SMiLE Sessions box set!

[Quzi]

Wherever it's from, it sounds impressive.

I was going to say something similar. These fly ins are probably the thing I'm most anxious about, but if they sound as good as this Youtube link then I'll be happy.

They sound much, much better.

Hot diggity!

[Iron Horse-Apples]

There are a lot of weird pitch stretching artifacts in Barnyard, as if the voice is modulating trying to find the right pitch.

Indeed. This just sounds wrong and artificial. Can't believe anyone actually thinks this sounds good.

Firstly, it is a very lo-fi recording, which accounts for the artifacts, Can't believe people can't hear past this, must just be the sound engineer in me!  

Secondly the original recording was also lo-fi. They can't travel back in time and re-mic the original recording can they?

This sounds fantastic, fan edit or not, and if the box version is even better than this then I will be a very happy  man

Also, what you are hearing on Barnyard is not "pitch stretching artifacts", more time stretching, where the individual notes/words have been stretched and moved to fit the track. And it fits.

[runnersdialzero]

Yerp. Are "Barnyard" and "Great Shape" featured elsewhere on the set, unmodified? I hope so. But with these tracks, there's only so much you can do. If you're gonna say someone needs to do a better job on these two particular tracks, best bust our your favorite time machine and give Brian Wilson circa-66 a good talkin' to.

[buddhahat]

There are a lot of weird pitch stretching artifacts in Barnyard, as if the voice is modulating trying to find the right pitch.

Indeed. This just sounds wrong and artificial. Can't believe anyone actually thinks this sounds good.

Well, my expectations for these fly ins are admittedly low, based on previous attempts I've heard, notably Anne Wallace and Purple Chick. Of course Mark Linett will be able to improve on these fan mixes with his skill and expertise but as I understand it, there is only so much one can do when vocals don't naturally fit a backing track. With all that in mind, the youtube version of Great Shape (as much as I can tell from the Lo Fi recording) sounds pretty good. Barnyard less so, but still far better than Purple Chick to my ears.

It's heartening to hear AGD saying the official version sounds much better than this link. Roll on Oct 31st!!

[The Radiant Radish]

I know this sounds a bit geeky, but once the box is out I would like to know the scoop on how Capitol managed to keep all audio under wraps (so far anyway) in the run-up to the release. It does seem like a big task these days to ensure no leakage but they seem to have managed it. Although if it does prove to be a successful method then maybe they won't want to spill the beans after all.

[Matt Bielewicz]

As I understand it, it's REAL simple. As far as I have heard, the set is not available on promo discs; you can only listen to it on secure servers. AND, even there, the audio is watermarked in a way that is specific for and to each reviewer.

So, not only is there no disc to rip, but even if you're smart and can record the output of the secure streaming server live... the audio is watermarked in a way that will lead any leak... right back to you. No equivocation, no wriggle room - if you leaked it, they'd know it was you. And you apparently also have to agree to all sorts of legal stuff about not leaking it before you can hear it.

What would you do, even if you were lucky enough to be given access to this stuff? Leak it, and instantly call down the full weight of Capitol's legal department right on your head?

I know what I'd do. I wouldn't leak it! And I suspect all the lucky buggers that *have* been given access to this stuff feel the same way. Ergo - no leaks... yet.

[desmondo]

Just a lo-fi capture but the new vocals sound okay!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OpijJF1d2U

FAKE AND CRAP

[Iron Horse-Apples]

Just a lo-fi capture but the new vocals sound okay!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OpijJF1d2U

FAKE AND CRAP

It's just funny how everyone hears something different. I've spent a lifetime recording music, and this sounds great to me. I'm actually relieved.

[The Radiant Radish]

As I understand it, it's REAL simple. As far as I have heard, the set is not available on promo discs; you can only listen to it on secure servers. AND, even there, the audio is watermarked in a way that is specific for and to each reviewer.

So, not only is there no disc to rip, but even if you're smart and can record the output of the secure streaming server live... the audio is watermarked in a way that will lead any leak... right back to you. No equivocation, no wriggle room - if you leaked it, they'd know it was you. And you apparently also have to agree to all sorts of legal stuff about not leaking it before you can hear it.

What would you do, even if you were lucky enough to be given access to this stuff? Leak it, and instantly call down the full weight of Capitol's legal department right on your head?

I know what I'd do. I wouldn't leak it! And I suspect all the lucky buggers that *have* been given access to this stuff feel the same way. Ergo - no leaks... yet.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. Seems like it would be foolish to try to get around such measures.

[desmondo]

Just a lo-fi capture but the new vocals sound okay!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OpijJF1d2U

FAKE AND CRAP

It's just funny how everyone hears something different. I've spent a lifetime recording music, and this sounds great to me. I'm actually relieved.

It is funny how we hear everything differently - IIGS is better than BY which IMHO is absolutely terrible - and I don't think BW/ML/AB would allow out something this bad - it would damage reputations too much - if I was him it would stay in the vaults

[The Radiant Radish]

Fake or not it seems this supposed leak has inadvertently settled everyones nerves surrounding the expectations of these two tracks, because of the following:

If you like what you hear then you can relax, if they are as AGD confirms not bona fide and a weaker effort than the real thing then even better.

Good karma is restored for the 3 week haul that is left.

[tansen]

There are a lot of weird pitch stretching artifacts in Barnyard, as if the voice is modulating trying to find the right pitch.

Indeed. This just sounds wrong and artificial. Can't believe anyone actually thinks this sounds good.

Firstly, it is a very lo-fi recording, which accounts for the artifacts, Can't believe people can't hear past this, must just be the sound engineer in me!  

Secondly the original recording was also lo-fi. They can't travel back in time and re-mic the original recording can they?

This sounds fantastic, fan edit or not, and if the box version is even better than this then I will be a very happy  man

Also, what you are hearing on Barnyard is not "pitch stretching artifacts", more time stretching, where the individual notes/words have been stretched and moved to fit the track. And it fits.

See, there's where I disagree, it's not the quality as in a heavily compressed, lack of bandwith/amplitude, etc I think is artifacty. But it's the quite evident pitch correction, and time compression/expansion I think sounds bad. "Pitch stretching" isn't even a term, but you knew that. Yes, a lifetime of recording and 4 years of sound engineering education on top of that, here

[pixletwin]

Just a lo-fi capture but the new vocals sound okay!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OpijJF1d2U

FAKE AND CRAP

That was my impression too.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

"Fly In Sam..."
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Brother Records Inc.

uh oh.

[buddhahat]

That Fly In Sam has a lot to answer for ...

[hypehat]

Yerp. Are "Barnyard" and "Great Shape" featured elsewhere on the set, unmodified? I hope so. But with these tracks, there's only so much you can do. If you're gonna say someone needs to do a better job on these two particular tracks, best bust our your favorite time machine and give Brian Wilson circa-66 a good talkin' to.

Well, the Harv Piano demo is represented, and there are the sessions on the H&V disc, so yes. Strange how on the Sessions discs the pair are incorporated as H&V sections, but are standalone tracks on disc one. Curse that Joe Q. Public!

[37!ws]

I was pretty sure that this was fake anyway quite simply because as demonstrated when the stereo Pet Sounds put Mike's vocal back in the bridge, Mark Linett & company probably can make the Humble Harv piano much more subtle...

[desmondo]

Just a lo-fi capture but the new vocals sound okay!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OpijJF1d2U

FAKE AND CRAP

That was my impression too.

I'd be so embarassed if this was on my album - the quality of the whole thing is rubbish in everyway

[runnersdialzero]

I was pretty sure that this was fake anyway quite simply because as demonstrated when the stereo Pet Sounds put Mike's vocal back in the bridge, Mark Linett & company probably can make the Humble Harv piano much more subtle...

Mayhaps, although there are differences in both situations. Hate to bitch, I do see the necessity of the mix, but the subtle phasing (which can't be avoided, really) coupled with thinking Brian's vocal for that section is a hundred times better than Mike's (who sounds great elsewhere on the album) doesn't make me ever really go back to it.

Regardless, whatever mix they managed to isolate Mike's vocal out of is entirely different than just having to deal with a super rough recording of Brian noodling around with the songs on the piano.

Anyway. I've managed to make a totally worthless post, as I agree with being fairly certain these kids'll do a good job with what they have.

[Sam_BFC]

What is interesting is that all that heard it seem to agree that the 'sample' that was posted is of a much higher quality than has previously been heard on boots such as Purple Chick.  Yet we are told that it is still not the genuine version from the upcoming Smile Sessions release.  So clearly the 'sample' was still a boot of some kind, yet it seems to have never been available is such quality before.  So where did this 'sample' come from?  Could it have derived from the Smile Sessions version but have undergone a quality loss when being converted/data-compressed?

[Matt Bielewicz]

Well... it's not like Purple Chick was even some kind of beautiful yardstick, quality-wise. I thought it sounded well rough in parts, and some bits were obviously sourced from really rank low-bandwidth MP3s.

When all this stuff comes out, I look forward to making a mix of BWPS and 60s-era SMiLE stuff with full resolution audio. Purple Flac, if you will. MP3s are fine for listening on trains and in the car... but NOT for remixing. Full-res WAVs and AIFFs only, please!

And read again what AGD said above... this is NOT from the SMiLE Sessions audio. Not even a bit. People in the know say so...

[Sam_BFC]

Entirely agree Matt, was just sayin' that it's still interesting that it seemed to be a better quality source of those recordings than have been heard before (so far  )

[Shady]

"Barnyard" sounded pretty great

Surprised it's not from the SS box but now I can't even imagine how that's going to sound 

[guitarfool2002]

I believe that post/audio is a fake, a ruse, a red herring...

I believe that because at the tail end of Barnyard (the wordless vocals) you can tell it came from the same acetate source we've had all along. I think we'll be getting a non-acetate source of that one, if we believe what we've read so far. And they wouldn't "fly in" anything only to join it to the same distorted acetate version if the tracks of that tune exist in higher quality.

Case closed?

Don't take my word for it, though, by all means...

[Shady]

Brian's current twitter background is very cool