The Beach Boys’ career post -1974 is a strange
one. Their lives were changed with a little album called Endless Summer, put out in 1974. This compilation reminded everyone
in the world why they fell in love with the American band and made some wonder,
what happened to them? To the devout fan nothing happened to them except for
they always remained a creative and important musical group. With the release
of this compilation, not only did fans want the band back on stage performing
their hits, but they also wanted Brian back. With the Brian is Back campaign
kick started, the boys tore through releases including the critically misshaped
15 Big Ones, Brian’s outsider cult
classic Love You, and Dennis’ solo
debut Pacific Ocean Blue. There was
also music recorded but never released, including a slated release called Adult Child and a new Christmas LP. The
label did not want a Christmas album so the boys needed to do a new album. Mike
set them up to record at the Maharishi International University in Fairfield,
Iowa. Mike, Al, and Brian, who surprisingly was the only Wilson to show up,
were the only three present. Even though Brian was doing better mentally and
physically, he still had his ups and downs with his demons. Dennis and Carl
were not in favor of this idea of the new recording space and their effort
would be minimal.
Brian had produced the previous two Beach Boys’
records but was not given the role here. This time he was referred to as
executive producer, although the
position went to Al and collaborator Ron Altbach (of King Harvest fame, another
band with a Beach Boys connection known for their hit “Dancing in the
Moonlight”). Since the Brian is Back campaign championed his return to
songwriting and producing, this was a little different. Brian had written great
songs like “It’s OK” and “Had to Phone Ya” off of 15 Big Ones and “The Night Was So Young” and “Solar System” off of Love You. Mixing in the quality of the
material from Adult Child as well as
the rest of these two albums it appeared that Brian was back on track. The
major details that were significantly different were his vocals and his range.
Years of physical deterioration had set in, damaging his voice to a raspy and
often off key affair. Though not bad by any means, this detracted fans from
seeking new Beach Boys. Their Brian wasn’t really “back.” The quirky material
plus the vocals (Brian wasn’t the only member to sound different) gave way to
the public’s disinterest in this new project by the boys. Why is the M.I.U. Album so ignored? And how can
the public rate it as one of the worst recordings by the group? This album was
actually a huge step in their career if you look at Brian’s output. Brian has
eight songwriting credits out of the twelve on the record. Most importantly,
his voice had changed once again. Rather than the gravelly sound of his voice circa
1974-1977, he reached a sort of return to the falsetto voice he was known for.
It can be argued that his vocals on this album are his last great ones of his
career if falsetto is the main concern. Somehow this fact gets ignored possibly
because the album was really irrelevant sound wise for the time it was
released.
The album opens with the faux-Motown of “She’s
Got Rhythm.” This starts off with the return of Brian’s falsetto which had been
absent for some time. It follows a simple chord progression with an infectious
melody and it has a groove that can make anyone dance. The verses, sung by Mike
Love, change the tempo and use Brian’s typical and beautiful Major Seven
chords. Ron Altbach states that Brian heard Ron playing the verses in the
studio on the piano and then Brian himself joined in on vocals, thus giving
songwriting credit to Ron, Brian and lyrics by Mike. Skipping ahead in the
album a bit we get “Matchpoint of Our Love.” This song was really slammed due
to its disco-lite beat and for its tennis metaphors in the lyrics. However, it
is definitely one of the strongest tracks because of the songwriting and
beautiful melody. It’s further proof that Brian hadn’t lost his writing touch
and looking at the chord chart it’s similar to the work Brian was doing ten
years earlier. The most respectable and known song is “My Diane,” another Brian
Wilson composition. It is also the only track to feature Dennis’ lead vocals.
This dates back to a 1976 recording and the song, written about Marilyn
Rovell’s sister Diane, is a clear and painful view into the life of Brian at
this time. He could have elected to sing it himself but it’s given to Dennis
instead who naturally gives off tones and pain and passion with his voice. These
three songs are the best of the bunch here but the album is far from over. Another
Brian credit, “Hey Little Tomboy,” dates back to the Adult Child sessions and is by far the most disturbing song the
boys ever put on tape. Only in this time could a major label release a song
about teaching a presumably underage girl on how to be a proper woman. Mike
Love’s line “I’m going to teach you to kiss” is the weirdest moment. Luckily,
the band cut out the spoken word part in the previously recorded version.
However, even this is a great pop song and deserves multiple listens due to its
weirdness. Brian’s other songs include “Wontcha Come Out Tonight,” a pleasant
song with a doo-wop influence and “Sweet Sunday Kind of Love,” a track clearly
influenced by “Be My Baby” that features Carl singing his only lead on the
album. “Belles of Paris” and “Pitter Patter” conclude Wilson’s role on this
album. Al Jardine elects to sing on the album’s two covers, “Come Go Away with
Me,” which reached #18 on the US charts but in 1981, and Buddy Holly’s “Peggy
Sue.” These are nice to listen to, although to make the album more cohesive,
original songs should have been added. The biggest “what if” of the record is
“Kona Coast.” This should have been a massive hit for the Beach Boys since its
content included everything that once made them popular: harmonies, lyrics
about the beach and Hawaii, and a cool Mike Love vocal. This wasn’t even
released as a single. In the context of the Beach Boys history, “Kona Coast” is
like the 1970’s version of “Do it Again” from 1969, which was a hit. The album
ends with an original song, although written by two members of King Harvest,
Ron Altbach and Ed Tuleja, who were now backing musicians for the Beach Boys.
It is a beautiful piano ballad with a nice croon by Al and Mike. Brian sings
“Won’t last forever” at the end of the song and it is of course a reference to
“When I Grow Up (To Be A Man”) released fourteen years earlier.
If “She’s Got Rhythm” and “Kona Coast” had been
released as singles, the record would have sold much better. In the US it was
#151 on the charts and failed to chart in the UK. Despite this, it shows that
Brian was in true form here for all of us. He declined once more again after
this recording and appeared sparsely with the band since. He didn’t have a
significant part in music until ten years later when he released his solo
debut. Also to be noted is the album cover which was taken from Surfer magazine. Give M.I.U Album a fair shot. And add it to
the list of classic 70’s Beach Boys recordings.
*songs recorded or thought to be recorded
during these sessions but not released:
“Mike, Come back to LA”, “Santa’s on His Way”, “Burlesque”,
“Santa’s Got An Airplane”, “Our Team”, “How’s about a Little Bit”, “Go and Get
That Girl”, “Alone on Christmas Day”, “Egypt” and “Why”,
