My Last (?) Crack at the SMiLE Jigsaw

[Julia]

I think Little Pad is a rewrite of DYLW - obviously a very loose one.

I could maybe see the "dreamy Hawaiian section" being a reworking of the timpani Worms verse melody now that you mention it. The vocal scat section possibly too--but Im not good at identifying instruments or notes on listen like many here, so if I'm wrong I'm wrong.

But I also think it's Brian paying homage to his original conception of Water (or one of the competing ideas for it). If Fire was expressly linked to a place and time in US history it stands to reason the other Elements would've been too. Veggies and IIGS ("fresh clean/zen air...") or Country Air are the midwest breadbasket and tornado alley, Hawaii is water.

Notice the water drop sounds during the "sure would like to have a little pad in Hawaii..." It's not definitive evidence but I've always maintained Brian would've used those sampled Vosse recordings. There's even very brief sawing sounds to my ears during the "by the sea that's where I'll build a pad" with repeated water dripping--a reference to Workshop? (Which I've sometimes wondered could've been Earth, and almost certainly would've linked Fire to whatever element came next.) I think there's something to this, and I wonder if it wasn't one of the things Brian remembered in 2003 when trying to restore the Water element? Like he knew it was supposed to be Hawaiian themed and Dada had become CCW so he used its melody with new lyrics from Van to do that concept justice. If not for that, I wonder if he wouldn't have just stuck CCW in the setlist and called it a day. Although I hate to use BWPS as a source, sometimes there was a genuine memory from '66 managing to cut through the decades of Priore/bootleg haze, I think...

[zaval80]

IMO Milward's not far off the mark here, the second medley on "Abbey Road" is basically this, bits of "songs" thrown together (and now that it is known that the "bonus", "Her Majesty", was originally a part of that medley, it's even more fitting).

I'm sure the book has other positive qualities and I can't pretend to know the goals or constraints of the author. I'm only reviewing each book in the context of how accurate and revelatory the info on SMiLE is.

What I've meant was, Milward saying "a suite of songs" was perfectly expectable from him or understandable since the time "Abbey Road" came out. Maybe he wasn't that aware of "SMiLE-speak" Sometimes writers do not seem to describe things in a more straightforward way, so it's always useful to think, if something catches attention, what does he mean under the words he used, could it be just his way of designating something already known in other terms. (Not just the writer, but it could be somebody the writer quotes, too.)

[mike s]

I think the opening 'if I only etc' is a reworking of the opening of DYLW - loose but you can sing the LP bit over the DYLW section - rhythmically it fits.

I think Little Pad is a rewrite of DYLW - obviously a very loose one.

I could maybe see the "dreamy Hawaiian section" being a reworking of the timpani Worms verse melody now that you mention it. The vocal scat section possibly too--but Im not good at identifying instruments or notes on listen like many here, so if I'm wrong I'm wrong.

But I also think it's Brian paying homage to his original conception of Water (or one of the competing ideas for it). If Fire was expressly linked to a place and time in US history it stands to reason the other Elements would've been too. Veggies and IIGS ("fresh clean/zen air...") or Country Air are the midwest breadbasket and tornado alley, Hawaii is water.

Notice the water drop sounds during the "sure would like to have a little pad in Hawaii..." It's not definitive evidence but I've always maintained water would've used those sampled Vosse recordings. There's even very brief sawing sounds to my ears during the "by the sea that's where I'll build a pad" with repeated water dripping--a reference to Workshop? (Which I've sometimes wondered could've been Earth, and almost certainly would've linked Fire to whatever element came next.) I think there's something to this, and I wonder if it wasn't one of the things Brian remembered in 2003 when trying to restore the Water element? Like he knew it was supposed to be Hawaiian themed and Dada had become CCW so he used its melody with new lyrics from Van to do that concept justice. If not for that, I wonder if he wouldn't have just stuck CCW in the setlist and called it a day. Although I hate to use BWPS as a source, sometimes there was a genuine memory from '66 managing to cut through the decades of Priore/bootleg haze, I think...

[Julia]

I'm finding some more books lately, gonna give the rundowns...

In The Beach Boys by Dean Anthony (which wasn't on that earlier list) SMiLE gets a few paragraphs. Nothing new to the likes of us except VDP says he met Brian "during Pet Sounds" (which doesn't contradict the May '66 date but I can't recall seeing Van say it in these exact words before.) The project's failure is attributed to the BBs distrusting Van's lyrics and commercial sensibilities. Veggies is said to be a co-production with Paul McCartney (false, but too enticing of a story to die). I like the description of Smiley as "pretty spooked out stuff." That's all there is to say, it's a very bare bones account--possibly the second most simplified version of the tale I've seen in a published book (the worst is yet to come...).

The Beach Boys (Rock and Roll Hall of Famers) by Mark Holcomb is next, and another I can cross of my reading list (so 7 more to go). The basic "Brian bought Van a car" story is relayed without the detail of the cop, Van is mentioned as being offended by the sanbox. They're said to have written "over twenty songs" together. Bizarrely, the author claims "[the songs] lacked the political awareness and activism central to [the youth] movement. They were mostly expressions of Brian's innermost thoughts and fears." This would be an accurate description of Pet Sounds but in what way is SMiLE's racial commentary (Worms, CE), or celebration of youth rebellion against a decadent system (SU), advocacy for vegetarianism (VT) or acknowledgement of women's struggles (Wonderful) not perfectly in-line with the perspectives of the New Left?

Brian helping the guys rehearse a live version of GV is mentioned including his bow on stage, but the taxi cab anecdote is missing.

Holcomb mentions working at Gold Star but no other studio and claims that SMiLE "was still not ready for the vocal tracks." Both are misleading statements. He relays the tension between VDP and the group, claiming Van was "fired" (exact word) because he wouldn't explain his lyrics. Mike isn't singled out as the main antagonistic force--"Mike, Al and Carl constantly pressured [Brian] not to change the BB formula." The *April* release of Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane is said to have been the moment Brian gave up. Nevermind the single was released in mid-February and Vosse was there to witness Brian's reaction (so he heard it in Feb or early March). Now, I've come to the conclusion SMiLE in its "original" conception was dead by around March based on the sessionography and some other sources, so SFF being the final blow is possible--but it wouldn't have happened in April in any case. Either way, while the SFF incident is brought up sometimes in SMiLE discussions, it's actually rarely cited in the published literature as I recall, so it's interesting this book makes that specific connection.

Capitol is said to have announced on May 2 that SMiLE was canceled. I'd have to look back through my notes when Taylor announced the cancellation according to other sources, but a quick review of the wikipedia just now says it was actually May 6. The Monterey no-show is mentioned but he quotes Hendrix as saying "You heard the last of surfing music,” (which is not the lyric to the song Third Stone From the Sun--IE this book got it wrong).

When talking about the Heroes single, Holcomb describes it against the "originally conceived [...] seven minute epic" no mention of 12 minutes or the other various cuts of the song. The KHJ DJ initially refusing to play the song is mentioned.

Capitol is said to have released the second "best of" comp to "salvage the band's reputation" as opposed to a quick cash in. Also apparently they "demanded an album assembled from the wreckage of SMiLE" as opposed to "still wanted an album ASAP and Brian obliged with what he could from what he had" which I feel is more accurate. Every BB is claimed to have participated, where elsewhere I've read Bruce refused to have anything to do with it. Besides that, all we get of SS is that it was recorded in Bellagio, the home studio, and production credited to the BB. This tangent is yet again christened with Carl's "bunt instead of a grand slam" quote.

I also found another book I didn't know about before, The Beach Boys Center Stage by William Sanford, but it's not even worth mentioning except to say I've seen it. It is by far the shortest, worst written, least informative account of the SMiLE sessions I've seen. 4 paragraphs of sentences an elementary school kid could've written (small word count, simple vocab, no analysis or depth) one of which is just background info on hippies. Among other things, VDP isn't even mentioned nor is Heroes (Veggies and SU are but how in the hell can you talk about SMiLE and not mention fucking Heroes and Villains?!!?) and the author claims the album was made in 1967 rather than primarily 1966. Smiley isn't mentioned either--the book skips straight to Wild Honey. May I officially present to you, ladies and gentlemen, the single worst source of SMiLE info ever published.

This is a link to the 7 books I'm still looking for: http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,28647.msg687570.html#msg687570

What I've meant was, Milward saying "a suite of songs" was perfectly expectable from him or understandable since the time "Abbey Road" came out. Maybe he wasn't that aware of "SMiLE-speak" Sometimes writers do not seem to describe things in a more straightforward way, so it's always useful to think, if something catches attention, what does he mean under the words he used, could it be just his way of designating something already known in other terms. (Not just the writer, but it could be somebody the writer quotes, too.)

Ah, I understand what you mean now. Yes, that's very likely. Not everyone is as persnickety or lawyer-ly in their use of language as I.  

[Julia]

I was generously donated a copy of one of the books on my list (Surf's Up, the Beach Boys on Record 1961-1981 by Brad Elliot). So, let's take a look...

With regard to SMiLE, there's only ~6 pages unambiguously devoted to it (two of which I'm thinking of are reproductions of the cover art). This book mentions the previous title, Dumb Angel, but doesn't say when the change occurred. VDP is said to have met Brian during the PS sessions.

Elliot dates the sessions from "Mid 1966" to "Mid 1967" and elsewhere says "a year's worth" of work was done. I don't totally disagree--I could quibble that things only got started in earnest come "late summer" (per Vosse), either just before or just after the WC sessions, which is somewhat later than "mid-year," IE one third of a year rather than half as that term implies. But while I lean towards this understanding based on other sources, there are enough counter examples claiming the two started collaborating as early as May '66 (and that perplexing Heroes session lends weight to that, though it could be argued it predates Van's contributions we can't know for sure). Plus Van famously pitched at least one idea during a GV session...so I think Elliot's chronology is more than fair. Sorry if I sound like a nit-picker with stuff like this, but one of the reasons for reading ALL the sources was to try to pin things down as tightly as possible (and frustratingly, I'm learning it's a fool's errand).

Here's where it gets dicier though: "GV should be considered the lead single from the SMiLE album. At the time [it] was was released, Capitol had prepared the front cover artwork for SMiLE. A month later, with the success of GV evident, Capitol redesigned the cover to herald the song's inclusion," (pg 271). That last sentence isn't in dispute, but the rest is debatable. If one trusts Frank Holmes' testimony in the 2005 Priore book, Elliot's timeline of the cover makes sense...but we have WillJC (who's proven himself an invaluable researcher) offering a conflicting account where Holmes was only just being contacted at this time, rather than ready to submit finished work. Similarly, Vosse gives the distinct impression the SMiLE scene/project was only just starting as GV was coming out. Also, I can't cite any one definitive source offhand but the overall impression I've gotten is that GV was conceived as a separate entity from the rest of SMiLE--a Pet Sounds leftover if anything--rather than the lead single of a conceptualized new project. There's no doubt it would've been included on the next album, but we do have sources claiming Brian was against it even then. ANYWAY, nothing Elliot is saying here is egregiously wrong--and it might even all be totally correct--it's just an ambiguous point in SMiLE archaeology right now. I don't think we'll ever be able to settle when Holmes was hired and when he delivered the illustration with 100% certainty. The record's been so fraught with contradictory evidence and to the best of my knowledge he never spoke on the record until decades later--and if you believe WillJC, he misremembered his account.

[ASIDE:]Personally, I choose to believe the cover had more to do with the project's slide into an overly silly direction than has been commonly stated. In the absence of definitive evidence to the contrary, I like to think Holmes spoke to Brian and Van sometime between June and late August. He probably listened to the two men ramble about the general concepts they wanted to express--including Van's "American innocence" interpretation and Brian's childish humor/whimsy, then came up with the cute mom & pop storefront as drawn by a kid. This was meant to evoke the fun happy memories I think most children have of going shopping with their parents, being taken to "exciting" new places, having other adults fuss over how cute you are and give you a free lollipop, feeling like your smile was "bought" or "found" with the cool new stuff you saw in a store. That and, as Holmes says, it evokes a universal institution across America--the family-owned small business where the shopkeep is a member of the community who knows your name. Anyway, after seeing what Holmes drew, with the many smiles across a banner and in the windows, I think it's possible that inspired Brian to rename the album and at least somewhat rethink its focus. (I can't help but notice the comedy skits only start coming in very late October through November, when by almost all accounts the cover was delivered.) I don't think Holmes is what brought comedy/humor to the project per se, that was clearly always on Brian's mind, but I think Holmes' overt depiction helped push Brian to more strongly emphasize a particular aspect of the project that had been to then a smaller piece of the overall puzzle. Brian always wanted humor on there of course, but maybe not so overtly before, in order to make room for Van's history music and the angsty Pet Sounds style holdovers like Wonderful and I Ran. Then, as Holmes' cheery cover seemed perfect yet ill-fitting for some of the music they were making, Brian indulged the "funny" side of his original vision more. (How many people have commented on the weird disconnect between that cover and music like CE, Worms & SU?) In short, it's possible a "Dumb Angel" cover delivered by Holmes, with a more bittersweet look, might've pushed Brian to stay the course longer and still use techniques like the WC false start chorus but not try full-blown comedy sketches as he did, which threw off the delicate balance his collaboration with Van had relied on up to then. Just a theory, and we can never know for sure.[/ASIDE]

Elliot claims Capitol worked with a tracklist "furnished by the group" from late November. I've often defaulted to December for the tracklist, but I have no real proof and this is yet another detail that's hard to pin down. But late November makes a lot of sense considering they originally planned a Christmas release and I have no reason to doubt it--it's not like the tracklist mentions "All Day" or "You're Welcome." That does mean though, that the earlier the tracklist was made, the more likely Brian would've changed his mind by the time he finished a '67 SMiLE.

There is mention of a 7 minute double sided Heroes single, but nothing of Anderle's role in it. (At first I thought this was because Elliot didn't want to introduce a new "character" in the story just for one throwaway anecdote, but then he mentions Anderle elsewhere and quotes David Leaf's first book...so there goes that theory.) The tracklist order given to Capitol is listed flawlessly from Worms to OMP. Regarding the elements, the line "air was a piano instrumental" is mentioned, the quote attributed to Brian, almost certainly referencing Preiss' book. Dada is given as Water, Cow as Fire. To be expected. Elliot mentions the speculation of Veggies as Earth but denies it due to the separate listings on the back cover. (Good on him for using actual hard evidence and applying it consistently rather than just repeat easy, cheap "oral tradition" like so many other writers do!) I don't necessarily agree with this opinion that Fall Breaks represents what Earth might've been, but I admire him for putting in some detective work rather than rely blindly on bootlegs/Priore for all the answers.

On page 74, when discussing the many titles associated with SMiLE not found on the tracklist (which must've seemed so much more tantalizing before widespread boots and TSS showed that many are just the same riffs by different names) he mentions "Indian Wisdom." I forgot about that title, and it just goes to show there's so many weird tidbits associated with this project you could do a deep dive of every major source and still find something that makes you go "WTF is that" or "oh...yeah...I vaguely remember coming across that title before at some point on the internet...what was it again?" And then you google it and can never find that weird website or YouTube video from 2011~2014 where you saw "Indian Wisdom." Long story short, it's "New Song" aka "Spanish Guitar" (and I could swear I've seen it called "Doves of Peace" or something similar, but so help me I can't find that title anywhere anymore). Then, once you find out what it is, you're left thinking "that's it--all that intrigue for the worst outtake that's not even SMiLE era?" as well as "how in the hell did that false title even gain steam with fans when it's not what's written on the tape box*?" Such is SMiLE.

When discussing the various cuts of Heroes, the 12-minute version is said to have only been mentioned in 1972 during the half-hearted attempt at revival. "Capitol files show there were at least 5 versions of the song besides the one released..." It is pretty nuts that we have only heard, what, 3 different versions of the song and TSS to my knowledge is not vintage so it can't count towards that total. There was at least one 6 minute version across two sides according to witnesses (including Keith Altham in this very book), Mike had (has??) a longer-than-released version, Bruce in this book claims to have a shorter version that what came out. If all this is true, and I have no reason to think it's not, it goes to show there are/were acetates of radically different versions of SMiLE material floating around (including those of Durrie Parks!) seemingly lost to time. I maintain the SMiLE we have, the versions we can reconstruct from what's left, are still a pitiful fascimile against the sum total of what Brian recorded in '66. We know a lot of those tapes went missing or were wiped, and a ton of acetates were given away or stolen and subsequently forgotten about. Probably nobody knew they were holding onto the last copy of XYZ until a full inventory was done which revealed the gaps in the sessionography, and by then they realized "oh sh*t, I lost that" or "crap, who'd he give that one to again?" and "damn, Bob Gordon's dead and no one knows what happened to his record collection!" Anyone stumbling upon an old acetate in their attic, if they're not a fan, won't know what they have and/or will assume it can't possibly be THAT important--surely a major band would have a copy in their vaults, right? I can just toss out this dusty old thing, nobody will be worse off...

With regard to Veggies, Mike is quoted from '71 claiming "about 4 versions" exist. I'm guessing that's Smiley, the so-called "demo," then that leaves two versions of the Spring single. Something that was news to me: Roger McGuinn and Rodney Bingenheimer attended Veggies sessions as well as Paul McCartney.

Mike is quoted from '77 saying there are "maybe five different versions" of Wonderful. I guess we have the three from SMiLE plus Smiley, so it's up to you if you think that's it or want to speculate on a fifth version/edit out there somewhere.

Fire is called Mrs O'Leary's Cow, so the name originated in the 70s sometime. Otherwise we get pretty standard and correct info for Worms, CE, Dada/CCW (the connection between the two is explicitly discussed), SU, even a sentence for CIFOTM.

CWTL is erroneously included as a SMiLE piece but considering the book's age, its placement on boots and that its melody is legitimately from SMiLE, that's fine. Elliot isn't aware of YAMS' vocals existing, because although he knows Dennis "was to have sung the lead" he calls it an instrumental and speaks of the vocals as if they weren't recorded. The author describes what we now call "False Barnyard" (IE OMP/YAMS fade) as Barnyard based on his transliteration of the backing vocals. Also, he's aware of the main BY lyrics but makes it clear he's never heard them. He also doesn't realize OMP and YAMS are two halves of the same song. He's never heard Holidays. The Byron Preiss "Air" quote is repeated verbatim here, for the second time in the book. IIGS is presented as the biggest SMiLE mystery--the author never heard the Humble Harv demo, much less anything else of it. This may still be the biggest WTF of all prospective SMiLE songs today--certainly among those on the back cover. (To me, the most likely explanation is IIGS on the back cover is the "new" name for the Barnyard suite--Brian preferred the name IIGS to Barnyard, probably out of a desire to manifest greatness/health in the listener.)

Elliot mentions Inspiration, I Ran, Friday Night, Tones, Good News, Hawaiian Song and Good Time Momma as mysterious SMiLE tracks. We now know what all of these are, including that the final 3 are Smiley-era. I wonder if Brian ever realized the confusion he'd caused by arbitrarily calling a few GV sessions "inspiration!"

*The theory of a separate SMiLE song called "Indian Wisdom" utilizing the quote from the SS album as a lyric is thrown out. So I guess that's where that title on boots came from, and hence the author addressing it here.

What's surprising is that for all the author doesn't know, he was still aware of all three Jasper Dailey tracks--he even gives their names, which is hardly ever done in these books.



I also recently got a copy of Why the BB Matter by Tom Smucker but I'm not really impressed. Just looking at the SMiLE chapter, it's not in any way a history nor deep analysis, just a personal review/reaction to the music. He makes no secret of his preference for BWPS, which is fine, but he also repeats a lot of nonsense myths like "SMiLE was never going to be popular in the sixties" without any compelling argument. I just don't like that--I hate how so many of these writers/"fans" parroting the majority line that's dominated the discourse since Priore, always treat their unfounded conclusions as unquestionable gospel. (Whether you like me or not, whether you agree with me or not, the SMiLE conversation needed someone like me to boldly state differing opinions and shake things up in BB discourse. I hope that can be my legacy as a fan.)

The chapter then devolves into a self-important ponderous diatribe on Vietnam, the Sixties, and how Brian not finishing his work is somehow representative of the struggles America faced then. (It's perhaps an intriguing metaphor but somehow I doubt Brian was having 'Nam flashbacks in the 70s preventing him from working. I think it's more likely his muse had moved on and he didn't want to waste time fighting last year's production race just to be remembered as an also-ran.) There's weird areas of focus, like Smucker makes a point of how "columnated ruins domino" ends with the same "no" syllable as "Caroline No" as if there's some deep connection there instead of an obvious coincidence. I'm glad Tom loves the music and has a unique perspective on it, but I don't share his interpretation and it's not a useful source of hard info.

This book/chapter actually represents everything I've come to dislike about SMiLE discussions--somewhere along the line, it became all about myth-building and pontificating wildly about what the listener thinks/wants SMiLE to be about instead of historical research, informed theory-crafting and deep-read analysis of the material itself. A lot of the resurrected '90s internet essays are much less interesting to me now because they're often an exercise in trying to build up Brian's rise-fall-redemption as a symbol of America itself, or some other high-brow unproven pretentiousness. I blame David Leaf (despite the great work he's done) for always dressing it up in "deep" quotes and fairytale garnish, as well as Priore playing hard and loose with facts in order to manufacture evidence of his fantasies. I dislike how much of each men's most recent books was devoted to cute but ultimately unimportant history lessons of the fans in the '80s and audience reactions to BWPS. It's their book to put in what they want but I feel like it reeks of self-congratulations and "inbreeding" the conversation. Like they've both managed to frame SMiLE analysis/speculation within a narrower box than it could and should be because it suits them.