Mike Love's Solo Albums

I didn't know there was a Beach Boys version of "How's About A Little Bit."

 

Nah, that's what happens to Beatles tapes when Abbey Road throws 'em out.

 

How do you know that the covers were bad? So you bought it and added one to your miniscule collection of non-Beatles related albums released after 1982?

 

Discogs seems to think Listen to the Air and Rock & Roll City are the same thing under different titles -- aren't they?

 

I'd love to listen to that solo album from the sessions of which "Daybreak Over the Ocean" originated because Curt Bisquera plays on that, and he's been one of my favourite drummers in the 90s.

 

Rock & Roll City it about the same as Listen To The Air except that Mike & Dean's "Alley Oop" is replaced by The Beach Boys' "California Dreaming" so you probably don't need both albums.

Actually you don't need either one of them.

 

"Daybreak Over the Ocean" is on Mike Love's unreleased Unleash The Love album (AKA Mike Love Not War) and is titled "Daybreak". It's not hard to find on the web in MP3 format. I think it sounds better than the Beach Boys' version.

 

Radio Shack was giving them away with batteries.

 

Produce the ad, so we can believe you.

 

You got me. Radio Shack didn't give them away with batteries. I made that up.
I found them behind the store in a dumpster.

 

This could have been a really informative thread about Mike's confusing attempts at a solo career!

 

I find Looking Back With Love a rather pleasant listen, especially the last song on it with Joanie Somers. The trick of it is to approach it with lowered expectations and don't expect a Brian Wilson album.

 

Your soul searching quest was successful, then. The reason that Mike gets on so well in performing with other big names like Jan and Dean, Bruce Johnston, Terry Melcher of Byrds fame, Jeff Foskett, John Cowsill, and Roger McGuinn is because they were all born to rock 'n roll. That type of music is the heart of The Beach Boys, The Byrds, and The Cowsills. All of these artists were born to rock 'n roll and it shows in their deep connection to the music of Mike Love and his Beach Boys that he started in 1961 and has maintained in tip top shape like a cherry coupe up to the present.

 

If Mike 'gets on so well' with 'other big names', why can't he 'get on' with his talented cousin?

 

I'll confess to being a fan of a smattering of Mike's solo output.

Actually I think the unreleased First Love album is pretty solid overall. There's a song on there called "Tricia" that seems to be a Beach Boys outtake that is one of my favorite late 70s songs of theirs. It includes some melody lines that later turned up on some of Brian's material ("Must Be a Miracle", "She Says That She Needs Me"). A nice little Hawaiian lap steel inflused pop rocker.

Some of the Celebration stuff isn't bad. "Almost Summer", as Tony stated, would have made a great Beach Boys song. Their remake of "Gettin' Hungry" works nicely in the smooth-disco vein.

There's also a few songs I'll go to bat for on Lookin' Back with Love: "Runnin' Around the World", "One Good Reason" and "Paradise Found". The covers of Thurston Harris's "Over and Over" and Abba's "On and On and On" also hold up pretty well.

I'm not sure if "Good Time Summertime Girls" was ever released officially or not, but I enjoy that track as well.

I'll avoid talking about Country Love entirely, as the less said about that clunker the better.

 

Who said that Brian was born to rock 'n roll? I've never heard anybody say that.

 

Country Love is not a total clunker. Some of the songs are awful but these are OK to excellent:

Brand New Start
Baby I'm A Changed Man
Everything I Touch Has Turned To Tears
My Side Of The Bed
Everyone's In Love With You (absolutely lovely, more sparingly produced than The Beach Boys version)
Some Sweet Day (beautiful, entirely different from the 1995 song by Brian Wilson and Andy Paley)

 

I should give it another spin. Was thinking more about classics like "Wrinkles" and "Rock 'n' Roll Country Bride" when I typed that.

 

I'll acquiesce to Roger being a big name, but as far as Bruce Johnston, Jeff Foskett, John Cowsill being big names? Doubt it. Just like myKe luHv, Jan and Dean were over with decades ago. myKe and br00th are a complete figment of luHv's insane imagination that he is and always was the Beach Boys and further damages the BB legacy by calling his oldies, self serving jukebox that name. It would be interesting to see if the luhvster would have the balls to call his band of sidemen The Mike and Bruce Band which would be so appropriate.

 

The problem was that Mike thought the song was about himself...

 

Based on your criteria, Al Jardine and Daryl Dragon (not to mention John Stamos, sorry) would also be ..."most highly acclaimed duo artist, artistically speaking, and posseses a wide palette from which he draws upon when he collaborates."

 

Until a couple of years ago, Mike Love's solo career was completely off my radar. I seem to recall viewing some mash-up videos created by a Brian Wilson fan that used snippets of various tracks from this album and I thought, aside from sounding awfully cornball, it was...dare I say catchy?

I found the full album which has long been out of print is on YouTube and I mean, for being a product of its time it's like d-level Doobie Brothers. But there's something about it, in a non-ironic way, that is catchy. Mike's vocals here are very pleasing junk food. Good to listen to but you feel guilty for liking it. The lyrics are utter nonsense but if someone were to ask what is your ultimate guilty pleasure... say hello to Michael Edward Love's first solo record.



I'm personally ambivalent about the man. His vocal blend with his cousins among some of the most awesome in 20th century pop. Yet he is probably the biggest douche of said century so...

Michael Edward Love... junk food that makes you feel like crap 15 minutes after you eat it.

 

It's on the critical list.

 

33 minutes of sheer Hell. Has to be comparable to sitting in the electric chair or being the target of a firing squad. Gong Show material.

 

Outside from the title track and the "Be My Baby" cover, I agree, it's basically aural water-boarding.

And I might redact my comment about non-ironic listening...it might be a little ironic.