Our collective wait for SMiLE

[Phoenix]

Since reading about it in the Priess book in 1979: 32 years!

[Mikie]

Been a fan and collector since 1970, first heard about SMiLE around 1975, saw it discussed in the 1976 "It's OK" special, read about it in various articles in the mid-late 70's including the Leaf book in 1978, then picked up my first SMiLE bootleg around that time, so I'd say.........36 years.

The Smile I sent out will finally return to me.  

[sockittome]

I first heard about SMiLE in the late '80s, having read a quick mention of it in my "Rolling Stone Record Guide".  I was just getting into BB's and I thought, interesting, that would kinda cool to hear someday.

Then I read more about SMiLE in the early '90s in the SS/WH twofer booklet.  Problem was, Smiley Smile was such a turn-off, I was thinking, what?!  If Smiley is the stuff that got released, then maybe I DON'T want to hear the stuff that didn't get released!!

When I finally got the GV boxed set in the mid '90s, my interest was once again restored....well, more than restored; I was blown away.  After hunting down LLVS, hearing a boatload of boots, and becoming good friends with the dearly missed Coach, I have been waiting ever since for the moment that will occur on 11/1/11.  

[thevigilanteoflove]

Since about February. I know that sounds like I'm jumping on the bandwagon, but I had been obsessed with Pet Sounds for about 6 months before February, when I read on Pitchfork that SMiLE was going to be released. I decided to read up on it more. I was fascinated by the whole story of the album and The Beach Boys in general. So since February I have gotten all of the two-fers up to Sunflower/Surf's Up, and I downloaded Love You. I've also gotten my hands on any SMiLE material I can, including BWPS. I also just got The Pet Sounds Sessions today! So I'm trying to get myself acquainted with everything to do with The Beach Boys before November 1st so I can appreciate SMiLE as much as possible when it comes out. It's been a fun ride so far.

[LetHimRun]

About 5 years for me. That is as long as I've been a Beach Boys fan. I was 23 then.

[WaxOn]

Glad I'm not alone in not having waited since the 60's!

As far as I knew, Smiley Smile was Smile, Brian was happy, everything was as it should be and all was right with the world. There are some good things about not having an internet!

I first became aware of SMiLE back in the mid-late 70's, when an acquaintance (good friend of friends) Joe, introduced me. The guy had (back then) an incredible stereo system (KEF, McIntosh, etc.) and pro recording equipment. He was currently following the Dead and had a wall of reel-to-reel tapes of their live performances (he recorded) pulled out an R to R what he called Beach Boys SMiLE, and sort of told us the story (I think). Unfortunately at the time he was also in possession of liquid Sandoz, and I really don't remember a whole lot about the evening other than I couldn't believe it was the Beach Boys (way too psychedelic), and oh by the way, "this doesn't exist". It seemed to me it was all together and not snippets - but it also seemed to go on for hours. Go fig!

It wasn't until I was off at college a bit later that I was again introduced to a nutcase who had been collecting snippets of SMiLE and trying to assemble his own version. Yeah, whatever. It sounded nothing like what my rather colorful remembrance was from years earlier.

Finally and just recently when Brian toured and finally released his version of SMiLE I finally "got it". I've never assembled my own mix (although I was totally into that type of thing back when I had my Nakamichi and before) or really even heard any of the boots. I'm not a boot person particularly, and never had the inclination or time to try downloading from the zillions of sites to have a listen. My bad.

I'm happy that my patience (such as it is) is about to be rewarded. I'll also finally know what most of you guys are talking about!

And to this day I still wonder about Joe, who BTW indulged a bit too much of his own product and disappeared one day. Was that tape legit?

[Catbirdman]

For me, since 1995. So 16 years.

[Compost]

Since 1986.  25 years.

[Les P]

35 years. 

Discovered "Pet Sounds" a few months before the "Brian Is Back" hoopla in 1976.  I gradually bought their entire catalog that summer and read the Ken Barnes book.  H&V, Surf's Up and Cabinessence made me pine for the album that never was...it turned into an obsession...on to London on 2/20/2004...and here we are.

[JohnMill]

A little more than a decade.  It trips me out though to read how many people became fans after the advent of BWPS.  Not saying there is anything wrong with that at all but I wonder if that is a difference experience than the rest of us went through for years logging onto the old "SMiLE Shop" debating which piece fit where and how this was related to that and so on and so forth.  It seemed that once BWPS came out there was a bit of a blueprint which affected the way a lot of people looked at the SMiLE era.  Not sure if that is true but again I wonder if it was a different experience for those coming into this fraternity after BWPS existed?

[Paulos]

Only five years, since getting the Smiley Smile/Wild Honey twofer and wondering why the liner notes were going on about this Smile album instead of Smiley Smile. My interest was piqued, however which led me to check the wikipedia entry and it basically led from there. You guys who have been waiting 35+ years must be in heaven right now!

[SloopJohnB]

Since early 2003 (I was 14 at the time), so almost 9 years now.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

So far, approximately 590 years and counting

[PS]

Like AGD, technically since 1967, when I was 13 (I had Smiley Smile, which I won somehow as a giveaway somewhere...). I first started to read about it and started the SMiLE dreaming after encountering a re-print of Jules Siegel's "Goodbye Surfing, Hello God" in Richard Meltzer's Gulchur: Post Rock Cultural Pluralism, which I found in my college bookstore in the year it was first published, 1972.

39 years.

*On further reflection, it must have been when Surf's Up came out in '71 - there was a lot of publicity around that time of "legendary," etc.  I was at the great show at Carnegie Hall, September, 1971 and listened in awe as Carl did Surf's Up.

 My life was changed.

so mark me down as a 40 year man.

[Doo Dah]

Oh, call it about 35 years or so.  With the full-on media onset of all things Endless Summer, I grabbed any book / magazine I could find and inevitably started reading about this mysterious Smile.

I was working at a coffee house circa '81, and during my break I walked into a local record store. Behind a glass display case I saw a vinyl Smile boot with the classic Holmes cover - $20. Freaking, I ran back to the shop and begged a coworker to lend me the twenty so I could grab this holy grail 

Got home, burned some inspiration and proceeded to listen, dissect and SMILE. A tantalizing glimpse which only intensified through the era of Dom's book and the SOT's. In fact, when I first moved to Seattle in '99 I worked at a highrise downtown. Since I was sans computer, I would sneak into the office in the evening and stream the Smile SOT tracks - one after another. A solitary Smile investigator (as the evening janitorial crew would vacuum the carpets and walk past my cube).

It's been a long strange trip man. A trip.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

664

[Mike's Beard]

Since 2004 when BWPS come out. Although at the time I was only a casual Beach Boys fan, knew nothing about the hoopla surrounding Smile's non release, all the bootlegs doing the rounds or the possibility that the music could see a legitimate form of release. That knowledge only came a few years later once I started getting into the band more heavily. So I would say I've been waiting about four years for this moment.

[The Heartical Don]

About 2,500 years. Been sitting in a cave all the time, with a table and numerous precious golden drinking cups on it. And one simple wooden one. And a bootleg of the Smile Sessions of those days. Waiting for Indy Jones and his Dad. To bring me The Real Smile Sessions. The suckers never showed up, I guess the Zeppelin exploded or something.

But this way is OK for me too. I can die a happy man after Nov 1, 2011.

Scroll of the Psalms:

Composition and numbering:

The Book of Psalms in its current, most commonly used form consists of 150 songs and prayers referred to individually as psalms and referenced by chapter and verse. They each have a poetic character with frequent use of parallelism. In addition to the title of the collection, which translates as "song" or "hymns" from both Hebrew and Greek, superscriptions (or headings) in many of the Psalms provide musical references and some direction, in some cases even references to melodies that would have been well known by early congregations. Songs that can be identified as such in the Psalms include songs of thanksgiving (e.g., Ps 30), hymns of praise (e.g., Ps 117) and royal psalms, which may have been used in coronations and weddings. Identification of some psalms as prayers is also seen within the text, for example in the conclusion to Psalm 72, "The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended." The largest category of Psalms, though not grouped as such in the text, is that of lament (expressions of complaint and pleas for help from God). There appears to also have been an instructional function of the psalms as seen in their references to the law (e.g., Ps 1 and 119).

Dating of individual compositions is difficult, and in some cases impossible. Many appear to have been written early in the history of ancient Israel (first millennium BC or even earlier), while others may have been written after the exile to Babylon, which occurred in the sixth century BC. Biblical scholars note the early organization into five collections, paralleling the Torah or Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible). However, other reasons for dividing the book in this way are unclear. Authorship is also uncertain in spite of frequent attributions to David.[2]

[smile-holland]

Mildly curious when I bought a copy of the SmileySmile / Wild Honey 2fer in 1990, and fanatic about it a year later when I bought my first SMiLE b**ts a year later.

So I'd say 20 years.

[Loaf]

15 years.

1996 i got into the Beach Boys big time, and read Steven Gaines' book. Hunted down those 70s albums on vinyl to hear the Smile tracks (Sunflower, Surf's Up). I got LLVS in 1997 and furthered myself.

[desmondo]

Since reading about it in the UK music press circa 1976 - I think it was SOUNDS or might have been NME - AGD?

I got my first boot in 1990 - the single Vigotone disc

[gxios]

Although I read all the hype in the teen mags about H&V back in 1967 (and there was plenty-  this was the big followup to GV and all the publications hyped it) and I bought the 45 when it came out, I did not get the impression that something was missing in the fall of 1967.  They kept releasing albums and the teen mags were not full of "their great album has been scrapped" stories, so Smile fell off my radar until 1970-1971 when they signed with Reprise and stories started to filter out.  So I've been waiting 40 years.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

779 years and counting.

What are the odds, if and when everyone on here answers (no pressure)......................

that the total comes in at 2580?

[The Heartical Don]

779 years and counting.

What are the odds, if and when everyone on here answers (no pressure)......................

that the total comes in at 2580?

Iron-Horse Apples, on 11/1/11:

[Cliff1000uk]

I first heard The Bicycle Rider Theme in the American Band VHS in about '89/'90 and just loved it.

I seriously got more into Smile around the mid 90s so I'd say I've been waiting for something like this for about 16 years...Jeeeez!

To be honest, it's something I never thought I'd see