The Beach Boys Love You

[cube_monkey]

I listened to Love You for the first time today after hearing in the thead about the downer comments when it was one of "those" albums and the poor guys girlfriend, ripped it out of the CD player and whipped it out of the car.  I said, I must hear this!!!!!!!

I am glad I did. I find alot of their later output i dunno, bland and kinda desperate , although there are gems. Thats just MY opinion.
When I heard this, my jaws literally did drop.  I realize on songs like Johnny Carson, Brian is having a good joke. He could of written
maybe more "developed" lyrics, but he didnt want to, so its perfect.  Part of the appeal of the record is i think they are all burnt out and trying to go, and are basically toast....which makes the appeal even greater to me. Its not polished. No backing band here.
And the line about the falsies, just killed me. LMAO.  and Solar System? hahahahahahaha.  I love it.  I like this record because
my mind is having a hard time defining it and its wondering WHAT THE HELL WHERE THEY UP TO??? or...SOMETHING IS HORRIBLY WRONG...or...they are having fun and screw everyone else.  So its in my top 5.  Now i would of liked more guitar, but i'd rather
have it like this than session players and having it slick.  I do love the production. Love the "drumming"   I love The mimalist
thing, like on Wild Honey, you hear alot more than is actually there. Oh, and Brian Discovered the Hohner Clavinet.
Its a true oddity like Smiley Smile.  To me, its all good.

[veryape]

my fav BB album..
The most charming,honest,and emotional albums i have ever listened to..

[clinikillz]

There are some really good songs on Love You, but I cannot get passed the synthesizer sounds. They really, really annoy me. Brian's vocals are horrendous, too. 3/5

[RBennett123]

I listened to Love You for the first time today after hearing in the thead about the downer comments when it was one of "those" albums and the poor guys girlfriend, ripped it out of the CD player and whipped it out of the car.  I said, I must hear this!!!!!!!

I am glad I did. I find alot of their later output i dunno, bland and kinda desperate , although there are gems. Thats just MY opinion.
When I heard this, my jaws literally did drop.  I realize on songs like Johnny Carson, Brian is having a good joke. He could of written
maybe more "developed" lyrics, but he didnt want to, so its perfect.  Part of the appeal of the record is i think they are all burnt out and trying to go, and are basically toast....which makes the appeal even greater to me. Its not polished. No backing band here.
And the line about the falsies, just killed me. LMAO.  and Solar System? hahahahahahaha.  I love it.  I like this record because
my mind is having a hard time defining it and its wondering WHAT THE HELL WHERE THEY UP TO??? or...SOMETHING IS HORRIBLY WRONG...or...they are having fun and screw everyone else.  So its in my top 5.  Now i would of liked more guitar, but i'd rather
have it like this than session players and having it slick.  I do love the production. Love the "drumming"   I love The mimalist
thing, like on Wild Honey, you hear alot more than is actually there. Oh, and Brian Discovered the Hohner Clavinet.
Its a true oddity like Smiley Smile.  To me, its all good.

Aheeemmm. EX-girlfriend.

[schiaffino]

Hi everyone, its been a while since I don't post, although I read the board every single day...clearly an obsession 

And speaking of current obsessions, I cant seem to get enough of Love You! And the funny thing, I don't know how to explain it.

Its an awful, awful album. Everything from the lousy cover art, to the cheesy photos, moron lyrics, off-tune singing and simplistic production...it as all the required elements to be a complete disaster, the epitome of what a pop-rock production should never, ever be. If someone ever wants to write down the manual of how to produce an album that will never be a commercial success, voila, this would be Exhibit A.

Now, having said this, I completely and absolutely love it 

Someone said before this is Brian unfiltered, uncensored and I couldn't agree more. Every single song has such a raw approach, from the opener even to my least favorite (LIAW), that only early punk bands were able to transmit in a recording. The difference is that there's no anger, social awareness or rebellion in this record (as opposed to anything from Sex Pystols or Clash), but it's in-your-face as much as a song can get.

Honesty in music making is rare and even more rare is to actually get a message delivered once you attempt doing it. Brian and the Boys accomplished it with Love You. A song like Night is so Young can't be understood completely without the context of where Brian was back then, but at the same time has such an innocence and openness that's painfully raw and doesn't allow the listener to escape from it.

I would love to hear the early demo on I Bet He's Nice, that's one beautiful song that in a simpler arrangement (piano & voice) would be a classic. I read the review from Andrew Doe on how the group was so impressed from this song when the sessions started, I can totally understand why. Gosh, need to find that demo 

In any case, all songs are perfect. Even Love is a Woman, makes perfect sense sang by Brian in those harsh vocals. Same goes for the chorus in Solar System, the lyrics I couldn't care less, but that's a beautifully dark melody there. Same as with the bridge in Johnny Carson, man, there's a couple of bars that sustain this minor chord that's just amazing, amazing...even in the context of again beyond-any-understanding stupid lyrics.

I actually have a question (before I stop boring everyone with this post). Is it really Brian doing the falsetto in Airplane? Like all the high vocals in that song? Its very impressive, you wouldnt think he would be able to reach that register back then...or am I wrong and its Carl or someone singing this? It has to be Brian, its a great falsetto done by a heavy smoker, I'm sure of it! But then again, Carl was a smoker then...

Anyways, this is a great album and I thank you all for starting this post. It made me discover something very beautiful, a treasure that you need to dig and clean. It requires a lot of effort, but damn that it pays off 

See yaa

[Summer_Days]

Love You is a wonderful, grin-inducing album. Exactly why GIOMH doesn't work yet Love You does is a matter of passion, I'd say. Creative spark. Something like that...

My favorite tracks - 'Let Us Go On This Way', 'Roller Skating Child', 'Mona', 'I'll Bet He's Nice' and especially 'The Night Was So Young', but the whole album is quite a trip and one of the very few late-period Beach Boys albums that's a JOY to listen to.

Hmm, I'd say.. a 4 1/2 or so.

schiaffino - Yep, that's Brian singing falsetto on 'Airplane'.

[stack-o-tracks]

I'd love to hear an instrumental version of this album. So much going on musically.

[schiaffino]

Love You is a wonderful, grin-inducing album. Exactly why GIOMH doesn't work yet Love You does is a matter of passion, I'd say. Creative spark. Something like that...

My favorite tracks - 'Let Us Go On This Way', 'Roller Skating Child', 'Mona', 'I'll Bet He's Nice' and especially 'The Night Was So Young', but the whole album is quite a trip and one of the very few late-period Beach Boys albums that's a JOY to listen to.

Hmm, I'd say.. a 4 1/2 or so.

schiaffino - Yep, that's Brian singing falsetto on 'Airplane'.

That's so amazing! Thank you, Summer Days, this is the kind of stuff I need to know

[schiaffino]

I'd love to hear an instrumental version of this album. So much going on musically.

I completely agree! A song like Johnny Carson would be a great subject for musical dissection

[shakcohen]

Hi everyone, its been a while since I don't post, although I read the board every single day...clearly an obsession 

And speaking of current obsessions, I cant seem to get enough of Love You! And the funny thing, I don't know how to explain it.

Its an awful, awful album. Everything from the lousy cover art, to the cheesy photos, moron lyrics, off-tune singing and simplistic production...it as all the required elements to be a complete disaster, the epitome of what a pop-rock production should never, ever be. If someone ever wants to write down the manual of how to produce an album that will never be a commercial success, voila, this would be Exhibit A.

Now, having said this, I completely and absolutely love it 

Someone said before this is Brian unfiltered, uncensored and I couldn't agree more. Every single song has such a raw approach, from the opener even to my least favorite (LIAW), that only early punk bands were able to transmit in a recording. The difference is that there's no anger, social awareness or rebellion in this record (as opposed to anything from Sex Pystols or Clash), but it's in-your-face as much as a song can get.

Honesty in music making is rare and even more rare is to actually get a message delivered once you attempt doing it. Brian and the Boys accomplished it with Love You. A song like Night is so Young can't be understood completely without the context of where Brian was back then, but at the same time has such an innocence and openness that's painfully raw and doesn't allow the listener to escape from it.

I would love to hear the early demo on I Bet He's Nice, that's one beautiful song that in a simpler arrangement (piano & voice) would be a classic. I read the review from Andrew Doe on how the group was so impressed from this song when the sessions started, I can totally understand why. Gosh, need to find that demo 

In any case, all songs are perfect. Even Love is a Woman, makes perfect sense sang by Brian in those harsh vocals. Same goes for the chorus in Solar System, the lyrics I couldn't care less, but that's a beautifully dark melody there. Same as with the bridge in Johnny Carson, man, there's a couple of bars that sustain this minor chord that's just amazing, amazing...even in the context of again beyond-any-understanding stupid lyrics.

I actually have a question (before I stop boring everyone with this post). Is it really Brian doing the falsetto in Airplane? Like all the high vocals in that song? Its very impressive, you wouldnt think he would be able to reach that register back then...or am I wrong and its Carl or someone singing this? It has to be Brian, its a great falsetto done by a heavy smoker, I'm sure of it! But then again, Carl was a smoker then...

Anyways, this is a great album and I thank you all for starting this post. It made me discover something very beautiful, a treasure that you need to dig and clean. It requires a lot of effort, but damn that it pays off 

See yaa

Good post.
The album is an embarrassment for 'sensible' people, it can only appreciated by someone who is open to something really unexpected and wacky.
I actually found it very very easy to get into. As soon as I heard the first chord of LGOTW I kinda knew this was an album chosen for me.

[punkinhead]

What parts on this reveal a punk-type of recording? I've often heard that referred to for this album, but with my in-experience with the punk-genre, I can't point anything out unfortunately.

[Cabinessenceking]

What parts on this reveal a punk-type of recording? I've often heard that referred to for this album, but with my in-experience with the punk-genre, I can't point anything out unfortunately.

I guess it's because it is very raw in its sound, that's about it. not punk in content, but maybe a punky production? especially the upbeat rockers on side 1

[SufferingFools]

Hi everyone, its been a while since I don't post, although I read the board every single day...clearly an obsession 

And speaking of current obsessions, I cant seem to get enough of Love You! And the funny thing, I don't know how to explain it.

Its an awful, awful album. Everything from the lousy cover art, to the cheesy photos, moron lyrics, off-tune singing and simplistic production...it as all the required elements to be a complete disaster, the epitome of what a pop-rock production should never, ever be. If someone ever wants to write down the manual of how to produce an album that will never be a commercial success, voila, this would be Exhibit A.

Now, having said this, I completely and absolutely love it 

Someone said before this is Brian unfiltered, uncensored and I couldn't agree more. Every single song has such a raw approach, from the opener even to my least favorite (LIAW), that only early punk bands were able to transmit in a recording. The difference is that there's no anger, social awareness or rebellion in this record (as opposed to anything from Sex Pystols or Clash), but it's in-your-face as much as a song can get.

Honesty in music making is rare and even more rare is to actually get a message delivered once you attempt doing it. Brian and the Boys accomplished it with Love You. A song like Night is so Young can't be understood completely without the context of where Brian was back then, but at the same time has such an innocence and openness that's painfully raw and doesn't allow the listener to escape from it.

I would love to hear the early demo on I Bet He's Nice, that's one beautiful song that in a simpler arrangement (piano & voice) would be a classic. I read the review from Andrew Doe on how the group was so impressed from this song when the sessions started, I can totally understand why. Gosh, need to find that demo 

In any case, all songs are perfect. Even Love is a Woman, makes perfect sense sang by Brian in those harsh vocals. Same goes for the chorus in Solar System, the lyrics I couldn't care less, but that's a beautifully dark melody there. Same as with the bridge in Johnny Carson, man, there's a couple of bars that sustain this minor chord that's just amazing, amazing...even in the context of again beyond-any-understanding stupid lyrics.

I actually have a question (before I stop boring everyone with this post). Is it really Brian doing the falsetto in Airplane? Like all the high vocals in that song? Its very impressive, you wouldnt think he would be able to reach that register back then...or am I wrong and its Carl or someone singing this? It has to be Brian, its a great falsetto done by a heavy smoker, I'm sure of it! But then again, Carl was a smoker then...

Anyways, this is a great album and I thank you all for starting this post. It made me discover something very beautiful, a treasure that you need to dig and clean. It requires a lot of effort, but damn that it pays off 

See yaa

I agree with this exactly.  Everything awful you can say about it is probably true, but it's still amazing and beautiful and I love it. 

Listening to this album feels like eavesdropping inside Brian's head because it sounds so personal and immediate, as if the songs are wearing nothing but a towel.  So the first time you listen to it, it almost seems that something vaguely indecent is going on.  But Brian has courageously invited you into this private world of his, and if you already know Brian you know that there is nothing to fear and everything to gain from this kind of aural intimacy.  The reward is great whenever you let Brian Wilson songs into your soul.

[mr_oleary]

Just recently learned to appreciate this album and I had to add my two cents.  I'm a huge BW fan and I sincerely think this album has some of the (if not the) best production of his career.  But let me start with theme here.

Pet Sounds is about youth/innocence/growing up/love etc. etc. it's all been said.   It's about the emotional and psychological maturation of youth.  It's about reaching an age of enlightenment and fun.

Love You is the ugly cousin of PS.  Unlike PS, it's about stagnation and oddity.  The BB have been singing about cars and girls for nearly twenty years, and it was getting old and creepy by this point.  Brian had spent a good deal of the last decade in bed, and the rest of the boys had been trying to reclaim their past glory.  Now Brian is back, so what is the result?

Well, it's Love You.  The times have changed (note the synths), the BB have changed (check out the vocals  ), but the big idea is still the same.  Pet Sounds has grown up more, and despite the beatings it took through the 70s it still hasn't lost that innocence and beauty.  The lens has changed, but the music hasn't.  And the resulting album is dark, strange, a bit funny, and downright creepy.  I'll expand on this idea in my track-by-track review.  


1. Let Us Go On This Way

- To me this song is a wonderful microcosm of the theme of the entire album.  It starts with gruff vocals and deranged synths.  The lyrics are similar to past BB but with the age of the singers it is now just creepy.  Carl and Mike are still in school hitting on teenagers?  Listen to how the music reflects the sad and creepy stagnation of the boys.  But then, suddenly...
"Please God...let us go on this way" ....yes the boys are still the Beach Boys and capable of producing beautiful harmonies over Brian's progressions.  The old meets new paradigm is in full force here and the lyrics of the chorus couldn't be more explicit about the theme.

2. Roller Skating Child

- This is similar thematically to LUGOTW.  Musically, it sounds as if Little Deuce Coupe got molested by its uncle.  The production is dark and creepy but like the chorus on the previous song it's BW gold!! Everything works, the sound is mastered brilliantly.  Lyrically of course it stays with the theme of old BB being out of place man-children.  Listen to the line of the bass synth immediately following the chorus.  I can almost hear that melody saying 'This is wrong, I know it, but I can't help my passion'. 

3. Mona

- Apparently this song was very personal to Brian.  I think it helps contribute to the stream-of-consciousness effect of the album.  Musically repetitive so not much innovation from a progression standpoint (unlike Roller Skating Child and many other tracks on the album) but it fills a purpose and whatever meaning it had to Brian I can only guess at.

4. Johnny Carson

- Ok, I don't love this one.  I think the composition and production is nice (not particularly brilliant), but the lyrics just lose me.  It adds to the dark humor tone of the album but I'm not really sure how or why.  It's a strange song.

5. Good Time

- This song continues the stream-of-consciousness idea but other than that I have no clue what it is doing on this album.  It was written in the early 70s and it sounds that way.  An odd inclusion, I don't see it adding much to the theme of the album.

6. Honkin' Down the Highway

- Brilliant!  The production is fantastic (love how the guitar licks meld beautifully with the synths).  Musically it uses pieces from Let Us Go On This Way.   Just as Roller Skating Child parodied the group still singing about young girls, this one uses the 'car' theme to show how the BB are doing their usual thing in a whole new light.

7. Ding Dang

- I think this accomplishes what Good Time achieves in the album (stream-of-consciousness) but without the inter-era awkwardness.  Nice song.

8. Solar System

- I want to love this one, but I just can't.  I feel similarly about it as I do about Johnny Carson.  Production is interesting but the lyrics are just plain dumb and I don't see what it adds thematically to the album.

9. The Night Was So Young

- If the lyrics of LUGOTW are a microcosm of the album's theme, the music of this song accomplishes the same feat.  It's been said before, take this song and use Pet Sounds instrumentation and it could easily be on that classic record.  But it's not.  It's been a decade, times and music have really changed.  Same old classic Brian harmonies and progressions, but the synths add that strange modern context which just makes everything sound hauntingly beautiful.  A truly marvelous song, one of the best BW has ever written imo.

10. I'll Bet He's Nice

- I feel basically exactly the same way about this song as the previous one.  Beautiful production, the melody and countermelodies of the synths really add a lot.  

11. Let's Put Our Hearts Together

- This one doesn't have that dark humor and simple lyrics that most of the other songs do.  It's really quite a nice statement of sentiment.  The production is really nice on this one, amazing how BW mastered the synth as soon as it became a popular instrument.  

12. I Wanna Pick You Up

- Thematically this accomplishes what Roller Skating Child does in terms of the band sounding like a bunch of pedophiles.  That said, the production is again fantastic and so is the composition.  This is another one that with different lyrics and instrumentation could have been an early classic.

13. Airplane

- I feel similarly about this one and The Night Was So Young.  Listen to the instrumentation, very PS.  The organ is using a very similar rhythmic pattern as the tack piano in I Know There's An Answer.  But context is key!

14. Love is a Woman

- I'm not sure how I feel about this one.  I definitely think it continues the theme of the album, with the blues-esque production that ends up going all over the place, but I can't tell what the position of the BB is on this.  





So that is my analysis.  For maybe the only time in their history since PS, the BB seem very self-aware of their image in the public and the album reflects that.  Brian is back, and still capable of the miracles he performed in the 60s.  But times have changed, people have gotten older and been messed up by drugs and people named Marilyn Manson.  

So PS has been stripped of its innocence and thrown into the culture of 1977 and the surrounding circumstances that the BB found themselves in.  It's a perfect period piece.  And the result is awkward, creepy, strange, haunting, but undeniably beautiful.  If you weren't a fan of the album before, give it another go, especially focusing on the production.  This is a BB record through and through and it might just be so weird that it's a masterpiece.  

[Amazing Larry]

Musically, it sounds as if Little Deuce Coupe got molested by its uncle.  

Ladies and gentlemen, the quote of the year.

[Aegir]

Musically, it sounds as if Little Deuce Coupe got molested by its uncle.  

Ladies and gentlemen, the quote of the year.

That's exactly when I stopped reading. Brian, Al and Bruce were 23 when Pet Sounds came out. Mike was 25. Using the "Love You is creepy" logic, then Pet Sounds is creepy too.

Hell, Mike already had a wife and a daughter when frickin' Surfin' first came out.

the fictional narrators of most Beach Boys songs are teenagers. but that doesn't make it creepy.

[mr_oleary]

Musically, it sounds as if Little Deuce Coupe got molested by its uncle.  

Ladies and gentlemen, the quote of the year.

That's exactly when I stopped reading. Brian, Al and Bruce were 23 when Pet Sounds came out. Mike was 25. Using the "Love You is creepy" logic, then Pet Sounds is creepy too.

Hell, Mike already had a wife and a daughter when frickin' Surfin' first came out.

the fictional narrators of most Beach Boys songs are teenagers. but that doesn't make it creepy.

Not buying it....there's a huge difference between mid-20 year olds singing about teenagers than 40-somethings.  Plus it's over the top on Love You.  No non-creepy song begins with the lyrics 'She's a roller-skating CHILD' and has a chorus that says 'And we'll make sweet love til the sun goes down'

[Moon Dawg]

  The Beach Boys weren't exactly middle aged in 1977: Mike (36) Brian (35) Al (35) Dennis (33) Carl (31)

[Bean Bag]

I understand the sentiment, but I don't know if the term creepy works for me in describing anything on Love You.

They're not slobbering and drooling and getting gross on Love You (like they do a little bit on the alternate "Hey Little Tomboy").  Perhaps it's the generally sloven aesthetic that alludes one to think "creepy."  I find Love You to be child-like in it's wonder-ment.  Sort of naive.  Blissful and kind of "special" -- but I mean special as in how we all feel as a naive kid, amazed at the Solar System, the stars or... Johnny Carson.  More "oh gosh, golly gee" than "creepy dirty man."  I don't get a creepy vibe at all.

Plus... the Rolling Stones... some may find the juxtaposition of aged-rockers, still rocking out at age 70 a little "creepy" too -- but I think the illusion and spirit of rock-n'-roll, from the beginning -- which all started with Elvis -- was sexual and "bad" -- a primal energy to some extent.  That's just an ingredient, perhaps one of the main ingredients in Rock and/or Roll.  Spinal Tap "Smell the Glove."

The Beach Boys, whether 22 or 42 or 72, have always dipped their... umm.. toe in rock n' roll.  They're not just POP.  They occasionally rock out with their c*cks out.

[SgtTimBob]

Just gotten to Love You for the first time in the last couple of weeks. I love it. As others have said, so much going on musically (and yeah you really can tell it's 99% Brian). The lyrics definitely border on downright silly (in a way that lacks the charm of the goofier SMiLE lyrics), but then lyrics were never a strong point for this group, in all honesty. But I really don't mind that when the songs are so interesting musically, they really hooked me in with intrigue at all the peculiarity that is going on.

The production, with it's buzzing synths and drum machines, are surprisingly listen-able. I like that they at least kept exploring new approaches to their production style, it really gives this album a strong sense of direction. There are some really unusual harmonies on most of the songs, and that's another thing that keeps me coming back to this. It's just so fascinating for all of it's oddness.

Brian's once angelic voice is almost totally shot, and yet he still uses his voice effectively. Same goes for Dennis. But these things just add to the character of the whole thing.

All in all I think it's fair to say I love it for it's unique qualities. Underneath all of the weirdness the songs are musically very good. Well done Brian!

[Lonelysea30]

Just wanted ton throw in my thoughts, this forum actually got me to listen to this album, I love it.  The synyhs are awesome, the songs are beautiful but yet humerous.  Thanks for leading me here!! Bought it on vinyl and cd

[SgtTimBob]

Haven't been able to stop listening. There's just something so good about this LP!

[Dudd]

I don't hate this album or anything, but I don't think it's... that good. Most of the songs are just stupid ("Johnny Carson", "Honkin' Down The Highway", and "Love Is A Woman" especially), but they're at least enjoyably stupid. And very short. I guess it's bizarre fun but it kinda feels like the wrong sort of bizarre - I prefer the goofier SMiLE stuff for this sort of thing. Not at all bad though. 3/5

[Les Garçons de la plage]

Gave it a 4/5. 5/5 would be more accurate but still the goofiness (mainly the instrumentation and the lyrics) is both the strength and the weakness of this album, which makes me a bit  thus preventing me from giving it the proper appreciation it deserves (at least on some levels a return to form if a bit of a "and now for some completely different" to put it mildly!). Goofy enough to prevent regular listening but charming enough to make you feel good when it happens.

[Heteronym]

Love You appeals to me as a voyage to the dephts of the human drunkness.

At first, alcohol gives you a boost; You're there, super psyched and excited in a innocent and young way, sceaming happily that you went through the winger to get that girl. It goes on to Mike's sick voice sining all about a Roller Skating Child, which ends with a drunk Brian giving it his final say. Mona is one of the subject's peak: a circular song that begs you to dance with it, in a silly way making refereces to Phil Spector and settiing up dinners and movies all at once. Johnny Carson is just a relapse of insanity amidst an environment reeking of intricated genius, which can't be shut down even if your brian can't actually make sense of what's happening. It's same what happens on Ding-Dang and Solar System, except the latter is already showing the signs of when the alcohol starts to wear off; There's this kind of weird self-conscience that strikes us all and leads into a very spiritual moment in The Night Was So Young. Unsatisfied and suddenly pissed of, I can imagine Brian feeling sorry for himself angrily singning about this other nice guy, however having no actual proof that he exists. He, then, picks up hope and still in a dorky drunk way musters the courage to say all that had been left implicit and it was ruining everything in Let's Pur Our Hearts Together. It's the kind of honesty that can't be manufactured. I Wanna Pick You Up and Airplaine floats around that innocent feeling from the beggining, together with induced and natural insanity, that can't help but showing a pain that the singer has yet to accepted and recognise - until he finally does. Love Is a Woman is that final moment where Brian (or whoever, actually) looks back at everything with a hint of nostalgia and sings with the voice of a veteran who has seen it all before. Advices are given in a sincere way, through a soaring and shot voice of a 30 something year old bearded drunk man that just knows what the reality has prepared for him.

This album and I just wanna a good time. 5 all the way. Pure genius and brilliance. One of the most honests and emotional appealing albums I've ever come across. Brian just can't go wrong when he is being Brian.