Brian Wilson - Smile

RE*AC*TOR

Been listening to this a bit for the past few days. Good album, but as predicted its going to be overhyped because of the legend surrounding it. First off, it doesn't sound out of place compared to Pet Sounds. For anyone that doesn't know he remade the album with his current (very good) band from what was left behind of Smile. Some of the stuff made it onto Smiley Smile, some didn't.
I keep trying to imagine the impact of how it would have been received if released when it was initially conceived. Most people will accept that Pet Sounds had a major influence on the Beatles and their progression to Sgt Peppers, and that's essentially when The Beach Boys (Brian Wilson) lost their (his) way. Had they (he) held it together, our perceptions of these two bands could be a helluva lot different. Enough of the prattling-on anyway.

In short good album, no bad songs from initial hearing, some very nice moments, time will tell how it will grow on me and be received by the greater public. What's sure is the legend surrounding it is both a help and a hindrance.

Doctor J

It can't possibly live up to the hype but it's worth the money for Heroes and Villains alone. It's nice to hear Fire after all this time (and hype )

quarryman

damn, knew there was something i was supposed to do today.

be back shortly with my verdict.

nadir

hrm, I should check it out, smile was great.

RE*AC*TOR

nadir wrote:

hrm, I should check it out, smile was great.

What? Why? Smile was never completed, let alone released!

nadir

I had a copy of smile about 2 years ago. I was liveing in holland one of my mates was a beach boys fanatic, used to sing in a cover band and all. But he like had everything ever by the beach boys including smile. Which I got a copy of. Where he got it , it dont know.

sceptre

nadir wrote:

I had a copy of smile about 2 years ago. I was liveing in holland one of my mates was a beach boys fanatic, used to sing in a cover band and all. But he like had everything ever by the beach boys including smile. Which I got a copy of. Where he got it , it dont know.

There have been at least three bootlegs knocking around since the late 60s with a pile of unfinished stuff on them. It would have to have been one of these as the album was never finished. Sound quality is mixed (to put it generously) in parts as well. The Heroes & Villains suite (the 9 minute version) is the perfect example of both poorish sound (for at least half the track, it's a bootleg don't forget) and unfinished. Odd to hear it when you're familiar with the short version (I haven't picked up the new album yet) - the A Day In The Life influence is rather obvious. Worth picking up and paying money for it if you sleep with a pair of Brian Wilson's underpants under your pillow but not if you just like the music when there's a finished version out there. If you must pick it up, get the 33 track version rather than the 14- or 18-track versions - the H&V suite isn't on either of the shorter versions, unfinished and all as it is. You'll find it pretty easily on the interweb.

I wouldn't bother myself, it's like that episode of the Simpsons where Bart buys a genuine Itchy & Scratchy film cel only to be underwhelmed when he just gets a bit of an arm.

Ditto with the 30 hours of late Apple sessions that Beatlemaniacs can get with a little searching. It's thirty hours of your life you'll probably never get back (oh look, I made a funneh). Or Prince's Crystal Ball (bootlegg, not the 3/4/5 disc set knocked out a few years ago, terrible quality on the original bootleg) - pretty much all the material surfaced in one way or another over time

Capitol are supposedly thinking of compiling and releasing a multi-set of the Smile sessions but judging by the bootlegs it would take years of cleaning up to make anything at all from them - it would be like making something out of Lego with only half the pieces, no instructions and only a picture on the box to work from (and the latter only because of the new recording). Buying the new recording is probably as good as any of us will get. No reason not to be happy enough with that.

loyatemu

plenty of the original smile material was released officially by the Beach Boys in subsequent years.

some of it appeared on the cobbled-together "Smiley Smile" album that was released instead of Smile in 1967 - "Our Prayer" and "Cabinessence" appeared on 20/20, "Surf's Up" appeared on, er, Surf's Up. The Good Vibrations box set contained loads of material including many sections of the H&V suite

The new version is actually very good - I had my doubts when I heard about it but they've done a better job than I would have thought possible - it sounds totally authentic and all hangs together really well. The only giveaway is Brian's voice which has changed significantly since the 60s but its not a major problem.

Its not as good as Pet Sounds, but then what is? If you like the Beach Boys buy it - you won't be disappointed.

Amazotheamazing

Beach Boys to Officially Release Long-Incomplete Album 'Smile' This YearRecordings will be sold as double CD and box set

Kent Gavin/Hulton Archive/Getty
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By Matthew Perpetua
MARCH 11, 2011 11:50 AM ET
Capitol Records have announced that they will be releasing the Beach Boys' lost, incomplete album Smile later this year. Smile was originally planned as the follow-up to the band's 1966 classic Pet Sounds, but the material was mostly abandoned due to creative mastermind Brian Wilson's fragile mental health at the time.

Though no release date has been set, the official release of Smile will be sold as a two-CD set and as a deluxe box set including four CDs, two vinyl LPs, two vinyl singles and a 60-page hardbound book penned by Beach Boys historian Domenic Priore. The final track listing has not been announced, but disc one of the CD set and the first three sides of the vinyl edition will contain a close approximation of the Smile album, with the remainder collecting outtakes and alternate versions from the sessions.

The Smile sessions have been widely bootlegged among fans for decades, but the proper track listing for the album has never been established, largely due to the fact that the record was never completed as intended. According to engineer Mark Linett, Brian Wilson's 2004 version of Smile has been used as the template for this project, though it could turn out a bit different depending on input from Wilson and the surviving members of the group.

Latchy

I remember reading quite a few articles over the years about the original Smile sessions , how it died before birth and there has being many references to much of the original recording session being destroyed by Wilson in one of his manic drug induced downers , with only snippits surviving to pop up as great tracks on other albums , notably and as mentioned , Heroes and Villains , Cabinessence , Our Prayer.

However it it will be great to hear these original recordings as they were ment to be heard back in the 60s ( although I'm not sure how much (if any) modern studio technology , multi tracking or voice over has being added to enhance the recordings ) .

I've being a big fan of the Beach Boys for many years , familiar with their history and have most of the original LP'S on cd including the 3 cd , box set of Pet sounds

( I've seen the Mike Love / Bruce Johnson beach boys line up , twice in concert /Brian Wilson once )

I'm looking foreward to hearing 'Smile 2011 ' and also hopefully , will get to see the line up in concert during the UK tour this year . C:





http://www.clashmusic.com/news/beach-boys-to-release-smile

Zak Flaps

I for one am really looking forward to this. I've my eye on the box set.

smokedeels

....ok, I admit it, I only bought Pet Sounds this weekend and had no clue about Wilson/Beach Boys until that point, and I'm 25 - disgraceful.

I've been enchanted by the disc, absolute pop genius on the first few listens, I'm looking forward to it remaining in my unpacked-CD collection for a long time.

I'll obviously look into this too.

Amazotheamazing

Latchy wrote: »

I remember reading quite a few articles over the years about the original Smile sessions , how it died before birth and there has being many references to much of the original recording session being destroyed by Wilson in one of his manic drug induced downers , with only snippits surviving to pop up as great tracks on other albums , notably and as mentioned , Heroes and Villains , Cabinessence , Our Prayer.

However it it will be great to hear these original recordings as they were ment to be heard back in the 60s ( although I'm not sure how much (if any) modern studio technology , multi tracking or voice over has being added to enhance the recordings ) .

I've being a big fan of the Beach Boys for many years , familiar with their history and have most of the original LP'S on cd including the 3 cd , box set of Pet sounds

( I've seen the Mike Love / Bruce Johnson beach boys line up , twice in concert /Brian Wilson once )

I'm looking foreward to hearing 'Smile 2011 ' and also hopefully , will get to see the line up in concert during the UK tour this year . C:





http://www.clashmusic.com/news/beach-boys-to-release-smile

It's extremely hard to know what way this will go. Because of the collage nature of the project we're never going to hear it as it could have been. Seemingly a lot of the vocals are missing or possibly unrecorded. The engineers behind this project have got something like 30 hours of music and are still trying to find more. It's a massive, massive ask to render an album from that.

It's also worth remembering some lyrics had to be written for the 2004 project so it might be a really raw version of what was intended. It's a real shame, because Heros and Villains and Good Vibrations are amazing songs and if the rest of the album had been at that level it would have been a classic.

Latchy

smokedeels wrote: »

....ok, I admit it, I only bought Pet Sounds this weekend and had no clue about Wilson/Beach Boys until that point, and I'm 25 - disgraceful.

I've been enchanted by the disc, absolute pop genius on the first few listens, I'm looking forward to it remaining in my unpacked-CD collection for a long time.

I'll obviously look into this too.

The mono version of Pet Sounds was released on cd in the 80's ( might be the cd you have ) and the stereo version was also released on cd shortly after ,as well as the digitally remasterd ,3 cd box set . It's a masterpiece of work as soon as you hear the intro synth on ' wouldn't it be nice ' and it's has a very studio feel to it ,as if your somehow in the room watching it all happen .

The box set has the original backing tracks to all the songs on the album such as '' god only Knows ,wouldn't it be nice ,here today ,sloop john b ( a great track which is somehow out of place on pet sounds ) and it's a joy to hear with and without the vocals .

( I've made you tube videos with original stereo versions of God Only Knows , with Vocals and the G O K original stereo backing track )

It's claimed that Pet Sounds was ahead of it's time but the studio big wigs ( as well as Mike Love ) as is their nature ,were more interested in the quick big bucks and wanted Wilson to carry on with the Surfing hits or as Love is quoted as saying '' dont fcuk with the formula '' but it still went out and sold millions , only it didn't get proper promotion at the time .

Paul McCartney said ' God Only Knows ' was his inspiration for writing ' Here There and Everywere ' .

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

It's extremely hard to know what way this will go. Because of the collage nature of the project we're never going to hear it as it could have been. Seemingly a lot of the vocals are missing or possibly unrecorded. The engineers behind this project have got something like 30 hours of music and are still trying to find more. It's a massive, massive ask to render an album from that.

That's always being the problem ,like having this massive jigsaw ,putting it together and finding not only a lot of pieces are missing but some of them are disjointed and out of place and the main reason why this project has always being on the back burrner for so many years .

It's also worth remembering some lyrics had to be written for the 2004 project so it might be a really raw version of what was intended. It's a real shame, because Heros and Villains and Good Vibrations are amazing songs and if the rest of the album had been at that level it would have been a classic.

Yeah , Hereos and Villains /Good Vibrations was a taste of what was on the original recordings and probably would have being a fitting tribute to follow the Pet Sounds album and a defining moement in the Beach Boys history as musicians and recording artists ie , their own west coast Sgt Pepper.

But it seems the tiring long days an nights in the studio and pressure from other beach boys to get back to playing live again ,as well as his constant drug taking in and out of the studio , all combined to screw him up and loose faith in it and eventually led to him to withdraw and become reclusive for many years .



In memory of Beach Boys and brothers,Carl and Dennis Wilson .

Amazotheamazing

Latchy wrote: »

( I've made you tube videos with original stereo versions of God Only Knows , with Vocals and the G O K original stereo backing track )
It's claimed that Pet Sounds was ahead of it's time but the studio big wigs ( as well as Mike Love ) as is their nature ,were more interested in the quick big bucks and wanted Wilson to carry on with the Surfing hits or as Love is quoted as saying '' dont fcuk with the formula '' but it still went out and sold millions , only it didn't get proper promotion at the time .

Paul McCartney said ' God Only Knows ' was his inspiration for writing ' Here There and Everywere ' .


That's always being the problem ,like having this massive jigsaw ,putting it together and finding not only a lot of pieces are missing but some of them are disjointed and out of place and the main reason why this project has always being on the back burrner for so many years .




Yeah , Hereos and Villains /Good Vibrations was a taste of what was on the original recordings and probably would have being a fitting tribute to follow the Pet Sounds album and a defining moement in the Beach Boys history as musicians and recording artists ie , their own west coast Sgt Pepper.

But it seems the tiring long days an nights in the studio and pressure from other beach boys to get back to playing live again ,as well as his constant drug taking in and out of the studio , all combined to screw him up and loose faith in it and eventually led to him to withdraw and become reclusive for many years .



In memory of Beach Boys and brothers,Carl and Dennis Wilson .

Tbf I can see where Mike Love was coming from, some of Parks' lyrics are overly obtuse, imo. I'd have rathered if Wilson had stayed working with Asher and Love as lyricists.

Latchy

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Tbf I can see where Mike Love was coming from, some of Parks' lyrics are overly obtuse, imo. I'd have rathered if Wilson had stayed working with Asher and Love as lyricists.

I remember first time hearing ' Surfs Up ' which didn't appear until the album of the same name 1971 ( although it may have appeared in early form on some Smile bootlegs ) and thinking 'wow' great song and arrangement but what are those lyrics all about ( Parks hand in there ) ?

Capitiol records back in 1966 wanted the commercial hits to continue in the same vein as previous hits like Surfin USA and I Get Around but Wilson was heading someplace else ( mainly in his head ) .Thing is Mike Love was not all that fussy on some of the lyrics on Pet Sounds songs when they went to the recording session but look at what came out of it in the end ? And he also in later years he was taken credit for a lot of Wilson songwriting when it seems more likley that it was Wilsons who was coming out with the goods .

Amazotheamazing

Latchy wrote: »

I remember first time hearing ' Surfs Up ' which didn't appear until the album of the same name 1971 ( although it may have appeared in early form on some Smile bootlegs ) and thinking 'wow' great song and arrangement but what are those lyrics all about ( Parks hand in there ) ?

Capitiol records back in 1966 wanted the commercial hits to continue in the same vein as previous hits like Surfin USA and I Get Around but Wilson was heading someplace else ( mainly in his head ) .Thing is Mike Love was not all that fussy on some of the lyrics on Pet Sounds songs when they went to the recording session but look at what came out of it in the end ? And he also in later years he was taken credit for a lot of Wilson songwriting when it seems more likley that it was Wilsons who was coming out with the goods .

Iirc, Mike Love coined the word "excitations" for Good Vibrations. For that alone the man will always be a hero of mine.

There's a difference between good, complex lyrics and the **** Parks' wrote, imo. Yeah, Surf's Up was written for Smile, and some of the lyrics to it are great but over-all it's too wordy, imo.

Latchy

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Iirc, Mike Love coined the word "excitations" for Good Vibrations. For that alone the man will always be a hero of mine.

Pop history alone in that one word on that classic record "excitations" .

There's a difference between good, complex lyrics and the **** Parks' wrote, imo. Yeah, Surf's Up was written for Smile, and some of the lyrics to it are great but over-all it's too wordy, imo.

No doubting Love is a key player in the beach boys who along with Carl Wilson and later Bruce Johnson ,kept the band together when Brian wouldn't ,couldn't tour and his singing style is clearly evident on mainy of their hits .But I think it's fair to say he was somehow lacking in the same song writing skills as Wilson so had to rely on most of the bands early (and great it must be said ) hits . It's interesting to see Mike and other band members Carl, Dennis , Bruce , Al come to the fore , write lyrics to sing on the Beach Boys later albums like Sunflower , 20/20 , MIU AND LA ( the light album ) .

loyatemu

IIRC Mike Love wrote very little on their later albums - "Student Demonstration Time" on the Surf's Up album is the only song that springs to mind and that was effectively a cover of an older song with new lyrics. I think he has a few credits on their (terrible) 80s records but at that stage they were hiring in external writers.

Nolanger

Anyone else seen The TAMI Show?

Latchy

Nolanger wrote: »

Anyone else seen The TAMI Show?

That's only being relesed on dvd now and includes the early beach boys in concert ,haven't seen it yet although I'm sure I've seen some part of that concert on some tv show/or documentry at some time

From Amazon.co.uk (below)

Synopsis


In 1964, the Teen-Age Music International Show, a concert event showcasing some of the biggest rock and pop acts of the day was captured on film and released to theatres as The T.A.M.I. Show. The line up included original guitar hero Chuck Berry, three of Motown's biggest stars (Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and The Supremes), two leading British Invasion acts (Gerry and the Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas), garage rock legends The Barbarians, teen angst goddess Leslie Gore, and surf music pioneers The Beach Boys and Jan & Dean (the latter of whom also served as hosts). Closing the show is a veritable "Battle of the Bands" between two of the most exciting stage acts in rock history, James Brown and his Famous Flames (Brown's dancing still inspires awe decades later) and The Rolling Stones (who look young and green, but are already blessed with a near-deadly charisma). Regarded as one of the very best rock and roll movies ever made, The T.A.M.I. Show was more talked about than seen within a few years of its original release.

Legal action by The Beach Boys caused their appearance to be cut from most archival prints, and music rights issues prevented the film from being released… until now! The T.A.M.I show is presented here in a fully restored DVD release, including the entire Beach Boys performance.

Nolanger

If you like the Beach Boys you won't be disappointed. They sing about five songs. The whole movie is brilliant!

Amazotheamazing

loyatemu wrote: »

IIRC Mike Love wrote very little on their later albums - "Student Demonstration Time" on the Surf's Up album is the only song that springs to mind and that was effectively a cover of an older song with new lyrics. I think he has a few credits on their (terrible) 80s records but at that stage they were hiring in external writers.

He didn't write much of Pet Sounds either but he was a key figure in their earlier stuff. He's way too blamed for Brian's breakdown, imo.

Latchy

The Beach Boys were in a league of their own during the early 60s with their 4 part harmony vocals , catchy surf songs and all American clean cut image and it didn't look like the could be touched , that is until the Beatles set foot in USA in 1964 ....American west coast surfing pop meets kings of the British invasion .

I get Around , Don't Worry Baby , Help Me Rhonda are up there and on par with From Me To You, I Feel Fine , Cant Buy Me Love , and the ' Warmth of the sun ' was a tribute to president Kennedy who had being assassinated and recorded shortly after his death

When Brian Wilson first heard Rubber Soul it blew him away and it was then he decided that he was going to write a concept album (Pet Sounds ) and ,there was no going back as far as he was concerned but Smile would be to overwhelming for him to complete

They embraced the coming psychedelic culture but were still stereotyped as a west coast surfing band , yet Good Vibrations was so in tune with that mid sixties feel of times .

Their late 60s albums like Smiley Smile , Wild Honey ,Friends ,20/20 and Sunflower are testament to their collective talents while preserving their wonderful harmonies and keeping with the changing musical styles of the times ,and out of those albums came such classic tracks like 'I Can hear Music , Breakaway and Do It again ' .... Beach Boys at their peak

I love Brian Wilson's come back album ' Imagination ' which has some great songs on it like ' Your Imagination , South American , Lay Down Burden ( an ode to his demons and tribute to his brother Carl ) and two great versions of Let Him Run Wild and Keep An Eye On Summer ' .

Badgermonkey

Latchy wrote: »

T
I love Brian Wilson's come back album ' Imagination ' which has some great songs on it like ' Your Imagination , South American , Lay Down Burden ( an ode to his demons and tribute to his brother Carl ) and two great versions of Let Him Run Wild and Keep An Eye On Summer ' .

Jeez, really? I thought the production was pretty horrible on Imagination.

Seems to me Mike is a smarmy creepy type of guy but his voice was always such an integral part of the sound and his somewhat rudimentary boy/girl lyrics fitted their early work beautifully. His vocal delivery on 'Meant for You' was always a personal favourite.

The Brian good / Mike bad argument is not without substance, though has always seemed overly simplistic to me.

As an aside, just booked tickets to see Brian @ the Paradiso, Amsterdam, Sept 21st 2011.

http://www.ticketmaster.nl/event/BRIANWILSONtickets/BR210911

Latchy

Badgermonkey wrote: »

Jeez, really? I thought the production was pretty horrible on Imagination.

Really ? It was a collaboration with Joe Thomas and while it doesn't have the vocals or harmonies of the other beach boys , there are some gems on there such as "South American, "Lay Down Burden ( a tribute to his late brother Carl ) Your Imagination, , a really lush version of ' Keep An Eye On Summer' and a great production on '' She Say's That She Needs Me ' so I have to disagree on that .

I find it a very relaxing cd to listen to and have on in the background , and I'm forever singing the line from the track Sunshine (sunshine , cant get enough sunshine ,I'm falling for the sunshine ,beaming down on me ) .

Most reviews of the album I've read have being positive but I understand some fans of BW might have different musical expectations from him and some of his later stuff will always be compared to his best .

Seems to me Mike is a smarmy creepy type of guy but his voice was always such an integral part of the sound and his somewhat rudimentary boy/girl lyrics fitted their early work beautifully. His vocal delivery on 'Meant for You' was always a personal favourite.

Think it's fair to say that each individual Beach Boy had a distinct voice that stood out so you knew who was singing lead on what song / who was backing vocals and Mike Love's is indeed an integral voice on songs like 'Meant for You ' and on others such as the wonderful '' Here Today '' from Pet Sounds , a fav of mine and 'Sumahama ' from LA (light album )

The Brian good / Mike bad argument is not without substance, though has always seemed overly simplistic to me.

Which originally goes back to Brian's reluctance to tour , write hit songs along the lines of the the surf craze ,his substance abuse and and the involvement with dr Landy .

As an aside, just booked tickets to see Brian @ the Paradiso, Amsterdam, Sept 21st 2011.

Have being to the Paradisio a few times ,enjoy the concert .

http://www.ticketmaster.nl/event/BRIANWILSONtickets/BR210911 ]