Alternate history fantasy: March 1967 release of Surf's Up/Cabin Essence single

[SMiLE-addict]

So the past couple days I've been having this fantasy that I go through a time machine to about February 1967 and speak to a Capitol Records exec (whichever one was most directly responsible for BB oversight), convince him I'm from the future (which would be easy to do), then, aforementioned exec being sufficiently flabbergasted that I'm from the future, agrees to make me (somehow) in charge that the Smile project actually gets completed. Maybe like an "official project completion encourager," or a Project Manager, or something like that. Exec contacts Brian and the rest of the BB and orders them to let me in on the recording sessions. My mission will be to do whatever I can (without being overbearing, of course) to make sure the guys finish the thing, per their contract. After passing through the time machine I had told the Capitol Records exec how the history of the project was going to play out (it will soon be abandoned) and inform him that, for various cosmic reasons almost certainly beyond his comprehension, this cannot be allowed to happen, and a new Alternative Universal Timeline must be created wherein Smile actually gets completed.

Anyway, in this alternative timeline, one of the first things I'd do is convince Brian that the Most Important Song on the album is Surf's Up, not H&V. I then convince him and the rest of the parties involved to release a single with Surf's Up on the A side and Cabin Essence on the B side, in either March or April '67. It would also be a nice way of saying "yuck yuck" to the Beatles Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane single the month before.

The single is a best seller, both songs (especially Surf's Up) get massively positive reviews, and Macca, Lennon and even Leonard Bernstein call Brian to congratulate him on a brilliant effort. This is enough to convince Brian and the rest of the gang to finish the project, and Mike Love becomes a bit embarrassed at his recent resistance to the effort. Oh yeah, and one thing I'd do is, at some point, pull Mike into a side room somewhere and give him a little speech about not fighting progress.

So anyway the project is completed, musical history is changed, and in an extremely long chain of events, this new Alternate Universal Timeline means that the universe is saved some tens or hundreds of billions of years henceforth.  

Anyone else ever have a wild musical fantasy like that?

[Iron Horse-Apples]

Anyone else ever have a wild musical fantasy like that?

Lewis Shiner did

[SMiLE-addict]

Oh yeah, BTW ... that would make a great plot for a sci-fi novel.

[SMiLE-addict]

Anyone else ever have a wild musical fantasy like that?

Lewis Shiner did

I'd never heard of him! I read a lot of sci-fi (hence the fantasy) so I should pick up one of his works someday! Thanks for the tip.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

His novel Glimpses contains chapters which are pretty much your fantasy scenario. It can be read online here

http://www.fictionliberationfront.net/glimpses.pdf

The Smile stuff starts chapter 3, but I'd recommend you read the whole thing.

[SMiLE-addict]

Thanks!

I guess I'm not surprised I'm not the first one to have a fantasy like that.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Glimpses made me have amazing SMiLE dreams where I could almost hear new parts haha try it out!

[SMiLE-addict]

I finished chapter 3 and just started chapter 4. It takes a few sentences to figure out that chapter 4 suddenly sends you into a "time machine."

[SMiLE-addict]

Alright, I finished chapter 4, too.

Good job! I wouldn't do it [the plot] the same way, but it works. I like the idea of approaching the artist (BW) through the time machine indirectly (such as via the Capitol records exec), because if you tell the artist directly that you, yourself are from the future, you're probably going to have undue influence on how the music comes out. But I suppose in a story, stuff like that doesn't matter.

Also, for me, the key would be to get there not in late '66 but in Feb or March '67 because by then most of the takes were already recorded, and it was mostly a matter of piecing them together.

Finally, I *would not* want the album released before around April or May 1967 in my novel/fantasy. The reason for this is, I *would not* want the album to have any influence on what the Beatles did in Sgt. Pepper. If they released Smile as originally planned in December '66, or even in Jan or Feb '67, who knows what the Beatles might have changed on Pepper? What you would want is for the Beatles to do what they were originally going to do, and then - KAZAM! - when they've just put the finishing touches on their masterpiece and have it ready to go to the presses, out comes the BB's competing masterpiece which is just as good, if not better. In my novel/fantasy, George Martin goes out and buys a copy of Smile on the day it's released, listens to it at home, says to himself, "Holy crap," and then calls Paul and John and tells them, "We're in trouble." They assemble with the rest of the band in George's house the next day, listen to the record (about 5 times), and are blown away. But the important thing is ... it's too late for them to do anything. Would make for better drama that way.

[Cabinessenceking]

Although I never considered SU and Cabinessence single material, an avant garde release like that following the huge smash hit which was GV only months before and the recent release of their competitions avant garde double A single leaves the possibility for the single actually making it high in the charts (perhaps even top 10?) It would certainly have been noticed both by the public and most likely praised by the musicians of the time. Even though GV was very different from their early surf material it still didn't fully break with the Beach Boys fun in the sun image, a highly promoted release of SU and Cabinessence might've been the chance they had to fully break that link and make them avoid the misfortunes of 1967.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Interesting ideas, but personally, I don't see how Surf's Up/Cabinessence is a yuck yuck (as you put it) to Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields. Also, like the above poster noted, I don't think such a single would have been at all a wise commercial decision. Putting out a single is not about putting out "the Most Important Song on the album" but putting out something that will help sell the album. Brian may very well have thought that Surf's Up was the most important song on the album, but that's something altogether different than what he thought made good sense as a single. Now...a single that had Heroes and Villains as the A and Surf's Up as the B would have been something. I would say that H&V would have at least cracked the Top 10, perhaps the Top 5 after the massive sales of Good Vibes. Surf's Up as a B probably wouldn't have done quite as well as, say, God Only Knows but still good to get it out there as a single to help give the ol' one-two punch for Smile.

[SMiLE-addict]

Remember, in my alternate history here, I'm going through a time machine and thus have perfect historical knowledge. We already know H&V did not do all that great when released as a single in the summer of '67, so I'm not sure why one would want to make the same mistake twice. Unless it was a much different version of H&V (which, frankly, would be one thing I'd try to encourage Brian to do, skip the stripped-down version and go full blast instead).

A H&V/SU single might work, but I would put SU on the A side and get Brian to do a version of H&V similar or identical to the one on TSS. That might work.

[GoodToMyBaby]

You should put this in novel form

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Remember, in my alternate history here, I'm going through a time machine and thus have perfect historical knowledge. We already know H&V did not do all that great when released as a single in the summer of '67, so I'm not sure why one would want to make the same mistake twice. Unless it was a much different version of H&V (which, frankly, would be one thing I'd try to encourage Brian to do, skip the stripped-down version and go full blast instead).

A H&V/SU single might work, but I would put SU on the A side and get Brian to do a version of H&V similar or identical to the one on TSS. That might work.

Well, first of all Heroes and Villains made it to #12, which is not that much lower than Wouldn't It Be Nice's #8 spot. Furthermore, the single was released in late July 1967. By that point, The Beach Boys star had begun to fade. Had the single been released closer to Good Vibrations, it probably would have done better in the charts. And even furthermore, yes, the version if it were part of the Smile-era, would be entirely different from the single that was released in July 1967. But regardless, the reason why Heroes and Villains failed to chart as high as previous singles had little to do with its strength as a song. I mean, yes, to be honest, it didn't have as much commercial appeal as Vibes, Sloop John B., California Girls, Wouldn't It Be Nice, etc. So, from the get go, it would be difficult to imagine Heroes being a huge monster single. However, I'd say Darlin' had a great amount of commercial appeal but that only made it to #19 in December of that year. You could say the same with Do It Again the next year. The chart showing of Heroes in July 1967 was in part a consequence of where the band was at in terms of popular culture at the time. However, the song always had much better potential as a single than any other song from Smile (with the exception of Good Vibrations, of course). It's certainly more commercial than Surf's Up which not only didn't make it to #12 but didn't even chart at all when it was released off of a top 30 album in 1971. Yes, a lot of us love Surf's Up. It's one of my favourite songs. But it is not good single material nor would it have ever been the thing that sold Smile.

[SMiLE-addict]

Also, H&V was still not completed by Feb/March 1967, so it's kind-of a moot point. The point would be to release something shortly after the Beatles' SFF/PL single to tell the world, "Hey, we can do that too."

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Meh. The Beach Boys/Beatles rivalry has been wildly overblown in retrospect. In terms of "do that too," I'm not entirely sure what "that" would be in reference to.

But at any rate, I'm sure if Surf's Up had been released as a single, the "world" wouldn't have taken too much notice.

[SMiLE Brian]

Surf's up would have made a better B-side to H&V.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

And, also, if the problem is that Heroes and Villains was incomplete by February/March, so was Surf's Up. It was missing an entire second section.

[SMiLE-addict]

I was going by the Wiki article which says:

The original studio recording of the song was never completed. A fully finished (or near-complete) backing track for the first section was recorded in late 1966 and early 1967 under the production of Brian Wilson, and other vocal and instrumental segments were also recorded, but a final edit was apparently never made. Although the second section of the song features the demo version of the song from 1966–67, with Brian Wilson on lead vocals, the entire demo version remained unreleased until it was included on the Beach Boys 1993 box set release Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys.

I interpret that to mean the whole song was there on tape, it just wasn't pieced together yet. So I'm thinking that, when I go back through my time machine, I would get Brian to piece the song together.

EDIT: As for the ending originally being part of Child is Father of the Main, those sessions were recorded in Oct-Dec '66, so that part of (what would ultimately be) the song was also done recording by Feb-March '66.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

So I'm thinking that, when I go back through my time machine, I would get Brian to piece the song together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjCRUvX2D0E

[Chocolate Shake Man]

I was going by the Wiki article which says:

The original studio recording of the song was never completed. A fully finished (or near-complete) backing track for the first section was recorded in late 1966 and early 1967 under the production of Brian Wilson, and other vocal and instrumental segments were also recorded, but a final edit was apparently never made. Although the second section of the song features the demo version of the song from 1966–67, with Brian Wilson on lead vocals, the entire demo version remained unreleased until it was included on the Beach Boys 1993 box set release Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys.

I interpret that to mean the whole song was there on tape,  it just wasn't pieced together yet.

No, the whole song was not there on tape and the article you quote from doesn't suggest it was. As far as we know, there was no second section recorded for Surf's Up.

EDIT: As for the ending originally being part of Child is Father of the Main, those sessions were recorded in Oct-Dec '66, so that part of (what would ultimately be) the song was also done recording by Feb-March '66.

There's also not much evidence to suggest that the ending was originally "part of Child is Father of the Man." Where no sessions exist, that we know of, are for the section of the song that begins "Dove nested towers..."

[SMiLE-addict]

Well, at least a good portion of the rest of the song was in place.

The second section ("Dove nested towers"...) featured mainly Brian's double-tracked vocal and piano from a December 1966 demo recording (pointedly not the same demo that Brian performed for CBS), plus new vocal and instrumental overdubs. The third section combined the closing section of Brian's demo with newly-recorded vocals and other additions, with the lead vocal ("A children's song, have you listened as they play?") being done by Al Jardine. Oddly enough, despite being completely unwilling to work on the rest of the song and do the lead vocal, the new ending of the 1971 version was entirely Brian's work. It is based on another Smile era track, "Child is the Father of the Man". It is unknown whether the song was originally to end this way or if it was a newer addition by Brian.

You had his lead vocal in the 2nd section, and (maybe) he already had the idea for the coda. In the event he didn't, going back in time, I could give him the idea! Don't forget - when you go back in time through a time machine, you can accomplish a lot that wouldn't otherwise have been done!

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Well, at least a good portion of the rest of the song was in place.

About a minute and a half. There was probably another 2 minutes or so that needed to be recorded. Plus vocals. I am not sure if I would qualify that as "a good portion."

You had his lead vocal in the 2nd section,

That wasn't the lead vocal for the final song though.

and (maybe) he already had the idea for the coda.

What's the evidence for that?

In the event he didn't, going back in time, I could give him the idea! Don't forget - when you go back in time through a time machine, you can accomplish a lot that wouldn't otherwise have been done!

Erm...yeah. So why not give him the ideas to complete Heroes and Villains, a song that would work as a single, rather than the idea for Surf's Up. And also, I would encourage Brian to complete Surf's Up as per his vision for the song in 1966/67 rather than the one he and the others probably came up with four years later.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Oh yeah, BTW ... that would make a great plot for a sci-fi novel.

I have this insane idea for a movie where some people in a back alley will run this underground "ROCK N ROLL TIME TRAVEL" business where for like, millions of dollars, some guy gets to go back in time to like see Hendrix at Woodstock or Elvis at the Louisiana Hayride, or The Dead in Golden Gate Park, ETC ETC. They'd be really exact and make you dress in period clothes and go through weeks of time-period training and they'd have time-chaperones follow your every move so that you could not alter the course of history in any way.... Most of these trips would be bummers and people would want their money back because they'd like, get beat up by Hells Angels at Altamont, or slipped bad acid at Woodstock and would spend the whole time naked and puking..... So, anyway: this main character, Beach Boys nerd, pays millions to see The Who at Monterrey Pop. He'd land in 1967 a day or two before the festival and would escape his chaperones and make for LA in order to convince The Beach Boys to finish Smile and play Monterrey Pop!!!!

[SMiLE-addict]

Well, at least a good portion of the rest of the song was in place.

About a minute and a half. There was probably another 2 minutes or so that needed to be recorded. I am not sure if I would qualify that as "a good portion."

It's good enough.

You had his lead vocal in the 2nd section,

That wasn't the lead vocal for the final song though.

Not quite sure I understood you there. They used a 1966 demo Brian made for the lead vocal in the 2nd section for the 1971 release. If I'm going back in time, I could encourage him to use that for the final 2nd section, or if he wanted to, he could record a better one.

and (maybe) he already had the idea for the coda.

What's the evidence for that?

There is no evidence. The Wiki suggests it *might* be a possibility, but no one knows. If I go back in time and discover Brian did not have that idea yet, I would *give* him the idea. Or maybe, for all we know, he had a different idea for the coda at the time, which maybe might have been even better. I would find out all this after I go through the time machine, and go from there.

It is unknown whether the song was originally to end this way or if it was a newer addition by Brian.

In the event he didn't, going back in time, I could give him the idea! Don't forget - when you go back in time through a time machine, you can accomplish a lot that wouldn't otherwise have been done!

Erm...yeah. So why not give him the ideas to complete Heroes and Villains, a song that would work as a single, rather than the idea for Surf's Up. And also, I would encourage Brian to complete Surf's Up as per his vision for the song in 1966/67 rather than the one he and the others probably came up with four years later.

Because, in my opinion, a Surf's Up/Cabin Essence single would be better. If you think a H&V single would do better, you can always go back in time in your own alternate timeline!