All things TSS packaging, presentation and booklet etc

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

Since you're here, Craig, we should congratulate you for the Sessionography.  That certainly will be THE reference for some time to come.  It is nice to know that they involved you, somebody who has put in the time not only looking at paperwork, but listening to the sessions over and over again.  I can't say I don't disagree with a couple of "instruments used" on a few of the sessions, but that's OK.  The Pet Sounds credits kept evolving over the years, actually getting worse as time went on and bad memories contributed to strange results (Like saying there was a bowed string bass on That's Not Me, e.g.)  All problems like that were solved for Smile by going to THE expert, a consummate pro, our own C-man.  I will have that sessionography at hand at all times for quick reference.

Thanks Josh, that means a lot coming from someone such as you, whose own research and study of the available sources I hold in deep respect.  I'm not opposed to discussing some of the "instruments used" decisions we came to, so feel free to post your own conclusions here for me to respond to.  This kind of discussion if highly enjoyable to me, and a few others I'm sure!

Craig, I'll definitely post a few thoughts soon, after I've re-gotten by bearings.  Discussing such matters brings us as close to being at the session as possible, so discussions on that sort of thing are always welcome for me.  With this new footage, my mental movie of some of the many sessions might have to change!

[Dr. Tim]

I also posted this in the main TSS Box thread, but a nice detail to add here too:

Chris Bellman, who did the vinyl mastering, wrote the following little messages in the dead wax at the end of each LP side:
side 1: "Dumb Angel"
side 2: "For Carl & Dennis"
side 3: "Look, listen, vibrate"
side 4: "For Chuck and Larry"  (Chuck Britz and Larry Levine)

No messages on the 45's, though.  Correction: Dan Lega reports there are.  Huh!
                            

[Jay]

thanks everybody for the help answering my questions. 

[Jay]

I just have to say again how amazed I am at the sessionography. There was one session(I forget whch one at the moment) that mentioned that at one point Al and Brian traded their positions when recording vocals. I'm not quite sure if it meant that they switched vocals parts, or where they were actually standing, but if it's the latter, then I'm totally floored at the attention to minute detail such as that.  The "Workshop" sessionography section was very cool too. Heck, I wouldn't even know the proper name for some of the "instruments"(i.e., tools) used. 

[The Demon]

I just have to say again how amazed I am at the sessionography. There was one session(I forget whch one at the moment) that mentioned that at one point Al and Brian traded their positions when recording vocals. I'm not quite sure if it meant that they switched vocals parts, or where they were actually standing, but if it's the latter, then I'm totally floored at the attention to minute detail such as that. 

Can't remember the tune...I want to say it was "Heroes," "Vega-Tables," or "Dada," but I think they said Al was in the control room and came out to the booth to switch places with Brian.


I love the booklet.  I think the sessionography is extremely helpful and I enjoyed the anecdotes and band members' thoughts.  I only wish they had printed lyrics which hadn't been recorded and specified what was written versus what was recorded (it seems weird to print lyrics to "Look"...it could've been explained if Brian really wanted that at the time or made the decision later...so something going over the evolution of the writing, and not just the recording, would've been helpful).  I also wish they had interviewed Brian, asking him things like who he had in mind to sing certain tracks, if he had any track sequences in mind, etc.  He probably would've have been that open, but it's worth a try.

[c-man]

I just have to say again how amazed I am at the sessionography. There was one session(I forget whch one at the moment) that mentioned that at one point Al and Brian traded their positions when recording vocals. I'm not quite sure if it meant that they switched vocals parts, or where they were actually standing, but if it's the latter, then I'm totally floored at the attention to minute detail such as that.  The "Workshop" sessionography section was very cool too. Heck, I wouldn't even know the proper name for some of the "instruments"(i.e., tools) used. 

Jay, it was
15. Heroes And Villains: Whistling Bridge
Vocals: Carl, Brian, Dennis, Mike
Whistling: Brian, Dennis & Carl ?
Control room comments: Al Jardine (switched places
in the booth with Brian before the first official take)
Master is Take 12

"Booth" in this case meaning Control Booth, i.e. Al took Brian's spot in the producer's chair for the remainder of the session while Brian sang with the other Boys down on the studio floor.  I mentioned that to point out the reason why Al has a credit for "Control room comments' but not "vocals" on this one.

[beatfan63]

Did ANYBODY have a problem with delivery from AMAZON? Mine arrived a week later after putting in for RELEASE DAY DELIVERY. I pre-ordered in back in August. Sadly, the box had a dent in it and I had to get in touch with AMAZON for a replacement which is suppost to arrive today. Hopefully, ALL WILL BE WELL with this DELIVERY.

[pixletwin]

Did ANYBODY have a problem with delivery from AMAZON? Mine arrived a week later after putting in for RELEASE DAY DELIVERY. I pre-ordered in back in August. Sadly, the box had a dent in it and I had to get in touch with AMAZON for a replacement which is suppost to arrive today. Hopefully, ALL WILL BE WELL with this DELIVERY.

I feared that would happen to me (past experience with on trac was disastrous) so I made sure I was constantly calling and bugging both amazon and on trac. Results were that I received it at 4:45 pm November 1st. I am positive that had I not bugged the hell outta them, I would be in the same boat as you.

Food for thought if you order from amazon in the future.

[Jay]

Was a button supposed to be included in all the box sets, or just on a special edition copy?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Was a button supposed to be included in all the box sets, or just on a special edition copy?

Only in the 2CD version.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Interesting... I'm most reliably informed that although David Leaf isn'y listed in the credits of the box set book, he originally was.

[Emdeeh]

I have both the 5-CD and the 2-CD box sets, and they are beautiful!

My one and only complaint is that some of the interviews in the 80-page book could have used a little proofreading for typesetting style consistency. Overall a minor quibble in the big picture -- this is a project done big, done lovingly, and done well.

And now to something entirely different -- somewhere I saw photos of the single CD release, but I can't find them anywhere now. Could someone please post those pics here? Thanks!

[Reverend Rock]

I am so looking forward to getting the box set in December (when I have some year-end bonus money to blow).  Everything I'm reading about it sounds so very good.  And anyway, I'd just about have to buy it for a properly presented "Bag Of Tricks" if for nothing else in the world.

[tunestony]

Part one of my SMiLE followup audio interview with co-producers Mark Linett & Alan Boyd has just been posted:

http://bit.ly/tPLJBu

In it, they talk about many of the questions that have been circulating around the 'net - including addressing the missing background vocals on "Barnyard," what, if any, tracks Brian nixed on the new set, how they assembled part two of "Heroes and Villains," and why there will never be a true stereo mix of "Good Vibrations." 

Part two will be posted in a week.

Also, we're giving away a copy of the 2-CD version of the SMiLE Sessions" - just "like" Icon Fetch on FB.

Enjoy,


Tony

[runnersdialzero]

He's clearly totally fucking lying about "Good Vibrations" not being able to be in stereo, as I have Audacity and I took two MP3s and made it into "glorious" stereo. What a total fucking liar. Things like "quality" (*rolls eyes*) shouldn't be an issue when everything can be in stereo.

[mammy blue]

A homemade pseudo-stereo concoction and a professional, true stereo presentation are two entirely different things, no? Without the vocal multitracks, it would be a bit of a ruse to really call it a stereo GV.

If that was sarcasm, btw, please disregard.

[runnersdialzero]

If that was sarcasm, btw, please disregard.

 

[RadBooley]

Just a random little issue I had with the box set: In the 3D cover of the box, the woman's head on my copy seems to be sort of bent (there's this crease on the neck and her head is facing down a bit). It doesn't seem to be like that for the guy behind the window. Just a random quirk in my set or are they all like that?

[endofposts]

Best Buy has the five CD boxed set on sale for less than $100 ($97 and change) for Cyber Monday.  It still seems a little too much for me on my budget, but if anyone was looking for a good deal before considering it, this is the best one I've seen yet.

[SufferingFools]

Did anyone else receive the boxset from Amazon in a box with the ad saying "little card - BIG SMILE"?   

[Rocker]

I have to repeat all the compliments on this box. It's a fascinating piece of art starting with the artwork and ending - of course - with the music. Fantastic !
Congratulations also to "our boy" c-man. You did a splendid job and probably created the definitive word on the Smile sessions. I was very surprised and happy to see that the Beach Boys were far more often working on the tracks than has been asserted many times. They are all over H&V ! This just confirms imo my guess that Brian didn't use them more because for the simple reason that they were touring and not because they "weren't good enough". Of course studio musicians would've been needed on some songs even if the Beach Boys were there but all in all it was just a brilliant concept they had back then. The boys were touring and making the band more popular, present the music to the masses while Brian was in the studio cutting new tracks. That way it was possible to take away the stress from Brian - remember that at one time he had to tour, write, arrange and produce the tracks for 4 albums in one year ! - and still have a very steady outcome. It really was a brilliant principle. Unfortunately it didn't last long but for the time it lasted it added up phenomenally. And the fact that those 5 (!) guys had to re-create something like Good Vibrations or God Only Knows on stage and did so wonderfully just shows their talent and abilities.

Once again, thank you to all who are responsible fo this great boxset. It'll be very hard to beat this one.

[c-man]

I have to repeat all the compliments on this box. It's a fascinating piece of art starting with the artwork and ending - of course - with the music. Fantastic !
Congratulations also to "our boy" c-man. You did a splendid job and probably created the definitive word on the Smile sessions. Once again, thank you to all who are responsible fo this great boxset. It'll be very hard to beat this one.

Thanks, Rocker.  I tell you, it was the experience of a lifetime, and quite a challenge, too, as most here might well imagine.  I had to deal with space restrictions, an ever-changing track lineup (which accounts for the discrepancy of track numbers in the final "Good Vibrations" sessions), the stated desire from the producers to have the overall sessionography order match the album template lineup, then within that order list multiple sessions for the same title chronologically, but always put the vocal credits at the top of each section, and find a place to fit in the bonus tracks (especially the Disc One bonus tracks, since the sessionography itself was to begin with the material on Disc Two).  My hat is eternally off to Tom Recchion, Dennis Wolfe, Mark Linett, and of course Alan Boyd, for giving me the opportunity & making it work in the end.  In retrospect, there's a couple of things that I could've done better, but hindsight is always 20/20, right?  

[hypehat]

Don't worry about it, c-man. It's a fantastic piece of work, and I have to catch myself sometimes when I look across my room and just see my SMiLE box. Thanks for being part of making it happen. 

[sidewinder572]

This is the greatest box set dedicated to a single album ever released. Hands down. It may be the fan boy in me speaking, but it's truly a thing of beauty. The packaging, the artwork, and of course the music inside. Just Vinyl, 7", CD's a book and a poster. No gimmicks likes scarves and phony backstage passes and sunglasses (I'm looking at you Pink Floyd and U2) In a year filled with box sets dedicated to single releases The Beach Boys trump them all. This is truly a treasure.

Oh yeah and one more thing. I already posted this over on the Hoffman board, but we all need to bow down to Chris Bellman for his incredible work on the vinyl. The CD sounds great but the vinyl leaves it in the dust. One of the best mono pressings I've heard. This and the Pet Sounds vinyl included with Carl and the Passion: So Tough are the top of the heap for mono pressings for me.

[Micha]

This is the greatest box set dedicated to a single album ever released. Hands down. It may be the fan boy in me speaking, but it's truly a thing of beauty. The packaging, the artwork, and of course the music inside. Just Vinyl, 7", CD's a book and a poster. No gimmicks likes scarves and phony backstage passes and sunglasses (I'm looking at you Pink Floyd and U2) In a year filled with box sets dedicated to single releases The Beach Boys trump them all. This is truly a treasure.

Oh yeah and one more thing. I already posted this over on the Hoffman board, but we all need to bow down to Chris Bellman for his incredible work on the vinyl. The CD sounds great but the vinyl leaves it in the dust.

Exactly! (That is, I could spare the poster... )