This new set from Mike Love and his touring band is an album that will undoubtedly rekindle the old comparisons between solo music recorded by Michael and his cousin Brian. Fortunately, the latest album set from Michael offers a pleasant and understated listening experience. For Michael, the songs on the first of two cds in this release, Unleash the Love, are generally well produced in a subtler tone than in past recording projects. Certain songs are from earlier years. This will not matter to casual fans of Michael's.
The annotation from Mr. Love in the booklet that accompanies the two albums is helpful, offering background on some of the tunes. If the listener is expecting a Beach Boys harmonic sound, the reader is encouraged to go straight to cd 2, which highlights the Brian Wilson and Michael Love songwriting partnership. Michael has cut twelve Brian Wilson and Mike Love compositions previously recorded by the Beach Boys.
In this package, the songs on cd 2 are generally performed by Michael's touring band, with support from guest musicians. It seems that these songs are done similar to the touring versions, but in the studio. Regardless, the listener will get a good idea of the sound of Mike Love's band, billed as the Beach Boys. In addition to Mike, long-term Beach Boy Bruce Johnston also is a veteran member of Mike's band.
For purposes of this review, most of the coverage will pertain to Unleash the Love. A quick review of musicians playing on this album reveals a few guests. John Stamos appears on two tracks. Michael's daughter and sons appear as lead and background vocalists on several songs on both cds.
In a brief introduction to Unleash the Love, Michael points out that violence, pollution, drug abuse, and income inequality persist as problems plaguing the world. Themematically, the tunes on this cd highlight these issues, but not overwhelmingly. A Beach Boys tune from the 1985 eponymous album, Getcha Back, presents itself as the second tune one hears. Perhaps it is here as a bow to the cousins and friends who first cut the song.
The lead off track, All the Love is Paris, is a gentle opening track, perhaps signaling Michael's long term affection for Paris. It is a mildly pleasant track, continuing a theme begun with Bells of Paris from 1978's M.I.U album.
Some of the tracks on Unleash the Love were first assembled into an album titled Mike Love, Not War. That collection of tunes did not see release. That bootleg was mostly derived from Mike's debut album, entitled First Love. One positive difference with this set is a more polished sound. Daybreak Over the Ocean is another tune from Mike Love Not War that has been redone for Unleash the Love. It has a pleasant melody, but suffers from "moon-june lyrical disease."
I Don't Wanna Know is one of the tunes also cut for Mike Love Not War. It was one of the better tunes then, and this is also true here. Too Cruel is one of the better tracks on Unleash the Love, offering a more edgy sound than many of the songs in this set. Glow Crescent Glow was written perhaps with an approach derived from Transcendental Meditation. It is not one of the better tracks in this set, sounding insular toward the TM population.
Cool Head,Warm Heart is a track again derived from Mike Love Not War. It has a pleasant melody, yet the lyrics are dated and the overall sound of the tune seems fairly weak compared with some of this album's song repertoire. I have a hunch that Mike felt some kinship to George Harrison when he wrote Pisces Brother
Both men were overshadowed by other members of their respective bands
Michael has lived in the shadow of one of the titans of popular music during his entire tenure with the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson's talent is matched by few if any of his peers. George Harrison for many years was fortunate if he was able to place one or two songs on Beatle album's with Lennon and McCartney writing songs that stood high above most of their peers. Michael felt some connection to George Harrison also due to their time spent together in Rishikesh with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Living in the shadow of the Lennon and McCartney songwriting partnership must have frustrated George Harrison at times as well.
The album's title track, Unleash the Love, is, of course a play on Michael's surname. This track offers some simple suggestions for bringing love to our world. It is a strong track. And it stands out as one of Michael's better performances. Ram Raj is unusual enough to spark my interest musically. It again seems to be a track derived from Hindu traditions. It is somewhat jarring in this album's track sequence. It would benefit from a better placement in the program of songs on Unleash the Love.
John Stamos plays drums on the next track, 10,000 Years Ago. The song is for me, the most interesting tune on the album. It again is derived from the sessions for the unreleased Mike Love Not War album from 2006. Almost a chant, it is a tune that almost sounds like a Dennis Wilson approach production wise. A tune that is important lyrically is Only One Earth. The tune throws light on the growing ruination of our planet through use of methods that deplete the most important life preserving resources of our Earth. Among these are the ozone layer, use of mineral mining methods that poison ground water aquifers, and mass extinction of our fellow creatures on Earth through ignorant alterations of sensitive interdependence of environmental systems.
Finishing the album is Make Love Not War. This song seems important for one big reason. Every war on this planet further harms our own species, other life forms, and shortens the time we have to cease armed conflict and human suffering. Unleash the Love is probably the most commercial of all of the solo work Michael has done outside of the Beach Boys.
The average listener on first blush will find this work by Michael to be derivative, and will most likely write it off. This would be a mistake, because the points each of these tunes make fit together to be a recipe for a more peaceful and caring world. As Michael correctly points out, the problems of this Earth will not be solvable unless we come together to resolve them. No amount of money will ever "fix" the social ills of our planet. Guess we'd better unleash the love.
The annotation from Mr. Love in the booklet that accompanies the two albums is helpful, offering background on some of the tunes. If the listener is expecting a Beach Boys harmonic sound, the reader is encouraged to go straight to cd 2, which highlights the Brian Wilson and Michael Love songwriting partnership. Michael has cut twelve Brian Wilson and Mike Love compositions previously recorded by the Beach Boys.
In this package, the songs on cd 2 are generally performed by Michael's touring band, with support from guest musicians. It seems that these songs are done similar to the touring versions, but in the studio. Regardless, the listener will get a good idea of the sound of Mike Love's band, billed as the Beach Boys. In addition to Mike, long-term Beach Boy Bruce Johnston also is a veteran member of Mike's band.
For purposes of this review, most of the coverage will pertain to Unleash the Love. A quick review of musicians playing on this album reveals a few guests. John Stamos appears on two tracks. Michael's daughter and sons appear as lead and background vocalists on several songs on both cds.
In a brief introduction to Unleash the Love, Michael points out that violence, pollution, drug abuse, and income inequality persist as problems plaguing the world. Themematically, the tunes on this cd highlight these issues, but not overwhelmingly. A Beach Boys tune from the 1985 eponymous album, Getcha Back, presents itself as the second tune one hears. Perhaps it is here as a bow to the cousins and friends who first cut the song.
The lead off track, All the Love is Paris, is a gentle opening track, perhaps signaling Michael's long term affection for Paris. It is a mildly pleasant track, continuing a theme begun with Bells of Paris from 1978's M.I.U album.
Some of the tracks on Unleash the Love were first assembled into an album titled Mike Love, Not War. That collection of tunes did not see release. That bootleg was mostly derived from Mike's debut album, entitled First Love. One positive difference with this set is a more polished sound. Daybreak Over the Ocean is another tune from Mike Love Not War that has been redone for Unleash the Love. It has a pleasant melody, but suffers from "moon-june lyrical disease."
I Don't Wanna Know is one of the tunes also cut for Mike Love Not War. It was one of the better tunes then, and this is also true here. Too Cruel is one of the better tracks on Unleash the Love, offering a more edgy sound than many of the songs in this set. Glow Crescent Glow was written perhaps with an approach derived from Transcendental Meditation. It is not one of the better tracks in this set, sounding insular toward the TM population.
Cool Head,Warm Heart is a track again derived from Mike Love Not War. It has a pleasant melody, yet the lyrics are dated and the overall sound of the tune seems fairly weak compared with some of this album's song repertoire. I have a hunch that Mike felt some kinship to George Harrison when he wrote Pisces Brother
Both men were overshadowed by other members of their respective bands
Michael has lived in the shadow of one of the titans of popular music during his entire tenure with the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson's talent is matched by few if any of his peers. George Harrison for many years was fortunate if he was able to place one or two songs on Beatle album's with Lennon and McCartney writing songs that stood high above most of their peers. Michael felt some connection to George Harrison also due to their time spent together in Rishikesh with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Living in the shadow of the Lennon and McCartney songwriting partnership must have frustrated George Harrison at times as well.
The album's title track, Unleash the Love, is, of course a play on Michael's surname. This track offers some simple suggestions for bringing love to our world. It is a strong track. And it stands out as one of Michael's better performances. Ram Raj is unusual enough to spark my interest musically. It again seems to be a track derived from Hindu traditions. It is somewhat jarring in this album's track sequence. It would benefit from a better placement in the program of songs on Unleash the Love.
John Stamos plays drums on the next track, 10,000 Years Ago. The song is for me, the most interesting tune on the album. It again is derived from the sessions for the unreleased Mike Love Not War album from 2006. Almost a chant, it is a tune that almost sounds like a Dennis Wilson approach production wise. A tune that is important lyrically is Only One Earth. The tune throws light on the growing ruination of our planet through use of methods that deplete the most important life preserving resources of our Earth. Among these are the ozone layer, use of mineral mining methods that poison ground water aquifers, and mass extinction of our fellow creatures on Earth through ignorant alterations of sensitive interdependence of environmental systems.
Finishing the album is Make Love Not War. This song seems important for one big reason. Every war on this planet further harms our own species, other life forms, and shortens the time we have to cease armed conflict and human suffering. Unleash the Love is probably the most commercial of all of the solo work Michael has done outside of the Beach Boys.
The average listener on first blush will find this work by Michael to be derivative, and will most likely write it off. This would be a mistake, because the points each of these tunes make fit together to be a recipe for a more peaceful and caring world. As Michael correctly points out, the problems of this Earth will not be solvable unless we come together to resolve them. No amount of money will ever "fix" the social ills of our planet. Guess we'd better unleash the love.
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