Yes, the lads are pushing 60, maybe even 65. Yes, I used to love their music. But their high-profile performance tonight in front of the U.S. Capitol stands as Exhibit A of why old musical groups should just fade away. I thought I had a tracking problem with my DVD, until I realize the performance was live.
Who’s the lead singer these days, Mike Love? Gawd, his singing was so pitchy, dawg, it was beyond painful. I know the group has been to hell and back, but wowsa. Terrible.
For Beach Boy scholars, who’s missing from the group that used to give its distinctive melodies? Is it Brian Wilson or his drummer brother who tied everything together harmonically, or is tonight’s performance just the sad result of aging vocal cords?
As I understand it, the only original one of the Beach Boys still performing under that name is Mike Love (albeit with Bruce Johnston, who has the best claim to being a Real Beach Boy after the original five). Dennis and Carl Wilson are both dead; Brian’s doing his own thing; and Al Jardine apparently has a band of his own.
It isn’t really the Beach Boys anymore. Out of the original line up only Mike Love on lead vocals is left (and possibly Al Jardine on guitar but I’m not sure about him)
Dennis and Carl Wilson are both dead.
Brian Wilson does not associate with Mike Love anymore. Even if he did he has not been in the live line up since the mid 60’s - he quit performing to concentrate on song writing and producing until the late 80’s when he made one or two appearances.
You may have noticed Brian Wilson performing Good Vibrations on Live 8 in London last weekend but not as ‘The Beach Boys’.
In my opinion Mike Love with his distinctive flat lead vocals and Brian Wilson with his song writing genius were the two main drivers of what the Beach Boys used to be.
Love did seem to have problems hitting the notes. And the band was clearly “Mike Love and Backing Band”; no one else was born when the Beach Boys started performing.