lmao I'mma check that transcript out later, Mike truly a goldmine of cringe for at least 30 hears

the gift that keeps on giving, even to this day

K I L L M E

@Ithaka what do you think Carl's best vocal performances are?

mmm

well “all this is that” comes to mind because of the ja guru deva falsetto outro that gets me all the time, he makes that performance so effortless holy s***

but uh their cover of “i can hear music” just carl’s vocals alone make the cover a reason enough to exist, it’s so pure and innocent it uplifts the room right off the bat and ur mood wherever u are

i gotta give a shout out for the title song “wild honey” (we need to get into that album to talk about it soon, it has a great influence it was actually picked by rolling stones magazine actually as the quintessential summer album -of all beach boys albums to pick from!) because he again is so young and rocks an outstanding performance that breaks from his usual softer side, he really showcases his impressive skills

and of course god only knows, i mean he knocked it out n was only 19yo jesus

but man it’s hard to pick, at top of my head, he is one of my al time fav vocal singer, anything he touches turned to gold, he could sing eiffel 65 im blue for all i know and i would still get chills if not teary eyes 🥺

and you queen 🧚‍♀️ ??

here’s something that bums me out that we wil more likely never get today

brian endlessly touring pet sounds but in the reality he been wanting to do a love you tour for a hot minute now, ofc his camp won’t allow it bc there’s no commercial value to it

at least he finally performed the night was so young live during the last pet sounds tour!

he always picks the album as his favorite bbs album

@Fantasy

The Beach Boys Love You

I have a confession to make: Love You is my favorite Beach Boys album. I know that this is an indefensible position to take, with albums like Pet Sounds, Sunflower and the unreleased Smile in the catalogue, it’s hard to pick something as light as Love You.

But in a way that lightness is the key to the pleasures found on Love You. After all, isn’t Pet Sounds a masterpiece, a work of genius? Almost thirty-five years of rock criticism have told us that it’s a perfect album, a song cycle – a rock concept album even, an artistic statement that ranks up there with Mozart and Bach, or any bunch of dead white guys you’d care to name.

Nobody has ever made these claims for Love You. But one of Love You’s most endearing charms is its utter lack of pretension.

What I love best about Love You is it’s very real warmth and humanity. The personal nature of the lyrics, young love, roller-skating children, sophomoric science, airplanes, Johnny Carson (!?!), coupled with the stark simplicity of the songs, and the minimcal nature of the accompaniment, paint a picture of Brian Wilson that is unmatched on any other Beach Boys album.

The brilliant production and studio mastery of the past is gone; in its place is a kind of raw honesty that is the antithesis of the traditional Brian Wilson production.

The spontaneous nature of the recordings is clearly audible. Vocals go flat, instrumental mistakes are made, audible interjections from the backup singers, flat lead vocals, Brian’s new hoarse voice is to the fore and the whole thing is sounding like nothing so much as an incredibly spirited demo session for a Brian Wilson solo record.

And that’s the secret: in many ways this is a Brian Wilson solo album. For the first and last time on a Beach Boys record, Brian was responsible for a large percentage of the lyrics. When the record came out the childishness of the lyrics was a source of much mockery by critics and public.

But to criticize the lyrics for not being suitably heavy is completely besides the point; this record, naive as it is, maybe the most personal record Brian ever made. I don’t listen to this record without seeing the Brian that I’ve had the pleasure to meet; a shy, unworldly, brilliant composer who is completely unsure of himself outside the boundaries of the recording studio.

I’ve been a Beach Boys fan for almost all of my life, and although the work that they did in the ‘60s was undoubtedly their most groundbreaking and original, the work they did in the ‘70s is great in its own right. It’s particularly great to see Carl, Dennis, Mike, Al and Bruce step up as writers and producers.

– Peter Buck (R.E.M. guitarist) May 2000
(1/3)

1. Let Us Go On This Way
Co-written by Mike Love, the traditional Beach Boys vocal harmonies at the chorus serve as a reassuring entry to Love You. Stranger things were to come.

2. Roller-Skating Child
It was at this point that the average Beach Boys fan probably took Love You off the turntable (or out of the 8-track player) and gave up on the record. But with its synthesizer driven arrangement and Brian’s heartfelt vocals, I’ve always had a soft spot for this song. And I find the lyrics strangely touching.

3. Mona
Wonderful, circular love song, on which Brian is the only audible beach boy. Special touching note: Brian’s lyrical insistence that a shared love of Phil Spector is one of the prerequisites for romance.

4. Johnny Carson
At once the most ridiculous and chilling song on the record, Johnny Carson epitomizes Love You to most people. With it’s arrangement alternating between glacial calm and a jolly sing-along, and it’s lyrics being so seemingly straightforward, one can only wonder why in the world would anybody spend that much time thinking about Johnny Carson. You can only hope they got a couple of Tonight Show appearances out of it.

5. Good Time
If this song, with its complex arrangement and vocals feels out of place on Love You, it’s because the track was recorded circa 1970. Written with Al Jardine, the instrumental was overdubbed by Spring, Marilyn Wilson’s group, and release in 1972. This is the original vocal performance from the early ‘70s.

6. Honkin’ Down The Highway
Honkin’ down the gosh dam highway! In its own absurd way, this is the perfect driving song. Like a lot of songs on this album, it sounds like Brian played all the instruments, including the rudimentary drums.
– Peter Buck (R.E.M. guitarist) May 2000

(2/3)

god only knows, i can hear music, darlin

7. Ding Dang
This one minute long fragment was written with Roger McGuinn of the Byrds. Apparently Brian wrote the ding and Roger wrote the dang. Or Vice versa.

8. Solar System
Solar System brings us wisdom. Uh-huh. But don’t be fooled: the childish lyrics belie the beautiful arrangement and complex time signatures.

9. The Night Was So Young
Probably my favorite song on Love You, The Night Was So Young is also the most fully realized instrumentally. Featuring what sounds like a full band performance, and including virtually the only guitar work on the whole album, this ballad kicks off a string of songs of regret and sadness. While side one is comprised of mostly upbeat songs, side two is conceptually about lost love.

One of the things I find so moving about this record is its air of sadness, and missed chances. Knowing what Brian went through in the seventies it’s hard to listen to it without feeling that it’s autobiographical.

10. I’ll Bet He’s Nice
It’s amazing how rhythmic this track is, considering its only percussion is supplied by intermittent tambourine and handclaps. Listen to the interplay of the different synthesizers, including, what is for my money, the best synth-bass ever.

11. Let’s Put Our Hearts Together
This heartbreaking ballad was sung by Brian and his then wife Marilyn. It’s so personal that it’s hard to listen to.

12. I Wanna Pick You Up
Featuring a hoarse, heartfelt vocal from brother Dennis, I Wanna Pick You Up is either a charming love song to a child, or a mildly creepy love song to a woman. Note the massed choir of voices that end the song.

13. Airplane
Airplane is unusual in the scheme of Love You in that it utilizes the interplay of The Beach Boys more fully than any other track. Mike Love’s lead vocal, with its sense of warmth and yearning, is possibly the finest work he ever did.

14. Love Is A Woman
Love Is A Woman is a perfect ending to Love You. As close to soul music as The Beach Boys ever came, this expansive love song was the subject of the first Brian Wilson solo performance on Saturday Night Live.

– Peter Buck (R.E.M. guitarist) May 2000

(3/3)

@Elric thots on love you?

darlin, their peak at making a soul song imo m, nailed it

one of my favorites, i think its my favorite song by them post-Smile era

ultimate bbs good feel song outside their surf era

daft punk would agree with u

the last original bb song (written by brian) with carl singing
he had cancer and still sang like a hero
@RVI

WHY DID THEY NEVER RELEASE THAT this is so beautiful

that f***ing drippppp

need Ithaka to school these mofos on how good Dennis' Pacific Ocean Blue and Bambu are

I felt so much emotion when I saw that last pic of the Love You record for the first time.

The original name for the album was Brian Wilson Loves You, if I remember correctly.

It’s pretty much a Brian Wilson solo album with the Boy’s vocals (I know that you know this)

I always thought it was a little selfish for the band to change it to The Beach Boys Love You.

But after seeing that pic, it changed my mind completely.

It’s not “Love You” at the listener, it’s “Love You” at Brian.

The Beach Boys love Brian.

Carl cute af

Also, Heaven is such a great song

Ye

didnt know yall listened to bb on here

We stan

Makes you think

i feel that

i think my only pick on the album is the fact it uses good time, it feels out of place since not only it’s a sunflower song but it’s just straight up the recording from the sunflower sessions so like for a whole album you’re hearing a more rough brian vocal performance from 1977 then on one track out of blue you jump back to 1970 brian clean falsetto like wait hold up

did you know big star’s alex chilton covered a good portion of love you?

one of his friend recalls this hilarious story about it:

After another show some time later, he came back to my place and rifled through my vinyl collection. He pulled out Love You by the Beach Boys, and wanted to know why I even owned that piece of crap. I said "screw you Chilton - it's a great record". He then put it on my Phillips turntable, picked up my acoustic and played along with every song - perfectly. When he had played both sides, he informed me it was his favorite Beach Boys album.

(alex chilton first band box tops who had a hit with the letter toured with the bbs in 68 and 69, the bbs covered the letter and gave them a big boost, alex became good friends with dennis, carl taught him to play guitar too)

just opened your thread while listening to Thirteen and the first person i see is Alex