Van Dyke Parks interview in the latest Record Collector

[Turtle_13]

Picked up this issue today while in town.

On one of the questions relating to SMiLE Van Dyke Parks answers the following:

"I'm delighted it's finally coming out. I haven't seen the finished product, but I've been told it's beautiful, that as much thought as gone into it as there is the creation of a Fabergé egg. I understand it exploits the work of Frank Holmes [ an artist who also contributes to one of Parks forthcoming sleeves] who did the first SMiLE cover. I first met him in 1962, and I've always admired him. Frank's work deserves triangulated equality with Brian's and mine on SMiLE, that is a fact so I am delighted that this man is finally going to be honoured at long last. He's never been a rich man; he had to work as an usher at a theater so he could afford to go and see Brian perform SMiLE  a few years ago. That is reprehensible."


Maybe this has been mentioned already and I missed it but this seems to strongly imply that the original artwork will indeed be used.........

[Pretty Funky]

Will be the icing on the cake. Why the word 'exploit' though?

[juggler]

Picked up this issue today while in town.

On one of the questions relating to SMiLE Van Dyke Parks answers the following:

"I'm delighted it's finally coming out. I haven't seen the finished product, but I've been told it's beautiful, that as much thought as gone into it as there is the creation of a Fabergé egg. I understand it exploits the work of Frank Holmes [ an artist who also contributes to one of Parks forthcoming sleeves] who did the first SMiLE cover. I first met him in 1962, and I've always admired him. Frank's work deserves triangulated equality with Brian's and mine on SMiLE, that is a fact so I am delighted that this man is finally going to be honoured at long last. He's never been a rich man; he had to work as an usher at a theater so he could afford to go and see Brian perform SMiLE  a few years ago. That is reprehensible."


Maybe this has been mentioned already and I missed it but this seems to strongly imply that the original artwork will indeed be used.........

Thanks for reporting this!  To my knowledge, it hadn't been mentioned already.  Many of us have been wondering whether (and hoping that) Frank's art would be part of this release, so this is great news if VDP is right.

I believe that the Davies Hall (where Brian performed Smile in San Francisco) does have a volunteer ushering program (whereby you can gain free admission to concerts by serving as an usher).  That might be what VDP means.  Nonetheless, it is indeed a shame if Frank had to do to something like that in order to see Brian perform.  I mean, the guy is a major part of the Smile legend... Couldn't Brian's people have comp'd him? 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Picked up this issue today while in town.

On one of the questions relating to SMiLE Van Dyke Parks answers the following:

"I'm delighted it's finally coming out. I haven't seen the finished product, but I've been told it's beautiful, that as much thought as gone into it as there is the creation of a Fabergé egg. I understand it exploits the work of Frank Holmes [ an artist who also contributes to one of Parks forthcoming sleeves] who did the first SMiLE cover. I first met him in 1962, and I've always admired him. Frank's work deserves triangulated equality with Brian's and mine on SMiLE, that is a fact so I am delighted that this man is finally going to be honoured at long last. He's never been a rich man; he had to work as an usher at a theater so he could afford to go and see Brian perform SMiLE  a few years ago. That is reprehensible."


Maybe this has been mentioned already and I missed it but this seems to strongly imply that the original artwork will indeed be used.........

Thanks for reporting this!  To my knowledge, it hadn't been mentioned already.  Many of us have been wondering whether (and hoping that) Frank's art would be part of this release, so this is great news if VDP is right.

Ummm... I hope he's right too. However, that interview will have been conducted at least a month ago: it's possible he was expressing a wish rather than reporting a fact.

[A Million Units In Jan!]

VDP, in a bit from the latest MOJO; 'Mike Love would have wanted The Beach Boys to continue forever in an endless summer, celebrating fast cars and faster women, in the suicide position. Brian wanted to go somewhere else and I was glad to be there'. Of the package, he added, 'I hear it's going to be absolutely beautiful'. 

So there's two instances of it being 'Beautiful'. Here's hoping Frank gets his due!

[bgas]

Picked up this issue today while in town.

On one of the questions relating to SMiLE Van Dyke Parks answers the following:

"I'm delighted it's finally coming out. I haven't seen the finished product, but I've been told it's beautiful, that as much thought as gone into it as there is the creation of a Fabergé egg. I understand it exploits the work of Frank Holmes [ an artist who also contributes to one of Parks forthcoming sleeves] who did the first SMiLE cover. I first met him in 1962, and I've always admired him. Frank's work deserves triangulated equality with Brian's and mine on SMiLE, that is a fact so I am delighted that this man is finally going to be honoured at long last. He's never been a rich man; he had to work as an usher at a theater so he could afford to go and see Brian perform SMiLE  a few years ago. That is reprehensible."


Maybe this has been mentioned already and I missed it but this seems to strongly imply that the original artwork will indeed be used.........

Thanks for reporting this!  To my knowledge, it hadn't been mentioned already.  Many of us have been wondering whether (and hoping that) Frank's art would be part of this release, so this is great news if VDP is right.

Ummm... I hope he's right too. However, that interview will have been conducted at least a month ago: it's possible he was expressing a wish rather than reporting a fact.

O ye of little faith!  It's in there.

[A Million Units In Jan!]

None of this would even be a question if we weren't dealing with The Beach Boys, who have made a career of making....odd decisions. The most obvious thing to do isn't always the thing they choose to do. Word.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

VDP, in a bit from the latest MOJO; 'Mike Love would have wanted The Beach Boys to continue forever in an endless summer, celebrating fast cars and faster women, in the suicide position. Brian wanted to go somewhere else and I was glad to be there'. Of the package, he added, 'I hear it's going to be absolutely beautiful'. 

So there's two instances of it being 'Beautiful'. Here's hoping Frank gets his due!

Quotes like this annoy me. VDP was involved in Smile therefore he's biased. Fair enough. Let him slam Mike for the rest of his life if it makes him feel better. But to me it's a no brainer: Mike Love's idea of the Beach Boys was perfectly valid and was/is a large percentage of what The Beach Boys are, like it or not. To me, Smile would bore me to tears if I wasn't already in love with the group based upon all that came before and about 95% of what came after. The Beach Boys are all over the map and Smile was just one particular left turn in a career full of them. There's nothing wrong with fun in the sun, surf, fast cars, women, rock and roll and VDP had better get with it or shut up!

[drbeachboy]

Here, here! Nice post Erik. VDP, I think, places too much importance of his part in The Beach Boys career. I'm still not convinced that Smile would have been accepted by the masses anymore than Smiley Smile was.

[Pretty Funky]

Just looking at amazon and it has the Smile tribute album. Frank Holmes must have got paid something for that as it is so close to his cover artwork surely?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000069RO6/ref=dp_otherviews_0?ie=UTF8&s=music&img=0


If not....he was stiffed!

[Runaways]

Quotes like this annoy me. VDP was involved in Smile therefore he's biased. Fair enough. Let him slam Mike for the rest of his life if it makes him feel better. But to me it's a no brainer: Mike Love's idea of the Beach Boys was perfectly valid and was/is a large percentage of what The Beach Boys are, like it or not. To me, Smile would bore me to tears if I wasn't already in love with the group based upon all that came before and about 95% of what came after. The Beach Boys are all over the map and Smile was just one particular left turn in a career full of them. There's nothing wrong with fun in the sun, surf, fast cars, women, rock and roll and VDP had better get with it or shut up!

wait...read that quote again...what does van dyke say...i'll paraphrase, mike wanted to continue with the surf/car/girls music, brian wanted to do something else, van dyke was happy to do it with him.

where is mike being slammed again??  you can infer his tone perhaps, but he's just saying the truth.  do you mean the "suicide position" quote.  Surely even mike realized by the late 60s that surf music was gone.  and if we're talking about legacies, mike being a bit of a jerk is a part of it too, so just accept it.  

and when has van dyke ever been anti-surf?  didn't he name a song surf's up?  isn't he quoted as talking about the surf legacy of the beach boys as "i like all that" in the smile dvd?

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Well, he's inferring that Mike ONLY wanted to continue in the vein of surf, cars, girls and called it the suicide position. It's something of a jab at Mike, but then again, jabs at Mike are so commonplace and accepted that it's silly to even try pointing something out as a slam. As for jerks in the Beach Boys: I hardly think Mike earned that honor all on his own. Rock and roll is full of jerks and we all know it.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I mean, I actually know a guy who used to bash Mike all the time. I mean, really bash him, saying his was the biggest merdahole in the universe, while the whole time he had this huge poster of Sid Vicious on his wall!!!!

[Andrew G. Doe]

Just looking at amazon and it has the Smile tribute album. Frank Holmes must have got paid something for that as it is so close to his cover artwork surely?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000069RO6/ref=dp_otherviews_0?ie=UTF8&s=music&img=0


If not....he was stiffed!

**koff** - not a Smile tribute: just four tracks out of seventeen.

[Pretty Funky]

I stand corrected again! The clone cover distracted me.

But still the question. Should Holmes have been paid for that knock-off? My unlegal mind would say yes!

[Andrew G. Doe]

I stand corrected again! The clone cover distracted me.

But still the question. Should Holmes have been paid for that knock-off? My unlegal mind would say yes!

Coming from another angle, I'd say he had a good case for a copyright infringement suit... but given the nature of the project (and the frankly lamentable contents), probably wise not to pursue it.

[juggler]

I stand corrected again! The clone cover distracted me.

But still the question. Should Holmes have been paid for that knock-off? My unlegal mind would say yes!

Coming from another angle, I'd say he had a good case for a copyright infringement suit... but given the nature of the project (and the frankly lamentable contents), probably wise not to pursue it.

I bought this CD when it came out in 2002, and I seem to remember reading at the time that Holmes had given his blessing to the cover.  Could be wrong, though, and 9 years later, some of the original interviews and articles that accompanied the release have undoubtedly disappeared from the internet.

It's odd, though, that the liner notes of the disc do not mention or acknowledge Frank, so perhaps he didn't approve.  Who knows...  Water under the bridge at this point, I guess...

As for the music on the disc... some of the tracks are indeed cringe-inducing, though I really like Aaron Sprinkle's I Know There's an Answer/Hang on to Your Ego.

[Julia]

I used to feel the same way about Mike as some of you but have since come to conclusion that the situation isn't as simple or easy as a "I hate Mike" stance. I don't know how you can deny that he wasn't one of the creative forces behind the band. But I say live and let live. Mike had issues and not all of them were unjustified.

Seems to me the schism in the group (between Mike and Brian) began with California Girls. Then VDP and SMiLE only complicated the hell out of it. The problem with the Beach Boys has always been the dis-functionality of communication between family members and most of us know how complicated that is. To find a villain in a mess like that does everyone a great disservice.

Arguably it was Today, but CG is a great inflection point to show that Brian's talent had far eclipsed Mike's. I know people say the subject matter was Brian's and I'll assume that's true but still, that backing track is SO MUCH BETTER than those sleazy dumb lyrics it's insane. CG's instrumentation is equal to if not better even than Pet Sounds' best tracks, while its lyrics are among the most eye-rolling and juvenile Mike ever wrote. Anytime he brags about writing those words I almost wish I could tell him "Mike, that's really not that big an accomplishment..." This is a case where I wish we could see what Tony Asher would've done with it.

I agree the biggest problem with the BBs are they're a family. If not for that, they would've broken up at least three or four different times over the decades and probably been better for it. (As individuals, not necessarily musicians although I think for some of them that'd be true as well.)

Mike Love annoys the hell out of me as much as anybody, but to dismiss him as a creative fart is among the largest bull-merda I have read on the SSMB. Forget all the wonderful lyrics he wrote/contributed/inspired, and that he helps keep the BB flame alive.

Sure he pisses off just about everybody but I still dig the dude. I would bet a fortune that Brian's solo music would be loads better if Mike was contributing lyrics for him..that goes for TLOS and the rest of his solo output...

Shame all this drama has manifested among these artists. Mike may strike-out 99 times out of a hundred on his own, but with Brian he makes great art almost always...

Despite what I just said above, I agree with this. Listening to Brian's solo output really makes me miss the BB vocals, and is the strongest case against the "Brian didn't need them anyway" argument. That might've been true in the late '60s early 70s when his voice was still pristine, but come the 80s and beyond, when he sounded so much worse, listening to that same droning voice belt out song after song Im usually wanting to turn the music off and listen to something else for awhile. It's just too much of the same thing even if you like Brian's post-Landy voice.

It's intersting that Bri and VDP respect each other but still do not remain friends. For me VDP and ML are much more alike than Van is ever willing to admit. And I think it's cool that despite VDP's bitterness, he kept being invited to perform on BBs records, including their last #1 hit. It seems like Mike is cool / indifferent about the whole deal... Maybe it's time that VDP cools it.

I agree with this too. VDP is like Mike in that he clearly resents being in Brian's shadow and over-emphasizes the importance of his contributions as a result. Also he's constantly taking pot-shots at people like Mike. It's very unbecoming. I lost some respect and goodwill for Van after reading all the SMiLE stuff. I lost some respect for Brian too, but whatever Brian's faults he's paid for them and then some over the course of his tortured life, while Van and Mike could stand to learn a lesson or two in empathy and letting things go.

Picked up this issue today while in town.

On one of the questions relating to SMiLE Van Dyke Parks answers the following:

"I'm delighted it's finally coming out. I haven't seen the finished product, but I've been told it's beautiful, that as much thought as gone into it as there is the creation of a Fabergé egg. I understand it exploits the work of Frank Holmes [ an artist who also contributes to one of Parks forthcoming sleeves] who did the first SMiLE cover. I first met him in 1962, and I've always admired him. Frank's work deserves triangulated equality with Brian's and mine on SMiLE, that is a fact so I am delighted that this man is finally going to be honoured at long last. He's never been a rich man; he had to work as an usher at a theater so he could afford to go and see Brian perform SMiLE  a few years ago. That is reprehensible."


Maybe this has been mentioned already and I missed it but this seems to strongly imply that the original artwork will indeed be used.........

On the other hand, I admire how much VDP always goes to bat for Frank Holmes, a guy who's been overlooked and short-changed a lot by Brian and Capitol over the years. Apparently they seriously considered not using his artwork for the boxset which would've completely killed the whole vibe and been a slap in the face. That Frank wasn't offered a ticket to the show for free (and was treated like garbage by Brian's camp in the talks to using his artwork for the 2004 album) is definitely a mark against Brian or his management. I think that's part of what Van took issue with since then, that and getting sidelined for TLOS and probably Brian not sticking up for Holmes during negotiations for the boxset. Van's dedication is admirable here and Brian (or, I suspect, Melinda) comes off looking like a jerk.

I guess the pendulum is swinging again on Mike.

I can only speak for myself, of course, but my pendulum has been firmly in place since late the 90s. It became apparent to me, then, that The Beach Boys were finally getting their due as an important rock band from the 60s. In order for that to happen though, the centre of attention had to be Brian. Mike's attempt to save face through this, by saying that he was the one responsible for the band's success (pretty much suggesting that the band was successful in spite of Brian rather than because of Brian) was beyond the pale. It became clear to me, at that point, that the excuses given to cover up Mike's egomaniacal past behaviour were paper thin. As far as I'm concerned, he is exactly the type of personality that irks me the most - he talks a big game but has little to back it up and what is worse is that he actively attempts to take credit from those who are much more deserving. I really don't know how anybody could support such behaviour.

I really want to like Mike more than I do. Sometimes, when he's not bashing the Wilsons for using drugs decades ago, he can come off as pretty personable and charming in interviews. But every time I start to warm up to him, he does something or I discover something else he's done and Im reminded "no...no, he's just kind of an asshole." He is his own worst enemy. With a little humility and gratitude he'd be so much more popular than he is. And frankly, some of his more annoying fanboys from back in the day dont help his image either. When everyone on earth takes issue with the guys behavior it's not being a hater to say what Im saying, but a certain resident of kokomo and unlicensed doctor would have my head for saying this if they still posted here.