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Post by Kapitan on Oct 25, 2021 11:43:48 GMT
In November 1976, with work on their next album underway, the Beach Boys released the third single from 15 Big Ones.
"Everyone's In Love With You" is a Mike Love love song to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In addition to the Beach Boys (Dennis on drums, Carl and bass and guitar, Brian on ARP synthesizer, and the full group on background vocals), the recording features touring band members Ed Carter, Charles Lloyd, and Ron Altbach; Love's sister Maureen on harp; studio aces Steve Douglas and Jay Migliori on saxes; and Toni Tenille on background vocals.
The B-side was "Susie Cincinnati" in its third go-round.
The song did not chart.
Please discuss and rate "Everyone's In Love With You" b/w "Susie Cincinnati."
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 25, 2021 12:11:50 GMT
Before reviewing this single, you first have to ask why they would even release it in the first place. 15 Big Ones was already about five months old. Most people hearing "Everyone's In Love With You" - and there weren't many - probably already had the song/album. And for the ones who didn't, was the song strong enough to entice anybody to make a purchase? I don't think so. Due to all of the TV appearances, magazine articles, and sold out concerts, maybe they felt pressured to keep releasing singles in 1976, to capitalize on their newfound popularity.
The second question is obviously...what would've been a better choice for a single? There were slim pickings. "Back Home" was the best of the rest of the originals, but you couldn't take a chance releasing a Brian Wilson lead vocal like that. "That Same Song" wasn't bad, but you have another rough Brian vocal and the song probably would've tanked anyway. "Just Once In My Life"? No, just no. I think "Palisades Park" had a chance; in my opinion it is the best oldie on the album. Do you get the feeling that the group was self-conscious about releasing another oldie at that time?
I have a confession. When I first bought 15 Big Ones, I actually liked "Everyone's In Love With You". I liked (Toni Tennille's) intro, I thought the melody was decent, and Mike's lead vocal was passable. I thought the lyrics were about a pretty girl who had it all but couldn't fall in love. It was years before I discovered the song was about the Maharishi. That made me like the song less. The Beach Boys performed "Everyone's In Love With You" live for at least a couple of years; it usually included an explanation of the lyrics by Mike. I don't think the song has aged well.
What can you say about "Susie Cincinnati" being resurrected for a third time? It would've made a better A-side in this case! And, the Beach Boys were performing it in concert for a few years, too.
I guess the quality of this single tells you more about 15 Big Ones than the single. After two or three songs the group was already out of ammo. They had to be worried. From a No. 5 song to a No. 29 song to a single that didn't even chart. Uh oh. And to think they were still very, very popular. They were in the process of blowing it. Big time. I'm going with a 5 on this one. That's all.
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Post by jk on Oct 25, 2021 12:26:10 GMT
I regard both of these as albums tracks so I can't vote on them -- same old jk story, I'm afraid.
I must confess I've warmed to "Susie" over the years. That said, I have a much grittier version floating around here on some b*****gged comp.
And, I've heard a far superior pedal steel-fuelled version of "EILWY" on one of Mike's solo albums, can't remember which. Now that I liked!
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Post by kds on Oct 25, 2021 12:38:56 GMT
I think Everyone's in Love With You is a pretty decent ballad. Good old Susie finally cracked an album. Hey let's put her on another single!
I'll go six here.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 25, 2021 12:39:26 GMT
I have a confession. When I first bought 15 Big Ones, I actually liked "Everyone's In Love With You". I liked (Toni Tennille's) intro, I thought the melody was decent, and Mike's lead vocal was passable. I thought the lyrics were about a pretty girl who had it all but couldn't fall in love. It was years before I discovered the song was about the Maharishi. That made me like the song less. The Beach Boys performed "Everyone's In Love With You" live for at least a couple of years; it usually included an explanation of the lyrics by Mike. I don't think the song has aged well. I feel in some ways similarly. Obviously I wasn't conscious in any real sense in November 1976 (being 4 months old), but two-plus decades later when I heard the album and the song, my main knock against it is the lyrics.
Usually I don't care what a song is about. Lyrics can be good regardless of subject: whether it's romance or shooting up heroin, fear of death or joy at the birth of a child, driving a car or watching a sunset. You can write a great song about any of them, or an awful one. But I do hold songs with religious messages to a higher standard. I can't say why, frankly. Maybe it's the serious nature of the topic combined with the sensitive nature of evangelism to others: if you're going to sell me on your philosophy, don't package it in crap.
These lyrics don't strike me as very good, partly because they come across less as a meaningful message and more as hero worship.
The music is OK: Ron Altbach's parts (which I'm guessing he arranged) and the vocal "Whiter Shade of Pale"esque intro are nice. I'd like to destroy Lloyd's goddamn flute in the most violent way possible, though.
"Susie Cincinnati" is the better song by far, and maybe had it not been released twice before, they would have considered it as the A-side.
I'm going 4. It might have been higher had SC not been released before, but on its third time around, they aren't getting credit from me on it.
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Post by jk on Oct 25, 2021 12:40:49 GMT
And, I've heard a far superior pedal steel-fuelled version of "EILWY" on one of Mike's solo albums, can't remember which. Now that I liked! Ah... here it is, at 17:37:
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 25, 2021 13:25:18 GMT
Here it is on The Mike Douglas Show 9/13/76:
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Post by kds on Oct 25, 2021 13:34:56 GMT
KDS BB Fan confession time. I had no clue that the lyrics were about the Maharishi until this morning.
I guess that shows how much thought I give to the 15 Big Ones album.
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Post by lonelysummer on Oct 25, 2021 20:39:39 GMT
I remember reading about Everyone's In Love With You long before I ever heard the song, so I knew what to expect. I think it's a nice tune, about a subject very dear to Mike's heart. I know I'm supposed to hate it because it's Mike, but I don't go that way. Does it sound like a hit single? No. Just a nice album track. Hello Susie, nice to see you again. Al must have really pushed for this song to be recycled as many times as possible. Again, I'm reminded that the Beach Boys of the 70's really were not a singles band. It's interesting that the Four Seasons had a major comeback around this time - two top 10 singles, Who Loves You, and December 1963 (that song is as ubiquitous these days as Kokomo!); a third, Silver Star, that barely squeaked into the top 40. If you include Frankie Valli solo, you can add My Eyes Adored You, Swearin' To God, Our Day Will Come, and Fallen Angel. They were nowhere near the concert attraction that the Beach Boys were, and their albums didn't sell in the numbers the Beach Boys did. And the comeback was fairly short lived (Valli's Grease being the last hit, in 1978). But for a short time there, they were coming up with records that sounded good on the radio, and people responded accordingly. All of which just points out what a mess the Beach Boys were in 1976. Although the group gained some critical respect for their early 70's efforts, Carl, Dennis, and Al weren't writing any hit songs. So Brian is brought back, as if he's the same guy he was in 1964. "Hey Brian, get us some hits, you're the man with the Midas touch". Well, it sort of worked. It got them a top ten album, and a top ten single (that he didn't write). And then everything went straight down. Even the live shows began to suffer, due in part to the unpredictable Wilson brothers. Man, how do you work so hard to get back on top, and then just throw it away? Success is not all it's cracked up to be.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 25, 2021 20:42:07 GMT
The second question is obviously...what would've been a better choice for a single? ... I think "Palisades Park" had a chance; in my opinion it is the best oldie on the album. Do you get the feeling that the group was self-conscious about releasing another oldie at that time? I guess I'm just commenting on Sheriff John Stone's thoughts a little at a time, because I've got a bit more to say from his earlier post that I didn't address before.
If the band really was self-conscious about releasing multiple oldies as singles from 15 Big Ones, then I'd say perhaps they ought not have released an album on which eight of 15 songs were oldies! (Not counting three new songs that were their own "oldies" to an extent, dating back from the 60s and early 70s.) It seems to me that if you're going to release an album that's more than half oldies, and that's kind of the gimmick (or at least one of the two gimmicks, the other being "Brian's Back"), you have to go with it.
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Post by Moon Dawg on Oct 26, 2021 0:10:30 GMT
I always figured "S.C" was the A side. Surprised!
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Post by B.E. on Oct 26, 2021 1:01:32 GMT
I always figured "S.C" was the A side. Surprised! I think it is. Anyone have the 45? I see there's a 1976 stereo/mono promo of "S.C." on discogs. (Not that that definitively proves anything.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 26, 2021 1:05:22 GMT
I always figured "S.C" was the A side. Surprised! I think it is. Anyone have the 45? I see there's a 1976 stereo/mono promo of "S.C." on discogs. (Not that that definitively proves anything.)
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Post by B.E. on Oct 26, 2021 1:06:32 GMT
Oh, it actually says 'Side 2'...now I'm certain!
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 26, 2021 1:09:52 GMT
Oh, it actually says 'Side 2'...now I'm certain!
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