Disco de The Beach Boys: “M.I.U./L.A. Album”

If "M.I.U. Album" is among The Beach Boys' worst albums, it's just a testament to how great the band really was (yes, WAS). "M.I.U." is easy to bash. It followed "The Beach Boys Love You," a fantastic BrianWilsonFest that was an impossible act to follow, and Brian's involvement dropped in "M.I.U." as the authority of his considerably less talented cousin, Mike Love, came to rule the roost in The Beach Boys' camp. However, Brian still is all over this disc, salvaging it from the depths of "15 Big Ones," "Keepin' the Summer Alive" (these two tie for the worst Beach Boys Album Award), "Holland" (take off the hastily assembled "Sail on Sailor" and you've got a real corker), "Carl and the Passions" and "L.A. Light Album." Let's review the tracks on "M.I.U." First is the catchy "She's Got Rhythm," featuring Brian's soaring falsetto and songwriting. An OK cover of "Come Go with Me" follows, but at least the version included on these reissues is snappier and better than that included on the Caribou/CBS reissues that came out 10 years ago. That's right, they used THE WRONG MIXES in not one, but several "M.I.U." songs when the album fist came out on CD. Somebody fell asleep at his or her post. Anyway, the third track, "Hey Little Tomboy," again features great songwriting by Brian - I defy anyone to not enjoy its melody - and vocals between Love and him. Tracks 4 and 5, "Kona Coast" and "Peggy Sue," are the blandness that everybody else keeps talking about. But the disc jolts back to life with "Wontcha Come out Tonight," another Brian-penned song in which a great melody rescues a cheesy hook. Four more great songs follow: "Sweet Sunday," again written by Brian and sung beautifully by Carl Wilson, "Belles of Paris," another sharp Brian tune, "Pitter Patter," a strong song with music from Brian and Al Jardine, and the beautiful, Brian-written "My Diane," sung with tremendous emotion by Dennis. "Match Point of Our Love," yet another Brian tune, follows, and it would be listenable if not for Mike's horrible lyrics, drawing parallels between a tennis match and a relationship. "Winds of Change" is a decent end to the album, though no Beach Boy had anything to do with its writing. Add 'em up and you've got some great songwriting from our hero, Mr. Wilson, on "M.I.U. Album." The low point is the lyrics. "Hey Little Tomboy" is lecherous enough, but its original version, in which an excited-sounding Brian implores a girl to "shave your legs for the first time," can induce nightmares, nausea and pancreatic illness. And nobody denies that "My Diane" is about Brian's relationship with his wife's sister, whom he was quite fond of and apparently sometimes wished he'd married instead of Marilyn. However, at least Dennis sings the lead, and it's no more disturbing than "The Night Was So Young," a great "Love You" track in which Brian sings about a female companion sneaking up to his window at night. Let's just say that song wasn't fiction.

"L.A. Light Album" finds The Beach Boys at their worst: recycling old material and throwing together songs that will sell on "The Beach Boys" name alone. "Good Timin' " is a great first track and a rare collaboration between Brian and Carl, but Al's "Lady Lynda" doesn't make any secret about where its melody came from (Bach). Carl's slowies, "Full Sail" and "Goin' South," are just that - slowies - but their intentions can be appreciated. As a Floridian from up North, I can relate to the desire to "go South" for the winter, and if "Full Sail" is about Dennis' boat, The Harmony, the song becomes a bit more sentimental. Dennis' "Angel Come Home" is unspectacular. These are the only tracks not torn off the shelves for hasty preparation in this album. Dennis' decent "Love Surrounds Me" and great "Baby Blue" were intended for his second solo album, the never-completed "Bamboo," and the group persuaded him to part with them because they had no material. The same goes for "Sumahama," a hugely underrated track that many people dislike for the same reason they dislike "Brian's Back": Mike Love wrote the music as well as the lyrics. It was intended for "First Love," a solo album that Mike shopped around in the late '70s while Dennis was scoring solo success. "Here Comes the Night" should have been called "Here Comes the Nightmare" - not so much for the song's lack of artistic merit, but for the reaction it would get. Many people write this lackluster album off for the wrong reasons, citing their dislike for "Here Comes the Night" and "Sumahama." Actually, these are two of the most interesting, different and satisfying tracks on the album. This disco remake of the "Wild Honey" song (which was underproduced and could have sounded a lot better) is about five minutes too long, suggesting that it is indeed little more than filler, but the other several minutes or so are quite entertaining. The album closer, "Shortenin' Bread," is pathetic, and once again was picked up and dusted off from earlier in the decade. A superior, Carl-sung version (Brian sings the "L.A." version) was to have gone on the "Landlocked" album, but what gave the group the idea to remake this song is beyond me. That's the feeling you'll get as L.A. Light Album ends: confusion. Why did the group once again have to raid its pantry in search of album filler? Why switch from the slow, peaceful atmosphere of the first six tracks to the disco thump of "Here Comes the Night"? Why choose Bruce Johnston as producer after he's been out of the band for six years? Try not to let these questions cloud your head, as there is a bigger one left to answer: Why do people hold this album in higher regard than its predecessor, the solid "M.I.U. Album"?

The "M.I.U. album" takes its name from Maharishi International University, the Iowa homebase of the flash-in-the-pan guru, and where the Beach Boys chose to record the 1978 album. It sounds slicker than "Love You" before it, probably because the band was hoping to find a way back onto the charts. While more commercial did mean chart action (the single "Come Go with Me" hit the top 40), it doesn't necessarily mean artistic success.

"L.A. (Light Album)" is presumably a play on the Beatles album "The Beatles", nicknamed the "White album" by fans. Critically, these albums usually get the biggest wallop from critics and while "M.I.U." certainly deserves to be in the lowest third of the band's career, I'd argue "L.A." is the band's last really good album with some great harmony singing, some fine contributions from Dennis and a couple great Carl songs.

HIGHLIGHTS:

While "M.I.U" only has 3 real highlight songs (like "15 Big Ones"), I place it higher in the Beach Boys catalogue because its lows aren't as embarrassing as "TM Song" or the misguided covers on "15BO". "My Diane" is Brian's melancholy tribute to sister-in-law Diane Rovell, rendered by Dennis with a nice ragged tinge in his vocal. "Sweet Sunday Kinda Love" pays tribute to the simple pleasures of goofing off on a lazy Sunday. "Hey Little Tomboy" is sexist, goofy and musically catchy. Just because it's not PC doesn't mean it's not one of the better melody/lyric combos here.

The most "Beach Boys" sounding album from the group in the 1970s (if you believe only the 'sun and fun' sound is the "true" Beach Boys) came with 1979's "L.A. (Light Album)" which featured strong group harmonies on nearly every number. ("Good Timin'" is a fine example). "Full Sail" paid tribute to Dennis' boat. Every snowbound Northerner (like me) can appreciate the sentiment in "Goin' South". "Baby Blue" is probably the best ballad Dennis ever wrote.

VALLEYS:

With "Kona Coast" Al and Mike throw every "sun and fun" cliche against the wall in hopes they'll stick into a hit. They forgot, however, to write a hook for the tune. (Stealing part of 60s track "Hawaii" doesn't count...) "Belles of Paris" does the same thing in French. "Peggy Sue" should've prompted a defamation suit from the estate of Buddy Holly. "Pitter Patter" is rain as a sex metaphor ("like the risin' tides love is growing stronger, Let's ride out the storm just a little longer").

"L.A."'s "Here Comes the Night" disco remake has two big problems: A) too long (long enough for a 12" mix) and B) too late (Disco peaked in 1977. If they wanted to cash in, this should've been on "15 Big Ones" and something more well-known, maybe a medley of the sun and fun stuff, though it probably would have resulted in an even harsher pounding from music critics.) "Sumahama" features hamhanded Japanese singing from Mike. A rocked up nursery rhyme ("Shortenin' Bread") is just beyond the pale.

BOTTOM LINE:

One of the weakest (M.I.U.) paired with a solid effort (L.A.). Don't pay new price but get it used if it's cheap to sample the "L.A." cuts (the best stuff from the album did NOT appear on the box set).

Although a lot of people are so critical of these albums, I quite enjoy them (although I do think M.I.U. is better overall than Light Album). I think M.I.U. album has a lot of beautiful harmonies and instrumentation, which isn't unusual for a Beach Boys record. "Match Point Of Our Love" features what I consider to be Brian's best late-'70s lead vocal. Light Album has several good songs too, though most of them are slow. Although the disco version of "Here Comes The Night" might have appalled a lot of Beach Boys fans when it first came out (and may continue to do so), I actually think it's sort of cool, even though it is VERY long. Like most of the group's post-'60s albums, these may not rank among their VERY best albums, but I think they deserve more appreciation than they seem to get. (Edit, made on 7-20-12): Unfortunately, this CD is now out of print and tends to go for EXTREMELY high prices, at least at Amazon.

Enjoyable and still the Original BBs. Yet the good songs are rarer and the production is dated. It's still better than was was to come in the next few years...

MIU is one of the worst Beach Boys albums going I think, but because I love the second album on the CD, LA (Light Album), I have actually thought of this worth buying. LA (Light Album) is the last great Beach Boys albums due in large part to the fact that it is the last Beach Boys album to include the great harmonies that have made them so famous. Included on this album is the great 'Good Timin'' and 'Lady Lynda' one of the best songs on the album. If you are put off by what critics are saying of the ten minute disco version of 'Here Comes The Night' then don't be. It's still an alright song especially since one of Dennis Wilsons greatest songs ever: 'Baby Blue.' It's great because the album also ends with a great rocker: 'Shortin' Bread'. Go on, go and buy it and give it a listen. You will be amazed by the LA (Light Album). Hey you might even go beyond me and like the MIU Album. This album definatly deserves a nine.