Mike Love has been the primary lead singer and frontman with
the Beach Boys since the group was founded in 1961. Despite his lasting success with the group -- or perhaps because of it --
Love has never expressed much interest in a solo career; he cut a solo album in 1981, but it was decades later before he gave it another try. 2017's
Unleash the Love is a two-disc set that features a set of new songs written by
Love, as well as 13 new recordings of
Beach Boys classics. Featuring guest appearances from
Dave Koz, John Stamos,
Mark McGrath, and John Cowsill,
Unleash the Love finds the singer expressing his concerns about environmental protection and world peace, as well as his more typical themes of life and love. The album also includes "Pisces Brother," in which
Love recalls his experiences studying meditation alongside
George Harrison in 1967. Elsewhere,
Love delivers new versions of some of
the Beach Boys' biggest hits of the '60s, many of which he wrote in tandem with the group's founder,
Brian Wilson. ~ Mark Deming