I'm In Great Shape

[AllIWannaDo]

while we're on the subject, here's a new mix i made which combines the demo and the track, but keeps them mostly separate. I quite prefer it this way

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUeSFjzpFJ0

Nice.  I think that's the best way to approach this one.

defo good work, but the below has me sold and keeps in with TSS, as a brucey bonus it also neatly fits in place of TSS version

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,11714.0.html

[bossaroo]

to each their own. I'm in love with the piano demo, and I don't think vocals were meant to go on top of the studio-recorded track.

here's another version using one of the earlier takes with celeste, looping the piano (and coughing fits): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtNJvwmc0Ko

pretty trippy.

[Tristero]

(and coughing fits)

Must have been the hash joints.  I like this take on it and unlike Barnyard, I actually prefer it when they leave the piano in here. 

[Bill Tobelman]

Thanks to all that have contributed to this thread. It's cool that folks give such thought to such nuance.

"Open country" or "upper country" interpretations seem to indicate that "agriculture" wasn't likely the original lyric.

It also would seem that most clear headed listeners would not be likely hear "fresh clean air" as the lyric on the Humble Harve demo.

That means that "I'm In Great Shape" has two lyrical passages where the official printed lyrics don't seem to match what is heard. Hmmm.

As far as the "Zen" lyric goes there are potentially 2 ties to the song's apparent meanings.

If the opening line ("fresh ____air") refers to what happened prior to waking up (morning stumble out of bed) then we can possibly relate dreaming to the air of "___ air". The bio's "hallucinations are comparable to Zen riddles" realization may refer to the dream-like state of mind (hallucinations) as being comparable to Zen in some way. The term "Zen" therefore may be tied to the idea of dreaming which is at the front of "I'm In Great Shape".

The "air around my head" idea is also cool as the bio's description of being "in the center of a giant spinning top" seems to illuminate this visual & is part of the same "hallucination" that we're talking about in the above paragraph.

Then the "look at me jump" and the physical "great shape" concept are also related to "Zen" via Brian's comments to Jules Siegel, "it's physical, really Zen right?".

So Brian's bio & the Siegel article seem to point to the lyric as being "fresh Zen air". If someone ever heard Brian using the word "freshnin" please come forward. I realize that "fresh Zen air" seems like a weird phrase but if you read about Brian's bookstore flashback you'll see a lot of weird combinations of things that don't make obvious sense. That's like SMiLE.

The next jump is to consider the album as something comparable to a Zen riddle (therefore with the ability to promote/conjure spiritual enlightenment). Then all of the wildest dreams for the project come true & Brian was working on the spiritual monument he professed & every far out claim to the greatness of SMiLE comes true.....basically all our wildest dreams come true & Brian is the musical Van Gogh-like genius of our time.

There is also the science of probability which all logicians should consider---even with Brian's bio.

1) I'm not talking about the bio as a whole, just a few passages. Am examining those few passages to see how they fit with verifiable facts to see if they're compatible with reality. That's a far cry from simply bowing down to the bio as an authoritative work. Actually if the bio was truly boss then my SMiLE viewpoint would match the general consensus---which it doesn't.

2) The probability that any given pop album's goal is to prompt a spiritual experience is extremely remote. To my knowledge SMiLE is the only pop album ever to even have a chance at such a classification. I'd cite Brian's vegetables/health comment, his "Surf's Up" lyric explanation, the article in The BEAT, and some Michael Vosse quotes to support the spiritual enlightenment contention.

3) The way to go about crafting such an album isn't common knowledge. How would, or could, YOU do it? Awareness of such knowledge is probably very remote. The chances of someone knowing how to achieve such a thing are probably very improbable. I challenge all know-it-alls to come forward and tell how they'd achieve such a thing(haven't received a single original idea yet).

4) The bookstore flashback in Brian's bio has the line "hallucinations were comparable to Zen riddles, mysteries full of meaning." This shows how an album could possibly be made to promote spiritual enlightenment. This is supported by Koestler's theories & observations as well as by SMiLE itself which resembles a hallucination/dream.

5) What are the odds that the bookstore flashback 'tale' was conceived by Todd Gold or someone other than Brian Wilson? I would submit that the rarity of the idea of a pop album to inspire a religious experience (there's only one IMHO) and the portrayal of how such a thing could be accomplished (there's only one IMHO) was almost like DNA evidence. The odds that the two things aren't related are staggering.

And therefore I think that "I'm In Great Shape" is a key player in SMiLE.

[runnersdialzero]

Van Dyke Parks would not write "fresh Zen air". It's not "Freshnin' air" as that doesn't even make any kind of sense (not that "Zen" makes much sense either aside from the explanations people come up with when trying to rationalize such a ridiculous thing).

It's not "Fresh clean air". Srsly, am I the only one who thinks Brian, who later hesitates and stumbles several times on "Barnyard", just f***ed this line up, stumbling a bit, not thinking, "Hrrm, better get this right, this is gonna be the only recording of this song to exist."

[b00ts]

Van Dyke Parks would not write "fresh Zen air". It's not "Freshnin' air" as that doesn't even make any kind of sense (not that "Zen" makes much sense either aside from the explanations people come up with when trying to rationalize such a ridiculous thing).

It's not "Fresh clean air". Srsly, am I the only one who thinks Brian, who later hesitates and stumbles several times on "Barnyard", just f*cked this line up, stumbling a bit, not thinking, "Hrrm, better get this right, this is gonna be the only recording of this song to exist."

I think you may be correct because it sounds like he is saying "Fresh L'n Air around my head" and I don't think L'n is a word.

The likely possibility, however, is that Brian did sing "fresh clean air" but the tape is worn and the beginning of the word drops out. You can hear the tape glitch out at the very beginning of the word "fresh", and the volume swells after the glitch. The dynamics and volume of the word in question ("L'n") make it sound a lot like a tape problem to me.

One thing I am fairly certain of, though, is that the lyrics are not "fresh zen air," unless Van Dyke was already disgruntled with the project at that point and was trying to sabotage it.

[Bleachboy]

to each their own. I'm in love with the piano demo, and I don't think vocals were meant to go on top of the studio-recorded track.

here's another version using one of the earlier takes with celeste, looping the piano (and coughing fits): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtNJvwmc0Ko

pretty trippy.

Love the looped piano, but there's some synch problems. Love the celesta version, I used it as an intro in my version

[Chocolate Shake Man]

So Brian's bio & the Siegel article seem to point to the lyric as being "fresh Zen air".

Neither are talking about the lyrics to I'm in Great Shape, so no, neither point to that at all. You're invoking a logical fallacy by suggesting that because he used the word elsewhere, he is probably using it here. Completely unfounded.

If someone ever heard Brian using the word "freshnin" please come forward.

Wouldn't matter if they did or didn't.

I realize that "fresh Zen air" seems like a weird phrase but if you read about Brian's bookstore flashback you'll see a lot of weird combinations of things that don't make obvious sense. That's like SMiLE.

You might as well be saying that because Brian wore a strange tie in a picture in 1975, then that explains the strange placement of the word Zen between the words "fresh" and "air." Also, because the tie is jarring, it's like the abrupt edits in Smile.

The next jump is to consider the album as something comparable to a Zen riddle

Actually, when the first jump entails placing faith on a widely discredited text, logical fallacies, and forced connections, then you simply don't take any further jumps.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Just to convey, though, how bizarre your logic is in this "next jump", though, take this example:

4) The bookstore flashback in Brian's bio has the line "hallucinations were comparable to Zen riddles, mysteries full of meaning." This shows how an album could possibly be made to promote spiritual enlightenment. This is supported by Koestler's theories & observations as well as by SMiLE itself which resembles a hallucination/dream.

The bookstore flashback has nothing to do with Smile in the way that you're suggesting. You are drawing a connection between the bookstore and the album in your first post because you say that heroes and villains can be found in books. This is such an egregious act of manipulation and crowbarring that I am actually unsure if you are serious.

[18thofMay]

Fresh clean air
open country..
Breakfast then run a round
Healthy country life.. no smog!!