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Post by Kapitan on Apr 22, 2024 12:27:07 GMT
To be fair, he didn't bring up the topic in this interview: he was just answering questions. The interviewer first asked "You guys reunited with Brian and Al Jardine for a 50th anniversary tour and album. Do you think we'll ever see all the guys come together like that again?" and then "What did you think of the way “That's Why God Made the Radio” turned out?"
Mike just responded to those questions.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 22, 2024 12:35:54 GMT
To be fair, he didn't bring up the topic in this interview: he was just answering questions. The interviewer first asked "You guys reunited with Brian and Al Jardine for a 50th anniversary tour and album. Do you think we'll ever see all the guys come together like that again?" and then "What did you think of the way “That's Why God Made the Radio” turned out?" Mike just responded to those questions. When I posted "he continues to bring it up in interviews", I was basically pointing out that Mike chose to go down that path with his response to the question. Again, for someone (Mike) who likes to be positive and bring out the achievements and successes of the group, I'm surprised that he doesn't do that with That's Why God Made The Radio - you know, that it went to #3 on Billboard, that they still sounded great, and "it felt like 1965 again..."
But, I don't want to be hypocritical. I do appreciate Mike's honesty.
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 22, 2024 13:27:45 GMT
I think Mike has always--or at least for decades now--had his few pet gripes that aren't in line with his overall Mr. Positive company line. TWGMTR has been added to that list, which already had included Murry robbing him of credits, fans pitting him against or as inferior to Brian Wilson, and the Wilsons' drug use.
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Post by kds on Apr 22, 2024 20:26:22 GMT
For what it's worth, I hope Mike and Brian really are in a better place, personally, as Mike says in the article.
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Post by lonelysummer on Apr 24, 2024 19:46:38 GMT
When was the last time Mike, Brian, Al, David or Bruce performed any of the TWGMTR songs live? I would have thought a #3 hit album would have provided some semi-permanent additions to the setlist. I mean, #3, that's Kokomo territory.
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 24, 2024 19:59:50 GMT
When was the last time Mike, Brian, Al, David or Bruce performed any of the TWGMTR songs live? I would have thought a #3 hit album would have provided some semi-permanent additions to the setlist. I mean, #3, that's Kokomo territory. I think you're wrong for a couple reasons. One is that a #3 album on the charts doesn't really correlate to success the way chart success might have in the past: radio is more or less irrelevant; album sales are (with a few superstar exceptions that don't include the Beach Boys) minimal. Did TWGMTR even go gold? Not that I'm aware of. This website (the accuracy of which I won't speak to, as I have no clue, I just googled it) says the album sold 200k copies in the US and another 165k worldwide. Not the worst thing in the world--it says SiP sold just 165k!--but Still Cruisin is listed as selling 1.7 million. According to this website, TWGMTR is the lowest selling original studio album (other than aforementioned SiP) since CATP, which it lists as 305k. Point being, a nice chart placement looks good, but it really wasn't a very popular album in the grand scheme of things. Two is that nobody in the band seems all that invested in it. Mike very, very clearly has a sour taste in his mouth from the whole experience. What's more, he didn't really contribute many songs to it. You can't expect he's going to perform the title track (which he didn't write) or perhaps the most beloved song from it, "Summer's Gone" (which he didn't write). The M&B Beach Boys aren't going to do any of it. And Brian presumably didn't exactly love it, either. He did play some of it for a while--I saw him perform two songs off of it back in 2014 during one concert--but you can see why he wasn't going to focus on something that ended so badly and that had zero hits. Al does mostly Al songs, and he had no songs on that album. David, to my knowledge, doesn't really even perform live with any regularity.
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Post by kds on Apr 24, 2024 20:23:29 GMT
When was the last time Mike, Brian, Al, David or Bruce performed any of the TWGMTR songs live? I would have thought a #3 hit album would have provided some semi-permanent additions to the setlist. I mean, #3, that's Kokomo territory. I know Brian did Pacific Coast Highway and Summer's Gone at the Soundstage show from late 2014. I think Mike and Bruce have done Isn't It Time as recently as 2015. I'm not sure I'd equate the TWGMTR's success with Kokomo's. Kokomo was a legit Top 40 hit, and it still gets some FM play today. TWGMTR did what late career albums tend to do in the modern era, chart very high for a week or two, then disappear, and without any real radio hits. Heck, in the summer of 2012, when they were promoting the album, only the title track and Isn't It Time were played regularly. They added Summer's Gone towards the end of the tour.
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Post by kds on Apr 24, 2024 20:25:39 GMT
When was the last time Mike, Brian, Al, David or Bruce performed any of the TWGMTR songs live? I would have thought a #3 hit album would have provided some semi-permanent additions to the setlist. I mean, #3, that's Kokomo territory. I think you're wrong for a couple reasons. One is that a #3 album on the charts doesn't really correlate to success the way chart success might have in the past: radio is more or less irrelevant; album sales are (with a few superstar exceptions that don't include the Beach Boys) minimal. Did TWGMTR even go gold? Not that I'm aware of. This website (the accuracy of which I won't speak to, as I have no clue, I just googled it) says the album sold 200k copies in the US and another 165k worldwide. Not the worst thing in the world--it says SiP sold just 165k!--but Still Cruisin is listed as selling 1.7 million. According to this website, TWGMTR is the lowest selling original studio album (other than aforementioned SiP) since CATP, which it lists as 305k. Point being, a nice chart placement looks good, but it really wasn't a very popular album in the grand scheme of things. Two is that nobody in the band seems all that invested in it. Mike very, very clearly has a sour taste in his mouth from the whole experience. What's more, he didn't really contribute many songs to it. You can't expect he's going to perform the title track (which he didn't write) or perhaps the most beloved song from it, "Summer's Gone" (which he didn't write). The M&B Beach Boys aren't going to do any of it. And Brian presumably didn't exactly love it, either. He did play some of it for a while--I saw him perform two songs off of it back in 2014 during one concert--but you can see why he wasn't going to focus on something that ended so badly and that had zero hits. Al does mostly Al songs, and he had no songs on that album. David, to my knowledge, doesn't really even perform live with any regularity. At the time, were albums sold at concert venues still counted on the Billboard? I remember the show I attended they were selling 10 CDs bundles, one of which would include an autographed copy. I imagine if so, those 10 CD bundles helped that chart position.
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Post by lonelysummer on Apr 25, 2024 8:04:12 GMT
When was the last time Mike, Brian, Al, David or Bruce performed any of the TWGMTR songs live? I would have thought a #3 hit album would have provided some semi-permanent additions to the setlist. I mean, #3, that's Kokomo territory. I think you're wrong for a couple reasons. One is that a #3 album on the charts doesn't really correlate to success the way chart success might have in the past: radio is more or less irrelevant; album sales are (with a few superstar exceptions that don't include the Beach Boys) minimal. Did TWGMTR even go gold? Not that I'm aware of. This website (the accuracy of which I won't speak to, as I have no clue, I just googled it) says the album sold 200k copies in the US and another 165k worldwide. Not the worst thing in the world--it says SiP sold just 165k!--but Still Cruisin is listed as selling 1.7 million. According to this website, TWGMTR is the lowest selling original studio album (other than aforementioned SiP) since CATP, which it lists as 305k. Point being, a nice chart placement looks good, but it really wasn't a very popular album in the grand scheme of things. Two is that nobody in the band seems all that invested in it. Mike very, very clearly has a sour taste in his mouth from the whole experience. What's more, he didn't really contribute many songs to it. You can't expect he's going to perform the title track (which he didn't write) or perhaps the most beloved song from it, "Summer's Gone" (which he didn't write). The M&B Beach Boys aren't going to do any of it. And Brian presumably didn't exactly love it, either. He did play some of it for a while--I saw him perform two songs off of it back in 2014 during one concert--but you can see why he wasn't going to focus on something that ended so badly and that had zero hits. Al does mostly Al songs, and he had no songs on that album. David, to my knowledge, doesn't really even perform live with any regularity. The reason I asked is, I'm constantly seeing comments here about what a great success the album was, with that #3 placement; but as you pointed out, that's kind of misleading; the album did not "have legs"; I'm sure the 1985 album was on the charts longer than TWGMTR. Al does mostly Al songs? Well, when I saw him last month, it was a pretty typical BBs setlist - Surfin' Safari, 409, Surfin USA, In My Room, Surfer Girl, I Get Around, California Girls, Good Vibrations, God Only Knows, Fun Fun Fun. The only real "Al songs" I remember in the show were Help Me Rhonda, California Saga/California, And I Always Will.
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 25, 2024 11:24:39 GMT
I think you're wrong for a couple reasons. One is that a #3 album on the charts doesn't really correlate to success the way chart success might have in the past: radio is more or less irrelevant; album sales are (with a few superstar exceptions that don't include the Beach Boys) minimal. Did TWGMTR even go gold? Not that I'm aware of. This website (the accuracy of which I won't speak to, as I have no clue, I just googled it) says the album sold 200k copies in the US and another 165k worldwide. Not the worst thing in the world--it says SiP sold just 165k!--but Still Cruisin is listed as selling 1.7 million. According to this website, TWGMTR is the lowest selling original studio album (other than aforementioned SiP) since CATP, which it lists as 305k. Point being, a nice chart placement looks good, but it really wasn't a very popular album in the grand scheme of things. Two is that nobody in the band seems all that invested in it. Mike very, very clearly has a sour taste in his mouth from the whole experience. What's more, he didn't really contribute many songs to it. You can't expect he's going to perform the title track (which he didn't write) or perhaps the most beloved song from it, "Summer's Gone" (which he didn't write). The M&B Beach Boys aren't going to do any of it. And Brian presumably didn't exactly love it, either. He did play some of it for a while--I saw him perform two songs off of it back in 2014 during one concert--but you can see why he wasn't going to focus on something that ended so badly and that had zero hits. Al does mostly Al songs, and he had no songs on that album. David, to my knowledge, doesn't really even perform live with any regularity. The reason I asked is, I'm constantly seeing comments here about what a great success the album was, with that #3 placement; but as you pointed out, that's kind of misleading; the album did not "have legs"; I'm sure the 1985 album was on the charts longer than TWGMTR. Al does mostly Al songs? Well, when I saw him last month, it was a pretty typical BBs setlist - Surfin' Safari, 409, Surfin USA, In My Room, Surfer Girl, I Get Around, California Girls, Good Vibrations, God Only Knows, Fun Fun Fun. The only real "Al songs" I remember in the show were Help Me Rhonda, California Saga/California, And I Always Will. On the first point ... you do!? Here!? I don't remember anyone here ever saying the album was a great commercial success. It seems to me the overwhelming majority opinion has been that it was a surprisingly good album, then best since [insert album of choice: LA or Holland seem to come up a lot], and of course supported by a hugely successful tour. But I don't think I've ever seen anyone say it was a great success in terms of commercial performance, #3 or not. On the second, you're right. I should have said he does hits and Al songs.
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Post by kds on Apr 25, 2024 13:25:40 GMT
I think you're wrong for a couple reasons. One is that a #3 album on the charts doesn't really correlate to success the way chart success might have in the past: radio is more or less irrelevant; album sales are (with a few superstar exceptions that don't include the Beach Boys) minimal. Did TWGMTR even go gold? Not that I'm aware of. This website (the accuracy of which I won't speak to, as I have no clue, I just googled it) says the album sold 200k copies in the US and another 165k worldwide. Not the worst thing in the world--it says SiP sold just 165k!--but Still Cruisin is listed as selling 1.7 million. According to this website, TWGMTR is the lowest selling original studio album (other than aforementioned SiP) since CATP, which it lists as 305k. Point being, a nice chart placement looks good, but it really wasn't a very popular album in the grand scheme of things. Two is that nobody in the band seems all that invested in it. Mike very, very clearly has a sour taste in his mouth from the whole experience. What's more, he didn't really contribute many songs to it. You can't expect he's going to perform the title track (which he didn't write) or perhaps the most beloved song from it, "Summer's Gone" (which he didn't write). The M&B Beach Boys aren't going to do any of it. And Brian presumably didn't exactly love it, either. He did play some of it for a while--I saw him perform two songs off of it back in 2014 during one concert--but you can see why he wasn't going to focus on something that ended so badly and that had zero hits. Al does mostly Al songs, and he had no songs on that album. David, to my knowledge, doesn't really even perform live with any regularity. The reason I asked is, I'm constantly seeing comments here about what a great success the album was, with that #3 placement; but as you pointed out, that's kind of misleading; the album did not "have legs"; I'm sure the 1985 album was on the charts longer than TWGMTR. Al does mostly Al songs? Well, when I saw him last month, it was a pretty typical BBs setlist - Surfin' Safari, 409, Surfin USA, In My Room, Surfer Girl, I Get Around, California Girls, Good Vibrations, God Only Knows, Fun Fun Fun. The only real "Al songs" I remember in the show were Help Me Rhonda, California Saga/California, And I Always Will. I might be responsible for a bulk of those comments as I'd admittedly pretty bullish on TWGMTR. But, again, for a later career album, I'd say it was a success overall. It sold about as well as could be expected, and artistically, it's, at least in my opinion, quite good, and gives The Beach Boys a such better studio swan song than they'd have had otherwise.
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