Original SMiLE Cover?

[XY]

I need your advise!

Which is the original 1966 cover?

This or this ?

[Mooger Fooger]

Neither. The first version did not contain the "Good Vibrations" text under the album title. IIRC the first version was also duophonic.

[XY]

Thank you! So are these both Bootleg-creations?

Thing is, I found a high resolution file of the first pic and played with the thought of creating a poster. Too bad it's not the real deal.

[37!ws]

I don't think Mooger meant they're frauds -- just not the original version...the "Good Vibrations" thingy was added later on in a revised version.

In fact, autographed uncropped lithos (by Frank Holmes) of the cover with the "Good Vibrations" verbiage (and that's "verbiage," btw; NOT "verbage"!!!  ) were sold a few years ago...my wife bought one...so that's evidence that it's not a bootleg creation...

[the captain]

Irrelevant fun fact: I hate the word verbiage. Seriously.

[XY]

Uh, yes.

Anway, which artwork made it onto the 466'000 covers printed in January 1967?

[1-1-wonderful]

Uh, yes.

Anway, which artwork made it onto the 466'000 covers printed in January 1967?

Is it known if the covers exist in a warehouse somewhere?

[PhilCohen]

Uh, yes.

Anway, which artwork made it onto the 466'000 covers printed in January 1967?
[/quote

Is it known if the covers exist in a warehouse somewhere?]

What was destroyed by Capitol were front cover slicks which had never been fabricated into actual album covers. It is possible that the individual Beach Boys members may have mock-up album covers, in which the cover slicks were hand assembled into album covers on a test basis. Nobody has ever asked the surviving members.

[PhilCohen]

Thanks for the two great album cover photos. Though I had long ago transfered my homemade 2-CD "Smile" collection onto my iPOD, and I had "Smile" front cover artwork with it, your photo images were sharper and had better color quality. Since my compilation has many stereo tracks, I used the "New Improved Full Dimensional Stereo" art. Incidentally, the "New Improved Full Dimensional Stereo" art predates the "Duophonic For Stereo Phonographs" art , which was created after Brian informed Capitol that he would only be delivering a mono mix to Capitol.

[Cam Mott]

"What was destroyed by Capitol were front cover slicks which had never been fabricated into actual album covers. It is possible that the individual Beach Boys members may have mock-up album covers, in which the cover slicks were hand assembled into album covers on a test basis. Nobody has ever asked the surviving members."

I'm pretty sure no one knows for sure but I am nearly/pretty/almost certain that what was in the Capitol warehouses were finished SMiLE album covers [cardboard jacket with the front and back printed liners/"slicks" pasted on]. Anyways....

[Andrew G. Doe]

"What was destroyed by Capitol were front cover slicks which had never been fabricated into actual album covers. It is possible that the individual Beach Boys members may have mock-up album covers, in which the cover slicks were hand assembled into album covers on a test basis. Nobody has ever asked the surviving members."

I'm pretty sure no one knows for sure but I am nearly/pretty/almost certain that what was in the Capitol warehouses were finished SMiLE album covers [cardboard jacket with the front and back printed liners/"slicks" pasted on]. Anyways....

My information is that the only original back slick known to exist has corrections and notes all over it. No other backs have ever been sighted. Aside from maybe a dozen sleeves that were mocked up late December, no finished sleeve ever existed.

[Surfer Joe]

I've testified on this before, but I'll throw my three-fifths of a cent worth in again. 

In the late 1990s, Rockaway Records in Silverlake, California (Los Angeles) had a framed SMiLE cover on the wall selling for $5000.  Yes, I called it a cover, but what was I really looking at?  I'm not sure I would have made a mental distinction between "cover" and "slick" at the time because I wasn't aware then of the full extent of the questions on this issue.  I can tell you that I thought I was staring at an album cover from 1966/67- but of course it was in a frame, way above eye level,  and I didn't know how closely and carefully I should have studied it. I just made an assumption and stared in awe. What I don't recall is the cut-off markings or extra space around the 12 x 12 space that I'd have expected (rightly or wrongly) to see on something that hadn't been pasted on cardboard yet. Perhaps they were matted out.

When I first saw the question arise at the old version of this board in about 2003, I called the owner of Rockaway, and of course he didn't remember a thing about it and also wasn't aware of the distinction between surviving slicks and possibly mocked-up covers. If that seems strange, I understand that this guy owns (or owned)  the original "That's All Right, Mama" acetate, so this wasn't a big deal for him.  He's a pretty substantial dealer.

I'll assume for the record that I saw a slick.  Maybe the asking price is some kind of a clue.

[Andrew G. Doe]

There's a Capitol memo dated 11/14/66 sent to Queens Litho NYC which says:

CHANGE STEREO BAR ON T-2580 BEACH BOYS TO DUOPHONIC BAR FROM T-2545. IT PRINTS ALL BLACK.

Therefore, the cover we all know and love is not, in fact, the one that was going to be released.

T-2545 was Best Of The Beach Boys.

[harveyw]

Yeah, it seems unlikely that Smile would have been given a "full dimensional stereo" mix, given that none of the Beach Boys' LPs surrounding this release (Pet Sounds, Smiley Smile, Wild Honey) had one. Thus it would seem logical that the "duophonic" banner would be on the cover, rather than the "new improved" banner.

[Bicyclerider]

I agree with Andrew that it appears only slicks were produced, not full album covers with the slicks pasted on.  However I believe there were promotional cover mockups made, to display in record stores - somebody on smileshop said they'd seen these back in the day, probably displayed Jan/Feb 67 prior to the revised release date.  Perhaps that was that Rockaway cover was.  It would not have had a back slick.

[BiG GRiN]

I like this one; maybe it comes from some boots, I don't know!?
but I like the idea to see these songs titles on the cover

[Aegir]

That's gotta be from a boot. And I like "Good Vibrations Good Vibrations Good Vibrations". It's ridiculous, but that's why I like it.

[Cam Mott]

I'd love to see the actual memoes but my understanding is they are described as "covers" for Smile and Smiley Smile. The slick litho color prints for the front of the album cover were called  "liners" by the Production department according to Gene Voris of Capitol's Production department who is referenced on the Smile memos in LLVS.

If there is documentation that shows "covers" is not how the items were described or that covers doesn't mean covers but means color litho prints in those particular memoes, then that would be different.

[Chloepaintings]

I like the one that Big Grin posted... it's more convincing somehow. Also, the colours look nicer in that one, less oversaturated, less headache yellow, and kinda warm and inviting. But the garish colours you often see could be to do with cheap printing and scanning processes by bootleg folks... I wonder what the original colours were going to look like? Perhaps the bright yellow would make sense all printed up all big and nice.

NB the American spellchecker is not digging the way I spell 'colours', but I shall stick to my guns.

[BiG GRiN]

not my favorite, but a really high resolution!







just for fun fun fun...

[BiG GRiN]

Here's the original SMiLE cover!





I always thought "Dumb Angel" was a great title for the album, but not Capitol and even Van Dyke;
in my opinion, it was a really good way to give a sense to the big musical comedy Brian had in his head in the very
begining; his musical vision for the project was really spiritual and also humoristic, so Dumb Angel is a good combination;

[Andrew G. Doe]

Capitol had nothing to do with the change from Dumb Angel to Smile - purely Brian's decision. Chances are they never even knew about it.