The Smiley Smile Message Board

Hello there ...

I know TONS of fan mixes of SMiLE have been made, I only know the most notorious ones, like Purple Chick, Ann Wallace, Mok, whom I thanks BTW.

As we're only a few weeks from the so much awaited official release, I wanted to bring you my take on SMiLE with a few improvements (or attempts at least) as a little "appetizer" to the REAL THNIG !  ;D

Here is an -almost comprehensive- list of what I did on my mix (everything is from vintage Beach Boys recording no BWPS bits here) :

- Our Prayer/Gee: nothing new except that "Gee" ends a bit differently than BWPS and upcoming release.

- H&V part1: I remixed the verses so they sound less "overprocessed" than the 2001 Remaster, more like the upcoming version sounds but in stereo. I also restored the "dance, dance" BVs and the mandolins. They're even a bit louder than the upcoming mix. It segues with "IIGS" with rather seemlessly flown-in demo vocals. You might find it pretentious but I never heard a better fly-in. You SHOULD have a listen  ;D.

- H&V part2: Starts with a pretty clean version of Barnyard with demo vocs flown in (I'm not completely satisfied here, but it's better than a lot of things I heard on other fan mixes). I've done an attempt of "intelligent stereoization" of the backing track. It doesn't work very well, but it's better than the usual "10ms delay on one channel". Here, when you mix both channels back into mono, you have the exact mono original. My version of H&V ends differently than on BWPS.

- Do You Like Worms: a totally different song structure than the one we know. I did this because I extensively listened to SMiLE during 2 years. And I started to feel a little "bored" by this one although IMO, enough vocals had been recorded to make it a bit more into a song. Listen to it, I hope you'll be surprised, or at least amused  :p.

- Cabinessence: I removed the ADT on Carl's voice, so it's dead center and sounds a lot more natural and "66" rather than "68". It sounds rather close to the MOJO version, except that it's STEREO. The "Truck Drivin Man" vocals are louder (as on the MOJO vinyl) and I extended the beautiful tag using the intrumental stereo version.

- The Elements Intro: Ok, just the "Fire" Intro but in stereo. Segues into:

- Vega-Tables: Pretty close to the upcoming official version but in stereo. I really liked how Sir Mark Linett rebuilt this song (the Facebook version) ! I was just frustrated it's mono. Segues into:

- Water: a new stereo mix of the water chant. Segues into:

- Wind Chimes: everything (even vocals) in stereo. 2nd verse using an alternate backing version. I hope you'll like the bridge (with horns). Ends LIKE BWPS (there's a little harmony/vocals twist on the last chorus that people usually miss).

- Fire: Nothing new here. "Fall Breaks" vocals flown-in just like in the Purple Chick version, but not better IMO.

- Good Vibrations: in stereo. Tape phasing in the begining removed. Tack piano backing on 2nd verse  ;D . Reworked bridge "humm De humms". Ends pretty much like Purple Chick but sounds a little bit better IMO.

- Holidays: Starts the "Adult/Child" suite. Sounds pretty clean. Like Barnyard, I tried to "stereoize" this one. Well, it's kinda shy, but it sounds a bit more "open" than the mono version. Features the "Rock Rock Roll" flown-in vocals from Do You Like Worms on top of the second chorus (and in stereo, please). Ends on a crossfade with the "whispering winds" vocal tag (but in better quality/sync than Purple Chick). Segues into:

- Wonderful: Stereo (REAL stereo, no synchronisation of two IDENTICAL mono tracks like Purple Chick). Features the "Yodel" vocals. I maybe could've done better with a bit more time spent on that. Segues into:

- Look: with the Beach Boys (not the Wondermints) singing "won-won-wonderful" on the begining, and "Child, child, child" on the choruses. Awright dudes, digital manipulation here, but the result got a few by surprise. I know purists will be shocked, but you definitely should put an hear on that  ;).

- CIFTTM: well, nothing new here. I tried to improve the sound quality, but failed !  >:( I'm quite unhappy with it.

- Surf's Up: new Brian vocals synchronisation. A funny intro. Extended vocals on the "child father of the man" tag by the boys.


If you're interested in hearing this, Please Message me, or users "SloopJohnB" or "Rab2591" whom I both thank a lot by the way for having helping me doing this.  :angel:

Have A Nice Day.
And don't forget to buy The Smile Sessions as soon as it gets released !!! ;) ;) ;)

I'm glad you posted this, as I recently downloaded it but really wanted a guidepost list like what you've provided here. Now I'll take a listen! Thanks for this!

I got this a few weeks ago. I believe it has been discusses a little here. Nice work.

it's great! A nice last hurrah to fan-mixes of the old material before the box drops....

Probably one of my favourite Smile mixes JMZ, I just heard it a couple days ago and more than anything else I was blown away by your interpretation of H&V pt. 2...it's the first one I've heard that makes it sound like an actual song and part of Heroes, and not just a collection of sections...I'm gonna start work on my next attempt at a mix after the box drops, and there'll definitely be a couple of your ideas I'll take to heart. Thanks!

i approve

best good vibrations i've ever heard

To be fair, after I heard his solo work I inquired for more songs and he sent me 'Look' and 'Holidays' - I was tremendously impressed and told him he should finish a mix for us....that is all I did ;D

I know we're all dying for TSS, and we're probably all SMiLE'd out, but this mix really deserves to be heard.

And yes, this is by far my favorite mix now. I agree with bowowow, this is the best GV i've EVER heard - just stunning engineering on JMZ's part. Look has some amazing vocal parts. I don't know how he cleaned up Holidays so well, but it too is the best version I've heard. His fly in for 'I'm In Great Shape' is stunning. Anywho, it's a well rounded and fantastic mix.

Exactly - it's the best sound and realisation of some of the tracks we're getting with the boots, honestly.

Now i'm wondering what 'post-box'- boots will sound like....

Thank you guys for all your comments and enthusiasm.  :hat

And yes Hypehat, IMO, there will definitely be some cool stuff done "post-box". By the way, was it AGD who told that some unheard bootleg material would suddently get out of nowhere after the TSS release ?

The saga continues, this is just a begining my friends  :lol

Astounding! Thanks a lot!!! Also make you think - what if you (JMZ) had met Brian in the early 2000's when he
started working on his version of Smile...  Yeah...  ;D
Mind-boggling, right... ;)

Fantastic mixing - perhaps you could do a "regular" Smile mix the way you did this one? That is, in the "right" order... :)

 
Oooo, great news indeed... ;)

/b

But won't fan mixes always be valid----and enjoyable? They were, post-BWPS and I'm sure they will be, post-TSS. I much prefer my Ultimate Bamboo bootleg to the Bambu sessions as officially released. Or am I out of my depth here?  :o

Naw. There will always be fan mixes, but I think Mr.Hat was just saying this is probably the last fan mix before we see a huge, comprehensive official release of this stuff that'll allow for even better/more complex/whatevz fan mixes later on. End of an era, of sorts.

Pretty much - with the higher sound quality and other snippets, some unreleased, the games gonna change!

I just received a PM from Purple Chick. Apparently, he joined the forum recently.

I've been listening to his mix for nearly 2 years in loop.  :bow  I hope maybe he'll speak a bit here on the forum.  :hat

I hope the 3 of you (JMZ, purplechick, and AlternateBrianWilson) are planning new mixes using the official releases. I'm excited to see where the box set takes fan mixes.

Your version of Worms is absolutely fantastic!

Thanks for pointing that Mr. Fishmonk. :afro


Thanks, but I'm afraid after the TSS release things will be 10 times easier. It will be so easy, it won't be challenging anymore (I speak using the future, because I'm still waiting for my box !!!  :angry :angry :wall :wall :angry :angry :wall :wall )

My sentiments exactly. Ugh. This wait is atrociously agonizing!

I console myself by convicing me the longer the waiting, the better the pleasure when the box will finally arrive:  :listening

Indeed. Since listening to your mix a couple weeks ago (and one tiny snippet from the HMV site), I've been on a SMiLE fast....I've been playing Pet Sounds (the sessions, the mono mix, the stereo mix) non-stop.....so this is going to be great when I get it! If it ships tomorrow it should be here by Thursday....can't wait!