Flex's Takes: The Beach Boys

[matedog]

Last Beach Boys post of the night - I finished the Carl Wilson bio and it wasn't terribly insightful or interesting. There was a bit of overall BBs history that was elaborated on for me, but like 80% of the book is to 1969 and 95% is to 1979. The last eight pages of the book cover 1984-1998 which I'm obviously obsessed with. So not much new there. Other than there is still no clear date on when his last show with the band. They talk about a show in August but then mention a show in November.

[Dr. Medulla]

I am genuinely pleased at how this thread has increasingly become Hoy Marinates in Being Appalled by the Beach Boys. It's must-reading for me.

[WestwayKid]

On to MIU now. First two songs are pretty alright. It surely maintains this level of quality throughout...

Nope nope nope.

We've discussed Hey Little Tomboy. I'm on Kona Coast and man, if you gave it some early 90s sheen, it would be a perfect fit for Summer in Paradise.

Produced by Alan Jardine. The album smacks of his awe shocks brand of shininess.

Recorded in Fairfield, Iowa at Maharishi International University (sounds like a fun place). Chosen (of course) by Mike in an attempt to keep the band (Brian, Carl, and Dennis) away from illicit substances. Carl and Dennis were mostly MIA from MIU and while Brian stuck it out longer, but was by most accounts miserable.

It's easy listening, devoid of soul. An attempt to recapture their past.

When asked about the album, Dennis said: "I hope that karma will f**k up Mike Love's meditation forever. That album is an embarrassment to my life. It should self-destruct."

It has a few listenable tracks, but quickly descends into schlock.

Good god, this is one of the worst Beach Boys songs I've ever heard:


It's not "Happy Endings" bad and at least John Phillips or Charles Manson weren't involved, but ugh!

Oof. It's been awhile since I've heard this one. Yeah, really awful. It's not even listenable easy listening.

[WestwayKid]

Last Beach Boys post of the night - I finished the Carl Wilson bio and it wasn't terribly insightful or interesting. There was a bit of overall BBs history that was elaborated on for me, but like 80% of the book is to 1969 and 95% is to 1979. The last eight pages of the book cover 1984-1998 which I'm obviously obsessed with. So not much new there. Other than there is still no clear date on when his last show with the band. They talk about a show in August but then mention a show in November.

It was August 29th in Atlantic City. David Marks rejoined in early October to cover Carl's spot.

[WestwayKid]

You've all been warned (because you can easily lose yourself down the rabbit hole), but in case you've never visited this site... lots of interesting stuff, all compiled by BB historian Andrew Doe.

http://www.bellagio10452.com/

[matedog]

Last Beach Boys post of the night - I finished the Carl Wilson bio and it wasn't terribly insightful or interesting. There was a bit of overall BBs history that was elaborated on for me, but like 80% of the book is to 1969 and 95% is to 1979. The last eight pages of the book cover 1984-1998 which I'm obviously obsessed with. So not much new there. Other than there is still no clear date on when his last show with the band. They talk about a show in August but then mention a show in November.

It was August 29th in Atlantic City. David Marks rejoined in early October to cover Carl's spot.

Okay that makes sense. Per set list.fm, they stopped playing God Only Knows around then though the lists are incomplete at that time. Apparently they played it a couple times in late 98. I wonder who the hell took that lead.

[matedog]

I am genuinely pleased at how this thread has increasingly become Hoy Marinates in Being Appalled by the Beach Boys. It's must-reading for me.

I honestly didn’t expect to bring Marlene #1 back into the mix, but here we are, L.A. (Light Album).

[Dr. Medulla]

I am genuinely pleased at how this thread has increasingly become Hoy Marinates in Being Appalled by the Beach Boys. It's must-reading for me.

I honestly didn’t expect to bring Marlene #1 back into the mix, but here we are, L.A. (Light Album).

The deep horrible truth of all expressive writing: it's all autobiography. It always reveals more about the critic than the critiqued.

[WestwayKid]

Last Beach Boys post of the night - I finished the Carl Wilson bio and it wasn't terribly insightful or interesting. There was a bit of overall BBs history that was elaborated on for me, but like 80% of the book is to 1969 and 95% is to 1979. The last eight pages of the book cover 1984-1998 which I'm obviously obsessed with. So not much new there. Other than there is still no clear date on when his last show with the band. They talk about a show in August but then mention a show in November.

It was August 29th in Atlantic City. David Marks rejoined in early October to cover Carl's spot.

Okay that makes sense. Per set list.fm, they stopped playing God Only Knows around then though the lists are incomplete at that time. Apparently they played it a couple times in late 98. I wonder who the hell took that lead.

Good question. Adrian Baker rejoined the touring band around that time so he'd be a good guess or maybe Matt Jardine??

[matedog]

You've all been warned (because you can easily lose yourself down the rabbit hole), but in case you've never visited this site... lots of interesting stuff, all compiled by BB historian Andrew Doe.

http://www.bellagio10452.com/

Wow, I'm surprised there is information on that site past like 2002 from the way it looks. But very thorough.

[WestwayKid]

Thinking about Carl's death and his final shows with the band, it's worth remembering that the band itself was in real flux in early 1998. The Mike Show toured not as the Beach Boys, but as both The California Beach Band and America's Band. This was because he didn't have the license to perform as the Beach Boys - which was controlled by Brother Records (Mike, Al, Carl, Brian). With Carl's death and with Al being in/out of the group, it was no longer as simple as majority rules in regards to the license. Mike had to apply for it - and it was granted in July. It's also worth pointing out that Brian was offered the use of the name as well, but he turned it down.

[matedog]

This just seems so much better than anything they put out in at least the mid-70s (still have to dive into the early 70s material which is supposedly better). It's a bit overproduced, but Dennis' vocals are a terrific juxtaposition.

[matedog]

[Dr. Medulla]

Bad vibrations.

[Sparky]

That's quite a bit of junk in the trunk.