'I look forward to performing': Mike Love takes the reins as the Beach Boys split again

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The good vibrations, apparently, are coming to an end. The Beach Boys will not continue with original members Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks after their final scheduled reunion concerts in London this month.

A new statement concerning future dates only mentions Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, who had been touring together for the last 14 years as the Beach Boys. The rest of the surviving members of the group had joined them in advance of a smash 50th anniversary tour, recording a well-received 2012 studio effort called That’s Why God Made the Radio.

[SOMETHING ELSE! REWIND: The Beach Boys have seen their share of career lows — from Mike Love’s pervy come-ons, to attempts at rap, to (yes) disco mixes. And that’s not even the worst of it.]

More recently, Wilson, the group’s creative mastermind, had been quoted in Rolling Stone as saying he hoped to go on touring with this reunited lineup “indefinitely.” But he’s since revealed a lingering back problem that required surgery.

The official communication from the Beach Boys says their reunion tour had been designed from the beginning to have a definitive end point — “to mark a special 50-year milestone for the band.”

Pollstar has only one future concert appointment for the stripped-down version of the group thus far — October 5, 2012, in Waco, Texas. Love and Johnston will be joined by Randell Kirsch, Tim Bonhomme, John Cowsill, Scott Totten and Love’s son Christian on tour.

“As we move on,” Love is quoted as saying in the new release, “Bruce and I look forward to performing live for Beach Boys fans everywhere.”

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Here’s a look back at our recent thoughts on the Beach Boys. Click through the titles for complete reviews …

BEACH BOYS – THAT’S WHY GOD MADE THE RADIO (2012): Who would have guessed, after decades of awful public squabbling, that the battling Beach Boys would return at all — must less in perfect harmony? The first new album in forever to feature founders Al Jardine, Mike Love and Brian Wilson, along with legacy members David Marks and Bruce Johnston, is highlighted by stirring finale suite of songs, very much in the style and substance of Pet Sounds and SMiLE. If some — or, maybe all – of it feels steeps on sun-drenched nostalgia, well, that’s also part of the magic of their return. After all, Wilson was waxing poetic about things like transistor radios, beach bunnies and hot rods back when they were all shiny and brand new.

‘FIFTY SIDES’ SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON BEACH BOYS LEGEND: Coinciding with this rewarding recording from founding or former bandmates Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks, and coming close to doing full justice — your subjectivity may vary too, after all — journalist Mark Dillon has engineered, in what must of been a labor of love, a page-turning heaven in Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys: The Songs That Tell Their Story. Garnering more than four dozen hits and hidden gems and infusing them with exclusive commentary by an array of collaborators, fellow musicians, and famous fans (from Al Kooper to Zooey Deschanel, the simplicity of “Surfin’” to the artistry of “Surf’s Up”) this treasure trove runs the golden anniversary gamut from giddy fun, fun, fun to a sense of misty melancholy — signature sounds still of the once-troubled but reemergent guiding light Brian Wilson.

THE BEACH BOYS – THE SMILE SESSIONS (2011): Wilson’s long-awaited mythical masterpiece was issued in expanded form as The SMiLE Sessions, nearly 45 years after its conception. Be warned, though: While the original album has been referred to as the Beach Boys’ Holy Grail, this massive collection of studio recordings will probably be more well received by musicians and the serious music fan. Novice passersby need not apply. That said, despite the newly recorded version of this project released by Wilson in 2004, no one could have expected what depth and quality Sessions would bring to the table.

SOMETHING ELSE! FEATURED ARTIST: THE BEACH BOYS: As the Beach Boys prepared to celebrate their 50th anniversary with the 2011 release of The SMiLE Sessions, an updated version of the 1968 track “Do It Again” and a proposed world tour, we took a look back at some fun, fun, fun old favorites — including tracks from Surfer Girl, Pet Sounds, Holland, Smiley Smile and Sunflower.

Something Else!