MIU album appreciation thread

[adamghost]

I appreciate that it led them to make the L.A. album in reaction to it!

I do agree Winds of Change is an underrated cut.  I find the track very moving.  A little cloying for the band perhaps, but taken on its own terms, quite lovely.

[punkinhead]

I enjoy the production, it's far smoother than 15 Big Ones or Love You...though we all love that quirky Love You sound

[Andrew G. Doe]

'Winds Of Change' is part of that beautiful Golden late-BBs era. I include 'Lady Lynda' and 'Sumahama' and 'Baby Blue' and 'Good Timin'' to this. These were very mature songs but with that same zest for life and love as their early stuff.

Shame it was written in 1975 by two guys in King Harvest. 

[filledeplage]

Doing a quick perusal of Amazon US, (which means I may have easily missed something), it appears the only original material BB albums not currently available as US CDs are MIU/LA Light, Still Crusin, and Summer in Paradise.

As far as MIU is concerned, I absolutely loved listening to most of it when it was released in Sept 1978.  I played the album constantly at home, as well as the cassette copy I made for the car, where I left off She's Got Rhythm, since I considered BW's vocals to be a virtually unbearable listening experience, and Hey Little Tomboy, which was such an embarrassing song that I didn't want to take the chance of any passengers hearing it and asking how I could possibly be a Beach Boys fan.  After listening to the cassette while driving toward the beach during a camping trip to Big Sur, I was surprised, while walking down to the beach, to encounter Al Jardine's ranch, with a sign "Jardine Arabians" indicating its presence.

So, 32 years later, what do I think of the album?  Well, there are still a number of songs I really enjoy, with my favorites being Kona Coast, Woncha Come Out Tonight, Belles of Paris, and My Diane.  And, with the exception of the two songs on the album that I've always found irritating, I still like the rest of the album.  In fact, I just popped the MIU/LA Light CD into the car to listen to tomorrow on the way to the Padres vs Cubs game.

Glad for this thread...I pulled it out of the iphone ipod, the 2-fer style so I forget what belonged with which album...You are correct, the car is the place to listen to this one!! The vocals are stupendous, even if some of the songs are not critically acclaimed...frankly,
I would buy  Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (I was a Kindergarten teacher in my "other life") if they recorded it. 

Some of those that I love: Lady Lynda, Baby Blue, Winds of Change, Goin' South, Good Timin', Belles of Paris, Full Sail, and even Hey, Little Tomboy (Brian's and Mike's vocals.) Even disco-ey Here Comes the Night is kind of funky to hear all these years later...

In the car this stuff sounds to me like a brand new album.  It is very cool to have some new BB stuff to listen to.  Good car speakers make all the difference.  I don't think I even listened to MIU/LA since before Carl passed away, so it is really special to hear him sing from "heaven."   

There are some nice calming music there, especially Carl on Goin' South...really remarkable.  Thanks again for this thread...I am paying better attention...

[willy]

'Winds Of Change' is part of that beautiful Golden late-BBs era. I include 'Lady Lynda' and 'Sumahama' and 'Baby Blue' and 'Good Timin'' to this. These were very mature songs but with that same zest for life and love as their early stuff.

Shame it was written in 1975 by two guys in King Harvest. 

Yes, I stand corrected 

[Andrew G. Doe]

'Winds Of Change' is part of that beautiful Golden late-BBs era. I include 'Lady Lynda' and 'Sumahama' and 'Baby Blue' and 'Good Timin'' to this. These were very mature songs but with that same zest for life and love as their early stuff.

Shame it was written in 1975 by two guys in King Harvest. 

Yes, I stand corrected 

To be fair, good song and quite a delight to sing live.

[bgas]

'Winds Of Change' is part of that beautiful Golden late-BBs era. I include 'Lady Lynda' and 'Sumahama' and 'Baby Blue' and 'Good Timin'' to this. These were very mature songs but with that same zest for life and love as their early stuff.

Shame it was written in 1975 by two guys in King Harvest. 

Yes, I stand corrected 

To be fair, good song and quite a delight to sing live.

Was this ever meant as the title for the album?  Seems I thought that  at one point, from listening to some WB promo cassette that had, If I remember correctly, WOC and Pitter Patter,  but didn't mention MIU.

[Andrew G. Doe]

'Winds Of Change' is part of that beautiful Golden late-BBs era. I include 'Lady Lynda' and 'Sumahama' and 'Baby Blue' and 'Good Timin'' to this. These were very mature songs but with that same zest for life and love as their early stuff.

Shame it was written in 1975 by two guys in King Harvest. 

Yes, I stand corrected 

To be fair, good song and quite a delight to sing live.

Was this ever meant as the title for the album?  Seems I thought that  at one point, from listening to some WB promo cassette that had, If I remember correctly, WOC and Pitter Patter,  but didn't mention MIU.

I recall it being referred to as Winds Of Change for a short while

[c-man]

'Winds Of Change' is part of that beautiful Golden late-BBs era. I include 'Lady Lynda' and 'Sumahama' and 'Baby Blue' and 'Good Timin'' to this. These were very mature songs but with that same zest for life and love as their early stuff.

Shame it was written in 1975 by two guys in King Harvest. 

Yes, I stand corrected 

To be fair, good song and quite a delight to sing live.

Was this ever meant as the title for the album?  Seems I thought that  at one point, from listening to some WB promo cassette that had, If I remember correctly, WOC and Pitter Patter,  but didn't mention MIU.

I recall it being referred to as Winds Of Change for a short while

Yes, it was even reviewed under that name (by Crawdaddy, if I remember rightly).

[phirnis]

I enjoy both M.I.U. and the Light Album, even though the former may not be among the group's more artistic offerings from the seventies. Very lightweight, but still it contains a couple of top-notch BW compositions.

It's amazing how different L.A. sounds from the three albums that came before. I can see why many fans would criticise Bruce Johnston's production on this, but for me it still works. It's a very melancholic album and the overall sound really seems to fit the mood somehow. If only it could've contained some more Brian songs... "Good Timin'" clearly is my favourite tune on this one.

[gsmile]

MIU might not be a "knock it out of the park" winner, but it's fairly consistent in it's production and songwriting.  Sure there's a lot of referencing of past glories (the Kona/Hawaii tag, "won't last forever") but I find these references to be somewhat bittersweet and rather tastefully executed, especially in comparison to the shameless nics that the Love/Melcher collaboration would mine in the 80s.  Worth it more than anything though is the closing trilogy of "My Diane", "Matchpoint" and "Winds of Change".  Call me crazy, but this ending absolutely works for me.  I could listen to the fade-out of "Matchpoint" on repeat until the cows come home.  MIU: not a great album, but sometimes it sure hits the spot.  MIU/LA is one of my favorite two-fers.

[Steve Mayo]

'Winds Of Change' is part of that beautiful Golden late-BBs era. I include 'Lady Lynda' and 'Sumahama' and 'Baby Blue' and 'Good Timin'' to this. These were very mature songs but with that same zest for life and love as their early stuff.

Shame it was written in 1975 by two guys in King Harvest.  

Yes, I stand corrected  

To be fair, good song and quite a delight to sing live.

Was this ever meant as the title for the album?  Seems I thought that  at one point, from listening to some WB promo cassette that had, If I remember correctly, WOC and Pitter Patter,  but didn't mention MIU.

I recall it being referred to as Winds Of Change for a short while

Yes, it was even reviewed under that name (by Crawdaddy, if I remember rightly).

and by california feeling also....

[Smilin Ed H]

"I enjoy the production, it's far smoother than 15 Big Ones or Love You...though we all love that quirky Love You sound"

Part of the charm of these two albums is the sound.

[busy doin nothin]

I rate MIU as an A, a 94 out of 100.  To me, it is the last great Beach Boys album.  If I had to go to a desert island with only one album, and I were given a choice between MIU and any album recorded in history by any other artist aside from the BBs/BW/DW/Spring/Flame, I would pick MIU.  "My Diane" alone clinches that decision for me.  "Matchpoint" is simply the sweet, sweet icing on the cake.  MD is one of my top ten tracks of all time; just can't get over Denny's vocal.  He and Brian teamed up to plumb the depths of anguish in the sweetest, most heart-rending way.  Matchpoint is just a little behind, certainly in my top 20 all time.  Yeah, at first it sounds a little like a late 70s TV series theme song ("starring Brian Wilson as The Musical Genius"), but the middle eight takes it into the special relam only BW could find.  And I heartily agree with whoever said they could listen to the outro on repeat forever.  It's just a beautifully constructed song.

The whole album is very nicely produced, with magical moments in just about every song.  In contrast to most folks here, Winds of Change is my least favorite track.  Aside from WOC and Peggy Sue (which I can tolerate), I really like every other song, especially SGR (what is wrong with Brian's falsetto there -- sounds great to me), Hey Little Tomboy, Wontcha Come Out Tonight, and Sweet Sunday (magical Carl vocal).