Beach Boys appreciation thread | Page 9 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

I happened to be looking back through Mike Love’s book “Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy,” to see if my visceral hatred has ebbed.

Nope, not a single bit of softening to it.

From all of Love’s constant historical revisionism to try and portray himself as an equal with Brian Wilson, his constant petty and snide comments about the other members of the band and Brian’s current wife Melinda, his incessant whining that “I’m not a bad guy, really!” and that he doesn’t deserve his reputation of infamy, but most of all, his unparalleled hatred and jealousy of Brian’s music and the fact that he became considered the genius behind the group, it’s far too much to take, and truly vile and loathsome.

Not to mention there are many things Love conveniently leaves out of his narrative, especially regarding his history with ex-wives and children, several of his many lawsuits against Brian (including the one where he sued over Brian’s completed solo version of SMiLE in 2004, suing him over an album and material that he despised because it wasn’t following the old tired threads of “fun, summer, surf and cars” of the past), and so on. All this with his constant assertions that “I wrote this part, I deserve credit for it.” Say what you will about Paul and the Barry Miles book, at least Paul has persuasive evidence to back it up. Not to mention the way Love takes Paul’s politeness as a sign of being a friend, then in that Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech we’ve cringed at many times, takes a steaming dump over his supposed friend, as well as The Beatles as a whole, and The Stones. Class of 1988 was already awkward as hell with Paul’s no show, Ringo being clearly drunk, George holding it all together, and Yoko throwing clear shade by saying “John would’ve been here, he would’ve come.” And then Mike Love makes it worse and insults everyone.

It’s no wonder that Mike Love is considered the villain of The Beach Boys ‘ story; not the Wilsons’ abusive father/manager Murry, not Brian’s manipulative and sleazy therapist Eugene Landy, not even Charles Manson. I dare say he is without a doubt, the a*****e of rock and roll, with Ritchie Blackmore a very close second, just in terms of actual rock stars; if you put him in with people involved in the industry as a whole, including figures like Allen Klein, Phil Spector, Landy, Metallica’s therapist Phil Towle, and so forth; Love still winds hands down!

How is it that someone who studied meditation of the Maharishi with The Beatles could come out of that experience and use it in his everyday life, and become MORE of an a*****e?

I feel that, if anything, The Beach Boys would’ve truly continued to grow, evolve and remain in the running in terms of active relevance and hitmaking, even with Brian’s condition, if the band had just found someone better than Mike Love to be the frontman. At some point, during the Pet Sounds/SMiLE sessions, Dennis, Carl and Al Jardine should’ve sacked him, if only just for how much he was trashing Brian, even if they couldn’t truly help Brian or know what was happening to him.

Yes, it is an absolute travesty that Brian was screwed over so many times in his life, but the times by Mike Love are the worst and most heartbreaking. Both because Love was belittling and attacking Brian’s incredible gift and the music that should’ve enabled The Beach Boys to continue to evolve and grow and still be part of the cultural zeitgeist, and because of the fact that he has never taken the time to understand how Brian works and thinks, or what he has struggled with, especially as he melted down and became a prisoner of his mind. I mean, Dennis and Carl had no idea what Brian was suffering from either and couldn’t really help him, but they always demonstrated how much they loved him and cared for his well-being.

Brian has indeed moved on from the Surfin’ Safari days, quite thoroughly, and the band should’ve as well, because it would’ve enabled them to actually, truly stand on par with The Beatles and be remembered just as fondly, especially in terms of innovation and evolution, and their upcoming 60th anniversary would be a milestone in ways other than sheer longevity, but of expansion and actual active relevance alongside today’s pop stars. But Love took Brian’s retreat as a sign to turn the band into his image, his desires, and nostalgia was to carry the day above all else. There’s definitely good stuff in those albums, other than Summer In Paradise, but you can’t truly say they’re on par with what Brian conjured in the ’60s or what Brian has managed to do in his career renaissance on his own, especially after he was freed from Landy.

I don’t know why Love was allowed to get away with it, or, to be perfectly frank, remain in the group at all. Virtually anyone else would’ve kicked him to the curb, and specifically said, “Brian has found our future, you’re remaining in the past, you’re a lead weight that will drag us down.” They should’ve either shackled Love from making any creative decisions, kicked him out and found a replacement, or kicked him out and have Carl and Dennis become the leaders.