A Bag of Tricks

[BiG GRiN]

For many years, I always tried to imagine, to find, what Brian had intended to create Dumb Angel, and what exactly, he wanted to put into the SMiLE concept album.

We know and learnt a few things through the years, but unfortunately, we don't know, and will may never know the final concept, the final product.



So, does SMiLE is a big bag full of tricks: beautiful sounds, wonderful instrumental track, and words (jokes)?
or was it a big bag of crap, drugs and coffeine.

The americana, the elements, are for sure part of SMiLE. But what about all the others stuff recorded?

In 1967 (I guess), Brian said in an interview, that SMiLE was a 'mix' of songs, sounds, intrumental tracks and words.
With that in mind, I always considered 'George fell into his french horn', 'Psychedelic sounds', the jokes recorded with the girls (Marylin, Diane...), and maybe

 'the vegetables arguments', was intended to be part of the SMiLE album. Did Brian was 'lost' among all this huge amount of recordings, bits and pieces everywhere? Hard to assemble this giant puzzle.

 But seriously, that's what I would expect, and would like to hear in a whole album. And I'm still believing, it was what Brian wanted to release.


It may sounds totally silly, but here are some thoughts and facts.
If you listen to 'George Fell', the 'Psychedelic Sounds' with the gang, the jokes, and the 'vegetable argument', you can clearly hear Brian giving instructions to the differents persons involved. In first impression, it sounds like a bunch of silly fellows, having fun, just joking after smoking pots (ok, I guess it was the case), a bunch of hippies goofying together, but clearly not only.
First time when I heard the SMiLE mix made by Dj Mic Luv, I found interesting, and maybe close to the 'truth', the way he mixed the fragments of sounds or words (jokes) with the songs, as the introduction of the songs. Really interesting and well done.

I am, myself 'working' for longtime on my own SMiLE mix with all the pieces I collected through the years.

And if I had a wish, it would be to have the whole project Brian started in 1966, finally  and fully completed.




Of course, the other possibility is, that all these recordings was intented to be part of another project.

But in my mind,  I think it's hard to admit that all these hours of recordings and money spent, was made for nothing.

Any thoughts and informations are welcome.

[JMZ]

But in my mind,  I think it's hard to admit that all these hours of recordings and money spent, was made for nothing.

Certainly he wanted to make something like you say. I wasn't born at this time, but according to what we can see and read, everybody wanted to experiment these days. Bits like "vegetables argument" or "George fell..." reminds me a lot of Frank Zappa's Freak Out sides 3 and 4. Paul McCartney says Freak Out influenced him to make "Pepper" (as well as Pet Sounds) maybe Brian wanted to do such things too.

My opinion is you can't do a 180 degrees U turn when you're the leader of one of the most famous pop group of america. And also, you need to know what you do and how to do when it comes to follow some hype of the moment. I mean Brian Wilson is god when it comes to beautiful melodies, rich arrangements and wonderful harmonies, but let's face it, maybe he wasn't good at collage and sound manipulating. 

Personaly, I don't like the speech stuff and I never listen to them. The only stuff I'd keep for SMiLE could be a bit of the "underwater" sequence to segue between H&V and Worms. 

[smokeythebear]

I think he knew exactly what he was doing. It could be that he wanted the Jokes as bridges between sections, vegetable argument for vegetables thats obvious. Perhaps fell into his french horn should be the lead in to heroes and villians or end of it.

[The Shift]

If anything, "George" to my mind belongs to Surf's Up.  Listen to this, at 50 seconds – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYscz9EODXE – a discordant, direct reference to the George session, to my ears.

That said, I don't think there's any likelihood at all that Brian would have included it on SMiLE.  The box might prove otherwise but I doubt that too!   

[smokeythebear]

If anything, "George" to my mind belongs to Surf's Up.  Listen to this, at 50 seconds – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYscz9EODXE – a discordant, direct reference to the George session, to my ears.

That said, I don't think there's any likelihood at all that Brian would have included it on SMiLE.  The box might prove otherwise but I doubt that too!   

Naah, i dont think so..sorry but i dont think surfs up was supposed to contain any jokes, it is not that kind of tune. Heroes on the other hand is.

[Bill Tobelman]

A few days ago a post pointed out that if you listen to Brian work in the studio with the session musicians (even on Dada) he seems to have his act very together & seems of sound mind throughout. Same can be said of all the side projects that he was involved in such as the chants & comedy sketches.

The chants were based upon a "set of values," and it's funny (to me at least) when something outside of the prescribed set of values enters into the equation.

Also funny is the self contained seriousness of the Chicago cab driver who was taped. The tape gave Brian some inspiration.

"I want to take this sort of approach to a humorous record, maybe a radio show."

[The Shift]

If anything, "George" to my mind belongs to Surf's Up.  Listen to this, at 50 seconds – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYscz9EODXE – a discordant, direct reference to the George session, to my ears.

That said, I don't think there's any likelihood at all that Brian would have included it on SMiLE.  The box might prove otherwise but I doubt that too!   

Naah, i dont think so..sorry but i dont think surfs up was supposed to contain any jokes, it is not that kind of tune. Heroes on the other hand is.

It's not really the kind of tune to erupt into discordance either, it just does.

Interestingly that discord was purged from the 1971 version and replaced with swirling strings.  So maybe Carl wasn't into it either.

[hypehat]

You mean the BWPS version - it's muted on the 71 version, but it's there. That twisted Woody Woodpecker quote isn't humourous, it hints at the tracks more malevolent lyrical side...

[Bicyclerider]

Even more than Freak Out, Lumpy Gravy is to me what Smile might have been - a brilliantly edited together pastiche of humor skits, captured conversations, classical music, surf and oldies type tunes.  There's a skit about someone trapped in a drum - did Frank hear Brian's trapped in a microphone skit?  David Anderle is the link between Frank and Brian, who knows what cross pollination occured between the two of them.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

i dont think surfs up was supposed to contain any jokes, it is not that kind of tune.

But the title is so tongue-in-cheek, no?

[onkster]

I think the title was more ironic and/or twisted. I think it means saying "Surf's up" the way you would say "Time's up". Like something is over, or about to be. When you say "Surf's up" at the beach, that means the waves are ready to ride, no? Whereas the whole mood of "Surf's Up" is, uh oh, the good times are changing.

I think it's also a very deliberate signal to Beach Boys listeners that surf music is up, it's over, and it's time to expect and explore different things now.

[Roger Ryan]

Well, within the context of the song, "surf's up" means it's high time for change and the children need to wrestle control of the failing institutions away from the parents - a declaration similar to "The Times They Are A' Changing". There's no doubt in my mind, however, that Parks intended the title to be a comment on the past surfing hits the Beach Boys were initially identified with.

Even now, the casual listener would see the title "Surf's Up" among other Beach Boys songs and would presume to know what the message or style of the song would be...and then their minds would be blown when they actually listened to the track.