Love You

About

Love You
CD on Amazon.com
Released: 1977, 11 April
Labels: Brother Records / Reprise Records
Average rating: Based on DM and site visitor ratings
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Tracks

Average song rating Let Us Go on This Way (Love) - 2:01 Lyrics
Average song rating Roller Skating Child (Wilson) - 2:18 Lyrics
Average song rating Mona (Spector, Wilson) - 2:08 Lyrics
Average song rating Johnny Carson (Wilson) - 2:49 Lyrics
Average song rating Good Time (Wilson, Jardine) - 2:51 Lyrics
Average song rating Honkin' Down the Highway (Wilson) - 2:52 Lyrics
Average song rating Ding Dang (Byrds, McGuinn) - 0:58 Lyrics
Average song rating Solar System (Wilson) - 2:50 Lyrics
Average song rating The Night Was So Young (Wilson) - 2:19 Lyrics
Average song rating 10  I'll Bet He's Nice (Wilson) - 2:39 Lyrics
Average song rating 11  Let's Put Our Hearts Together (Wilson) - 2:15 Lyrics
Average song rating 12  I Wanna Pick You up (Wilson) - 2:57 Lyrics
Average song rating 13  Airplane (Wilson) - 2:41 Lyrics
Average song rating 14  Love Is a Woman (Wilson) - 3:08 Lyrics
All album lyrics on one page 

Credits

Recorded: Autumn 1976 - January 1977

Mike Love - Vocals
Brian Wilson - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Producer
Carl Wilson - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Mixdown Producer

Steve Desper, Earle Mankey, Stephen Moffitt - Engineers
Lester Cohen, David Leaf, Guy Webster - Photography
Dean Torrence - Design

Reviews

Site visitor reviews
4/10 Bruce Beatlefan (August 29, 2008)
Hardcore Beach Boys fans (particularly Brian Wilson fans) are very shrill in their praise for the 1977 album Love You. They are quick to point out (truthfully) that this is the last album in which Brian Wilson had full control to exercise his genius with the Beach Boys, writing, arranging, and producing the songs. They further point out (truthfully) that some of the songs contain the same vocal and orchestral creativity that is uniquely Brian Wilson's. Finally, they point out (unfortunately truthfully) that the song ideas in Brian's head cannot be reproduced anywhere else. These truths cannot hide the fact that there are simply too few good songs and way too many embarrassing and bizarre songs to recommend Love You to anyone but the Beach Boys fan who probably already has it.

Hardcore Beach Boys fans tend to be very protective of Brian Wilson...in fact downright parental. That feeling was particularly appropriate at this stage of Brian Wilson's life, when his mental stability was at a very low ebb and he was, frankly, thinking and behaving very much like a child. Love You was his offering from this period, very much like the drawing of a bright four-year-old which the parent lovingly attaches to the refigerator door, overlooking the fact that the trees are shaped like lollipops and the people's legs are attached to their heads. But only a deluded parent would contend that the picture is worthy of being compared to the paintings of Rockwell or Rembrandt--and that is where I separate myself from my fellow Beach Boys fans.

There are some legitimately enjoyable, well-written songs in Love You. I like "Let Us Go On This Way", "Good Time", "Ding Dang", "I'll Bet He's Nice", "Let's Put Our Hearts Together", and "Love is a Woman". There are those smiley moments which are treasured as uniquely Brian Wilson vignettes, like "Roller Skating Child" (well oh my oh gosh oh gee), "Mona" (I know you're gonna love Phil Spector), "Honkin' Down the (gosh-darn) Highway", and "Ding Dang". But even the very best track (which is "The Night Was So Young") cannot hold a candle to Brian's finer work from days past (and it doesn't have to be "Good Vibrations", it could be "This Whole World" or "Spirit of America" or "I'm So Glad"). And in considering these mildly good tracks, it would be wrong to ignore songs which are among the most awful/weird/disturbing that I've ever heard: "Johnny Carson", "Solar System", "I Wanna Pick You Up".

There are many criteria for determining a great album or a poor album. The primary criteria that I use is that a good album has a lot of very good songs. For honesty and creativity and quirkiness Love You passes the mark, I grant. But Love You is a long long way from being a great album. Or even a good album.

If you know this album you can review it.