Mike Love is releasing a double album called Unleash the Love on November 17.
A double album! From Mike Love!? THEE MIKE LOVE!?! Of The Beach Boys!? Wow! Shit! Really?
But what the hell else is he supposed to do at this point in his career? Surely you don’t expect him to just rest on his laurels and endlessly tour the state fair/casino circuit, trading on the renewable goodwill of his old band’s back-catalog?
Fuck no! Mike Love is not a legacy act. Mike Love remains hungry. Mike Love still has something to prove. Mike Love is a Restless Artist — capital R, capital A. The creative spirit compels him to release a 25-track double album featuring John Stamos on drums on one song.
Besides, The Beach Boys are one of the few major Boomer Rock legacy acts that never made a big, messy, flawed masterpiece-type double album. Even Smile was intended to be culled to fit on a single slab of vinyl during its aborted recording sessions (per Wikipedia). So fuck you; at the age of 76, Love is finally crossing that Rubicon. WHO ARE YOU to stand in his way?
And, in a way, he will be bringing his erstwhile bandmates (both deceased and fired) with him: while the first disc of this behemoth will consist of a fresh new batch of soon-to-be-classic, Mike Love-penned songs, the second will feature Artistically Necessary (captial A, Capital N) re-recordings of 11 Beach Boys classics (and “Fun, Fun, Fun,” which is garbage). Mike Love is also continuing to play a shitload of tour dates every year with the current iteration of The Beach Boys. Check out their itinerary for the rest of 2017 and 2018 below, along with Unleash the Love’s tracklist, and its first single, “Do It Again,” featuring…Mark McGrath…and…John Stamos.
Unleash the Love tracklisting:
Disc One:
01. All the Love in Paris featuring Dave Koz on Saxophone
02. Getcha Back featuring John Stamos on Drums
03. Daybreak Over the Ocean
04. I Don’t Wanna Know
05. Too Cruel
06. Crescent Moon
07. Cool Head, Warm Heart
08. Pisces Brothers
09. Unleash The Love
10. Ram Raj
11. 10,000 Years Ago (featuring John Stamos on Drums)
12. Only One Earth
13. Make Love Not War
Disc Two:
01. California Girls
02. Do It Again (featuring Mark McGrath and John Stamos)
03. Help Me Rhonda
04. I Get Around
05. Warmth of the Sun (featuring Ambha Love)
06. Brian’s Back
07. Kiss Me Baby
08. Darlin’ featuring AJR
09. Wild Honey (featuring John Cowsill)
10. Wouldn’t It Be Nice
11. Good Vibrations
12. Fun Fun Fun
The Beach Boys 2017 Tour Dates:
10.06.17 – Biloxi, MS - Beau Rivage Mgm Resort & Casino, Inc.
10.07.17 – Biloxi, MS - Beau Rivage Mgm Resort & Casino, Inc.
10.10.17 –Dallas, TX - Majestic Theatre (Dallas)
10.11.17 – San Antonio, TX - Majestic Theatre (San Antonio)
10.13.17 – College Station, TX - Rudder Auditorium, College Station
10.14.17 – Lake Charles, LA - Golden Nugget Lake Charles
10.15.17 – Galveston Island, TX - The Grand 1894 Opera House
10.21.17 – Norman, OK - Riverwind Casino
10.22.17 – Kansas City, MO - The Midland - Kansas City
10.23.17 – Columbia, MO – Jesse Auditorium
10.24.17 – Normal, IL – Braden Auditorium
10.25.17 – Benton Harbor, MI – Mendel Center
10.26.17 – Tiffin, OH – Ritz Theatre - Ohio
10.27.17 – Akron, OH – Akron Civic Theatre
10.28.17 – Cincinnati, OH – Aronoff Center For The Arts
10.29.17 – Paducah, KY – Carson Center
10.30.17 – Richmond, KY – EKU Center For The Arts
11.02.17 – Memphis, TN – Orpheum Theatre - Memphis
11.03.17 – Chattanooga, TN – Tivoli Theatre
11.04.17 – Birmingham, AL – Alabama Theatre
11.05.17 – SAVANNAH, GA – Johnny Mercer Theatre
11.08.17 – Malt Shop Memories Cruise
11.08.17 – Malt Shop Memories Cruise
11.14.17 – Schenectady, NY – Proctors
11.15.17 – Morristown, NJ – Mayo Performing Arts Center
11.16.17 – Indiana, PA – Indiana University Of Pennsylvania - Kovalchick Convention Center
11.17.17 – Hagerstown, MD – Maryland Theatre
11.18.17 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Hall For The Performing Arts
11.19.17 – North Tonawanda, NY – Riviera Theatre
12.01.17 – Hiawassee, GA – Anderson Music Hall
The Beach Boys 2018 tour dates:
02.10.18 – Orlando, FL – Universal Studios
02.11.18 – Coral Springs, FL – Coral Springs Center for The Arts
02.13 .18 – Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd Hall
02.14.18 – Sarasota, FL – Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
02.15.18 – Fort Pierce, FL – Sunrise Theatre
02.16.18 – West Palm Beach, FL – Kravis Center
02.18.18 – Naples, FL – Hayes Hall, Naples Museum of Art
02.28.18 – Modesto, CA – Gallo Center for the Arts
03.01.18 – Visalia, CA – The Fox Theatre
03.03.18 – Thousand Oaks, CA – Fred Kavil Theatre
03.04.18 – Palm Desert, CA – McCallum Theatre
03.17.18 – Westbury, NY – Theatre at Westbury
03.18.18 – Kingston, NY – Ulster Performing Arts Center
03.21.18 – Red Bank, NJ – Count Basie Theatre
03.22.18 – Shippensburg, PA – Luhrs Center
03.23.18 – Reading, PA – Santander Performing Arts Center
03.24.18 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – F.M. Kirby Center
05.09.18 – Youngstown, OH – Powers Auditorium
05.10.18 – Wabash, IN – Honeywell Center
05.11.18 – Holland, MI – Tulip Time Festival
05.12.18 – Columbus, OH – CAPA
05.13.18 – Louisville, KY – The Kentucky Center for the Arts
06.01.18 – Omaha, NE – Holland PAC
06.02.18 – Omaha, NE – Holland PAC
06.03.18 – Omaha, NE – Holland PAC
06.05.18 – Grand Forks, ND – Chester Fritz Auditorium
06.06.18 – Sioux Falls, SD – Washington Pavilion
06.07.18 – Lacrosse, WI – Lacrosse Center
06.08.18 – Wausau, WI – Grand Theater
06.09.18 – Fish Creek, WI – Door Community Auditorium
08.22.18 – St. Paul, MN – Ordway Center for The Performing Arts