The Smiley Smile Message Board

Thought I'd save having to read all the blether in an earlier thread and give this a life of its own

http://cdon.eu/music/beach_boys/the_smile_sessions_-_box_set-14166753

Gives a June 6 release date and an EMI catalogue number.

http://www.cdendvd.com/content/detailsArticle.php?productNumber=5099902765822&artist=BEACH%20BOYS,%20THE&title=THE%20SMILE%20SESSIONS

Gives a price - 147.99 Euros (currently $214.42 or £139.59) and July 11 release date.

This site – http://emi.no/utgivelser/kommende_utgivelser.aspx -  gives May 30 which is a Monday.

I guess said release dates are quite arbitrary at the moment  :-\

Good plan putting this in its own topic. These release dates are varying but suggest a June/July release.

Also, does the fact one of these is EMI Norway give the June release date a bit more validity?

Price is interesting and suggesting only the deluxe set to be released at this point?

just noticed mark's on the board at the mo' -  wonder if might shed a little light?

few more

http://www.lafeltrinelli.it/products/5099902765822/The_Smile_Sessions_(4cd_%2B_2lp_%2B_2x_7%22_%2B_Book)/Beach_Boys.html

http://www.imusic.dk/cd/5099902765822/beach-boys-2011-the-smile-sessions-box-set-ltd-ed-cd

http://www.bol.it/cd/The-smile-sessions-box-set/The-Beach-Boys/ea509990276582/

http://www.nannucci.it/bin/articolo?a=0&id=0302759

Poor bugger was probably taking a breather from trying to work out how to segue Wonderful into Look, only to see he's just got two months left to finish the whole thing!



Thanks, George - that one even has the official art ...... ?

and here too ....

http://www.cdzoo.dk/musik-cd/The-Smile-Sessions-Box-Set-Ltd-Ed_5099902765822

Don't think so. It would seem strange to write "Duophonic stereo" on the cover of the new release

oops, missed that!

130-150 euros is a very good price IMO.

Hope it stays that way. Also I doubt that release date is 100% right, not getting my hopes up

I see different prices and different CD quantities, and different release dates (June, July). Not sure which one to believe. Seems like these dates are pretty aggressive for this release. Helper, you say it's gonna be around 214 bucks U.S.?

And don't let Mike Love read the book that comes with this thing. If he sees something that doesn't jive with him, he'll reject it like he did the Pet Sounds box in '96!  Then we'll have to wait another year for it to come out!

I wouldn't believe any of them, least of all the May date.  If the assembly was finished yesterday (which I seriously doubt), there's no way to get it mastered, approved, manufactured, packaged and promoted in under two months. My best (educated) guess would be late summer/early fall.

I read somewhere recently that it would be released "later this year".  Why would these places give record buyers false hope?  And fake artwork?  These dates are even aggressive for pre-orders.

And notice you don't see any U.S. sources for the box, at least yet.

Twood be really nice if Frank Holmes' artwork is included though! The candles on the icing on the cake....

Have to agree with Andrew, we could be looking at autumn(ish) time. And frankly I hope it will be around this time too as by I should of saved enough pennies to buy the thing!!! Lol ;)

So many different dates on those sites would seem to indicate that they're just "estimating" (i.e., making stuff up).

Nonetheless, great to see a fairly consistent catalog number.

Sort of makes the whole thing more real... sort of.  Let's not forget T 2580 and DT 2580...  ::)

I've got a hunch that this thing is much closer to completion than we think.

Brian didn't bump his head the day after Christmas and say, "Gee, I've got an idea- let's get everyone together and put out the SMiLE sessions. Melinda, can you rub my feet?"

Did I miss something or do all of these entries seem to concern the limited edition box rather than the double-CD?  The latter would undoubtedly have its own unique catalog number.  Makes one wonder if the two packages are being released simultaneously after all.  Perhaps, the 2-CD set will come out later?

All releases - 2CD set, box and download - were going to be simultaneous, last I saw.

Are any of these sites actually taking pre-orders? (It looks like some might be.)

I wouldn't start placing a pre-order of that amount of dough till amazon or a more trusted site start giving some info

could be -- the most recent (mono) vinyl reissue of SUMMER DAYS has the duophonic cover.

Man, I hope they have some TV ads--that say "We're sure to sell 200,000 units...in June!" :)

Just going by the price in Euros zapped through an online currency converter.  Pleeease don't haul me up on it when it comes out cheaper or more expenzive!  :-)

To make this release as authentic to 1967 as possible, the deluxe limited version needs to have 2 single LP's, one in mono and the other duophonic!  And the label should be the Brother label (like SMiley Smile - but they need to also release a version with the Capitol Club label!

I imagine we might all know a little more after Record Shop Day...

I promise, Helper!  ;D  $214.00 is a little expensive, but for the limited edition set, I don't think they'll have a problem getting that. I'll be one of the suckers.........uh, collectors to pick one up.

There were never any Duophonic covers printed up, were there?  Just the mono, right?

No, wait! That Smile cover artwork on that web site advertizing the new Smile release I think may be legit!  My bootleg 12" x 12" Smile artwork has the "Duophonic Stereo" designation at the top and my Frank Holmes signed artwork also has the "Duophonic" at the top. But I suspect the web site ad probably got the artwork for its ad off of Wikipedia or something else.

Here's hoping this new release will have ALL of Frank's original artwork with it.

I can see paying upwards of $200 for a Bear Family box set because those are generally ridiculous ten-disc, 100+-page hardcover book affairs... I would certainly not pay such amounts for a four-disc, 60-page hardcover book box set though. I'm sure, however, that the prices, like the release dates, are merely "estimates" and will be eminently more reasonable when actually divulged!

Indeed. Following a crappy economy and a lag in work I sadly won't be buying this set if it's $200+.

I can reasonably see this set going for $150, however $214???? 4 discs a few vinyls and a book? No Thanks. If it's that price come late summer I'll just buy the 2 disc set.

Wouldn't separate formats warrant separate catalogue numbers?

Some sites jumping the gun happens, but the discrepancy in dates is unsettling. Best to be conservative. A late July/August date?

Even if some of these prices are accurate, American fans don't necessarily need to worry.  Europeans simply pay more for this sort of thing (sorry, Europeans!).  The Pet Sounds Sessions box costs about 75% more at Amazon.de and Amazon.fr than it does on Amazon.com.  If this thing does end up costing the equivalent of $150 to $200 in Europe, rest assured that it'll be available for $100-$120 in the US.  And that's not that bad, right? I mean come on folks, this is the Smile Sessions box... the holy grail for BB fans.  You can find a way to afford this.  Beg.  Borrow.  Sell your watch.  Eat macaroni & cheese for the next 3 months.  ;)

Later.  Fall.

I didn't read all the posts in the other thread -- but I assume Linett's interview was posted and discussed to death...
http://www.billboard.com/#/features/beach-boys-engineer-talks-about-the-smile-1005071622.story

Anyway...with all the 'Boys participating in this, as Mark mentions...I can't imagine this not taking awhile to release/approve.  Fall, definitely --  which I think is great timing.  Plus, with all of them participating, I think it really lends cred to this being the "Beach Boys" lost SMiLE album.  More so than "BWPS."  (original material, notwithstanding, obviously.)



Money Quote from article:  "Smile" is one of the most bootlegged albums of all time. What will be new for the listener?  For most of them, the whole thing will be new."


 :brow

This is just too surreal.

There ain't no way in hell I'm paying 212 bucks for a box set.  When the choices are 1. pay 212 bucks, 2. download it for free, I think it's asking a bit of the fans to choose the 'right thing'.  I need the 212 bucks a helluva lot more than anybody in the band does, it's almost disrespectful to ask that much. 

I don't thik there were any Mono covers printed. There are Duophonic slicks with the GV GV GV and Stereo Slicks  w/ and w/o the GV GV GV.  

But if the new release has ALL of  Frank's original artwork, what will he have left?

Huh?

Yeah, I think you're right.

Is that pretty common to spend over a hundred bucks for a box set?  I bought the pet sounds and the 40th anniversary sets used, but I always thought the price on those was more like 40-70 bucks.  Even $100 seems pretty steep to me.  I'll probably end up just buying the two disc set... unless it's like 50 bucks or whatever, lol.  Maybe I'm getting cheap in my old age. 

I'm sure it'll be a really high quality set, and they can charge whatever they want but it seems like it's gonna leave a lot of fans out in the cold. 

That's about a month and a half to raise $200 then.

-sigh-

Don't panic, Americans. Music is always MUCH cheaper in the USA than in Europe.

It would appear that, at least for now, all references to the Smile Sessions have been scrubbed from EMI-Norway's website. 

Yup - I contacted EMI Norway today - they confirmed the date was wrong and that date was not official yet. Back to zero :P

Thanks Anders, smart action.

Suspect a well-informed joker?

Did they confirm/deny the catalogue number Anders?  It' a useful Google tool, albeit potentially also misleading…

Nah, she didnt say anything about that in her email - however, she rather optimistically promised to come back asap
on correct date --- funny, though - that EMI Norway has removed all info - wonder if they received a call from overseas yesterday
after some Capitol executive had been reading the posts here --

 ::)

Just got a mail from a source at EMI...

He say's new date set to July 13! (But no official release date yet)

//RD

Well, that rings true somehow -  every time there's a major release, I'm away from home.  :(

I'd question that on the grounds that Mike & Bruce are in Europe touring on that date and I'd expect some kind of band promo.

Here's the classified marketing plan for the release of SMiLE Boxset! For the 50th Beach Boys anniversary:

EMI releases Smile Box - Brian performs Gershwin
EMI releases Smile Box - Mike & Bruce performs classic jukebox hits (make sure NOT to play Heroes and Villains)
EMI releases Smile Box - Al performs yet another version of Honkin down the highway and California Saga

Sounds about right to me.  :)

The Capitol Smile cover with the "Duophonic" marking was the only authentic one apart from the mock-ups in the print advertising like Teen Set magazine. Those front cover slicks with the "Full Dimensional Stereo" marking were made for the collector market. It's posted in another thread, but the back cover image mentions "Duophonic" as well, so that was the one I'd expect to see on an official release package.

That's my memory of it - any corrections more than welcome! Please! :)

Can't speak to definites, as there aren't any that I'm aware. I don't believe, tho, that Capitol made anything "for the collectors market" in 1966/67; that's when the slicks and color separations I own were made. So while the back slick does say Duophonic, along with the Duophonic slick, an alternate slick has Stereo w/o GV and I have Color separations for Stereo w/ GV.
 Having never seen an actual cover from the time( anyone possess one?) I can't swear they had decided on Duophonic

I never said *Capitol* made any slicks for the collector market. ;)

Ahh, but your statement would have to be taken as such, by me, since I know where my slick(s) originated.

The front slicks with "full dimensional stereo" come from the original artwork... which would have been amended at the printers to read "DuoPhonic", as per the memo of 11/14/66

And we assume it was amended to read "Duophonic Stereo" because the album was never going to be mixed in true stereo, but rather in mono and "fake stereo" i.e. "Duophonic" as Brian's mono productions had been done previously.

I don't want this to be taken as anything but adding to the discussion, unless I can find my original conversations about this in my archives somewhere with solid proof to back it up. But the issue of the authenticity of the various slicks out there had been discussed regarding various online auctions and up to and including a slick which was apparently hanging at the R&R Hall Of Fame as an authentic 1966-vintage item, as the auctions in question were also labeled. Some of those slicks were labeled "Full Dimensional Stereo", and the issue was whether or not they had come from a printing run which was done a decade or so after the true originals were printed and accounted for. And the theory was that perhaps some of those being sold and displayed as originals were reproductions from that later run.

You can also tell how some of the cover images circulating online (Full Dimensional Stereo) were taken from the Teen Set back cover ad.

The whole thing? Wow.

I guess they found a better source tape for Barnyard.

My front slick reprint originated in 1979, and was printed using the original colour separations, which were in the possession of a top-rank collector at the time. Exactly 1000 were printed (not numbered) and as supplied were well oversize and included the registration and crop lines.  That's how I know that the "new improved full dimensional" fronts are authentic.  These were, of course, later re-booted: you can tell those by the fact that the colours are quite right, and the printing isn't quite crisp enough.

The back slick mentions "DuoPhonic" because when that was mocked up in December, the decision had been taken by then.

I don't know if you guys are being sarcastic or not, but I'm pretty sure Mark meant that "the whole thing will be new" for those who've not heard/purchased the bootlegs.

"For most of them" is obviously referring to the majority of the buyers, that is Joe Q. Public, and not obsessives like us.

Who here is an obsessive?  8o

I need to clarify big-time: At some point in time there was a Smile cover hanging in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame which was apparently loaned to the museum by Frank Holmes, and later taken back. I have no idea what if anything is displayed currently. Whatever version *that* cover which was on loan may have been, it was given to Frank in the 60's along with the original booklet. That to me is the real deal, at least in theory if all of that info is true.

It could be debated then which are the true originals. If Frank Holmes and a few others were given that cover and booklet in the 60's, whatever number of those were handed out and still exist are the true, 100% originals. If the color separations were used for a later printing run, and those are the "Full Dimensional" variation of the design which never went beyond that color separation stage, those are almost like fantasy prints: They came from the originals, but the originals they came from were never to be used for an official printing run after that memo.

The "Full Dimensional Stereo" color separations or proofs were created but that 11/66 Capitol memo killed that design before it was printed up in mass quantities. Forgive my use of terminology which I'm not 100% familiar with, but those color separations or proofs were made from Frank Holmes' original artwork to print the covers for the release and obviously the "Full Dimensional" banner made it onto mock-ups used in print advertising like Teen Set, but that memo from Nov. 1966 changed that officially to read "Duophonic", making that design at least one of the definite designs which would have been printed on the cover. These top banners were "cut and paste" clipboard graphics from Capitol, which were applied to their other releases on top of the artwork. But seeing one or the other would confirm the authenticity if such an item were to ever be sold at auction.

If anyone else has a Smile cover print, take a quick look at what that top banner on your print reads, either "Duophonic" or "Full Dimensional", then compare that information with the source of those prints.

There are vintage mono, full dimensional stereo, and duophonic slicks. I have them all. They date from different phases of Capitol`s involvement with the project in 1966-67.

Peter, what about back cover slicks?  Are you aware of more than one version?  BTW, thank you for all you've done for the BB fan community over the years!

Where did the photo of the Smile cover published in Byron Preiss' book originate? That is a Duophonic cover.

I have one of those 1000 prints.  "New Improved Full Dimensional Stereo" printed at the top. "Good Vibrations" printed 3 times in 3 different shades of green. Printed in 1978, color by Barclay, complete with crop lines. I bought it in 1979 and it still graces my wall, next to my Beatles butcher cover.

My other SMiLE cover artwork was provided to me from Frank Holmes and is signed by him.  It has "Duophonic for STEREO phonographs printed at the top. The rest of the artwork is the same as my bootleg print that I noted above.

I assume that's the "definitive" artwork, or the final Capitol-approved artwork that Frank used for his signed prints? I wonder if Frank even knew the difference as to which one was the latest of the greatest.

Peter, care to respond as to which one of the 3 you noted above are the most recent?

Peter.  That's really interesting! I was unaware there was a mono slick. ( Want to sell it?) 
Just one more SMiLE fact I haven't retained in the memory I suppose. ( there's lots of em; like the 11/66 quotes)


That's interesting; Makes me think it probable that the Color separations I purchased are the ones used for the 1000 prints.
My Stereo Slick doesn't have the 3 GV's on it, by the way. 

Yeah...but coming from a like-minded "obsessive" like Mark Linett...I don't know.  Us obsessive-types don't think two shards about John Q. Pubic.  Plus...with BWPS (which WAS SMiLE in 2004, remember) and the, shall we say:  "in-the-know" buying potential of the SMiLE Boxset market anyway -- I'm prepared to believe the whole fuggin' thing just might be all new-and-shinny-like.

Of course, to an obsessive like myself...a new, brand new, crystal-clear version of "Barnyard," "Old Master Painter" and "Holidays" and "Look" is new to me!!

Wooooooooooooooo-hoooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

I am not an expert on these things, but this sounds like an eminently sane take on it all. Don't all these retailers just make their, ahem, 'estimates', to lure potential buyers into placing orders with them? And a June release, seen from this date (April 21) would look a bit odd and badly advised... after all, folks don't just direct a substantial part of their vacation money into the SS direction all of a sudden (well, we here would do that, of course).

I think it'd be nice actually if they postponed the release until Christmas. That'd give all us SSers time to chill, step back a little, relax, wean ourselves off whatever we're on, get over any spiritual hang-ups with the album's creation, allow VDP and ML time to kiss and make up, and save up a bit of dough.    ;D

Your last point is the most valid. See: there is also the forthcoming John Fahey Fonotone Box Set. How on earth should we... ... ...?

Before Capitol decided to spend big money on the tape research, mixing etc. for a "Smile" project, they got Brian & Mike's signatures on the dotted line, and, fully aware of the problems that delayed the release of "The Pet Sounds Sessions", I'm sure that there was wording in the contracts designed to prevent Brian or Mike from stopping the Smile box release for frivolous reasons. For more than 40 years Mike Love has been portrayed by the media as the villain of Smile's collapse(though there were numerous other factors that caused the project to be abandoned). With one last chance to redeem himself, it is unlikely that Mike Love will stop the "Smile" box. And Capitol could address that possibility by giving each of the four surviving members a chance to write their own essay(with their memories of the sessions), so that if these memories conflict or contradict each other, that Brian, Al, Mike & Bruce will have each had a chance to air their views.

And, who knows; it may have been non-cooperation from Carl that caused the 1966 work on "Cabinessence" to stop. Mike Love may not have liked the words "Over and over the crow cries uncover the cornfield", but he DID cooperate and sing them at the 1966 sessions.

this is a lil example how misinformation gets out.  not saying you're saying it, but this can be read as "well carl didn't wanna sing the lead for cabinessense in 1966, but mike DID sing his part".  ridiculous.

Ridiculous? Listen to the recording, as it stood when "Smile" was abandoned. Mike's parts had been recorded, but the sections where Carl would eventually sing his solo passages had only Brian's background parts.

Phil said:

"Before Capitol decided to spend big money on the tape research, mixing etc. for a "Smile" project, they got Brian & Mike's signatures on the dotted line, and, fully aware of the problems that delayed the release of "The Pet Sounds Sessions", I'm sure that there was wording in the contracts designed to prevent Brian or Mike from stopping the Smile box release for frivolous reasons. With one last chance to redeem himself, it is unlikely that Mike Love will stop the "Smile" box."

Very smart move by Capitol. They learned their lesson with the Pet Sounds box, which was delayed a year because Mike didn't think he was given enough acknowledgement in the accompanying book. If I remember right, also at issue was the bridge to Wouldn't It Be Nice. I think Carl wanted some change too, didn't he? This time, a written agreement right up front that there's to be no last minute changes to delay the release.

I wouldn't mind that much if Brian made some last minute changes that caused a delay, though, if it meant getting it right.  :P

Ah yes, but how do we know Brian wanted Carl to sing it in '66? Maybe he wanted Al, Dennis, or himself? Maybe Carl was tired at the session, and they decided to do it later and never got round to it. Maybe there was supposed to be a full vocal arrangement they never got around to recording...

Or maybe, when they dug it out of the vault in '68, they thought "Ah, balls. Hasn't got a lead. Go on then, Carl."

It could be anything, honestly.

Correction - the tapes we know of are lacking Carl's vocals. Using your reasoning, I could say with equal justification, maybe Carl did record them and either we don't have them, or Brian wiped/destroyed them. Just because you, or I, or great uncle Barnabus, hasn't heard something doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Presumably, Mark Linett had to actually play the "Wouldn't It Be Nice" vocal multitracks to Mike Love, to prove to Love that Love's vocals for the bridge were no longer on the multitracks, due to changes that Brian made to the multitracks back in 1966, after the mono single and album mixes were made.

No issue with the bridge (which was only on the stereo version and fixed anyway a couple of years later), but it's rumoured that Carl didn't like the stereo mix - however this must be viewed in the context of Carl's condition in late 1995/early 1996

When these guys decide on a mix, do they listen through headphones or just a sweet stereo system?

... Probably not the best place to ask, but I once heard something about Brian once having a 'special' setup created that mimicked stereo, to assist him in doing Stereo Mixes.  Anybody have any more info on that?  Is that still a problem for him? 

I fail to see how that would manifest itself. Unless you mean some sort of hearing aid, which iirc wouldn't work - his ear is completely shot - but a special speaker contraption seems impossible to me. Unless he just walks around the room between both speakers. Alternatively, his secret weapon could be anyone else in the room with two functioning ears....

A variety of sources - monitors, stereo, car, headphones, iPod etc.

Songs can tend to sound different on all of these

It may have simply been a one speaker system enabling Brian to monitor the overall sound in mono, even though it was being mixed(by the engineer) to stereo. Stephen Desper could probably answer your question.

Brian described his participation during the 5.1 mix of IMAGINATION by noting that he walked around the room listening closely to each monitor to assess the relative volume and balance of the vocals and instrumentation in each. Assessing stereo would probably be similar. Not ideal, but then Brian is probably doing this to O.K. an engineer's mix, not create his own.

Standard practice for some time now has been to mix primarily on a pair of "inferior" speakers (such as the industry standard Yamaha NS-10s), the idea being that if it sounds good then, it would sound good (if not great) on a better system.  And then of course they check the mix on a variety of systems as mentioned, and tweak it accordingly. 

...and we should note that the surround mix of the "Imagination" album is, in places, not musically identical to the stereo. Brian must not have been listening very closely. Check "She Says That She Needs Me", where one passage that has vocals on the stereo version is instrumental on the surround version.

Dammit Phil, now I want to hear "She says that she needs me".  I guess I'll be digging out my imagination CD tommorow :)

You're right that there are some musical differences between the stereo and surround mixes, but the passage you're referring to in "She Says That She Needs Me" doesn't appear in the stereo version at all. The surround mix adds a reprise of the chorus immediately following the first chorus that only features the "dit-dit-dit" backing vocals and the concluding line "Sorry baby, it's time we said goodbye" (before going into the second verse as on the standard stereo mix). I suspect this section was always on the multi-tracks, but Brian and/or Joe Thomas decided to edit it out during the final stereo mix. Either they forgot to edit it out again when going back to the multi-tracks to mix the surround version or decided to leave it in as a "bonus". One nice aspect of the surround mix for this track is that the cloying nylon string accents are isolated to the rear surround channels so you can mute those channels to get rid of them!

The musical differences between the surround mix & stereo mix of the "Imagination" album are because the surround mix was done by an engineer who was not involved in the album's original production & stereo mix.