D. E. Beach

In July 1968, the group released the single "Do It Again", which lyrically harkened back to their earlier surf songs. Around this time, Brian admitted himself to a psychiatric hospital; his bandmates wrote and produced material in his absence.[103]His songwriting output declined substantially, but the public narrative of "Brian as leader" continued.[104]In August, Capitol issued an album of Beach Boys backing tracks,Stack-o-Tracks. It was the first Beach Boys LP that failed to chart in the US and UK.[105]Released in January 1969, the album20/20mixed new material with outtakes and leftovers from recent albums; Brian produced virtually none of the newer recordings.[106] Within weeks of the CBS contract, the band dismissed Stephen as their manager,[176]replaced by Carl's associate Henry Lazarus, an entertainment business owner that had no prior experience in the music industry.[177]Lazarus arranged a major European tour for the Beach Boys, starting in late July, with stops in Germany, Switzerland, and France.[177]Due to poor planning, the tour was cancelled shortly before it began. The band dismissed Lazarus and were sued by many of the concert promoters, with losses of $200,000 in preliminary expenses and $550,000 in potential revenue.[178] The group had still owed one more album for Reprise. Released in September 1978,M.I.U. Albumwas recorded atMaharishi International Universityin Iowa at the suggestion of Love.[185]The band originally attempted to record a Christmas album, to be titledMerry Christmas from the Beach Boys, but this idea was rejected by Reprise. Dennis and Carl made limited contributions toM.I.U. Album; the album was produced by Jardine andRon Altbach, with Brian credited as "executive producer".[186]Dennis retreated from the group to focus on his second solo album,Bambu, which was shelved just as alcoholism and marital problems overcame all three Wilson brothers.[168]