Smile

I personally can't wait to get hold of Smile seeing as Smiley Smile is probably my favourite album of the sixties... It pisses on Pet Sounds and if it had been made in the way Brian Wilson had wanted I'm positive it would have kicked Sgt. Pepper to the ground. Maybe an odd choice, but i'm serious.

as it is it probably would have been wonderful, but people would still be sniping about how song cycle was better...

'Look' off 'Smile' sounds like the Mr Benn theme tune but is none the worse for it.

smile (at the above link): ***** Smiley Smile: ****1/2 (it was five till i heard the original) Wild Honey: ***1/2 Friends: ***1/2 20/20: ** Sunflower: **** Surf's Up: ****

I should mention, the single "Cabinessence / Wonderful" is available.

It's an insert in the "Mojo 60's" special.

Yes, actual Smile recordings, on a 7" single on the Capitol/Brother label.

(only, the mag is kinda dull and my copy of the single has the a-side pressed off-centre although the b-side is alright) (and, it's £9.99)

do they say when the alleged smile sessions box set is coming out? haven't heard a release date.

I havent seen anything in it as yet.

do the single versions differ at all from the versions on the Good Vibrations box set?

As far as I can remember, they are the same.

I've had 3LPs, 2CDs, single CDs and the rest of the Smile sessions, I doubt I could isolate them from memory, but I think so.

Looking for the same demo as Nathalie linked to years ago (second post on this thread) but I can't find it. Can anyone help?

what was it linking to? just a smile bootleg collection?

Yeah. I'm sure it was the Purple Chick version, but when I checked that one, it was ever so slightly different to the one I used to listen to.

there's a load of them at grooveshark so you could try and work it out from there

i had kind of a deep moment with the purple chick boot on my headphones very late last night, stoned on a beach on the opposite side of the pacific ocean

Here's the official tracklisting and all ...

Hollywood, California – August 30, 2011 – With the full participation of original Beach Boys Al Jardine, Mike Love, and Brian Wilson, Capitol/EMI has, for the first time, collected and compiled the band’s legendary 1966-’67 sessions for the never-completed SMiLE album. Today, Capitol/EMI and The Beach Boys are pleased to announce uk release date of October 31st as the release date for the long-awaited arrival of The SMiLE Sessions in multiple physical and digital configurations. Artwork and complete tracklists are also unveiled for the first time today for what Rolling Stone magazine recently called “the most famous unfinished album in rock & roll history.”

In numerous sessions between the spring of 1966 and the summer of 1967, The Beach Boys recorded a bounty of songs and drafts for an album, SMiLE, that was intended to follow the band’s 1966 masterpiece, Pet Sounds. The master tapes were ultimately shelved, and The Beach Boys’ SMiLE has never been released. Drawn from the original masters, The SMiLE Sessions presents an in-depth overview of The Beach Boys' recording sessions for the enigmatic album, which has achieved legendary, mythical status for music fans around the world.

The SMiLE Sessions’ 2CD lift-top box, double vinyl LP, digital album, and iTunes LP formats feature an approximation of what was intended to be the completed SMiLE album, compiled from The Beach Boys’ original session masters. Additional session highlights and bonus tracks are also included, including demos and stereo mixes.

An expanded, boxed edition of The SMiLE Sessions will also be released physically and digitally, featuring the main SMiLE album tracks, plus four CDs of additional audio from the legendary sessions, a double vinyl LP set, and two 7” vinyl singles. The deluxe box will also contain a 60-page hardbound book with rare and previously unseen photos and memorabilia from The Beach Boys’ archive and newly-written essays by Beach Boys Al Jardine, Mike Love, Brian Wilson, and Bruce Johnston, as well as by Beach Boys historian and author Domenic Priore and many other inner-circle participants.

Produced by Brian Wilson, Mark Linett, Alan Boyd and Dennis Wolfe in Los Angeles, all of The SMiLE Sessions’ physical and digital configurations include an assembled collection of core session tracks, while the box set delves much deeper into the sessions, adding early song drafts, alternate takes, instrumental and vocals-only mixes, and studio chatter. The SMiLE Sessions invites the listener into the studio to experience the album's creation, with producer, singer and bassist Brian Wilson's vision leading the way as he guides his fellow Beach Boys, singer Mike Love, drummer Dennis Wilson, lead guitarist Carl Wilson, rhythm guitarist Al Jardine, and newest member Bruce Johnston (who'd replaced Brian Wilson in the touring group during 1965), through the legendary sessions.

Artwork for all of The SMiLE Sessions’ physical and digital configurations has been created with and inspired by Beat-Pop artist Frank Holmes’ original 1967 LP sleeve art and booklet designs intended for the SMiLE album. With its three-dimensional shadowbox lid, The SMiLE Sessions box set offers a whimsical peek inside the storied ‘SMiLE Shop.’

Several special SMiLE Sessions packages will be available for purchase exclusively on thebeachboys.com, including:

- The SMiLE Sessions 2CD edition paired with a limited edition SMiLE t-shirt

- The SMiLE Sessions 2CD edition paired with a limited edition autographed lithograph

- The SMiLE Sessions limited edition box set with light-up SMiLE Shop window on lid, autographed

- The SMiLE Sessions limited edition box set with light-up SMiLE Shop window on lid, autographed, paired with a custom-made SMiLE surfboard by Hobie

The Beach Boys are embracing technology and crowdsourcing to produce the first official music videos for "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes And Villains" by partnering with Tongal, the leading creative social platform. In Tongal’s first-ever music video initiative, fans can now collaborate to create the official music videos, as the project begins today (August 30) on Tongal.com, and consists of two phases - a concept phase and a video phase. The concept phase calls for fans to conceptualize the music video for “Heroes and Villains” or “Good Vibrations” in 250 characters or less. In the video phase, Tongal users can select one of the five winning concepts from phase one and produce a music video based on it. The video can be animated or live-action, trippy or classic – it can be whatever the fans want, as long as it’s their own. Cash prizes and special items, including an autographed custom Hobie longboard, will be awarded to Tongal users for the top submissions.

The SMiLE Sessions box set will include details about Operation Smile, an international medical charity organization with a presence in more than 60 countries dedicated to healing children's smiles. Since 1982, Operation Smile - through the help of generous supporters and medical volunteers - has provided free surgeries worldwide for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lips and cleft palates. Every three minutes, a child somewhere in the world is born with a cleft. For more information on how to be involved or donate to Operation Smile, please visit www.operationsmile.org or call 1-888-OPSMILE (888-677-6453).

The best efforts have been taken by The Beach Boys, the producers, and Capitol/EMI to present the SMiLE album sessions’ most vital and fascinating elements. However, there will no doubt be some debate amongst Beach Boys fans around the world who, during the past four decades, have become familiar with a variety of widely-traded bootlegged bits and pieces from the sessions. As recently explained by the Detroit Metro Times, “No album, released or not, has generated a more personal relationship with its audience, since no two people can ever agree on its content and purpose.”

Beginning with “Good Vibrations,” The Beach Boys’ best-selling record in a long string of hits, Brian Wilson had begun to construct songs in a modular form, crafting individual sections that would later be edited together to form a coherent whole. In several intense bursts of creative energy, Wilson, drawing on the talents of the finest studio musicians in Los Angeles and utilizing the best studio facilities available on any given day, laid down dozens of musical fragments, all designed to fit together in any number of possible combinations. No one had done this before in pop music, and his next endeavor would be an album-length version of this unique and luxurious songwriting parlance: SMiLE.

In 1965, Brian Wilson met an up-and-coming session keyboard player and songwriter, Van Dyke Parks. Noticing Parks' conversational eloquence, Wilson felt that he could help to volley The Beach Boys’ songwriting into the wave of broader-messaged and socially-conscious rock 'n' roll that would come to define the '60s. They were soon collaborating on keynote songs for SMiLE, including “Heroes And Villains,” the band’s follow-up single to “Good Vibrations.” Wilson and Parks would also co-write “Surf's Up,” “Vega-Tables,” “Cabin Essence,” “Do You Like Worms,” “Wonderful,” “Wind Chimes,” and other pieces of the SMiLE tapestry. Parks also introduced Frank Holmes to create album sleeve art and a booklet interpreting the album’s James Joyce-mode lyrics.

The reason SMiLE did not see a release in 1967 had more to do with back room business that obscured the creative side of the program than anything else. In late 1966, The Beach Boys formed Brother Records, initially to produce outside artists. Soon, however, The Beach Boys would become embroiled in a court action with Capitol Records with the goal to become the top-selling artists on their self-owned, independent label. The group withheld “Heroes And Villains” and announced they would instead release “Vega-Tables” – recorded with the band’s own money in April of '67 – on Brother Records. By July of 1967, Capitol Records and The Beach Boys had come to terms, with Capitol agreeing to distribute the band’s Brother Records, and it was agreed that SMiLE was no longer to be the band’s next album.

The Beach Boys and Capitol/EMI will celebrate the band’s 50th Anniversary in 2012. Plans for commemorative releases and other anniversary activities will be announced.

“Surf's up, aboard a tidal wave, come about hard and join the young and often spring you gave. I heard the word, wonderful thing... a children's song...”

- from “Surf's Up” (Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks)

The SMiLE Sessions (2CD; Digital; iTunes LP)

CD ONE

SMiLE

1. Our Prayer (1:06)

2. Gee (0:51)

3. Heroes And Villains (4:53)

4. Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock) (3:36)

5. I’m In Great Shape (0:29)

6. Barnyard (0:48)

7. My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine) (1:57)

8. Cabin Essence (3:32)

9. Wonderful (2:04)

10. Look (Song For Children) (2:31)

11. Child Is Father Of The Man (2:14)

12. Surf’s Up (4:12)

13. I Wanna Be Around / Workshop (1:23)

14. Vega-Tables (3:49)

15. Holidays (2:33)

16. Wind Chimes (3:06)

17. The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow) (2:35)

18. Love To Say Dada (2:32)

19. Good Vibrations (4:13)

Bonus Tracks

20. You’re Welcome (1:08)

21. Heroes And Villains (Stereo Mix) (4:53)

22. Heroes And Villains Sections (Stereo Mix) (7:16)

23. Vega-Tables Demo (1:46)

24. He Gives Speeches (1:14)

25. Smile Backing Vocals Montage (8:30)

26. Surf’s Up 1967 (Solo Version) (4:09)

27. Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls Into A Piano (1:30)

CD TWO

1. Our Prayer "Dialog" (9/19/66) (3:02)

2. Heroes And Villains: Part 1 (3:08)

3. Heroes And Villains: Part 2 (4:18)

4. Heroes And Villains: Children Were Raised (1/27/67) (2:07)

5. Heroes And Villains: Prelude To Fade (2/15/67) (3:42)

6. My Only Sunshine (11/14/66) (6:52)

7. Cabin Essence (10/3/66) (5:19)

8. Surf's Up: 1st Movement (11/4/66) (4:55)

9. Surf's Up: Piano Demo (12/15/66) (3:53)

10. Vega-Tables: Fade (4/12/67) (5:25)

11. The Elements: Fire session (11/28/66) (8:27)

12. Cool, Cool Water (Version 2) (10/26-10/29/67) (3:32)

13. Good Vibrations Session Highlights (8:20)

The SMiLE Sessions Box Set (5CD+Double LP+Two 7” Singles; digital)

CD ONE

SMiLE

1. Our Prayer (1:06)

2. Gee (0:51)

3. Heroes And Villains (4:53)

4. Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock) (3:36)

5. I’m In Great Shape (0:29)

6. Barnyard (0:48)

7. My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine) (1:57)

8. Cabin Essence (3:32)

9. Wonderful (2:04)

10. Look (Song For Children) (2:31)

11. Child Is Father Of The Man (2:14)

12. Surf’s Up (4:12)

13. I Wanna Be Around / Workshop (1:23)

14. Vega-Tables (3:49)

15. Holidays (2:33)

16. Wind Chimes (3:06)

17. The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow) (2:35)

18. Love To Say Dada (2:32)

19. Good Vibrations (4:13)

Bonus Tracks

20. You’re Welcome (1:08)

21. Heroes And Villains (Stereo Mix) (4:53)

22. Heroes And Villains Sections (Stereo Mix) (7:16)

23. Vega-Tables Demo (1:46)

24. He Gives Speeches (1:14)

25. Smile Backing Vocals Montage (8:30)

26. Surf’s Up 1967 (Solo version) (4:09)

27. Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls Into A Piano (1:30)

CD TWO

SESSION HIGHLIGHTS

OUR PRAYER

1. Our Prayer "Dialog" (9/19/66) (3:01)

2. Our Prayer (10/4/66) (6:37)

HEROES AND VILLAINS

Heroes And Villains Session (10/20/66)

3. Heroes And Villains: Verse (Master Take) (0:57)

4. Heroes And Villains: Barnyard (Master Take) (1:12)

5. Heroes And Villains: I'm In Great Shape (10/27/66) (4:59)

6. Heroes And Villains: Intro (Early Version) circa 12/66 (0:35)

Heroes And Villains Session (1/3/67)

7. Heroes And Villains: Do A Lot (0:53)

8. Heroes And Villains: Bag Of Tricks (2:58)

9. Heroes And Villains: Mission Pak (0:55)

10. Heroes And Villains: Bridge To Indians (1:47)

11. Heroes And Villains: Part 1 Tag (1:19)

12. Heroes And Villains: Pickup To 3rd Verse (0:55)

Heroes And Villains Session (1/27/67)

13. Heroes And Villains: Children Were Raised (2:07)

14. Heroes And Villains: Part 2 (Cantina track) (1:21)

15. Heroes And Villains: Whistling Bridge (1:14)

16. Heroes And Villains: Cantina (1:36)

17. Heroes And Villains: All Day (2:19)

18. Heroes And Villains: Verse Edit Experiment (0:48)

Heroes And Villains Session (2/15/67)

19. Heroes And Villains: Prelude to Fade (3:43)

20. Heroes And Villains: Piano Theme (2:43)

Heroes And Villains Session (2/20/67)

21. Heroes And Villains: Part 2 (2:31)

22. Heroes And Villains: Part 2 (Gee) (Master Take) (2:36)

23. Heroes And Villains: Part 2 Revised (1:54)

24. Heroes And Villains: Part 2 Revised (Master Take) (0:48)

25. Heroes And Villains: Part 3 (Animals) (Master Take) (1:18)

26. Heroes And Villains: Part 4 (2:36)

27. Heroes And Villains: Part Two (Master Take) (2/27/67) (1:44)

28. Heroes And Villains: Fade (2/28/67) (6:35)

Heroes And Villains Session (3/1/67)

29. Heroes And Villains: Verse Remake (4:16)

30. Heroes And Villains: Organ Waltz / Intro (2:04)

Heroes And Villains Session (6/14/67)

31. Heroes And Villains: Chorus Vocals (0:48)

32. Heroes And Villains: Barbershop (1:50)

33. Heroes And Villains: Children Were Raised (Remake) (1:06)

34. Heroes And Villains: Children Were Raised (Master Take Overdubs Mix 1) (0:26)

35. Heroes And Villains: Children Were Raised (Master Take A Capella) (0:27)

Bonus Tracks

36. Heroes And Villains Piano Demo (incorporating “I’m In Great Shape” and “Barnyard”) Brian with Van Dyke Parks and “Humble Harve” Miller, KHJ Radio (11/4/66) (4:17)

37. Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls Into A Microphone (11/4/66) (1:10)

38. Psycodelic Sounds: Moaning Laughing (11/4/66) (1:09)

CD THREE

SESSION HIGHLIGHTS

DO YOU LIKE WORMS (ROLL PLYMOUTH ROCK)

Do You Like Worms Session (10/18/66)

1. Do You Like Worms: Part 1 (5:21)

2. Do You Like Worms: Part 2 (Bicycle Rider) (1:55)

3. Do You Like Worms: Part 3 (2:43)

4. Do You Like Worms: Part 4 (Bicycle Rider) (1:10)

5. Do You Like Worms: Bicycle Rider Overdubs (Heroes And Villains Part 2) (1/5/67) (0:22)

MY ONLY SUNSHINE

(THE OLD MASTER PAINTER / YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE)

6. My Only Sunshine: Parts 1 & 2 (11/14/66) (6:51)

7. My Only Sunshine: Part 2 (Master Take With Vocal Overdubs) (2/10/67) (0:45)

CABIN ESSENCE

Cabin Essence Session (10/3/66)

8. Cabin Essence: Verse (2:14)

9. Cabin Essence: Chorus (2:28)

10. Cabin Essence: Tag (2:31)

WONDERFUL

11. Wonderful (Version 1) (8/25/66) (2:59)

Wonderful (Version 2 “Rock With Me, Henry”) Session (1/9/67)

12. Wonderful (Version 2) (3:25)

13. Wonderful (Version 2 Tag) (2:54)

14. Wonderful (Version 3) (4/10/67?) (2:41)

LOOK (SONG FOR CHILDREN)

15. Look (8/12/66) (4:52)

CHILD IS FATHER OF THE MAN

16. Child Is Father Of The Man (Version 1) (10/7/66) (4:57)

17. Child Is Father Of The Man (Version 2) (10/11/66) (5:38)

SURF’S UP

18. Surf's Up: 1st Movement (11/4/66) (4:54)

19. Surf's Up: Talking Horns (11/7/66) (3:42)

20. Surf’s Up: Piano Demo (Master Take) (12/15/66) (3:52)

I WANNA BE AROUND / WORKSHOP (FRIDAY NIGHT)

21. I Wanna Be Around (11/29/66) (3:08)

VEGA-TABLES (VEGETABLES)

Vegetables Sessions (4/4/67 – 4/11/67)

22. Vegetables: Verse (Master Take Track) (4/4 – 4/11/67) (2:02)

23. Vegetables: Sleep A Lot (Chorus) (2:34)

24. Vegetables: Chorus 1 (Master Take) (1:05)

25. Vegetables: 2nd Chorus (Master Take Track And Backing Vocals) (1:03)

26. Vegetables: Insert (Part 4) (Master Take) (0:37)

CD FOUR

SESSION HIGHLIGHTS

VEGA-TABLES (VEGETABLES) (continued)

1. Vegetables: Fade (4/12/67) (5:25)

2. Vegetables: Ballad Insert (4/14/67) (1:03)

HOLIDAYS

3. Holidays (9/8/66) (7:32)

WIND CHIMES

4. Wind Chimes (Version 1) (8/3/66) (6:46)

Wind Chimes (Version 2) Session (10/5/66)

5. Wind Chimes (Version 2) (5:00)

6. Wind Chimes (Version 2 Tag) (2:51)

THE ELEMENTS: FIRE (MRS. O’LEARY’S COW)

7. The Elements (Fire) (11/28/66) (8:27)

LOVE TO SAY DADA / COOL, COOL WATER

Da Da Session (12/22/66)

8. Da Da (Taped Piano Strings) (1:00)

9. Da Da (Fender Rhodes) (1:21)

Love To Say Dada Sessions (5/16/67 - 5/18/67)

10. Love To Say Dada: Part 1 (5/16/67) (1:22)

11. Love To Say Dada: Part 2 (5/17/67) (1:57)

12. Love To Say Dada: Part 2 (Master Take) (5/17/67) (1:21)

13. Love To Say Dada: Part 2 (Second Day) (5/18/67) (2:00)

COOL, COOL WATER

14. Cool, Cool Water (Version 1) (6/7/67) (2:21)

15. Cool, Cool Water (Version 2) (10/26/67 & 10/29/67) (3:31)

SMILE ADDITIONAL SESSIONS

16. You're Welcome (12/15/66) (6:41)

17. You're With Me Tonight (6/6–6/7/67) (2:46)

18. Tune X (3/3/67–3/31/67) (2:18)

19. I Don't Know (1/12/67) (3:03)

20. Three Blind Mice (10/15/65) (2:11)

21. Teeter Totter Love (Jasper Dailey) (1/25/67 & 2/9/67) (1:49)

Bonus Tracks

22. Psycodelic Sounds - Underwater Chant (11/4/66) (1:45)

23. Hal Blaine Vega-Tables Promo Session (11/16/66) (1:28)

24. Heroes And Villains: Early Version Outtake Sections (1/67 – 2/67) (5:04)

CD FIVE

SESSION HIGHLIGHTS

GOOD VIBRATIONS SESSIONS

1. Good Vibrations: Gold Star 2/18/66 (The “Pet Sounds” Session) (7:27)

2. Good Vibrations: Gold Star 4/9/66 (6:57)

3. Good Vibrations: Western 5/4/66 (First Chorus) (2:24)

4. Good Vibrations: Western 5/4/66 (Second Chorus & Fade) (3:28)

5. Good Vibrations: Sunset Sound 5/24/66 (Part 1) (1:20)

6. Good Vibrations: Sunset Sound 5/24/66 (Parts 2 & 3) (1:45)

7. Good Vibrations: Sunset Sound 5/24/66 (Part 4) (0:47)

8. Good Vibrations: Western 5/27/66 (Part C) (3:32)

9. Good Vibrations: Western 5/27/66 (Chorus) (3:04)

10. Good Vibrations: Western 5/27/66 (Fade Sequence) (1:56)

11. Good Vibrations (Inspiration): Western 6/2/66 (Part 1) (2:44)

12. Good Vibrations (Inspiration): Western 6/2/66 (Part 3) (0:57)

13. Good Vibrations (Inspiration): Western 6/2/66 (Part 4) (0:49)

14. Good Vibrations: Western 6/16/66 (Part 1) (6:24)

15. Good Vibrations: Western 6/16/66 (Part 2 & Verse) (1:06)

16. Good Vibrations: Western 6/16/66 (Part 2 Continued) (5:55)

17. Good Vibrations: Western 6/18/66 (Part 1) (1:10)

18. Good Vibrations: Western 6/18/66 (Part 2) (5:03)

19. Good Vibrations (Persuasion): Western 9/1/66 (1:49)

20. Good Vibrations: Western 9/1/66 (New Bridge) (3:39)

21. Good Vibrations: Session Masters (6:13)

22. Good Vibrations: Single Version Stereo Track (3:49)

23. Good Good Good Vibrations (First Version With Overdubs) 3/66 (3:41)

24. Good Vibrations: Alternate Edit 8/24/66 (3:32)

VINYL

Double LP

Side One

1. Our Prayer

2. Gee

3. Heroes And Villains

4. Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock)

5. I’m In Great Shape

6. Barnyard

7. My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine)

8. Cabin Essence

Side Two

1. Wonderful

2. Look (Song for Children)

3. Child Is Father Of The Man

4. Surf’s Up

Side Three

1. I Wanna Be Around / Workshop

2. Vega-Tables

3. Holidays

4. Wind Chimes

5. The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow)

6. Love To Say Dada

7. Good Vibrations

Side Four

1. You’re Welcome – Stereo Mix

2. Vega-Tables – Stereo Mix

3. Wind Chimes – Stereo Mix

4. Cabin Essence – Session Highlights and Stereo Backing Track

5. Surf’s Up – Session Excerpt and Stereo Mix

Two 7” singles

Heroes And Villains "Smile" single Vega-Tables single

A side: Heroes And Villains Part One A side: Vega-Tables

B side: Heroes And Villains Part Two B side: Surf's Up

The SMiLE Sessions (2LP vinyl)

Side One

1. Our Prayer

2. Gee

3. Heroes And Villains

4. Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock)

5. I’m In Great Shape

6. Barnyard

7. My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine)

8. Cabin Essence

Side Two

1. Wonderful

2. Look (Song for Children)

3. Child Is Father Of The Man

4. Surf’s Up

Side Three

1. I Wanna Be Around / Workshop

2. Vega-Tables

3. Holidays

4. Wind Chimes

5. The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow)

6. Love To Say Dada

7. Good Vibrations

Side Four

1. You’re Welcome – Stereo Mix

2. Vega-Tables – Stereo Mix

3. Wind Chimes – Stereo Mix

4. Cabin Essence – Session Highlights and Stereo Backing Track

5. Surf’s Up – Session Excerpt and Stereo Mix

oh look i have no saliva left.

lol that's the only adequate reaction DL

Actually, shit, do I really want a whole CDs-worth of Heroes & Villains outtakes? Hmmm... Maybe not all that exciting. Depends on whether it's stupid expensive or not.

hee hee, that looks fun to me. a whole disc of heroes and villains sessions!
lol xp

That's a whole lotta Heroes & Villains. But c'mon, it's Smile.

i really enjoy those pet sounds sessions excerpts on the box set, so ...

actually just listened to the brian wilson 2004 smile on the bus to work this morning. not w/o it's problems (sometimes the vocals sound a little cloying, not nuts about the pirate-y stuff going on the otherwise lovely holidays), but it flows together really nicely.

I'd rather a disc of Little Pad sessions.

It looks pretty amazing to me.
Looking forward to doing a compare and contrast between this "finished" version, the single vinyl Sea of Tunes "finished" version I have and the Wilson version.

yeah this looks as cool as a smile box set could look to me.

looks pretty nuts. dunno if I'll spring for it. gygax has some Japanese box set that has a bunch of those Heroes+Villains/Good Vibrations sessions, dunno if I really need multiple CDs worth

It's Sea-O-Tunes from Luxembourg^^^

RIP gygax!

Don’t know that I want or need to spend a three-figure sum on the box (especially since the nine-minute “George Fell Into His French Horn” is again absent, not to mention the classic “Somebody Get Me A Dildo”); the basic 2CD edition should be enough for my needs. Same order (unsurprisingly) as the 2004 reboot so the main interest will be how well it stands up, incomplete but with the original voices and players for which the music was intended, in comparison.

Would this, if finished, have stood up in’67 against Pepper (or overshadowed it) or would it have been abruptly eclipsed by things like Piper and Experienced? It seems to have influenced so much of what came after it (or at the same time as it) but how much would that have been appreciated by ’67 audiences?

IDGI. didn't brian wilson finally put this out as a solo album -- to great fanfare -- a few years ago (as smile)?

I honestly think it would have had quite an impact on the further history of pop music if it had been released. Smile is so much more focused and conceptually tight compared to Peppers, and arguably a much better album for it. The impact it would have had on (for example) the prog-rock '70s and the amount of Beatle-worship in the following decades that we saw largely thanks to Pepper would have been altered pretty drastically.

It represents to me an opportunity lost. I believe if it had been released, art-rock/psychedelia would have retained its cachet and given that extra push to explore new ground instead of being replaced by the rootsy rock styles of the early 1970s. It's a completely different way of looking at pop/rock - there are few guitars present in the mix (unlike the Beatles who were always a beat combo at heart); take away the vocals and you've got something bordering classical, exotica, easy listening, big band, jazz etc. And sure, Pet Sounds was influential, but it was an emotionally internalised album dealing with feelings and relationships - very little in pop has ever come close to the birds-eye-view, macro-scale vision of Smile.

daniel, the brian wilson 2004 smile was a 2004 recording w/ his band. this smile box set comprises of the beach boys sessions from 66-67.

i was really excited about this

but i pulled out the brian wilson smile CD the other night

and i don't think i like smile anymore :(

like not the recording or that particular rendition of it, i just found the songs themselves kind of aggravating

The problem with this is going to be over-familiarity. Rather than being released with a momentous bang, we've already been exposed to countless bootlegs, Brian Wilson concerts, Van Dyke Parks interviews and documentaries. It's a tired old album, and it's never been released.

the classic “Somebody Get Me A Dildo

wait waht

Picked up the 2 CD set at Dusty Groove yesterday, and they had more. Amazon still has not gotten my LP pre-order to me.

aaah sucks.... maybe trying calling the stores in advance, ask for it (by SKU if necessary) and see if they'll hold a physical copy for you

This is exactly what I did and have verbal confirmation twice(!) that wuold hold a copy for me, so I'm guessing that they looked in the computer, saw the inventory listed, and promised to hold one without actually looking for it until I got there. Whatever, at this point I'm not spending my money there, I'll order it from Amazon.

There's an industrywide joke about how Best Buy is turning into Amazon's showroom, but it looks like they can't even manage that anymore if they can't find their own stock

The time I saw Brian Wilson do "Pet Sounds" with an orchestra he frankly may as well have not been there. Same with Arthur Lee/Love and "Forever Changes." And Brian WIlson in that "Smile" doc getting bullied into going forward with the project is one of the saddest things I've ever seen.

I do love how the death of record sales is finally getting all these people off their ass and into the archives: Springsteen, "Smile," remastered Smiths, expanded Pink Floyd ...

kind of cool interview w/ one of the behind the scenes wondermints dudes: www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2011/10/12/the-ad-interview-darian-sahanaja-behind-the-smile-sessions/
guess that previously unheard solo surf's up is from the wild honey sessions! interesting. i would love to hear a whole record of brian during this era playing solo ...

Anyone seen this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lei1FFjb4k

ha, yeah. kind of awkward, but charming too. i want to skype w/ VDP!

Amen.

I interviewed him over the phone once. I maybe got to ask five questions, but he spent half an hour talking. Very easy to interview actually.

hope this smile stuff will get people to listen to VDP's new stuff -- it really is pretty stellar.
http://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/2011/10/van-dyke-parks-on-wall-street.html
sounds on top of his game...haven't heard B. Wilson's new Disney album, but I'm fairly certain it can't touch VDP's recent work.

It doesn't touch very much at all. I was quite keen to hear it after the Gershwin album (quite liked it), but even the decent Disney songs are delivered really blandly.

so the box is worth the bucks ? I find it kinda expensive (since I don't care for the LPS and the singles) but I love the 2CD so much that I start to hesitate.
I love "you're welcome" after "good vibrations". for me it's a perfect ending for the album.
the "GV" sessions in the 2CD are identical to those of the pet sounds sessions, right ?

Good interview, particularly when you consider Sean O'Hagan was set to collaborate with the real Beach Boys in the late '90s.

I really wish O'Hagen and Darian can get together and pull some strings for a final Brian outing, at some point.

Listening to this now on Spotify. First impression, I'm not sure the demo of "Surf's Up" is as revelatory as I was expecting. I mean, the solo piano version of it is amazing, and if you're really wanting to hear him perform it live, the version from the Bernstein special is pretty great. Also, the version of "Surf's Up w the Brian vocal spliced on to the orchestral backing track feels a little funny, but that may just be familiarity...

Must listen more...

Ok, feel the same about the spliced "Barnyard" demo onto the backing track. It's not that I don't appreciate hearing these things together, but they kind of feel like mp3 mashups to my ears...

And Brian WIlson in that "Smile" doc getting bullied into going forward with the project is one of the saddest things I've ever seen.

Which Smile doc is this?

re: that surf's up demo, i just love that piano sound. song feels much more lived in than the other solo versions, some nice little pauses, vocal inflections. don't know if it's different enough to be "revelatory" but I think it's great.

I didn't realize Sean O'Hagan was such an old dude!

Just picked up the 2 CD set from Best Buy (they claimed to have the box set online, but it wasn't in the store), and just opening it now. Nicer packaging than I expected - no annoying jewel box, rather a cardboard single-disc sleeve with the front and rear cover intended for the original LP, photos of the studio tape boxes on the 2nd CD cover (whoever labelled those old tapes couldn't spell), correct period labels, a 36-page booklet with lyrics, a cardstock poster, and a little "Smile" button. I would have liked the original LP booklet reproduced to full CD-size pages rather than (mostly) as thumbnails though.

I'll listen to it as soon as I get myself to a decent CD player...

I didn't realize Sean O'Hagan was such an old dude!

― Moodles, Saturday, November 5, 2011 9:05 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

he's been around a while -- microdisney made their first recordings in the early 80s.

I don't think he's that old. He just looks like shit. I'd guess he's like 45-46.

microdisney formed in 1980 - 31 years ago! def not while he was 14.

in an interview he said late-teens w/r/t microdisney so I guess he's prob about 50

Well I went for the 2CD edition, I guess I'll have to find the 'other' CD tracks 'somewhere'...

...

Audio interview with Brian 1968

"Ever since I blew my mind everything has just been so groovy"

cool. he doesn't sound very crazy tbh, sounds pretty relaxed and together.

in an interview he said late-teens w/r/t microdisney so I guess he's prob about 50

Pretty sure he was a lot older than that. Certainly looked it.

He sounds like David Lynch w all the meditation stuff! They should do an album together.

link is broken...?

http://rootstrata.com/rootblog/?p=6313

I love young Brian's talking voice.

dude sounded with it, completely engaged and enthusiastic.

this giant box set really is fantastic.

huh, never knew that the vocal refrain in Fall Breaks and Back To Winter was from the Fire sessions. So many strange details in this box.

Well, the melody is anyway. Were the vox actually recorded then?

I suspect the Smiley Smile vocals were re-recorded. Fall Breaks and Back To Winter is a good deal slower than the Fire track...

one thing about this - it is REALLY heavy on the instrumental stuff, kinda wish there were more vocal outtakes. The 8-minute vocal montage track is great, just wish there was more.

soooo, i got this! just now digging into it. had listened a bit on spotify, but not too much.
beginning to be convinced that the first disc's version of the album really *is* the definitive version. or whatever, the best version.

I wish I liked the actual BB version on disc 1 of the Smile box as much as the 2004 BW version. But sorry, the latter is the only complete version out there, while the former is still what-might-have-been and sounds it. As you would expect from a compilation of unfinished tapes, it never stays long enough within the realm of the fully realized. I think I still expected it to somehow cohere like the excerpts we've long heard don't, but it gains less from the new sequencing and the addition of previously unrel. bits and pieces than one might hope. And I can't un-hear 2004 either, which benefits markedly from stereo sound, finely orchestrated segues, a full set of lyrics, fleshed-out backing vocal arrangements, etc. I can't be alone on this, can I? Do BW's vocal deterioration and a collective pining for the genuine artifact (whatever its deficiencies) really detract that much from Smile '04?

i dunno, i like the BW version, but i do think that there's a particular magic to the sound of the 1966-67 recordings. the big rooms, the orchestras, the beach boys' vocals themselves, it all coheres for me in a way that the BW version doesn't. no matter how much wilson and his collaborators tried to re-create the sound of the original sessions, there are just some things that are going to be impossible. i might be guilty of "pining for the genuine artifact", I don't know.

For me the 2011 version is much better than the 2004 BW version. Not even close.

gotta say that the " heroes & villains" disc is a lot more entertaining than i thought it would be. just so much fun stuff.

the "Vege-Tables" demo sounds like a Sgt Pepper outtake---I don't think it's just the Paul connection that's giving the vibe, either, but more the music hall piano + the sound effects, like a "Good Morning Good Morning". But Smile was started before Sgt. Pepper, so I dunno the line of influence, if any.

ok, back to falling inside a piano now, brb

I can't stand the mashup of "I'm In Great Shape/Barnyard"'s demos and backing tracks. It sounds like some cut-rate thing off the Internet.

Been listening to the thing on Spotify. Somewhat surprisingly I find some of the sessions to be hypnotic -- particularly all the "I'm In Great Shape" variations, with the mallets melting off into tape echo feedback. Thing is a total studio clinic -- arrangement, performance, mixing for depth of field. And it has this classic Brian line: "The overtones on that celeste are just so uncool."

So, serious question: how is the Mike Love essay? I ask bc, like it or not, Mike is a big part of the Smile story (plus, he wasn't *totally* wrong). And forty-plus years is a long time.

Love's essay is fine, he seems pretty honest about still not really feeling the psychedelia of the lyrics. talks about how neat "good vibrations" is.
i'm really enjoying the session stuff too, just such fun sounds coming out. all edited together in highly listenable fashion. dig the "child is the father" sessions where the trumpet player suggests the mute sound that ends up on the finished track. really interesting to hear how together and serious wilson sounds when directing the musicians -- one expects him to be this rambling stoner, but he seems to have a hold on everything that's going on. seems that the sessions themselves really weren't the thing that caused Smile to remain unreleased -- it was just editing it all together that was too much for him. too many possibilities.