The "Leila Revelation"

[Matt Bielewicz]

JMZ or anyone with the gadgets - have you done a similar exercise on BWPS version of Cabinessence?

Ask and ye shall receive...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1164003/TDM-BWPS.wav

After the hours of work the 60s one took the other night (and for only a couple of completed lines, too), that one was easy, cos it's a digital recording to start with, and sourced from CD. So overlaying the two sections to single-sample accuracy is comparatively straightforward.

MattB

[buddhahat]

There seems to be no solid evidence as to whether Truck Driving Man is '66 or '68.

Personally I believe it is '66 because it is so precise. The syncopation has been heavily rehearsed and coached imo. It is a chant. Who was really into chants and heavy rehearsals in 1966? This has Brian all over it.

By '68, would he have been interested or inclined to rehearse Dennis in this line?

Did he have anything to do with CE '68?

Did he want it on 20/20 at all?

Very good points.

[Chris Brown]

There seems to be no solid evidence as to whether Truck Driving Man is '66 or '68.

Personally I believe it is '66 because it is so precise. The syncopation has been heavily rehearsed and coached imo. It is a chant. Who was really into chants and heavy rehearsals in 1966? This has Brian all over it.

By '68, would he have been interested or inclined to rehearse Dennis in this line?

Did he have anything to do with CE '68?

Did he want it on 20/20 at all?

Very good points.

Very good points indeed.  I've long wondered about these same questions.

I agree that Truck Drivin' Man has to date from '66 - it's so Brian, for all the reasons you stated, and the lyrics are quite clearly Van Dyke's.  The sad thing is, we can't ask Brian, because last I read (sometime around BWPS), he didn't even remember that they were there on the original.  He thought it was something Dennis added on his own, which obviously isn't the case.

I don't recall reading much about Brian's involvement with the '68 finish, although I could be mistaken.  I would have to assume that given his reluctance to work on "Surf's Up" a few years later, he wouldn't have wanted anything to do with it, and given that the track was nearly complete in '66 (including the sequence), it's not like they really needed much help to finish it anyways.  I've never read of any protests from Brian about its inclusion on 20/20, which is curious, but perhaps he wasn't as bothered by it as he would later be by "Surf's Up." 

[Aegir]

JMZ or anyone with the gadgets - have you done a similar exercise on BWPS version of Cabinessence?

Ask and ye shall receive...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1164003/TDM-BWPS.wav

After the hours of work the 60s one took the other night (and for only a couple of completed lines, too), that one was easy, cos it's a digital recording to start with, and sourced from CD. So overlaying the two sections to single-sample accuracy is comparatively straightforward.

MattB

ugh, that vocal is so lifeless.

[Cliff1000uk]

JMZ or anyone with the gadgets - have you done a similar exercise on BWPS version of Cabinessence?

Ask and ye shall receive...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1164003/TDM-BWPS.wav

After the hours of work the 60s one took the other night (and for only a couple of completed lines, too), that one was easy, cos it's a digital recording to start with, and sourced from CD. So overlaying the two sections to single-sample accuracy is comparatively straightforward.

MattB

ugh, that vocal is so lifeless.

God, all I'm hearing is Liam Gallagher

PS:Glad to have you guys back to break up my day!

[Matt Bielewicz]

Well, Dennis's vocal on the original isn't the liveliest either, IMHO. Once the isolated version began to circulate, back in SMiLE Shop days (how I miss that place...!) and I could finally hear the thing, I wondered what all the fuss had been about. Dennis sounds like he's rushing through it in a monotone, and he badly fluffs the last part ('in the vaaaaaaaaaa...st... [long pause, as if he's totally forgotten where he is]... paaaaaast...) and then he gabbles the final lines. Not, in my opinion, his finest hour, despite the high opinion he held of the part a few years later in interviews.

The BWPS version is perhaps more monotone-like in its tonality, but I find it to be more competently delivered. That's just my two pence, though...

MattB

[MJP]

Regarding the "Truck Drivin' Man" part. I've asked this before and nobody seems to have an answer. Maybe Linett or Boyd knows. Maybe only Steve Desper and Carl and/or Brian Wilson know:

Was the "Truck Drivin' Man segment part of the original Cabinessence? If so, was it originally more up front in the mix or was it always mixed down behind the "Who Ran The Iron Horse" lyrics? Was this the way it was for the original Cabinessence mix in 1966 or were the "Who Ran The Iron Horse" lyrics later added over the top of the "Truck Drivin' Man" part in 1968 for the released version? 

It's present on the last Cabin Essence track in "Secret Smile", which I'm pretty sure contains only the vocal overdubs recorded in 1966.  AFAIK the only thing added in 1968 was Carl's lead vocal.

I forget who it was who confirmed it (I think it was Steve Desper but am not 100% sure) but allegedly Carl's lead also dates from 1966.

Nope, 1968 for sure.

[Chris Brown]

Well, Dennis's vocal on the original isn't the liveliest either, IMHO. Once the isolated version began to circulate, back in SMiLE Shop days (how I miss that place...!) and I could finally hear the thing, I wondered what all the fuss had been about. Dennis sounds like he's rushing through it in a monotone, and he badly fluffs the last part ('in the vaaaaaaaaaa...st... [long pause, as if he's totally forgotten where he is]... paaaaaast...) and then he gabbles the final lines. Not, in my opinion, his finest hour, despite the high opinion he held of the part a few years later in interviews.

The BWPS version is perhaps more monotone-like in its tonality, but I find it to be more competently delivered. That's just my two pence, though...

MattB

The difference is that Dennis' voice has personality to it, whereas Paul's doesn't...he sounds like he's just phoning it in.  To his credit, Dennis was just learning the part, so I can forgive it not being entirely perfect, but Paul has no such excuse.

[The Demon]

Regarding the "Truck Drivin' Man" part. I've asked this before and nobody seems to have an answer. Maybe Linett or Boyd knows. Maybe only Steve Desper and Carl and/or Brian Wilson know:

Was the "Truck Drivin' Man segment part of the original Cabinessence? If so, was it originally more up front in the mix or was it always mixed down behind the "Who Ran The Iron Horse" lyrics? Was this the way it was for the original Cabinessence mix in 1966 or were the "Who Ran The Iron Horse" lyrics later added over the top of the "Truck Drivin' Man" part in 1968 for the released version? 

It's present on the last Cabin Essence track in "Secret Smile", which I'm pretty sure contains only the vocal overdubs recorded in 1966.  AFAIK the only thing added in 1968 was Carl's lead vocal.

I forget who it was who confirmed it (I think it was Steve Desper but am not 100% sure) but allegedly Carl's lead also dates from 1966.

Nope, 1968 for sure.

Yeah, if I'm right, Desper said 1968.  It's the book for the GV: 30 Years box that says 1966.

As a slight aside, I'd love if TSS book has any info on who Brian wanted to sing certain songs.

[MJP]

Here's my problem with a 1968 Carl vocal.  At the end of Carl's vocal you can hear Brian come in and sing "Home on the Range".  Is that vocal from 66 or 68?

I also can't believe that a scratch vocal from 1966 wasn't found.  It just doesn't make sense.  Can you really see Carl going to Brian in 68 and say "Hey, Brian were going to put Cabinessence on the album were are the lyrics for it?

[37!ws]

Again, Carl supposedly found a studio lead sheet with the vocal line. A picture of it is in Look! Listen! VIBRATE! SMILE! and I think is in the background of one of the interviews in Beautiful Dreamer.

[The Shift]

Well, Dennis's vocal on the original isn't the liveliest either, IMHO. Once the isolated version began to circulate, back in SMiLE Shop days (how I miss that place...!) and I could finally hear the thing, I wondered what all the fuss had been about. Dennis sounds like he's rushing through it in a monotone, and he badly fluffs the last part ('in the vaaaaaaaaaa...st... [long pause, as if he's totally forgotten where he is]... paaaaaast...) and then he gabbles the final lines. Not, in my opinion, his finest hour, despite the high opinion he held of the part a few years later in interviews.

The BWPS version is perhaps more monotone-like in its tonality, but I find it to be more competently delivered. That's just my two pence, though...

MattB

The difference is that Dennis' voice has personality to it, whereas Paul's doesn't...he sounds like he's just phoning it in.  To his credit, Dennis was just learning the part, so I can forgive it not being entirely perfect, but Paul has no such excuse.

Paul? Though it was Nicky…

Either ways, I don't think Dennis's delivery is on the nail either. "Still learning the part" is a curious excuse for 66 – one thing that stands out about early to mid 60s BBs material is that they inhabited the words of the songs, whether because they rehearsed until they were blue in the face or because Brian coached them in the minutiae of the delivery. When a BBs record came out, it sounded like they'd been singing it all their lives.

Isolated, Dennis's TDM lines sound like a very early attempt, perhaps one reason why it's not too high in the mix (though I'm surprised the perfectionist BW let it pass!); that said, I much prefer it to the 2004 version – more personality, more balls.

[The Shift]

Here's my problem with a 1968 Carl vocal.  At the end of Carl's vocal you can hear Brian come in and sing "Home on the Range".

Agree with that 100% and I'm hoping the track notes in the box will back up my belief!

Y'know, it might even be that one of the brothers cut his lines in '66, the other in '68.

[The Demon]

It would make perfect sense to think that the lead was recorded in some fashion in '66, either by Brian as a demo or by Carl as a shot at actually recording it.  Much like "Worms," somebody must have taken a stab at it at some point.  Why record literally everything else but the lead?

My assumption--which is just that--is we had a paranoid Brian who probably avoided confrontation at all costs, which is why leads weren't done (that and he became distracted with creating singles instead of finalizing the album).  Of course, the guys sang what he wanted (in an interview from the 90s Mike says he'd skip some vocal sessions when he wasn't into what they were doing, but I have a feeling that was based more on Brian's eccentric requests/behavior, not lyrics), but I think Brian couldn't deal with having to justify himself and couldn't deal with being criticized.  No matter what the reason, I'm sure from Brian's point of view it makes total sense.  Don't forget, this was the guy who released "Heroes and Villains" based on an astrological reading, something that seemed totally normal to him but to us is ridiculous.

Also, how many of the "controversial" lyrics were done by Beach Boys other than Brian?  The tag to "Cabin Essence"?  "Sunny down snuff" lyrics?

[guitarfool2002]

I don't find it too hard to believe that the Dennis chant is exactly as they wanted it to sound on the recording. The low mixing does cloud the lyrics, obviously, but at the same time it adds to the overall pulse and drone of the track, similar to any "wall of sound" producer or arranger adding a part which is meant to be felt or perceived by the listener rather than mixed right up in your face.

I think the part adds a very cool drone, a weird sort of pulse to the track that could remind you of riding on a train or driving a truck, at that stage where the sound of the wheels hypnotizes you just enough to either doze off or wake up.

I'm sticking with 1966 as the year the Truck Drivin part was recorded until further proof, but I still find it odd that nearly every CE vocal tracked in 1966 (which we have audio proof of) seems to have been logged by Oppenheim and his camera crew except Dennis' part. And obviously, no lead vocal.

[Micha]

It would make perfect sense to think that the lead was recorded in some fashion in '66, either by Brian as a demo or by Carl as a shot at actually recording it.  Much like "Worms," somebody must have taken a stab at it at some point.  Why record literally everything else but the lead?

My assumption--which is just that--is we had a paranoid Brian who probably avoided confrontation at all costs, which is why leads weren't done

Yup, that was supposed to be my point, too.

[monicker]

Carl's CE lead has 1968 written all over it. That is not how he sang in 1966. It has his overly emotive quality to it that he adopted after Wild Honey (but started during the Smiley Smile sessions). Listen to GOK for an example of how Carl sang before Smiley Smile, which sounds very different from the way he sings lead on CE.

[drbeachboy]

Carl's CE lead has 1968 written all over it. That is not how he sang in 1966. It has his overly emotive quality to it that he adopted after Wild Honey (but started during the Smiley Smile sessions). Listen to GOK for an example of how Carl sang before Smiley Smile, which sounds very different from the way he sings lead on CE.

Though you are most likely correct, your example doesn't necessarily hold up, because prior to GOK, his 3 leads were more natural than the breathy and softer GOK & GV lead vocals.

[Andrew G. Doe]

There seems to be no solid evidence as to whether Truck Driving Man is '66 or '68.

Not currently available, no... 

[Mikie]

By '68, would he have been interested or inclined to rehearse Dennis in this line?

Did he have anything to do with CE '68?

Did he want it on 20/20 at all?

I think the easy answers to all three of those questions is "No".

[Mikie]

The sad thing is, we can't ask Brian, because last I read (sometime around BWPS), he didn't even remember that they were there on the original.  He thought it was something Dennis added on his own, which obviously isn't the case.

Not sure it's obvious. If the "Truck" lyrics were added in 1968, Brian probably wasn't involved and unaware of it, thus supporting the notion that he didn't remember it and they were added post 1966.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

By '68, would he have been interested or inclined to rehearse Dennis in this line?

Did he have anything to do with CE '68?

Did he want it on 20/20 at all?

I think the easy answers to all three of those questions is "No".

We really need that "rhetorical question" smiley 

[Mikie]

Well, Dennis's vocal on the original isn't the liveliest either, IMHO. Once the isolated version began to circulate, back in SMiLE Shop days (how I miss that place...!) and I could finally hear the thing, I wondered what all the fuss had been about. Dennis sounds like he's rushing through it in a monotone, and he badly fluffs the last part ('in the vaaaaaaaaaa...st... [long pause, as if he's totally forgotten where he is]... paaaaaast...) and then he gabbles the final lines. Not, in my opinion, his finest hour, despite the high opinion he held of the part a few years later in interviews.

Devil's advocate here - If that holds water and Dennis' vocal and line recital was not perfect as you say, and knowing Brian was picky in 1966, then why did Brian let it go? If it was indeed recorded in 1968 and Brian wasn't involved, then maybe it was not perfect because Brian wasn't at the helm watching over things. OR, Brian (or Carl) knew it was going to be mixed down and barely audible anyway, so no big deal if Dennis flubbed it a little bit. Yeah, I've heard the "Truck" section a LOT over the years, but this is the first time someone suggested that Dennis messed this up a little bit. Doesn't sound bad to these ears, sounds OK to me though with good timing and no 'gabbling' or cramming words at the end.

[Mikie]

We really need that "rhetorical question" smiley 

 

[Chocolate Shake Man]

It would make perfect sense to think that the lead was recorded in some fashion in '66, either by Brian as a demo or by Carl as a shot at actually recording it.  Much like "Worms," somebody must have taken a stab at it at some point.  Why record literally everything else but the lead?

You could ask the same thing of Barnyard and Child is the Father of the Man. I think one of the great tragedies of Smile being abandoned is the fact that there is absolutely no record of lyrics or melody for the latter song though I can't imagine that they weren't written.