The M.I.U. Album

[Shady]

I really like this Album, Nice to have playing while i'm surfin the web

[MBE]

She's Got Rhythm - 4/5
Come Go With Me - 4.5/5
Hey Little Tomboy - 2.5/5
Kona Coast - 2/5
Peggy Sue - 1.5/5
Wontcha Come Out Tonight - 3.5/5
Sweet Sunday Kinda Love - 1.5/5
Belles of Paris - .5/5
Pitter Patter - 3/5
My Diane - 4.5/5
Match Point Of Our Love - 4/5
Winds of Change - 2.5/5


I guess that's what 3.25?

[TimeToGetAlone]

It is indeed the right place to post about this--these threads never die.

But your scores actually averages out to a 3.4666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666etc.

That is, unless some songs count for more than others.

Haha yeah I used the calculator and I figure I'd round down because it's below 3.5.   That decimal place is about where I'd put it but I can't vote in the poll like that.  I guess I should do its twofer cousin, L.A. next.

[Alex]

She's Got Rhythm, Come Go With Me, and Sweet Sunday are all OK, but the rest of this album is sub-par.

[Alex]

She's Got Rhythm, Come Go With Me, and Sweet Sunday are all OK, but the rest of this album is sub-par.

Scratch that, been listening to MIU a bit more lately, I'm going to add Peggy Sue, My Diane, and (say what you will, but I like this song) Winds of Change to the list of tolerable songs from MIU.

[Wrightfan]

2. Good as an easy listening album, not a BB album:

Best to worst:
She's Got Rhythm
Hey Little Tomboy
Come go With Me
Matchpoint of our Love
Sweet Sunday Kinda Love
Kona Coast
My Diane
Wontcha Come Out Tonight?
Belles of Paris
Pitter Patter
Winds of Change
Peggy Sue

[phirnis]

Loved it when Peter Ames Carlin described "Belles of Paris" as Mike Love sounding just as sophisticated as Pepe le Pew.

[Jason Penick]

Loved it when Peter Ames Carlin described "Belles of Paris" as Mike Love sounding just as sophisticated as Pepe le Pew.

Really?  I thought that particular statement was borderline idiotic, as was his general overall assessment of the album, but what can you do? 

[John]

My Diane is very good.
She's Got Rhythm, Woncha Come Out Tonight and Winds Of Change (purely for the end, which I like) are good.
Peggy Sue, Kona Coast, Come Go With Me and Pitter Patter are tolerable to okay.
Everything else is awful. Worst song of the album? Split between Belles and Sweet Sunday.

[Alex]

Sweet Sunday is one of my favorites from MIU, just because its the only song on that whole album that Carl sings lead on.

[roll plymouth rock]

She's Got Rhythm, Come Go With Me, and Sweet Sunday are all OK, but the rest of this album is sub-par.

Scratch that, been listening to MIU a bit more lately, I'm going to add Peggy Sue, My Diane, and (say what you will, but I like this song) Winds of Change to the list of tolerable songs from MIU.

My Diane is probably my favorite song on the album as it has the most emotional depth IMO. There are other songs I enjoy on this album, but overall it is light fare

[lance]

You know how some albums take a while to grow on you? At first they seem like nothing special, then gradually you are hooked into them? Well, the exact opposite happened to me on 15 Big Ones. At first I thought it was, well, not brilliant, but OK, and now, a few months down the road, I can only listen to about six of the songs on it.

It's for that reason I'm refraining from voting on MIU and LA until they sink in a bit, as I've only heard them once(though I'd heard some of the songs off LA before.)

At first listen, I kind of like MIU.
 I love the sound of it--I think it's the best-sounding Beach Boys album post Holland.  It's slick, yet organic, like the great Wilson productions of the past, but without the genius.
The songs are pleasant and likeable as well, my least favorites being the covers.  Like I said, I might revise my opinion, but for now I quite like it. I'll give it a three. Nothing blows me away, but it's nice, pleasant,  the songwriting could be better.

They take a lot of flak for the retro vibe of the album, but I don't mind it. I guess because it's one facetof the album, and not the whole deal(as I imagine KTSA--which I haven't heard--to be.)

 Of course, I prefer their earlier, forward-looking stuff, but I can deal with a few backward looking nostalgic songs.

 I like My Diane and Pitter Patter, the rest is listenable. I think it's better than 15 BO, for sure. But I'm not officially voting for a week or so. Oh, screw it, I'll just vote a three and change it later. The covers are pretty good, but pointless.

 Frickin' hate the cover, though.

[brianc]

M.I.U. has 8 Brian Wilson originals on it. I'm not saying that is a guarantee of greatness, but these came out of the same period that spawned Love You, New Album and Adult/Child. The difference here is that the songs are pretty slicked up, and one has to admit, without the quirk, they sound sort of uninspired. But I really like "Sweet Sunday Kind of Love." The Dennis vocal on "My Diane" is bluesy, but almost painful to listen to.

Hate to admit it, but I like "Wind of Change" and the LP cover myself. They both evoke the end of that mustard-coloured Five Summer Stores Era in Los Angeles. An epitaph-to-hippy-surf. There was an '80s Japanese Beach Boys fanzine where this guy drew a comic-strip of the Beach Boys members acting out the lyrics to "Winds of Change." It's insane, because I think they guy who drew it was totally sincere.

"And then Al Jardine came in and built a sand castle, and Mike Love blew in the winds of change and knocked the castle down." You can only imagine where it goes from there...

[Sheriff John Stone]

Don't write off the two covers, "Come Go With Me" and "Peggy Sue". I think they're well produced, one was a hit single, and, they both possess some of the best Al Jardine lead vocals of his career.

[lance]

I don't completely write them off, they are enjoyable for what they are: competent and definitely well sung; better than many of the covers on 15BO. But they seem kind of pointless, I guess, and there's nothing really special about them. I agree the vocals are great, though. It's an enjoyable latter-day BB album, but it is fairly light in substance--but I like it.

[lance]

M.

Hate to admit it, but I like "Wind of Change" and the LP cover myself.

The photo is cool. The design sucks. Maybe it made sense in 78--there is something very seventies about it, but not, IMO in a good way. I'm no graphic designer--I'm no anything, really...but anyway...I know what things I don't like look like, and that cover is one of the things I don't. But if it is expressing something to you that I don't get...well, that's interesting. From my view point it's expressing seventies shag carpet and wood-like wallpaper.

[lance]

I'm changing my vote to two. A lot of the songs wear thin quickly.

It does not plunge to the depths of 15BO, but neither does it reach the heights of 15BO, either. (Not that those are very high.) Seven BOs and seven MIUs make a decent light pop album.

[phirnis]

Loved it when Peter Ames Carlin described "Belles of Paris" as Mike Love sounding just as sophisticated as Pepe le Pew.

Really?  I thought that particular statement was borderline idiotic, as was his general overall assessment of the album, but what can you do? 

I just thought it was kind of funny the way he described it and I can most definitely see where he's coming from in terms of his overall evaluation of the M.I.U. Album. That said, the album might be lightweight and quite possibly among the "weakest" BB releases up to that point, but when I only recently put it in my player for the first time in months, I just couldn't escape its charms. Unlike stuff like KTSA, M.I.U. still feels like classic Beach Boys to me (at least occasionally), although some of its key elements might strike me as downright bland (and I used to virtually hate it when I first bought the M.I.U./L.A. twofer). While it clearly wasn't the best possible record they could've released after Love You, it's still an enjoyable listen from time to time.

[Aegir]

I really like this album. It doesn't have much substance, but I really like it. And it really feels like a Beach Boys album. This sounds like the band that did Pet Sounds more than Holland does. She's Got Rhythm has a great falsetto vocal from Brian on it. Come Go With Me is better than the original. I've never had a problem with Hey Little Tomboy. I like the sleighbells on this version, too. Even though Kona Coast is a huge ripoff of Hawaii, that only makes it better. Peggy Sue has its moments. Wontcha Come Out Tonight is a legitimately really good song. Sweet Sunday Kinda Love has a good vocal from Carl. Belles of Paris is awkward. Pitter Patter is the Mike/Al partnership at its finest. My Diane is really heartfelt and I love the way Dennis sings it. Match Point of Our Love really sounds like "Pet Sounds 12 years later" to me. Winds of Change is nice, especially the fadeout.

This is a mainly positive, relaxing album. 4/5

[SmileySam]

What I find interesting about M.I.U is that its one of those few Beach Boys albums that I immediately enjoyed. I remember hearing Pet Sounds for the first time and did not like it at all, but through time it has become one of my favourite albums. M.I.U. in terms of production is great but in terms of lyrics there are hits and misses. I actually admire the way they have taken harmonies from earlier songs and spliced them with new recordings, call it unoriginal, I call it nostalgic in a way. With 'Kona Coast' the melodies and the old harmony from the song 'Hawaii' go together REALLY well in my opinion. It definately beats 'Keepin The Summer Alive'. I laughed when my mom said "Gee, the 80's sure weren't good to them were they?" This was after she borrowed the album to listen to it.

[TimeToGetAlone]

I took a break from this for a while and was surprised how much I enjoyed it.  Outside of My Diane I don't think any one song would classify as excellent to me, but it did feel fairly cohesive.  Doesn't stack up against their finer work but on its merits I guess I quite like it.

[Jay]

Take out Rhythm and Belles of Paris, and replace them with Lookin' Down The Coast, and Country Pie, and you've got a solid three star album. Add Everybody Wants To Live, and you've got a cult classic. Tomboy is still somewhat creepy, but Brian and Carl save it. Thank God they took out the "shave your legs" lyric. Anyway, as it stands the album is a somewhat doubious two and a half stars.

[Alex]

I may have already mentioned this, but I love Kona Coast and Winds of Change!!

[Cal]

I said it before, and I'll say it again.....for me, this is the last Beach Boys "sounding" LP they ever did. Everything (LP-wise) after, is stale. For me, they lack any spark or life . This album is full of recognizable Beach Boys harmonies and has melodies that don't seem forced. I find this the last album I get any joy out of.

Regards,
Cal aka "Beatle Bob"

[Aegir]

Take out Rhythm

No. That song is amazing.