Mike Love ADD

Review

Album Review: Mike Love - Teachers

10/17/2025

by Gardy Stein

After last year’s release of Leaders, the second part of Mike Love‘s intense trilogy is out now: (Where’s all the) Teachers! Asked about its creation, the artist tells us: "It’s really the point in the work where it builds to its peak. It’s been the most intense piece I’ve worked on in my life, and I wanted to release it as a whole, instead of putting out singles first, so that people could just listen and experience it start to finish and draw their own conclusions from it."

That’s exactly what we’ll do, then! Ten pieces are assembled on the album, and only three of them are shorter than five minutes (two of those being interludes), which amounts to a total playing time of almost one hour. The first one, Jahson’s Song, is the longest among them with an impressive 10:10 minutes (the exact length of Children Of The Heart on the previous release!). It starts with a poem for the sons and daughters of this world, wise words as befit a teacher: „cause the things that you do are a reflection of you and the words that you say serve to pave your way cause this live that we live was never ours to give, so remember the gift you were given this day!“ Truth and gratitude are the overarching themes here, beautifully wrapped in a slow, hypnotic beat that turns first nyabinghi and then jubilant chant in the second half, giving ample space for the instruments to unfold. Thus, we hear Reggie Padilla, Eldred Ahlo and Arthur Davis on brass, Sam Gonsalves on drums, Jon Hawes on bass, Mingo Lewis Jr. on congas, Keith Tsukamaki on piano and the great Marcus Urani on organ. Special shoutout to Paula Fuga and Keilana Mokulehua on the angelic backing vocals, and to Mike, of course, for those touching lyrics. „Can’t you see you were born true perfection?“  

On a slightly faster pace, You Oughta Know Better is next, filling our ears with that special, unique Love vibe, complete with sing-along harmonies, surprising breaks and interesting chord shifts. The last notes of the song transport us into the next one, Just As You Are (these transitions are another special characteristic of the album – it really does make sense to listen to is “as a whole”!). Less reggae, it’s more on the jazzy side of things, playing with tempi and arrangements and featuring several additional musicians: Ben Powell plays the brilliant violin solo (accompanied by Rachel Saul and Dan Padilla on the same instruments), while Josh Nakazawa adds cello and Duane Padilla viola.  

The interlude brings to our attention the prominent words that form basis and red string of the trilogy (“Where’s all the leaders? Come out of hiding! Where’s all the teachers? We need you now! To all the healers, this is a calling!”), and the subsequent Fire, another musical masterpiece, clearly relates to the cover art, realised by Jackson Tyler Eddy and Daniel Uyemura. While Leaders presented the omnipresent power and threat of the element of water, this one shows Mike in the middle of scorched earth and burning fields.

As soon as the next song starts, I know it’ll be my favourite: The Worst Parts Of You is a beautiful ballad if there ever was one. Expressing everything from pleasure to doubt to pain, it embodies a long-term relationship, with all its ups and downs, celebrating in vivid notes this all-encompassing feeling called love. For people who struggle with or suffer from any mental or even physical ailment, Mike Love brings convincingly across that Music Is The Cure, explicitly mentioning sweet reggae music as his preferred medicine. “Lay your burdens on the floor, dance til you can dance no more!”

The second interlude starts with words of wisdom from several great teachers, and then unites most of the musicians working on the album in an acapella-choir that repeats the full version of the Where’s all the… song. Powerful! Mother Nature’s Tears, then, starts like an opera, with violins and cello and double bass, and when Mike’s expressive voice comes in to talk about the dire situation our planet is in, it really pulls our heartstrings. “When will we wake up?”

Yes, there’s a lot of challenges to face, but many examples of grassroots movements around the world show how positive changes can be made when communities work together. That’s the spirit of the final song, Hope, which closes the album on a positive note. It spreads its uplifting message over a full nine minutes, again giving the music, so central in this oeuvre, time to breathe. Also, it send out blessings to each and everyone contributing to a better tomorrow: “Strength to the farmers growing food without pesticides, strength to the vegans who see the value in every life (…) strength to the politician still fighting for the little guy, strength to the soldiers heeds his conscience and lays down his gun…” At the end of the song, the artist again shares his teachings with us, and I just have to quote him once more because it’s so essential: “No matter what the situation, we always have a choice we can make. So this is my hope for all of us to make this world a little bit better, one small choice at a time. It’s time to wake up, it’s time to remember, so wipe away the makeup and return to the centre. Don’t give up hope, family!”

Recorded by Jim Fox at Prairie Sun Studio, mastered by Joe LaPorta and released under Mike’s own Love Not War Records label, Teachers is the fruit of many bright minds, and it has the potential to speak to each and every one out there. Lend your ears to this exceptional leader, teacher, and healer, and discover those important traits in yourself – our world needs you, enlightened ones, badly!

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