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    Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy
    Unavailable
    Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy
    Unavailable
    Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy
    Audiobook15 hours

    Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy

    Written by James S. Hirsch

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Mike Love tells the story of his legendary, raucous, and ultimately triumphant five-decade career as the front man of The Beach Boys, the most popular American band in history -- timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of "Good Vibrations."

    As a founding member of The Beach Boys, Mike Love has spent an extraordinary fifty-five years, and counting, as the group's lead singer and one of its principal lyricists. The Beach Boys, from their California roots to their international fame, are a unique American story -- one of overnight success and age-defying longevity; of musical genius and reckless self-destruction; of spirituality, betrayal, and forgiveness -- and Love is the only band member to be part of it each and every step. His own story has never been fully told, of how a sheet-metal apprentice became the quintessential front man for America's most successful rock band, singing in more than 5,600 concerts in 26 countries.

    Love describes the stories behind his lyrics for pop classics such as "Good Vibrations," "California Girls," "Surfin' USA," and "Kokomo," while providing vivid portraits of the turbulent lives of his three gifted cousins, Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson. His partnership with Brian has few equals in American pop music, though Mike has carved out a legacy of his own -- he co-wrote the lyrics to eleven of the twelve original Beach Boy songs that were top 10 hits while providing the lead vocals on ten of them. The band's unprecedented durability also provides a glimpse into America's changing cultural mores over the past half century, while Love himself has experienced both the diabolical and the divine -- from Charles Manson's "family" threatening his life to Maharishi instilling it with peace. A husband, a father, and an avid environmentalist, Love has written a book that is as rich and layered as the Beach Boy harmonies themselves.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 13, 2016
    ISBN9780735288836
    Unavailable
    Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy
    Author

    James S. Hirsch

    James Hirsch is a writer who has worked on the ‘New York Times’ and the ‘Wall Street Journal’.

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    Reviews for Good Vibrations

    4/5

    15 ratings4 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Before I fell in love with the Beatles, I remember listening to the Beach Boys and have been a fan since their first record hit the radio airwaves in the early 1960s. I remember when they were cool, then when they were not, and finally, when they were designated “America’s Band”. Although I know and love their music and recall some of their headlines like the connection to the Manson family and Brian Wilson’s struggles with drugs and mental health issues, I really didn’t know very much about what make this band tick.I decided to listen to a recording of Good Vibrations, written and read by Mike Love, one of the original Beach Boys and a family member. This book gives the reader an understanding of the family dynamics and how the group got it’s start. I didn’t realize that in later years, they have imploded and suits and counter-suits are flying about. It is a shame that this group of three brothers, a cousin, and a friend couldn’t find the harmony in real life that they so easily achieved in their music.I found Good Vibrations a mixed read with some of it very interesting and some it straight out boring. This is Mike Love’s version so I take it all with a grain of salt but the basics about the dysfunction of the group with the fights over creative rights, personal betrayals, the stress of having to constantly get the next album out, and the grind of touring felt honest and real. I don’t really care to investigate any further into what broke the Beach Boys, but I still love their music.
    • 3/5
      My opinion of this book is biased by my admiration of Brian Wilson, I admit that. Still, Love's story did nothing to convince me that my view of him as a pompous blowhard is wrong.

      "For those who believe that Brian walks on water, I will always be the Antichrist." Not quite, Mike. Drama queen? Perhaps more likely than Antichrist.
    • 5/5
      Some of the technical details could have been left out of this rather lengthy read, although, I enjoyed reading the book. I have always been a fan of The Beach Boys music. It was a shame that many members of the band got into drug and alcohol abuse. The band had many barriers to overcome during their rise to fame. Their music reflected such fun, relaxing times, too bad they had so many problems to solve along the way. I have been to some of their live performances at our local Walworth County (Wisconsin) Fair. They were amazing and enjoyed by all! Thanks, Brian Wilson and Mike Love for all the fantastic music!
    • 4/5
      The Beach Boys' lead vocalist Mike Love burnishes his legacy and settles some old scores in this lengthy, somewhat self-aggrandizing autobiography. Love is a controversial figure in Beach Boys fandom. Some credit him with keeping the band's music in the public consciousness through his constant touring under the Beach Boys name (which he owns); others find his corny stage patter cringe-inducing. Some band associates (writer David Leaf and "hipster" David Anderle are called out by name) have perpetrated the idea that the brilliant but mentally fragile Brian Wilson represented the experimental "Art" aspect of the Beach Boys' ethos, while Mike Love was the crass "Commerce" side of the equation. Love wants his readers to know that the situation was never that simple. He worked hard on the lyrics to "California Girls" and other hits, and, contrary to legend, he never told his cousin not to "f**k with the [surf and car song] formula."Love emphasizes his spiritual qualities, but he does admit to having a few faults. He was an unfaithful husband to his first several wives and a neglectful father to his many children. But he gives scant attention to the more sordid aspects of his legacy, such as his embarrassing speech at the Beach Boys' 1988 Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction and his rejection of his putative daughter Shawn Love, who as a teenager married a strung-out Dennis Wilson.If you enjoy rock-star biographies, you will find a worthy example of the genre.Please note that I received an electronic copy of this book to review from NetGalley, but I was not financially compensated in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my observations while reading this book.