This makes me SMiLE! Many of you will SMiLE too! - Page 2

Reverend Rock · 04-01-2004, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psychedelic Syd

I had heard about the live performances... I am curious to hear what a polished studio version of this (Smile) would sound like... For some reason the live material doesn't get me very excited (not sure why,,, maybe because the original Smile would have been a painstaking fully produced studio effort when finished and the thought of performing it live back then would have been out fo the question,,, probably)...

One other thing I am unclear about... I have seen several interviews and witnessed one live where Brian said ALL the Smile tapes had been destroyed... That he destroyed them years ago... Of course this didn't make complete sense in that some of the songs from those Smile recording sessions did eventually get produced (like "Heroes and Villians")... So, what did he mean by that (the tapes being destroyed)...

And, if the tapes were destroyed, did he have a paper or any type of hard copy with the actual music notation fo the Smile songs to go from. Or is this new Smile just that, new versions of the songs he was working on way back when... I guess it really doesn't matter, but I am curious to know if he and Van Dyke Parks do record this in the studio, will it be from the template of the original material or is it just new music based on the "theme" of the original???

I guess what I want is a finished product of the original song ideas (but I guess it has been so many years that new ideas for these songs would have to be acted on by the artists,,, oh well,,, either way, I would like to hear a produced studio version of Smile)...

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No, the tapes were not destroyed. Some are missing, but most of the tapes still exist (as the many bootlegs in existence--one of which I own--and the Good Vibrations box set will attest)...Brian may have said he "destroyed" the tapes while in the throes of mental illness, so he may have not been in control of the facts or of what he was saying at the time.

My understanding is that the CD (if we can believe it) to be released this fall is a brand new studio recording of the performing version of "Smile" that Brian, Van Dyke Parks and the Wondermints have created.

I just hope the studio release doesn't end up being another chapter in the "Smile Legend". But I think there's good reason to hope that this time, we'll actually get what we're being promised. In the last few years, Brian's been consistantly delivering on his intentions.

Reverend Rock · 04-01-2004, 12:45 AM

One more thing, Syd...the Wondermints are incredible. Even a live "Smile" would be quite satisfying performed by these guys. But my understanding is that a studio version is in the works.

algernon · 04-01-2004, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reverend Rock

One more thing, Syd...the Wondermints are incredible. Even a live "Smile" would be quite satisfying performed by these guys. But my understanding is that a studio version is in the works.

True. I can't over state what these musicians have brought to the table. If Brian had had these guys in the sixties, he may not have taken to his bed. They are,no doubt,highly compensated financially which says alot about the Wilsons' commitment to the fans...I mean, the Man doesn't need the bread or the adulation. This transcends a mere musical event ..greater than Woodstock.

Reverend Rock · 04-01-2004, 10:29 AM

I wonder if Capitol and Brian Wilson could be convinced to allow the completed "Smile" project to be part of a "SMiLE Sessions" box set? I think that would be the best way to present this long-delayed present to the world on CD...but what do I know?

And while I'm thinking about it, let me say one more thing in response to Syd's post, which raised a lot of very valid questions. According to the article in Mojo, Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks and Darian Sahanaja (of the Wondermints) have taken the original work and arranged it in a "version for live performance" that is faithful to the original intent of Wilson and Parks. Brian created a few new melodies here and there to complete some of the song-fragments that were never completed in '66-'67, and Van Dyke Parks did the same with lyrics. The performing version of SMiLE is about 45 minutes long, and from all the reviews I've read, pretty much lives up to the legend surrounding the unfinished album (which is truly amazing, because this is inarguably the biggest legend in all of American music).

Seba · 04-01-2004, 01:36 PM

You're right, Rev -- this does make me "smile' as well.

I'm hardly the biggest Wilson fan here, but I'd be a fool not to admit that this is an incredible event in popular music...

...if it is going to be released in a completed CD format, I can't wait to hear it.

Reverend Rock · 07-01-2004, 09:55 PM

I thought I'd like to revive this thread with two comments...

First, I am still just pinching myself to make sure I can believe that Brian Wilson's been in the studio finishing up SMiLE, and the release date is set for September 28...if you'd told me a year ago, I would have said never...wow...

Second, I just got Brian's new album Gettin' In Over My Head, and I'm loving it. What you have to do with Brian's "mature" music is an interesting mental trick. You have to start by realizing that what Brian really loves at this point in his life is early-to-mid 60s top 40 pop. Then you have to just sit back, relax, and pretend it's 1965. Once you do that, suddenly you're in ear candy heaven. I'm really going to enjoy taking this album to summer camps with me over the next month.

Reverend Rock · 09-06-2004, 11:32 PM

It's time for this thread to be revived. Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE is scheduled for release September 27, and Brian is touring SMiLE across the U.S. at present. I'll be at the Atlanta peformance on October 16. Algernon is going to be there as well.

This may be the most important musical event of the decade, folks (at least it is to me). I would expect a lot more discussion of this than we've had so far. A lot of amazing things are happening. There's quite a buzz being generated in magazines and on TV. The consensus of those who've seen the concerts and have heard clips and tracks on the internet is: "SMiLE 04" lives up to the legend! I'm seriously, joyously psyched about this...

algernon · 09-07-2004, 01:04 AM

Yeah, Rev..aside from the Beatles getting back together, this may have been the fondest,most cherished dream of the sixties' musical generation. The saga of Brian Wilson is one of most intriguing and compelling personal dramas of our time. Several really good books have been written about Wilson. I reccomend "The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson,the Beach Boys,and the Southern California Experience" by Timothy White and "Heroes and Villans: A Biography of the Beach Boys." Whether you're into his music or not, it's cultural impact and influence on popular music cannot be overestimated. Tom Petty once said that Wilson was the only musical figure in who's presence he and other jaded fellow musicians just trembled with awe. This is a once in a lifetime musico/cultural event.

Psychedelic Syd · 09-07-2004, 01:08 AM

Well, we expect full reports about the show and reviews of the album when it comes out...

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Psychedelic Syd · 09-07-2004, 01:17 AM

I have to admit that the enthusiasm Reverend Rock, Algernon and others have shown over this has started to get me interested in this upcoming album release...

My big fear is that most of it will sound like "Heroes and Villans" and not like "Good Vibrations"...

But, it is a landmark event no matter how you slice it...

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