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. ( )

"For those who believe that Brian walks on water," Mike Love states here, "I will always be the Antichrist." I'm not sure why there are so many Mike Love haters out there; maybe it's because people love the idea of Brian Wilson as the tortured genius and Love as the mooch. (Actually, I guess that is why.) This is one of those books that has the expected arc of every celebrity story or episode of VH1's Behind the Music. I had read I Am Brian Wilson before this, and Love goes into detail where Wilson does not: the stories of the legal wranglings were news to me. And while I knew vague details about the Dennis Wilson / Charles Manson connection, I learned the whole story (or at least Love's version) here, in the book's most compelling chapter.

The ghostwriter, James S. Hirsch, does a very good job of keeping the story moving. There are a few moments where I feared that Love would begin preaching about his TM and enlightenment, but he generally holds back. A few of his political asides recalled the great Homer Simpson question: "Rock stars--is there anything they don't know?" I also cringed during the brief forays into spirituality and raised consciousness, etc.

But any rock and roll memoir over 400 pages had better be good, and this one is, in a voyeuristic sense. (Seriously, why else would anyone read it other than to learn the dirt about the band?) And who could hold a grudge against someone who has given so much enjoyment to so many people? This ain't Henry James, but it's good for what it is--probably a little better. ( )

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. ( )

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! ( )

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. ( )