Love You

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Love You
Studio album by The Beach Boys
Released	11 April 1977
Recorded	Autumn 1976–January 1977 Except "Good Time": Autumn 1969, "Ding Dang": (Autumn 1974. Both finished with overdubs by January 1977)
Genre	Rock
Length	34:50
Label	Brother Records/Reprise
Producer(s)	Brian Wilson Mixdown producer: Carl Wilson
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A) link
The Beach Boys chronology
15 Big Ones (1976)	Love You (1977)	M.I.U. Album (1978)

Love You is the 1977 follow-up to The Beach Boys' comeback album 15 Big Ones. Almost entirely written and performed by Brian Wilson, critics, then and now, are sharply divided on this project. Some feel that this, not its predecessor, is Wilson's real return to form in the 1970s — albeit, a slightly bizarre one. Others feel it was suffered from poor lyrics, sour vocals and an uneven production.

A pop/rock album full of Brian's recent songs, Love You has a unique and distinct sound, but the synth effects sound out-of-date to most contemporary ears. It was during the album's recording that Wilson made his awkward Saturday Night Live appearance on November 27, introducing "Love Is a Woman" for the first time.

Many of the songs contained here have a very childish quality to them ("Roller Skating Child", "Airplane", and "Solar System" are examples of this) and, while attempting to be an up-beat album, it does conjure up a sense of melancholy when one considers that these naive songs are being created and performed by a man who had regressed to a childlike state.

Not all of the songs were strictly new, a few having been written during the 15 Big Ones period, but more specifically "Good Time", which hailed from the Sunflower era, and "Ding Dang", which was co-written with The Byrds' former leader Roger McGuinn and recorded in 1974. "Good Time" is a particularly anomalous inclusion because, unlike the rest of Love You, it features his original sweet voice before that was shredded by heavy cocaine use. Indeed, in the other tracks Wilson's voice is so gruff that it can be difficult to distinguish him from his also newly hoarse brother Dennis at times.

In particular, the trilogy of love songs, "The Night Was So Young", "I'll Bet He's Nice" and "Let's Put Our Hearts Together" (with soon to be ex-wife Marilyn on co-lead) was a throwback to the topics of the Pet Sounds era without approaching their sophistication.

Considered – by common consent – to be The Beach Boys' last truly great album, others have found the release's unconventional sound difficult to swallow. Released just after announcing the band's new record deal with CBS Records (now Sony Music), Reprise Records put little promotion into the album, and with the advent of disco and punk, The Beach Boys' commercial steam had run out once again. Peaking at a disappointing fifty-three in the U.S. (and a marginally better twenty-eight in the UK), Love You was overlooked and soon forgotten.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 Singles 2 New Album 3 Adult Child 3.1 Sources 4 External links

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Brian Wilson, except where noted.

1. "Let Us Go On This Way" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 1:58
   • Features Carl Wilson and Mike Love on lead vocals
2. "Roller Skating Child" – 2:17
   • Features Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Al Jardine, and Brian Wilson on lead vocals
3. "Mona" (Brian Wilson) – 2:06
   • Features Dennis Wilson on lead vocals
4. "Johnny Carson" – 2:47
   • Features Mike Love and Carl Wilson on lead vocals
5. "Good Time" (Brian Wilson/Al Jardine) – 2:50
   • Features Brian Wilson on lead vocals
6. "Honkin' Down the Highway" – 2:48
   • Features Al Jardine on lead vocals
7. "Ding Dang" (Brian Wilson/Roger McGuinn) – 0:56
   • Features Mike Love and Carl Wilson on lead vocals
8. "Solar System" – 2:47
   • Features Brian Wilson on lead vocals
9. "The Night Was So Young" – 2:15
   • Features Carl Wilson on lead vocals
10. "I'll Bet He's Nice" – 2:36
    • Features Dennis Wilson, Brian Wilson, and Carl Wilson on lead vocals
11. "Let's Put Our Hearts Together" – 2:14
    • Features Brian Wilson and Marilyn Wilson on lead vocals
12. "I Wanna Pick You Up" – 2:39
    • Features Dennis Wilson and Brian Wilson on lead vocals
13. "Airplane" – 3:06
    • Features Mike Love, Brian Wilson, and Carl Wilson on lead vocals
14. "Love Is a Woman" – 2:57
    • Features Mike Love, Brian Wilson and Al Jardine on lead vocals

[edit] Singles

• "Honkin' Down the Highway" b/w "Solar System" (Brother 1389), 30 May 1977

Love You is now paired on CD with 15 Big Ones.

Love You (Brother/Reprise MS 2258) reached #53 in the U.S. during a chart stay of 7 weeks. It reached #28 in the UK

[edit] New Album

In late 1976, Brian Wilson's original follow-up to 15 Big Ones was titled "New Album". The album was to be made up of 15 Big Ones outtakes, new songs recorded in late 1976, and songs from the group's library. The following songs were to be included on that album:

1. "My Diane"
2. "Marilyn Rovell"
3. "Hey Little Tomboy"
4. "Ruby Baby"
5. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin"
6. "Sherry She Needs Me" (a 1965 track finished with a 1976 Brian Wilson vocal)
7. "Come Go with Me" (different from the one released on M.I.U. Album)
8. "Mony Mony"
9. "On Broadway"
10. "Sea Cruise"
11. "H.E.L.P. Is on the Way"
12. "Games Two Can Play"
13. "When Girls Get Together"

[edit] Adult Child

In 1977, Brian Wilson put together a far better album to follow Love You. Called "Adult Child", group dynamics prevented its release. It included:

1. "Life Is for the Living"
2. "Hey Little Tomboy"

   Alternate version from what appeared on "M.I.U. Album"

3. "Deep Purple"
4. "H.E.L.P. Is on the Way"

   This is a shorter version of what appeared on "Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys"

5. "It's Over Now"
6. "Everybody Wants to Live"
7. "Shortenin' Bread"

   Alternate version from what appeared on "L.A. (Light Album)"

8. "Lines"
9. "On Broadway"
10. "Games Two Can Play"
11. "It's Trying to Say" (aka "Baseball")
12. "Still I Dream of It"

Both unreleased albums have been heavily bootlegged.

[edit] Sources

• Surf's Up: The Beach Boys On Record Brad Elliott
• 15 Big Ones/Love You CD booklet notes, Dennis Diken and Peter Buck, c.2000.
• "The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the Southern California Experience", Timothy White, c. 1994.
• "Wouldn't It Be Nice - My Own Story", Brian Wilson and Todd Gold, c. 1991.
• "Top Pop Singles 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
• "Top Pop Albums 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
• All Music Guide.com

[edit] External links

• Love You lyrics

The Beach Boys
Brian Wilson | Carl Wilson | Dennis Wilson | Mike Love | Al Jardine | Bruce Johnston
Studio albums
Surfin' Safari (1962) | Surfin' USA (1963) | Surfer Girl (1963) | Little Deuce Coupe (1963) | Shut Down Volume 2 (1964) | All Summer Long (1964) | The Beach Boys' Christmas Album (1964) | The Beach Boys Today! (1965) | Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) (1965) | Beach Boys' Party! (1965) | Pet Sounds (1966) | Smiley Smile (1967) | Wild Honey (1967) | Friends (1968) | 20/20 (1969) | Sunflower (1970) | Surf's Up (1971) | Carl and the Passions - "So Tough" (1972) | Holland (1973) | 15 Big Ones (1976) | Love You (1977) | M.I.U. Album (1978) | L.A. (Light Album) (1979) | Keepin' the Summer Alive (1980) | The Beach Boys (1985) | Still Cruisin' (1989) | Summer in Paradise (1992) | Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 (1996)
Live albums
Beach Boys Concert (1964) | Live in London (1970) | The Beach Boys in Concert (1973) | Good Timin': Live at Knebworth England 1980 (2002)
Related articles
Song List | Lead Vocalists | Capitol Records | Brother Records | Sea of Tunes | Discography | Solo Discography