"I met Brian Wilson at his house just after the Beach Boys had done Smiley Smile. And he was a little outside even then. But I learned from him to envision everything about a production as you hear the song the first time. You've got to see the whole picture, and get to the point where you can see and hear where everything should be. It takes a while to learn how to do that."
http://www.geocities.com/antlion7/mm.htm