SMiLE Sessions box set!

[PhilCohen]

I like that attitude that says that capitol doesn't "owe" us anything. We're really turning the screws on them aren't we? Seriously they have us frothing at the mouths, pleading with them, begging them to allow us to give them our money. What a terrible position for them to be in.   "Alright guys, alright, you're really breaking our balls here, but I'll tell you what, we'll allow you to give us your money. But you owe us one, this is a pretty big favor, we can't just go around letting everyone give us money willy nilly, but we'll let you do it just this once." Please.
They aren't releasing this out of some altruism, they're releasing this to make money. They're lucky that they have a market for tapes that have been sitting on the shelf for 40 years. Without us nobody would care about smile, we're the customers, and ultimately we're the ones they have to please.

Smile really isn't that popular. Things like The Beatles reissues, or the Pink Floyd reissues enjoyed pretty extensive discussion when they were announced. On some other message boards I peak at the thread about the smile sessions got like 5 responses while some other major archival releases really got people excited. By now most people have forgotten about this project, and I think capitol has really dropped the ball. I don't think their current strategy of just refusing to say anything at all until the last minute has helped them, they could have done much more to manage the excitement and build the anticipation. Instead they just let it go unchecked and it's turned on them and just created months of pissed off fans. I don't think that really did anything to help this release, I don't think it got them anymore sales, and I don't think it really helped their reputation. Considering that they could have done more with a minimal amount of time or effort, I don't see why they didn't. Instead they've just assumed that annoying posture of "f*ck you guys, you'll buy it no matter what". Sure they are free to do that, but I don't think that made them any fans or sold any more units......

I've come back just this once to say that Mr.Fishmonk has basically said it all. And I'd add, that in a recent interview with a newspaper in Kentucky, an exceptionally taciturn interview(even by Brian Wilson standards), Brian himself has only increased the public's doubt that a "Smile" box will ever appear. Will the "Smile" box be released? "Maybe" says Brian. This does not look good.

[drbeachboy]

You never left, it seems. Lurking around, eh Phil? Just post, we all know that you're still here.

[PhilCohen]

You never left, it seems. Lurking around, eh Phil? Just post, we all know that you're still here.

Really, there's nothing much more to say. Within the next 5 months, we'll know if the box set is to be or not to be. I haven't been lurking much. Brian's recent interview caused me to decide to take look at this forum and see what response Brian's "Maybe" has brought from the "Smile" box dreamers.

[Tilt Araiza]

the "Smile" box dreamers.

That's a kind of insulting turn-of-phrase you have there.

[Tilt Araiza]

By the way, does anyone think Smile's critical standing will take a huge hit among the general music buyers that pick up the 2CD version?  I can see a lot of sincere "What was all the fuss about?" comments amid the more studied sneering it's also bound to get.  As a friend of mine put it, some people will find it contains more "two-chord plinky-plonky instrumentals" than they were expecting from a truly great album.

[Dunderhead]

The "maybe" answer is so weird. It's really unexplainable. That single answer really sums up everything wrong with this project. When it was announced we heard this time things were for sure, and after over four months we've moved from "absolutely" to "maybe". it's totally counterproductive, it's anti-promotion. My hope is that Brian was just talking out of his ass, and that's a disappointing thing to have to hope.

[drbeachboy]

Brian is doing the negative thing again this week. He is talking like he wants nothing to do with a reunion, dashing hopes of a new album, and doing this "maybe" stuff with Smile. I never believe anything Brian says in interviews. Maybe touring depresses him, who knows?

[rogerlancelot]

You never left, it seems. Lurking around, eh Phil? Just post, we all know that you're still here.

Really, there's nothing much more to say. Within the next 5 months, we'll know if the box set is to be or not to be. I haven't been lurking much. Brian's recent interview caused me to decide to take look at this forum and see what response Brian's "Maybe" has brought from the "Smile" box dreamers.

I love you, Phil!

[Mike's Beard]

It's ironic isn't it that Brian Wilson, the man who created Smile, is basically the last person in the world worth listening to when it comes to Smile release information.... Well after Phil Cohen that is.

[rab2591]

It's ironic isn't it that Brian Wilson, the man who created Smile, is basically the last person in the world worth listening to when it comes to Smile release information.... Well after Phil Cohen that is.

Finally a voice of reason here!

Seriously folks, why are we putting so much stock into what Brian is saying here? This is the same man that, when asked what the last movie he saw, said "Norbit", then when asked what his favorite movie of all time was, he yet again said "Norbit"

The man hates interviews with people he has never met before. He isn't a fan of the press, he isn't a fan of touring, he probably isn't a fan of SMiLE. Who the hell knows? Capitol said that SMiLE is coming out this year. Al said SMiLE is coming out this year. Mike said it is coming out this year. Brian has said he has heard the tapes and loves what he hears. Mark Linett gave a generous interview about the project - saying it would be out this year. Rumors have been floating around about SMiLE photos and boxset covers. Heroes and Villains and GV have been re-issued as singles! MOJO just released a re-edited (by Linett) Cabin Essence/Wonderful single! *DO I HAVE TO KEEP REPEATING THIS INFORMATION?

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU PEOPLE NEED?!???!?! Like I said not but less than 10 posts ago: Capitol doesn't need to give us a SMiLE factoid every 10 minutes. They have been promoting it subtly. Just because we don't have a tracklist to bitch about yet doesn't mean we're not getting a boxset. Just because Brian said "Maybe" in a stupid interview doesn't mean it's not coming out this year.

Not but three weeks ago I was very cynical about the lack of info, but then I was politely reminded about the promotion that has been going on RIGHT BEFORE OUR EYES.

And now Phil Cohen calls us "SMiLE dreamers" for basing our opinions about the release around good evidence. Whatev.

[Dunderhead]

It's weird, doesn't anyone just tell Brian after these interviews not to doubt his own project?

[bgas]

It's weird, doesn't anyone just tell Brian after these interviews not to doubt his own project?

Maybe it would be better, at least for Phil, if someone told Brian not to doubt his "own " project, BEFORE he does interviews. 

[bsten]

Guys, we shouldn't be blaming the internet, we should be blaming Al Jardine.

If It wasn't for him, we wouldn't know sweet FA about this boxset until Capitol released a full press release, with release dates, a tracklist and everything probably sometime in August.

As such, Al's loose lips ensured they had to essentially say 'The box is coming, we're working on it, but we don't know the details' and couch that in vague press talk. So we're waiting in real time, as opposed to the thing being under wraps until July or August, where we would have had the big announcement and a month or so wait.

Or it could be 100% intented to be that way by Captiol to get the fans talking about it on the net.  A big buildup usually will help sell more units than an "oh by the way, SMiLE is coming out next month" (which many people might miss).  Getting people to talk about it for months is a good way to stir the pot of interest. 

I remember the buildup for the Led Zeppelin DVD and Live CD in 2002-2003.  The wait was brutal, and we not only had to wait almost a year for the release once we knew about it, but there were tons of news stories about it, and rumors about possible other releases coming after those two.  It was exciting, but very hard to wait!

So, really, we should get on as many boards as possible and start discussions!!! 

[hypehat]

Guys, we shouldn't be blaming the internet, we should be blaming Al Jardine.

If It wasn't for him, we wouldn't know sweet FA about this boxset until Capitol released a full press release, with release dates, a tracklist and everything probably sometime in August.

As such, Al's loose lips ensured they had to essentially say 'The box is coming, we're working on it, but we don't know the details' and couch that in vague press talk. So we're waiting in real time, as opposed to the thing being under wraps until July or August, where we would have had the big announcement and a month or so wait.

It is not the Internet's fault, nor Al Jardine's, and surely not Capitol's fault. Some people need to practice some self control and patience. Except for the announcement, nothing official has been released. It's like listening to spoiled children in here. I've waited since I found out about Smile in 1972 and waiting a few more months for release or even waiting to hear an official release date is a drop in the bucket in regard to time. Just knowing that it is in the works and is coming soon, has made me a very happy fan. I've waited 39 years, so another 2 months will fly by in no time.

And I'm saying Al forced Capitol's hand into making an announcement on a project that had probably only just been ok'ed. Sure, it's happening, but we weren't supposed to know about it then, but for the grace of Al we go....

[drbeachboy]

Guys, we shouldn't be blaming the internet, we should be blaming Al Jardine.

If It wasn't for him, we wouldn't know sweet FA about this boxset until Capitol released a full press release, with release dates, a tracklist and everything probably sometime in August.

As such, Al's loose lips ensured they had to essentially say 'The box is coming, we're working on it, but we don't know the details' and couch that in vague press talk. So we're waiting in real time, as opposed to the thing being under wraps until July or August, where we would have had the big announcement and a month or so wait.

It is not the Internet's fault, nor Al Jardine's, and surely not Capitol's fault. Some people need to practice some self control and patience. Except for the announcement, nothing official has been released. It's like listening to spoiled children in here. I've waited since I found out about Smile in 1972 and waiting a few more months for release or even waiting to hear an official release date is a drop in the bucket in regard to time. Just knowing that it is in the works and is coming soon, has made me a very happy fan. I've waited 39 years, so another 2 months will fly by in no time.

And I'm saying Al forced Capitol's hand into making an announcement on a project that had probably only just been ok'ed. Sure, it's happening, but we weren't supposed to know about it then, but for the grace of Al we go....

Sure, Al spilled the beans, but some here act like Chicken Little; that the sky is going to fall if we don't get definite information on Smile.

[Catbirdman]

the "Smile" box dreamers.

[In his best nicotine-stained croon]
"...'Til theeeennnnn I'm just a dreeeaamerrrrrr...."

Welcome back Phil.

[Alex]

So when do we get a Summer in Paradise box?

[SloopJohnB]

You guys seem to forget the Record Day 78rpm had a small "Smile is coming soon" insert. So we would have known about it then even if Al hadn't spilled the beans.

[seanmurd]

Although some people here are getting a little hysterical about the lack of news, I think we can probably all agree that Capitol hasn't quite mastered the art of a 21st century box set rollout. We can't compare this to the Good Vibes box, when the internet was in its infancy, and most of us had to wait two weeks for the new Rolling Stone, or a month for the next ICE Magazine, to get the news we were panting for. They got off to a great start in March, allowing Mark Linett to give a fairly in-depth interview to Billboard and issuing the "this is real this time, we promise" press release. The Record Store Day single was a good stunt, and the MOJO single gave us the first official "From The Smile Sessions" tracks. That was now SIX WEEKS ago.

Now, I'm definitely not "pulling a Cohen" here -- I have no reason to doubt that the project is on track and that it will be released "this year" as promised. But there are SO many things that Capitol could have done since March to keep the excitement bubbling along nicely, rather than boiling over into insane rants and preposterous accusations. While I respect that they want to keep the track list under wraps until it is absolutely finalized, they could have allowed Linett a second interview with Billboard to highlight a few key tracks and/or discoveries, it would have given us something new to talk about for a few weeks. He got a sidebar in the MOJO special, but it wasn't terribly informative -- aside from the interesting quote that they are "presenting four CDs of the sessions, which is barely enough." Does that include the "album" on disc 1, or is it possible there are FIVE CDs in the box? We don't know, and won't until they tell us more.

In addition to better direct communication with the fans, Capitol should have had a few web-based tricks up their sleeve to help fans through the long summer months. The MOJO single sounds terrific, but it took me OVER A MONTH to find it in the U.S., and I still had to needle-drop it and clean it up to appreciate it. Streaming a few tracks from the box on BB.com -- one per month in July, August and September -- would have been a nice bone to throw to the fans. They could hold back the "wow!" tracks (if there are any), and maybe let us hear something that had only been booted in poor quality. A podcast interview with Alan Boyd about the set would have been great. A press release announcing that Capitol had secured the rights to Frank Holmes' artwork would have calmed some nerves. ANYTHING would have been better than what we've gotten over the last six weeks -- which is nothing.

Again, I'm not saying that Capitol has "dropped the ball" or that they "owe us" anything, and I'm not peeing myself over a "Maybe" answer in one of Brian's least communicative interviews in recent memory. But they could have done a better job of managing the pre-release anticipation. Did they think they could drop a bomb like the March press release -- declaring the reality of the most anticipated archival release in the history of rock -- and not follow it up for five months? It's absurd to say that people have "forgotten" about SMiLE now, or that Capitol's silence will cost them sales -- the only people who paid attention to the March announcement in the first place were the ones who are living and dying for this release. But once they decided to announce the box in March -- presumably due to Al's premature exclamation, but we don't even know THAT for sure -- they should have had a plan to keep us informed and in the loop.

I'll go back to an idea I've suggested for SMiLE promotion several times: They should have held a contest for the SMiLE nerds -- "Make Your Own SMiLE" -- and used that to fill up the summer. Have fans send in their SMiLE comps, get a couple of Capitol interns to listen to them all (but don't let Boyd or Linett hear them, to protect them from accusations of "ripping off" the fan ideas), and have some kind of prize. Perhaps the person who comes closest to what ends up on Disc One wins one of the deluxe boxes. As I said a couple of weeks ago, every day that passes without a new press release is a day CLOSER to when we DO get a new press release. Anything that would have kept the excitement going and the paranoia and petulance at bay would have been welcomed.

[LostArt]

When I was a kid, way back in the '60s, if I saw something really cool that I wanted, like that groovy Space Agent Spy Fun Kit that was advertised on the back of the Crispy Critters cereal box, I had to first collect the required number of Crispy Critters box tops, save up enough money from my paper route, send that stuff off to Battle Creek, MI in an envelope via the U.S. mail, and then wait another 6 weeks for delivery.  "Patience", my Mom told me.  And what do we need a tracklist for, anyway?  We know all the songs already.  You're really biting your fingernails over what songs Messrs. Linett and Boyd have chosen for their version of the "quote album"?  And what do I care how Capitol Records is choosing to market this thing?  I don't care if they sell 10 units or 10,000, as long as I get one.  And you kids there.....GET OFF MY LAWN!

[guitarfool2002]

Smile really isn't that popular.

Neither is Frank Zappa by the standard you seem to apply, yet Zappa has a very loyal fan base who will wait for and purchase any product to be released from his archives. Are Zappa's people expecting a copy of something they release to sell in the millions and chart next to Justin Beiber? Or are they considering putting out product for the fans they know exist and friends of those fans who may hear it and spread the word if they like it?

Maybe I'm not understanding the premise of the statement: Is the suggestion that Smile isn't that popular in relation to a Lady Gaga album or Chris Brown? Besides the lack of posts on a message board, what is that statement and theory based on?

[monicker]

I, for one, love this lack of information. It’s like the days prior to the internet; it’s even MORE exciting like this. The internet has destroyed so much, most of all any element of surprise. I think it would be amazing and quite a remarkable feat in this age to have this thing totally locked up tightly until it’s released. Take THAT, hyper-accelerated culture of “now!” Do you want this thing to be treated the same way that most movies are with a standard trailer that gives away every single aspect of the movie? Think of this box set more as a Terrence Malick film. Is getting a release date or a tracklist or an interview or artwork or a preview really going to do anything to alter your decision to buy this? This is nothing but impatience. 

And in regards to Brian’s “maybe,” it’s weird that, of all people, those here need to be reminded that Brian Wilson’s answers mean absolutely nothing. 

[Roger Ryan]

While I think Mr. Murdoch has some fine suggestions for promotional ideas, we're treating this release as more important than it has been perceived outside of this forum. There are only about 25 of us here who are actively discussing THE SMiLE SESSIONS release and probably less than a dozen who are disgruntled over the lack of forthcoming information. That doesn't amount to much. Has Capitol really dropped the ball by not catering to a specific group of people who could fit comfortably on a single touring bus? Maybe we need to let go of our egos a bit.

As LostArt and monicker intimated, and Arcade Fire recently sang about, "we used to wait". At one time, when I saw a film I really enjoyed, I knew that I would probably have to wait years before I would have the chance to see it again. I would attend a concert and hear the performer sing a new song which, again, might not be available for me to hear again for a year or more. Nowadays, I know that I can pretty much watch any movie I want instantly...and there are a dozen fan videos on YouTube of that new song performed in concert last night. Sure, that's what I'm used to now and I like having that kind of accessibility. But it's okay to wait a little bit too.

[Sam_BFC]

I'll go back to an idea I've suggested for SMiLE promotion several times: They should have held a contest for the SMiLE nerds -- "Make Your Own SMiLE" -- and used that to fill up the summer. Have fans send in their SMiLE comps, get a couple of Capitol interns to listen to them all

But Capitol would be endorsing some bootlegged material if they had done that!  Otherwise I tend to agree with your post however.

While I think Mr. Murdoch has some fine suggestions for promotional ideas, we're treating this release as more important than it has been perceived outside of this forum. There are only about 25 of us here who are actively discussing THE SMiLE SESSIONS release and probably less than a dozen who are disgruntled over the lack of forthcoming information. That doesn't amount to much.

I've not actively taken part in this discussion really, but I do visit the board and this thread daily keen to see the next bit of news announced; at the same time I am reasonably comfortable with the lack of information at the moment in light of the comments made by the likes of Andrew, Peter, ESQ Editor etc.

[philipbennett]

  new here, but my guess for what it's worth, is that Capitol are going to cash in on Christmas and release TSS late October to maximise sales.