Boxset Book Discussion: Brian's liner notes and the essays

[Billgoodman]

Yet another topic? Started by a lurker?

Yes! There's no central place where we can discuss the book that came with the boxset and all the essays, info and liner notes in it. Of course we have been talking about it here and there, but I, for one, would like to go in a little deeper. [Mods feel free to move this topic, any place you want]

As a Smile-obsessive for nearly 10 years I wrote many papers on the subject in High School and college so publications about Smile tend to affect me almost as deeply as the music itself. In a way this is what Smile has been about, even before it was shelved and became a myth and inspired writers like Priore. Derek Taylor, if I'm not mistaking, was even assigned to give Brian and The Beach Boys and later Smile a buzz. Writing about Smile is a big part of the experience, just like documentaries are (just watch the Capitol Promo's on youtube, or BWPS-DVD).

That being said, I'm surprised, pleasently, that the best contribution to the Smile Book from a narrative point of view (sessionography is amazing and should have been given more room IMO) is Brian's. Of course, a personal story has some direct advantage, but boy, does he do a tremendous job. He describes the whole history in a way that's satisifying to both the devotee and the newbie. It's correct that this is the only story that also printed in the regular 1 disc Smile-booklet. There's an amazing build up in his story, there's sunspense and then he tackles all the problems (drugs, pressure within himself, with the group, with the label) with a great eye for style. It's so good that I'm even doubting he wrote it himself. How can a man be so good in making music and writing?

The other essays tend to be a little bit redundant, as if the writers didn't know what the everyone was writing (totally understandable, but a publisher or editor should keep an eye on that). For instance Priore and Reum both do a great job, but to me they read like the same story twice (written in two different ways). In a way, the Smile story has been repeated since 1967 again and again from different point of views, some minor, some major and so it kinda fits in that perspective. What do you guys think?


Excuse any mistakes in gramar on my Dutch part.

[Catbirdman]

Agreed. Brian's words are well-structured and very satisfying. One of course wonders immediately what process went behind getting his words on the page, but I don't doubt that amidst the (much needed I'm sure) copy editors and encouragers, there was a genuine attempt to coax out of the central mastermind a succinct and sensitive summary of the music that has caused him so much anxiety for so long. It must have really hurt that man to realize he wasn't able to come through with the goods in 1967. I hasten to point out, too, that Brian has never shied away from accepting the blame for the album's demise. True, he has often cited (especially in the wake of BWPS) resistance from Mike and others as a contributing factor, but ultimately, he has always owned up to the fact that shelving the project was HIS decision.

I also want to express my admiration for Mike Love's essay. IMO he was very honest and transparent about his perspective, and as so many on this board tirelessly remind us, it was a valid and understandable perspective. I disagree with Mike on the fundamental philosophy of lyric-writing and communication, as I personally find great emotional connection with Van Dyke's approach.  IMO VDP's lyrics stand up solidly against the richest possible amalgamations of personal experiences, half-remembered history textbooks, third generation family histories, and all the rest. To me, Van Dyke Parks WORKS. I love him; I'm a HUGE fan. But for Mike, he couldn't connect. It isn't how he sees the world. I don't think anyone could deny that Mike had the best interests of the Beach Boys at heart, and he has been true to that consistently and admirably. It must have been difficult for him to see his cousin getting deeper into drugs and unpredictability. He must have been worried. I understand that. And in many ways he's right - drugs are not to be trifled with. As Ian Anderson said in the liner notes to today's newly-released edition of Jethro Tull's Aqualung (yeah, I'm a fan, put me in jail...), for every "Keith Richards ... figure who've gone through the darkest of drugs and drink experiences and survived to tell the tale... there are probably two that didn't." Mike's concerns were and are genuine.

[Ron]

I rarely ask favors.  I'd like to ask, though, that somebody take up the task of retyping or just scanning the stories from the other Beach Boys, especially Mike's.  I have the 2CD set and don't have anybody but Brian's essay, and the essay written about Van Dyke Parks. 

[D Cunningham]

I'm disappointed by the absence of Parks in the booklet.  A supposedly brilliant writer can't throw together a couple hundred words?  Hell, write a haiku.

I'm disappointed too in Nolan (even as I'm a fan...I especially like his bio of Ross MacDonald).  His brief bit on Parks here is mainly purplish prose that is fairly
empty.

He says  "...an intimate epic, a vision and history of America, if you will, as experienced via the mind, the memory, the consciousness of one
two-minded pilgrim in progress through time and inner space."

And I'm believing Mind, Memory, and Consciousness are the very same thing.  And then "progress through inner space"
also sounds a whole lot like the same.  So Nolan hasn't really said much more than that Brian and Parks did some thinkin'.

That sort of thing.

[Ron]

Yeah, I don't really like that essay either, it's like Van Dyke light.  I do know this: Van Dyke is a honorable stand up type of fella and if he didn't contribute to the album you can bet your biddy he had a good reason. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

I'm disappointed by the absence of Parks in the booklet.  A supposedly brilliant writer can't throw together a couple hundred words? 

The reason for his non-contribution will doubtless emerge in the fullness of time.

And the answer to your next question is "no". 

[Billgoodman]

What do you think about the book, AGD? 

[Andrew G. Doe]

What do you think about the book, AGD? 

Love it. Only thing wrong is, could be bigger. :-)

Note that stills from the new footage are included in the book.

[Boiled Egg]

I'm disappointed by the absence of Parks in the booklet.  A supposedly brilliant writer can't throw together a couple hundred words? 

The reason for his non-contribution will doubtless emerge in the fullness of time.

Will it make up for his absence, or just explain it?

[mammy blue]

I want to start off by saying that I'm a Mike Love fan. I think his contributions to the BB legacy are immense, but I think his essay was a disaster. Let me try to explain why.

First off, he spends the first portion talking about Pet Sounds again?!? Now, I understand why he's doing this. He wants to draw a contrast between his support of the Pet Sounds project and Tony Asher's lyrical contribution, and his later opinion re: VDP.  Problem is, he already covered these topics in the Pet Sounds Sessions essay (you know, the one that delayed the release of that set for a year). Yes, you named the album, but already the non-hardcore fan is going to be going: WTF?

Then on to Good Vibrations. Now in my opinion, Mike had every right to spend the whole essay writing about Good Vibrations, if he had wanted to. It was an immense collaboration. I still think his lyrics on that are some of the best on the Smile album, and I'm a big VDP fan.

He even makes a subtle case regarding the way his lyrics fused psychedelia with accessibility, which I believe he did do, very effectively. Subtext here. Rather than hating the Smile music, I believe that deep down, Mike is hurt that after the success of Good Vibrations and his lyrical approach to it, he wasn't given a chance to write the lyrics for Smile. The most telling comment is when Mike claims that Brian chose other collaborators largely because Mike was away on tour all the time. I'm not sure I believe that, but Mike, bless his soul, I think really *wants* to believe it. And I sympathize with him and if he had made his subtle point here and then moved on to less defensive musings, the essay would have been very successful.

Let's remember that we hardcore fans know the story. We know the nuances. And to us, Mike's latter part of the essay may just be an honest account of how he feels. I believe that it is, but I don't think it did him any favors at all. I don't think he should pretend to love all aspects of the project, but he could have taken a different tack and drawn attention away from his perceived role in the saga. What about focusing more on recollections of some of the sessions, or the song Wonderful which is a VDP lyric but supposedly his favorite track from the album? I wish he had mentioned that, but he didn't. I want people to like Mike, I really do. A lot of people may not be aware of the negativity towards him, or are willing to forgive, but he can't help himself but be Mike and try to take it head on.

His "I was not consulted nor did I make the final decision to scrap Smile" (paraphrasing) is so carefully worded it could have been written by a lawyer. It only leads the casual reader to think, but what else could he have done that led to that? He doesn't really answer that, so it definitely ends up hurting more than helping.

I must admit, my jaw dropped when he actually again mentioned "acid alliteration" in the essay. It's a direct attack on the chief lyricist of the project, and I know that as a member of the BB he has every right to do that, but that doesn't mean he should. Add to that the fact that VDP is not a participant in the booklet and doesn't have a chance to defend himself (I guess Nolan sort of does). I don't think Mike knew at the time that VDP wouldn't be writing an essay, and we all know VDP has pitched more than a few volleys in Mike's direction over the years, but it's all about perception. Again we (the hardcore fans) know the nuances, but most other music fans don't. I think that for the majority of music fans who read his essay and then VDP's lyrics in the booklet, it will only serve to cement the conclusion that Mike is the narrow minded reactionary in the Beach Boys who was anti-Smile. I don't think it's fair to paint him in such broad strokes, but he's doing it to himself!

Wow, that ended up longer than I expected. Agree or disagree, please chime in.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I'm cool with his contribution to the booklet.

[pixletwin]

Was anyone else really touched by Diane's essay? I was. Not sure why. It just seemed really honest and written with a lot of love.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

I thought Mike's essay was perfect.  He lays it all out and doesn't back down.  He's like the Ron Paul of the Beach Boys--his story, like it or hate it, has stayed the same over the years.

I have the same gripe as AGD.  I would have liked another 200 pages or so of studio photos, full essays for each session in the sessionography, etc.  Perhaps they didn't want to be redundant, but there were some nice contemporaneous photos in the BWPS booklet from the studio that would have been nice to have in this booklet.

I think Brian's notes accurately reflect the journey he has been on to get to the point where he's ready to put this stuff out.

[Amy B.]

I got my box set a day earlier than Amazon said I would. Yay!

I agree with the assessment that a writer produced Brian's essay, maybe based on interviews with Brian and things he has said in the past. It's very skillfully written to have Brian's conversational style but also to maintain the narrative throughout. That's fine with me. It seems like it's based on his thoughts. Isn't this how all of Brian's liner notes are created?

I must say that Mike's essay bothered me, particularly when it's followed by Bruce's kind words. I have no trouble believing these are Mike's words, as they are characteristically defensive and passive aggressive. Once again, he took the opportunity to point out that he wrote the GV lyrics...for about 1/3 of the essay. But then again, if Mike is going to be honest, how else can he do this? Praise for VDP's lyrics would be fake. I liked how Marilyn (or was it Diane) said the lyrics are secondary to the music anyway, so who cares if they're hard to understand? But then, as a lyricist, Mike probably doesn't agree with this.

The lack of an essay from VDP is glaring. The lyricist really ought to have a voice here. In my imagination, I think maybe VDP wrote something that was way critical of the BBs' reaction to the music (doesn't he still claim that they hated it) and that his essay was rejected for the sake of peace. I'm glad there are plenty of photos of him, and that there's a write-up about him. More people should know who he is. Wow, he looked so young back then--almost like a teenager.

[Smiling Pets]

I liked what Brian had to say, but like everyone else really missed Van Dyke's input. I feel his input was almost more important that the other Beach Boys' input. But i did enjoy what seemed like honest essays from Al, Mike, and Bruce. I also enjoyed the quotes from Dennis and Carl.

It really is a shame they never saw this release through.

[anazgnos]

Just in the past few weeks I've found myself really softening on Mike Love after being a hardline hater for a long time.  He's a loudmouth, tactless, diarrhea-of-the-mouth type of guy but his positions aren't really wrong.  I'm less and less feeling like he's the all-time philistine who grossly misunderstood what his own band was about.  I'm pretty satisfied with his contribution to the box, it's probably about as tasteful and appropriate as the guy can be on this subject.

Brian's essay just seems overreaching to me.  Whoever shepherded this thing into existence, the urge to craft some kind of "ultimate statement" must have just been too strong.  I would really like to believe that's how Brian feels, at least.

[mammy blue]

In my imagination, I think maybe VDP wrote something that was way critical of the BBs' reaction to the music (doesn't he still claim that they hated it) and that his essay was rejected for the sake of peace.

I can't elaborate, but this isn't what happened.

[Ron]

I want people to like Mike, I really do.

This is crucial to the Mike Love story.  To understand Mike and where he's coming from, and to fully appreciate him, you have to understand this one simple concept:

Mike puts his own opinion of himself, and what is right and what is wrong for himself, his band, Brian, all of that.... way, way, way above whether or not anybody likes him.  

I've met people in life like this.  

He doesn't care if you like him, but I genuinely think he feels he's doing the best possible thing when he does it.  I don't feel he's a selfish person.  The reason he didn't like the lyrics wasn't because he personally didn't want to sing them.  It's because he thought He, Brian, Carl, Al, Dennis, and Bruce wouldn't make money off of it.  He without a doubt loves Brian to death, and thought that the friends that were hangers on were screwing Brian up, etc.

It's not important that Mike's right or wrong in his opinion on this, to understand him you only need to understand how he feels, like you said.

I like how you mention that you think it hurt his feelings that Brian picked other songwriters.  I think that's true.  

The narrative with Mike often portrays him as a money hungry, lying, cheating, pompous asshole who is out for himself and himself only.  Nothing could be farther from the truth, in my opinion.  

Just like Brian is unable to run his own life (legally), and just like Brian has serious social issues... so does Mike Love.  Mike's just more highly functioning than Brian is, and his problems manifest in other ways.  He's only ever known 1 thing, how to be a frontman.  He does that very well.  Social relationships, though.... not so well.  How many times has he been married?  

Mike's whole life has been "I walk into a room, I walk onto a stage, everybody goes crazy and throws money at me.  All the women want me.  I have to stay away from people because they all want autographs or a picture taken" or whatever.  He literally, in my opinion, has toured... more than anybody in a major band that I'm aware of, anywhere.  There may be some guitarists or musicians that have been on the road for 50 years, but I doubt it.  Nobody has been a frontman for 50 years.

In this day and age, Mike's not playing sold out stadiums anymore... but hell even if you're playing the Holiday Inn, you've still got 50 people in the room who show you adoration and want to meet you, and shake your hand, and get an autograph from you, or an interview, or whatever.  I'm not saying this is the source of why Mike has social problems, I'm just saying it's never going to get any better and it's so ingrained in him by now, it's habit.  

All things said, I think he's a talented singer/songwriter, and an even more talented businessman to keep this thing rolling for so long.  I wish he was a little kinder sometimes too, but Mike calls them as he sees them.  When he dies, he may not have any real friends, but he'll have integrity.  I guess that's what he wants.  

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Not the most popular opinion: but I think with the Beach Boys, lyrics have always been equal to the music. And this is why, as much as I freaking love SMILE, nothing on that album (excepting Surf's Up) affects me nearly as much as say Warmth of The Sun or Caroline No. Mike has always had a damn good point, even if he went about it in a silly way.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

There may be some guitarists or musicians that have been on the road for 50 years, but I doubt it.  Nobody has been a frontman for 50 years.

Jagger?

[Ron]

Jagger's been on the road a long time, but not on the level of Mike.  First Mike started before Jagger, and i'll bet for at least the last 30 years Mike's played more dates. 

[Ron]

Not the most popular opinion: but I think with the Beach Boys, lyrics have always been equal to the music. And this is why, as much as I freaking love SMILE, nothing on that album (excepting Surf's Up) affects me nearly as much as say Warmth of The Sun or Caroline No. Mike has always had a damn good point, even if he went about it in a silly way.

 He doesn't play an instrument.   He can't contribute to the band musically.  It's not his thing.  This was offset in the beginning, by his vocals and by his lyrics.  It's what he did to contribute.  Brian did the music, Mike did the lyrics. 

I can completely understand why he thinks lyrics are important.  I believe him too when he says he didn't make the final decision and wasn't consulted.

Sometimes people with a strong character are called controlling when they have any opinion at all.  Mike said his opinion, he still has it, but he sung what he was asked to sing, and all these years he's contributed when asked (Smiley Smile, Surf's Up, etc.). 

I think he's one of the most fascinating aspects of this album. 

[Iron Horse-Apples]

Only six months more.

And Ron, please kick me if I'm being pedantic, but youdid say "nobodies been a frontman for 50 years" There was no mention of time on the road.

I'm bent over ready for my kick.

[mammy blue]

Thanks, Ron. I guess part of my point was that Mike could have written a million different kinds of essays, focused on other topics like his admiration of the song Wonderful, without misrepresenting himself and compromising his integrity.

[mammy blue]

Not the most popular opinion: but I think with the Beach Boys, lyrics have always been equal to the music. And this is why, as much as I freaking love SMILE, nothing on that album (excepting Surf's Up) affects me nearly as much as say Warmth of The Sun or Caroline No. Mike has always had a damn good point, even if he went about it in a silly way.

Is that really all because of the lyrics though? In most songs on Smile (other than tracks like Surf's Up and maybe Wonderful), the musical construction is far more cerebral and abstract than his earlier, more emotional, flowing melodic work that you cite. I think Van Dyke's lyrics fit this approach very well, and the connection you feel with Surf's Up may be that it was written in more of a Pet Sounds vein than most of the other tracks. Abstract pieces like Worms, Child and Fire aren't necessarily designed to affect you emotionally... it's more of a mind trip.