Not sure if this has been mentioned but even the original publication has this sort of “Brian vs Mike/The Beach Boys” angle occurring … in that the “official” Beach Boys book was released in 1979, less than a year after Leaf’s. While the authorized book was very cool, it was clearly fluff compared to Leaf’s, which history has shown was the more important work.
I would say the origin of “Brian/Wilsons vs. Mike/others” has its roots in the 1971 Rieley era. The 1977 Rolling Stone article was brutal.
I have the updated version of the "official" book, but the binding is coming apart. It's a nice book told from a different angle, the only thing I don't like about it is how the quotes are separated from the main text.
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