Why do you hate Mike Love?

[Cam Mott]

Did S & S v.1 go to #12 on the Billboard Country chart?

[Moon Dawg]

Brian fans don't like SIP? Must be because Brian wasn't on it! - lest we forget many Brian fans dislike GIOMH, so obviously we don't all go gaga over everything the man does, but let's not let logic get in the way.

SIP is a middling latter day release such as KTSA, BB85 and Still Crusin' and would be viewed as such by many Brianistas if Brian had even minimal involvement in it. As he doesn't it's used as Mike bashing fodder to the extreme ("worst album ever made" and other such BS). Granted the drum sound is the worst the BBs ever used.

  Sorry, no. SIP does not keep company with the likes of KTSA, 85, STILL CRUISIN. It keeps company with the likes of METAL MACHINE MUSIC, HAVING FUN WITH ELVIS ON STAGE, which is to say, the worst albums ever released by major artists. If Brian were on it, as is, it would only be more embarrassing, if such a thing is possible for this wretched record. SIP has two redeemable moments - the title song, and when it stops playing.

[filledeplage]

Did S & S v.1 go to #12 on the Billboard Country chart?

You're correct but 101 on Billboard.

So, it "crossed over" into country.  

Ahead if it's time...

[Cam Mott]

If JC Penney's board had let the company slide and each member had taken turns implementing previous failed plans over two decades and had also approved and participated in the latest failed plan it seems they would share the blame, if any.

[Cam Mott]

And S & Sv.1 also had 4 singles chart, 3 in the high 60s and low 70s on the US Country chart and 1 at 16 on the AC chart? Are we calling that a failure for an AC/Country (or any genre) album?

[Sheriff John Stone]

Sheriff - In recent years JC Penney wanted to try to reverse some of their losses and decreasing hold in the retail sales and department store market, they had once been among the iconic American brands and a retail powerhouse for decades until the business in general began to change, leaving Penney's brand and image seemingly stuck in the past. The Penney's board hired an executive who had been with Apple previously to try re-energizing the company and reversing their fortunes which were on a downward trend.

This Apple exec steps in, and proceeds with his "vision" and plan for the Penney brand. It was all but a reboot, or a total revamping of everything from how the store interacted with customers, to the look, to the overall day-to-day ops of the stores.

This former Apple exec's "vision" ended up nearly destroying the Penney brand for good. The loyal customers they did have rejected the changes. They still looked for weekly sales and special buys via ads that the Apple exec thought were too old-fashioned for his modernization plan. They wanted some of the old JC Penney to still be recognizable, and when it changed too much too fast, those loyal customers bailed too. The new, more tuned into Apple style business operations customer demographic never warmed up to the "new" ways of JC Penney either. Thinking perhaps..."I don't want to buy a pair of Khakis like I just bought this iPhone at the Apple Store". Etc etc etc.

Point is, it was one of the biggest corporate flops of the past decade. The Apple exec ended up getting shown the door after he all but marched the company off a cliff. JC Penney is still recovering after realizing JC Penney is NOT and should NOT be The Apple Store for obvious reasons. You'll have to check how they're doing now, I stopped following it.

But the point also that I'm getting at is this:

If the board of directors for JC Penney brought this Apple exec in to develop and execute a business plan to help the business, if everyone from high level management to mid level managers to buyers to the individual store managers and floor workers put their trust in the former Apple exec's vision and plan but it ended up almost destroying the company...

Is it their fault too that it failed? Or is it more a case of the leader who was trusted to lead the company simply failing to do what he was charged with doing for a variety of reasons, which was as in all business to make that business better? In the case of JC Penney, it must have been a cold shot in the face to realize Penney customers are not the same as Apple devotees. But the "blame" if you will rests more on the guy who put the entire fortunes of the company on what turned out to be a flawed premise from the start.

The blame is shared, or should be shared. Somebody - the Board Of Directors? - had to look at the incoming Apple exec's idea/plan and vote on it at a corporate meeting. If the plan is approved via a vote, and that plan fails, then not only the person who developed the idea, but the people who gave it "the green light" must be held accountable. In regard to The Beach Boys, not only is the person who thought of the plan - in this discussion Mike Love - should be held accountable, but also the people who approved it - in this case the other band members.

As far as the mid level managers, buyers, and store managers are concerned...now you are talking about the execution of the plan. There is a little bit of apples and oranges at play here with the example you used. Obviously with the subordinates the degree of accountability is limited. They aren't the ones who agreed to the plan; they are merely carrying it out. Their roles in the success or failure of the plan is limited in scope. But I'm not criticizing The Beach Boys for the way they executed and carried out their plans (although there are many instances where I/one could). The Beach Boys accountability and blame lies with the approval or accepting of the plan in the first place. When Mike made "his sales pitch", they could've rolled their eyes, laughed at him, and kicked his ass out the door. And maybe they did that. But they also went along with it. They voted for it. And for that, they share the blame...except on this board.

EDIT: Cam beat me to it with his response, made with much less words...

[filledeplage]

If JC Penney's board had let the company slide and each member had taken turns implementing previous failed plans over two decades and had also approved and participated in the latest failed plan it seems they would share the blame, if any.

Sears has been able to "tweak" it's brick and mortar stores with Land's End. Excellent quality, mostly 100% cotton, in a separate department next to the Sears cheesy dime store clothing brands.  

They didn't change everything, didn't alienate their demographic, but have been steadily bringing more customers who would not be caught dead buying clothing, there, outside of kids' clothing, or appliances.

It's a good analogy, except, if it's creativity, it requires projection into the population, like test-marketing to see if the product will fly. Surf's Up was "test marketed" by Leonard Bernstein on Inside Pop...

[Cam Mott]

There are a few excerpts on Yahoo that seem to be from the documentary Beach Boys: Nashville Sounds. They make it look like Brian is involved and even enjoying himself on those sessions for whatever it is worth.

I take it Alan Boyd may have been in attendance at some, most, or all of the sessions. Maybe he will come by explain how they went.

[Cam Mott]

If JC Penney's board had let the company slide and each member had taken turns implementing previous failed plans over two decades and had also approved and participated in the latest failed plan it seems they would share the blame, if any.

Sears has been able to "tweak" it's brick and mortar stores with Land's End. Excellent quality, mostly 100% cotton, in a separate department next to the Sears cheesy dime store clothing brands.  

They didn't change everything, didn't alienate their demographic, but have been steadily bringing more customers who would not be caught dead buying clothing, there, outside of kids' clothing, or appliances.

It's a good analogy, except, if it's creativity, it requires projection into the population, like test-marketing to see if the product will fly. Surf's Up was "test marketed" by Leonard Bernstein on Inside Pop...

What if that JC Penney hire and board had also participated in a campaign 8 years earlier that had revived the brand and given the company their best sales year in the history of the store?

Edit: Wait. Is the Apple exec Mike or Joe? I guess Joe would be the outsider with the supposed "failed" plan, so never mind, Joe didn't have anything to do with Kokomo as far as I know.

[guitarfool2002]

So the responsibility for the JC Penney debacle is akin to 'shared blame' for those who brought in the Apple exec, those who trusted his plans and visions for changing the company, and those thousands of workers who implemented that plan because they were working for the organization with the goal of improving it? Is it a blanket kind of shared blame where even if some members of the board or other execs voiced opposition, they'd get blame too because they got outvoted but still went along with the plan as part of the company "team"? Should those "no" votes have resigned from the company because they thought the plan was flawed, or should they have stayed the course and played ball, more or less?

In other words, the entire JC Penney organization shares blame for an executive's business plan that nearly sank the company. f***, I'm glad I didn't work for JC Penney, I'd have a hard time going to sleep at night knowing it was my fault the entire business structure almost went belly-up due to me managing the men's slacks department at the King Of Prussia mall.

The ultimate fault rests with the person who was given the task of coming up with a plan and executing it. Unless all of those around him had ESP and were able to see that a plan pitched to them would fail before it got rolling and had enough support to veto it.

[sockittome]

Brian fans don't like SIP? Must be because Brian wasn't on it! - lest we forget many Brian fans dislike GIOMH, so obviously we don't all go gaga over everything the man does, but let's not let logic get in the way.

SIP is a middling latter day release such as KTSA, BB85 and Still Crusin' and would be viewed as such by many Brianistas if Brian had even minimal involvement in it. As he doesn't it's used as Mike bashing fodder to the extreme ("worst album ever made" and other such BS). Granted the drum sound is the worst the BBs ever used.

  Sorry, no. SIP does not keep company with the likes of KTSA, 85, STILL CRUISIN.

I, for one, think it does.  The best song on 85 is the hum-drum "Getcha Back"?  And they couldn't even come up with enough original material to fill an album for STILL CRUISIN??? 

Hard times, man!  Hard times!

[filledeplage]

If JC Penney's board had let the company slide and each member had taken turns implementing previous failed plans over two decades and had also approved and participated in the latest failed plan it seems they would share the blame, if any.

Sears has been able to "tweak" it's brick and mortar stores with Land's End. Excellent quality, mostly 100% cotton, in a separate department next to the Sears cheesy dime store clothing brands.  

They didn't change everything, didn't alienate their demographic, but have been steadily bringing more customers who would not be caught dead buying clothing, there, outside of kids' clothing, or appliances.

It's a good analogy, except, if it's creativity, it requires projection into the population, like test-marketing to see if the product will fly. Surf's Up was "test marketed" by Leonard Bernstein on Inside Pop...

What if that JC Penney hire and board had also participated in a campaign 8 years earlier that had revived the brand and given the company their best sales year in the history of the store?

Apple demographic is elitist and top-down.  JC Penney is common man and bottom-up.  iPhone 5c. It is an upside down view.  And a bad fit.

Sears was conservative bringing in only one higher end label. It gradually brought in new foot traffic. People adapt slowly to change.  They like what is familiar.  

[Cam Mott]

So the responsibility for the JC Penney debacle is akin to 'shared blame' for those who brought in the Apple exec, those who trusted his plans and visions for changing the company, and those thousands of workers who implemented that plan because they were working for the organization with the goal of improving it? Is it a blanket kind of shared blame where even if some members of the board or other execs voiced opposition, they'd get blame too because they got outvoted but still went along with the plan as part of the company "team"? Should those "no" votes have resigned from the company because they thought the plan was flawed, or should they have stayed the course and played ball, more or less?

In other words, the entire JC Penney organization shares blame for an executive's business plan that nearly sank the company. f***, I'm glad I didn't work for JC Penney, I'd have a hard time going to sleep at night knowing it was my fault the entire business structure almost went belly-up due to me managing the men's slacks department at the King Of Prussia mall.

The ultimate fault rests with the person who was given the task of coming up with a plan and executing it. Unless all of those around him had ESP and were able to see that a plan pitched to them would fail before it got rolling and had enough support to veto it.

If the board was also the company, yes, just as much as their fellow board member who didn't have ESP and wasn't able to see that a plan pitched to him would fail before it got rolling and had enough support to veto it. Except S & S v.1 wasn't a failure and didn't drive the brand to ruin, I just don't think the analogy is working.

[guitarfool2002]

Then when it seems like Mike more often has credited himself for Kokomo reaching #1 on the pop charts, that wouldn't be right since the whole Beach Boys organization and all personnel would have been involved in the process from the initial plan? What would Mike think about that suggestion if someone ever challenged with it in an interview?

[Autotune]

Then when it seems like Mike more often has credited himself for Kokomo reaching #1 on the pop charts, that wouldn't be right since the whole Beach Boys organization and all personnel would have been involved in the process from the initial plan? What would Mike think about that suggestion if someone ever challenged with it in an interview?

You're onto something. But artistic credit (or merit) does not equal responsibility for career moves.

[Cam Mott]

Then when it seems like Mike more often has credited himself for Kokomo reaching #1 on the pop charts, that wouldn't be right since the whole Beach Boys organization and all personnel would have been involved in the process from the initial plan? What would Mike think about that suggestion if someone ever challenged with it in an interview?

I don't remember him crediting himself except to spell out the contribution of others and his limited contribution but yes, if he ever did/does, it was a group credit/blame. I have seen Mike credit Kokomo as the group's biggest #1 (or something) and that it was without Brian which is probably true (however I'm guessing Brian may have also given his approval at some level since he did participate in the Spanish version).

[clack]

Then when it seems like Mike more often has credited himself for Kokomo reaching #1 on the pop charts, that wouldn't be right since the whole Beach Boys organization and all personnel would have been involved in the process from the initial plan? What would Mike think about that suggestion if someone ever challenged with it in an interview?

Ok, Kokomo just hit #1, and now you, guitarfool, have been made manager and been given control over the band's direction. What next? I don't see an obvious move.

Maybe do what Aerosmith did, and bring in outside writers and song doctors to collaborate with Mike and Terry? Love/Melcher/Desmond Childs?

[Moon Dawg]

Brian fans don't like SIP? Must be because Brian wasn't on it! - lest we forget many Brian fans dislike GIOMH, so obviously we don't all go gaga over everything the man does, but let's not let logic get in the way.

SIP is a middling latter day release such as KTSA, BB85 and Still Crusin' and would be viewed as such by many Brianistas if Brian had even minimal involvement in it. As he doesn't it's used as Mike bashing fodder to the extreme ("worst album ever made" and other such BS). Granted the drum sound is the worst the BBs ever used.

  Sorry, no. SIP does not keep company with the likes of KTSA, 85, STILL CRUISIN.

I, for one, think it does.  The best song on 85 is the hum-drum "Getcha Back"?  And they couldn't even come up with enough original material to fill an album for STILL CRUISIN??? 

Hard times, man!  Hard times!

  "Getcha Back" is infinitely better than anything on SIP.

  There was enough new, or relatively new, material for the entirety of STILL CRUISIN', but the group and Capitol opted to go for oldies to fill out the record. Something like "The Spirit of Rock & Roll" or "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car", which would have fit into the album's "concept." Had this approach been taken, STILL CRUISIN' would stand as an OK record.


  SIP: the worst album ever released by a major rock band. The fact that it has been disowned by its makers tells you the whole story.

[Moon Dawg]

  Let's say STILL CRUISIN' had ended with the following tracks rather than the oldies: "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" (Brian solo from one of the POLICE ACADEMY films), "Oh Lord" (an '85 outtake) and "The Spirit of Rock & Roll". STILL CRUISIN' would likely be remembered as a fairly entertaining mish-mash.

 Quite frankly, The Beach Boys - all of 'em - were cowards to fill out STILL CRUISIN' with oldies.

[guitarfool2002]

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."

[guitarfool2002]

Bruce was right back in 1989 in calling the next album of all new material - which would turn out to be Summer In Paradise - "the album of doom". But maybe in a different way than he intended it. 

[rab2591]

Brian fans don't like SIP? Must be because Brian wasn't on it! - lest we forget many Brian fans dislike GIOMH, so obviously we don't all go gaga over everything the man does, but let's not let logic get in the way.

SIP is a middling latter day release such as KTSA, BB85 and Still Crusin' and would be viewed as such by many Brianistas if Brian had even minimal involvement in it. As he doesn't it's used as Mike bashing fodder to the extreme ("worst album ever made" and other such BS). Granted the drum sound is the worst the BBs ever used.

  Sorry, no. SIP does not keep company with the likes of KTSA, 85, STILL CRUISIN.

I, for one, think it does.  The best song on 85 is the hum-drum "Getcha Back"?  And they couldn't even come up with enough original material to fill an album for STILL CRUISIN???  

Hard times, man!  Hard times!

  "Getcha Back" is infinitely better than anything on SIP.

  There was enough new, or relatively new, material for the entirety of STILL CRUISIN', but the group and Capitol opted to go for oldies to fill out the record. Something like "The Spirit of Rock & Roll" or "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car", which would have fit into the album's "concept." Had this approach been taken, STILL CRUISIN' would stand as an OK record.


 SIP: the worst album ever released by a major rock band. The fact that it has been disowned by its makers tells you the whole story.

Exactly. It's no contest. KTSA, BB85, Still Cruisin all had hits and charting songs on them (Wipeout, Getcha Back, Goin On, etc). Each of these albums charted. Again, that Summer in Paradise was the first Beach Boys studio album that failed to chart says a lot - not to mention most critics, fans, Beach Boys historians call it their worst album as well. Not to mention it's not sold anymore. Not to mention no one in the Beach Boys management seems to be eager to re-release it.

Lest we forget how godawful the lyrics are on some of these songs:

"Yeah I'll take you to the movies
But I'm no fool
First I'll get you on the beach
Or in a swimming pool
Doing unto others is the Golden Rule
But doing it with you would be so
Very cool"

I think Peter Carlin put it best, "But even the lite-metal guitars on Dennis's once-understated ballad weren't quote as painful as Mike's "Summer of Love" which climaxed, so to speak, in a hail of yucky sexual references (Mike in Señor Suave mode, crooning about the joys of doing "it" in disparate, summery venues, including a beach and a swimming pool) that seem designed to excite the wrath of the same Parents Music Resource Center Mike had once supported."

And partially getting back on the main topic at hand: this was the same album that featured Van Dyke Parks playing accordion on one song....here is part of that story from a 2000 article:

"Parks recalls he saw Love one final time when Melcher called him to Monterey to play synthesizer on the Beach Boys' final album, recorded without Brian, 1992's dreadful Summer in Paradise. A neighbor offered to fly the musician to Monterey in his one-engine plane if Parks agreed to cover gas and other expenses. When he got there, Love was meditating in Melcher's living room. "For the first time in 30 years, he was able to ask me directly, once again, 'What do those lyrics -- Over and over the crow flies, uncover the cornfield -- mean?'" Parks said about that meeting in '95. "And I was  able to tell him, once again, 'I don't know.' I have no idea what those words mean. I was perhaps thinking of Van Gogh's wheat field or an idealized agrarian environment. Maybe I meant nothing, but I was trying to follow Brian Wilson's vision at that time." Parks says Love asked if he could fly back to L.A. in the plane with him. "We had a nice chat and he insisted that he wanted to split the cost of the flight with me, so he gave me a card with his number on it. The next morning, I called to discover it was a disconnected number. And that was the last time I saw Mike Love.""

And from last month's PR 'I-Need-To-Back-Pedal-And-Let-People-Know-I-Love-Brian' bonanza:
“By the way,” Johnston chimes in, “he plays a 100-year-old accordion on ‘Kokomo.’ ”
“That certainly gives a lie to this idea that we don’t like Van Dyke,” - Mike Love

ok Mike

And notice even the New York Times writer calls Summer in Paradise "dreadful" - HE MUST BE A BRIANISTA

[SMiLE Brian]

Exactly Rab, Mike is a bitter old f*ckwit who screwed and ripped off VDP 30 years after smile. Plus having vulgar and crass lyrics showing his creepy "romantic" skills.

[Autotune]

Brian fans don't like SIP? Must be because Brian wasn't on it! - lest we forget many Brian fans dislike GIOMH, so obviously we don't all go gaga over everything the man does, but let's not let logic get in the way.

SIP is a middling latter day release such as KTSA, BB85 and Still Crusin' and would be viewed as such by many Brianistas if Brian had even minimal involvement in it. As he doesn't it's used as Mike bashing fodder to the extreme ("worst album ever made" and other such BS). Granted the drum sound is the worst the BBs ever used.

  Sorry, no. SIP does not keep company with the likes of KTSA, 85, STILL CRUISIN.

I, for one, think it does.  The best song on 85 is the hum-drum "Getcha Back"?  And they couldn't even come up with enough original material to fill an album for STILL CRUISIN???  

Hard times, man!  Hard times!

  "Getcha Back" is infinitely better than anything on SIP.

  There was enough new, or relatively new, material for the entirety of STILL CRUISIN', but the group and Capitol opted to go for oldies to fill out the record. Something like "The Spirit of Rock & Roll" or "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car", which would have fit into the album's "concept." Had this approach been taken, STILL CRUISIN' would stand as an OK record.


 SIP: the worst album ever released by a major rock band. The fact that it has been disowned by its makers tells you the whole story.

Exactly. It's no contest. KTSA, BB85, Still Cruisin all had hits and charting songs on them (Wipeout, Getcha Back, Goin On, etc). Each of these albums charted. Again, that Summer in Paradise was the first Beach Boys studio album that failed to chart says a lot - not to mention most critics, fans, Beach Boys historians call it their worst album as well. Not to mention it's not sold anymore. Not to mention no one in the Beach Boys management seems to be eager to re-release it.

Lest we forget how godawful the lyrics are on some of these songs:

"Yeah I'll take you to the movies
But I'm no fool
First I'll get you on the beach
Or in a swimming pool
Doing unto others is the Golden Rule
But doing it with you would be so
Very cool"

I think Peter Carlin put it best, "But even the lite-metal guitars on Dennis's once-understated ballad weren't quote as painful as Mike's "Summer of Love" which climaxed, so to speak, in a hail of yucky sexual references (Mike in Señor Suave mode, crooning about the joys of doing "it" in disparate, summery venues, including a beach and a swimming pool) that seem designed to excite the wrath of the same Parents Music Resource Center Mike had once supported."

And partially getting back on the main topic at hand: this was the same album that featured Van Dyke Parks playing accordion on one song....here is part of that story from a 2000 article:

"Parks recalls he saw Love one final time when Melcher called him to Monterey to play synthesizer on the Beach Boys' final album, recorded without Brian, 1992's dreadful Summer in Paradise. A neighbor offered to fly the musician to Monterey in his one-engine plane if Parks agreed to cover gas and other expenses. When he got there, Love was meditating in Melcher's living room. "For the first time in 30 years, he was able to ask me directly, once again, 'What do those lyrics -- Over and over the crow flies, uncover the cornfield -- mean?'" Parks said about that meeting in '95. "And I was  able to tell him, once again, 'I don't know.' I have no idea what those words mean. I was perhaps thinking of Van Gogh's wheat field or an idealized agrarian environment. Maybe I meant nothing, but I was trying to follow Brian Wilson's vision at that time." Parks says Love asked if he could fly back to L.A. in the plane with him. "We had a nice chat and he insisted that he wanted to split the cost of the flight with me, so he gave me a card with his number on it. The next morning, I called to discover it was a disconnected number. And that was the last time I saw Mike Love.""

And from last month's PR 'I-Need-To-Back-Pedal-And-Let-People-Know-I-Love-Brian' bonanza:
“By the way,” Johnston chimes in, “he plays a 100-year-old accordion on ‘Kokomo.’ ”
“That certainly gives a lie to this idea that we don’t like Van Dyke,” - Mike Love

ok Mike

And notice even the New York Times writer calls Summer in Paradise "dreadful" - HE MUST BE A BRIANISTA

It's hard to take VDP verbatim after all the crap he's been posting recently. I think it's a poetic license in order to stab ML and fulfill his fixation with Mike.

[Ang Jones]

Exactly Rab, Mike is a bitter old f*ckwit who screwed and ripped off VDP 30 years after smile. Plus having vulgar and crass lyrics showing his creepy "romantic" skills.

Those 'lyrics' reminded me of Shakespeare - specifically "Was ever woman in this humour wooed? Was ever woman in this humour won?"

And that's the ONLY way they remind me of Shakespeare.