In a 1995 radio interview, Wilson referred to his singing on the recording as an "atrocious" performance. He said, "I'm embarrassed. Totally embarrassed. That was a piece of shit. Vocally it was a piece of shit. I was the wrong singer for it in the first place. ... And in the second place, I don't know why I would ever let a record go out like that." A few years later, he added that his vocal "was a little bit limited. It's not my favorite vocal I ever did, but it did have heart." In a 1975 interview, Mike Love voiced appreciation of the song's musical form and content, which he believed went beyond what was normally expected of commercial pop music.