David Leaf, Landy and Melinda's fault, surely.

[Smilin Ed H]

I wonder how it worked.  Their manager put it to them; their agent phoned around the studios saying they'd contribute a song to any old crap; someone (or some people) in the group decided it would be a great idea to get in touch with the youth and keep the band in the public eye; did they vote on it? Kokomo and Still Cruising I can just about bear, but this stuff's embarrassing.

[Ron]

Yeah, I always marvelled at that too.  Anytime you see a really bad move like this or some of that music they did back then... there had to be SEVERAL people who thought it was a good idea!  It's not like just 1 person made a mistake. 

Again though, I think this song's a bad example, I don't think it's really all that bad considering the time period it was recorded in.  Plus Carl nearly makes the song nice with his beautiful vocals. 

[Alex]

Seems like they were making bad moves left and right from the late-80s onward.

[SG7]

Well, it could have been Summer In Paradise 

[jmc]

They're (Problem Child and Make It Big) not as bad as Wipe Out and Happy Endings....

[Smilin Ed H]

You know, Kokomo I can see.  Vacuous crappy movie though Cocktail is, Tom Cruise was in it and a lot of people saw it - chance to make some money with a vacuous crappy song on the soundtrack; same for Still Cruisin' in Lethal Weapon with Mel Gibson, but Problem Child? Police Academy (and not even the first of this fucking awful series)? Troop Beverly Fucking Hills?! Telephone (for which BJ destroyed a perfectly good if syrupy song and turned it into crap)? Disorderlies?  Didn't someone say no?

[phirnis]

They're (Problem Child and Make It Big) not as bad as Wipe Out and Happy Endings....

Agreed. Happy Endings is just so awful, Bruce Johnston at his worst and sappiest.

That said, there's actually one of those eighties singles I like from time to time and that's Rock'n'Roll To The Rescue, which works quite well as an irrelevant fun song (thanks to both Brian and Al's nice enough vocal performances).

[Rocker]

They're (Problem Child and Make It Big) not as bad as Wipe Out and Happy Endings....

Agreed. Happy Endings is just so awful, Bruce Johnston at his worst and sappiest.

That said, there's actually one of those eighties singles I like from time to time and that's Rock'n'Roll To The Rescue, which works quite well as an irrelevant fun song (thanks to both Brian and Al's nice enough vocal performances).

I always liked "Happy endings" but probably only because it features Little Richard AND the Beach Boys (but unfortunately both not at their best).

"Rock'n'Roll to the rescue" I always loved. Brian's leadvocal is outstanding. The best later lead by Brian imho. Carl, Al and Mike also sound very good.

[Ron]

I think this thread has proven that one man's shitty song is another man's guilty pleasure. 

[MBE]

If you look at it collectively 1984-1997 was the Beach Boys nadir. They were largely a total embarrassment, and almost everything they did was wrong creatively. I am not talking solo projects here because that's a whole other issue. I think certain shows in the summer of 1988, the 1993 box set tour, the Was/Paley sessions, and perhaps two or three other songs (Somewhere Near Japan, maybe RARTTR) were worthy of the Beach Boys. Sure they had good moments nearly every show, and sometimes an effort was made, but I am judging on the whole. Dennis aside, there was no reason they shouldn't have been able to do the same quality of show musically they did in 1975 in 1985. Mike gets a lot of slack from me, but where he took the group during these years is nothing to be proud of. Carl too must take some of the blame for being more and more complacent. He left the group in 1981 because he didn't feel they were trying hard enough. Where was that fight for the Beach Boys to be a credible band after Dennis died? I think Dennis wasn't able to do much by 1983, but somehow his loss kind of pushed Brian and Carl away from the band. Carl was still present but he didn't seem to care in the same way. Don't misunderstand Carl was still a great talent and could still move a crowd, I just think he should have left again when things got so cheesy.

[the captain]

Disorderlies?  Didn't someone say no?

I'm with you on all the rest, but don't knock Disorderlies. That movie kicked ass. And so does Wipeout. Yes, I said it. I meant it.

[Empire Of Love]

Man, that song really sucks, it doesn't sound anything like a Beach Boys song, and is embarassing for the group.  But man, Mike sure can make that sax sing, can't he?

[mikeyj]

Carl too must take some of the blame for being more and more complacent. He left the group in 1981 because he didn't feel they were trying hard enough. Where was that fight for the Beach Boys to be a credible band after Dennis died? I think Dennis wasn't able to do much by 1983, but somehow his loss kind of pushed Brian and Carl away from the band.

I think that really did affect Carl. The loss of Dennis. I mean the Beach Boys had always been the three Wilson brothers, Mike and (most of the time) Al. I mean look at it from Carl's point of view, Dennis is dead, Brian is in a pretty bad state and isn't really creative at all. I mean if I was Carl (after everything he had been through and had to deal with) I would probably give up too.

[Smilin Ed H]

"Don't misunderstand Carl was still a great talent and could still move a crowd, I just think he should have left again when things got so cheesy."

Maybe he just felt he couldn't let them down.  On the other hand, he was working, on and off, with Beckley and Lamm and while I dmit the songs are no masterpieces, they're way better than MOST of what the others were doing, BW88 excepted.

[MBE]

mikeyj and Smilin Ed H

I am glad you understand what I am getting at. One thing that sticks out is Carl being asked by a young band on the Endless Summer tv show if he still likes it. He replied "How can you not when you are making so many people happy" It must have been hard for him to swallow his ambitions, but what he got from the audience outweighed it. Still it is sad that the Beach Boys went the way they did. If they only tried then what Brian, Mike, and Bruce sometimes try now....

[mikeyj]

He replied "How can you not when you are making so many people happy"

And I think that is what music is all about. I mean at the end of the day if somebody REALLY loves Barbara Ann or even Summer Of Love or whatever and wants to play that record over and over (kinda like Brian with Be My Baby) then so be it. If it's truly making them happy then that's all that matters (to that person)

It must have been hard for him to swallow his ambitions, but what he got from the audience outweighed it. Still it is sad that the Beach Boys went the way they did. If they only tried then what Brian, Mike, and Bruce sometimes try now....

So true MBE.

And if only they could have given us just one more good or at least half way decent album to finish on a strong note. I mean it just sucks that the last all original studio album from the Beach Boys will go down in history (most likely) as being Summer In Paradise.

[Dancing Bear]

If Carl had left the band in the 80s or 90s, he would very probably have to go back to performing Beach Boys music to make a living. It was easier - and more logical - to do it in the Beach Boys to much bigger crowds and earning a lot more money, opposed to doing the club circuit on his own.

[MBE]

I don't know how good Carl was with money, if he lived extravagantly etc. If he had been able to save through the years, perhaps he could have gone full time solo with no problems. If not perhaps being in the group was something he felt he had to do. Again to me it would depend on how much he had saved and how lavish he lived.

[Ron]

I'm telling ya, Carl might have loved all that music.  Maybe being in the group and doing songs like that was something he didn't feel he had to do, maybe it was something he WANTED to do. 

[Smilin Ed H]

Who managed them at this time? Schilling?

[Rocker]

Who managed them at this time? Shilling?

I believe in '89 (or what are we talking about?) Schilling was managing Jerry Lee Lewis. Can't remember when he left the BBs though. I think that in '84 he was still there