Cabinessence sequence done when? (Are verse vocals def. from 68?)

[buddhahat]

Is the version of Cabinessence from 20/20 sequenced as it was intended in 66/67 or did they put the Home on the Range/Who Ran the iron Horse/Grand Coulee Dam bits together in 1968, i.e perhaps those bits were separate songs previously? The Keith Badman book suggests this (p. 231 Nov 20th 68) but if they were separate songs it surprises me that BW or the BBs would make the effort to combine these pieces into a cohesive song unless it was obvious that Brian intended it that way during the Smile sessions. I mean, why not work on Surf's up or CIFOTM instead of something that is ostensibly 3 separate songs. If anyone can put me straight on this it'd me much appreciated.

[I. Spaceman]

It was intended to be in the released sequence. Contemporary acetates bear that out.

[Jason]

PLUS, the vocals are of 1966 vintage, but were given the ol' ADT (Artificial Double-Tracking) by Desper and Carl in 1968.

[buddhahat]

Thanks - I really thought the verse vocals were freshly recorded in 68. I don't doubt what you're saying but out of curiosity, how do you know that they are 66 vocals?

[Reverend Joshua Sloane]

One of my favorite songs in the world.

I think it is the absolute perfect recording, performance, and song.

Such a beautiful song, with beautiful words, and beautiful sounds.

[Jason]

Thanks - I really thought the verse vocals were freshly recorded in 68. I don't doubt what you're saying but out of curiosity, how do you know that they are 66 vocals?

Mr. Desper said so, I believe. I forget who exactly, but I have a pretty good idea it was Stephen.

[buddhahat]

Thank you all for the info. Yes I too think it's beautiful the Grand Coulee bit at the end just blows my mind. I never tire of this song but that's true for so much of the Smile stuff. I can't work out if I'm obsessed or if it's because it's incomplete or if it's just because it's beautiful music. I think if it was completed in 67 it would not be such compelling music. That's probably another thread though ...

[Glenn Greenberg]

Does anyone know what prompted Dennis to add the "secret" lyrics underneath "Who Ran the Iron Horse"?

In recent interviews, Brian has said that they were totally Dennis's effort, Brian had nothing to do with it--and not even Brian knows what it was all about.

Interesting that Brian would let someone other than himself or Van Dyke Parks make such a notable contribution to the Smile-related material, especially back then.

[Chris Brown]

The "truck drivin' man" lyrics, as far as I know, are a 1968 addition...maybe Carl's idea?  I'd be interested to know more about this as well...

[king of anglia]

Dennis said that Brian wrote that bit for him.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Always understood they were Van Dyke's lyrics. Do they look like BW words ?

Don't think so...

[buddhahat]

The "truck drivin' man" lyrics, as far as I know, are a 1968 addition...maybe Carl's idea?  I'd be interested to know more about this as well...

Doesn't the Frank Holmes artwork have references to these lyrics? They must be from 66/67.

[Aegir]

Those lyrics don't strike me as being Van Dyke Parksish at all, especially in comparison to the rest of the song.  They don't fit in with the Cabin Essence lyrics, so I doubt Brian or Van Dyke would've written them.

[Andrew G. Doe]

The "truck drivin' man" lyrics, as far as I know, are a 1968 addition...maybe Carl's idea?  I'd be interested to know more about this as well...

Doesn't the Frank Holmes artwork have references to these lyrics? They must be from 66/67.

The artwork that references these lyrics dates from the late 90s/early 2000s.

[Rocker]

Those lyrics don't strike me as being Van Dyke Parksish at all, especially in comparison to the rest of the song.  They don't fit in with the Cabin Essence lyrics, so I doubt Brian or Van Dyke would've written them.

Well, I think they kinda fit with the truck being the "modern" iron horse....

[Mitchell]

Now, don't forget that Mike Vosse interview, where he describes his impressions of the new Cabinessence vs. what he knew it as in 1966.

[Rocker]

"Cabinessence", for example,started out as a wholly different trip- Dennis was going to sing it by himself and sound like a funky cat up in the mountains somewhere singing to a chick by a fireplace: very simple- and that's all there was to it

[Jason]

The "truck drivin' man" lyrics, as far as I know, are a 1968 addition...maybe Carl's idea?  I'd be interested to know more about this as well...

Those are 1966 vintage as well. Surviving tapes indicate this.

[Bicyclerider]

As far as I can determine there's no evidence that Carl or anyone else recorded a verse vocal for this in 66/67 - the session tapes and mixes from 66 indicate there was no lead verse vocal, and we don't have any record of any further vocal sessions after 66 until the 20/20 period.  There might be some clues in the multitrack tape as to when things were done but that's missing - only the stereo mixdown is extant according to Alan Boyd.

[Jason]

The verse vocals were recorded in 1966, but were never mixed down. The bootlegs we have are taken from mix tapes made in December 1966, and Brian had not yet mixed down the lead vocals. The chorus vocals (including the Truck Drivin' Man section) and the tag vocals had been mixed down early on. Brian had all the pieces in a jumble, but Carl put them together. There is a December 1966 acetate doing the rounds that features the same structure as the released version, but does not feature the mixed-down lead vocals. But I have it on good authority (Steve Desper) that they were recorded.

[Bicyclerider]

I think Stephen may be mistaken - why go to the trouble of recording the lead vocal and not mix it down, when all the other pieces were mixed down?  His memory is good but not infallible.  And he was not the recording engineer on the Smile sessions - he only stepped in for some of SMiley at the home studio when the engineer they had been using was ill.

[Jason]

Maybe Brian had bigger plans for Cabinessence, didn't know what he was going to do with the track and he just brushed it aside for later. Obviously, he never returned to it, since soon afterwards he devoted himself full-time to Heroes and Villains. The verse vocals on the released version were the victim of ADT (Artificial Double-Tracking), which leads me to believe that what was recorded in 1966 might just have been a guide to be replaced later. If this is the case, it was obviously never replaced and Carl decided that the ADT was the best solution. Plus too, if this guide vocal theory of mine is true, what a guide vocal Carl put down.

[king of anglia]

I'd hazard that lead vocals were recorded for Cabinessence but were wiped, as they were for most other Smile songs.

[Jason]

Guys, I've asked Mr. Desper about the issue of Carl's lead vocal, he said it was too far back for him to remember, but he said he wasn't certain that it was a 1966 vocal. His memory is a little shaky, but I believe him.

Maybe my info isn't as good as I thought.....Andrew, can you help a brother out?

[buddhahat]

I've recently been pondering the verse vocals to Cabinessence and I have a hunch they were added in 68 and the above post would seem to suggest this.

Is there any new info on when these vocals were added? As far as I'm aware none of the booted versions of Cabinessence feature the verse vocals.