VDP: "victimised by Brian Wilson's buffoonery"

[Peter Reum]

You now, sometimes Brian and Van Dyke just get tired of answering questions about Smile. So do The Beach Boys.  It constitutes 1.5 % of their 50 year career, and the number of questions all these men get about it is far more disproportional. Brian got sick of it and said he burned the tapes. Carl talked in circles about it. Dennis wouldn't talk about it. Mike got tired of being the villain in the story, and Al and Bruce didn't talk about it until recently. From Van Dyke's point of view, he says to the interviewer that he feels like he's said enough about it, but when pressed, says he got victimized by Brian's buffoonery. He is not calling Brian a buffoon, he is making an observation about Brian's behavior. Did Brian behave in an erratic manner during 1966-67 Smile? Anyone who says no I believe is kidding themselves. Cancelled sessions because the "vibes" weren't right, obsessive shuffling of pieces of Heroes ad nauseum, believing Phil Spector was trying to psych him out when viewing "Seconds".....trying to get Van Dyke's friends to start bar fights so he could record them.....telling a friend that his wife was a witch, withdrawing from David Anderle when he was badly needed, and on, and on, and on dum bee doo dah...

Yes, I think Van Dyke thought The Beach Boys were doing it for the dollars when they released the Smile Box and reunited for a one off tour. Well, so what? I never have known a musician who having had a taste of the big money in popular music, did not remain aware and conscious about it from the time they got rich. The Beach Boys have made decisions most of their career based on who is offering the best funding for concerts and records. Were these decisions always in their long-term interest? I don't think so, but that's just my opinion.

I happen to believe in a day's work for a day's pay. So does Van Dyke. He has taken some very great steps in empowering musicians he has worked with through the years. Orange Crate Art, Van Dyke mentions , cost $350,000 in 1992 dollars to produce. It was supported by Warner, who have been in Van Dyke's corner for most of his career. Brian  was isolated from family with Landy, and Van Dyke was one of the first contact people who reached out to him after the void created by Landy leaving was created. I adore both Smiles, the box and the live version, but their most successful collaboration music wise was OCA. Van Dyke wrote and produced and Brian helped arrange vocals and sang stacks of vocals.

OCA was promoted, but like some Van Dyke albums, it was not something flowing in the context of its time. I think Van Dyke simply feels that when he has contact with The Beach Boys, things do not go well. After what they did to Brian's Smile work in the sixties and seventies, creating Frankenstein versions of several Smile tunes, I feel that for Brian to reunite with them was a courageous act on his part. That's Why God Made Radio I see fulfilling two objectives, it gave The Beach Boys much needed publicity for a Reunion Tour, but more importantly, it was an opportunity for the surviving Beach Boys to work with each other....because speaking actuarily, they need to make peace with each other. Their kids already have, but I see some healing that took place in the family.

It's too bad they did not do the extra concerts, because, now things are again fragmented. But we have an album from The Beach Boys no one thought would ever happen, we have a document of a first rate tour that was very professionally done, Brian in the studio with a new project, some shows from the surviving Beach Boys  this coming summer (albeit in two touring units), and with Van Dyke, we have two new albums, one compiling his 45s from 2011-12...and Super Chief, which is an unexpected bonus. Since when have we known Van Dyke to release two albums in one year?  Sooooo.....despite the drama that always accompanies The Beach Boys, it is going to be a great year for people who love their music, what with Made In California, possibly a new Brian project, and two new albums from Van Dyke for people who love his work. Screw the drama, bring on the music.....

[JohnMill]

You now, sometimes Brian and Van Dyke just get tired of answering questions about Smile. So do The Beach Boys.  It constitutes 1.5 % of their 50 year career, and the number of questions all these men get about it is far more disproportional. Brian got sick of it and said he burned the tapes. Carl talked in circles about it. Dennis wouldn't talk about it. Mike got tired of being the villain in the story, and Al and Bruce didn't talk about it until recently. From Van Dyke's point of view, he says to the interviewer that he feels like he's said enough about it, but when pressed, says he got victimized by Brian's buffoonery. He is not calling Brian a buffoon, he is making an observation about Brian's behavior. Did Brian behave in an erratic manner during 1966-67 Smile? Anyone who says no I believe is kidding themselves. Cancelled sessions because the "vibes" weren't right, obsessive shuffling of pieces of Heroes ad nauseum, believing Phil Spector was trying to psych him out when viewing "Seconds".....trying to get Van Dyke's friends to start bar fights so he could record them.....telling a friend that his wife was a witch, withdrawing from David Anderle when he was badly needed, and on, and on, and on dum bee doo dah...

Yes, I think Van Dyke thought The Beach Boys were doing it for the dollars when they released the Smile Box and reunited for a one off tour. Well, so what? I never have known a musician who having had a taste of the big money in popular music, did not remain aware and conscious about it from the time they got rich. The Beach Boys have made decisions most of their career based on who is offering the best funding for concerts and records. Were these decisions always in their long-term interest? I don't think so, but that's just my opinion.

I happen to believe in a day's work for a day's pay. So does Van Dyke. He has taken some very great steps in empowering musicians he has worked with through the years. Orange Crate Art, Van Dyke mentions , cost $350,000 in 1992 dollars to produce. It was supported by Warner, who have been in Van Dyke's corner for most of his career. Brian  was isolated from family with Landy, and Van Dyke was one of the first contact people who reached out to him after the void created by Landy leaving was created. I adore both Smiles, the box and the live version, but their most successful collaboration music wise was OCA. Van Dyke wrote and produced and Brian helped arrange vocals and sang stacks of vocals.

OCA was promoted, but like some Van Dyke albums, it was not something flowing in the context of its time. I think Van Dyke simply feels that when he has contact with The Beach Boys, things do not go well. After what they did to Brian's Smile work in the sixties and seventies, creating Frankenstein versions of several Smile tunes, I feel that for Brian to reunite with them was a courageous act on his part. That's Why God Made Radio I see fulfilling two objectives, it gave The Beach Boys much needed publicity for a Reunion Tour, but more importantly, it was an opportunity for the surviving Beach Boys to work with each other....because speaking actuarily, they need to make peace with each other. Their kids already have, but I see some healing that took place in the family.

It's too bad they did not do the extra concerts, because, now things are again fragmented. But we have an album from The Beach Boys no one thought would ever happen, we have a document of a first rate tour that was very professionally done, Brian in the studio with a new project, some shows from the surviving Beach Boys  this coming summer (albeit in two touring units), and with Van Dyke, we have two new albums, one compiling his 45s from 2011-12...and Super Chief, which is an unexpected bonus. Since when have we known Van Dyke to release two albums in one year?  Sooooo.....despite the drama that always accompanies The Beach Boys, it is going to be a great year for people who love their music, what with Made In California, possibly a new Brian project, and two new albums from Van Dyke for people who love his work. Screw the drama, bring on the music.....

I commend you on your enthusiasm and actually agree with some of it. 

[Don Malcolm]

Excellent post, Peter. We just have to collectively shake off the ongoing "cold war" that keeps threatening to heat up between the factions of the band (and the fans), and take what we get. To expect anything more, or wallow in each turn of phrase reported in the press, is nothing more or less than masochism. As you say, bring on the music!

[Sheriff John Stone]

You now, sometimes Brian and Van Dyke just get tired of answering questions about Smile.

As far as Brian answering questions about SMiLE, from the period of 1967- 2003, I find an underwhelming amount of interviews with Brian Wilson discussing SMiLE. He just wasn't "around" as an active Beach Boy for many of those years, rarely interacting with the press, and, as you pointed out, when he did submit to interviews/questions about SMiLE, the answers consisted of short sentences, sometimes consisting of erroneous statements, usually consisting of unfulfilling information. Brian had a chance to "set the record straight" in 2004. I found his answers about SMiLE to be prepared, not by him, but by his wifeandmanagers, overly rehearsed, and lacking in depth. I'll leave it to each individual to decide whether Brian's answers were truthful or not. Brian Wilson has had problems telling the truth in interviews and documentaries. I understand that Brian can do what ever he wants, doesn't have to talk about anything or anyone, doesn't owe us anything blah, blah, blah, but, IN MY OPINION, I still think it is odd for an artist to not discuss - just for historical purposes, not even entertainment reasons - arguably his greatest work, IN SOME DEPTH, over a 47 year year period.

Personally, I could care less what Van Dyke Parks has to say about SMiLE. Obviously, I do not know the man, but his remarks about SMiLE (and other Beach Boys-related projects) over the years appear to be two-faced.

[Peter Reum]

I am unaware of an interview over the period from '67 to '03 with Brian where he WASN'T asked about Smile. My own interview collection of Brian's from that period is over 40 of them and there are none that omit Smile.The reason he chose not to give candid answers was that in his mind, his music had been used without his consent on more than one occasion. Whether to debate about whether that was okay or not is a different issue. In his mind, when he closed the door on Smile in '67, it was over.  What Brian answers in any interview depends on his mood that day, and if he was not properly medicated for most of that time ('67 to '92 at least), he would be hearing the interviewer AND the voices in his head simultaneously. I  dare anyone to have a cacophony in their head and to try to do a cogent interview at the same time. He simply wanted them to end as  fast as possible, because he was fighting off the noise in his head, not to mention whatever insensitive questions the interviewer would ask. The truth in those circumstances is whatever will get the interview over the fastest. Even IF the interview was prepped, anyone who knows Brian knows that he will say whatever he wants to, preparation be damned. In fact sometimes he'll passive aggressively say the OPPOSITE of what the official story was prepped to be just to teach whoever his latest PR liaison is that he can't be controlled. The classic one is the Interview (in Rolling Stone in '76 I think) where he's under Landy's thumb, and asks David Felton is he has any uppers, thereby embarrassing Landy to no end.

As far as Van Dyke Parks goes, his point of view is as valid as any player in the Smile '66-'67 drama. Whether anyone wants to understand his point of view is up to them. As I indicated in the post above, he reached out to Brian to do OCA when few if any other people were even willing to call him, much less visit him. Van Dyke responded to Brian's call in 2003, and helped finish what was begun in '66-'67. He responded again when Brian called him to do  narratives for Lucky Old Sun. I have no doubt he would respond again if Brian called him. So, if he is a little irritable because he gets asked about Smile for the 933rd time at a time when he has two new albums out, I don't blame him for being irritated.

[runnersdialzero]

myk luhv destroy smile and induce mental illness in god (aka brian wilsun)

[Cam Mott]

myk luhv destroy smile and induce mental illness in god (aka brian wilsun)

[giggle]

[rn57]

Where the interview in the Guardian that got this thread started is concerned....I think I may know what got Van Dyke to be so testy with his interviewer. About two weeks ago, in the blogpost at the Guardian's site linking to a stream of Songs Cycled, it was referred to as VDP's first album of new material in 24 years - ie, since Tokyo Rose.  

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2013/apr/29/van-dyke-parks-songs-cycled-album-stream

As if Orange Crate Art, which was VDP's album in every respect except with Brian singing instead of him, had never happened.

 I know that Van Dyke also gets a tad annoyed when people overlook the fact that Moonlighting, despite being a live album, had several songs he had not put on tape before.  And I recall an interview sometime back where he indicated that he thought of his album with Inara George, An Invitation, as deserving a place alongside the records under his name alone.

(Though I don't know where he would place those albums of his soundtrack work that have come out - apart from Super Chief, which, though it uses music he has composed for films, is definitely in a different category from something like the soundtracks of The Company or Broken Trail.)

In the occasional interview he expresses pride in his work on children's films and TV.  He's no doubt well aware that some of his younger fans heard his work first on The Brave Little Toaster or Follow That Bird, back before they got around to finding out what Smile was.

But to get back to the Guardian interview - I have a strong suspicion that VDP had seen that blogpost beforehand and it got his dander up. A month or so back, he was in Australia and did an interview with a guy who made the same remark about first-album-since-Tokyo-Rose.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/9975874/Van-Dyke-Parks-rolls-on-with-a-new-album-Songs-Cycled.html

That led him to toss some notable verbal barbs the interviewer's way - and actually resulted in a pretty entertaining article. (For one thing, he explains just how those "Van Dyke Parks apologizes" business cards of his came about.)

But to get back to the interview - he has expressed his frustration before about what happened to Smile in '67, as in a talk from earlier this year which I quoted from in this thread:

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,15319.msg355364.html#msg355364

In that article he said he had to get out of the Smile project, at least in part, to get away from Brian's drug use.  There may be some truth to that.  Until the early Seventies, Van Dyke, from what Danny Hutton and others say about him, seems to have leaned mainly toward pot and the occasional upper to get something done for a deadline - so after a while, Brian's pharmaceutical ways, on top of everything else, must have been more than he could handle.  

There is also the fact that Lenny Waronker, right at that point, was able to sell his superiors at Warner Brothers on giving Van Dyke carte blanche to do what he wanted, expense be damned.  It was unheard-of  in those days for an artist with just two singles released under his own name, to get a budget to make an album that was as much as the amount spent on making Sgt Pepper, or close to it. So it's hard to blame Van Dyke for choosing that over trying to stay with Smile.

But anyway I'd say this was just an interview where he was less in a mood to talk about Smile than usual, and not all that much needs to be read into the "buffoonery" remark.  And the point should also be made that Van Dyke is, always, quite proud of Smile, and never hesitates to get out the old felt-tip and put his name to it in any of its several incarnations after a show - like that one coming up in LA on May 29. It's just that he sometimes is a little peeved about being asked to rehash  the subject when he's out promoting his new stuff.

[Sheriff John Stone]

I am unaware of an interview over the period from '67 to '03 with Brian where he WASN'T asked about Smile.

There's a big difference between being ASKED about SMiLE - and DISCUSSING SMiLE.

In your original post, you said that Brian and Van Dyke get tired of ANSWERING questions. Yeah, I've seen the questions asked. I just haven't seen too many thoughtful, in depth answers. And, yes, I understand the reasons that you stated for this.

[JohnMill]

There is also the issue that as it relates to Van Dyke Parks and "SMiLE" that his participation as the lyricist on that record is probably the only reason he is even relevant to the general public.  Even with his contributions to the Beach Boys' canon, he is hardly a household word.  

I do understand VDP being irritated constantly being asked about "SMiLE" and asked to discuss "SMiLE".  It's probably "old news" to him, something that took place nearly fifty years ago that while it did earn him a fair amount of notoriety was a less than positive experience for him or so it seems.  He has every right to feel this way but I really can't blame people for constantly bringing it up to him especially those trying to do proper interviews with him.  The reason being as it pertains to VDP, "SMiLE" will always be the hook that writers are hoping to use to bring eyes to their piece when writing about VDP.  His other work for whatever reason, isn't as well known and has less of an intriguing story behind it.

I have no issue with what VDP said regarding Brian Wilson although as someone who is extremely sympathetic to cases of mental illness tend to look at Brian Wilson's erratic behavior during the creation of "SMiLE" as far less "buffoonery" and far more symptomatic of mental illness, something that the world at large did not have much understanding of in 1966.  So from that standpoint I have always had a great deal of sympathy for Brian Wilson and have always wished that many of the avenues available to people who struggle with mental illness today would've been available to Brian Wilson in 1966.  

The bottom line is for me though is VDP much like anyone else has a right to his viewpoint regarding his life's work.  He has made several statements over the past year or so which have rankled Beach Boys fans but I don't think his intentions were ever malicious in nature.  Whether or not his viewpoints are objectively accurate is another matter and debate entirely but I don't feel that he overstepped the mark in that he should be vilified for his comments.

[Cam Mott]

Van Dyke wasn't asked about SMiLE, it says "Parks brings it up unprompted".

[Wirestone]

SJS -- I don't think Brian has ever talked about his music with particular depth. He's come closest on Pet Sounds, but besides that his comments tend to be perfunctory to the extreme. He is -- like most musicians -- terrible at actually talking about what he does. He does better when he can use a piano, but even then his points can be incomprehensible.

I suspect he is deeply proud of Smile, but more as a personal accomplishment. I'm not sure if he remembers how he made the music, or what his aims for it were in the 60s. If he can, I doubt he can communicate them particularly clearly. Formulaic answers, for better or worse, are what we get.

Incidentally, has anyone found it strange that we haven't heard a one-on-one interview with BW for awhile? I wonder what's going on ...

[Mike's Beard]

If I were in Van Dyke's shoes back then, the very instant I was offered to the chance to make Song Cycle I would have been out the door in a nanosecond.

I'm also thinking aloud, if Van was the lyricist and the lyrics had been written already, what was the need for him to be around at the studio sessions anyway?

[The Heartical Don]

To Peter Reum:

I am immensely grateful for your posts on the matter. IMHO, Van Dyke has all the rights in the world to make known that he's irritated about the gazillionth question about the Smile period. He's always been very supportive to Brian, and you rightfully single out OCA as a prime example of that. Many people seem to forget about the fact that he's had, and does have, a brilliant career of his own. Yes, he comes across as a polymath, a very well-read intellectual, and I like him all the more for that - he's pretty unique in showbiz, in this respect; and I never ever had problems with his use of words. I find that in this thread, he's been put down unjustly as a vain man who likes to impress with his language. Nonsense. If words come easily to you, should you then limit yourself and talk common street language? Present yourself as a man, different from who you truly are? That would amount to some form of self-betrayal. Moreover, all that he says makes eminent sense; with a true poseur, you always feel that form overrides meaning - and this is absolutely not the case with VDP.

Let's not forget that VDP is an intellectual human being, someone with feelings too. He's fully entitled to irritation, as are we all.

[The Shift]

To Peter Reum:

I am immensely grateful for your posts on the matter. IMHO, Van Dyke has all the rights in the world to make known that he's irritated about the gazillionth question about the Smile period. He's always been very supportive to Brian, and you rightfully single out OCA as a prime example of that. Many people seem to forget about the fact that he's had, and does have, a brilliant career of his own. Yes, he comes across as a polymath, a very well-read intellectual, and I like him all the more for that - he's pretty unique in showbiz, in this respect; and I never ever had problems with his use of words. I find that in this thread, he's been put down unjustly as a vain man who likes to impress with his language. Nonsense. If words come easily to you, should you then limit yourself and talk common street language? Present yourself as a man, different from who you truly are? That would amount to some form of self-betrayal. Moreover, all that he says makes eminent sense; with a true poseur, you always feel that form overrides meaning - and this is absolutely not the case with VDP.

Let's not forget that VDP is an intellectual human being, someone with feelings too. He's fully entitled to irritation, as are we all.

Well put THDon & Peter.

Just to be sycophantic, VDP's a hero of mine - in his own right - and a very human one. Very approachable, very generous with his fans, and was always extremely supportive of BW when it counted. Puts up with a lot, gives a lot. Like him a lot.

[The Heartical Don]

To Peter Reum:

I am immensely grateful for your posts on the matter. IMHO, Van Dyke has all the rights in the world to make known that he's irritated about the gazillionth question about the Smile period. He's always been very supportive to Brian, and you rightfully single out OCA as a prime example of that. Many people seem to forget about the fact that he's had, and does have, a brilliant career of his own. Yes, he comes across as a polymath, a very well-read intellectual, and I like him all the more for that - he's pretty unique in showbiz, in this respect; and I never ever had problems with his use of words. I find that in this thread, he's been put down unjustly as a vain man who likes to impress with his language. Nonsense. If words come easily to you, should you then limit yourself and talk common street language? Present yourself as a man, different from who you truly are? That would amount to some form of self-betrayal. Moreover, all that he says makes eminent sense; with a true poseur, you always feel that form overrides meaning - and this is absolutely not the case with VDP.

Let's not forget that VDP is an intellectual human being, someone with feelings too. He's fully entitled to irritation, as are we all.

Well put THDon & Peter.

Just to be sycophantic, VDP's a hero of mine - in his own right - and a very human one. Very approachable, very generous with his fans, and was always extremely supportive of BW when it counted. Puts up with a lot, gives a lot. Like him a lot.

Very well said, John. I met him three times, and he always shows great patience and interest alike. And I have his calling card, which is, um, unusual...

[AndrewHickey]

Well put THDon & Peter.

Just to be sycophantic, VDP's a hero of mine - in his own right - and a very human one. Very approachable, very generous with his fans, and was always extremely supportive of BW when it counted. Puts up with a lot, gives a lot. Like him a lot.

Absolutely. I've never known of a celebrity (for want of a better word) who will give his time more freely to his fans. I frankly can't say enough good things about the man.

[MBE]

I am unaware of an interview over the period from '67 to '03 with Brian where he WASN'T asked about Smile. My own interview collection of Brian's from that period is over 40 of them and there are none that omit Smile.The reason he chose not to give candid answers was that in his mind, his music had been used without his consent on more than one occasion. Whether to debate about whether that was okay or not is a different issue. In his mind, when he closed the door on Smile in '67, it was over.  What Brian answers in any interview depends on his mood that day, and if he was not properly medicated for most of that time ('67 to '92 at least), he would be hearing the interviewer AND the voices in his head simultaneously. I  dare anyone to have a cacophony in their head and to try to do a cogent interview at the same time. He simply wanted them to end as  fast as possible, because he was fighting off the noise in his head, not to mention whatever insensitive questions the interviewer would ask. The truth in those circumstances is whatever will get the interview over the fastest. Even IF the interview was prepped, anyone who knows Brian knows that he will say whatever he wants to, preparation be damned. In fact sometimes he'll passive aggressively say the OPPOSITE of what the official story was prepped to be just to teach whoever his latest PR liaison is that he can't be controlled. The classic one is the Interview (in Rolling Stone in '76 I think) where he's under Landy's thumb, and asks David Felton is he has any uppers, thereby embarrassing Landy to no end.

As far as Van Dyke Parks goes, his point of view is as valid as any player in the Smile '66-'67 drama. Whether anyone wants to understand his point of view is up to them. As I indicated in the post above, he reached out to Brian to do OCA when few if any other people were even willing to call him, much less visit him. Van Dyke responded to Brian's call in 2003, and helped finish what was begun in '66-'67. He responded again when Brian called him to do  narratives for Lucky Old Sun. I have no doubt he would respond again if Brian called him. So, if he is a little irritable because he gets asked about Smile for the 933rd time at a time when he has two new albums out, I don't blame him for being irritated.

I made sure not to ask him about Smile back in 1999 if that means anything.

[guitarfool2002]

I'm also thinking aloud, if Van was the lyricist and the lyrics had been written already, what was the need for him to be around at the studio sessions anyway?

This has been addressed in a few other threads. The condensed version, since my writing a more expanded and time-consuming post then having it ignored is annoying as hell:

Van Dyke was responsible for and involved in creating more aspects of Smile than just the lyrics.

[guitarfool2002]

In that article he said he had to get out of the Smile project, at least in part, to get away from Brian's drug use.  There may be some truth to that.  Until the early Seventies, Van Dyke, from what Danny Hutton and others say about him, seems to have leaned mainly toward pot and the occasional upper to get something done for a deadline - so after a while, Brian's pharmaceutical ways, on top of everything else, must have been more than he could handle.  

There is also the fact that Lenny Waronker, right at that point, was able to sell his superiors at Warner Brothers on giving Van Dyke carte blanche to do what he wanted, expense be damned.  It was unheard-of  in those days for an artist with just two singles released under his own name, to get a budget to make an album that was as much as the amount spent on making Sgt Pepper, or close to it. So it's hard to blame Van Dyke for choosing that over trying to stay with Smile.

Your entire post was excellent, I just wanted to pull these two paragraphs and comment:

The first one, I just think is more inaccurate than correct, or else Van Dyke is practicing a bit of hypocrisy by "blaming drugs" which falls in and out of fashion in Smile post-mortem discussions every few months.

Again, to make it brief: Anyone who believes the scene in which Van Dyke was traveling in Los Angeles from 65-69 wasn't surrounded by if not consumed by psychedelic drug use and abuse is either blind to the facts or naive.

One of Van's Byrds buddies David Crosby took to the stage at Monterey Pop with an "STP" sticker displayed on his guitar, STP being a particularly strong blend of LSD and forms of speed which was designed to be the most potent trip but instead caused more problems than epiphanies.

So if drug use around Smile was the problem, I'd argue it would be difficult to be around a group of young musicians in LA in 1967 who were not into drugs heavier than pot and also who were more into regular drug use in general even more than Brian. So to point at not wanting to be around drug use as cause to leave would seem either hypocritical or another red herring.

Second point: One of the Smile gang, perhaps Vosse in the Fusion piece (can't recall), suggested Van Dyke was tired of being dominated by Brian, which would only give an offer from another label to be 100% in charge, along with a supply of cash to get the album done, that much more of an easy decision to leave the Smile project. There would be no cause for anyone to shoot down or ignore your ideas in a collaborative role if you're the "boss" and your own name is on the album as solo artist.

If nothing else it was a massive ego boost for a young guy like Van Dyke in 1967 to receive that kind of carte blanche from a record label.

[Autotune]

Still, Mike's Beard question stands: if the lyrics were written already, why was it necessary that he stick around?

[AndrewHickey]

Still, Mike's Beard question stands: if the lyrics were written already, why was it necessary that he stick around?

Because Parks contributed more than just lyrics to the project.

[guitarfool2002]

Still, Mike's Beard question stands: if the lyrics were written already, why was it necessary that he stick around?

Seriously? I hope it's a serious question and not one designed to provoke a reaction, because it has been answered.  

Because the collaboration went beyond Van Dyke working solely on the lyrics.

He worked on the MUSIC as well, and was a creative spark or catalyst for Brian and vice versa when they got to work in the studio.

The proof of this in print is again in the Vosse Fusion article where he describes the electricity that would happen in the studio (STUDIO, not Brian's home or at a piano) when the two got down to business. The two fed off of each others' creative energy. The audio proof is when we hear it on numerous session tapes where not only is Van Dyke there, but he is either playing with the musicians, asking and answering musical questions with Brian, and in one case conducting the band on the studio floor. The visual proof is the numerous Webster and Jasper photos of them in the studio working as well as some silent film footage.

They were doing more than having Van Dyke write his lyrics then split, that's a fact.

This was a point which was lost on many people (myself included) reading about Smile for years until we could actually hear the evidence on tape of Van Dyke's musical involvement at various sessions.

And apart from the music, Van Dyke was the one more involved, or at least he took the lead, with getting together the visual elements of Smile through the artwork and specifically through Frank Holmes. Remember, Holmes' art came from his meetings with Van Dyke, where they'd discuss song lyrics and themes of the various songs, and it was a large majority coming from Van Dyke and Holmes instead of Brian and Holmes working this stuff out.

So if Van had simply punched his time card after writing the lyrics and split, there would remain gaping holes in both the visual and the musical components of Smile, at least more gaping than already exists.

Because Van Dyke was responsible for and involved in creating more aspects of Smile than just the lyrics.

Oh wait, I just said that two posts ago.  

[guitarfool2002]

Still, Mike's Beard question stands: if the lyrics were written already, why was it necessary that he stick around?

Because Parks contributed more than just lyrics to the project.

Andrew, next time let's sing that line in two-part harmony. 

[Sheriff John Stone]

I thought I read an interview or two with Van Dyke Parks where he said that he didn't write a single note of music on SMiLE, and that the music's all Brian's. Is that true or is that another example of Van Dyke Parks saying something that isn't true or has to be "interpreted"?

I also remember an interview with him where he says something like, "Don't let the marijuana fool you", or something to to that effect. So, I guess some drug use and buffoonery was acceptable.