Beach Boys to Release Lost 1977 LP ‘Adult/Child’ on Upcoming Box Set

To an outspoken contingent of Beach Boys aficionados, the group’s last golden era as a recording unit took place between 1976 and 1977 when Brian Wilson returned to active duty following years of mental health struggles. During this brief window of time, Wilson oversaw the creation of their oddball LP album The Beach Boys Love You, along with Adult/Child – a supremely idiosyncratic effort that was ultimately shelved – before once again retreating. 

Adult/Child took on a mythical role in Beach Boys lore over the past 50 years, second only to Smile, and it’s finally coming out February 13 as part of a six-disc, 73-track box set entitled We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years. It also features a remastered version of The Beach Boys Love You, along with numerous Love You outtakes and demos, and tracks discarded from the sessions for 1976’s 15 Big Ones. There are 73 songs on the box, and 35 of them have not previously been released. 

Right now, you can hear “We Gotta Grove” from the 1976 Love You sessions. It features Mike Love on lead vocals, guitar work by longtime Beach Boys touring band member Billy Hinsche, and Brian Wilson on vocals and all other instrumentation. 

The box set was co-produced by producer/mixing engineer James Sáez and Beach Boys historian Howie Edelson. It comes with a 40-page booklet featuring new and archival interviews with members of the Beach Boys and the Brother Studio engineer team of Stephen Moffitt, Earle Mankey, and John Hanlon.

Last year, founding Beach Boys member Al Jardine and veteran members of Brian Wilson’s touring band launched a special tour that features a near-complete performance of The Beach Boys Love You every night. In a 2025 interview with Rolling Stone, Jardine explained that his role in the creation of the album was pretty minimal. “Carl Wilson was guiding Brian through the process of making the record,” he said. “And you’ll hear a lot of Dennis [Wilson] on there. Mike [Love] and I came in and basically filled in the harmonies on the backgrounds. That was about it.”

On Adult/Child, Wilson teamed up with orchestral arranger Dick Reynolds to create a wild mix of fitness jingles, big-band numbers, and painfully personal confessions like “Still I Dream of It” and “It’s Over Now.” After the commercial failure of The Beach Boys Love You, the band decided to shelve Adult/Child and instead start work on their underwhelming 1978 LP M.I.U Album. But the Adult/Child sessions leaked out and became a cherished bootleg in fan circles.

This era of the Beach Boys is completely ignored by Love’s touring incarnation of the band, but Jardine has a series of shows booked this year where he’ll again spotlight The Beach Boys Love You. It kicks off February 21 at the South Shore Room at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada. It continues with shows in Jacksonville, Florida, Clearwater, Florida, Sarasota, Florida, and Collingswood, New Jersey, before heading to Australia in June. 

The track listing for We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years:

Disc 1 — The Beach Boys Love You Album (1977 Mix)
LP1 Side 1

LP1 Side 2

Love You Outtakes (CD Only)

Disc 2 — Adult/Child Sessions

LP2 Side 1

LP2 Side 2

1974 – 1977 Select Outtakes (CD Only)

Disc 3 — 15 Big Ones Outtakes and Alternate Mixes

LP3 Side 1

LP3 Side 2

Love You Alternate Mixes (CD Only)

Love You Brian Cassette Demos (CD Only)