Beach Boys 1968 - "I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions" and "Wake The World: The Friends Sessions"*

Mike really strikes me as conflicted during this period. His natural state of existence is to be a bit of a cut up. Which is great. Class clown, joker, smart-a$$. Anti-authority figure. But then, during this period, he got way out there. I mean, if you asked me which Beach Boy would get the most "out there" -- Brian, Carl, Denny -- one of them. Mike was the last guy -- I don't think anyone saw this coming...



Who am I?

 

Yeah I noticed quite a bit of talk from Pete on the Live at the Fillmore 1968 release but it was fairly straight intro/background on the songs and what they were working on at the time, not stupid jokes.

 

With Friends they were definitely doing their own (Brian's) thing - with 20/20 I think they were trying to keep up with the times. And expanding their setlist and adding brass to the live shows is evidence they wanted to stay current, even if they seldom had a clue what "current" was.

 

And they were all the better for it.

 

Got them Endless Summer Quarterly issues focused on Friends and Wild Honey. Terrific. Great photos I've never seen. Interviews with Marilyn that are always informative. She's terrific.

I wish I didn't let my subscription run out years ago as this is such a wonderful fanzine. I've got shoe boxes full of 'em in the closet. But there were times when I'd get strapped for cash and ESQ was unfortunately one of the things I had to let go.

Maybe I'll renew my subscription going forward. What's $30 a year? How can I have the nerve to use this avatar and not be an active subscriber?

 

But....that's the Beach Boys. Why should Mike conform to absurd notions of rock star cool? At that point he had kids and mortgages and at least two wives in the can.

I think that Mike's non-rock star schtick is, ironically his most "rock and roll" quality. It's abrasive and when you think about it, it skewers the whole thing. He's annoying...like Johnny Rotten...only a Johnny Rotten that embraces corporate lifestyle and TM at the same time.

 

One could argue that Mike was an early example of the trend of straight America picking and choosing fads of the counter-culture to embrace a few years after the hippies did: meditation, crystal power, vegetarianism, etc.

 

Right on!

 

The Isle of Wight show has a bunch of extended goofing around onstage between Keith and Pete with them yelling at each other.

 

Can you really see The Beach Boys taking the stage in silence and putting on a "heavy" show with no lighthearted interaction with the audience? It's not their style. I'm glad they remained true to themselves.

 

I should have joined years ago, but I was more into buying records and CD's than buying magazines.
It would be REALY great if they uploaded them all to purchase presented in the way they shared the 'Christmas' 2018 ESQ.

 

Mike's in-between (and during) song banter used to be distracting to me, but now is an essential part of the Beach Boys experience. These guys were always Grade A Class Clowns during their performances, all the way back to Dennis talking about socking someone in the mouth ahead of the original Surfin' demo. I understand that jokey asides during songs can be annoying, but once I became a die-hard fan, I came to realize how ingrained that humour is with their whole output: Cassius Love vs Sonny Wilson, the PARTY! album, the SMiLE-era Vega-tables sketch with Hal Blaine, even Brian bellowing to the audience "DON'T FALL ASLEEP!" during the beautiful extended Desper intro of Til I Die on the Roxy album! The Beach Boys made some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard, but they never stopped being dorks about it! I can't sing along with Little Bird anymore without adding Mike's "Must be Saturday!" response to Denny's "What a beautiful day it is" lyric. I welcome the new banter in the 1968 live set, it really sends you back in a time machine to the night of the gig, and greatly enchances the Beach Boys vibe.

 

If they were in PDF or some similar digital format, I’d buy them in a heartbeat. As it stands, between shipping costs and not wanting physical space taken up with magazines, I have to pass. C’mon ESQ, offer digital please!

 

That's always been my problem. I prefer listening to music rather than reading about it. But you do get some great insight from ESQ you don't get anywhere else. I should just make it a regular part of my life again. I got many issues from the 90's and then a smattering from the early 00s.

I got some real old copies of "A California Saga" that look like they were typed up on a Commodore 64!

 

Yes!

 

That picture probably hangs in the living room of @oldsurferdude with candles on either side

 

Great post! This made my evening

 

It might be a bit much to say this, but I feel like the rite of passage to real Beach Boy fandom is not how many times you saw God on LSD listening to banana and louie barking at the end of Pet Sounds, but how many times you've not skipped over Cassius Love vs. Sonny Wilson.

 

I've never skipped, by the way

 

0.0

Bull Session, though....

 

I like the long version of Bull session.

 

"Bull Sessions" completes Today!. One of the greatest albums of all time ends with them eating sandwiches. Love it.

"Everythiiiiiings gonna be alright Marilyn."

 

Horsey, how are you, man? Nice to see you here.

 

Gotta man cave with that pic as a darts target. Hit the bald head and you pick up more points. Great game indeed.