Music / M.I.U. Album

Cover designed by Dean Torrance (from the 60s duo Jan and Dean). This would be his last collaboration with The Beach Boys.

Winds of change blow 'round my door

Is this the year I've been waiting for?

— Winds Of Change

M.I.U. Album (Maharishi International University) is the twenty-second album by The Beach Boys. Released in 1977, it was recorded in the meditation center it is named after, although some of the material was previously recorded on previous album sessions.

Before this album's release, the band originally planned two albums: First, Adult Child, another Brian Wilson solo album with little involvement from the other Beach Boys (in the same vein as Music/The Beach Boys Love You) which was ultimately cancelled after Brian's entourage thought it had no commercial viability at all (notably his cousin Mike Love who bluntly told him "What the fuck are you doing?"). After this, the band attempted to make a christmas album (simply titled Merry Christmas from The Beach Boys) but after their label Reprise Records requested an original studio album, it was also cancelled. However, some of the recorded songs were reworked (read un-Christmasified) which leads us to M.I.U. Album serving as some sort of compromise between those two previous cancelled albums, as well as the last album the Beach Boys made for Reprise Records. The album's original title was "California Feelin'" in reference to a song Brian recorded in 1974 (and would remain unreleased until 2013).

Recording the album at the Maharishi International University (located in Fairfield, Iowa) was suggested by Mike Love who was deep into transcendental meditation ever since he met the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi back in 1968. Mike and Al Jardine had way more influence on the album and Brian was demoted to the role of executive producer. Wilson brothers Carl and Dennis had very little involvement into the album's recording (especially Dennis who would consider this album an Old Shame) and Brian's mental health started to deteriorate since his psychiatrist Eugene Landy was fired two years ago. Some parts of the recording sessions were filmed for a making-of documentary called Our Team. You can watch an edited version of it here.

Released with little to no promotion, the album charted at the 151st spot and received the lowest critical reception a Beach Boys album could get up to that point.

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Tracklist:

Side One

1. "She's Got Rhythm" (2:27)
2. "Come Go With Me" (2:06)
3. "Hey, Little Tomboy" (2:25)
4. "Kona Coast" (2:33)
5. "Peggy Sue" (2:15)
6. "Wontcha Come Out Tonight'' (2:30)

Side Two

1. "Sweet Sunday Kinda Love" (2:42)
2. "Belles Of Paris" (2:27)
3. "Pitter Patter" (3:14)
4. "My Diane" (2:37)
5. "Matchpoint Of Our Love" (3:29)
6. "Winds Of Change" (3:14)

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Principal Members:

• Al Jardine - lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar, vocal arrangements
• Mike Love - lead vocals
• Brian Wilson - lead vocals, piano, electric piano, vocal and horn arrangements
• Carl Wilson - lead vocals, guitar
• Dennis Wilson - lead vocals, drums

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It looks like tropes and it's been comin' on for hours:

• Break Up Song: My Diane.
  Now that I have lost my Diane
  There's no plan as to where to go
  It was hard to lose my Diane
  Now I just miss her so
• Chickification: Hey, Little Tomboy's narrator wishes to see a tomboy put away her skateboards and baseball mitts in order to become a conventional girl.
• Christmas Songs: Averted. This album was originally a christmas album which contained various songs recorded between 1970 and 1976. The project was cancelled but some of the songs were re-written with any mention of christmas removed.
• Cover Version: The Del-Vikings' Come Go With Me and Buddy Holly's Peggy Sue.
• Dance of Romance: She's Got Rhythm.
• Fade Out: Besides Kona Coast, Peggy Sue and Winds Of Change, all songs on this album end with a fade-out.
• Finishing Each Other's Sentences: Pitter Patter:
  Al:And like the rising tides...
  Mike:...Love is growing stronger
  Al: Let's ride out the storm...
  Mike:...Just a little bit longer, yeah
• Gay Paree: Belles Of Paris.
• Instant Thunder: An alternate version of Pitter Patter features lightning during the intro.
• Location Song: Kona Coast and Belles Of Paris.
• Lyrical Cold Open: Come Go With Me, Pitter Patter and Matchpoint Of Our Love
• Lyrical Dissonance: Hey Little Tomboy undeniably has a catchy chorus. The lyrics however...
• Meaningful Name: the Maharishi International University is the meditation center where the album was recorded.
• Mundane Made Awesome: Pitter Patter is one of the coolest songs you could write about rain.
• Mythology Gag: "Kona Coast" samples the song "Hawaii".
• Non-Indicative Name: The album was recorded in a meditation center (and is named after said meditation center) but not a single song mentions meditation.
• One-Woman Song: My Diane which is named after Marilyn Rovell's sister who was also Brian's supposed mistress (Brian and Marilyn would divorce the year following the album's release).
  • Peggy Sue
• Scatting: "Matchpoint Of Our Love" ends with "da da da, da da, da, da, da da, da..."
• Shout-Out: To the Beach Boys themselves! The second half of "Kona Coast" samples the song "Hawaii" (originally recorded in 1963 for Surfer Girl).
• Silly Love Songs: Sweet Sunday Kinda Love and Matchpoint Of Our Love
• Straw Nihilist: My Diane's narrator:
  Everything is old and nothing is new
  (...)
  Everything is wrong and nothing is right
• Tomboy: Hey Little Tomboy altough the song's theme is about turning a tomboy into a girl
• Vacation Episode:
• Vocal Tag Team: Mike and Al pair up on Kona Coast and Pitter Patter while Brian and Mike both sing lead vocals on She's Got Rhythm and Wontcha Come Out Tonight.