Columnist Spencer Patterson: Love doesn’t quite smile at long-lost classic

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Oct. 15, 2004 | 8:47 a.m.

This month Rolling Stone magazine awarded five stars to Brian Wilson's reworked version of "Smile," but Mike Love had a much different opinion when he first heard the music back in 1966.

"Musically, there was some brilliance to it, but I've always questioned some of the lyrical trends," Love, Wilson's cousin and a fellow founding Beach Boys member, said in a phone interview from an Orlando, Fla., hotel room Tuesday.

"Lyrically, I always try to think, 'OK, what does this mean?' And those lyrics didn't have any meaning to most humanoids because they were written under the influence of drugs. It was a little far out."

To illustrate his point, Love quoted a passage from "Cabin Essence," one of the songs originally slated to appear on "Smile," the famously shelved follow-up to 1966 classic "Pet Sounds."

"Have you seen the Grand Coulee working on the railroad?" Love recited in a rather pained tone, sounding as if he'd like to wipe the memory of those sessions from his mind completely.

"It is out there. Those guys were stoned. They were out of their freakin' minds," Love, the Beach Boys' lead vocalist, said. "So yeah, I couldn't identify with it that much."

Wilson is in the midst of a tour promoting his freshly re-recorded take on "Smile," with a stopover at Boulder Station's Railhead set for Oct. 30.

Meanwhile, the 63-year-old Love continues to carry the Beach Boys name, playing around 170 shows a year under that moniker. Love's group plays the floating stage at Lake Las Vegas Resort at 8 tonight. Tickets are $55.

Love -- who lives in Incline Village, on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe -- said he hadn't yet heard Wilson's new "Smile" CD. But he added that he picked up a copy of the disc Monday and intended to listen to it soon.

Beach Boys fans who attend tonight's show can expect to hear Love sing at least one song intended for inclusion on the original "Smile": much-cherished hit single "Good Vibrations."

Love said he balked when he heard Wilson's initial stab at the tune, but felt more comfortable with it after adding lyrics, including the familiar chorus.

"When I heard 'Good Vibrations,' I said, 'Holy (expletive). This is freaky. It's gonna scare people who are buying "I Get Around," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Surfin' U.S.A." and "California Girls." Whew!' " Love said.

"So I came up with the lyrics (sings) "I'm pickin' up good vibrations/She's giving me excitations," figuring that everybody can understand boy-girl attraction. So although it was very avant-garde and extremely unique and spacey, it became very successful."

Along with "Good Vibrations," tonight's show should feature most of the Beach Boys' best-known songs, including the aforementioned hits, along with fan favorites such as "In My Room," "Don't Worry Baby" and "God Only Knows."

"We do a lot of stuff, about 30 songs," Love promised.

In June, Love's Beach Boys -- who also usually feature longtime member Bruce Johnston, currently recovering from heart surgery -- played the Mandalay Bay Beach.

While in town, the band also celebrated the platinum certification (one million sales) of their latest greatest-hits collection, "The Very Best of the Beach Boys: Sounds of Summer."

"We give a lot of credit to oldies radio for keeping the Beach Boys present and alive on a daily basis in virtually every city in the United States," Love said. "We're right at the top of the most-performed groups on oldies radio."

With Carl Wilson (lung cancer) and Dennis Wilson (drowning) having died in 1998 and 1983, respectively, the prospect of a proper Beach Boys reunion has obviously diminished greatly over the years.

Still, Love -- who said he rarely sees Brian Wilson these days -- did not discount the notion of a future collaboration with his one-time songwriting partner.

"I think what it would take is a catalyst," Love said. "If somebody who was doing a movie soundtrack said, 'OK, I want a song by the Beach Boys, by Brian Wilson and Mike Love ...'

"And people have talked to me about doing a reunion tour and project, and I'm not against that. It just hasn't presented itself yet for whatever reason."

Music notes

Shining bright: A cover of "Girl From the North Country" provided a fitting finale to Tuesday night's show at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay.

The three artists sharing the bill -- indie-rockers Bright Eyes, M. Ward and Jim James of My Morning Jacket -- were all clearly influenced by that song's author, Bob Dylan, as evidenced by their modern folk-rock approach.

The concert featured solo and collaborative performances by the musicians, almost all of them intimate, low-key affairs highlighted by lyrics, vocals and instrumental interplay.

Bright Eyes' leader Conor Oberst, a 24-year-old phenom from Omaha, Neb., burned the brightest, mesmerizing a relatively small but totally adoring crowd with a batch of uniquely crafted runes.

Oberst's songs feature few sing-along choruses, but offer cerebral and inventive lyrics, which he delivers in amazingly tortured style. "I am a waste of breath, of space, of time!" he cried during "Waste of Paint," one of the night's many highlights.

Kudos to fans who turned out to see Oberst and his cohorts in a town in which their music has likely never been played on the radio.

Palms looks West: Chicago producer-turned-rapper Kanye West holds court at Rain at the Palms at 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $40 and $75.

After gaining notoriety for his studio work on hit tracks by the likes of Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Ludacris and Alicia Keys, West released his own debut, "College Dropout," in February.

Among the wide-ranging disc's many memorable tunes: singles "Through the Wire," "Slow Jamz" and "Jesus Walks."

On sale

R. Kelly and Jay-Z team for a Nov. 27 show at the Thomas & Mack Center. Tickets are $38-$103 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Thomas & Mack box office, at Station casinos and the Galleria, Boulevard and Meadows malls, by phone at 739-3267 and at www.unlvtickets.com.

Everclear plays the House of Blues on Nov. 30. Tickets are $25-$30 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the House of Blues box office, at TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 and at www.ticketmaster.com.

Unwritten Law stops by the House of Blues on Dec. 5. Tickets are $15 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through the House of Blues box office and TicketMaster.

Tickets are on sale now for two other recent additions to the House of Blues concert calendar: Godsmack on Nov. 23 ($35.50) and Slightly Stoopid on Nov. 12 ($15).