M.I.U. Album

M.I.U. Album
Studio album by The Beach Boys
Released	October 2, 1978
Recorded	Autumn 1977 and Spring 1978 except "Hey Little Tomboy" (1974) and "My Diane" (1976)
Genre	Rock
Length	32:19
Label	Brother/Reprise
Producer	Al Jardine Ron Altbach
The Beach Boys chronology
Love You (1977) M.I.U. Album (1978) L.A. (Light Album) (1979)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(C) [2]

M.I.U. Album is the 22nd studio album by The Beach Boys, released in 1978. Recorded at a fraught time for the band, only Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Brian Wilson appear throughout the album. Carl and Dennis Wilson are audible on only a few of the songs.

After the release of Love You, The Beach Boys fell into dispute over the direction of the band, and were close to breaking up. Brian Wilson began regressing back into drug use and mental illness. Dennis was readying his debut solo album, Pacific Ocean Blue. Intended as a follow-up to Love You, sessions and mixing for a new album called Adult/Child were completed by The Beach Boys with Brian Wilson as producer. Subsequently, the album was ultimately rejected by Reprise Records for not being commercially viable. Some of its tracks would reappear on later releases.

Dennis was largely unavailable for the new project, of which he and brother Carl were not in favor. The idea, by staunch Transcendental Meditation follower Mike Love, was to record another new album—initially intended as a Christmas release—at the Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa, (hence the 'M.I.U.' title). Consequently, when it was time to record the album in September 1977, only Love, Jardine and the eldest Wilson showed up.

The original intention was for Brian Wilson to produce the album, but it soon became clear he was either unable or unwilling to function in that role. The production credit on the album was given to Al Jardine and songwriting partner Ron Altbach, with Brian billed as "executive producer", though the exact nature of this role was never clarified. The provisionally titled Merry Christmas from the Beach Boys was rejected by the record company, which demanded the band submit a regular studio album instead. New lyrics were overdubbed on to some of the original Christmas tracks the following spring, which, together with quickly penned new material, formed the basis of the M.I.U. Album, the band's last for Reprise Records before embarking on their CBS Records (now Sony Music) contract.

When asked about M.I.U. Album in the British press, Dennis Wilson said that he "[doesn't] believe in that album" and that it was "an embarrassment to [his] life. It should self-destruct.. I hope that the karma will fuck up Mike Love’s meditation forever." Music critic Nick Kent called the album "dreadful". He said that its "pitiful content" were ignored by critics.^[3]

Although the album peaked at only #151 in the US and became their first since 1964 to miss the UK chart completely, "Come Go With Me" would become a top 20 hit in late 1981 when it was released as a single from the Ten Years of Harmony compilation.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"She's Got Rhythm"	Brian Wilson/Mike Love/Ron Altbach	B. Wilson/Love	2:27
2.	"Come Go with Me"	C.E. Quick	Al Jardine	2:06
3.	"Hey Little Tomboy"	B. Wilson	Love/B. Wilson/Carl Wilson	2:25
4.	"Kona Coast"	Al Jardine/Love	Love/Jardine/B. Wilson	2:33
5.	"Peggy Sue"	Buddy Holly/Jerry Allison/Norman Petty	Jardine	2:15
6.	"Wontcha Come Out Tonight"	B. Wilson/Love	B. Wilson/Love	2:30

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead Vocals	Length
1.	"Sweet Sunday Kinda Love"	B. Wilson/Love	C. Wilson	2:42
2.	"Belles of Paris"	B. Wilson/Love/Altbach	Love	2:27
3.	"Pitter Patter"	B. Wilson/Love/Jardine	Love/Jardine	3:14
4.	"My Diane"	B. Wilson	Dennis Wilson/B. Wilson	2:37
5.	"Match Point of Our Love"	B. Wilson/Love	B. Wilson	3:29
6.	"Winds of Change"	Altbach/Ed Tuleja	Jardine/Love	3:14

Singles

• "Peggy Sue" b/w "Hey Little Tomboy" (Brother 1394), 28 August 1978 US #59
• "Come Go with Me" b/w "Don't Go Near the Water" (from Surf's Up) (Brother/Caribou ZS4 02633), 2 November 1981 US #18

M.I.U. Album (Brother/Reprise MSK 2268) reached #151 in the U.S. during a chart stay of four weeks.

M.I.U. Album is now paired on CD with L.A. (Light Album).

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1456
2. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: beach boys". 
3. ^ Gaines, Steven S. (1995-08-21). Heroes and villains: the true story of the Beach Boys. Basic Books. p. 305. ISBN 9780306806476. 

Sources

• M.I.U. Album/L.A. (Light Album) CD booklet notes, Jeff Tamarkin, c.2000.
• "The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the Southern California Experience", Timothy White, c. 1994.
• "Wouldn't It Be Nice — My Own Story", Brian Wilson and Todd Gold, c. 1991.
• "Top Pop Singles 1955–2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
• "Top Pop Albums 1955–2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
• Allmusic.com