Good Vibrations

July 11, 2016
In the 1960s, Love, along with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, rode high on a wave of the Beach Boys’ popularity until it eventually came crashing to the shore when a swell of infighting, as well as Brian’s deteriorating mental condition, washed over them. In this fiercely honest, sometimes arrogant, memoir, Love transfixes readers with his stories of the rise and fall of the band, his own work as a songwriter, and his deep engagement with spirituality and the ways that it has influenced his music. As a teenager, he was obsessed with Chuck Berry’s poetic lyrics and with R&B in general, while Brian was fascinated by the folk music of Ricky Nelson and the harmonies of the Four Freshman. By his 20s, Love recalls that he and his cousins recognized their tremendous musical gifts and that there was “magic in that gene pool” that needed to be set free. Before long, Love was writing lyrics for songs such as “I Get Around,” “Don’t Worry Baby,” “California Girls,” and “Good Vibrations.” In spite of Love’s lyrical contributions to the songs, he’s not given credit on the records: “I knew I was losing out on songwriter royalties.... I just wanted my own name on the label.” By the late ’70s, the band fractured, and in mind-numbing prose, Love describes his legal battles to win a settlement against Brian for lost royalties. Love’s sobering look at the ups and downs of a rock and roll band nevertheless ends on a note of hope that music can provide harmony in word and spirit for a struggling world.

July 15, 2016
The Beach Boy everyone loves to hate speaks his piece--sometimes sweetly, often gruffly, but always candidly.As has been the case for half a century, Love has axes to grind: Uncle Murry Wilson cut him out of lots of cash. "My dad fucked us," says cousin Brian, who cut him out of lots of credit. And fans have cut him out of the ardor reserved for the three Wilson brothers--and even Al Jardine. The author tends to the blustery in this memoir, but he's got claim to bragging rights; after all, as he's quick to insist, he gave Paul McCartney the idea for the Beach Boys-ish chorus in "Back in the U.S.S.R.," and he sprinkled the song "Good Vibrations" and the rest of the catalog with special magic. One can certainly appreciate why he might feel bitter, since suits and countersuits have been flying like surfboards atop the cresting waves for decades, but Love is not inclined to make nice even as he drifts toward his ninth decade, and he's taking no prisoners. When he revisits embarrassing moments such as his notorious Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction speech, he's generally convinced of his righteousness ("I didn't have time to meditate that day," he says of that unproud moment, "so I was even more on edge"). A few more efforts to soothe ruffled feathers and forgive trespasses would have taken the aggrieved, resentful edge off this book, but still, it's good to hear the much-repeated story of the Beach Boys' implosion from the point of view of the canonical villain of the piece. And you've got to admire his stamina: he gets up and goes to it each day, he says, because "the music is now part of our country's DNA," and go to it he does, hitting stages all over the world hundreds of times a year. For Beach Boys completists, essential. For die-hard fans of Love & Mercy, probably one to miss.

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September 1, 2016
Beach Boys member Love chronicles how the Wilson brothers found massive success with songs celebrating West Coast surf and car culture. He describes how mental illness hobbled Brian, who spent years out of commission on drugs. Dennis, Love explains, was sexually insatiable, generous to a fault, and for a time allowed Charles Manson and some of his followers to live in his mansion. Dennis also had an affair with Love's former wife Suzanne (prompting Love to contemplate killing him), and later married a woman who claimed to be Love's daughter. Much vilified by music aficionados, Love attempts to set the record straight, describing how he collaborated with Brian on many of the group's more well-known songs but wasn't given writing credit until years later, following a lawsuit. Admittedly, he was more concerned about commerce than art, but he never said, Don't fuck with the formula. Love might not make converts out of haters, but with the structure and focus provided by coauthor Hirsch, Good Vibrations tells a memorable story of a band whose music is now part of our country's DNA. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

April 1, 2016

It's the 50th anniversary of "Good Vibrations," perfect timing for Love's memoir, though it certainly goes beyond that immortal Beach Boys hit. Love discusses his five-decade tenure with the group, recalls his various bandmates, and reveals the stories behind many of his famous lyrics.

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