Durrie Parks Smile acetates up for sale for $10,000

[hypehat]

Now I could have sworn that I read on the board that these acetates were auditioned by Capitol in the run up to TSS and there was nothing of note on them.....

And yet the descriptions of the track say otherwise. Alternate "children were raised". H&V with Great Shape.

Anyway, we get to one of the acetates labeled "H&V". At some point, a completely new version of I'm In Great Shape starts playing. It was radically different from the versions in circulation (of which there is one with harp and saxophone, one with celeste, and one with heavy piano if I remember correctly)! This version of IIGS has more heavy instrumentation, but has the IIGS bassline. There was definitely percussion, maybe snares and other various pieces. It's pretty similar to the false barnyard instrumentation, and my guess is that it's on disc 1 of the link at the beginning of this thread (and is mislabeled, but I guess I can see how the two got confused).

At this point I thought "wow, amazing!", but then something really interesting happened! In two clearly spliced edits (speaking of which, I can't remember if IIGS had the tape distortion effect the earlier takes had, but if it did it was much, much more subtle), IGGS went directly into the harpsichord playing that's underneath "my children were raised, you know they...", from the official H&V single, but with the arrangement from H&V part 1 from the SS/WH twofer that goes into "healthy wealthy and OFTEN wise" (all with no vocals), then directly into the full instrumental arrangement behind "three score and five", and that then played out until the finish of the acetate. I cannot remember if the three score and five vocals were on top of the section or not...it all happened so fast and I was just caught off guard. Either way, it's the first time I'd heard that arrangement of those pieces, and it came straight from the men. So clearly this was the highlight to me.

The second biggest highlight for me came from Do You Like Worms. Maybe this piece is out there so forgive me for not having heard it. One of the mixes of Bicycle Rider on an acetate was the kick drum, and the oooga cha vocals, with very light harpsichord in the mix. It was extremely rhythmic and very punchy. It was nothing mindblowing, like hearing Ribbon of Concrete being sung would have been, but it just sounded amazing.

There is also a completely new/original keenywokapula vocal take on one of the DYLWs with a different mix. Not mindblowingly new, but mindblowingly great to listen to.

Er.....yes please!!!!!!!

Guys, these are in the hands of a private collector. Maybe someone who reads this board. If there was some way of finding out where they ended up, we could tentatively find out what it would take for us to hear these disks.

Ahh, I hate things like that, I'm inclined not to trust them.

'And then, a version of one song played, with some instruments on it, like... bass. And drums. It sounded like a thing that also has bass and drums, like Please Please Me or the Ode To Joy. Then it went into that part from the same song, but it was different, in a way I can't remember well enough to articulate in words. Then there was an edit, but I can't tell whether it's new as I'm not familiar enough with the song in the first place, and then the song played! But then it ended, in a way I also am unable to remember. It was raining outside, that I remember. Her eyes were blue. Raining so much. It didn't stop.'

Also,

'IGGS went directly into the harpsichord playing that's underneath "my children were raised, you know they...", from the official H&V single, but with the arrangement from H&V part 1 from the SS/WH twofer that goes into "healthy wealthy and OFTEN wise" (all with no vocals), then directly into the full instrumental arrangement behind "three score and five"'

This makes no sense? So the harpsichord plays Children Were Raised, with the arrangement from the 'Part One' mix over the top. But with no vocals. So it's a harpsichord part with a no vocals mix of an much faster acapella part on top of it? Do they just mean it's got the piano part of 'Often Wise' on it? I HATE THESE THINGS 

If you give me your entire Beach Boys collection, I'll send you one snippet of H&V October assembly in an 8bit  MP3.

Deal.

[send me a picture and i'll tell you]

"Love and Mercy" has a scene in which SMiLE collapses, and a distraught Brian starts breaking acetates against the walls.  With these big-budget Hollywood things, $10,000 was a small price to pay to lend a period look to the scene.

Or Brian (or his wifeandmanagers) simply wants the audience to actually experience seeing SMiLE being destroyed.

[runnersdialzero]

"Love and Mercy" has a scene in which SMiLE collapses, and a distraught Brian starts throwing acetates against the walls.  With these big-budget Hollywood things, $10,000 was a small price to pay to lend a period look to the scene.

Or Brian (or his wifeandmanagers) simply wants the audience to actually experience seeing SMiLE being destroyed.

It's true. Mike, Murry, and Marilyn (the unholy trinity of people whose name starts with "M" as the film credits them) are in the scene too, cheering him on and stealing his medication and smashing his bread. The next scene is the band working on "Do It Again" and Brian looks real sad.

[Mr. Cohen]

One big revelation in the film is that Brian didn't spend much time in bed. He actually spent most of the mid-70s playing "Shortenin' Bread" while he stared at a plate of actual shortening bread on the lid of his piano with a Cheshire grin. It was Marilyn's job to restock the shortening bread a few times a day.

[send me a picture and i'll tell you]

He named his favorite pieces of bread Diane and Stevie, and he would pick them up and rub them together while making "rrrrr, rrrrr" truck noises with his mouth. One day Marilyn got mad and threw them out and replaced them with a piece of pumpernickel, which Brian named Carolyn.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Now I could have sworn that I read on the board that these acetates were auditioned by Capitol in the run up to TSS and there was nothing of note on them.....

You're remembering correctly. And don't swear, it's rude.

[UK_Surf]

Not sure if someone's already mentioned this stuff, but I think Durrie Parks once visited the old Smile Shop message board (or someone reported his interview with her there...gettin' rusty here); regardless, fans have been aware of her acetate collection for at least a decade (but not of its specific contents), and of course, the MIC audition process was reported.  The value in that audition may not have been in the audio, but in the editing decisions.

However, this itemised list is excellent (though I share the suspicion that although "unreleased", some, maybe all of these items may be on boots on one form or another).

Still. Cool to be a BBs fan.

Oh, as I've been living under a rock for the last year, is there anything useful related to Smile on MIC?

[Micha]

IIGS went directly into the harpsichord playing that's underneath "my children were raised, you know they...", from the official H&V single, but with the arrangement from H&V part 1 from the SS/WH twofer that goes into "healthy wealthy and OFTEN wise" (all with no vocals), then directly into the full instrumental arrangement behind "three score and five",

I thought about it - probably the poster meant with "arrangement" the way the sections are edited together, not what we would call an "arrangement". So I figure it's the harpsichord section ending abruptly followed by the piano under "often wise". Otherwise it wouldn't make sense, as the arrangement for the "my children were raised" on the alternate take is purely accapella, so if there are no vocals as the poster says, there's no arrangement at all.

[DonnyL]

Not sure if someone's already mentioned this stuff, but I think Durrie Parks once visited the old Smile Shop message board (or someone reported his interview with her there...gettin' rusty here); regardless, fans have been aware of her acetate collection for at least a decade (but not of its specific contents), and of course, the MIC audition process was reported.  The value in that audition may not have been in the audio, but in the editing decisions.

However, this itemised list is excellent (though I share the suspicion that although "unreleased", some, maybe all of these items may be on boots on one form or another).

Still. Cool to be a BBs fan.

Oh, as I've been living under a rock for the last year, is there anything useful related to Smile on MIC?

That was me ... I'm the one that broke the news, back in '99. I knew Durrie personally in the late '90s.

[soniclovenoize]

Wow what a great thread.  I guess that's what happens when I'm gone for a while ;_;

[UK_Surf]

Great stuff! I remember well the excitement that caused at the time, and how a real sense of an online Smile research culture that could make a difference in the actual world started to galvanise then. Nice one - thanks!

Not sure if someone's already mentioned this stuff, but I think Durrie Parks once visited the old Smile Shop message board (or someone reported his interview with her there...gettin' rusty here); regardless, fans have been aware of her acetate collection for at least a decade (but not of its specific contents), and of course, the MIC audition process was reported.  The value in that audition may not have been in the audio, but in the editing decisions.

However, this itemised list is excellent (though I share the suspicion that although "unreleased", some, maybe all of these items may be on boots on one form or another).

Still. Cool to be a BBs fan.

Oh, as I've been living under a rock for the last year, is there anything useful related to Smile on MIC?

That was me ... I'm the one that broke the news, back in '99. I knew Durrie personally in the late '90s.

[Bicyclerider]

Now I could have sworn that I read on the board that these acetates were auditioned by Capitol in the run up to TSS and there was nothing of note on them.....

You're remembering correctly. And don't swear, it's rude.

No, acetates in Durrie's possession were auditioned by Capitol and nothing new was found - but not these acetates, which were discovered later.

[DonnyL]

I'd bet there's lots more stuff floating around out there. Most people wouldn't know it if they saw it.

[The Shift]

I could ask someone who might know someone who might know whether someone would know whether there's anything else out there. Hang on…

Andrew is there anything else out there?

[MJP]

Andrew,
Is there any of that 5 hours of Smile material that you heard during a visit to the colonies back in the 80's still unreleased?

[Iron Horse-Apples]

Now I could have sworn that I read on the board that these acetates were auditioned by Capitol in the run up to TSS and there was nothing of note on them.....

You're remembering correctly. And don't swear, it's rude.

No, acetates in Durrie's possession were auditioned by Capitol and nothing new was found - but not these acetates, which were discovered later.

More info please.

[The Shift]

No, acetates in Durrie's possession were auditioned by Capitol and nothing new was found - but not these acetates, which were discovered later.

More info please.

Indeed!  Assume, if they indeed are new discoveries, that they were offered up to Boyd & Linett in the first instance, even if it was after the TSS-fact?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Andrew,
Is there any of that 5 hours of Smile material that you heard during a visit to the colonies back in the 80's still unreleased?

Yup.

I could ask someone who might know someone who might know whether someone would know whether there's anything else out there. Hang on…

Andrew is there anything else out there?

Sure - the one that springs to mind unbidden is Brian's 11/66 mono mix and edit of the "CIFTTM" track. I cannot understand for the life of me why it wasn't on one box or the other - it's outstanding. Er, allegedly. I've been told.

Now I could have sworn that I read on the board that these acetates were auditioned by Capitol in the run up to TSS and there was nothing of note on them.....

You're remembering correctly. And don't swear, it's rude.

No, acetates in Durrie's possession were auditioned by Capitol and nothing new was found - but not these acetates, which were discovered later.

Well what do I know, but my strong impression was that the 'new' acetates were indeed auditioned for TSS and not included as nothing of importance was found: even if I'm awry (unlikely, granted, but it has been known...*), if anything substantial was discovered, it'd be on MiC, wouldn't it ?

(* - this is a joke, people)

[MJP]

Andrew,
Is there any of that 5 hours of Smile material that you heard during a visit to the colonies back in the 80's still unreleased?

Yup.

I've always felt that somewhere there are some unreleased rough mixes with scratch vocals being enjoyed by a lone wolf collector.

[Micha]

Andrew,
Is there any of that 5 hours of Smile material that you heard during a visit to the colonies back in the 80's still unreleased?

Yup.

Aside of the CIFOTM mix, any more you'd think that was essential?

[The Shift]

Andrew,
Is there any of that 5 hours of Smile material that you heard during a visit to the colonies back in the 80's still unreleased?

Yup.

Aside of the CIFOTM mix, any more you'd think that was essential?

There's the Barnyard track with animal noises but without flown-in vocals. I'd count that as essential.

[Mujan, 8@$+@Rc| of a Blue Wizard]

Andrew,
Is there any of that 5 hours of Smile material that you heard during a visit to the colonies back in the 80's still unreleased?

Yup.

Aside of the CIFOTM mix, any more you'd think that was essential?

There's the Barnyard track with animal noises but without flown-in vocals. I'd count that as essential.

Personally, I wouldn't. But this alt CIFOTM has me very curious! I've always loved that song so much, but hated most of the arrangements for it, especially Disc 1 of TSS. I think it's among the most underappreciated songs the 'Boys ever did. Along with the vocal track of Look, alt CIFOTM is what I would love to see on any new tapes/acetates from the SMiLE Era.

On an unrelated note...thank you all for a good read. It's threads like these that make Smiley Smile one of the best forums online. I'm very intrigued by H&V and its complex development. I hope whoever bought the acetates, or whoever sold them in the first place, has made a digital copy that can be shared.

[Jeff]

So is it still generally unknown as to who bought the acetates?  Any rumors of what, if anything, might come of this?

[Jim V.]

So is it still generally unknown as to who bought the acetates?  Any rumors of what, if anything, might come of this?

Well, I'd like to assume that Brother Records has at the very least transferred all the Durrie Parks material to digital, that way something at some time could be done with it.

Now, by count this is gonna be fifty years since most of the SMiLE sessions (well at least most sessions that aren't "Heroes and Villains" or "Vega-Tables" sessions). And due to the use it or lose it law, hopefully that means Brother and Capital would like to get this stuff out before it goes public domain.

Now does that mean we will get whatever unreleased SMiLE stuff that's left this year? I'd hope so. But I also remember hearing something about alternate takes or something not necessarily needing to be covered. Maybe I'm totally wrong. Hopefully another one of our beloved posters could shine some light on this for me.

Anyways, here's hoping for at least a few more SMiLE nuggets later this year!

 

[Andrew G. Doe]

The acetates were, I believe, auditioned by someone who knew what they were doing on behalf of BRI, and apparently nothing of interest was discovered.