Brian and Record Company/Murry Pressure

[originals]

I had a thought today and I wanted to run it by all of you. I think 'extremes' of any kind are curious. In the early days, Brian was under extreme pressure by his father and Capitol to crank out the tunes NON-STOP. It was great for the band, but probably unhealthy for Brian. By 1966, the Beach Boys were more than a proven act thanks to the extreme pressure and control that had been exerted over Brian to produce product. But it seems the next chapter ("SMiLE") went to the other extreme where Brian now had TOO much time and TOO much control to tinker endlessly and second and third guess himself. He was now the 'genius' who had the luxury of too many options and too many decisions. Ultimately, decisions WEREN'T made and the album didn't happen. It's as if Brian 'drowned' in the freedom to explore and tinker endlessly. Like a painter who can't stand back and realize that the painting is actually finished. If "SMiLE" had been attempted in, say, 1965 - don't you figure that Murry and Capitol would have FORCED Brian to finish the album, decide on the song sequence, and it would've gotten done and been released? I'm not suggesting that it was GOOD for Brian to be harassed and pressured to the degree he was when the band was first signed - but the other extreme also seemed unhealthy in a different way. Thoughts?

[guitarfool2002]

If it indicates anything about the specific Smile era, Murry was against releasing "Good Vibrations" and expressed himself as such even as the song was sitting at or near #1 on the charts on at least two continents. He thought it would "lose" the fan base the Beach Boys had built up, and he openly challenged Brian and questioned him about it even as the record was a smash hit. I get the impression he wasn't all that comfortable with change, and in late '66 he was out of the game directly yet he did still own Sea Of Tunes...and he was Brian's dad, so who knows how much or how little his words affected daily events. There was a big fight at the end of 1966, according to those who were there.

Hal Blaine has spoken about working with Murry in the studio. According to Hal, he saw Murry as working from a 1950's Lawrence Welk template, and in the mid 60's that had obviously become dated. And ironically even Welk had begun recording his records with sounds and techniques more in line with what Brian Wilson was doing to make the pop charts, rather than the "standard" old way Murry apparently thought records were to be made. So you have a case where Brian was being challenged by Murry for using the "new" techniques, and one of the musicians Murry held up as an example of how to make good records when challenging Brian was looking to Brian and his peers for new sounds which would appeal to a younger crowd. That is either irony, or a case of having one's head in the sand.

Apart from the early hustle-and-bustle and show biz schmoozing that Murry used to help get the Boys higher up in the business, I don't think he was consulted nor listened to when it came to how to record a hit song. From his own sons to Capitol and beyond, I think they basically let him think he was being listened to...but he was still family, so however that played out in private is up for speculation.

[originals]

Interesting points.
But going back to my original thesis - - - I think the luxury of too much time and too much creative freedom is what did 'SMiLE' in. Brian became the painter who became unable to stand back and realize when the painting was done.  He tinkered and re-tinkered until he drowned in too many possibilities and lost the map.

[guitarfool2002]

Your original thesis gives Murry a bit too much weight in the story, in my opinion, and what I wanted to add to it was how and why I don't think Murry was taken seriously if at all by Brian or those around him at this time. His ideas were simply dated and out of touch, and yet he was too set in his ways to realize he was trying to convince someone his peers considered to be at the forefront of "new sounds" in music to make records like they did in the 50's. he may have thought he could convince someone to do something he said, but no one was listening or taking it seriously.

Capitol's situation was precarious at best: Anderle smelled blood and knew he and a good legal team could nail them in court over the royalties. So they essentially held the winning hand, yet when they won that hand and Capitol agreed to let them set up "Brother Records" inside of Capitol, it came at an unfortunate time in the history of Smile when it had already spiraled out of control. IMO. I honestly don't know how much Capitol could demand things and wave a contract in Brian's face after they lost the lawsuit and agreed to allow Brother Records to release the music.

[originals]

Again, thanks for your response. I just wonder if "SMiLE" had been attempted one or two years earlier if it would have come out simply because Brian was in less of a position to make demands. He was a perfectionist with 'Pet Sounds', but was also aware of deadlines and the need to finish it and not record and re-record parts of it over and over and over. Know what I mean?

[Aegir]

Brian's unlimited freedom was one of the downfalls, definitely. But then a lot of the interesting stuff wouldn't have happened either.

[originals]

Brian's unlimited freedom was one of the downfalls, definitely. But then a lot of the interesting stuff wouldn't have happened either.

Good point.

[originals]

I'm reading Keith Badman's book right now and am just astonished at how many sessions Brian did of just re-recording other re-recordings that were apparently perfectly fine in the first place. He painted that canvas over and over until he couldn't see it anymore. Sometimes having a George Martin-type figure is really helpful for artists, I think.

[Cam Mott]

I don't think anybody ever made Brian do anything professionally that he didn't want to do. On the contrary Brian made/got others to do what they didn't want to do. It seems to me Brian did whatever he wanted and Cap, Murry, Boys, studio suits, could like it or lump it but mostly they liked it. I mean really, decades have been spent trying to make Brian out a victim of practically everyone and everything and he was anything but. Come on, he was calling all the shots and everybody had to bend their will to Brian's desires.

Brian wanted more control over their sound? Went outside the label used his won studios etc. and became his own producer. Dad pressuring him? Dad fired. Road in the way of recording? Quit road. Label pressuring for product? Turn in whatever he wants when he gets around to it and scrap an entire album just cause he wants to.

[guitarfool2002]

I'm reading Keith Badman's book right now and am just astonished at how many sessions Brian did of just re-recording other re-recordings that were apparently perfectly fine in the first place. He painted that canvas over and over until he couldn't see it anymore. Sometimes having a George Martin-type figure is really helpful for artists, I think.

Brian was the George Martin figure. Except George Martin never wrote the songs he worked on.

[John Stivaktas]

I don't think anybody ever made Brian do anything professionally that he didn't want to do. On the contrary Brian made/got others to do what they didn't want to do. It seems to me Brian did whatever he wanted and Cap, Murry, Boys, studio suits, could like it or lump it but mostly they liked it. I mean really, decades have been spent trying to make Brian out a victim of practically everyone and everything and he was anything but. Come on, he was calling all the shots and everybody had to bend their will to Brian's desires.

Brian wanted more control over their sound? Went outside the label used his won studios etc. and became his own producer. Dad pressuring him? Dad fired. Road in the way of recording? Quit road. Label pressuring for product? Turn in whatever he wants when he gets around to it and scrap an entire album just cause he wants to.

The often repeated line that the other Beach Boys resisted the work on SMiLE, hence its non-release in 1966-67, just doesn't cut it. Brian stopped feeling like doing it, so it didn't happen. (As David Anderle has been quoted as saying, if it couldn't happen 'now' for Brian at that time, it didn't happen)

I agree with you Cam. The main issue was Capitol. The lawsuit and lack of promotion on Pet Sounds and change in musical style was more detrimental to things than Murry or the boys. When Capitol failed to push the Heroes and Villains single in mid -67, Brian stopped caring.

[Cam Mott]

In my opinion, the fact that H&V got to #12 shows it was promoted to a sufficient amount. Unfortunately, promotion doesn't assure the fans will dig it.

Brian swung for the fences in his hot new mood and method but the crowd didn't cheer, it didn't have anything to do with Capitol, or promotion, or the any people, or anything or anyone around Brian and the Boys. Again, imho.

[John Stivaktas]

Fair point, Cam. It took Brian 33 years to perform H&V again! (Sometime in 2000 he performed it live)

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Interesting points.
But going back to my original thesis - - - I think the luxury of too much time and too much creative freedom is what did 'SMiLE' in. Brian became the painter who became unable to stand back and realize when the painting was done.  He tinkered and re-tinkered until he drowned in too many possibilities and lost the map.

Pretty much what happened to Bryan Ferry, post-Avalon. It got to a point where he would tinker and tinker and tinker, and eventually basically refined himself out of relevancy.

[Paulos]

I'm reading Keith Badman's book right now and am just astonished at how many sessions Brian did of just re-recording other re-recordings that were apparently perfectly fine in the first place. He painted that canvas over and over until he couldn't see it anymore. Sometimes having a George Martin-type figure is really helpful for artists, I think.

Slightly off topic but regarding the amount of recording sessions - I bet the Wrecking Crew and the other session musicians made a pretty penny from Brian alone in the Pet Sounds through SMiLE era.

[Micha]

Ultimately, decisions WEREN'T made and the album didn't happen.

This is true, I think. Decisions how to finish the album were made in 2003/04, and then we got a finished album. I don't think though it has to do with having too much time. IMHO it was rather Brian's declining mental state why decisions weren't made, and, if Mark Linett is right, the recording style not being suited for 1967 technology which prevented the album from being finished.

If "SMiLE" had been attempted in, say, 1965 - don't you figure that Murry and Capitol would have FORCED Brian to finish the album, decide on the song sequence, and it would've gotten done and been released?

No, I don't think so at all. In 1965, Brian was still capable of finishing albums by a deadline without lots of pressure, and those albums were simply easier to be finished than SMiLE was. That has nothing to do with "forcing".