a 40-year commemorative reissue of the band's landmark "Pet Sounds" album in a CD/DVD package that includes mono, stereo and digital Surround Sound mixes of the music, plus previously unreleased promotional and documentary footage.

Reuters/VNU




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[Charles LePage @ ComicList]

Did anyone notice how old Mike looks compared to Brian and Al?

No kidding!  I hope it's just age and not illness.  Dave and Al are looking healthy.

[Emdeeh]

It gladdens my heart to see these guys all together in one place. Thanks for posting the photos!

[Jon Stebbins]

Today was the first time since Carl died that I looked at these guys and they looked like the "Beach Boys" to me. Just the way they interacted as a group. It wasn't like I was watching five individuals...but a very exclusive club. I can only relate it to how the Beatles seemed in those early press conferences...the collective brain thing. When the five of them were with each other today it was obvious it felt good to them. Brian Wilson was having a great time...he was joking around and smiling the whole time. He and Mike seemed to have some very warm exchanges, and Mike made a point of telling the gathering that Brian was the reason the Beach Boys did great things. Brian made a point of saying the BB's were the greatest artists he could ever imagine producing...the ultimate vehicle for his music. I handed David the photos of Carl and Dennis and suggested he pose with them...and Mike got into the spirit and soon Al was there...they all wanted to make sure Dennis and Carl were included in the day. Dave made a comment to the gathering of how they were like brothers to him, and Brian seemed to affirm the statement with a nod of approval. I was blown away by the comeraderie they all displayed. When a clueless Capitol exec. asked David to step out of the shot so the "original" four could pose...Bruce, Al and Mike nearly threw the guy over the side of the building. Two of them shouted "f*** that...that's bullshit...get back in here David". It was like that all day...al for one...one for all. I never would have beleived it...but I saw it with my own eyes.

[HeyJude]

Great comments, Jon. Thanks for sharing them. Can we expect a more detailed report soon, or is there much more to tell about the event? Any exchanges directly between Al and Mike? Did you hear anything relating to what Bruce talked about on the BB Britian board about he and Al discussing a reunion, if only in a theoretical sense? Were you able to talk to the other BB's besides David?

I'm glad to see that it appears they all genuinely were getting along. Given their history, I'm sure they never will have a perfect, buddy-buddy relationship. But perhaps they all have finally just run out of steam when it comes to the contention. I don't think we'll see Mike drop his lawsuit tomorrow simply because they all got along. But whatever happens, I'm glad to hear that this was a bit more of a proper reunion-ish gathering than, say, the grammy thing from a few years ago.

Hope to hear more details, Jon, if you have any!

[HeyJude]

Another news story with more quotes. I'm not sure how to interpret Mike's response to a question about whether the hatchet had been buried by saying the hatchets are in his back.

The also indicates that the previously heard-of CD "The Warmth of the Sun" is indeed a follow-up to "Sounds of Summer", and that it apparently will be released next spring (no doubt to usher in the summer). Here's the link:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2006-06-14-beach-boys_x.htm?csp=34

Some interesting excerpts:

"It's always good to do this while we're living," Jardine quipped to reporters before the event, in which band members were presented with framed plaques each containing two platinum vinyl records.

The reunion of the Beach Boys came after decades of animosity between Love and Wilson, who are cousins.

Love sued Wilson in November, saying Wilson "shamelessly misappropriated (Love's) songs, likeness and the Beach Boys trademark, as well as the Smile album itself" when Wilson was promoting 2004's Smile. Love previously sued his cousin in the mid-1990s, seeking more songwriting credit on the band's back catalog.

The two shared a friendly rapport Tuesday, standing side by side and patting each other on the back. In thanking his bandmates, Love lauded "my cousin Brian Wilson, for his incredible abilities that gave us all this amazing life."

When asked if all hatchets have been buried, Love pointed to his back.

"The hatchets are right here," he said with a laugh.

Loved added that between the band members "there's issues that arise, and you resolve them over time."

Of the reunion, he said: "We've been together, just in different configurations and different situations. But this is a great one because everybody's in a celebratory mood, everybody's on their good behavior and everybody's enjoying the fact that our records have been recognized even 40 years after we first put (them) out."

[smile-holland]

...and to think that I spend my holiday in California... an walked around on the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Vine EXACTLY a month ago....if I had known that....if if if ...

oh well... I wasn't invited anyway...

fortunately we have the pictures (and a great report of Jon S., thanks!). Let's see if this happening results in a positive follow-up....

[The Shift]

Kind of reminds me of...

[Paul Childs]

Not to be a downer, but these guys don't neccesarily get along at all. How often to ex band members get together for these sorts of things and actually really make a big negative scene? I remember Jeff Beck did that when the Yardbirds were inducted into the R&R hall of fame. But these pics in and of themselves simply means these guys put on the smiles for the cameras. Mike and Al were together at that grammy luncheon in 2001, but Al indicated afterwards that it wasn't a pleasant experience, at least in terms of being there with Mike.

As others have said, apart from any reunion talk, I hope they can come to some real peace with each other. But the pics without any stories don't mean much. Hopefully Jon Stebbins will have some details about what if anything substantial that was said.

They may have been alright together for this but as for the band reforming things could well get back to square one.

[SG7]

Looking at these pics, I think ladies and gentlemen hell has just frozen over...







I am so happy. I never thought this would happen at all. 

[Paul Childs]

Kind of reminds me of...

The album cover of the MFP version of  'Today'.
Who is that in the middle?

[peeping tom]

The driver.

[NimrodsSon]

Another news story with more quotes. I'm not sure how to interpret Mike's response to a question about whether the hatchet had been buried by saying the hatchets are in his back.

You can see him say that in the video (see the other thread), and he laughs and says "Just kidding" after saying it.

[NHC]

Right - the guy was their local driver for their Mexican beach photo shot.  Years ago somewhere when I first saw this picture, it was tagged as Murry, which hardly seemed possible.  Then it was later - evidently - properly ID'd as their driver, which makes much more sense than . . . Murry.  Kind of a cool thing, actually, sticking the local guy in the shot.

As for the Capital pictures, Mike doesn't look that much relatively older to me, as others have mentioned. The one who looks oldest in my eyes is Al.  But they all look fine to me.  Great in fact.  Alive and well.  Ready to rock and roll.

[Ron]

The hatchet thing was a joke but there's always a bit of truth when people joke around like that.  I don't think Mike files lawsuits just to be an ass, I think he actually feels like he was wronged, or he wouldn't have sued.  So he probably does feel like Brian's taking advantage of him by somewhat, in someway (whether it's just of not) cutting him out of the SMiLE thing.  He sued Al for using the BB's name that Mike has to pay a fee to use... so he probably feels like Al was trying to kill him too. 

[Old Rake]

Yeah, i was gonna say: what's with all the "Mike looks old" things? To me, Mike looks probably the best preserved of all of 'em, with Bruce in close second and either Brian or Al looking the oldest!