Dennis comments on SMiLE

[mikeyj]

I was wondering if Dennis made many (or any) comments on what he thought about SMiLE not being released? I mean we all know the quote about SMiLE making Pet Sounds stink, but I mean AFTER it was scrapped.

[warnakey]

Yes, he did.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

Yes, he did.

Thanks for the explaination!

[Aegir]

This is a frustrating thread.

[the captain]

Not like the usual thread, which sticks to topic and concisely gets to the bottom of things.

[Alex]

Yes, he did.

Do you know what exactly Denny said about the demise of SMiLE?

[GoofyJeff]

Do you know what exactly Denny said about the demise of SMiLE?

Well, at least Brian won't be asking me to pass the hash joints in the recording booth any more....     

[Magic Transistor Radio]

My secret sources from hell told that in 1967 Dennis said that "Smile will come out. You just have to give it 37 more years."

[Mr. Cohen]

Well, on the topic of Dennis Wilson's original comment:

They talked of their new LP Smile which is being released later this year, and of which it was said by Dennis – "In my opinion it makes Pet Sounds stink – that's how good it is." I got a sneak preview of one of the tracks the previous night when Dennis played me a piano version of one track, 'Child Of The Man', a cowboy song, and then gave me the throwaway line of the year – "And this is a prayer I'm working on for it!

Could it be that, originally, "Child is Father of the Man" had lyrics during the verses about the cowboy from "Heroes and Villains", thematically tying "Heroes and Villains" to "Surf's Up"? Just speculation. Here's a quote from Dennis on SMiLE that's pretty famous:

On Cabin-Essence, there's a line in there-'truck-driving man' which I sang. I got off so much doing that. It's mixed way down in the track and it's syncopated all the way through. Right there is my biggest turn-on.

Also, early reports on the song "Cabin Essence" talk about Dennis singing like a "funky mountain cat", which is different than the soft rendition by Carl on the finished version. It would have given the song a different flavor, more of that cowboy feel. Or, it could be that Brian redid that part of the song, kind of like he did with "Wonderful" (with "Rock With Me Henry"), "Heroes and Villains", and "Vegetables" (from the original 'cornucopia" demo version).

I get the feeling SMiLE was a lot more coherent in the beginning, and it was Brian's endless tinkering that made it the mess we perceive it as today. Jack Reilly, the Beach Boys early '70s manager, said the early demos he heard were "brisk and melodic", but that the magic was lost as Brian overworked the songs during the sessions. He said the bootlegs don't represent an accurate picture of what SMiLE was originally. Peter Reum, Beach Boys "historian", stated that the 12 track SMiLE was Brian giving up on the thematic element of SMiLE because he had lost it in the haze and was made because he felt pressured to just deliver a finished product.

[MBE]

I just keep feeling that Brian should have just cut the tracks, done the vocals and left it alone. He could have had it done by the end of 1966 easy if he had buckled down.